Team Spirit

Chapter 218: Green Gunners Secure Champions League Qualification, New Gunners Face Off Against the Chinese National Team
In August, the green-gunned hoe started digging again.

After several rounds of negotiations, Dartford paid Schalke 04 €400,000 in training fees to sign Manuel Neuer, an outstanding goalkeeper from Schalke's youth academy.

This deal has sparked heated discussions in Germany.

Bayern Munich intervened in the deal after learning that Green Gunners were interested in signing Neuer, attempting to steal him away.

Neuer naturally favors Bayern.

The deal was only finalized after Lu Kai personally called Bayern Munich's management and Neuer.

Lu Kai told Bayern that if they acquired Neuer, he would just be Neuer, but if Neuer came to Bayern to learn techniques, he could become a goalkeeper who could bring surprises to Bayern.

As for how to get Neuer transferred to Bayern Munich in the future, given Bayern's appeal to German players, is there any need to worry?
These words really hit Bayern Munich right where it hurts.

In Germany, they can easily win over anyone, no matter how famous they are, with just a flick of their finger.

When it comes to excavators, Green Gunners are far inferior to Bayern Munich.

Bayern's management subsequently agreed to "Nöhrj going to Green Gunners for further studies".

Lu Kai's side guaranteed that Bayern would have the right of first refusal in the future, given the same price. Unless the other party offers more than Bayern, Neuer will definitely be Bayern's player.

This also protects Green Gun's interests.

Bayern's management may not have said it, but they were probably overjoyed inside.

Lu Kai is still too young.

He even thought Bayern would offer a high price to match other offers.

impossible.

If Neuer truly develops into a star, and Bayern Munich gives the word, with Neuer cooperating by refusing to train, the transfer price will definitely meet Bayern's expectations.

As for Green Gun... if they don't want to lose money, they can only let go with tears in their eyes.

Hahaha!
Emily also raised this question during an internal Green Gun meeting.

However, Alfred was not worried.

He was familiar with Lu Kai's operations.

The biggest advantage Green Gunners have over other clubs is that they are better at predicting when a player will become popular.

Because this was already under Lu Kai's control, he needed to mobilize the team's resources to make a player shine.

If you haven't reached an agreement with me, then I won't train you.

In the entire football world, only Green Gunners can be so "reckless".

Other teams would love to have a few players with excellent stats, so why would they deliberately suppress a player's performance?
Many head coaches would disdain doing such a thing.

Because I cooperated with the team in doing this, the result was that my own coaching performance declined.

In the end, the team fired me, and I had trouble finding a job.

Of course, I hope all the players will stand out and achieve the best results, so I can move to a bigger club.

They're all just employees, so they won't cooperate with the team.

But Lu Kai was not just an employee of Green Gun.

Of all the signings Green Gunners made this summer, the most expensive was probably Motta, but Motta was just a bonus in the Toure deal; they didn't actually spend any money.

The second is Van der Sar's three million euros.

The rest range from tens of thousands to two hundred thousand euros.

Neuer's 400,000 euros is already high.

This is completely different from the Green Gunners' recruitment style in the previous two seasons. Smart people can already see the Green Gunners' operational strategy and plans for the new season from this recruitment.

This level of player recruitment is very poor, even by Premier League standards.

It's somewhat similar to how Green Gun played in his early game.

The Green Gunners' final signing this year was also with a South American team.

Felipe Luis.

A left-back for Uruguayan club Rentisas, whose future career highlights came with Atletico Madrid, where he was a top-class full-back capable of both attacking and defending.

It's fast and has good defense.

He was also very successful as a coach after retiring, and was known as "Brazil's Guardiola".

Last year, Filho resolutely went to Europe. Because he has dual Brazilian and Polish citizenship, his trip to Europe went smoothly, and he successfully joined Dutch giants Ajax on loan.

Green Gunner even met him when he played for Ajax.

However, after the season ended, he did not receive a favorable offer from Ajax and was sent back to Uruguay.

Phil has not given up on his European football dream and continues to actively contact teams.

Currently, Real Madrid's reserve team, Castilla, is willing to accept him and give him the opportunity to play in the Spanish Second Division.

However, considering that Real Madrid's left-back is Roberto Carlos, and many players can fill in at left-back, there is no shortage of substitutes.

He has virtually no chance of making it into Real Madrid's first team through Castilla.

So he hesitated.

At this point, Green Gun extended an olive branch to him.

Playing for Greenfield for a few years and then joining a top club is more likely than playing for Castilla for a few years and then joining a top club.

Ultimately, Dartford signed Filipe Luis for €1.2 million.

He also became the second most expensive player the Celtics signed this summer.

With this, Green Gunners' summer recruitment is basically complete.

Key players include:

前锋，里贝里22、瓦尔迪18、吉鲁19、梅尔滕斯18、阿尔尼森17、奥巴梅扬16（青训）。

中场，陆凯20、巴顿23、莫塔22、瓜迪奥拉34、莫德里奇20、佩佩22、陈涛20、凯洛25、拉姆塞15（青训）、亨德森15（青训）
后卫，阿什利·扬20、维迪奇24、孔帕尼19、李玮锋27、菲利佩·路易斯20、博努奇18、马塞洛17、斯莫林16（青训）
Goalkeepers: Van der Sar 35, Neuer 19, Joe Hart 18, Scott 23 (on loan)
Early childhood training: Sterling 11, Kane 12.

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This is a younger team than last year, and many of their players need time to grow and adapt to high-intensity, high-level matches.

It is widely believed that at least three to five top stars may emerge from this list in the future.

This reflects their trust in Green Gun's training capabilities.

But they couldn't believe it no matter what; there were probably only three or five players on the list who didn't reach the level of top stars.

In addition, a major event occurred during this period that fans didn't pay much attention to, but which was of great interest to those in the gaming community.

That is—Datford have directly qualified for the Champions League group stage in the new season!

Many people may not care about this, but these days there is no such thing as a Champions League winner directly qualifying for the Champions League. If you want to play in the Champions League, you have to be among the top teams in your league.

Dartford finished 16th in the Premier League last season and were therefore ineligible.

But Joyce had been helping Green Gun with the application process for a long time.

UEFA also held a conference to discuss the matter and ultimately granted Greenfield a special qualification for the Champions League group stage, and as a result improved the relevant regulations, so that future Champions League teams will automatically qualify for the next season's Champions League group stage.

Just like the UEFA Cup winner automatically qualifies for the Champions League play-offs next season, which was created by Green Gunners last year.

And more advanced discussions are underway.

For example, giving the UEFA Cup winner a Champions League group stage spot instead of a playoff spot.

For example, the Champions League winner would be given the status of a top-tier team in the Champions League next season, instead of a fourth-tier team.

UEFA had wanted to do these things for a long time, but many regulations in Europe have complicated procedures that are time-consuming and laborious with little benefit, so no one bothered with them.

Unless someone actually encounters it, then they can take the opportunity to make changes.

Green Gun is this person, who always manages to achieve various bug-like results, making him a veritable UEFA system tester and deeply appreciated by UEFA.

...At BJ Workers' Stadium, 80,000 fans gathered.

Several cameras followed Liu Shishi.

Today marks her first recording of "My Love Diary in Asen Green" as a "Lu Girl".

This is a friendly match between Chinese Super League powerhouse Beijing Hyundai (renamed Beijing Guoan next year) and Green Gunners.

The former is currently struggling in the Chinese Super League, but through this event, it is able to win more patience and support from fans.

In the shot, Liu Shishi arrives at the center of the court to kick off the match.

Everyone thought this kickoff was great, as it incorporated commercial and entertainment elements into the game as much as possible.

In the VIP stands, a string of well-known male and female celebrities watched Liu Shishi kick off the game, and couldn't help but feel a little envious.

The conditions in the stands weren't great, but they all pretended to be thoroughly enjoying the game, because that way they would be just like the big stars from North America and Europe.

These internationally-famous celebrities often go to watch sports games; do you understand what high-class style means?

Ultimately, the score was 3-3, a win-win situation for both sides.

Beijing Guoan regained their confidence through the green-skinned striker.

The fans witnessed a goal-fest.

Green Gunners are making a lot of money, and the players are also using this warm-up game to identify and address their weaknesses, gradually getting into form for the new season.

Lu Kai only played half the game.

The second half will be up to Chen Tao to make his mark.

After the competition, Liu Shishi and the cameramen went into the VIP stands and chatted with many celebrities she would never have been able to talk to before.

Let alone a minor celebrity like Yang Mi, even rising stars like Gao Yuanyuan, Dong Jie, Liu Tao, and Liu Yifei all act like sisters with Liu Shishi, as if they are very close.

This episode of "My Love Diary in Asen Green" has received a very good response in the country.

This has also allowed many overseas fans to gain a better understanding of China.

Anyway, they only see what's happening inside Green Gun, so where it happens isn't that important.

When attending the banquet that evening, Liu Shishi also followed Lu Kai under the arrangement of the cameras.

"By the way, Mr. Lu, Sisi has a business trip to London this month, and she'd like to visit Dartford's stadium. I wonder if you could arrange that?" Liu Shishi reported.

Lu Kai: "XiXi?"

Liu Shishi: "Oh, it's Liu Yifei, that's her nickname."

Lu Kai had indeed said that everyone could look for him if they went to London, and nodded, asking, "What's the specific time?"

Liu Shishi: "It should be at the end of the month, around the 28th or 29th."

Lu Kai thought for a moment and said, "That's no problem. There's only one European Super Cup match in those days. If she's interested, I can arrange a private room at the stadium for her."

Liu Shishi breathed a sigh of relief.

Judging from what Liu Yifei's side said, it seems she really wants to visit Turford, which might be beneficial for her publicity.

August 5th.

The Green Gun China Tour is nearing its end.

Only one warm-up match remains.

After several games, the new players at Green Gunners have begun to find their rhythm, especially in combining what they've learned in training with real matches.

The progress has been very rapid.

The team's overall tactics have been grasped to a basic level.

However, achieving great success is not something that can be done in a short time.

In this match, Green Gun's opponent was none other than... the Chinese National Men's Football Team!

The lineup is relatively new, giving many young players opportunities:
Xie Hui, Gao Lin

Zheng Bin, Li Yan, Zhao Xuri, Cao Yang

Xu Yunlong, Ji Mingyi, Zhang Yaokun, Wang Liang

An Qi
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This match was also a warm-up game for the Chinese men's national football team before participating in the East Asian Cup, or rather, it was a lineup that the national team specially prepared for the East Asian Cup.

It can also be called the "East Asia Team of the Chinese National Football Team".

They are very confident of achieving good results in the East Asian Cup.

However, the captain of the Chinese national football team's East Asian team is not with the team. It's not that he's not going to participate in the East Asian Cup, but that he's going to be in the opposing team's formation today.

The starting lineup for Green Gun is:

Vardy, Giroud, Ribery
Chen Tao, Lu Kai, Modric

Felipe Luis, Kompany, Li Weifeng, Ashley Young
Joe Hart

-

Compared to previous years, this lineup can be described as quite "dim".

Considering that the Chinese national team might get angry and cause conflicts on the field if they lose, the older Guardiola, the injury-prone Motta and Vidic, and the hot-tempered Barton and Pepe will not play in today's game.

In addition, since it was a warm-up match, Lu Kai made a special agreement with the national team head coach Zhu Guanghu that there would be no limit on the number of substitutions for this game.

Zhu Guanghu can also take this opportunity to give more opportunities to the team's substitute players.

In the players' tunnel.

Lu Kai, Li Weifeng, Ribery, and Ashley Young received a warm welcome from the Chinese national team's East Asia squad, as they were the most famous players.

The rest of the people were not taken seriously by them.

They didn't think these sixteen- or seventeen-year-old kids could play anything fancy.

Moreover, there are several young people among them who have just joined Green Gun.

Zhu Guanghu also shook hands and chatted with Alfred at the entrance of the players' tunnel.

The former laughed and said, "Mr. Alfred, you need to get Guardiola and the others ready. I reckon they'll be playing the second half."

Alfred didn't need a translator at all; he knew Zhu Guanghu meant that the Chinese East Asia team needed to crush Green Gunners in the first half, thus forcing Green Gunners to field their true starting lineup.

Alfred nodded: "All the players on the bench will be ready."

Zhu Guanghu failed to grasp the underlying meaning in Alfred's words.

What I mean is that Green Gun might be able to crush the Chinese East Asia team in the first half, and then bring on more young newcomers in the second half to get a feel for the game.

Both teams then lined up to enter the field.

shake hands.

group photo.

The final segment featured actress Yang Mi kicking off the match.

This was an opportunity her team secured after seeing Liu Shishi kick off.

In the past few days, Liu Shishi has been portrayed by various media outlets as the "most beautiful football babe," and her popularity among men in China has soared.

In the "Goddess of Tianya" poll on Tianya Forum, Liu Shishi was not originally listed.

As a result, from the red carpet to the kickoff of the football match, it took less than half a month to climb to third place, second only to Gao Yuanyuan and Liu Yifei.

He pinned Huang Shengyi, Wang Luodan, and others down.

Yang Mi should be able to gain some support from male fans after her tee-off.

The match then officially began.

(End of this chapter)