Team Spirit

Chapter 229 Reigning Ballon d'Or Winner, Kane's Date
Sky Sports: "Unbeatable on land, double over the Red Devils! Dartford advance to the Champions League knockout stage with one game to spare!"

BBC: "There are no miracles for Green Gunners, but Lu Kai is the best! He scored twelve goals in five Champions League games, leading the scoring charts by a wide margin!"

Mundo Deportivo: "The Greens' victory over the Red Devils only proves that the third-place finish in the Premier League lacks merit! Lu Kai's incredible stats mean the Champions League Golden Boot should only be considered based on knockout stage performance!"

"In order to win this year's Ballon d'Or, Lu Kai has abandoned all pretense of decency, exhausting the entire team's energy and disregarding the team's sustainability in the second half of the season! Barcelona is in superb form this season, and Ronaldinho still has a chance to win the FIFA World Player of the Year award. We hope fans will keep their eyes open!"

Green Gunners' performance in the Champions League has amazed everyone.

It really does prove the old rule true: upsets are common in cup competitions.

In this way, despite their poor league performance, they did help Lu Kai at a crucial moment.

In the current Ballon d'Or rankings, he has once again widened the gap with second-placed Lampard.

It's worth noting that Chelsea is currently top of the Premier League again, and Lampard's statistics are outstanding, making them a strong contender for the award.

……

[Ding! Five hat tricks achieved in a single season. Reward:]

[Old Trafford, a blessed land, a waterfall cave: Player items. For twenty years, Old Trafford has remained stagnant, its facilities outdated, to the point that it transforms into a waterfall cave during heavy rains, becoming a laughingstock. Your team's morale will increase by two levels when playing at this stadium.]

???

This...wouldn't it be even easier to play against Manchester United in the future, especially when visiting Old Trafford?
Looking at the player's belongings, Lu Kai had a bold guess in his mind.

Are similar items also available at other Premier League teams and stadiums?

The Premier League has always been the biggest obstacle for Green Gunners.

For others, league titles are easy to obtain, but Champions League titles are hard to come by.

But for Lu Kai, the Champions League might be a viable option, while the league has truly been a tough one for everyone.

Young people can have explosive bursts of energy, but they can't sustain it.

The Green Gunners lack a strong foundation and their players are not very capable; they have distinctive characteristics but are not versatile enough.

They can win with unconventional tactics, but they cannot win with conventional ones.

Even if Green Phase II is completed, this problem will still arise.

But if he can get the buff in the other nineteen Premier League stadiums, then the league might not be so damaging for Green Gunner.

Lu Kai was in a great mood as a result.

"Everyone's here, let's get ready for the meeting."

Jiang Mengyun interrupted Lu Kai's thoughts.

The Green Gun Museum is hosting Dartford's season progress report meeting.

Attendees included Lu Kai, Jiang Mengyun, and Emily, all senior executives of the team; several members of the team's coaching staff; and Liu Shishi and Kayla, among others, from the documentary production department.

Ivanka will be gaining experience in the family business this year, so she will be able to come less often.

She had originally been removed from the succession list by Donald, but with Donald and Green Gun's real estate projects, Ivanka, the matchmaker, has returned to the list of heirs and is now highly regarded.

Modric also participated in the meeting as the recorder.

"Waiter, refill my water." Modric quickly jotted it down and then realized the milk tea was empty.

Ashley Young brought him a cup of matcha coconut mochi, which was previously the store's most popular item, but Lu Kai forcibly removed it from the menu.

They euphemistically call it "luring customers into becoming cunning."

This comeback immediately set a new single-day sales record.

The behavior was despicable, but the effect was excellent.

In this way, Ashley Young, the vice GOAT, was effectively involved in the meeting.

People assumed he worked there year after year because he was short of money, but little did they know how much inside information he had learned through this job, and that inside information was what was truly valuable!
"Ahem." Alfred cleared his throat. "Of the goals for this season, one has already been achieved—qualifying for the knockout stage of the Champions League."

"The prize money for the Champions League is very high. There is a reward of two million euros for qualifying for the main tournament. The appearance fee for each group stage match is 400,000 euros, with a guaranteed reward of 2.4 million euros."

"A win would earn us €600,000, and a draw €300,000. We currently have €2.4 million."

"There are also advancement bonuses after qualifying. All in all, the revenue exceeds 10 million euros! But more important than the revenue is the exposure and influence brought by the Champions League."

"However, the knockout stage is very tough. Every match is a life-or-death battle, and it's hard to say how far we'll go."

European qualification is largely determined by league performance.

Greenfield's Champions League qualification this season came from their Champions League victory last season, which was already a risky move. But with their current squad, expecting to win again is nothing short of wishful thinking.

The key point is that UEFA will not allow any team to win the Champions League consecutively at this stage. They have always manipulated the draw, which is something that veteran fans are used to.

This is also why winning the Champions League is so difficult: three parts are determined by fate, seven parts by hard work, and the remaining ninety parts depend entirely on how the draw is manipulated.

Given Greens' current league performance, they won't even qualify for the Europa League next season, let alone the Champions League.

To qualify for European competitions, they can only compete in the EFL Cup and the FA Cup.

In contrast, the EFL Cup can be decided early in the second half of the season, making it the easiest to compete for.

The FA Cup carries more weight, and the teams vying for it are generally stronger.

Therefore, Greens' second goal this season is to win the EFL Cup in order to secure a Europa League play-off spot for next season.

The third goal is naturally to avoid relegation in the Premier League.

This is actually easier than last season because their schedule for the second half of the season won't be too heavy, and the team will have reached a certain level of cohesion by then. Even if Lu Kai doesn't continue to have a breakout season, they will be more than capable of dealing with relegation-threatened teams.

……

November 27th, the 14th round of the English Premier League.

Green Gunners will host Newcastle United.

Lu Kai scored the only goal of the match, helping the team climb out of the relegation zone and move up to sixteenth place.

The annual Golden Globe Awards will be held on November 29th.

France Football, together with Green Gun Voice, Dongqiudi and other media outlets, simultaneously released the list of winners globally.

The list of fifty nominees for the Golden Globe Award had already been circulating around the world.

The Celtics have a long list of star players, but unfortunately, only Lu Kai is still a player on the team this season.

The other notable omissions from the team are Barton, Vidic, Ashley Young, and Ribery.

In terms of league distribution, the English Premier League leads the pack, followed closely by Serie A.

In the final rankings, Fran, Arshavin, and Touré were ranked fifteenth to thirteenth respectively.

Twelve, Terry.

Eleventh place, Eto'o.

Tenth place, Kaka.

Ninth place, Ibrahimovic.

Eighth place, Adriano.

Seventh place: Maldini.

Sixth place: Ronaldinho.

Barcelona fans were very unhappy about this, believing that Ronaldinho should have won the title.

But only they think so.

Fifth place goes to Liverpool's Gerrard, who shone in the Champions League and whose individual statistics are also quite impressive.

He is considered one of the three world-class midfielders in the Premier League, alongside Lampard and Lu Kai!

However, fans of the other two do not accept this "joint designation".

Henry came in fourth.

In recent years, he has consistently been a strong contender for the award, but he has never won it. He's really not lucky.

Of the top three, third place goes to Shevchenko of AC Milan.

Second place goes to Chelsea's Lampard.

The first place goes to Lu Kai, the Green Gunner!
Lu Kai successfully defended his title, winning the Ballon d'Or for the second consecutive year!

The scores were then released.

Although fans once thought Lampard had a chance to go toe-to-toe with Lu Kai, and even Chelsea fans thought Lampard was being unfairly treated.

However, Lu Kai's overwhelming advantage is still evident in the scoring.

He scored 100 more points than Lampard!

With the Premier League title in hand, Lampard boasts an impressive record of nineteen goals and sixteen assists in a single season.

In the summer, they also won the Confederations Cup, advanced to the knockout stage of the new Champions League season, and are currently top of the league standings with six goals, ranking among the top scorers in the Premier League.

He is absolutely a phenomenal midfielder.

however……

Lu Kai won the Champions League and the EFL Cup last season, titles that are arguably more prestigious than those from the Premier League. His statistics far surpass Lampard's, with 55 goals and 33 assists in a single season.

In the Confederations Cup, Gerrard was the biggest contributor to England's victory. In that tournament, Gerrard's contribution far outweighed Lampard's; the latter essentially won by default.

Lu Kai's twelve goals and two assists have almost secured him the Champions League Golden Boot this season.

Although the team's performance in the league was not good, Lu Kai's 15 goals and 3 assists in 14 rounds were simply incredible.

It's fair to say that Lampard winning the award would have been perfectly reasonable without Lu Kai.

With Lu Kai on the team, Lampard's second place is by no means a disgrace.

For a time, Green Gun's reputation was no longer what it once was.

But Lu Kai's momentum is even greater than before.

The young guys from the second phase of the Green Army were all banging drums and gongs, acting like they'd never seen anything like it before. They all wanted to take photos with me, Lu, and ask me for autographs.

Even the youngest children in the youth training camps are not immune to this practice.

Boom boom boom!
Lu Kai's office is in a river-view private room in the museum's café.

“Come in.” Lu Kai looked up and saw twelve-year-old Kane and eleven-year-old Sterling.

At this time, Kane was still a chubby boy with a shaved head. His height was average for his age, and he had not yet grown much taller.

Some girls are even taller than him.

Kane has a very ordinary demeanor and has always been a peripheral piece in the team. But today, he wore a white shirt and a black vest, looking like a waiter.

Sterling is shorter, but he is very talented and confident, and it is clear that he is the pride of the youth team.

"Did you need something?" Lu Kai asked in a friendly tone.

Kane hesitated, too shy to speak.

Finally, Sterling generously spoke up: "Kane has a photo he'd like you to sign; he wants to give it to him..."

Kane covered Sterling's mouth.

Lu Kai guessed what was going on and quickly called Liu Shishi to bring the film crew over.

Then, as the camera recorded the scene, Lu Kai laughed and said, "Of course, no problem, bring me the photos."

Kane shyly handed over the photo.

The camera immediately zoomed in.

It's a group photo of three people.

It was probably filmed this summer.

In the middle is Lu Kai, with a caddie on each side.

The one on the left is Kane.

On the right is a girl who is half a head taller—Katie Goodland.

She's a year older than Kane, and they attended the same school a few years ago. They reunited this summer at a youth training event hosted by the Green Guns.

Kane had liked her before, but he didn't dare to say it.

After this reunion, the old feelings of unrequited love were rekindled, and there was an added layer of cherishing that comes from having something lost and then regained.

So he's going to... confess his feelings!
"Um, well...they're so young, isn't that a bit inappropriate?" Liu Shishi asked in a low voice.

As Lu Kai signed autographs, he said, "They're still so young, they won't do anything outrageous, so there's nothing wrong with that, right?"

After saying that, he handed the photo to Kane.

It has Lu Kai's English signature and a short Chinese text.

Kane's Chinese wasn't good, and he didn't recognize the person, but he didn't pursue the matter further.

But the camera captured everything; the Chinese text read: "I searched for him a thousand times in the crowd!"
Looking at the photo, Liu Shishi whispered, "Suddenly turning around, I find him in the dim light? This... Kane."

Kane, who was a little afraid of the camera, was about to leave when Liu Shishi called him back, making him quite uncomfortable.

Superstar prospect Sterling is different; he even interacted with the camera, so the show is sure to be a hit.

Liu Shishi told Kane, "After you give the photo to the other person, you must make sure they learn Chinese. At the very least, you should make sure they understand the meaning of this Chinese phrase."

Kane nodded.

"By the way, have you encountered any particularly tough opponents lately?" Lu Kai casually inquired about the two young players' "homework" situation.

Kane answered truthfully, "They all seem rather difficult to deal with."

Liu Shishi was speechless. This talent... it seems unlikely she'll ever be able to develop it.

Sterling thought for a moment and said, "Lingard from Manchester United is stronger, but he's only strong because he's two years older than me."

"At the same age, I'm definitely better than him!"

Sterling was very unhappy that Green Gunners U14 lost to Manchester United U14 a few days ago.

In fact, he and Lingard had known each other for a much longer time.

Back when Green Gunners were still a lower-league team, there was a match where they played away against Chelsea.

Sterling and Lingard both watched the game and were seated next to each other.

Lu Kai's brilliant performance at the time defeated Chelsea, stunning all the spectators.

It was around that time that Sterling and Lingard conceived the idea of ​​"playing like Lu Kai" and wanted to join Dartford.

At the time, Sterling was scouted by the youth academy of Premier League club Queens Park Rangers and was eligible for a trial.

Although Lingard is a product of Liverpool's youth academy, he is unhappy within the team and is applying for a trial with Manchester United.

They both expressed their desire to join the Green Gun youth training camp to their mother.

Sterling received his mother's approval and went to try out for the Green Guns ahead of time. He was accepted on his first try and became the undisputed crown prince of the Green Guns' junior youth training program.

Lingard, disciplined by his mother, suppressed his inner impulse and joined the Manchester United youth academy.

Now, both of them seem to have a bright future.

"Um, the person I met has arrived, I have to leave first..." Kane interrupted Lu Kai's question, his face flushed red, and he kept looking towards the coffee shop entrance.

A chubby little girl with a chubby face was already looking around.

Phew!

The photographer couldn't help but laugh.

So Kane chose the museum café as the date location.

Good boy, there's something there.

It's worth noting that this is one of the more expensive popular spots for social media check-ins in London.

This young man has really gone all out.

"Go, go." Lu Kai let Kane go. No wonder the kid was dressed like that today.

Sterling said with a grin, "The best player on the team each week gets a free coffee shop voucher."

"Kane washed my underwear and socks for a month and changed one! He wanted to treat Katie to a sea salt milk foam ice cream drink! Katie loves it, but it's too expensive..."

Lu Kai's expression was strange.

Washing socks is understandable.

As for underwear...

“That Spall, some of his bad habits are unacceptable,” Lu Kai said earnestly. “You know Ashley Young, right? He didn’t grow tall because he did too many things when he was a child.”

"Go talk to him about this later."

Sterling nodded.

Lu Kai then picked up the phone and dialed the front desk: "Take them to the viewing seats by the window with a river view, don't charge extra."

"And bring them a strawberry cheese Oreo milk tea and two desserts."

"Just say they are today's lucky guests."

A short while later, Ashley Young arrived with milk tea and desserts and announced the good news.

He was also wearing a white shirt and a black vest, exactly the same as Kane.

After Ashley Young left, Kane remarked, "He's a really good guy, but why do I feel like he's a bit like our Green Gun's second GOAT, Ashley Young?"

Ashley Young immediately turned around and stared at Kane with great excitement.

Wait until the other person recognizes you completely, then ask for their autograph!

Katie shook her head repeatedly.

Ashley Young asked, "Does your shaking your head mean I'm not Ashley Young?"

Katie explained, “No. I mean Ashley Young isn’t the vice GOAT.”

Ashley Young was furious: "How dare you say that! You're lying!"

Sterling called out to Ashley Young from upstairs, "Big brother, kids don't lie!"

Ashley Young wiped the table so hard all day that he felt utterly disgusted!
(End of this chapter)