Team Spirit

Chapter 256 New Target for the Premier League, A Century-Like Turn with Lightning-Fast Steps
Imperial College London, football field.

A friendly match is underway between the Imperial College London football team and Dartford's "reserve team".

Dartford's lineup is:

Aubameyang, Mandzukic

JR, Ramsey, Henderson, Perisic

Marcelo, Bonucci, Thiago Silva, Smalling
Neuer

-

Green Guns quickly took the lead.

JR and Aubameyang combined to completely overwhelm the opponent.

Their speed advantage is very obvious, and they perform like superstars on the field.

The surrounding students cheered wildly.

Zidane spoke with Lu Kai, who was dressed in a suit, on the coaching bench: "I originally thought that only Real Madrid would be so busy in the summer with business, charity and other activities."

"I didn't expect that Dartford would be even busier."

Lu Kai corrected Zidane, saying, "It's us, Dartford."

Zidane: "Real Madrid's activities are all about money, but what about us?"

Lu Kai pointed to Ashley Young, who was flirting with the female college students around her, and said, "It's all for these people's graduation certificates."

"As a responsible club, I don't want all my teammates to be illiterate or hooligans."

"I hope we can all make progress together, whether in the field of football or in our personal lives, studies, business and other aspects."

"Besides, if your son needs it, he can also get into these prestigious universities through Green Gun's resources. Of course, whether he can graduate depends on himself."

Zidane was moved.

When he was in his teens or twenties playing football, he didn't care about his education, but as a parent, he didn't want his child to lose his normal school life because of playing football.

It's not just about getting a degree, but also about giving him more options in life.

The experiences of high school and college are something that money can't buy later in life.

Southgate added: "This also helps to enhance the attractiveness of our youth academy. Recently, we brought in an excellent midfielder through a partnership project with several universities in London."

Zidane looked at Ilkai Gündoğan on the bench.

This midfielder, who is not yet sixteen, is indeed quite good.

He had heard about the deal from club staff.

This child was a product of Schalke 04's youth academy, but when he was eight years old, he was sidelined for eight months due to an injury, and the team subsequently terminated his contract, causing him great harm.

But he persevered, and at the age of fourteen, due to his outstanding performance, he received another offer from Schalke 04, but this time he rejected them and chose Bochum instead.

Gündoğan performed well in Bochum, but he had to leave this year because he wanted to go to school and take the university entrance exam.

He then contacted the Nuremberg club.

Just then, Dartford's youth academy extended an offer, detailing the team's connections with various universities such as University College London, London School of Economics and Political Science, Imperial College London, King's College London, and the University of Kent, as well as secondary and higher education institutions in London.

Gundogan was instantly swayed and decisively joined the Green Gunners.

This future Manchester City midfield maestro and clutch player only cost 50,000 euros to transfer.

No sooner had they begun speaking than Gündoğan came on as a substitute to play.

Although these new players haven't trained with the team yet, they are already among the best of their age, so playing against a mere school team shouldn't be too difficult for them.

For several days in a row, Lu Kai led the young players to several universities, fulfilling the project's commitments and helping several players in the team complete their enrollment procedures.

He himself is also pursuing a master's degree at the London School of Economics and Political Science.

In a few years, people will be surprised to find that all the Celtics players are PhDs or Masters from prestigious universities, and the fans' keyboard warriors will be even more excited.

……

In August, Green Gunners made two reinforcements to the first team.

They are all young players.

One is Lee Cattermole, 18 years old, 1.78 meters tall, a defensive midfielder.

He came from Middlesbrough's youth academy and made ten appearances for the first team last season, which is quite impressive for his age group.

Earlier in the summer, his professional contract negotiations with Middlesbrough were not going well.

Middlesbrough pressured for lower prices on all fronts, citing Cattelmore's bad temper, excessive card draws, and irrational behavior.

Last season, he was sent off as a substitute when the team was leading, which ultimately led to the team's loss.

A typical troublemaker in England.

When Gareth Southgate learned of this, he helped his former team out of their immediate crisis by inviting Cattermol to join the Green Guns.

And so, after more than a month of delays, Cattermole joined the Green Guns as a free agent.

Mildersburg is really in trouble. Having such an old captain is just unlucky.

In fact, Cattermole's card-snatching career had only just begun.

He received a total of 88 yellow cards and 7 red cards in his career.

In his Premier League career, he gets a card on average every two and a half games.

Vieira had one more red card than him, but he had twelve more yellow cards than Vieira.

It was filthy.

The Celtics have no shortage of foul specialists; there was Barton before, and Pepe after.

But Barton was too famous; after doing so many dirty jobs over the years, it was time for him to enjoy some better days. He committed far fewer fouls than before, only delivering the fatal blow to his opponents at crucial moments.

Zidane: MMP!

Pepe, on the other hand, has difficulty controlling his performance and is prone to getting suspended.

After Cattermole joined the team, he exchanged cards with Pepe, which made him appear more composed.

Another player was also selected by Lu Kaiqin, but after the trade was completed, Green Gun was ridiculed by the entire internet.

Mundo Deportivo: "Lu Kai suffers from a tall stature paranoia and has brought in a mediocre player who plays in the Czech second division."

Diario Sport: "500,000 euros? Lu Kai has been ripped off! Edin Dzeko is not worth that much at all; his career should have been ended this summer!"

1.93 meters tall, 20 years old, midfielder.

Bosnian Edin Dzeko joined the Celtics amidst ridicule.

The reason is that he tried to switch from midfield to striker last season, but it didn't work out well.

Therefore, the outside world believes that he is neither capable of playing in midfield nor as a striker.

In addition, the team plans to loan him to a lower-level competition this summer.

If Green Gun hadn't made the timely purchase request, Dzeko would have been exiled.

A player of this caliber, if you slowly develop him, would cost around 200,000 euros.

But who can blame them when Green Gun wants people?

The other party raised their price on the spot, and eventually the price was negotiated down to 500,000 euros.

However, within Green Gunners, this clearly adds a large-scale substitute striker and substitute midfielder, who are also ready to contribute immediately, making the 500,000 euro price tag worthwhile.

Sheffield United's final transfer this summer came from their youth academy. Having secured promotion to the Premier League last season, the newly promoted team was determined to make a splash in the transfer market.

So they sold off a large number of players they didn't need, and eventually even cut their losses on the youth academy.

Green Gunners' youth academy seized the opportunity to buy 16-year-old academy prodigy Kyle Walker from Sheffield United for a "high price" of 300,000 euros.

This was a deal in which both parties felt they had made a profit.

With this, the Green Guns transfer window has closed.

Zidane looked at the player list and felt like the sky was falling.

What's different about this roster compared to last season?
Even though the key players have all grown a year older, the average age of the Green Gunners squad has not increased; on the contrary, it has become even younger, making them one of the youngest teams in the Premier League and even the top five leagues.

Guardiola's retirement at the age of 35 freed up a huge amount of age space for the team.

The addition of several new players to the first team and youth training team has also slightly lowered the average age.

"Lu, is this really possible?" Zidane looked at the team's goals for the season that had been distributed to the staff, and rushed into the office. "I think it's absolutely impossible."

"With almost the same lineup, the goal last season was to avoid relegation in the Premier League and advance from the Champions League group stage. The result was a mid-table finish in the Premier League and a quarter-final appearance in the Champions League."

"That's really good, but why is the goal this year to win the Premier League title?"

"We'd be lucky to even make it into the European qualification zone (top seven or eight), let alone the Champions League zone (top four), how could we possibly compete for the title?"

Zidane felt that Lu Kai was joking with him.

But soon, Ashley Young and Luka Modric also rushed into the office.

Modric: "Great, Lu, are we finally going to go all out in the Premier League?"

Ashley Young: "Well done, Kai! It's time to let these arrogant old white Englishmen know who the real masters of London are!"

Zidane looked at the two mentally unstable vice-goats and shook his head repeatedly.

Guardiola and Zidane, who followed them in, exchanged a glance, both looking somewhat helpless.

Guardiola has been with the team for a year and a half, and he's won a Champions League title with Green Gunners. He's really happy.

However, based on last season's performance, he also believes that the Green Gunners are not yet ready to contend for the championship.

Judging from his interactions with Lu Kai, Lu Kai never speaks without a purpose.

Does the Celtics really have the strength to contend for the championship this season?

Based on the 6.85 million euros invested in the summer transfer market?

This wouldn't even buy one of Shevchenko's legs.

It costs less than one-tenth of what other teams spend.

That very night, the news made the BBC's headline.

BBC: "Breaking news! According to a veteran German striker, a championship-winning international, and an all-around winger who wishes to remain anonymous, Dartford's goal this season is the Premier League title!"

The news caused an uproar throughout Europe.

"Premier League champions? Did I hear that right? Green Gun?"

"This... I have to say, Lu has gone a little crazy."

"I'd even rather believe that Lu Kai can break 100 goal contributions this season!"

"To be honest, I would believe you if you said Lu Kai scored over 100 goals, but there's absolutely no chance of the Green Gun winning the Premier League title!"

Not only netizens find it outrageous, but even professionals find it difficult to understand.

Ferguson grinned: "Honestly, that's even more ridiculous than Wenger saying Arsenal are going to challenge for the title this season."

Wenger was a little angry: "I know we've spent too little in the transfer market, which is disappointing, but don't compare Dartford to us in any way. We're not in the same league."

Levy: "If a team like Green Gunners can compete for the title, then why can't we, Tottenham, do the same?"

Abramovich: "Forget about winning the title, if Green Gunners can even make it into the Champions League zone, then the teams behind them should just disband!"

Gerrard: "I have absolute respect for Lu Kai and I have absolute faith in his leadership abilities, but the Premier League is a different league. Lu Kai lacks support at Dartford. If we don't make significant signings, he may never win the Premier League title!"

Dartford once again became the most searched club.

The "Champions League Winning Team Predictions," which had previously garnered attention due to the start of the Champions League qualifiers, have been overshadowed by Green Gunners.

Even the Europa League, in which Green Gunners will be participating this season, has seen a surge in viewership.

Teams playing in the Europa League this year have all given Lu Kai a thumbs up.

Sacrifice one team for the happiness of millions of families.

Green Gun died a glorious death!

Thanks to this surge in traffic, tickets for Green Gunners' first-leg Europa League qualifying play-off home game sold out on August 8th!
Ashley Young earns small amounts of money.

Lu Kai made a lot of money.

Everyone has a bright future ahead of them.

……

[Ding! You led your team to victory in the World Cup. You have received a reward:]

[Zidane Moment Card *1]

[World Cup Trophy: Player Item. Increases the abilities of all players in the team who have been selected for the national team by 2%. This item is a limited-time item, valid for four years.]

[Zidane Aura - Special: Enhances a player's resilience under pressure. Players brought on as substitutes will see their performance improve by at least one level.]

[Lingbo Weibu - Messi - Master: Regardless, Messi's dribbling skills represent an insurmountable peak. Your step frequency has been greatly improved. Your left-foot ball-handling ability is comparable to your dominant foot.]

[A Century's Turn - Bergkamp - The Master: This is an artful combination of ball control and dribbling, a turn that transcends a century. Player balance and agility are enhanced. The elegant movement often makes defenders forget to pursue. Improved resistance to dizziness. Temporary boost to explosiveness and speed after dribbling past an opponent.]

[Cadence adjustment: 84+3]

[Balance and Flexibility: 87+3]

The World Cup trophy provides a significant boost, with a total increase of 2%, which is quite substantial, and the key conditions are easy to meet.

Lu Kai holds the power to call up England's young players. He can call up all the young England players in a friendly or warm-up match and enjoy the bonus for four consecutive years.

As for the non-English players in the team, they are mostly from small footballing countries. With the reputation of England, it's only a matter of time before they join the national team.

The phrase "selected" is the essence of the sentence.

As for four years from now... it's estimated that we'll need to win the World Cup again to complete the continuation of the title.

But four years is already great; we can talk about the rest four years from now.

The Zidane Aura is also quite good, with two special effects.

The former enhances the player's mental attributes, which is truly rare.

The latter improves the form of substitute players, which is very much in line with Zidane's future coaching style... a mystery.

The increased step frequency of [Lingbo Weibu] is crucial, but giving Lu Kai's left foot the same ball-touching ability as his right foot is simply abnormal.

Prior to this, Lu Kai benefited from the special effects of "Violent Aesthetics - Adriano - Master", which allowed him to shoot with the same level of skill as his dominant right foot using his left foot.

Now he can touch the ball the same way, which means he has become a bipedal monster like Ribery.

The "Century Turnaround" has a spectacular effect: it often makes defenders forget to pursue, and once it happens, it's bound to be a memorable moment.

Lu Kai then checked his personal panel:

(End of this chapter)