Master Tutoring Class

Chapter 258 Wei Lai Economy
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At the edge of the courtyard, Zhao Xiaotang lit a cigarette and took a deep drag.

Wei Lai, standing to the side, couldn't help but ask, "I remember you didn't used to smoke!"

Hearing this, Zhao Xiaotang grinned; "I have to take them in. After taking charge of the team, there are too many things to coordinate. The kids are too young, and we have to take care of them in every way. The education methods of our generation were a bit rougher. If they didn't listen, we would just beat them. But you can't beat these kids now. You can only reason with them slowly. But do you think it will work to reason with a child?"

Wei Lai couldn't help but smile: "You've worked hard!"

“Sigh!” Zhao Xiaotang shook her head; “Everyone goes through this. It gets better after this age, since you’re still too young.”

After he finished speaking, his gaze became somewhat unfocused, as if he were lost in memories.

"I don't know if it's because I'm getting old, but I always think about the past. You guys entered the football school when you were 9 years old. A lot of people came and a lot of people left. I wonder what those kids who left are doing now."

Zhao Xiaotang was somewhat saddened.

Football is a cruel sport. The path to advancement is transparent, but very few actually lead directly to the other side.

Many of these young players were practically raised by Zhao Xiaotang.

From a tiny slug to watching them grow up, eventually taller than themselves, how could they not develop any feelings after such a long period of contact?

This is why he always showed a mixture of relief and complex emotions when he looked at Wei Lai.

He was a quiet little guy in my memory, but in the blink of an eye he has become a professional player, even competing in European competitions.

Zhao Xiaotang wanted to pass on more experience and knowledge to the children, but she was always worried about them. However, she found that she no longer knew what to teach them.

Is Guo Fan still in Brazil?

Wei Lai took the initiative to change the subject, feeling that if they continued talking, Coach Zhao would be on the verge of tears.

Zhao Xiaotang nodded and took a drag of his cigarette: "He's already in the first team. I thought it was too risky for him to insist on going to Brazil, but now it seems his decision was right."

Guo Fan today is completely different from before.

Whether it's interpersonal skills or football techniques.

"Guo Fan works very hard, and he has the advantage of speed and explosiveness, so he will definitely make it big," Wei Lai said.

"His career is purely based on youth!" Zhao Xiaotang rubbed his temples. "You should know that players like him rely on speed and explosiveness, but they are too vulnerable to risks. Compared to others, players like him may be able to make it big faster, since their speed is their most obvious and effective characteristic. But once they reach a certain age, their bodies age, and their performance begins to decline, they are also the fastest to be eliminated."

Wei Lai: "Actually, Guo Fan has a very good mindset, and I believe he can maintain his current state."

"hope so!"

Zhao Xiaotang nodded, then looked at Wei Lai.

"Actually, among all these people, you are the one I'm most worried about."

"Me?" Wei Lai pointed to himself in surprise; "I'm perfectly fine!"

Zhao Xiaotang looked at Wei Lai and suddenly asked:
"Tired?"

Wei Lai was stunned for a moment.

"You probably don't follow domestic short video or social media platforms, right? Or rather, you're consciously avoiding them."

Wei Lai remained silent.

Zhao Xiaotang sighed, "It's probably a good thing they don't want to watch. Too many people have high expectations of you. Chinese fans are like a group of drowning people; they'll tear at and pull at anything that can support them. Many people say, 'Just play your football well,' but it's not that easy. Our country finally has a player who can establish himself in the Dutch league, and he's only 17. I understand the strong reaction, but no one can help you with this; you have to digest it yourself."

"Don't put too much pressure on yourself. I know you well. Sometimes when you're under pressure, you do some blind training, but that will only hurt you."

He patted Wei Lai on the shoulder; "Keep in touch with He Chaoyue, Xiang Ming and Chen Shaojie, it's good to chat. You all have such a good relationship and you all play football abroad, so stick together for mutual support. Talking to each other is also a way to relieve stress."

Wei Lai nodded; "I understand!"

Zhao Xiaotang, with a cigarette between her fingers, pointed at Wei Lai and shook her head, saying, "I understand now. He obviously didn't listen. You've always had this problem since you were little. You agree so quickly, but you're as stubborn as a mule when it comes to your own ideas."

"Alright, you know your situation better than anyone else, and there's nothing I can do to help."

Zhao Xiaotang stubbed out her cigarette, turned around, and gently hugged Wei Lai.

"Thanks for your hard work!"

Wei Lai grinned, but didn't say anything.

Many people feel that they are under a lot of pressure, and they think he is a pioneer walking on a dark path.

But only Wei Lai knew that he had many people helping him.

He wasn't actually confused.

Coaches like Ferguson, Casemiro, Kanté, and Beckham.
They were all helping him, sharing their experiences with him, and telling him what to do.

Although the circumstances are different, there are many lessons to be learned, and with these alone, Wei Lai can handle many things.

After lunch, Wei Lai watched Zhao Xiaotang and the others leave on the bus.

He didn't have time to entertain them after that, as the league and Europa League were still ongoing, so it was a way of saying goodbye in advance.

In the afternoon, Wei Lai rode his electric bike to the training base.

"Robin, let's practice passing and running!"

Wei Lai took the initiative to approach Robinson, and once the relationship was established, he always addressed him by his nickname.

For example, Robinson is Robin, and Dennis Chilburne is Dennis.

Robinson was surprised, but also a little pleased.

After all, Wei Lai took the initiative to ask him to cooperate with the training; in the past, he was always the one asking Wei Lai.

"No problem!" Robinson rubbed his hands together, eager to get started. "What should we practice?"

Wei Lai looked at Robinson and said, "In attack, our options are mostly to transition from the strong side to the weak side, or to penetrate through the middle. Our main attack comes from Lehmann on the left wing. But now, as the league progresses, many teams have realized these problems. They are paying more and more attention to blocking our left wing, forcing us to choose more central penetration or set pieces. I'm wondering if we can break through directly from the strong side?"

"A hard drive?" Robinson asked, somewhat surprised.

It's not that it's impossible, but it might take some effort.

Wei Lai looked at Robinson: "It's not about making strong breakthroughs, but about suddenly tearing apart the defense with a series of one-touch passes. We'll pass to you, and you run to your position!"

Wei Lai formed this idea largely after experiencing Arsenal's matches.

That kind of fluid passing and movement, using a single pass to deliver a penetrating ball while the opponent is disoriented.

This type of attack not only requires the passing player to have good vision and timing, but also requires the winger to have a keen sense of smell.

“But then the two of us won’t be enough,” Robinson said. “We might need Felix, Danny, and Mussal to join the training.”

The meaning of this statement is very clear: he can't get these people to do anything, and they're not going to give him any face either.

Robinson had a good relationship with Dennis Chilburn, but he didn't have much interaction with Felix and Mussal.

“I’ll call them,” Wei said confidently.

Although he wouldn't call himself a social butterfly, he was quite popular with the first team in Amsterdam.

After the afternoon training session ended, Wei Lai called over all his teammates.

"A series of one-touch passes, a combination of passing and running on the strong side, plus a forward run?"

Musar quickly understood Wei Lai's meaning. He stroked his chin and said, "The idea is good, but to make it effective, it will require a lot of understanding and basic skills from the players."

Felix: "It's a bit like Mosktl's style of play, which requires a lot of consistency."

Wei Lai nodded; "So, let's practice first and build up our teamwork. It might not work, but once we do, we'll be able to pose a threat on the left flank. Then we can attack from both flanks, and feints can turn into real attacks. The opponent's defense will be even more confused."

Robinson didn't speak; he was too embarrassed to interrupt.

After all, once this strategy was established, he was the biggest beneficiary.

Amsterdam's right wing has always been the sacrificial party, drawing fire for Lehmann's left wing.

But following Wei Lai's plan, it worked.

So Robinson went from drawing fire to becoming one of the main attackers. "Give it a try!"

Dennis Chilbone suddenly spoke up: "If our goal is the Champions League, then our approach is too simplistic. Champions League teams have very complex and rigorous tactics. Our approach might not work at the Champions League level!"

Musar and Felix exchanged a glance.

They all felt it was worth a try.

To put it bluntly, this group of people has a very good work attitude, which makes sense.

If they were rotten people or guys with a bad work attitude, they wouldn't spend time practicing these things. They'd be too busy indulging in pleasure to have time for extra training!
Without hesitation, a group of people enthusiastically began extra training.

Wei Lai was responsible for proposing the idea, but Musar led the implementation.

He has studied this style of play and has encountered similar opponents, so he is quite familiar with it.

"First, it's a one-touch pass, then it's a run. After each pass, you have to create a completely new space, whether it's forward or backward. At the same time, when a teammate has the ball, no one can slack off. Everyone has to move over and increase the number of receiving points."

At this point, Musar looked at Wei Lai; "What's the key point?"

Wei Lai grinned; he was being tested again.

"change!"

Musar smiled and nodded; "Bingo!"

"A sudden change, this change can be in any direction, but it must be a conscious effort to guide the opponent towards the direction the ball is being passed, and then... a penetrating key pass!"

boom! boom! boom!
The setting sun painted half the sky red, but the training grounds of Amsterdam Arena were still bustling with intense training.

Morton and Pechamp stood outside the fence, watched for a while, and then both couldn't help but smile.

"A strong attack tactic on the right flank?" Morton nodded with a smile, then looked at Peschan: "Go and keep track of the training content and give some guidance as needed!"

Pessan laughed, "I'm very good at this!"

Before retiring, Pešan played for Mosktl.

They are very familiar with this style of play.

"By the way, I heard the club wants to talk to Wei?" Peshang asked after hearing some news.

Mr. Morton nodded: "Not just the club, but also the city hall!"

"Huh?" Peschan was stunned; "Did he get into some trouble?"

its not right!
Wei Lai has always been very well-behaved!
Of all these players, Wei Lai is the most worry-free.

He doesn't seem like the type to cause trouble, so why would the city hall want to talk to him?

"Don't worry, it's not a bad thing!" Old Master Morton waved his hand, but didn't explain anything further.

In the evening, Wei Lai finished his training camp.

He rode his electric bike home, and as soon as he reached his doorstep, he saw a black Mercedes-Benz parked in front of him.

Wei Lai curiously leaned closer, and the car window slowly rolled down.

Hilary Roy sat in the car, munching on a hot dog, and chuckled:
"good evening!"

Wei Lai invited Elant Roy into his villa.

Wei Lai was also surprised by Roy's arrival, after all, Roy was not someone who would show up casually unless there was something important to do.

But Wei Lai felt that nothing major was happening around him!
"Would you like some water?" Wei Lai asked.

Roy shook his head and pointed to the sofa, saying, "Please sit down. We're short on time, so let's get straight to the point."

Wei Lai nodded and walked over to sit down.

Diego Ruma was perceptive enough to go straight upstairs and give the two of them a private space to talk.

"What happened?" Wei Lai asked.

Roy looked at Wei Lai and suddenly sighed, "I underestimated the expectations your compatriots have for you. I just received a call from the mayor of Amsterdam, so I rushed over by plane without stopping."

"Huh? The mayor of Amsterdam?" Wei Lai was stunned.

Roy nodded; "That's right, the mayor called me personally, hoping to facilitate this cooperation."

"What kind of cooperation?" Wei Lai was still puzzled.

Roy: "Tourism Ambassador!"

Wei Lai blinked and pointed to himself; "Me?"

"That's right! It's you!"

Roy coughed and said, "You probably don't have a concept of this yet, so let me explain it to you in a simple way."

“You joined Atlético Amsterdam in January and started getting regular starting opportunities at the end of last season. This has boosted your compatriots’ enthusiasm for traveling to Amsterdam and promoted the city’s tourism economy.”

Wei Lai remained dazed.

Roy could only explain in more detail: "For example, don't you have a compatriot playing in Ligue 1? In order to develop your commercial value, we also conducted research on him, and to be honest, it scared us a bit."

"Montpellier, the eighth largest city in France, is a city that doesn't exist or has no concept of to people on the other side of the world. But now, Montpellier's reputation is starting to gain attention in your country."

"When Li joined Montpellier, more than ten domestic brands, including GF Technology, Sunshine Insurance, and Bingcheng Automobile, sponsored the club. The jersey sponsor also changed from a French brand to a Chinese sponsor. The total amount of these sponsorship contracts was tens of millions of euros, which greatly improved the club's financial situation!"

"There's also the revenue from media rights. Ligue 1 matches aren't valued, and Montpellier is an insignificant team among them, but because of Li, their matches have become mandatory for broadcast."

"Sales of jerseys and related merchandise have exploded. Lee's number 21 jersey for Montpellier sold out within hours of going online, even surpassing the number of jerseys sold by the star player at one point."

"The value of social media and the fan economy: the number of fans on the club's social media accounts is growing exponentially, and the amount of interaction is increasing dramatically."

Roy swallowed, feeling his mouth dry.

"Is there water?"

Wei Lai immediately ran over and got a glass of water. The latter moistened his throat and continued:

"These all contribute to the club's revenue. The tourism industry, driven by the 'football pilgrimage,' is booming. Every Chinese tourist's arrival will inevitably increase revenue from airfares, hotels, restaurants, shopping, sightseeing, and so on."

"The enhancement of the city's brand image and popularity has transformed Montpellier from an unknown city into a popular city in China thanks to Li."

"And these factors have led to a booming investment and business cooperation between the two countries."

Hilante Roy stared at Wei Lai: "And Li is just a rotation player for Montpellier. He can't be called an absolute starter, but he has already brought such an effect. And do you know how much economic benefit you have brought to the club and the city of Amsterdam?"

Wei Lai shook his head.

Roy said seriously, "I have no way of knowing the city's data, but I do know that from January last year until now, Atlético Amsterdam has earned a full 8000 million euros from you alone!"

“Athletic Amsterdam’s annual budget is 170 million euros, and you alone are responsible for almost half of that club’s expenses!”

Roy leaned back slightly and said with a cheerful expression, "We're in a position to negotiate."

This was Ilante Roy's first time taking charge of Chinese players, and he didn't have much experience, so he worked with them in the same way he worked with European players.

He valued the Chinese market behind Weilai, but he never imagined how crazy this super market was!

Wei Lai has brought such great economic benefits to the Amsterdam Athletic in less than a season.

In the future, if Wei Lai joins one of the top five European leagues and teams, he can't even imagine what crazy moves Wei Lai and the Supermarket behind him will make.

That's a huge country with a population of 1.4 billion!

The key point is that these people are almost exclusively targeting Wei Lai.

Because there's only one of them!
This is why Roy rushed over without stopping; from now on, he will personally handle everything for Wei Lai.

If Wei Lai were to join one of the top five European leagues, the economic benefits he would bring would be almost comparable to those of superstars.

If Wei Lai makes a name for himself in one of the top five European leagues, or even becomes a superstar, then it's unimaginable what will happen.

(End of this chapter)