King Of World Football

Chapter 8: Perfect debut

The striker, ecstatic after the goal, celebrated wildly. Wang Feng also eagerly rushed forward to join him. Spotting Wang Feng approaching, the striker raised his hand without hesitation, allowing both to revel in the cheers from the fans.

On the sidelines, Head Coach Mette Magritte was also overjoyed, cheering with his fists raised. Initially resigned to a probable loss due to the apparent difference in strength, the coach didn't expect Wang Feng, his replacement, to deliver such a miraculous performance.

In the subsequent period, Saint-Gilles United launched a frenzied offensive. Unwilling to settle for a win followed by a draw, they aimed for an all-out attack. Meanwhile, Virton adopted a defensive posture across the field. Wang Feng frequently ventured into the backcourt to defend and support, posing a potential threat to the opponent's attacks.

Until the referee blew the whistle for the entire game, the score remained 2:2, and Virton successfully secured a point from the leader! Virton fans still in the stands stood up, cheering for the home team's performance.

The players of St. Gilles United looked listless; a single point was clearly not their goal. Accompanying fans walked out of the stadium in frustration.

In the locker room, the head coach first severely criticized the players' lacklustre first-half performance, expressing displeasure with both offence and defence.

"Whether it's offence or defence, you all did a mess," he admonished.

He acknowledged improved conditions in the second half, singling out Wang Feng for praise. Wang Feng's one pass and one shot significantly contributed to Virton saving a point at home.

"Wang has always had a competitive heart and a desire to win. Some veteran players should learn from it," Magritte smiled kindly at Wang Feng after speaking.

Responding modestly with a smile, Wang Feng recognized the coach's trust, anticipating future playing opportunities.

Upon hearing the coach's praise for Wang Feng, Paul Chuck's face turned as black as iron. Finally given a starting opportunity due to the main player's injury, was this kid trying to snatch it away?

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Despite the spotlight on Wang Feng, even players who usually performed well with Paul had to admit at this moment that Wang Feng proved more reliable.

There was a simple press conference after the game, but the head coach did not want Wang Feng to participate.

He said: "Wang, you are still young, and you have not undergone training for media interviews, so I am worried that you will say something wrong and be reported. Some time back, some players said something and they were misunderstood and excluded."

Wang Feng nodded vigorously to express his agreement. He was not ready to deal with the media yet.

Magritte patted Wang Feng's head: "One day you will face more media and receive more praise. I have a lot of hope for you."

Wang Feng was a little surprised that the coach was so optimistic about him, and was also a little moved. Eager to go to training right away, he didn't play long in the second half, and he still had plenty of energy.

As the coach expected, when he faced the media, everyone asked questions about his 16-year-old player Wang Feng.

The local Evening News reporter from Virton first asked: "Hi coach, the home team fell behind 0:2 in the first half. In the second half, did you replace the 16-year-old Wang to make him perform better, reverse the team's situation, or give up the game? Did you want to train young players?"

Head Coach Mette Magritte replied: "First, as the head coach, I will not give up any game. Wang is an excellent striker. When we are behind, we must put him in. It's about hoping to make a difference."

Hearing his answer, another reporter asked: "Then coach, we can see that after Wang Feng played, the home team made considerable progress in both offence and defence. He is a newcomer, why does he have such an obvious effect?"

Magritte said: "You said that the home team got better offensively and defensively because he played. I disagree, we conceded the goal too early in the first half, so there was some confusion, and the mentality in the second half was tweaked, so it's normal that we got a lot better."

"Wang Feng is undoubtedly a player with high technical ability, but he is still young, many of his skills are still immature, and his experience of the game is slightly insufficient. Football is a team sport, and the performance of one person will not affect the whole team."

"The reason we were able to grab valuable league points from the leader's mouth is inseparable from the efforts of the whole team."

The subsequent questions were about Wang Feng's talent, contract, whether Virton intends to sell, etc., and the head coach responded to them one by one.

It can be said that Wang Feng has proven his worth in just one game. Undoubtedly, as a mid-tier team in the second division of a small European country, their main source of profit is finding potential new players and selling them to high-level leagues.

No matter how helpless the head coach feels, he can only accept that if Wang Feng's wonderful performance can be maintained, he will leave Virton soon.

Wang Feng, coming out of the stadium, headed to the park with a ball and continued his training. In the previous game, he had a chance to score, but at that time only his left foot had the opportunity.

His left foot is still in a semi-disabled state. If he forcefully hit the ball into the goal, he might make others die of laughter, so he gave up the opportunity.

Bring your left foot up to speed! Wang Feng wouldn't get complacent just because of a victory. He aspired to play, score goals, and go on a higher stage.

So, in this secluded corner, a teenager kicked the ball against the wall repeatedly. Covered in sweat, even dripping onto the ground, he didn't give up until it was completely dark.

When Wang Feng returned to the dormitory, he didn't see Renee's figure, so he probably went out to roam again.

Wang Feng remembered that after the game, Renee found Wang Feng and said enviously, "Wang, you are really good. You scored a goal without me playing. Let's celebrate together?"

However, Wang Feng's head was full of thoughts of continuing to exercise at that time, so he declined him politely.

Wang Feng, who is officially on the roster, can get his weekly salary, which is 5,000 Belgian francs, about 900 yuan. This is already a huge sum of money for Wang Feng. At this time, the euro had just emerged, and the Belgian franc and the euro were still being used together.

Virton will challenge Danzig in an away game next week. The head coach gave the players two days off, and after two days of training, he will go to the city where the visiting team is located.

Wang Feng planned to focus on training his own skills for the next two days, and on the way mailed 500 yuan home. This was his first time earning money. Thinking of the financial difficulties at home, he couldn't help but want to earn more money as soon as possible.

Early the next morning, he came to the park to train as usual, and when he was thirsty or tired, he went to the convenience store in the park to deal with it. Next to the convenience store is a news-stand. In the past, Wang Feng would occasionally flip through the newspapers to read the news.

He seemed a little curious today and wanted to see if the newspapers had published his performance. But after looking through it for a long time, the more famous Belgian newspapers "Standard," "Free Belgian Newspaper," "Latest News," and "Evening Post" were not there. According to relevant reports, it seems that the influence of his game is relatively small.

In a local newspaper in Virton, he saw the report of the game, and the front cover of the second goal was a photo of the striker raising his hand in celebration. The headline is: "Perfect debut, 16-year-old boy helps Virton tie the leader."

In this report, Wang Feng was praised so much that he himself was a little embarrassed and slightly happy. After all, he was just a 16-year-old boy; who wouldn't want to read compliments? So he spent money to buy the newspaper for the first time.

When it was time to continue training, he suppressed the secret joy he felt because he knew that he was still far behind the other professional players.