Rising Star

On May 11, at Tianjin Binhai International Airport, Zhou Feng received a call as he left the terminal. He checked the caller ID noticing that it was his nephew calling so he answered the phone. "Hello..."

"...Uncle Zhou, this is Liu Yuhao. I heard you're back in China? How's the situation going with what we talked about last time? It's almost June..."

"Xiao Liu, as I mentioned before, I can't guarantee your opportunity to go to Europe. There are limited spots, and the clubs have certain requirements..."

"Uncle Zhou! Please, can't you make an exception for me? "

Zhou Feng shook his head and sighed. "Xiao Liu, there's no need for this. I don't handle football for profit. I no longer run a club, so there's no need for this discussion."

Liu Yuhao was quiet for a moment before asking,

"Uncle Zhou, are their really no spots available? Even if it's any spot I'll take it"

"I can't guarantee it. I'll update you on the situation in June."

"Alright... I'll wait for your message, Uncle Zhou."

After the busy tone sounded, Zhou Feng looked at his phone, thankful that he didn't boast about confirming his plans with the caller. After Xu and Bao's call, expressing their intentions, Zhou Feng had been thinking about it.

In addition to his main business of importing and exporting medicinal herbs in Europe, Zhou Feng also ran a company as a player agent, focusing mainly on sending Chinese players to Europe. During this time, he had a small roster of players. One reason was that he wasn't in it for profit, but rather out of passion. The second reason was that only a handful of Chinese players could find success in Europe without having Chinese background connections. Otherwise, it would be too challenging.

Xu Genbao mentioned a player he considered important. The information was already sent to his email. The player was named Qi Ce and played as a striker. Although Zhou Feng hadn't yet seen the player, based on Xu Genbao's words, he already had Qi Ce in mind for the position.

As for the young man named Liu Yuhao, 19 years old, he played for the Shanghai Seven Stars Club, previously Shanghai Zhongbang. This season, Liu Yuhao is a regular substitute player in the Chinese League.

He hopes to go abroad to Europe because his girlfriend is about to study abroad. He himself hopes to "gain some experience" before returning, hoping to be noticed by a Super League team.

But to be honest, Liu Yuhao's ability as a substitute in the Chinese League is limited. Even if he goes abroad, he would likely only stay in the youth team for a year or two before returning to China, which is just sad.

If Zhou Feng were in it for the money, he could certainly send Liu Yuhao abroad, but he's doing it more out of passion. He has already achieved financial freedom, so he doesn't need to compromise for money.

So he decided to see Qi Ce in person before making a decision.

This was Qi Ce's first away game with the team. Qi Ce initially thought the team would fly there, but they ended up taking a train, which took over nine hours. (T/N: sitting this long will disfigure my ...)

In 2007, the Beijing-Shanghai high-speed railway had just been approved, so construction had not yet begun. From Shanghai to Tianjin, they could only take a high-speed train. After all, for a Chinese League Two team, tickets for over twenty people on a plane were a significant expense. Switching to train tickets was more affordable.

Grassroots football is tough to manage. In the Chinese League Two, which has little attention people like Xu Genbao who spend money and succeed for these kinds of games are rare. Most other people end up wasting money without even succeeding.

Team salaries, maintenance of the stadium, training grounds, dormitories, player meals, and travel expenses are all long-term significant expenses. China has a large land area, so traveling for an away game in Europe means spanning most of the continent. Sometimes expensive travel expenses can overwhelm a team.

Unless you have the resolve like Xu and Bao to spend ten years to succeed, the Chinese League Two has almost no return, which is also why domestic lower-level league teams frequently split, often disbanding after two years of playing.

Today's game, the opponent's strength isn't considered strong on paper, but sitting on a train for so long somewhat affects the players' condition.(T/N: No sh*t, Sherlock)

[Activating New skill Star Birth]

Before the game started, Qi Ce was still on the starting list. The new star birth skill was activated, allowing Qi Ce to freely add five attribute points.

"Last year, the opponent finished seventh in the North District. They were formed by the Tianjin Sports Bureau and have extensive experience. They are older and taller, but nothing to fear."

Thinking back to Xu Genbao's words, Qi Ce decided to distribute the five attribute points between explosive power and flexibility. Explosive power increased by one point and flexibility by four points, bringing explosive power to 16 and flexibility to 14.

Sure enough, the opponent was taller than the last league opponent! All four defenders, including the two center-backs, were around 1.9 meters tall. The full-backs were 1.8 meters, and the defensive midfielder seemed nearly 1.9 meters tall. In front of the Chongming children, they were nothing but witches meeting smaller witches. The only players who could compare with their height were the team's two goalkeepers, Gu Zhuo and Yan Junling.

As expected, they were tall enough but extremely slow. Not only were they slow in absolute speed, but also in reaction sensitivity and flexibility. The defender, who had been turning for half a century, was quite embarrassed in front of the flexible Qi Ce!

Qi Ce didn't quite adapt to the opponent's movements in the opening phase, but as the game progressed, he gradually mastered the rhythm.

In this match, Qi Ce's striker partner changed to Lu Wenjun, who was also the only tall player among the attackers on the frontcourt. Lu Wenjun headed a long ball from the backcourt directly, and Qi Ce, who had already run half an opening, finally got an opportunity.

The Tianjin players were incredibly aggressive. Although their turning speed was half a beat slower, seeing Qi Ce leave his position and catch up with the ball, the tall defender slid from the diagonal behind him, almost throwing himself out!

Usually, Qi Ce would have had no time to react and would be kicked to the ground! This kind of rough tackle could cause serious injuries! But the increase in flexibility attributes made him react almost immediately, allowing him to leap and flexibly avoid the fierce tackle!

Xu Genbao stood up and stared at Qi Ce. After dodging the tackle, Qi Ce faced the goalkeeper one-on-one and easily scored to break the deadlock!

"Is this even football! Huh? This is useless!" Xu Genbao was not pleased with the goal, expressing dissatisfaction on the sidelines. He shouted at the referee.

On the other side, the coach of the Toray team, Tianjin football star Shen Furu, looked pale. He looked at his former national teammate Xu Genbao and then at the field, but ultimately said nothing.

In the stands of the Dongli Sports Center Stadium, a few scattered fans arrived. Most were relatives and friends of the Tianjin team. Some media and staff were present, including Zhou Feng.

The Toray team lost the ball, and the fans in the stands expressed regret, but Zhou Feng's eyes brightened. He nodded in satisfaction. The shot was very calm, the push angle very sharp. Not to mention this level of goalkeeper, few in Europe could save it.

Of course, a single shot should go in, and the goalkeeper wasn't to blame.

The front tackle evasion was also very agile, the movements smooth and fluid, unlike most yellow Asian players. Generally speaking, Asian players' movements are relatively "tight" and uncoordinated, but Qi Ce is different.

Before the game, Xu Genbao met with Zhou Feng and mentioned that Qi Ce has the looks and style of Asian players, the tactical awareness of European players, the physical fitness of African players, and his skills were solid and could be developed over time. He emphasized that Qi Ce is talented.

Additionally, he was under fifteen years old. Although Chinese people often exaggerate age, saying sixteen years old, in football, they go by actual age.

In the current environment where changing ages is prevalent in Chinese football, the base is different. For the National Games and the London Olympic qualifiers, Xu Genbao is training players in the younger age group, targeting students of that age. Unless someone changes it before joining at the base, the players coming out of the base must be of actual age.

As a domestic football expert familiar with Europe, Zhou Feng knows that players like Qi Ce in China are not afraid of being unable to play. However, they may be limited by their potential. A player with 100% potential staying in China and not going to Europe would likely only reach 60-70% of their potential.

The one-goal lead was maintained until the end of the first half. Qi Ce had several more shots, but the opponent made a lot of disruptive moves, preventing him from scoring.

At the beginning of the second half, the Toray team's style remained unchanged. Qi Ce was thankful that he added flexibility before the game, making it difficult for the opposing players to foul him.

Soon, the East Asian team scored the second goal. Qi Ce cut in from the left and scored with his right foot. This ball started from the left side of the penalty area and carried the ball all the way to the penalty spot. Qi Ce didn't initially intend to be so alone, but the Toray team's defensive actions were so intense that Qi Ce had to dodge several positions to get the ball.

In a fleeting moment, Qi Ce seized the opportunity and scored the second goal.

As soon as the goal was scored, Xu Genbao felt relieved and instructed Zhu Zhengrong to protect himself and avoid injury, then decided to substitute Qi Ce out of the game.

In the rest of the match, winger Wang Yunlong intercepted an opponent and scored a goal to secure the game. Toward the end, the Toray team pressed forward with all their players. Using their height advantage, one of the Toray team's central defenders headed in a goal, bringing the final score to 3-1.

Two wins in two games, with the team's top scorer Qi Ce having scored three goals in the two games. Although the match had some unpleasant moments, Xu Genbao rarely smiled, but he did manage to crack a smile after the game.

The team's schedule was still quite tight. Right after the game, they had to quickly return to Shanghai. They barely had time to take a shower at the hotel before boarding the train back to Shanghai. It looked like they would be spending the night sleeping on the train.