13 Chapter 13

The residence that Francisco Balmond chose for Nagi is near the club, with a small lake and a stretch of woods next to it. It is a place with pleasant scenery. The wind is very calming.

This is an old-fashioned apartment. There are many rooms on the first floor. Each room is relatively small. There are only bathrooms and no kitchen. Balmond said: "Many young players from Genk live here. You can get to know them later. They should all be training on the court now."

After seeing Nagi settled down, Balmond left first. According to his introduction, there is a shopping street not far from the house, where there is a large supermarket and many places to eat. Nagi plans to buy some necessities first, and then eat there.

The team gave Nagi two days to rest, but Nagi soon settled down and visited the city of Genk. After spending a day, he couldn't wait to practice, so he decided to advance reports.

After walking to the stadium, Nagi first went to the logistics department to get all the equipment from sneakers to shirts, and then went to the team doctor for a comprehensive examination. The team doctor was surprised to find that Nagi's physical condition was very good, and he was even in a state where he could directly play the game, so he was allowed to train with the team.

Under the leadership of assistant coach Quick Martin,Nagi came to the court. At this time, the head coach was sitting on the side, and the players were doing warm-up exercises. Nagi respectfully greeted the head coach Aimee Antonis, and the head coach also kindly motioned him to step aside and introduced the situation of the team to him.

"So far this season, we have been under a lot of pressure on our results. Genk is currently ranked 9th in the standings, and there is no hope of defending the championship. There is still a huge gap of 16 points from the European competition."

"The Belgian Cup is also one of our key goals this season, so we need to fight on two fronts for a long time. Mina, you are the strength I must rely on."

After hearing this, Nagi said seriously, "Don't worry, I will definitely do my best."

Antonis smiled and said: "But you don't have to be too nervous. This is your first season in the first season. The intensity and timing of the competition are not comparable to those of the second, so you can spend more time getting used to it. Have faith in you."

After speaking, he took Nagi to the field, signaled the players to assemble, and then introduced Nagi to everyone. As the captain, Aaron Abigail first welcomed Nagi's arrival, and the other players also welcomed him. They responded one after another, and they seemed to be very kind.

However, there are also some unfriendly eyes, who are looking at Nagi. The first is the winger Bobby April who was transferred from the Genk youth training. The arrival of Nagi will directly affect his status. He is very convinced , I came out of the youth training seriously, how could I be compared to a rookie .

The captain of the team, Abigail, led Nagi to introduce his teammates one by one. Everyone exchanged pleasantries for a while, and then Nagi joined them to start the warm-up training.

After starting the formal training, Nagi finally felt what a League One team is. Compared with Genk's training, Verton is was easier . During the training, no matter the intensity of the items or the emphasis on the players, they are far more than the training that Nagi has been exposed to before.

At the beginning, head coach Antonis was worried that Nagi would not be able to adapt, but after a brief adjustment,Nagi did better and better, and the meticulous completion of the project was impressive.

However, the chemistry understanding between Nagi and his teammates is still not enough. Many times he chose to go it alone when he should pass the ball, and he chose to pass the ball when he should be alone, resulting in many mistakes.

But this is not a problem. Antonis believes that with the deepening of training, the tacit understanding between Nagi and his teammates will become higher and higher.

After the training was over, the coach called Nagi over to give encouragement, and then left. Other players also went back to the locker room to pack their things. The locker next to Nagi was a young player, Genk midfielder Karl Bess , he happened to live next door to Nagi's apartment, so the two chatted very speculatively on the training ground.

Bess saw that Nagi was wiping his sweat and was not about to change clothes, so he asked strangely: "Mina, don't you want to change?" Nagi said: "Bess, go back first, I will practice for a while ."

Beth smiled wryly: "After such intense training, you still have the strength to practice more. I really admire you, but don't go too far before you get injured." Nagi smiled and patted his shoulder, expressing that he would pay attention. Then he returned to the training ground with the ball.

While dribbling the football, he thought about the problems that occurred during the training just now. Genk is different from Vertonghen. The midfielders and strikers are both very strong. He no longer needs to support everywhere as before, but should be like a sharp knife. Go straight into the opponent's defensive loopholes.

This requires you not only to be able to stop and dribble the ball, but also to be able to pass the ball. During the training just now, Nagi felt that all the passes were not on point, so he needed to focus on practicing the passing skills, but how to train the passing by himself?

Nagi thought for a while, and first decided to practice fixed-point passing. The practice method is to put a football on the spot, and then bring another football with him, looking for opportunities to kick the ball onto the placed football.

At the beginning, Nagi, who was dribbling the ball at high speed, couldn't accurately pass the ball under his feet to the side of the ball placed in place. He adjusted the strength and angle of his passing, and gradually corrected the ball's rolling trajectory.

After a period of practice, he achieved most of the passes were successfully reached the intended location. However, this method of passing the ball is too simple, and it must not be widely used in actual combat.

So he began to practice more difficult passing, using various parts of his feet to let the ball roll out various arcs to reach the designated position, and even provoke the football to fly to the designated position from above.

Nagi was completely absorbed in the training and forgot the time. In the team building not far away, the head coach Antonis stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows of the office, watching his ecstasy training alone, and couldn't help showing a satisfied smile. Who wouldn't like a hardworking player?

He didn't stop until the lights of the court came on and the staff reminded Nagi that it was late. Back in the locker room, he didn't go home immediately, but did another half an hour of recovery exercise on the fitness equipment, and then took a shower before walking home slowly.

When he got home, Nagi sat by the bed, looked at the empty white wall and thought, when he got his salary, he should buy a TV, and also a VCR so that he could watch videos of other teams.

He thought of the letter sent from home a few days ago, and couldn't help but take it out and look at it. The delicate handwriting on the paper was obviously written by my sister, but it should have been dictated by my mother.

The letter said that he had received Nagi's money and paid off the family's debts. He was surprised that Nagi had earned so much money in a few months, so he asked him to keep some for himself. Don't be too frugal at ordinary times. Athletes need it very much. Nutrition.

The letter also said that everything is fine at home,his sister's job has stabilized, and his sister's grades are also very good, let him not worry, and pay attention to his body and the like. A short letter, full of affection and longing.

Nagi laughed involuntarily, he was a little homesick. However, this made him more determined to play football well and change the fate of the whole family. He picked up a pen and wrote back to them lying on the bedside. There will be more, so that the family does not have to worry.

After finishing writing, he put the letter in an envelope and sealed it, ready to send it out sometime, and then fell asleep beautifull.

Time flies, and the tacit understanding between Wang Feng and his teammates was getting higher and higher on the training ground. After a period of hard training, his passing has also improved a lot.

Since Nagi has not been officially registered, he cannot participate in the league in December, but he still travels as a team member. In the stands, he saw Genk draw with Liers 1:1 at home, draw with Charleroi 0:0 away, and lose 0:4 at home to Segra Brugge.

This made him suffocate a fire all over his body, and he couldn't wait to play immediately. The two draws and one loss also made the head coach Aimee Anthonys furious. In the locker room, he loudly criticized the enthusiasm of the players on the field, "I can't see your determination to win. If this continues, we will play in the Europa League. The goal of the cup is definitely gone!"

In order to recover in the second half of the league, Antonis shortened the winter break and had an extra three days for training before and after the holiday. The players complained quite a bit, but they couldn't resist. Nagi thought it was better this way, he was hoping to train more to improve, but rationally he didn't say this idea, he was afraid of causing public anger.

During this period, he and Carl Beth became good friends. They were young people who live next to each other, so they often go to the training ground together, and occasionally Beth stays to practice with Nagi.

Beth's personality is also similar to Nagi's, he doesn't like unnecessary entertainment, except for training games, he just stays at the residence and watches TV, but he will go back to his hometown Antwerp for Christmas.

Most of the Genk players are Belgians, and there are also some French and Dutch players. They will go home or travel during the winter break. Only Nagi is still in Genk. years.

It is worth mentioning that Nagi bought himself a mobile phone, a small Nokia, and asked his family to buy one, so that they no longer have to wait for long letters.

Normally, his mother would be worried about the phone bill and would not call him more, but when the new year came, she couldn't help but make a long phone call. Hearing the familiar voices of his family members, Nagi felt warm in his heart, and the loneliness in his heart gradually faded away.

On the first day of the new year, the winter break transfer window opened as scheduled, and Genk immediately registered Nagi, which meant that he was able to represent Genk in the game.

Nagi did not wait long, and Nagi ushered in his debut. The first game of the new year, the Belgian Cup 16-to-8 match against Ghent, head coach Aimee Antonis arranged for Nagi to start!

Although the teammates didn't say anything, looking at their questioning eyes, Nagi understood their distrust. It's true. He didn't play a game for a month, but he started in a single knockout match. The head coach's arrangement was indeed bold. A little bit.

Aimee Antonis felt helpless. Genk's striker suffered constant injuries, resulting in a weak attack. He had had enough, so he planned to gamble on Nagi.

At three o'clock in the afternoon on January 12th of the millennium, the Genkrominus Arena, which can accommodate 25,000 people, is already full of seats. The fans of the home team are wearing uniforms, holding cheering banners, and shouting Singing Genk's team song. Even in the entire Belgian professional football league, the enthusiasm of Genk fans can be ranked first.

Together with other players, Nagi came out of the tunnel and saw this spectacular scene. Fans roaring like mountains and tsunami, reporters with long guns and short cannons at the side of the stadium, and the perfect lawn under their feet, all seemed to remind them Nagi, this is the real high-level professional competition, it was just a small fight before.

With the whistle of the referee, the game officially began. After the opening, Genk played unsatisfactorily. The midfielder was suppressed by Gent, and the connection with the frontcourt was not enough, and the ball was frequently intercepted by the opponent.

Nagi also seemed a little uncomfortable on the field. He touched the ball twice, but the defensive player relied on his physical fitness to put pressure on him, forcing him to pass back once, and once he was destroyed beyond the baseline.

The defensive strength of Bi A is indeed not comparable to that of Bi B. Nagi gasped and thought, he is only sixteen years old, and it will be a disadvantage to compete with adult players.

The head coach Antonis frowned. He was wondering if Nagi was under too much pressure and it would be better for him to play as a substitute? He loudly commanded the midfielders to take the ball well and support the frontcourt.

In the 13th minute, Genk sent a set ball from the backcourt. Midfielder Carl Beth leaned on the opponent's defender to forcefully jump and ferry the header. Nagi, who was on the side, quickly started and chased after the ball. The opponent's defensive position was relatively close, and he hurriedly followed, but Nagi was faster and hit the ball first.

But at this time the defensive player has blocked the attacking route, Nagi had an idea, hooked the ball back with his right foot, the ball rolled behind him, and he turned around to chase the ball, the defensive player naturally followed up .

At this moment, Nagi suddenly stopped the football, hit the ball with his left foot, easily dodged the pounced defender, and then broke through from the outside.

For Nagi, the continuous direction-changing spiking action seems to have been engraved into his DNA, and he can do it perfectly subconsciously. The audience on the sidelines were dazzled, and they felt that Nagi had passed the defenders in an instant, and rushed to the frontcourt along the sidewalk.

Without waiting for other defensive players to approach, Nagi looked at the center Caspar Blanche who was following up in the penalty area, imagining in his mind the feeling of finding some passes during training, kicked a curved ball and passed the ball. Successfully leaped over the defender and found Blanche in the penalty area, but this time his header was slightly off the crossbar.

Blanche shook his head regretfully, and gave Nagi a thumbs up. He never thought that Nagi's pass was so accurate, obviously he was very eye-catching when he passed the ball in training some time ago.

The defensive player who was broken by Nagi also broke into a sweat. He stared at Nagi fiercely, and secretly vowed in his heart to guard him to death. So for the next period of time, he followed Nagi closely like a dog's skin plaster. As a result, Nagi didn't have a good chance after getting the ball and could only pass it out.

So Nagi quietly expanded the range of activities and increased his running without the ball. His physical strength has always been good, so he can run a little more, and sooner or later he will wait for the opportunity.

Finally, at the 31st minute, Nagi ran out of space and received the football from the left. He quickly started, and the opposing defender quickly stepped forward to defend. Players have to block. But he turned the ball to his right foot again, and inserted it diagonally from the inside to the edge of the penalty area.

This distance is already enough to threaten the goal. Several defenders of the opponent came to help defend. At this time, Nagi kicked a ground ball with his left foot and accurately sent the ball to the feet of Caspar Blanche who was ambushing on the edge of the small penalty area. .

The attention of the defensive players was attracted by Nagi. Of course, Blanche would not miss this opportunity. He directly hit the ball with a close corner. The goalkeeper missed the ball and scored!

1:0! Genk took the lead.

After scoring the goal, Blanche jumped up excitedly. This goal broke his scoring drought in seven consecutive games. He excitedly ran to Nagi's side, hugged him, and shouted: " You see me, you see me!"

The other team members also gathered around one after another, and everyone formed a group to celebrate. Head coach Aimee Antonis also breathed a sigh of relief. He could feel that with Nagi on the field, Genk's long-sleeping offense seemed to be active again, which was incredible.