Chapter 79: UEFA Champions League Round of 16, First Round, Audience Sitting on the Bench

"Hello, fellow fans. Next, I will bring you the first leg of the 14-15 UEFA Champions League quarter-finals, Basel vs. Porto at home. I am He Wei, the commentator, and I am Xu Yang."

"Although we are playing at home, Basel's overall strength is still slightly inferior to Porto"

"I believe that the fans in the live broadcast room have also seen the Asian face on the Porto bench. I believe that everyone is familiar with the young player Jiang Yuan. However, I regret to tell you that although Jiang Yuan appeared on the bench, he was not included in the Porto roster."

"Perhaps because of Jiang Yuan's age, Lopetegui chose to bring this young player from our country to watch the Champions League game. This is enough to show that Jiang Yuan's talent has been recognized by the Porto coaching staff."

"According to the latest news, Porto seems to have offered Jiang Yuan a new contract. The salary is not yet clear, but it is reported that the breach of contract is no less than one million euros!"

In the CCTV5 live broadcast room, He Wei and Xu Yang gave a brief opening speech. In the camera, Porto players stepped onto the lawn under the leadership of captain Martinez.

I don't know whether it was intentional or not, but the director gave Jiang Yuan a close-up shot. In front of the screen, Jiang Yuan was wearing a Porto down jacket and sitting on the bench, chewing gum with a wandering look in his eyes. I don't know what he was thinking at the moment.

Although it is now past 3 a.m. in China, this is a Champions League knockout match after all. In addition, the day before the game, a Porto fan studying abroad took a photo of Jiang Yuan boarding the plane with the team.

This attracted a lot of fans who stayed up late to watch Jiang Yuan's game in the live broadcast room.

[Damn it, I just followed the team for a long time. I thought I could play as a substitute for a while like in the league! ]

[Be reasonable. This is the Champions League. You can play if you say so. Xiao Jiang is still young. It will do him no good to be exposed to such a game too early!]

[Although I am not a fan of Porto, I stand on Porto's side today, not for anything else, but because I want to support Jiang Yuan, even if he can't play]

[Haha, Jiang Yuan has come on stage to close the bet, brothers, let's go! ]

[Basel? What kind of team is this? I've never heard of it]

[Are there any friends studying in Portugal who can help me buy a Porto home jersey of Jiang Yuan? The price is negotiable]

[Have you watched Jiang Yuan's interview with the European Youth Federation? That s--- almost made me die of laughter]

[Speaking of interviews, is Jiang Yuan under too much pressure? Fighting on two fronts with such high intensity is too much for anyone, right? ]

[Fighting on two fronts? Portuguese Super League + Portuguese League Cup + Portuguese U19 + European Youth League + Champions League watching, isn’t this fighting on five fronts? 】

……

"At the end of the game, Basel, who played at home, took the lead temporarily thanks to a goal from Gonzalez, but Porto equalized the score in the 79th minute with a penalty from defender Danilo. In the end, the two sides shook hands and made peace with a 1:1 draw."

The Jacob Park Stadium has nearly 4 seats and is almost full. Jiang Yuan also felt the shock brought by Europe's top competition on the spot.

The most striking thing was the transition between attack and defense between the two sides. It can only be said that Lopetegui made the right choice not to add himself to the squad.

If Jiang Yuan came on the court with this frequency of ball transfer and running, he would probably be scolded to death.

"It's better to just stay in U19 and level up!"

Jiang Yuan sighed and followed everyone back to the team's locker room.

“A wonderful goal!”

Jiang Yuan hugged Casemiro. The Brazilian's performance in this game was the best in the entire Porto team. If it weren't for Casemiro on the back line, Porto would have conceded at least 4 goals in this game!

"Jiang, I'm so sorry..."

"Huh? Why are you apologizing? You kicked really well!"

Jiang Yuan didn't quite understand what Casemiro said. Anyone from Porto could take the blame for this game except Casemiro.

Casemiro shook his head and explained: "Not for the game, but because you didn't play..."

Jiang Yuan waved his hands and said indifferently: "What's there to be sorry about? These are all small things. I really can't play in the Champions League with my current strength. This is a fact. I don't care, I don't care, I don't care..."

Jiang Yuan unknowingly said "it doesn't matter" several times, which made Casemiro even more uncomfortable.

Since Jiang Yuan joined the first team, he has been Casemiro's best friend. Jiang Yuan did not get the chance to play, so Casemiro, as a friend, naturally felt sad.

Jiang Yuan noticed the disappointment in Casemiro's expression and quickly said, "It doesn't matter. We should go back. Don't forget, the game is over. We can drink Yakult on the plane. Drink as much as you want!"

"Haha! Jiang, you're right, but I want to make it clear, I really hope you can play!"

"Okay, okay, there's nothing to say. Hurry up and pack your things. Your jersey is still on the ground. Can you put on your clothes before talking to me?"

"Hahaha, Jiang, aren't you the one who hates wearing clothes the most?"
-
The second headline on the front page of "Portugal Football News" - Porto drew with Basel away, Quaresma's performance was mediocre, and fans held a large-scale parade in front of the Dragon Stadium to express their dissatisfaction with head coach Lopetegui.

The front page headline of "Swedish OFFSIDE" - Basel drew with Porto at home, and the team's newcomer Gonzalez performed well and scored his first goal in the Champions League knockout stage.

The front-page headline of "Spanish Marca": In the first round of the Champions League round of 16, Shakhtar drew 0-0 with Bayern, and Bayern's new signing Lewandowski came off the bench and performed brilliantly.

ESPN——Hazard shows superstar style, is his talent not inferior to Melo?
The Sun - The Sun has decided to abandon its 40-year tradition of publishing photos of topless female models on page and instead publish photos of female models wearing underwear and shorts.

"Shoot" - The Chinese youngster signed a new professional contract with Porto, and the termination fee is reportedly as high as one million euros. Is Lopetegui's eye for talent or is Porto eyeing the cake behind Jiang Yuan?

...At night, Jiang Yuan stayed in the dormitory while Felix took a shower outside.

Jiang Yuan is not a person who can stand loneliness, so after joining the first team, he did not move out. Instead, he chose to live in the U17 dormitory building. When he had nothing to do, he would play football with Felix on weekdays.

At first, the Portuguese boy thought that Jiang Yuan was lucky to be selected by Lopetegui and promoted to the first team, but he no longer thought so after training with Jiang Yuan a few more times.

It’s not that Jiang Yuan is so strong, but his speed of improvement is really too exaggerated.

After not playing together for just half a month, Jiang Yuan now almost treated Felix as if he were walking on the road. Every time Felix tried to get rid of Jiang Yuan's defense in disguise, he would end in failure.

This made Felix very depressed, and he also followed Jiang Yuan's example and started to practice secretly. Going out for a shower was actually just a lie.

While Jiang Yuan was lying on the bed, Felix was playing soccer with a group of college students in the small town of Granja in Porto.

Of course, Jiang Yuan didn’t have time to think about why his roommate took so long to take a shower, because his mother called him.

"Mom, you don't have to call me at such a late hour!"

Jiang Yuan smiled bitterly. It was 9 o'clock in the evening in Portugal, which was 7 hours later than China. It was still early morning in China.

Dong Huiqing really took great pains not to disturb Jiang Yuan.

"No, no, Xiaoyuan, I heard from the neighbor next door that you can't play football in Portugal now. Are you okay? Is there anything you need help with?"

Hearing this, Jiang Yuan's mouth twitched. He just sat on the bench and watched the game, but his mother heard that he couldn't play football. These neighbors were truly incredible.

In order not to make his mother worry, Jiang Yuan quickly explained: "Mom, don't listen to them, I can play!"

"But...but, I really didn't see you in the game!"

Dong Huiqing's tone was a little hesitant. She had watched all of Jiang Yuan's games and even became a member of Sina Sports in order to watch the European Youth League.

"Forehead……"

Jiang Yuan realized that in his mother's eyes, if he didn't play in a game, it was something she should be worried about.

"Mom, don't worry. I didn't participate in that competition. I was just a spectator. Believe me!"

"Well... well, Xiaoyuan, if you can't play in Europe anymore, you must tell your parents, okay? Even though your dad doesn't talk, he's the one who always brings up the matter!"

"..."

Whenever Jiang Yuan calls his family, he has an indescribable feeling.

Jiang Yuan opened his phone and took a look at his upcoming schedule. Suddenly he thought of something: "Mom, the next game is in the daytime over there. It's a good time. You must remember to watch it. I have a surprise for you!"

"What surprise? Mom is already old and doesn't want surprises. As long as you live well, that's all. By the way, Xiaoyuan, did you encounter any difficulties in Portugal? Although mom and dad are not very capable, we still have some money."

"Well... Mom, no need. My current salary is more than enough to support my life, and I still have some money left over. You've already spent enough on me. I hope you won't live for me. You can go out more often, travel a bit, and that would be great!"

"By the way, mom, if you hadn't given birth to me, I would have been financially independent and traveling everywhere, hahahaha!"

Jiang Yuan made a joke, but he didn't expect Dong Huiqing's words to hit him again.

"Son, don't say these things. If you are not here, what is the point of mom and dad making more money?"

"..."

"Son, are you still there? Is it my signal that's bad or yours?"

Seeing that Jiang Yuan hadn't spoken for more than half a minute, Dong Huiqing's tone began to become anxious. The voices of Jiang Shengping and Jiang Hao came from the other end of the phone.

"Oh, Mom, it's okay. Believe me, I will definitely make a name for myself!"

After saying that, Jiang Yuan hung up the phone without hesitation, feeling a bit mixed.

Afterwards, Jiang Yuan called Felix.

"Joao, are you done with your bath?"

"What's wrong, Jiang? You look... crying? Were you beaten?"

"Stop talking, come back soon, I have something to talk to you about!"

"Jiang, what's the matter?"

Felix was a little nervous, wondering if Jiang Yuan knew about his extra practice.

"Practice more, practice more, practice more! I don't want to wait for next season or next season. I've waited enough. I want to make a name for myself this season. Come back and play 1v1 with me soon. I just want to dribble past people now."

……

(End of this chapter)