Chapter 93 Sorry, I am the first to start today

On April 4, Portuguese time, which was Jiang Yuan’s 2th birthday, in the Portuguese League Cup semi-finals, Madeira Navigation played against Porto at home.

"Good evening, fellow football fans. Today we are bringing you the Portuguese League Cup semi-final between Madeira Marine and Porto."

"The day before the game, Porto officials announced on Twitter that the first-team youth players were not included in the team's roster for this game because they had to take a math test at the Porto Youth School."

"It is worth mentioning that Jiang Yuan also celebrated his 17th birthday today, and the professional clause in the player's contract was officially activated. From today on, Jiang Yuan's weekly salary reaches 2200 Euros, which is the last in the first team..."

"Let's enjoy this upcoming game!"

[Fuck, we still have to take math exams when we are playing in the Portuguese Super League? What a waste of time! ]

[No Jiang Yuan? Bye, I'm going to sleep! ]

[I heard that a certain spring brand was rejected by Jiang Yuan for being the spokesperson? What's going on? ]

[I am really confused, can I hand in the paper early? ]

[I read the news from Porto's official media. Jiang Yuan has finished the exam, but he cannot arrive one hour before the game, so he is not eligible to play.]

[Brothers, go back to sleep. There are no games to watch today. Go to bed early.]

[A true Porto fan will never stop watching the game just because Jiang Yuan is not there, but I’m sorry, I’m really sleepy today, so I won’t watch it for now, bye! ]

[Hahaha, +1]

[I no longer have that feeling of anticipation for the second half. I suddenly feel quite bored. Why would I stay up late without Jiang Yuan?]

[Let me see if there are any games next door. Damn, why are there no Premier League or La Liga games today? It’s so sad! ]

Seeing the number of people in the live broadcast room decreasing little by little, A Kun felt very upset, but he believed that as long as he persisted in the live broadcast of Porto, he would become the number one anchor on the Happy Beans platform one day!

2 hours later.

"Okay, dear fans, after two hours of hard play, Madeira Marine defeated Porto 2-1 at home, and the Portuguese Super League giants officially stopped in the Portuguese League Cup semi-finals"

"Brothers, I can't hold on any longer. I'm going to sleep too. See you tomorrow night. Bye~"

……

On the morning after the loss, the cafeteria of the first team at the Gaya Training Center was gloomy. Everyone was eating their own buttered bread and egg tarts, and no one spoke.

It is certainly painful to lose, especially in a competition like the Portuguese League Cup. It is indeed very important. After all, this competition brings together all the strong football teams in Portugal to play together.

But in this kind of elimination match, if you don't win a championship, it means that all the previous games have been played in vain, especially for Porto. When it reached the semi-finals, there were no strong teams ahead of them and they were just one step away from the championship. As a result, Madeira Navigation came out of nowhere and directly overturned Porto.

Seeing the disappointed Casemiro unexpectedly come to the cafeteria to eat breakfast today, Jiang Yuan took his plate and sat over: "Carlos, are you okay?"

Casemiro saw Jiang Yuan coming and went to the bar to get a bottle of iced Yakult.

Jiang Yuan took it, opened the lid of the Yakult, and talked to Casemiro: "Thank you, but I hope you can get out of your depression more than iced Yakult."

Casemiro smiled bitterly and said: "Jiang, you don't know, we haven't won any championship this season. Originally, the Portuguese League Cup championship should have been ours, but we played so badly yesterday and really don't deserve this championship."

Jiang Yuan drank the Yakult in one gulp and replied, "What are you afraid of? We still have the Portuguese Super League and the European Championship... You still have the Champions League!"

Originally, Jiang Yuan wanted to say, "We still have the Portuguese Super League and the Champions League," but when he remembered that he couldn't even make the roster in the Champions League, he changed his words to "You still have the Champions League."

Hearing this, Casemiro still frowned: "We look strong this season, but anyone who knows a little about football can see that our midfield and frontcourt are very unstable."

"We are now four points behind Benfica, but Benfica has one game less, so it's not wrong to say the gap is seven points. As for the Champions League... To be honest, I didn't expect to win the Champions League this season."

Casemiro was telling the truth. Porto's situation this season is a bit awkward. They can't be said to be very strong, but they can't be said to be very weak either. They were in the semi-finals of the Portuguese League Cup and second in the Portuguese Super League, and they were just one step away from the championship, but they just couldn't win it.

This feeling of not getting what you want is the most uncomfortable!
Jiang Yuan sighed: "What a pity, I couldn't participate in the competition yesterday"

Jiang Yuan was so angry when he thought about the fact that he didn't play in yesterday's Portuguese League Cup because of the math test. He only had two classes a week in the Porto Players School, and each class lasted less than 70 minutes. But this week happened to be the math test, and it coincided with the game.

Jiang Yuan tried every possible way to be able to participate in the competition, but Portugal's youth football training system is too mature. As long as Jiang Yuan is still listed in the U19, he must take the exam and there is no room for compromise.

The result was that when Jiang Yuan rushed back to the base after the exam, the bus had already left.

Casemiro laughed and said, "Haha, Jiang, how did you do in math? I had a hard time with math when I was in the youth training!"

Jiang Yuan licked his lips and said, "To be honest, given the difficulty of this math test, even a primary school student in our country can get 80 points (the full score for the youth training school exam is 80 points)
"Oh?"

Casemiro raised his eyebrows and opened his mouth: "So you mean you can get 80 points?"

Jiang Yuan shook his head: "No, I should have 75 points. I made a mistake in one of the math problems..."

"Jiang, didn't you say that all the elementary school students here got full marks?"

Jiang Yuan waved his hand and explained seriously: "Primary school students can get full marks, but the problem is that I am a high school student. It is not normal that I can't get full marks on this kind of arithmetic problem."

"Okay, Jiang, you're right. I'm beginning to envy you!"

Casemiro's sudden change of subject stunned Jiang Yuan, and a large piece of buttered bread almost got stuck in his throat.

"Ahem, what do you envy me for?"

"You can still participate in the European Youth League. With your ability, it will be no problem for you to win the championship."

Casemiro said seriously that although he has not won a championship this season, he has an instinctive desire for the championship. Now Casemiro hopes that he is not yet 19 years old and can sign up for the UEFA Youth League to win a championship, but the fact is that he is already in his twenties and there is no way for him to participate in the UEFA Youth League.

Although the UEFA Youth League is only a echelon competition, it is also a large-scale European competition with many scouts gathered.

Jiang Yuan swallowed the bread in his mouth and waved his hand: "It's hard to say. The semi-finals will be played in a week, and I don't know if I can win."

Casemiro raised his eyebrows: "No, you can already be a substitute in the first team, so playing for the U19 team is not a small matter, right?"

"Who knows..."

Jiang Yuan interrupted with a wet wipe, his eyes a little wandering, no one knew what he was thinking about.

……

On April 4, before Porto's match against Estoril, Lopetegui gathered everyone together, which was Porto's classic pre-match procedure.

Before boarding the team bus, Lopetegui will announce the starting lineup of the game within the team. The purpose is to allow the starting players to have some mental preparation, and to allow the substitute players who did not start to have some psychological buffer time so as not to affect their performance in the official game.

Although this is true, in a top team like Porto, the starting lineup is almost fixed, so the first-team players who are gathered together are not as excited as imagined, and just treat it as an insignificant pre-match procedure.

"First of all, it's Fabiano, the goalkeeper"

"The four defenders are Marcano, Danilo, Alex Sandro and Indi. It's still you four. Remember, you have to keep your defense tight in today's game because we are playing a high-position tactic and the backcourt is easily penetrated."

After hearing Lopetegui's instructions, Marcano and others nodded quickly. In the last away game against Madeira Navigation, the performances of the four of them were very bad, and none of them scored more than 4 points.

“Well, then midfield.”

"Hector, Casemiro, Torres..."

"In the frontcourt are Ricardo and Abubakar, and..."

When he said this, Lopetegui suddenly stopped, looked at Brahimi in front of him, and continued.

"River""?"

The moment Lopetegui read out Jiang Yuan's name, all the players of the first team looked at Jiang Yuan who was standing on the far left. The latter was chewing gum with his eyes wide open. He had never expected that he would be the starter of this game.

With captain Martinez injured and out, Brahimi is undoubtedly the first choice substitute on the left wing.

However, considering Brahimi's poor performance in the last game, Lopetegui decided to use Jiang Yuan.

The players' mouths opened wider and wider. "Little brother, you are only 17 years old and you are already starting in the Portuguese Super League?"
Seeing that the players were confused, Lopetegui looked around and asked symbolically: "Does anyone have any questions about the starting lineup?"

Finally, someone raised their hand.

The person who raised his hand was Jiang Yuan, and now he is looking into Lopetegui's eyes.

"Jiang, do you have any questions?"

Jiang Yuan licked his lips and said, "Mr. Hu Lun, I want to know why I suddenly started in this game."

"Porto is in great need of a winger who can use both feet, and you, Jiang, don't have a weak foot, which is obvious. I need to see what effect I can get from having you start. This time the opponent is not strong, which is a good opportunity for us."

Porto's opponent this time, Estoril, is a mid-table team in the Portuguese Super League this season. It would be a lie to say that they are not strong. Lopetegui's decision to let Jiang Yuan start in the official league can be said to be a great determination.

Now the gap between second-placed Porto and third-placed Sporting CP is getting smaller and smaller, and Lopetegui must find a way to solve this problem.

Because the Portuguese Super League only has 2 Champions League places, if you finish third you can only play in the Europa League!
After listening to Lopetegui's explanation, Jiang Yuan nodded thoughtfully and glanced at Brahimi with a little apology. The Algerian was now lowering his head with a somewhat lost expression.

Professional football is cruel, you have to admit that.

Even in the top leagues, players worth millions of euros may lose the chance to start in the next game because of a loss in one game.

Sometimes, fate is just so coincidental that the player who replaces the player happens to have a good performance, and as a result, the identities of the two people take a 180-degree turn.

The substitute suddenly became the starter, and the starter became the substitute.

……

The team bus with the Porto logo was parked outside the Dragon Stadium. The game was still three hours away from starting, but there were already many fans gathered outside the stadium. When they saw the Porto players coming down from the Dabashan Mountain, the crowd roared.

"Ricardo!!!"

"Oliver!"

Everyone wanted to come early and try their luck to see if they could get the autograph of their favorite player. Everyone thought so, and as a result, a bunch of people gathered outside. If it weren't for the help of the stadium security, Lopetegui and others might not be able to enter the stadium at all.

The fans came so early undoubtedly for autographs, and the players and coaches were aware of this, so Lopetegui gave everyone 10 minutes to sign autographs for his fans.

The loudest cheer from the crowd was undoubtedly Quaresma. It would be strange if this Portuguese star was not popular since he plays in his hometown. Of course there is also Torres. Although he is Spanish, he still has many loyal fans in Porto.

Watching his teammates leave him one by one, he was the one who felt embarrassed. He had only been in the first team for less than half a season and had no fan base at all.

Fortunately, there are also some fans who think Jiang Yuan has a promising future. After asking for the autographs of their favorite players, they will run to the other side and ask Jiang Yuan for his autograph as well. Although he becomes the third party between his idol and the fans, Jiang Yuan does not feel embarrassed. At least someone asks him for his autograph!

"Jiang, you are Chinese, right? I heard that people from the East are terrible at playing football, but you are not bad at all, you are very talented!!"

A white uncle grabbed Jiang Yuan's shoulders enthusiastically and was about to kiss him.

Jiang Yuan quickly broke free, then waved his hand and replied: "Thank you"

Although Jiang Yuan felt that the uncle was too enthusiastic, he couldn't say it directly and could only hint at it by moving his body backwards.

Unexpectedly, the uncle directly crossed the cordon with one leg and hugged Jiang Yuan back: "Jiang, my son is also 17 years old, the same age as you. He is very bad at playing football. It would be great if you were my son!"

"Well... there's nothing to be depressed about. We are all children of dragons. We are a family."

Jiang Yuan's answer made the uncle even more excited. He held Jiang Yuan's head and wanted to celebrate with the players after they scored a goal by kissing Jiang Yuan's hair.

Fortunately, Jiang Yuan reacted quickly. He lowered his shoulder to the left and suddenly exerted force with his left foot to avoid the uncle's passionate kiss.

At this moment, another person grabbed Jiang Yuan's arm. Jiang Yuan was a little nervous at first, but when he saw that the other person had an Asian face, Jiang Yuan suddenly smiled again.

“You, you are Chinese?”

Ye Hao nodded: "Jiang Yuan, my name is Ye Hao, I am studying abroad at the University of Porto, can you give me your autograph?"

Of course Jiang Yuan would not refuse. He took the jersey from Ye Hao's hand and was surprised to find that it was a Porto fan version jersey without the signatures of other players.

Ye Hao was standing very close to the front, so it was not difficult for him to get Quaresma's signature. This showed that Ye Hao was very purposeful, he just wanted Jiang Yuan's signature.

Thinking of this, Jiang Yuan couldn't help but feel happy and asked, "Ye Hao, right? Which Hao are you?"

"Ritian Hao, Jiang Yuan, why are you asking this?"

When Ye Hao heard Jiang Yuan asking him how to write his name, he was extremely happy, but at the same time he was a little confused as to why Jiang Yuan asked him which specific character it was.

Unexpectedly, Jiang Yuan took a marker and wrote two names on the jersey.

One is Jiang Yuan and the other is Ye Hao.

Then he returned the jersey to Ye Hao: "This is a limited edition, only you have it."

"……Ha ha ha ha!"

Ye Hao took it with a smile. What Jiang Yuan said made sense indeed. It was a limited signature!
"By the way, Jiang Yuan, can you score a goal today as a substitute?"

Ye Hao asked. He bought the home game ticket specifically to watch his compatriots score goals on the spot.

"I'm afraid not"

But Jiang Yuan's answer was beyond Ye Hao's expectations.

"Brother Yuan, you should be more confident."

Ye Hao smiled. He didn't want to see his idol lose self-confidence.

Unexpectedly, Jiang Yuan's answer was very firm.

“No means no”

"...Brother Yuan, is it because you are not in a good state today?"

Ye Hao asked with some concern, asking Jiang Yuan if he could score a goal when he came on as a substitute. According to Jiang Yuan's personality, he should have replied "He must score a goal". However, Jiang Yuan was unexpectedly determined today and just couldn't score a goal. The only possibility was that he was not in good shape or was sick.

Jiang Yuan shook his head: "He's in good shape, but I'm afraid it's impossible for him to score as a substitute."

"Why?"

“Sorry, I’m the starter today.”

Jiang Yuan smiled faintly.

……

(End of this chapter)