Chapter 10: Chinese football image spokesperson

After the Premier League took the lead in kick-off, major European leagues also whistled for the start.
The European football season officially kicked off.
La Liga, Serie A, Portuguese Super League, Eredivisie and Dutch League ignited the flames in the same week.
However, apart from Hu Lai, several other Chinese players who played in the top league have not been able to enter the competition squad.
Although the Chinese fans are looking forward to and anxious, they still have to know: Even if these people have outstanding performance in the World Cup, it does not mean that they can conquer the club by relying on their performance in the World Cup.
National team games and club games are originally two completely different systems.
There has never been a shortage of stories in the Intercontinental Championships that were mediocre in the previous leagues, but in the Intercontinental Championships, it is like being a hero and becoming a national hero.
In the same way, there is no shortage of players who have killed the Quartet in the national team, become famous in World War I, and are valued by the rich and bought at a high price. As a result, they have done nothing in the club and are denounced as "parallel import" players.
The vast majority of players are players who need to be integrated into the system and have the support of the system to perform well. Those players who can adapt to any team or tactics are very few. So if the staffing and tactical design of the national team is different from that of the club, it is normal for the same player to perform very differently.
The problems encountered by Zhang Qinghuan in Sarria will also be encountered by other international players. It's just that they have not yet reached the point of worrying about this-Xia Xiaoyu, Chen Xingyi, and Wang Guangwei still need to start from the bottom.
Except for one person.
After Luo Kai adapted to Veronica last season, the first round of the Dutch second league in the new season, he has already played on behalf of Veronica.
Although there were no goals and no assists, his performance was remarkable.
As his second season in Europe, but also the first full season, everyone does not ask him to be like Hu Lai, as soon as he comes up to kill the Quartet.
After seeing his experience in Veronica last season, everyone recognized the reality.
I think that Luo Kai can play steadily in Veronica, step by step, and walk steadily, which is enough.
As for scoring and assisting data, it is natural to be able to stand firm, so don't worry. After all, as a forward, if Roquet can't score goals and don't have assists, how can he gain a foothold in the team?
On the other hand, as long as he is really on a firm footing, there will be goals and assists.
Those who think that Luo Kai has scored in the World Cup and have half a year of experience in the Eredivisie should go to the Dutch second league. Otherwise, even if the performance is bad, they are obviously not the people who really support Luo Kai. They are more of a lively food. It's just the masses.
Such people are currently not in the majority, and their voices are minimal.
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The new season has just begun, and it is actually no different from last season-Hu Lai is still the only person who can truly represent the image and face of Chinese football in European football.
Three days after the first round, the second round of the Premier League began.
Leeds City is still sitting at home, facing the challenge of newly promoted Helmer.
In fact, Helmer was also a Premier League team before. They were relegated from the Premier League in the 2024-2025 season. Hu Lai arrived for the first time that season and only played for half a season to help Leeds succeed in relegation.
Helmer had only 26 points after the 38th round of the league and was tragically relegated. Of course, they are not the worst. The worst is Hoods, who ranked last in that season. He only won three games, tied seven games, lost 28 games, and scored the fewest goals in the Premier League. Accumulated 16 points and fell into the British crown.
Hoods never came back from this fall. At any rate, Helmer got back up again after a season in the Championship.
So from this perspective, Helmer cannot simply be understood as a general newly promoted horse.
Returning to the Premier League this time, the slogan that Helmer shouted from top to bottom was "Let's stay here." It shows that they are still very confident about the success of relegation.
It's just that in the first round of the league, they lost 0:3 against Warship Harbor on the main scene. It seems that the road to relegation in the new season is not easy to follow...
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Leeds City started very well.
Unlike the last game that was limited by Waldhampton's tough defense, it was difficult to score. This time they took the lead in the opening five minutes.
It was captain Lorenzo who scored the goal.
After receiving a pass from Charlie Porter, he scored with a header.
Although he is older, Lorenzo's header ability is still there.
Since the new aid Laski has not yet integrated into the team, in the first two rounds of the league, it was the old captain Lorenzo who started and partnered with Hulet.
He also used this header to score his first goal in the Premier League this season.
Also use this goal to tell everyone that the club made the right decision to renew his contract. He is definitely not the kind of "mascot" who can only wave a towel on the bench to cheer his teammates.
As the captain, he can still contribute to the team on the court.
Leeds, who took the lead early, have taken the initiative in the game, and they have repeatedly attacked Helmer's goal.
This is exactly what Leeds City is good at-with continuous attacks to continue to pressure the opponent, forcing the opponent to make mistakes, so that Leeds City can get a chance.
Their offensive played a role:
In the thirty-fifth minute, Helmer's Polish midfielder Hubert Tupay accidentally blocked Camara's cross directly into his goal.
Own goals!
Leeds took a two-goal lead before the end of the first half!
The Flanders Stadium was full of cheers.
After leading by two goals, Leeds also relaxed significantly.
They adjust themselves, the offensive is not as fierce as before, even if there is a ball, they don't rush forward, but fall in the midfield. After all, he kept playing like this, and his stamina couldn't hold it.
So it's normal to slow down the rhythm appropriately and adjust it.
But they seemed to have accidentally relaxed too much-in the forty-first minute, Leeds City's defense also made a mistake.
Ben Grist accidentally rammed the football into his goal while defending.
He gave an own goal to Helmer!
Ben Grist, who scored an own goal, covered his face with both hands and looked very painful.
So at the end of the first half, the score was 2:1 and Leeds took the lead at home.
But because of Ben Grist’s own goal, it felt better than ending the first half with 2:0.
Losing the ball in this way is a blow to the morale of Leeds City players.
Helmer was the opposite, and their morale was restored.
During the intermission, Clarke did not blame him, but encouraged him in the face of self-blaming Ben Grist.
Then made a substitution adjustment, replaced the midfielder Jose Vieira with the full-back Jack Walsh, who just transferred from Liverpool United in the summer.
Push Camara to the striker and form a left-leaning striker combination with Hulet and Lorenzo.
At the same time, let Walsh play the left midfielder-Walsh can play on both sides, which is more comprehensive than Charlie Porter, who can only play on the right.
This substitution adjustment is to continue to strengthen the team's offense.
Obviously, in Tony Clark's opinion, the loss of the ball at the end of the first half sounded a wake-up call for him-even if it is a two-goal lead, it is not safe!
Therefore, in the second half, we must continue to strengthen the offense and strive to score more goals.
Putting on Walsh is to strengthen the wing attack and provide more crosses for Lorenzo in the middle, whether it is a direct header or a ferry to someone else.
As for the defense... the midfielder replaced Vieira, with Jay Adams and Salif Sedou, so there shouldn't be any major problems.
So in the second half, the Leeds City players took the coach's instructions to "continue attacking" and set foot on the court again.
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The effect of changing to Walsh was immediate.
After Camara pushed to the front line, he used his speed and technique to directly threaten Helmer's goal.
At the same time, Walsh formed a three-person combination with Kamala and Quinn on the left, which can take turns to attack Helmer's defense on this side.
Finally, just five minutes after the start of the second half, Walsh and Quinn hit the wall two-by-one and sent a cross near the baseline.
Lorenzo attracted the attention of Helmer's defensive players in front of goal, creating opportunities for Hulai to run away.
Walsh's ball passed accurately into the open space in front of the goal, and Hu Lai stabs it obliquely and stabs the ball towards the goal!
Although Helmer goalkeeper Clement Arnett tried his best to save, he still couldn't do anything about Hu Lai's shot from the small penalty area. He didn't even touch the ball, just threw a ball of air...
The football has flown into his goal!
"Hu--!" Matthew Cox shouted, "The second goal of the season! Two consecutive games in the new season! He has scored in two consecutive games! It is also his ninth consecutive league goal across the season! In addition, summer Walsh, who moved to Leeds City, also got his first assist in the new team!"
After scoring the goal, Hu Lai first ran to the corner flag area to make his own signature celebration, and then hugged Walsh who came up, laughing and patted his shoulder and back.
He Feng, who saw this scene, smiled and said: "Walsh is lucky, and he is lucky to be teammates with Hu Lai. I think he must have assists this season, ha!"
Walsh also has such feelings.
He and Hu Lai were rivals last season. I heard that Leeds was interested in him this summer~EbookFREE.me~ he agreed to transfer without hesitation.
It's very simple. As an offensive forward who is good at creating opportunities on the wing, being able to work with a forward who has the ability to seize opportunities will definitely be of great benefit to his career.
It can be said that the reason why he came to Leeds is that the reputation of the Premier League champion is not that attractive to him.
After all, the Premier League title was won before he came, and it does not belong to him. With the strength of Leeds City, it is also very difficult to win another league title in the strong Premier League. So if it's for the honor of the Premier League, he shouldn't come to Leeds...
He chose Leeds City, a large part of the reason is Hu Lai.
Any offensive player will like to be like Hu Lai who does not occupy the ball, seizes the opportunity to be super strong, and can always turn your pass into a goal player as a teammate.
Welsh edge international Jack Walsh is no exception.
With his performance in Leeds, he might be able to consolidate his position in the Welsh national team...