Chapter 22

"Che, I thought it was the Premier League..." Liu Hao sneered, but his eyes glanced at the office door, "Even if it's as good as Guangzhou Evergrande, I might not accept it..."

"I understand, pigs have big appetites, you just need to get used to it. That team isn't Evergrande, but it does share a similarity with you: it's rich and powerful."

Oh? Liu Hao perked up his ears; he was still interested in finding out which team was giving him a trial opportunity.

Although he didn't show it, he still had some thoughts in his heart.

Playing football in China isn't easy. To become famous, the first condition is to have money and connections; the second is skill and ability.

Out of hundreds of millions of teenagers, it's not hard to produce a batch of talented individuals, but without the first condition, no matter how many geniuses there are, they are all in vain.

Apart from the frequent falsification and misreporting of players' ages in China, the level of youth football in China is actually not inferior to so-called football powerhouses.

If you don't believe it, just look at the records of China's youth and junior teams in international competitions over the past two decades. Although the results are not satisfactory, they don't attract widespread criticism; instead, they always give fans hope.

But this hope disappears once they become professional players.

More than half of them say goodbye to professional football due to a lack of money and connections. A smaller portion buys their way in with money and connections, becoming professional players. Another part achieves their dreams through hard work and luck...

So, for Liu Hao to have this opportunity is truly a once-in-a-lifetime chance.

People in their early twenties find it hard to stand out in the first team, yet a 30-year-old man is still being invited for a trial and contract. How many people would envy and hate him?

Besides, to just get by in Chinese football, you really don't need much skill... Of course, we're talking about 'getting by,' not those who truly treat football as their lifelong dream and dedicate everything to it.

Chinese football still has some spirit, but it's just a bit scarce...

"What club is it?" Liu Hao couldn't resist his curiosity.

"Tianjin TEDA."

"@$...+￥...@" Liu Hao's eyes were a bit blurry, and his ears were a bit deaf.

Tianjin TEDA?

"Are you sure?" His heart pounded intensely, like a first kiss, making him feel incredibly excited, "A...Arie Haan... has agreed?"

Pulling a face, full of disbelief, yet filled with infinite hope.

"Ahaha, well... no, Arie Haan hasn't arrived in China yet. I just got in touch with a Chinese assistant coach and got this opportunity..." Lai Yuxin answered truthfully, "Don't be ungrateful, this is a rare opportunity! If you perform well on the field, even if you score dozens of free kicks in a row, Arie Haan will probably kneel down and lick your toes!"

Lai Yuxin patted his shoulder casually and said slyly.

"Dozens of kicks... even fighting and kicking people would be tiring, let alone maintaining accuracy? Do you really think my foot is like a calculator, where 1+1 always equals 2? If that were the case, why would I need to go to the Chinese Super League? I could go straight to Real Madrid!" Liu Hao was noncommittal, but he was already thinking about how to impress Arie Haan.

In the past twenty days, he had gradually figured out many things, such as using his footwork to create more opportunities for his teammates with crosses. He wondered if such performance could impress Arie Haan.

This is a huge leap, and it could even be an international incident...

"To show your sincerity as an agent, you'll cover the round-trip tickets and meals and accommodation. But, I'll have to take leave again, right? The trial will last at least three to seven days, right?"

Lai Yuxin was overjoyed that Liu Hao agreed so readily, and she gave him a warm bear hug, which caught Liu Hao off guard.

Is this because she's been abroad too much?

"Click!" Not far away, a flash of light passed by the door crack...

Liu Hao thought it was just his eyes getting blurry from standing for too long...

※※※※

The trial was scheduled for the last day of February, from the 28th to the 6th of March, a full week.

The trial period was sufficient, but the timing was not ideal.

The Chinese Super League season starts on March 8th, Women's Day.

Choosing this time for the trial shows how helpless Tianjin TEDA is.

The root cause is the new head coach, Arie Haan.

If he hadn't delayed signing the contract, the trial wouldn't be so rushed...

Liu Hao had already calculated that February 28th was a Friday, followed by two days of the weekend.

He had to report on the 28th and undergo at least a three-day trial.

If he couldn't meet the coach's requirements in three days, he wouldn't have a chance in the next four days, and he might even be dismissed on the first morning.

Of course, he hadn't even reached the level of having a bed to pack; at most, he had a bag of luggage.

Or, he might not even get a chance to enter the field. Arie Haan might just KO him after watching the video...

It had been less than a month since Liu Hao took a ten-day leave, and he was taking leave again, even though it was just for one day.

But his direct superior, Director Pan Zhike, looked quite unhappy.

He had never had a subordinate who loved taking leave so much. What was wrong with this guy? Was his brain that bad?

After granting Liu Hao's leave, he actually started thinking in the office.

When this guy came in first in the exam, he insisted that the director take him, not the second-place candidate... How did it end up like this?

Was he the fool, or was I the fool?

The foolish Liu Hao, of course, didn't know that he had deepened the bad impression on his superior again. He was already in Tianjin with Lai Yuxin early Friday morning.

Once a person has a strong desire to do something, they will do it at all costs, like a man driven by lust, a couple blinded by love and running away together, or a drug addict desperate for a fix...

This has nothing to do with age.

Liu Hao clearly didn't care as much as he said, because his actions spoke otherwise.

"Why does Tianjin TEDA require trial players to stay in a designated hotel, and we have to pay for it? I feel like this is a private deal between the TEDA Group and the hotel." Although Liu Hao didn't pay the room deposit, he still grumbled when he saw the bill showing over a thousand yuan per night.

In Yinzhou City, such a room would cost only 150 yuan per night... At this moment, he didn't seem like a slightly experienced civil servant but more like a nagging old woman.

"But, why are there so many foreigners here? Could they all be here for trials?"