Team Spirit

Chapter 25 The first generation of grassroots legend, pulling the ball and hitting the ball

Eastwood clenched his fists, and a warm current surged in his heart.

His father looked at him, was silent for a moment, then took a deep puff, finished the cigarette butt, threw it on the ground and stomped on it twice, then got into his pickup truck without looking back and started the engine.

"You won't give up unless you try." Eastwood's father stepped on the accelerator and completed the reverse. "If you can't kick it this time, come back early and help me sell the car. We need help at home."

boom! ! !
The pickup truck disappeared at the end of the street.

All parents in the world are the same.

Even though she knew that he would never be able to pass the postgraduate entrance examination or the civil service examination, she never pointed it out, but just silently carried the pressure of life forward.

Some people really want to take the exam, while others just don't want to take the responsibility.

Eastwood is the former.

He loves football enough!
With tears in his eyes, Eastwood watched his father leave, then turned and ran towards the Dartford team bus.

Lu Kai immediately gave a hug and said: "Welcome to Dartford Royal VCD!"

……

On the way back.

Many people are watching Eastwood.

Alfred even secretly asked Lu Kai why he wanted to sign this player.

Although Oliver is injured, the team still has to find a backup striker.

There's no need to temporarily pull in a 17-year-old passerby to make up the numbers, right?

Lu Kai smiled but said nothing.

A passerby kid?

We in Dartford really have high expectations.

After picking up the youth training waste of Watford and Manchester City, two second-tier teams in England, he looked down on Eastwood.

You know, the West Ham United he belonged to was a serious Premier League team!
A level higher than Bumblebee and Blue Moon!
Although Ashley Young was cut from the team due to developmental delay.

Button was eliminated due to disciplinary issues.

The strength of both is no worse than that of the Premier League youth training.

But Eastwood is a genuine Premier League youth player after all. His potential may not be as good as the other two, but his combat effectiveness may not be inferior. In theory, it should not be a problem for him to join a fifth or sixth-level team.

Perhaps because he had a high opinion of himself, he could not accept the "compromise" of going to a lower-level team after his dream of becoming a star player was shattered. Out of a sense of responsibility, he returned home early to help his father share the financial pressure.

As a result, he was impressed by Dartford in the Kent Senior Cup, which rekindled his passion for football and made him realize that baseball could have a new lease on life.

Lu Kai's words "Will you play for my team?" were as damaging to Eastwood as Stephen Chow's words "I will support you" to Cecilia Cheung.

Moreover, among the large number of English players, Eastwood will not be an unknown figure in the future.

Without Dartford's acceptance, he would have joined the local team Grays Athletic Football Club three years later, scoring 37 goals in a single season in the seventh-tier league. He was then recruited by Southend United in League One, where he scored 21 goals in a single season and helped the team get promoted.

The following year he scored 23 goals in a single season and helped the team to be promoted to the Championship again (at this time, England's second-tier league had changed from League One to the Championship, League One was third, League Two was fourth, and League Three was disbanded and reorganized into the fifth-tier National League).

In the League Cup, he even sank the super Manchester United with Cristiano Ronaldo and Rooney, and was spotted by Aston Villa and Portsmouth in the Premier League. He was selected for the Welsh national team and his value reached 3 million pounds.

Moreover, three million pounds in 2006 was enough to buy players such as Adebayor, Diaby, Morientes, Gourcuff, Arteta, Benayoun, Luis Garcia and others, which was the standard price for strong players in the five major leagues.

It is only two to three million pounds away from star players such as Kežman, Riquelme, Bellamy, Duff and Heskey.

It can be said that Eastwood was the most successful grassroots warrior in English football before Vardy.

Unfortunately, his ceiling is the Championship. After entering this stage, his goal efficiency dropped sharply. He moved to Coventry, Wolves and other teams for five or six years, and then fell into a low-level team.

This resume is naturally not worth mentioning for fans who are used to watching the five major leagues.

But in the real world of football, it is definitely a legend. Just like how everyone online looks down on Peking University and Tsinghua University, in reality, a 211 university admissions banquet is also held with great fanfare.

For a time, the small club of Dartford was home to abandoned players from the youth academy of big clubs such as Watford, Manchester United and West Ham United, which was like a gathering of wealthy clubs.

With this lineup, advancing is definitely not a dream!

Eastwood: Swill?

Joey Barton: WTF?

Ashley Young: WNM?

……

[Ding! Your club has attracted three national team players to join, and you've received the reward "Skill Treasure Box·Black Iron*2"]

[Ding! You've earned "Draw and Kick - Iron" and "Basic Steal - Iron"]

[Basic Steal - Iron 4]

[Draw Ball, Black Iron: Your ball handling ability is slightly improved. After using this technique to avoid a steal, your explosiveness is temporarily improved.]

Steals: 49+1

Ball Control: 49+1

This is such a coincidence. As a striker and attacking midfielder, his ability in tackling is as good as his ability in controlling the ball. No one would believe it if I told them.

[Pulling and knocking the ball] is a relatively flexible action.

The so-called "pull" in football means stepping on the ball and pulling it to the left, right or back.

Knock refers to knocking the football in the opposite direction.

If pulling and knocking the ball happen at the same time, the effect is that you pull the football to the left, but then immediately knock it to the right, forming a wall-hitting effect, which is quite confusing.

The advantage of that technical move is faster reaction.

You pull and knock the ball, and after it bounces out, you also enter the starting and launching state, and can burst out seamlessly.

The opponent needs to react first, then accumulate strength, and then start running, so he will naturally be slower than you.

This move is very effective for getting rid of opponents on the spot.

However, if the opponent sees through the attack and intercepts it first, the user will not be able to pursue in time because he has subsequent actions to take.

It is a skill that tests the player's observation and gaming ability.

"Lu Kai, this is the information of Hayes' number ten player." Alfred found Lu Kai in a convenience store. In addition to being the goalkeeper, he now also uses official websites and chat groups to look up information about the opponent and make pre-match preparations.

Dartford's next game is the FA Bottle quarter-final.

Opponent Hayes.

It is also a ninth-level team.

In other words, all the teams in the FA bottle at this stage are in the ninth level.

After all, there are nearly 300 ninth-level teams in England. They are the highest-level teams that can participate in the FA Cup and are much stronger than the tenth and eleventh-level teams.

There will naturally be strong and weak teams among the 300 ninth-level teams.

The league Hayes is in is relatively strong and is currently in the league promotion zone.

Their overall strength is stronger than Westfield, which is third in the league and was previously encountered by Dartford.

Their number ten player is very strong and is said to have received a contract from a sixth-tier team.

(End of this chapter)