Lvyin Fengmo

Chapter 23 The Biggest Obstacle
"Unfortunately, Lu, although we have prepared a formal professional contract for you, according to the regulations of the Ministry of Labor, you cannot appear in the Premier League for the time being."

Lu Feng, who couldn't wait to start the new season, was hit hard.

As soon as he returned to Liverpool, he was called by Critchley, the head coach of the U18 echelon, to talk.

The head coach who has been coaching him since U15 was not too busy explaining, but asked:
"If I'm not wrong, China does not allow a citizen to have two nationalities at the same time, right?"

Lu Feng nodded, and suddenly understood what he meant:
"You mean... labor certification?"

Critchley shrugged:

"Yes."

The so-called "labor certification" system was established as early as 2000. Its original intention is to protect the interests of local players. Its essence is local protectionism, preventing British local players from being seized by a large number of foreign players to affect the entire country. football development.

The conditions for obtaining a labor certificate are not fixed. In 2013, there are two main conditions:
70. For players from non-EU countries, the number of appearances in the national team in the last two years must exceed 21% of the official international competitions - players under the age of [-] are relaxed to one year;
75. The world ranking of the national team cannot be lower than [-]th.

I'm sorry, Lu Feng's current appearances in the first team of the national team... is still 0.

而且，中国国足在2013年8月的世界排名是……第95名——这个名次已经比7月份提高了整整5名！
In front of the Chinese team are Cuba, Canada, Congo, Guatemala, and New Caledonia - French overseas territories with a population of 28.

Behind them are Oman, Georgia, Angola, Equatorial Guinea, Botswana, Suriname...

To be honest, do these countries really have professional stadiums, professional leagues and players?
Lu Feng raised his eyebrows, and was about to speak when he was interrupted by Critchley:
"Of course, we all know that the results of the Chinese team are not very good, so there are other solutions.

One is to activate the 'Special Talent Clause', but it can only be used once a year in each quarter, and this year's quota has been used up by the new Brazilian Philippe Coutinho, so..."

Critchley shook his head slightly:

"Fortunately, the FA has other regulations. As long as you stay in a club for 21 months before the age of 36, you will automatically be eligible for local youth training, and you don't have to be restricted by labor certification.

If I remember correctly, you officially joined the Kirkby Youth Academy in January 2011, so as long as you wait until next year, you will be eligible to play in the Premier League, FA Cup and League Cup! "

"emmm..."

Lu Feng leaned on the sofa in the office, but there was no expression on his face:
"I don't understand the rules. But... are you sure I can play as soon as January next year?"

Critchley glared at him angrily:
"Please, when it comes to cultivating youth training, I'm the most professional in Kirkby Training Academy!"
-
Since there was no way to join the Premier League right away, Lu Feng didn't force it, he continued to return to the U18 echelon, and participated in the youth team training with those old friends.

20 days later, on August 8, the Liverpool Club held a small-scale press conference in the press center of its first team, and specially invited more than a dozen Chinese media with permanent institutions in England, such as CCTV, such as sports weekly……

"We are delighted to announce that Liverpool Club has officially signed a professional player contract with Lu Feng!"

At the press conference, Ian Ayre, general manager and director of football of the Liverpool club, announced the matter with a flushed face.

Cooperating with the flashing lights one after another, Al and Lu Feng also signed their names on the contract very cooperatively, then embraced warmly, shook hands vigorously, and smiled brightly.

Ayer also went out of his way to praise the youngster, who just got a professional contract:

"In Liverpool, there are not many players who can get a professional contract at the age of 17, which proves that his strength has conquered Kirkby Academy and Liverpool Club.

In fact, I am also very optimistic about his development prospects in Liverpool. His speed and skills are quite good, which is the ability that Liverpool's first team values ​​most today.

In addition, we also hope that this signing can expand the Asian market for the club, attract more Asian players to join the club, and also attract more Asian tourists to visit the city of Liverpool..."

He smiled, and then said the most sincere thoughts in his heart:
"Of course, we hope to get the support and sponsorship of powerful Chinese companies!"

Hearing such a sincere voice, both the reporter and the staff couldn't help laughing, and the whole venue was full of joy.

As a party involved, Lu Feng also expressed his position:
"I have been a Liverpool fan since I was a child. It was my childhood dream to join Liverpool. In my heart, there is absolutely no second club that can be compared with Liverpool. This sentence is true."

There was another burst of good-natured laughter from the audience.

In the modern football world, there are too many "Emperor Dreams" and "Elder Sa Dreams". Those players who transferred to Real Madrid, Barcelona, ​​Juventus, Bayern, and Manchester United seem to repeat this sentence over and over again:

I have dreamed of joining XXXXX since I was a child!

As for whether this dream comes from the heart, who would really care in front of the camera? -
"May I ask Lu Feng, as the first youth player to join a wealthy team, how do you feel now?"

"May I ask who do you want to thank the most now?"

"Which player do you think you could replace in Liverpool's starting XI?"

"Do you prefer Gerrard or Suarez?"

"Are you confident that you will avoid the mistakes of Dong Fangzhuo and successfully gain a foothold in Liverpool?"

"If one day you could play on a bigger stage, would you choose Real Madrid or Barcelona?"

During the Q&A session, excited Chinese journalists scrambled to throw out their questions.

In order to cooperate with the club's great strategy of "exploiting East Asia", Lu Feng had to face the hail of bullets.

Compared with these unnutritious questions, the questions from Jerry Yang are undoubtedly much more professional:

"We all know that for non-EU countries, there are labor certification restrictions in the Premier League. Dong Fangzhuo, who joined Manchester United before, had to go to Belgium on loan to obtain permanent residency in the EU. How does Liverpool Club consider this issue?"

Al obviously prepared the lessons in advance, and he gave almost exactly the same answer as Critchley:
"In more than four months, Lu Feng will be qualified for the youth training of Liverpool Club, and the labor certification restrictions will no longer be effective. Therefore, friends from the press and fans in China, let us look forward to the arrival of 2014. !"

(End of this chapter)