Jagged Wings

Chapter 15 Bergkamp
"Oops, Reyes dropped the ball again!"

"Compared with the first half, he was completely different in the second half!"

"If I were Wenger, I would replace him immediately!"

…………

Wenger found that Reyes' downturn blocked the entire Arsenal's offense.

So in the 60th minute of the second half, he replaced Reyes with Pires.Originally, Wenger bought Reyes with the intention of treating him as Bergkamp's heir and playing the forward position.But after more than half a season, Reyes occupied the position of left winger and squeezed Pires to the bench. This was unexpected by Wenger.

During the exchange between the two, Reyes also expressed to Wenger that he wanted to play left winger instead of forward.

Reyes, who was off the field, was a little depressed. He lowered his head and covered his head with the colorless jersey that was thrown to cover up the loneliness in his eyes.

After Reyes left the field, the two sides suddenly opened the key to the "goal battle". Contrary to the calmness of the first half, the two sides scored a total of seven goals in the second half. In the end, Arsenal narrowly beat Tottenham 5:4 away and won the victory. .

The brightest of these was when Van Persie came off the bench and scored a team-leading fifth goal.The media after the game agreed that this game was Van Persie's clarion call to replace Reyes.

While the Premier League is still going on, Ledley King's "nightmare" for Reyes is not over yet.

In the next league, the defenders of the Premier League teams showed Reyes the charm of "British defense". In every game, Reyes became the focus of the opponent's defenders.

Shoveling, kneeling, pushing, kicking... They seemed to be testing the British "pattern defensive skills" on Reyes.

Under such strict precautions.Reyes' state is also very sluggish.As his performance deteriorated, coupled with the decline of the French left midfielder Pires this season, the left wing of Arsenal's formerly proud "flying with two wings" was directly broken, leaving only the "flying wings" on the right. Perpetual motion machine" Ljungberg.

After the undefeated record was ended, although they also had a glorious record of defeating their rivals in the same city, it was more than concealing their declining state.The invincible Arsenal in the past seemed to have suddenly turned into a paper tiger. Any team can create many difficulties for Arsenal.

The shortcomings of the Arsenal team, which is more than skilled but not bloody, have been exposed.Among them, Reyes, the left winger, is the representative.All teams are aware that although Reyes is not the core or soul of Arsenal's offense, but strangling him all the way, they will get the key to conquering Arsenal.

Therefore, the downturn of the Arsenal team is also expected.The record during this period is also not satisfactory.

First, they were defeated by Manchester United within a month in the League Cup and were eliminated; then in the league, they were also tied at home by Chelsea, giving up their top position.

But fortunately, the UEFA Champions League group stage is already halfway through at this time. Relying on their previous good performance, Arsenal have narrowly escaped after being tied in the last two rounds.

Some people have begun to predict that the "Highbury Dynasty" that Arsenal has just established for less than a season is about to come to an end and become a stroke in history.At the other extreme with them is Mourinho's Chelsea. Chelsea used all the way to announce the opening of a new dynasty, that is, Abramovich's "Rouble Dynasty".

Poor record, overwhelming criticism, and loss of self-confidence made Arsenal's dressing room cloudy.In particular, Arsenal's coach Arsene Wenger is not a person who is good at adjusting the atmosphere of the dressing room. In this sharp turnaround, he often chooses to remain silent.

Reyes wasn't originally a very introverted character, but the team's recent record is too poor, and the atmosphere in the team is not good, so everyone is not in a good mood.

Even Cole, who likes to be funny, is much more honest.

To make matters worse is the continuous injury, Vieira, Van Persie, Lauren have all entered the injury list.

The time is approaching Christmas. With the opening of the winter window, the major clubs are looking for prey. News of the transfer of Vieira, Edu, Henry and even Reyes has spread.

Among them, the British tabloid "The Sun", which loves "catching wind and shadows", has made great contributions.

Their explanation has a nose and an eye: Reyes sent his parents back to Spain, which is a clear proof!

Because of the recent sluggish performance, Reyes in the eyes of the English media is still the cowardly "Reyes" before. They can't believe that "Reyes" sent his parents away by himself, so the "real reason" Just ready to come out.

Reyes plotting move to Real Madrid

Ronaldinho: Barcelona welcomes him

"Atletico Madrid: Reyes, want to believe in our sincerity"

……

They agreed that Reyes' sending his parents away from the UK was a harbinger of his departure.

And it has nose and eyes.

For a while, Spanish newspapers such as Marca and Aspen also joined in, not to be outdone, and fanned the flames.

Originally, Reyes' state was not very good recently, coupled with the media's troubles, off-court factors made his performance drop to a higher level again.Reyes wanted to smash all doubts with his good performance, but in fact, it was just the opposite. The more he tried to prove himself on the court, the worse his performance was.

Reyes wants to work hard in training and get back into shape.However, things backfired. He, who was eager for quick success, strained his thigh during the game and needed a half-month off-season.In this case, Reyes will miss the most difficult Christmas schedule.

In the middle of the season, the brutal Christmas schedule begins.The day after Christmas, Arsenal relied on Cesc Fabregas' strong shot to beat Fulham with difficulty.Ranked second in the standings, the gap from Chelsea at the top of the table has reached six points.

And Manchester United's state has also picked up, and a six-game winning streak has quietly slipped behind Arsenal.

***********
The injured Reyes did not rest at home, and the state of a professional player will disappear quickly once there is no game.So Reyes insisted on going to the club for strength training every day, and also received physical therapy from the team doctor every two days.

On the first day of 2005, Arsenal challenged Manchester City away, so the whole team flew to Manchester by plane, and there was no one in the usually busy base.

Although he sent his parents back to Spain, Reyes himself still lives in the small Spanish courtyard.This "New Year" in the Western calendar, he also lived desertedly.

After the injury, Reyes did not train, but he would go to the team doctor for physical therapy every day.That day, Reyes finished his physical therapy and walked to the Kearney base to go home.

Because the team went away, the training base was empty.Reyes was not in a high mood, and kept his head down, thinking about things all the way.When he walked to the first-team training ground, a "bang" sound suddenly appeared, which startled him.

Reyes looked up and saw the afterglow of the setting sun shining on the training ground, giving a little warmth to this winter afternoon.A thin figure is training alone on the court, his figure is elongated by the setting sun.

"Dennis Bergkamp!"

Reyes exclaimed, this figure is the Dutch veteran Bergkamp.The 35-year-old Bergkamp is still Henry's best strike partner this season. Although he doesn't score many goals, all of them are very valuable.

Reyes suddenly remembered one thing. Although Bergkamp retired a year later in 2006, in fact, in the unsuccessful season of 2005, Bergkamp once had the idea of ​​​​retiring.

"With Bergkamp's ability, do we still need to practice more?"

"Or has he decided to retire, is he nostalgic for this place?"

Standing there, Reyes began to think wildly. Bergkamp was one of the few people who could be called a "master" in that era.

As a football fan, the last thing Reyes wants to see is the curtain call of those former "masters".

Bergkamp, ​​Zidane, Nedved... Everyone's retirement means that there is one less legend on the football field. From then on, we can only trace their past glory from the video.

"Hey, Antonio!" It was Bergkamp who was training alone. He saw Reyes who was dazed on the sidelines and walked over.

Bergkamp is introverted and doesn’t like to socialize. He usually goes home to accompany his wife and children except for competitions and training, so his relationship with his teammates is only average. However, because of their similar personalities and positions, Bergkamp and Reyes go well. It is relatively close.Bergkamp also has "aerophobia" and is determined not to fly.Therefore, he generally does not go to away games that are a little farther away.

"Happy New Year, Dennis!" Reyes said, "Why do you start extra training on the first day of the new year? Extra training is the right thing for young players to do."

"The coach asked me to rest, but I also need to touch the ball frequently and keep in shape. By the way, how is your injury?" Bergkamp said, looking at Reyes' thigh.

Reyes made a leg raise: "It's much better. The team doctor said that we can play in a week."

"How is your condition?" Bergkamp suddenly asked a sensitive question.

Reyes is not a glass heart, and it is not impossible to discuss such a matter. He shrugged: "It's not bad, it's not bad. To be honest, England's defenders are really fierce."

"It's really not good, at worst, go back to Spain."

Reyes said jokingly.

In fact, this is not a joke. Reyes' agent called a few days ago and told him that Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid had successively made offers to Arsenal, requesting to bring Reyes back during the winter break.

"Do you think all the problems can be solved by going back to Spain?" Bergkamp said.

Reyes was silent.

In fact, after returning to Spain, the real "Reyes" also lost his original aura, and his performance did not become so good.The shadow of the Premier League has accompanied Reyes throughout his career.

Leaving is more like escaping!

"I don't know what to do." Reyes was a little helpless. After all, he was only 20 years old, and his journey had been smooth and he had not suffered any blows.

"Actually, your problem is not in the state, but more in the psychology. Also as a technical player, I have been in the same situation as you. I came to England 9 years ago and felt very painful for a while. I was very uncomfortable with the rough defense of the Premier League defenders. What seemed to me rough enough to get a yellow card was normal here. I was like, oh my god, that is the worst!"

Bergkamp raised his hand exaggeratedly, and Reyes smiled knowingly.

"But then I found out that those were all scaring myself. Your skills are excellent, and you have to believe that you can use your skills to avoid unnecessary injuries. Don't pay too much attention to 'go prove yourself' and 'slap the media in the face. 'Ah, 'If you don't score, you can't do it'. This is a mess. You play football, play football according to your ideas, don't think about these things." Bergkamp said.

Reyes' eyes lit up, he obviously thought of something.

Bergkamp saw it, and he decided to add fire.

"Since I, an old player, can do it, Antonio, what are you afraid of?" Bergkamp patted Reyes on the shoulder: "Arsenal's future is still in your hands."

After telling Bergkamp, ​​Reyes suddenly felt enlightened.

"Reyes" himself is actually very strong in terms of physical fitness, and at worst he is stronger than the current Bergkamp.[-] Bergkamp can still play and score goals, why can't I?
Why not?Why not?
Thinking about it, Reyes had a smile on his face.

Seeing the change in Reyes' expression, Bergkamp knew that his words had an effect, so he patted him on the shoulder: "Okay, go back and rest quickly, I have to take a shower."

After walking more than ten meters, Reyes suddenly remembered that Bergkamp usually doesn't talk so much.He seems a little abnormal today!

Bergkamp's words today have a little bit of "tuogu" meaning

Reyes turned around and faced Bergkamp's back: "Dennis, do you want to retire?"

Bergkamp's back paused, but he didn't turn around. He waved his hand smartly and continued walking.

Or about "retirement", Bergkamp himself doesn't know, right?

"Since I am a time traveler, let me do something!"

Reyes had an idea in mind.

(End of this chapter)