Heroes of the Restricted Zone

Chapter 1273 League Cup Semi-Finals
After easily winning Tottenham Hotspur, Liverpool's next opponent is Blackburn, and the game is the semi-final of the League Cup.

Everyone in Liverpool's reserve team is training hard as they feel energized for the upcoming Carabao Cup final.

The League Cup is tasteless to the stars of Liverpool's first team. It is tasteless to eat and it is a pity to discard it.

So they didn't go to the game in the first place.Only Chen Yingxiong went because he wanted to score goals.

But for the players of the reserve team, this is a rare opportunity for them to play -- not a workout, but a game.They don't need exercise now, they need games, serious games.Although they also have reserve team games to play, is that kind of game comparable to the League Cup or the FA Cup?It would be nice to have at most four or five hundred viewers for the reserve league, TV broadcast?Don't even think about it!
But in the League Cup, no matter how tasteless it is, there are more than 2 fans, there are TV broadcasts, and the games that the media pays attention to are absolutely incomparable in the Reserve League.

So everyone values ​​this opportunity very much.They know the league, the Champions League, they are a big deal, they are not qualified with their strength.Fortunately, England has two domestic cups, so there is no need to worry about not playing.

Whenever this happens, they are particularly upset. Why do Premier League teams have to start from the third round to play the League Cup and the FA Cup, instead of directly starting from the first round?That would allow them to play two extra games in each cup.

In fact, these reserve team players are not willing to play more games because they like football for such a simple purpose.They also have to think about their own future.Play more games, and they have more opportunities to show up, so that they can attract the attention of scouts, get the favor of other teams, and maybe earn a good future for themselves.

It's a pity that such a good opportunity belongs to very few people, so most of the time they are like concubines who are hidden in the cold palace, still waiting to be selected by the emperor, conceive a dragon seed, and jump like a carp overnight Longmen, promoted to imperial concubine, and even queen.

Although the luck is bad and the strength is not good, but the right to dream is free and everyone has it.

So everyone continues to look forward to it and take every League Cup and FA Cup game seriously.

Because of this, they are especially grateful and like Chen Yingxiong.Because of Chen Yingxiong's arrival, they got more chances to play.If it weren't for Chen Yingxiong, they might have played two or three games at most, and then the season would be over.

Yes, for first-team stars, the end of the season is marked by the final league game, or the Champions League final.For them, being eliminated in the FA Cup means that their season is over.

After Chen Yingxiong arrived, they could play several more games and have several more opportunities to show their faces in front of the media and scouts.For their own future, they naturally wanted to support Chen Yingxiong desperately.Of course they knew that Chen Yingxiong stole the limelight, everyone was discussing his name, the real protagonist, but what about them?They are all supporting roles.

But they also know very well that a person like Chen Yingxiong, no matter how good he is, no matter how the protagonist is, it is impossible for those scouts to value him, because there are not many teams that can buy him now. It depends on whether Liverpool sells or not.So even if Chen Yingxiong is outstanding, the scouts will not come to observe Chen Yingxiong.

How Chen Yingxiong performed will not affect other people at all.

On the contrary, if other people perform well, assist Chen Yingxiong with a goal in the game, or fully demonstrate their strength in the game, they will be favored by those scouts, and they may be able to transfer to China successfully. Players who can give themselves the main position.

It doesn't matter if you're just a role player, as long as you complete your mission, you will naturally fall into the eyes of those who care about you.
Therefore, Chen Yingxiong is like a catalyst. His existence can drive the performance of other players.Because of him, Liverpool kept winning and while he was being praised, others were being praised in the media.You look at the teams that win the game, in the post-game scoring, there are very few low-scoring players.

Now it's time for another League Cup match. Everyone is training hard and looking forward to defeating their opponents in the semi-finals with Chen Yingxiong and reaching the final.

I also hope that I can help Chen Yingxiong in the game, even if it is only to complete the defensive task, at least it can be regarded as letting Chen Yingxiong have no worries.

※ ※ ※

However, before the last day of training before the game, they did not wait for Chen Yingxiong and the head coach of the first team Martin O'Neill on the second field.

Clark, the head coach of the reserve team, read out a roster of about nine players before practice began.

After reading the list, Clark said, "Follow me to Training Ground No. [-]."

The people who were read looked at each other in blank dismay.

They couldn't figure out what was going on.

They know that the No. [-] training ground is the place where the first team trains, but they don't quite understand why they have to go to the first team training ground.Tomorrow is the semi-final of the League Cup. Instead of staying here and training with the team, what are we going to do on the ground of the first team?
If they are usually allowed to go to the first field, they must be very happy, because it means that they can train with the first team, and have the opportunity to play for the Liverpool first team, play in the league, and if they are lucky, they may even play in the Champions League.

But now, they would rather stay in the second field, so that they have a chance to play tomorrow's League Cup semi-finals.

That was the semi-finals!
There will be more people paying attention to the League Cup than usual, and more media and scouts will come. That is a big scene!
It was Clark who explained their confusion: "You will join the first team in the semi-finals of the League Cup tomorrow!"

As soon as these words came out, the players caused a commotion!
The selected players suddenly realized, with proud and happy expressions on their faces.

Those whose names were not read were disappointed, envious, jealous, whatever.

In the end, the nine lucky ones were sent to the No. [-] field by Clark under the envious eyes of his teammates, and the remaining people seemed to have no intention of training.

※ ※ ※

Chen Yingxiong didn't go directly to the training ground after changing his jersey, but went out of the training ground, ready to go to the second court, and then he was stopped by the head coach Martin O'Neill.

"What are you doing, hero?"

"Training. Isn't tomorrow the semi-final?" Chen Yingxiong felt that the boss asked this question too mentally.Usually there are League Cup games, but O'Neill treats him to go, why now he asks what he is going to do instead.

"Oh, then you don't have to go, you can go back." O'Neill nodded when he heard that it was because of this.

"What?" Chen Yingxiong was puzzled.

"Tomorrow's game, I won't send all the second-tier team. At that time, the first team and the second-tier team will be mixed, so I asked them to call to the first field to train with you."

Chen Yingxiong was stunned for a moment, and then he understood.

They have reached the semi-finals, and one step ahead is the final. Even if the boss thought that the League Cup was tasteless before, this time it is not tasteless.

No one will think that there are few championships. Since this is still two steps away from winning the championship, and the first team is not tired, why can't we work hard and win the League Cup?

He also nodded, and then turned back to training ground No. [-].

Now that the head coach has made a decision, he has nothing to say, just follow it.He didn't have any other such thoughts.

He guessed right, Martin O'Neill really planned to hit the League Cup.

Martin O'Neill didn't pay much attention to the League Cup before, because the League Cup had to start from the third round, and it took at least five games to reach the final.

The risk is too high, the investment is too large, and there may not be any benefits, and the cost performance is not high.Such a game is naturally tasteless.

But if he puts the League Cup in front of his eyes, it only takes one or two games to add a champion, why not do it?
Therefore, Martin O'Neill made a decisive decision. Starting from the semi-finals, the players of the first team will participate in the battle.

If Liverpool can reach the final, then even the players of the nine second-tier teams will have each share, and the main lineup will be fully involved.By then, the Liverpool at Wembley Stadium will be no different from the Liverpool in the league and the Champions League.

At that time, Martin O'Neill only had the championship trophy in his eyes.

※ ※ ※

It wasn't the first time that nine second-team players came to pitch one, where the first-team trained.Their excitement about playing alongside first-team stars and then playing in the Carabao Cup semi-final has not yet passed.

Chen Yingxiong came up to greet them, he felt a little strange: "Why are you alone?"

"Coach Clark only read our names!" The man who answered Chen Yingxiong was very proud. He had a sense of pride of "I am one in a hundred".

Hearing his answer, Chen Yingxiong frowned slightly.

When he heard what the boss said before, he thought that the entire second team would come to the first field, just like before, to play a game with the first team, and then jump out of the players in good condition to form a joint column to play the League Cup semi-finals finals.

Unexpectedly, there were only nine people. These nine people only accounted for one-third of all the reserve team members, which means that two-thirds of the reserve team players did not qualify to participate in the next League Cup semi-final.

But before that, in every League Cup match, there were only teammates from the second team, and myself, a person from the first team.The talents of the second team are the main force, and I am actually here to help.

Every player from the second team has a share. As long as they perform outstandingly in training, they can be selected for the final 18-man squad.Exclude yourself, and there are still seventeen people who qualify for the League Cup.Twice as many people as there are now.

Chen Yingxiong always felt that something was wrong, but he didn't continue to delve into this problem because the training was about to start.

The first team assistant coach Sami Lee stood on the field and called out to all the players to warm up first and then come to training.

The players of the second team enthusiastically joined the warm-up crowd.

Chen Yingxiong followed them, as if he was originally a member of the second team.

※ ※ ※

Clark returned to the reserve team to continue his training.

Then he quickly discovered that the atmosphere in the reserve team was different from before. Many players were obviously not focused on training, and many of them seemed weak.

He froze for a moment, then figured out what happened.

They lost their goal of struggle and naturally lost their fighting spirit.

Oops, seems to have overlooked what the League Cup means to these guys.When we think about the problem, we patronize and think that the League Cup is a championship that Liverpool can compete for...

But there is no way, if it is still only relying on these people, it is hard to say whether it can break into the finals, let alone win the championship in the finals.

For the benefit of the team as a whole, now it is only possible to sacrifice the personal interests of these people.

He shouted loudly: "Everyone cheer up!"

Nothing works.

He sighed.

Forget it, let them go.Anyway, the reserve team is a place with no hope...

(End of this chapter)