Beast King Costa

Chapter 232 The Cradle of the Future

In the afternoon, Kang Mengjun, the general manager of the Shandong team, invited Benfica and his team to visit the Shandong Luneng Football School.

As the head coach of Benfica, Fernando Santos must be regarded as a guest of honor.

There were also several Benfica staff who came to China with the team. However, since they had just joined Benfica and had been training with the team, Diego did not know the positions of these staff in the Benfica club. , and where does the importance go.

Of course, in China, for the Benfica team, the only one who can speak Chinese is definitely the most important.

Therefore, Diego was also invited to Shandong Luneng Football School.

The players who went with him, as well as Moreto, Beto, Assis, Nelson, and David Luiz, are basically certain players who will be within the framework of Benfica's main force next season.

It takes about 20 minutes from the hotel where we stayed to Shandong Luneng Football School. The general manager Kang Mengjun asked the club to send two commercial vehicles with seven seats. The journey was comfortable.

At least not as tiring as taking a bus.

When a group of people arrived at Shandong Luneng Football School, it happened to be the beginning of the afternoon training session.

Looking at the young players, including those who have reached a certain age and have a good chance of entering the professional team echelon, sweating profusely on the training ground, and the coaches are carefully guiding the players' technical movements, The discipline of the players has also been maintained quite well.

At least, let others see that their attitude is very professional, even if they are only students of the football school and not yet players of the professional team.

But their attitude told everyone: "We are ready to enter the professional team to play at any time!"

"Good, good."

As the saying goes: no comparison, no harm.

After seeing the casual training attitude of the young players of the Qingdao team, and comparing the serious attitude of the young players of Shandong Luneng Football School, Fernando Santos showed a very rare appreciation.

With the help of Diego, general manager Kang Mengjun had some relatively professional communication with Fernando Santos on the issue of youth training with a smile.

It's just that Santos' various answers are not enough for Kang Mengjun to gain anything - at least, the suggestions he wants to gain are not these...

"Coach Santos, what do you think is the most important thing to help young players grow?"

"I think it is very important to give young players confidence!"

"Then what do you think the youth training coach should bring to the players?"

"Basic skills! Before entering the professional team echelon, basic skills are the most important!"

"What is the secret behind the success of Benfica's youth training?"

"... I don't think Benfica's youth training has been successful at all! Our young people have a bad attitude."

"Uh...the Benfica youth team, don't they have a lot of potential young monsters?"

"Without the talent to be fulfilled, no matter how high it is, it's meaningless, it's completely meaningless!"

……

In the end, Kang Mengjun stopped communicating with Fernando Santos. He always felt that the old Portuguese coach was perfunctory.

"Ugh……"

Kang Mengjun couldn't help complaining to Diego in Chinese: "Coach Santos's answer was vague. We also know that basic skills are important, but how to play basic skills? Also! Benfica's echelon is meaningless except for so many monsters. No way. Understand, I really can't understand."

"This is..."

After scratching his head and thinking about it for a while, Diego could only give Kang Mengjun an equally cloudy answer: "Maybe it's because of cultural differences! Therefore, Coach Santos can't quite understand your various questions. Otherwise, you Another way to communicate with coach Santos?"

"Forget it!"

Kang Mengjun shook his head like a rattle, and muttered: "It's too difficult to communicate with these old stubborn Westerners. It's easier to communicate with the former Yugoslavs. After all, they used to be veterans of society. Everyone has two glasses of wine, what's the problem?" It's all transparent."

"maybe."

Diego didn't bother to delve into these issues with the other party.

After all, this is the first time Diego has come to Shandong Luneng Football School, and Diego is more interested in focusing his energy on visiting the Shandong Luneng youth training system.

As the most systematic youth training in Chinese football, Shandong Luneng Football School has trained too many national players. It can be called the cradle of Chinese football talents.

However, most of the players who played well in football schools and talented players finally chose to return to school and did not embark on the difficult path of professional football.

In Chinese football, in the process from football school to youth team and first team, too many young players with potential choose to give up because of the lack of support from their families and the olive branch of universities.

After all, being able to enter a good university and get a diploma from a key university through the status of a sports student means that there will be a stepping stone to open up better jobs in the future.

Most importantly, it doesn't have to be too hard!

Professional players fight here and there every year, keep training every day, and keep in shape. In order to maintain their physical functions in an optimal state, they even have to avoid eating a lot of delicious food. Any injury troubles, it is very likely that the entire career will be directly ruined.

You know, in this era, the wages of football players are not high.

Unless the main players of the Chinese Super League's first team can get the salary at the top of the pyramid, the salary of most other players is higher than that of ordinary office workers.

The risk-to-reward ratio is completely disproportionate.

How many people are willing to plunge headlong into this road?

Therefore, for young players who embark on the path of professional football, they not only need enough support from their families, but also have a firm belief in themselves-me!Just want to play in the professional team!I just want to be a professional football player!

In such a big environment, no matter how well they play, those who dare to choose the path of professional football are enough to make many people stand in awe!

At least, Diego still has a very high respect for those young people who are sweating profusely but still have a full smile on their faces on the football school training ground.

They don't have golden fingers like the Real Ball King System, which helps them to master the basic skills in a short period of time.Everything has to be done by oneself, step by step!

Watching a certain young player celebrate happily with his teammates after scoring a direct free kick.

Not far away, Diego murmured to himself with emotion: "I hope that you will all be able to persevere on the road of professional football in the future!"

……

After briefly visiting the surrounding environment of Shandong Luneng Football School, Kang Mengjun invited Benfica and his team into the office building.

Here are the results of some players produced by Shandong Luneng Football School-photos of various national players. "Brothers" follow suit.

In this regard, several first-team players from Benfica last season also nodded in approval.

Moreto nodded and said, "Although I don't know what is written in Chinese, it can be seen that this Chinese club's youth training has produced many good players!"

Beto also agreed with Moreto's point of view: "These results are announced in the corridor, and it can also give more encouragement to young players. I think it is very good."

Seeing that the two teammates highly affirmed some practices of Shandong Luneng Football School, Diego asked curiously: "Does Benfica Youth Academy have a similar 'grade wall'?"

"Of course!"

Beto, who was born in the Benfica youth training system, said to Diego Cope: "Benfica's youth training school not only has a similar 'score wall', but even every year, players who have achieved success in European football go back to school to do activities. Tell the young players their past stories and interact with them... In a word, it is to help the young players build up their confidence and tell them 'as long as you persevere, the future is bright', and the young players will also be inspired by these seniors. Encouragement, and establish a variety of firm beliefs."

After all, Beto couldn't help but blushed: "When I hadn't entered the Benfica echelon, I was led by Rui Costa to play the game. At that time, Rui Costa also praised me for playing well in the midfield position. Very experienced. After that, I have been playing in the midfield position. Even if a coach suggested that I play full-back to break the current bottleneck, I did not try to change my position on the field... Ah! Next season I'm going to work with this golden generation of international players, and I don't know if he still remembers me."

"Wow! When Rui Costa returned to the youth training school, he actually took you to play games?!"

Nelson was envious: "I always wanted to interact with Rui Costa, but unfortunately I didn't play well during that time and was not selected. This became my biggest regret at the time. "

"Haha! What is there to regret?"

Assis couldn't help but shrugged and said: "Next season, Rui Costa will return to his roots, and then he will get along with your idol day and night."

"Rui Costa!"

Although David Luiz is a rookie who has just landed in European football, he certainly does not know the name.

I saw David Luiz quite emotionally said: "Next season, I will ask this senior more about free kicks. I always feel that I can play better free kicks."

Moreto couldn't help but said: "Wow! David, I feel that it is difficult to catch your heavy free kick now. If you ask Rui Costa for advice on free kicks and then upgrade, you will be successful in the future." The team's number one free-kick taker. At that time, free-kick masters like Beto and Pettit will be out of work."

"Hahahahaha!"

……

Just when several first-team players of Benfica were talking and laughing and teasing each other, an old coach who was over fifty years old came over with a few students from the football school.

Obviously, they rarely saw foreign players. It was the first time they saw so many foreign players, and they communicated in various low voices.

"Benfica players! The Portuguese Super League team!"

"Moreto! I have an impression of him! Benfica's main goalkeeper!"

"Oh my god! If I can score in the game the day after tomorrow, it will be the goal of Benfica's main goalkeeper!"

"Then you have to be able to get a chance to play."

"It's okay! I will fight for it, hehe!"

……

Listening to the chat content of these young players, Diego also turned his attention away.

These young players in school uniforms are about 56 to 90 years old. According to age, they are probably the first batch of post-[-]s players, right?

It is estimated that they have not entered the echelon of Shandong Luneng Club at this moment, and they are still practicing hard at the football school to strengthen their basic skills.

It's a pity that Diego didn't recognize who they were from their faces.

But Diego believes that some of these players must be the main force of the Shandong Luneng team in the future. After all, from the slightly immature facial contours, Diego can still feel two or three points of familiarity.

I saw Kang Mengjun introducing to Fernando Santos: "They are the best young players in our football school in the past two years. The game the day after tomorrow will also be included in the team and play with your club. "

After all, Kang Mengjun said with a smile: "Coach Santos can inspect them to see if they have the opportunity to enter Benfica's youth training system for a few years. Our football school still encourages young players to stay abroad and experience the European culture. Football at the highest level."

In this regard, Fernando Santos readily agreed: "Don't worry, I will keep an eye on them for the game the day after tomorrow."

Perhaps Fernando Santos has more preferences for young players, or he has an extremely old and unique vision for young players?
Diego could tell that the old coach had begun to visually inspect these young players, as if using his naked eyes to judge whether they had the potential to enter Benfica's youth training system.

After visiting the Shandong Luneng Football School, Fernando Santos talked with the head of the football school for another ten minutes, and the afternoon schedule was almost over.

It is a pity for Diego that the person in charge of the football school, like Kang Mengjun, did not gain much from the communication with Fernando Santos.

The old coach Fernando Santos does not seem to want to waste his time. In these theoretical exchanges, this also led to various communications being very short.

Before leaving the football school, after Fernando Santos asked Diego to confirm with Kang Mengjun the training venue and training time for tomorrow, it will come to an end.

"Diego, I still need your help tomorrow."

Fernando Santos reminded Diego: "Tomorrow afternoon, Yang Xu's agent will take him to the training ground for trial training."

After all, Fernando Santos couldn't help but shook his head and complained: "I hope Yang's manager, don't ask so many meaningless questions like today's managers!"

(End of this chapter)