Football: The immortal legend on the green field

Neeskens had to react to the indiscriminate attack on his teammates, just like the enemy. When the ball was dead, he replaced Deng Zhuoxiang with Fansico and Shen Bin with Genes. The score was 2:0.

Shen Bin finally took the path of open confrontation with Neeskens.

Albert Martins didn't know how to deal with his relationship with Neeskens and Shen Bin. Intellectually, he tended to the latter, but emotionally, it was definitely the former.

The discord between the two had been a semi-open secret since the first team formation, and now it was just a matter known to everyone inside Haarlem that was made public.

Albert Martins found that when Shen Bin left the court, almost all of his teammates kept a certain distance from him.

They were afraid of Shen Bin, just as they were afraid of Neeskens.

Only Link could still make a joke: "Shen Bin, I'm a reporter from the French Football magazine. Congratulations on your two-goal lead. What did you do to help Mr. Neeskens tonight?"

Shen Bin smiled and said unrighteously: "I prevented him from passing the ball to his illegitimate son by not passing the ball to his opponent, thus destroying his chances of getting a reward from his opponent. I am very happy that I did this."

"Wow, Shen Bin, you are such a perfect team player. All the fans of Haarlem will definitely be grateful to you, right?"

"Yeah, just like you pray every morning that the coach doesn't send you to a lower league."

There was no suspense. With ADO Den Haag's slow pace and weak forwards, their chance of turning the game around was close to zero. Haarlem only needed to patiently grind out their position to win the game.

And that’s exactly what they did.

In the end, Haarlem won a victory after an inexplicable league defeat, and with this victory, they returned to the fourth place in the Eredivisie.

However, it was of no use. They were already 5 points behind Roda JC which was in third place. Returning to the First Division was just a luxury, unless Roda JC also made a move like Hallam Athletic.

The public opinion about the falling out between Neeskens and Shen Bin is still at the forefront, and the situation in this game has made Haarlem the focus of public opinion in European football.

On May 2005, 5, Barcelona tied Levante 15-1 away with a goal from Eto'o, and eventually won the La Liga championship two rounds ahead of schedule with a 1-point lead. This was also the 6th league championship in the team's history. Such news could not overshadow the exciting duel between the master and apprentice of this small club in the Dutch Eredivisie. ?

After all, one is an influential figure in world football, while the other is the hottest star in football.

Regardless, this matter has become a big deal.

Shen Bin also changed from being the "anti-Neeskens" in the team to being the recognized "anti-Neeskens".

Although Shen Bin's position in the team tends to surpass that of the head coach, the outside world's evaluation of the incident is one-sided. It is not to say that what Neeskens did was right, but that a player's rebellion gave the outside world a bad impression of "this is a super thorn". It is difficult for the relationship between Shen Bin and Neeskens to turn around.

Shen Bin didn't take it seriously. What if he didn't get along well with Neeskens? To put it another way, what was the worst outcome of this? He was traded.

With his current performance, even if he is traded, he will be valued by the new team.

In fact, being traded is what Shen Bin wants to see. Life is short, and only by staying away from the quagmire of Harlem Athletic can one live a good life.

Since we can't leave each other for the time being, we can only make do with each other.

The May schedule is finally coming to an end. In this month, Haarlem Athletic has achieved five wins, one draw and one loss in seven league games, but its opponents still failed to narrow the points gap with Haarlem Athletic, and Haarlem Athletic's road to promotion is becoming increasingly slim.

Neeskens placed all their hopes on the FA Cup. Fortunately, Haarlem's FA Cup opponent Utrecht had already lost to them in the previous league, so at least psychologically they still had an absolute advantage.

The day after tomorrow is the third-to-last round of the league. Haarlem will be away to challenge the leader and FA Cup opponent Utrecht. After playing against Utrecht, Haarlem will have two home games left. The opponents are Telstar and SBV Elite where Chen Tao and Dai Zhao play. However, between these two home games, they will play the FA Cup final at a third-party venue, Eindhoven's home stadium Philips Arena, and Utrecht.

This means they will face the same team twice within 10 days.

Today is the team's training day, and as usual, Neeskens handed the training over to assistant coach Brewer.

After Brewer led the team through a tactical class, he arranged a 7-on-7 half-court match.

Shen Bin did not participate in today's competition because he was taken away from the stadium by the team's operations director Popelin on the grounds of participating in a "voluntary activity."

"Volunteer activities? Is it to give gifts in the slums, or to care for the elderly in nursing homes? It can't be to meet children in school, right? I don't want to go." Shen Bin wanted to refuse.

Popyrin said solemnly: "Mr. Horst Solon wants to see you alone."

With doubts, Shen Bin followed Popelin to the door of the boss's office.

Albert Martins has been waiting here for a long time.

"Shen Bin, Mr. Horst admires you very much, so he wants to talk to you alone. Don't think too much about it." Martins said, "Neeskens won't know."

Shen Bin had more and more doubts in his mind. What did he mean by "Neeskens wouldn't know"? Was he going to meet and chat with the real boss without telling the head coach?

Wait, Neeskens is not in league with the owners? Because he also owns shares in the club.

The disputes that arose in the past were merely superficial phenomena, simply due to different business philosophies. Otherwise, the Horst family would not have sold part of their shares to Neskens. My previous ideas were too naive.

It is impossible for a shareholder not to want to make money! Neeskens could not just watch his investment go down the drain.

Shen Bin walked into the office, where Horst Sauron was sitting there reading some documents, and little Horst was sitting on the sofa below him.

"Boss, do you want to talk to me about something?"

Shen Bin asked straight to the point.

"Don't call me Boss, you can call me Mr. Zoro."

"Oh, Mr. Zoro."

Horst Solon continued to talk about those unimportant things, and then drove out little Horst who was about to stay, "I have been away from the club for almost a year, but even in the Middle East, I often hear people mention you. Even in that area where football is not well developed, some people know that Harlem Athletic Club has a promising Asian player. You have brought great attention to our team."

“This is thanks to everyone.”

"You are very humble. I like humble young people. I heard that you had some minor friction with John?"

"Yes, it's just a small friction. Please rest assured that there will be no problem. Mr. Neeskens and I both have a sense of boundaries. We will not cross each other's boundaries. Moreover, Mr. John Neeskens is my mentor and my good teacher. I will always respect him."

Okay, now that I've said that, it's time to let me go.

Shen Bin didn't want to talk official language with the boss anymore.

"Young man, I do like humble people, but sometimes if you are too humble, it's just hypocrisy."

Shen Bin asked: "Ah? Am I hypocritical?"

"You are hypocritical."

"If you like being unpretentious, then I can be unpretentious too."

It is true that Horst Thoron likes humble young men.

Albert Martins is a role model employee in his mind. He always knows when to advance and when to retreat, how to make choices, and who is his bread and butter. He will always respectfully and lovingly call the person who works for him "Mr. Horst Solon."

Old Horst could tell at a glance that Shen Bin was not and would never be a submissive subordinate like Martins.

Like Neeskens, he does not consider himself a worker to a large extent, he considers himself a collaborator, and therefore he does not respect the franchise owner.

However, Horst Solon was not the kind of person who would get angry because young people were not respectful enough. He could tolerate Johan Neeskens back then, so naturally he would allow Shen Bin to draw a line between the two sides so rudely.

"I like your straightforwardness, young man. I feel like you are my nephew."

Shen Bin asked with a smile: "So what do you want from me, Uncle Horst Solon?"

"Your commitment, your loyalty, your stance."

Shen Bin smiled and said, "I won't do anything beyond my obligations. I mean, obligations that are not included in the contract."

"Contracts are contracts, people are people, and we live in a world of disgust, fraud, and evil. Shen Bin, sometimes you have to do things beyond your obligations."

"for example?"

"Cooperate with Hallam in the transfer process, keep doing what you are doing and what is beneficial to both of us, as long as you make a promise, I will also promise you something I can do!"

"What do you mean by cooperation?"

"As the person who rescued you from poverty, neglect and being kicked out by Ajax, shouldn't you give back to the kind-hearted people, or what you Chinese call Bole? And as a player, don't you think you should be loyal to your city, your colleagues, your teammates, and your boss?"

Shen Bin thought for a while and gave his response: "Loyalty should be two-way. Before the situation changes, of course I am loyal to Haarlem, the fans and some teammates."

"As for my stance, I'm sorry, I wasn't born with the gene for betrayal. What I did was just what I wanted to do and what I had to do. It had nothing to do with my stance."

I will not do anything that harms the interests of a third party just to repay a favor, nor will I do anything that violates public order and morality for the sake of my friends or relatives. I cannot do something illegal just because you have done me a favor and in order to repay you.”

"On that basis, I will do my utmost to work in your best interests, Mr. Neeskens, you and the club, just as I have done before."

You only paid less than 100 million euros to sign me, and in less than a year, the club has earned tens of millions of dollars from Chinese companies. You think this return on investment should be among the top few among all active players, if not the highest!"

"Besides, isn't there a 3000 million penalty clause in my contract? The second contract I signed at that time was my utmost sincerity in repaying the club."

"I'm not going to make any promises about that."

"After all, you want me to be loyal to you, to my current club and to Amsterdam, but if I agree to your request, wouldn't that be indirectly betraying my future boss, the club and the fans of the new club? I won't do that."

"Well, Shen Bin, it seems that you are still a little worried about me,"

"What you said does make sense. Loyalty should be a two-way street. Just be yourself. As long as you can still do what you should do before you leave, my promise will still be valid."

"Can I go back to training now?"

"Go."

After Shen Bin left, Neeskens, Horst Jr. and Martins entered the office together.

"Did Shen Bin agree to our request, father?" asked little Horst.

Horst Solon looked at him kindly: "He said a lot of strange things."

Although Neeskens and Shen Bin are now on the verge of conflict, he is a stubborn, old-fashioned and pure person. He opposed Horst's attempt to test Shen Bin from the beginning. He knows this person who is a bit like himself too well. Shen Bin is like a mirror, reflecting another self. So he still wants to say a good word for Shen Bin, "It's normal for young people to be ignorant."

"Do you think you are sensible?" Hoster Soron complained secretly.

Old Horst stood up, and the bruises on his face were clearly visible. "John, you are no longer a player who sweats on the court. You have to know the difference between a player and a business owner. He has to understand that offending the franchise will cost him a price."

Little Horst asked in surprise: "He refused?"

"Are you surprised?" Old Horst said coldly, "However, from the moment he walked into this room, I knew that this young man was too mature and not as simple as you thought."

"You didn't tell him about my proposal? Dad, since he is so mature, the emotional card won't work. The most effective way to deal with this kind of person is to bind him with interests. There is no one in this society who is not interested in money." Little Horst was dissatisfied with his father's way of handling the matter.

"Don't think everyone is like the Jews on Wall Street. There is a big difference between the Chinese and the Jews. The Jews have no bottom line for money, they can do evil things, and they can sell their souls, but the Chinese are different. Although they are as wise as the Jews, most of them still have consciences in their hearts. Even if some Chinese do evil things, they will have nightmares in their sleep."

Neeskens agreed and smiled. "The Chinese don't have beliefs as we know them. Their beliefs come from a 5000-year-old culture. They always say, 'Don't lose face for our ancestors.' This is the main reason why I can tolerate his unreasonableness. After all, he is much better than the pagans of Islam and Judaism."

Martins blinked and tried to say something, but gave up.

Although he understood every word the three people said, his brain couldn't digest it.

He suddenly thought, is it possible that Shen Bin didn't understand, so he rejected Mr. Horst? After all, he was just an 18-year-old boy.