Chapter 17

Despite Chen Yingxiong's minimal rest due to attending the FIFA Ballon d'Or ceremony in Zurich, he still appeared on the field on the 17th for the away game against Stoke City.

The previous League Cup semi-final had been on January 14th, leaving only two days of rest. Chen Yingxiong then traveled to Zurich on the 15th to attend the FIFA Ballon d'Or ceremony. He arrived in Liverpool on the morning of the 16th, went to Melwood for training in the afternoon, and then went straight to the away game.

He had absolutely no time to rest.

Such a hectic schedule would have exhausted most people and definitely affected their form.

But not Chen Yingxiong.

He still scored the goals he was supposed to score, and the team still won the games they were supposed to win.

In the away game, he scored a goal, helping Liverpool defeat Stoke City 4-2.

Three days later, in the FA Cup fourth round, Liverpool played Burnley away.

※※※

In the League Cup semi-final, Martin O'Neill only used six reserve team players. However, the FA Cup fourth round was not the same as the League Cup semi-final, so he insisted on using all the reserve team players, with only Chen Yingxiong from the first team.

For the reserve team players, the unhappiness of being abandoned in the League Cup semi-final quickly disappeared. Coach Clarke was right, they were a whole, whether it was the first team, the reserves, or the youth team, they all shared a common name before their titles—"Liverpool."

So whether it was the Liverpool first team or the Liverpool reserves, it was Liverpool that had reached the League Cup final. As members of Liverpool Football Club, they naturally felt proud and honored.

Anyway, they were still playing in the FA Cup.

This gave them another chance to show their strength.

"Hey, guys, long time no see!"

Chen Yingxiong saw the reserve team players at field number two and raised his hand to greet them.

It hadn't actually been that long. They had only seen each other on January 2nd, and today was January 19th, only seventeen days apart.

He had even seen some of them during the League Cup semi-final.

But he felt like he hadn't seen these people in a long time.

Some of the reserve team players were older than him, some were younger. But Chen Yingxiong was the leader of this team.

When he fought alongside them in the League Cup and FA Cup, the captain's armband was on his left arm.

※※※

In fact, there wasn't much content in the training the day before the game. The main purpose was to let Chen Yingxiong and the reserve team players train together, adapt to each other, and get to know each other. After all, the reserves had been training systematically, and Chen Yingxiong's training intensity in the first team was also not low, so neither side would have a lack of training. What they needed was to work together and become familiar with each other so that they could have a tacit understanding.

But now this kind of training was no longer important, because since last season, Chen Yingxiong had been training and playing with the second team in every League Cup and FA Cup game. No matter how unfamiliar they were before, they had gradually become familiar with each other now, and there was no problem with coordination.

Moreover, as a center forward, Chen Yingxiong didn't require much coordination. Basically, passing and running was enough.

There was no need to specifically design any particularly complicated tactics that required both sides to train and adapt to at the same time.

They just gathered together to do some set-piece tactic practice, and then had a nine-on-nine small-field scrimmage, and that was it.

After the training, everyone went back to the locker room to shower, and then took the bus to the away game.

In the evening, they would arrive at the hotel where they were staying, spend the night there, and the next morning, coach Martin O'Neill would attend the pre-match press conference, and the afternoon would be the FA Cup game.

That was the itinerary.

In the locker room, while showering and changing clothes, Chen Yingxiong was still the focus.

Everyone congratulated him on winning the FIFA Silver Ball.

Although Chen Yingxiong didn't care about the Silver Ball at all, for the reserve team players, just being able to stand on the stage with the other two was a great honor. Because it proved that Chen Yingxiong was one of the three best players in the world right now.

Chen Yingxiong verbally thanked them for their congratulations and chatted with them. Somehow, the topic turned to the League Cup semi-final again.

Although Clarke had severely reprimanded Evan, it didn't mean that everyone didn't have other thoughts in their hearts. Take Evan himself, for example. He was actually very unconvinced. He always believed that the reserve team players deserved the credit for reaching the League Cup semi-final. Even if he wasn't the main contributor, he should at least have been a secondary contributor, right? Although Chen Yingxiong was amazing, if it weren't for them, Chen Yingxiong wouldn't even have the qualifications to participate.

So he felt that the first team's behavior was picking peaches, and he felt indignant for himself and his other reserve team teammates.

He was the kind of player in the reserve team who actively contacted other teams, wanting to leave Liverpool as soon as possible to pursue his football career. No matter how great his feelings for Liverpool were, they couldn't compare to the importance of his own future.

He had lost an opportunity to show himself in the League Cup semi-final, how could he not be angry?

When he saw Chen Yingxiong, he couldn't help but complain.

"I guess we won't have any part in the League Cup final, will we?"

"Evan!" The teammates next to him couldn't possibly not understand what he meant by this sentence, so they quickly stopped him.

He rolled his eyes. Although he didn't continue to speak, the unhappiness on his face was already obvious.

Chen Yingxiong didn't argue with this Evan, assuming that this was the true thought of the reserve team players.

Although he was stopped, the originally lively bathroom suddenly fell into silence.

Obviously, Evan had opened the wound in the hearts of most of the reserve team players—they still cared a lot about losing the opportunity to participate in the League Cup semi-final and final.

Moreover, Evan was right. Only six reserve team players were used in the League Cup semi-final, so maybe not even one reserve team player would be used in the League Cup final against a team like Manchester City. At that time, it would be the complete Liverpool first team against Manchester City.

Thinking of this, everyone felt a little depressed. Because they thought of the future of the FA Cup.

They worked so hard to help the team reach the semi-finals, but maybe they wouldn't have any part in the last two key games. They could only watch on TV, as spectators.

That feeling made it impossible for them to smile right now.

The happier they laughed now, the more they would feel that their efforts had been in vain in the future.

The person who scolded Evan was Jay Spearing, the usual captain of the reserve team. This twenty-six-year-old player was in his prime. In 2007, he was transferred from the youth team to the reserve team. In 2009, he represented the first team, but later he progressed slowly and was never able to meet the requirements of the first team, so he was demoted to the reserve team for a long time to participate in the games.

He was considered the most senior player in the current Liverpool reserve team. Usually, the captain's armband was on his arm.

Not counting Chen Yingxiong, he was the most prestigious player in the reserve team's locker room, because compared to other people, he had the most experience in first-team games.

"What nonsense are you talking about, Evan? If it weren't for Yingxiong, you might not even have the qualifications to reach the semi-finals! It's already very good that you can play a few more cup games than usual!"

This was actually true. If it weren't for Chen Yingxiong, they might not even have been able to reach the semi-finals.

Compared to the past, they already had many more opportunities to play, so what was there to be dissatisfied with?

But human nature is like this. If it's not his, and it has nothing to do with him, he won't think about it. But if you give him a little bit, he will want more.

There is a story that tells this truth: A person sponsored a poor man, giving him living expenses every month, but later his wife became ill, and he needed a lot of money to treat his wife, so he didn't continue to sponsor the poor man. Who would have thought that the poor man would come to the door and angrily denounce the other party: "How can you use the money that belongs to me to treat your wife!"

Yes, when helping becomes a habit, the person being helped will feel that this is a matter of course, and that they should enjoy it.

Seeing Spearing scolding his reserve team teammates, Chen Yingxiong felt a little embarrassed.

This matter had indeed formed a knot in his heart.

He quickly took a shower and left the bathroom.

Seeing him leave, Spearing didn't want to scold Evan anymore, he just sighed.

As the captain, he knew very well what the reserve team players were thinking. Because he had similar thoughts, but they were buried deeper than most people.

Moreover, he did want to leave this team after his contract expired. At that time, it should be easier to find a new club as a free agent.

But these were all his own internal plans, how could he say them in front of Chen Yingxiong?

In any case, Spearing, as a player who had grown up in the Liverpool youth team, still cared about the collective sense of honor.

His own future was his own future, and the team's glory was the team's glory, he separated them very clearly.

※※※

After the incident in the bathroom, the atmosphere in the reserve team suddenly became negative and silent.

In the FA Cup game the next day, Spearing and Evan both started. Their performance was mediocre, and Chen Yingxiong was still the most dazzling person.

Just like what the media said after the League Cup semi-final, Chen Yingxiong was the only guarantee that this team could move forward. The others were supporting actors, or not even supporting actors. The only value of their existence was to let Chen Yingxiong have enough eleven people to play, and then be spectators in the game, watching Chen Yingxiong solve the opponents.

Burnley wasn't strong, just a Championship team. Chen Yingxiong shined brightly in the game, scoring a hat-trick and helping the team beat their opponents 4-1, successfully advancing to the fifth round.

However, after the game, everyone didn't seem to be too happy.

Because they all knew that even if the team won the FA Cup in the end, it wouldn't have anything to do with them. At that time, it wouldn't be them receiving the FA Cup from Prince Charles on the podium. They could only sit in the stands and applaud with the other spectators.

But for them, who had participated in every FA Cup game before the semi-finals, they would always feel empty inside.

This feeling made them unable to laugh now.

The happier they laughed now, the more they would feel that their efforts had been in vain in the future.