Chapter 1 Opportunity

Zhao Gang walked over, and the youth training coach Cisse smiled warmly, "The other coaches have already given their evaluations of you. Dribbling and passing are below average, and your physique is barely acceptable. You didn't pass the assessment."

Zhao Gang nodded, as expected.

"Whether it's dribbling, passing, or physique, these can all be gradually improved. There's something that can't be achieved through training, and that's football IQ and flashes of brilliance on the field.

I noticed your positioning, but your teammates couldn't give you enough support.

And that shot, I've been thinking, if you had enough support, would you still have that flash of brilliance? But you probably won't get that chance at Manchester United.

So, I'd like to introduce you to another club. If you want to go, you can have a trial there and get a lot of shooting opportunities. Would you like to give it a try?"

"Of course." Zhao Gang's eyes lit up, and he took the business card from Cisse.

The team address and name.

Norwich City, a Championship team nicknamed the Canaries. They belong to the second tier of English football.

Founded in 1902, their home stadium is Carrow Road.

Slightly different from the Norwich that Zhao Gang knew.

This world's Norwich is also considered a strong Championship team and has been promoted to the Premier League several times.

The amazing thing is that before being relegated from the Premier League last year, this Norwich team actually won the FA Cup!

This means that Norwich is eligible to participate in the Europa League this season!

If he could join Norwich, he would not only have the opportunity to complete the mission, but also be able to show himself on the big stage of the Europa League.

"After their relegation, two forwards left the team. At the beginning of the season, two more forwards were injured. Now that the transfer window is closed, they can't strengthen the team and can only promote young forwards from the youth team, so this is a good opportunity for you. If the trial is successful, you can join the youth team and then sign with Norwich."

"Of course, you must rely on your own efforts to prove that that shot wasn't just luck."

Zhao Gang thanked Cisse and went to Carrow Road the next day.

He briefly explained the situation to the security personnel. Obviously, Cisse had mentioned Zhao Gang to the Norwich coach, and the security guard let Zhao Gang in directly.

Norwich coach Farke looked the young man from Long Country up and down.

Cisse had told him about his situation. Dribbling and passing were not up to professional standards. With his current ability, it would be difficult to get a starting position in the Championship.

Even a substitute role would be difficult.

However, his positioning was excellent, and he had a keen sense for goal, but he needed someone to supply him with ammunition.

Moreover, that shocking shot had impressed Cisse. This trial was partly because Norwich's forward line was indeed running out of options, and partly because Cisse had some expectations and wanted to see if that shot was just luck.

Farke had a good relationship with Cisse, so he was also doing Cisse a small favor.

His forwards seemed to be cursed, getting injured during training and needing four to five months to recover. The team was on the verge of relegation. After more than ten league games, they had only scored nine goals and had been shut out for five consecutive games!

Last season they were still in the Premier League, and next season they would be in League One.

If he hadn't led the team to win the FA Cup last season, he would have been sacked by the management long ago.

Norwich was currently in training.

Farke stopped the scrimmage and told a forward promoted from the youth team to come off the field.

"You go on the red team, formation 442. You only have one goal: score. I don't need you to defend, I don't need you to drop back to get the ball, just find the opportunity and keep shooting. The midfielders will give you strong support!"

Zhao Gang changed his clothes and went straight onto the field.

The players on the field were somewhat distrustful of this yellow-skinned young player, but this was Zhao Gang's trial, and Farke had given instructions, so as long as Zhao Gang could get into position, they were still willing to pass the ball to him.

As soon as Zhao Gang came on the field, his first touch made Farke frown.

His ball control was too poor, probably only a little better than an amateur league player.

Five minutes later, Farke felt that he had been deceived by Cisse.

What the hell?

His ball control was substandard, and he was completely useless in one-on-one situations, with no chance to dribble into space to shoot.

Apart from his positioning, which was indeed a bit special, he was useless!

But what's the use of good positioning if you can't even control the ball, how can you adjust to shoot?

During these ten minutes or so, Zhao Gang was familiarizing himself with the strength and angle of the midfielders' passes.

Now that he was almost familiar with it, Farke's patience had run out.

Cisse, you're really getting old and confused, giving me this kind of thing to amuse me.

Norwich is about to be relegated, and you're still joking with me?

Farke rubbed his temples, his face a little gloomy. He was about to call off the training match directly. After all, with his experience, ten minutes was enough to see the level of a forward who was constantly being fed the ball.

Zhao Gang was constantly running, and suddenly, he raised his left hand, asking his teammates for the ball.

Wright, who was dribbling forward, saw Zhao Gang's action and hesitated slightly before making an over-the-top long pass that went directly over the defender.

Professional players were indeed dedicated enough. They would definitely complete the tasks assigned by the coach.

Zhao Gang was successful in beating the offside trap, but he wasn't fast enough and was overtaken by the left-back, who stretched out his foot to intercept the ball.

Farke kept shaking his head. With Zhao Gang's ball control, he would definitely lose this high ball, especially with the defender interfering.

As the ball was still falling in the air, Zhao Gang, who was thirty meters away from the goal, swung his right leg directly.

Farke's face darkened. Was this guy brain-dead?

So far away, with a defender interfering, and he can't even control the ball, and he wants to shoot directly?

A waste of time!

Looking at his posture, he's even planning to curl it with the outside of his foot!

Is he trying to curl it into the sky?

Farke completely lost interest, shrugged, and walked towards the coaching bench.

"Wonderful!"

With Wright's shout, the players on the field instantly became excited.

Farke, who had just turned around, turned back and saw a group of players surrounding Zhao Gang.

The defender who was marking Zhao Gang kept shaking his head, and the blue team's goalkeeper spread his hands, then put his hands on his hips.

The football was bouncing non-stop in the goal.

Farke's mouth twitched, and he kept scratching his head.

How did this ball go in?

An over-the-top long pass, the defender had already taken up position and was constantly interfering.

With Zhao Gang's level, he couldn't even hold the ball, let alone adjust and get rid of the defender.

The only possibility was…

Farke opened his mouth wide. Could there be such a person in this world?

To be able to receive a high ball from about thirty meters away, and curl it into the goal with the outside of his foot without adjusting?

The outside of the foot requires a super high level of skill, and he can't even control the ball well, so how could he curl out that kind of arc?

Farke suddenly remembered what Cisse said: You must watch his shooting, even if there is a successful shot in a training match that you can't believe, he is the player you are looking for!

No, one shot is not enough, I will only believe it if there are two or three shots, that this is not a fluke.

Farke suddenly perked up.

"Continue, continue! Follow the previous tactics, run, move! Pass the ball to Zhao as much as possible!"

Farke, who had originally planned to call a halt, decided to continue his observation.

He had just turned around and missed an extremely wonderful goal.

This time, he would never miss it again!