Chapter 15: The Europa League Group Stage Draw
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The industrial town of Wolfsburg was gradually settling into silence.
The home supporters left the stadium thoroughly satisfied.
Li Luo gave an interview to Bundesliga media in the mixed zone.
A tall blonde female reporter asked, “Li, you’ve broken through Wolfsburg fans’ information bubble. At last, they’ve seen your talent. Do you dare go shopping at the Outlet Village? You might find yourself surrounded by a great many supporters.”
An information bubble.
Many young prodigies who are highly regarded in their own countries or at the academies where they were trained find that new supporters are not particularly impressed when they move to an unfamiliar environment.
Take Morata, for instance. He was highly acclaimed by Real Madrid and throughout Spain, but when he first arrived at Juventus, Serie A fans were indifferent: What kind of prodigy have we never seen before? What kind of food have we never tasted?
Bojan was much the same. In Catalonia and at Barcelona, he had been exalted as the “successor to Messi,” “Barcelona’s true heir apparent,” and “the future helmsman of the invincible Armada.” Yet when he went to Rome, the local supporters did not take him seriously either.
...
Li Luo realized that his state of mind had changed without his noticing.
At first, back in Manchester, he would blush and feel self-conscious whenever he was interviewed by a blonde, blue-eyed reporter with a figure to turn heads and features that conformed to Eastern standards of beauty.
Not anymore.
Perhaps he had simply experienced too much during this period.
He replied calmly, “Then I’ll have one of my colleagues do the shopping at the Outlet Village for me.”
Everyone burst out laughing.
That was not the answer the Bundesliga media had been hoping for.
Still, it gave them a favorable first impression of Li Luo: this young man referred warmly to the club’s logistical staff and personal assistants as his colleagues.
.....
He did not linger with the media for long.
Li Luo soon returned home.
The first thing he did was open his notebook and begin writing in his diary.
He no longer needed to write reports for Manchester United, much less for Wolfsburg.
His diary was for himself alone.
“Experiences and impressions from the opening round of the Bundesliga.”
“First, my energy distribution remains problematic. During the phases of dropping back into position and organized defensive play, I spend too much time making rapid runs. Often, my defensive teammates can resolve the situation themselves. Even when my covering position is correct, I may still end up making a meaningless run.”
“Reasonable does not necessarily mean correct.”
“Second, against a team like Frankfurt, which is currently experiencing a historical low point, the tempo was relatively quick, but the intensity of the challenges was not particularly high. I was not subjected to much interference.”
“Third, with a midfield passing outlet like De Bruyne, my one-touch passing is extremely effective. Compared with my other teammates, he is always the first to understand what I intend to do.”
“Fourth, the head coach’s tactics are very simple. We spend most of the time defending from a deep position. In the next match, I can try to see whether I can do a little more. Or perhaps doing nothing is actually the correct choice?”
“Fifth, Bendtner said he would give me half of his goal bonus, but he still hasn’t transferred it.”
“Sixth, it’s eleven o’clock at night. I should put in another hour of extra training. Hard work is always rewarded... Forget it. I’m exhausted after the match. I’d better go to sleep.”
Weariness and drowsiness swept over him.
The young man from China rose from his chair, collapsed onto the bed, and fell into a deep sleep.
....
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The following morning.
A fine drizzle fell from the sky.
Wolfsburg was wrapped in a veil of mist.
“Why has there been so much rain this year?”
“Oh! A wonderful day has begun, my dear Li.”
Club manager Allofs warmly embraced Li Luo, who had dressed in a suit.
Wolfsburg were heading to the UEFA group-stage draw that day.
Li Luo smiled and was just about to say something when Allofs interrupted him.
“Yesterday... yesterday, Frankfurt manager Schaaf—I know him quite well.”
“Your performance was excellent. You played in roughly the same position I did when I was young. We should exchange experiences sometime.”
“Come on, come on. We ought to get going. The Europa League draw begins fairly early.”
....
Braunschweig Airport.
Allofs received rather good treatment there: he was excitedly surrounded by a group of elderly German men and women asking for his autograph.
A short while later, the plane took off.
Assistant Tom gazed at the clouds and mountains outside the window and said, “Sometimes I think the plane is actually motionless in the sky. The Earth rotates beneath it, and once we approach our destination, the plane simply descends.”
Li Luo thought for a moment, then said, “You’re right.”
Tom took a file from his folder.
“Li, let’s get down to business. I’ve finished watching all the footage from the first two Bundesliga rounds and divided the teams into several tiers based on their strength this season.”
“First tier: Bayern Munich when they aren’t experimenting tactically.”
“Second tier: Wolfsburg, Borussia Monchengladbach, Bayer Leverkusen, Schalke 04, Augsburg, and Borussia Dortmund.”
“Third tier: Bayern Munich when they are experimenting tactically...”
“Last night, against Schalke 04, Bayern’s manager experimented again and set up a very strange formation.”
Li Luo took the tablet Tom handed him.
The screen was showing footage of the match between Schalke 04 and Bayern Munich.
Gradually, he noticed that many aspects of Bayern’s tactics and formation changes ran counter to the theories in the textbooks.
He was deeply shaken.
He realized there was still a great deal he had to learn.
“Hopefully we’ll face Bayern in that sort of form when the time comes. The match should be much easier.”
“Li, you’re right. I think so too.”
....
The plane landed at Nice Airport.
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The Wolfsburg delegation exited through the arrivals gate, boarded a UEFA shuttle, and headed for the Grimaldi Forum.
The scenery outside the windows was unremarkable.
There were few pedestrians along either side of the road.
Allofs sighed with emotion. “Those media outlets and reporters become cold the moment they realize we aren’t a Champions League team.”
Li Luo comforted him. “It doesn’t matter. Next season, we’ll definitely qualify for the Champions League.”
“By then, you’ll have returned to Manchester United.”
The Wolfsburg manager smiled and shook his head before adding, “If Manchester United and Wolfsburg were to meet in the Champions League, and you came back to Wolfsburg to play an away match, what a wonderful reunion that would be...”
Tom’s tone was grave. “That’s hard to say. We don’t even know whether Manchester United will qualify for the Champions League next season.”
“...”
....
The Grimaldi Forum.
The Europa League draw ceremony was extremely simple, with no unnecessary speeches or drawn-out formalities.
“Something’s wrong.”
“Has there been a problem with the viewing figures monitoring system?”
“The number of people watching the online live stream is rising steadily too!”
The UEFA officials were utterly baffled.
Then, to their astonishment, they discovered that the event’s popularity was already approaching that of the Champions League draw.
Their gazes shifted involuntarily toward the young Chinese player seated among the player representatives.
“Tell the director to give that Wolfsburg lad more close-ups.”
“More close-ups!”
“I knew the Chinese market was enormous, but I never expected Li Luo to make the Europa League draw this popular as well!”
....
The Europa League draw ceremony was over in no time.
Before the audience had even had a chance to feel the tension of the suspense, the group-stage results had already been announced.
Group H: Inter Milan, Wolfsburg, Everton, and Dynamo Moscow.
...
The draw was broadcast simultaneously in the CTV5 studio.
In the comments section:
—“It’s settled. We avoided the Yellow Submarine and Sevilla.”
—“Why? Inter Milan and Everton are both famous clubs too.”
—“Based on my many years of experience losing money, I predict the decisive clash in this group will be Dynamo Moscow versus Wolfsburg.”
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