Golden Greenery

"Zhuoyang, just call me Helhao." Mei's father said, "Look, Xiaojie and Xiaobu, they all call me that."

"Uncle Mei, they are who they are, but I can't do this." Zhuo Yang said: "Everyone grows up with a different cultural background. Xiaojie and Xiaobu call you that way because of their culture, and there is no disrespect. "

Zhuo Yang sipped his black tea and continued: "But I can't. This is the education I received since I was a child. If I call you that, it will definitely be rude."

"Well, you have always insisted on your own opinions and are a very independent young man." Dad Mei smiled and nodded.

Zhuo Yang picked up the silver teapot and refilled the black tea in Dad Mei's cup. "Uncle Mei, why isn't Leo here?" Zhuo Yang didn't raise his head, and he didn't let the tea in the cup overflow, and not a drop of tea spilled outside the cup.

"I just wanted to have a casual chat with you today, Leo... When I went out, he was playing ball on the small court, and I didn't call him."

Zhuoyang put down the silver pot in his hand: "Leo is very dedicated to football, I am ashamed of myself."

Dad Mei picked up the teacup and held it in his hands, leaned back in the soft chair, and looked up at the ceiling. "On Leo's fourth birthday, I gave him a football. That night, he refused to let go. He would hold it while sleeping at night."

Zhuo Yang also leaned forward and listened with great interest to Mei's father telling the story of Messi's childhood.

"The children in Rosario all like football. I began to think that Leo would be like them. Leo's two brothers also like football." Dad Mei took a sip of the water in the cup.

"But soon, I discovered that Leo was different from other children. He loved football so much. Not only on his birthday night, Leo had to hold the football in his arms to fall asleep every night. This lasted until he was eight years old."

Zhuo Yang nodded: "This is love. Leo is a genius born for football. I also started playing football at the age of four, but I am far less passionate than Leo."

"Zhuoyang, your talent is much stronger than Leo's."

"Uncle Mei, are you saying that I am lazy because I don't work as hard as Leo? Hahaha..."

"Hahaha, how dare you, how dare you, your hard work in football has long been famous in the football world. The excellent training atmosphere of Fort Madi and Milan is due to your leadership."

The day after the first leg of the Champions League semi-final with Real Madrid, Messi's father, Herr Messi, suddenly invited him, which surprised Zhuo Yang.

In yesterday's game, Zhuo Yang, who scored twice, led Barcelona to a 2:0 victory over Real Madrid in the away game. Not only did Real Madrid have little chance of a comeback at the Bernabeu, it also allowed him to score 11 goals in the Champions League this season. Tied with Messi, the two are at the top of the list.

It's normal for Mei's father to treat him to dinner. Zhuo Yang has lost count of the number of times he has treated him to dinner in the past year. The place where Mei's father is treating today is the Vinitus Turkish restaurant where Messi arranged to arrange a deal with Zhuoyang and Pinto last time, but it was replaced by the largest private room here.

But only Zhuo Yang was invited, and Messi didn't come either, so the meaning was a bit unusual. However, when Zhuo Yang asked something just now, Mei's father did not answer directly, so he just let it go and stopped asking further questions.

Zhuo Yang is a smart man, and Mei's father handled it this way. He must have something to discuss with him tonight, and the matter itself was not appropriate for Messi to hear. Although I don’t know the details yet, I can see through it without telling you.

"When Leo was five years old, he was already much better than other children of the same age. Even those children who were seven or eight years old were not as good as him." Dad Mei said, "It's just that his body... so at that time I felt O needs special training."

"I resigned from the factory and applied for a job as a youth team physical coach for a small team nearby. The salary was pitiful, far less than what I earned at the factory. I did it just so that I could personally coach Leo to play football. .”

The story of Leo Messi has been basically known to the world over the years, and the rumors about "dwarfism" and "poor family" are naturally true. Being disliked by Newell's old club and discovered by La Masia coach Kuka,

is also like this.

Everyone marveled at Messi's early ups and downs and adventures, but Zhuoyang keenly discovered the most critical point: Messi's father was very decisive and correct in every decision he made.

Messi can grow from a "dwarf" with no future to the emperor of football today. Regardless of his own efforts and talents, it is very important that Messi's father makes the right decision every time. Because of this, Zhuo Yang admires Dad Mei very much.

"You're right, Zhuo Yang." Mei's father said: "Leo loves football very much, and he has suffered a lot. However, who doesn't suffer when he grows up? But in the 24 years since Leo was born, he has suffered a lot. All the pain is in football."

There was something in the words, and Zhuo Yang understood it. What Dad Mei is actually saying is that Messi is too obsessed with football, and he knows nothing else but football. The 'knowledge' here definitely does not mean being good at it.

Not to mention compared to Zhuo Yang, who can achieve great success across borders, Messi is not as good as other professional players in many aspects.

Most professional players actually don't understand anything other than football, and Messi even more so. Zhuo Yang sometimes doubts whether Messi can continue to survive without his father Mei and football.

It is not unusual among professional players to have no other skills except football, but Messi relies too much on his father, who needs his advice on what to wear and where to eat. Zhuo Yang doesn't know whether this is caused by Mei's father taking over everything since he was a child, or whether God has focused all of Messi's skills on football.

If Messi, like Zhuo Yang, leaves home alone at the age of 17 to work in a foreign country thousands of miles away, the outcome is not easy to say. Will he be destroyed by a confused life? Or will he become a lonely and determined football tough guy? There is only one one-way road in life with no turning back, no one can assume that.

"Zhuoyang, Leo and I are actually very envious of you." Mei's father brought up the silver pot to refill Zhuoyang's tea, and Zhuoyang quickly pushed the cup forward gently.

"Your father is a soldier and your mother is a musician. With all due respect to you, even if you don't play football or piano, you will still have enough food and clothing. You may find a job in the army, or you may find a job after school. An otherwise mundane job. Whatever you do, you'll make a good living."

"But for Leo and our family, if Leo doesn't play football, there will be nothing."

"Uncle Mei, it's unfair to say this. We all see Leo's persistence and hard work in football. With such qualities, you will succeed in anything you do. It's just that Leo chose football."

Zhuo Yang didn't know if what he said was right, but he could only comfort Dad Mei in this way at this time. Others can laugh at themselves about things in this world, but you cannot agree with them.

Dad Mei adjusted the buttons of his shirt cuffs, and after sitting upright in the soft chair again, he looked into Zhuo Yang's eyes.

"Zhuoyang, I invited you here today because I want you to talk about Leo's shortcomings and shortcomings in football. You have a lot of experience in football and have seen many talented players, so I hope you will Be open and honest and give lots of advice.”