Prominence in Football Community

Because you are Chinese.

Gao Zheng hadn't heard this sentence for a long time.

He heard it for the first time when he arrived at the Vismara training camp in Milan, Italy.

At that time, he performed well in the team's training, but when the team was playing, he could only be a substitute.

A substitute for one game, a substitute for two games, and a substitute for three games.

No matter how good he is in training, he's a backup.

At that time, he used the Italian he had just learned for a few days, and asked the coach why? Why not let him play.

The coach of the youth team told him: "Because you are Chinese."

At that time, Gao Zheng was at a loss and could not understand the meaning of this answer at all.

What's wrong with me being Chinese?

Am I not allowed to play because I am Chinese?

Can I not play football because I am Chinese?

I am here for training, what does it matter which nationality I am?

It was only later that Gao Zheng realized that this was actually a kind of implicit discrimination from abroad.

Of course they would not directly say "Because you are Chinese, we feel that your ability is low and you cannot meet the requirements for appearance", that is to be true.

The West still attaches great importance to political correctness.

But what you do on the surface can be controlled, but what you think in your heart cannot be controlled by relying on "political correctness".

This is implicit discrimination, which is more terrifying than explicit discrimination.

It took Gao Zheng some time to understand that in Italy, if he wants to play in the game, it is not enough just to perform well, or even to perform as well as those foreign players. This "foreign" does not only refer to Italians, but It includes all countries except China. They collectively refer to "foreigners". If they want to play in the game, it is very simple, that is, they must be better than these foreigners, and they must be twice as good.

Only in this way can he bridge the gap between him and his foreign teammates, be favored by the coach and play in the game.

Faced with this obviously unfair rule, fifteen-year-old Gao Zheng didn't feel sorry for himself, but worked hard.

Twice as good as you?

OK, that's twice as good as you guys.

In this way, Gao Zheng played in Milan's youth team.

Since he played the game, he has never given up his position.

He always has been.

With his outstanding performance, he has become the absolute main force and core of this team, allowing the coach to formulate tactics around him and allowing all teammates to cooperate with him.

At this time, no one said to him: "Because you are Chinese".

People ignore his nationality and only know that he is a super genius. What he has shown is intoxicating and cheering, and they don't care whether he is Chinese or not.

Gao Zheng thought he had defeated this implicit discrimination.

From now on, no one will treat him differently because of his Chinese identity.

He and the European players will be on the same starting line and compete on an equal footing.

As a result, today, he heard this sentence from his agent Viviano again.

"Because you are Chinese, if you touch their cake, they will naturally target you." Viviano further explained. "Didn't you notice that someone is already paying attention to whether you can get the top scorer of the season?"

Gao Zheng nodded. He had indeed heard this question from the reporter before, and what he said at the time was that it was too early to discuss this issue.

But it seems that in the eyes of some people, it is not too early

"That's it,

You are a Chinese, the more successful you are in football in this country, the more embarrassing it is for some people. You know, Italy is actually a very xenophobic country," Viviano explained with a little embarrassment, after all, he was speaking ill of his own country.

"Right now I'm just talking about the conflict between Donnarumma and you. It's so light that you can choose to ignore it, and it won't affect you at all. But in the future, I believe there will be more things to find out. It’s impossible for you to avoid seeing me when the time comes. So you have to be mentally prepared, Gao Zheng. Football problems can’t be solved simply with football.”

Gao Zheng shook his head: "No, Andre. Football problems can be solved with football."

Andrea Viviano looked at him strangely.

"When I first went to Wismara, I also encountered this problem. To play, I had to pay more than the rest of the team and performed better, twice as much as them. Good. But I ended up being the core of any team. I didn't give gifts to the coach, and I didn't try to build a good relationship with my teammates. I was just twice as good as them, so naturally the head coach liked me, teammates They also like me. So you see" Gao Zheng spread his hands, "When I am strong enough, football is just football."

Viviano didn't expect Gao Zheng to have such an idea. He was surprised at first, but after thinking about it carefully, he felt that Gao Zheng was right. As long as you have an absolute advantage in strength, what's the point of external disturbances?

So does Gao Zheng have such strength?

Of course there is, there must be, there must be!

Viviano thought so.

"The thing is actually very simple. If someone doesn't see me well, then I can't let them get what they want. Actually, I didn't really consider getting the Golden Boot before, but now that some people feel embarrassed, then I still have the Golden Boot." I have to take it." Gao Zheng laughed.

After Viviano became Gao Zheng's agent, he discovered that Gao Zheng really liked to laugh. But Gao Zheng's smile does not mean friendliness. In fact, on Gao Zheng's face, the smile has many different meanings.

This smile is full of murderous looks in Viviano's eyes.

He remembered that a gaming company had offered odds for the winner of the Serie A Golden Boot this season. Although Gao Zheng is currently ranked first on the list, judging from the odds, it is not unprofitable.

He is considering letting his wife use the money to buy Gao Zheng the Serie A Golden Boot for this season.

Otherwise, if you wait until the second half of the season to buy it, there is no need to buy it, because there must be no suspense

The next day, after a day off, Gao Zheng returned to the Mughnaini training base and met the group of Chinese students again.

"We're here to support you! You were so handsome in the lighthouse derby! Don't pay attention to what those stupid media say!"

The international students clenched their fists and spoke excitedly to Gao Zheng.

He noticed that in the crowd, Xiao Yingying and Feng Shiyao were also there. The two were behind the crowd and did not squeeze into the first row. Among them, Xiao Yingying was still winking at him, but Feng Shiyao standing next to her seemed very calm .

Gao Zheng closed his eyes, then smiled at the foreign students: "Thank you."

At this time, someone among the foreign students suddenly asked: "Well, brother Zheng, you have scored 13 goals now, can we also dream of the Golden Boot this season?"

Gao Zheng nodded and said, "Of course, why not take it if you can? Definitely take the Golden Boot."

Hearing what he said, the international students all cheered.

"Awesome! By then, Brother Zheng, you will be the first player in Chinese football to win the Golden Boot in the five major leagues!"

"What is the number one player in Chinese football? He is the number one player in Asian football!"

Xiao Yingying was a little strange, and whispered into Feng Shiyao's ear, "I remember he said he didn't consider the Golden Boot when he was interviewed the day before yesterday."

"We are not reporters." Feng Shiyao said.

"So he's trying to make us laugh?"

"There's no need to prevaricate us like a reporter." Feng Shiyao said.

"So he's telling the truth?" Xiao Yingying asked in surprise.

"Of course."

"So confident?" Xiao Yingying stared at Feng Shiyao with wide eyes.

"Don't you think he's always been confident?"

"No, no, I'm not talking about him, I'm talking about you." Xiao Yingying poked Feng Shiyao, "Is that why you have such confidence in the handsome guy? Do you two have some tacit understanding that I don't know about?"

Feng Shiyao remained calm, but pinched Xiao Yingying with her hand underneath, cutting off Xiao Yingying's nonsense.