The Midfield Master

The first Madeira derby this season ended with a 0-1 defeat at home to Maritimo. No one thought that Maritimo, who had been undefeated in the first ten rounds and was in the limelight, would lose at home to the rival National Team in the same city.

Maritimo had an advantage in the whole game, whether it was shooting ratio, ball possession rate or other statistics, they were all dominant. But no matter how beautiful the statistics are, the most critical score has allowed the Nationals to take the lead.

In this game, Xia Ze's muddled performance in the first half has become a point of criticism from many media and fans. He, who has always performed brilliantly before, has become the target of public criticism.

Whether Xia Ze can withstand the pressure of a major game and take on the ability to lead the team all the way forward has become the most heated discussion point besides the outcome of this game.

And Maritimo's loss in this game also made many lottery players break their glasses, but the gaming company made a lot of money, which was a joy.

For several days in a row, Xia Ze did not recover from the state of failure. Although he trained harder every day, his heart was always filled with gloom.

Even though Grandpa Xia Jinhua's surgery was successful, it didn't make him any happier.

Hua Yan and Zhang Wei saw it, and were very worried. But they all know that this is a problem in Xia Ze's heart, if he can't break this shackle, it will be difficult to make further progress.

Why do we take advantage, but in exchange for a failure?

Obviously we have to work harder than them, but why are we failing? instead of them?

...

Xia Ze has been troubled by these questions in his heart. He is a person who does not like to lose, and since he played for Maritimo, he has never experienced failure. It's all a new feeling.

"Ozawa, don't think too much, there are always winners and losers in the game, we can't always win." Zhang Wei and Xia Ze walked side by side on the street, using the only ink in their stomachs to protect him.

Xia Ze didn't answer or react, but just looked ahead in some confusion, and walked blindly towards Huayan's house.

"Xiao Ze, do you think that person is very familiar?" Zhang Wei suddenly pointed to the front and said in surprise.

Xia Ze looked in the direction Zhang Wei pointed, and saw a man wearing a black overcoat, with a hat on his head, and his whole body was covered by the clothes. It seemed that the weather was not very cold, and he felt like the North Pole. .

The man walked in a hurry, looking around constantly, with the scarf covering his face, as if he was worried that others would find him.

But looking at this person's figure and walking posture, Xia Ze felt very familiar, and judging from the hurried demeanor of the person, there must be something wrong.

He greeted Zhang Wei and followed. Somewhat inexplicably, Zhang Wei could only follow behind Xia Ze, hanging behind the man in the windbreaker.

The three of them walked for a while, one in front and two in back, which gave Zhang Wei the feeling that they were making a detective movie, or that they were transformed into detectives. Thinking of Holmes' handsome movements and expressions, he couldn't help feeling a little excited.

But when he thought about his appearance and figure, he was at most Watson, how could he be Sherlock Holmes.

While thinking wildly, the man in the windbreaker had already walked into a gaming company, and Zhang Wei bumped into Xia Ze who was parked at the corner of the alley.

"How about it, do you want to follow?" Zhang Wei seemed to have regarded himself as Watson.

"I always feel that person is very familiar, but I still can't remember who it is." Xia Ze frowned, obviously trying to remember.

"Whoever he is, if he entered the gaming company so vigilantly, he must have won the jackpot!" Zhang Wei said carelessly.

"If it's someone we know, it's bad." Xia Ze said worriedly.

"Could he kill us?" Zhang Wei exclaimed, speaking out his bold deduction.

"Idiot! Don't say a few words and everyone says you are stupid!" Xia Ze slapped Zhang Wei's head hard, and said helplessly.

...

Ten minutes later, the man came out from the gaming company. Although he still covered his face with a scarf, Xia Ze recognized him from the thick eyebrows.

"It's him!" Xia Ze gasped, unable to suppress the shock in his heart.

The man in the windbreaker looked around, and after confirming that no one had spotted him, he carefully turned into an alley.

Xia Ze and Zhang Wei hurriedly followed, and Xia Ze didn't care about showing his whereabouts at this time, so he hurried two steps and appeared in front of the man in the windbreaker.

The man in the windbreaker suddenly stopped and looked at Xia Ze in front of him with a surprised expression on his face.

"It really is you, Gretel." Xia Ze looked at the man with thick eyebrows and said seriously, "Why did you appear in the gaming company? Don't you know that we professional players are not allowed to gamble?"

Seeing that the other party recognized him, Gretel did not hide his face, and the scarf on his face slowly slipped off. From his complicated expression, he could feel a strong sense of guilt.

"Oh! It's you! Gretel, how much did you win? Treat us to eat!" Zhang Wei, who didn't know it, also recognized Gretel at this time, came over and put his arms around Gretel's shoulders, and said cheerfully .

"David, don't make trouble!" Xia Ze shouted coldly at Zhang Wei.

Zhang Wei was taken aback, and quickly let go of his arms around Gretel's shoulders, and looked back at the two of them, his eyes full of tension and doubt.

"Gretel, have you gambled?" Xia Ze looked at Gretel coldly and asked him.

The expression on Gretel's face at this time was quite complicated, including sadness, guilt, and hesitation. In the end, his eyes darkened, and he nodded slightly.

Seeing him admitting that he gambled, Xia Ze couldn't help but let out a long sigh, and the scene from more than ten years ago flashed in his mind:

Thirteen years ago, in Guangzhou in the millennium, a man stood on the roof of a ten-storey building, surrounded by crowds of onlookers. Xia Ze, who was only 5 years old at the time, looked up at the man on the roof, ignorantly yelling, "Dad, come down."

The man standing on the top of the building seemed to hear Xia Ze's call, and ignored the advice of Xia's mother who was crying with tearful eyes behind him, and jumped downstairs as soon as he closed his eyes.

A height of more than ten floors, a second or two, to Xia Mu, was like the distance between heaven and hell, and she passed out.

Little Xia Ze looked at his father who was in free fall, and there was a hint of panic in his innocent eyes.

boom! !

With a muffled sound, a life died forever.

Xia Weihong's self-destruction freed herself from the troubles and pains of this world, but passed these pains and troubles on to her wife, children and parents.

Xia Weihong, who happened to be 30 years old at the time, was originally a professional player. In the A-A era when the football market was booming, he was a little famous, and he was able to let his family live a comfortable life with the income he earned from playing football.

But in the twilight years of his career, he knew that he didn't have much ability to make a living after retiring, so he embarked on the road of gambling, and he has been stuck in a quagmire since then.

After Xia Ze grew up a little, he realized the mistakes his father made, and also knew how disastrous results gambling would bring to a football family.

Looking at the guilt-ridden Gretel in front of him, he was angry, shocked, and regretful.

...

Porto is still in that luxurious office. The chairman of the Porto Club, Da Costa, is sitting at his desk and talking on the phone, with a somewhat angry tone.

"Jorge, two weeks have passed, why haven't you managed to get those two Chinese boys?"

"Mr. Costa, those two Chinese boys already have agents. I can't use force. Maybe I can help you connect with their agents and let you sign the transfer agreement privately." Mendes said in the The other end of the phone spoke slowly, facing the slightly angry tone of the 70-year-old man, he seemed unaffected.

"That kid has performed so well in the past two months, do you think you can escape the eyes of other clubs? I want you to include them in your agency just to avoid being cut off by others!" Da Costa His tone was still a little tough.

"Mr. Costa, if you push me so hard, I can't guarantee that they will transfer to Porto." Mendes seemed a little annoyed, and there was a threat to da Costa in his tone.

Da Costa also heard the meaning implied in Mendes' tone. Although this 70-year-old man is not young, he is still very smart.

He knows the strength that Mendes has in the transfer market, and he knows that he cannot fall out with the other party at this time.

He paused for a while to calm down the anger in his heart, and then said softly, "Jorge, I just hope that the future of those two children can be determined as soon as possible, because I am very optimistic about their future. I I hope you can give me good news as soon as possible."

"Mr. Costa, I am also very optimistic about them, and in the past two months, I have worked hard for this matter, and I believe there will be results soon." Mendes' tone calmed down, and after finishing speaking, Then hung up the phone.

After Da Costa closed the phone, he sat quietly on the chair, looking at the photo of himself and the team on the wall, slightly lost in thought.

On the other side of the phone, Mendes threw the phone on the sofa, stood up from the sofa, and patiently picked out a bottle of red wine by the wine cabinet in the office and poured a small glass. Walking to the window, looking at the scenery outside the window, thinking about something.

Duo, Duo...

There was a knock on the door outside the office.

"Come in." Mendes didn't look back, just said lightly.

"Boss, I'm back." A young man in a suit in his 20s came in, holding a file bag.

"How are things going?"

"During my two months in Guangzhou, I finally checked the background of Xia Ze and Zhang Wei. Zhang Wei is nothing special. He has a father who is a manager, and he is very quiet. Xia Ze is different. His father used to be a professional player. He committed suicide because he owed debts from gambling. His family owed a huge debt. Fortunately, his father's teammates helped him pay off the debt first..."

While listening to the assistant's narration, Mendes looked out the window with a smile on his face. Red Devils Manchester United Rewards Grain 188 Red Devils Manchester United Rewards Grain 388 Red Devils Manchester United Rewards Grain 188 Red Devils Manchester United Rewards Grain 388 Red Devils Manchester United Rewards Grain 88