Im Aloisio

Why didn't Chen Anno live at home, and instead stay at the club?

It was not because he was afraid that going home would make him miss the past, but for safety.

That was right. Safety!

Although Sao Paulo was the largest city in all of South America and the center of Brazil, Chen Anno, who had grown up here, knew its public security situation all too well.

To be honest, it was only after living in China for two years that Chen Anno truly understood what safety meant.

Even in the small hours, no matter when he went out, he never had to worry that someone would suddenly pop up from somewhere and say to him: Robbery!

Yes, football here was very pure. Crime was just as pure.

So pure that as long as no one died in broad daylight, the police could not even be bothered to care.

There was no helping it. To pursue his dream, he could only return here, and he also wanted to use Sao Paulo as a springboard to get to Europe, or even the Top Five Leagues, as soon as possible.

Vizoli drove the car all the way to Morumbi District. This was Sao Paulo's wealthy district, and Sao Paulo FC was located right here.

Sao Paulo FC was different from those clubs in Europe, or even China. From the outside, this place did not look like a football club base at all, but more like a resort.

Yes, especially after walking in, the environment, the buildings—no matter how you looked at it, it felt like a country resort.

Sao Paulo was founded in 1930 and had won the Copa Libertadores three times, the FIFA Club World Cup once, the Campeonato Brasileiro Serie A six times, the Campeonato Paulista twenty-one times, and more.

The team had once developed many world-famous football superstars, such as Cafu, Denilson, Kaka, and others.

"Anno, if you hadn't left back then, I'm sure you definitely wouldn't be any worse than Neymar. Even though you're four years younger than him, you should be playing in the Top Five Leagues by now."

All along the way, Vizoli kept chattering nonstop, while Chen Anno listened quietly. Chen Anno's departure two years ago had always been a sore spot in his heart.

"Anno... I'm working as an assistant coach over at the U20 Youth Team now. When you made the U17 Youth Team roster back then, it was a friend of mine over in China who helped pass the news back to me."

"Oh, right, Anno. Since that side has completely given up on you, you should switch back to Brazilian nationality... That's great. Give me the paperwork later, and I'll find someone to get it done for you."

Only a few minutes after entering the club's training base, they arrived at a cluster of buildings, and the car stopped.

"Come on, Anno. I picked your dorm especially for you. I guarantee you'll like it... Hey, guys, come give me a hand. There's quite a lot of luggage." As Vizoli spoke, he called out to several staff members nearby.

Only after they got inside did Chen Anno realize that this was actually the first-team dormitory. Because most of the first-team players did not live in the club dorms, it was very quiet here, with one room per person.

"Uncle Vizoli, isn't it... not too good for me to live here?" Chen Anno did not want any special treatment. It would not help him fit in with the team.

Vizoli patted Chen Anno on the shoulder. "Anno, don't worry. This isn't special treatment for you. It's because now that you're back, you'll be training directly with the first team."

Seeing the surprise in the boy's eyes, the corners of Vizoli's mouth curved slightly upward. "Actually, two years ago, if you hadn't left, you probably would have started training with the first team the following year. Anno... you have to perform well. I put my reputation on the line and vouched for you to Mr. Ramalho. Uh... Ramalho is the current first-team head coach."

Vizoli's words instantly made Chen Anno feel the pressure, but very quickly, he straightened his back. Faced with his mentor's trust, he also believed that he could rely on his ability to gain a firm foothold in the first team.

Vizoli gripped Chen Anno's shoulders with both hands. "The regional matches in Sao Paulo state have already started, so you've already missed out on those, but the Campeonato Brasileiro Serie A hasn't begun yet. You still have a month. Try your best to leave Coach Ramalho with a good impression..."

In Brazil, football truly was a shortcut that could allow someone to leap across social classes.

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However, this shortcut was so difficult it was like ten thousand people crossing the same single-plank bridge, not the slightest bit higher in probability than getting ashore in China's civil service exam.

The next day, after adjusting a little to the time difference, Chen Anno began following the club staff through a series of medical examinations and tests.

Along the way, he realized that not many familiar faces from two years ago could still be found. It showed just how high the elimination rate was on the path of football in Brazil.

Especially in the youth academy. Most talented young players were basically taken away by Europe's mainstream leagues around the age of twenty. Those with even greater talent might be brought over by the giant clubs in their teens to be personally developed.

As for the rest, most would be eliminated outright, scattered into every corner of the city, running themselves ragged just to survive.

A lucky few would stay behind as the club's reserves. That was where the Campeonato Brasileiro's unique U20 Youth Team came from.

So this also led to clubs in the Campeonato Brasileiro Serie A generally having first-team players who were on the older side.

First, young players left too early. Second, there were players who had spent their youth and talent abroad, then returned at the end of their careers to retire in comfort.

In all of South America, this phenomenon was most obvious in the Argentine Primera Division and the Campeonato Brasileiro.

Sure enough, as they had just passed by the training field, an older teammate saw Chen Anno and asked, "Who's that handsome kid?"

His name was Lucio, Brazil's famous goal-scoring center back, and a former captain of the national team. He had played for Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga and for Inter Milan and Juventus in Serie A.

He had been one of the main members of Brazil's 2002 World Cup-winning squad, and he had also helped Inter Milan win the first treble in team history in the 2009–10 season.

The man he asked, Wellington Martins, was a veteran of Sao Paulo FC. Starting from the youth team, he had stayed here the entire time.

Wellington followed Lucio's gaze and looked over, somewhat unable to believe his own eyes. He even raised a hand and rubbed hard at his eye sockets a few times. "That's Anno... Anno Chen! He actually came back?"

"Oh?" A flicker of interest flashed through Lucio's eyes. "The one who was as famous as Neymar back then?"

"That's right, it's him. I watched him play before, when I was at Gremio. He's very good." At that moment, Aloisio walked over from the side.

"Very good?" Lucio raised an eyebrow, nudged the football at his feet outward, then swung his right foot...

Chen Anno had both hands in his pockets and was following the staff step by step to another field for ball-work testing, when it was as if he suddenly sensed something...

He lifted his right foot and very easily brought the flying football down. Then, with a flick of the outside of his right foot, the ball, still bouncing lightly on the ground, shot back with a whoosh.

Clap, clap, clap...

Lucio clapped his hands, and the look he gave Chen Anno changed into one of recognition.

But Chen Anno had already followed the staff and disappeared around the corner. From beginning to end, he had not even taken his hands out of his pants pockets.

"Heh..." Lucio laughed, finding the little guy rather interesting, then looked toward Aloisio. "Alo... you were right. He really is pretty good."

Aloisio raised an eyebrow. He felt that Anno was even better than he had been two years ago, and a thought stirred in his mind: Could it be that during the two years he disappeared, he went somewhere for secret training?

With that question in mind, this honest Brazilian man would, one year later, follow in Chen Anno's footsteps and go to the place where he had trained in secret.

That's right—this Aloisio was the future Luo Guofu. He just didn't know yet that, in the near future, he would have such a strangely catchy name.

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