The second half begins.
Zhang Kuang was the first to step onto the lawn and took a deep breath.
Stadium of Light The air is 10,000 times fresher than the locker room.
He moved his ankles and looked up at the frontcourt. The Sunderland players were standing in their respective half-court positions, and the goalkeeper Gordon was doing the final warm-up in front of the goal line.
"Okay." He said to himself, "Let's get to work."
In the 48th minute, Nani got the ball on the right.
Nani's performance today can be described in one sentence: hard work is a wave, and a wave of effort is a wave.
He wanted to do something every time he got the ball, but the result every time was a little different. Crosses were blocked, shots missed, and breakthroughs were blocked.
It seems like two personalities, "world-class winger" and "the best shooter on the field", are fighting in his body. Every time the ball comes to his feet, these two personalities will go through a fierce struggle, and then the "king of the wild shot" wins.
But this time it's different.
This time, after Nani received the pass from Carrick, he did not rush forward immediately. Instead, he passed the ball to Anderson and then ran towards the baseline.
Anderson understood the situation and penetrated Sunderland's left defense with a through ball.
Nani sprinted, caught up with the ball, and looked up at the penalty area.
Zhang Kuang is at the top of the penalty area, with two defenders around him.
Owen is at the back point and is currently unattended.
Nani made a choice.
His cross was not a high ball, but a ground ball, sweeping towards the edge of the penalty area.
The ball was very fast and the route was very tricky, passing through the first line of defense of Sunderland.
Zhang Kuang turned his back to the goal, used his body to support the defender behind him, and stretched out his feet to catch the ball, but he did not stop. It was not that he was not skilled, but Nani's passing force was too strong, and the ball bounced on his feet.
In the chaos, the ball rolled to the feet of Owen, who was running over to grab the point.
Owen shoots!
The goalkeeper pounced, and the ball bounced off the crossbar and bounced back.
Zhang Kuang rushed up the moment the ball bounced down. He was faster than everyone else and wanted the ball more than everyone else. He tapped it lightly with his toe!
The ball rolled into the empty goal.
1-0.
"GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAL!!! Zhang Kuang!!! It's him again!!! He didn't score in the first half, but he scored three minutes into the second half!!!" Martin·Tyler shouted.
"This is a typical 'missed' goal," Rob Hawthorn said, "But being in the right place at the right time is an ability in itself."
Zhang Kuang did not do the "Siu" celebration. He just ran to the corner flag area and gave a loving gesture to the Manchester United fans.
The female fans in the fan area were shaking with excitement and screaming in response to Zhang Kuang.
He Wei said in the live broadcast room, "Zhang Kuang's goal looks simple, but in fact it is not. From Nani's cross to Owen's shot on the post to Zhang Kuang's follow-up shot into the empty goal, the whole process is like a well-arranged symphony, and Zhang Kuang is the final note."
Xu Yang: "Teacher He, who is the conductor of this symphony?"
He Wei thought for a while, "It's luck."
"..."
"On the football field, luck is always the greatest conductor."
After 1-0, Manchester United's offense was still not fully activated.
Nani continued to wave. In the 55th minute, he passed two people on the right, cut inside, shot, and the ball flew into the stands.
In the 62nd minute, he cut in again and shot, and the ball hit the left corner flagpole.
Ferguson on the sidelines chewed gum significantly faster.
Zhang Kuang finally couldn't bear it anymore in the 68th minute. He ran to the right and got the ball from Nani's feet. Nani looked a little aggrieved, but he still gave in.
Zhang Kuang takes the ball on the right and faces the defense of Sunderland's left back Richardson.
He stepped on the bicycle twice and swayed to the left. Richardson's center of gravity was shaken. Zhang Kuang immediately changed direction to the right and passed him in one burst.
Then he looked up and glanced at the restricted area.
Owen is already running.
Zhang Kuang passed the ball - the ball drew an arc and fell to the back point.
Owen leaps high and headers the goal!
Goalkeeper Gordon flew to save the ball and the ball was blocked from the baseline.
Owen put his head in his hands after landing and couldn't believe that the ball didn't go in.
Zhang Kuang shouted at him, "Next time I will kick the ball to your head!"
Owen smiled, "Okay! You kick! I'll hold on!"
Time passed by minute by minute.
Ferguson replaced Owen with Berbatov in the 72nd minute. When Owen came off the field, he received applause from Manchester United fans in the visiting team's stands. It was not enthusiastic, but warm enough.
"Owen's performance today was quite satisfactory," He Wei said, "He is no longer the young boy chasing the wind, but his consciousness and running position are still world-class. It's just that his body can't keep up."
Xu Yang: "This is the power of time. No matter how strong the player is, he cannot defeat time."
"No," He Wei said, "Time is not the enemy, time is the referee. It will give everyone an answer fairly."
Zhang Kuang scored the second goal in the 75th minute.
This time it's Berbatov's assist.
He picked up the ball at the edge of the penalty area, made a fake shot, deceived the defensive player, and then knocked the ball horizontally to Zhang Kuang who came in from the left.
Zhang Kuang didn't stop the ball and shot directly towards the ball.
The ball drilled into the upper left corner of the goal like a cannonball.
Dead corner.
An absolute dead end.
2:0.
Zhang Kuang is very happy that he finally has a teammate who can help him pass the ball. Before, Nani couldn't pass the ball well, and Owen couldn't run. It was really difficult for him to do it alone.
Berbatov has a good pass from the beginning, but there still needs to be cooperation.
"GOOOOOOOOOAL!!! Zhang Kuang scored twice!!! His number of goals in Premier League has reached: Let me count, seven league games, thirteen goals?
No, he scored twelve goals in the league? Wait a minute, two goals in the first round, two goals in the second round, two goals in the third round, three goals in the fourth round, two goals in the fifth round, two goals in the sixth round, two goals today... That's right, fifteen! Fifteen goals in seven games! Oh my god!!!"
Martin·Tyler's voice is completely out of control.
"What kind of goal efficiency is this?! Average of 2.14 goals per game! This is not football, this is basketball! This is basketball information!!"
Rob·Hawthorn: "Yes, that is, as long as Zhang Kuang plays, he will score two goals. What's even more frightening is that he has assisted who knows how many times in these seven games. I can't remember, it's a lot anyway."
Zhang Kuang ran to the corner flag area, jumped up high, turned around, and waved his hands down!
In the visiting team's stands, Manchester United fans echoed in unison.
Ferguson finally smiled.
He chewed gum, crossed his arms across his chest, looked at Zhang Kuang celebrating on the field, turned to Phelan and said, "I think this guy is really worth the price."
Phelan was stunned for a moment. "His latest Transfermarkt is worth only 30 million."
"I'm talking about his weekly salary." Ferguson said, "We can't delay the salary increase any longer."
"But Rooney is still talking about it."
"Rooney is Rooney, he is him." Ferguson paused, "I have to tell Gill that Zhang Kuang's weekly salary must be raised, and it will be implemented according to the previous contract."
"Is this too soon? He has only been here less than three months."
"Quickly?" Ferguson glanced at Phelan, "If you can score fifteen goals in seven games, I will give you a weekly salary of five hundred thousand."
Phelan Shut up.
Sunderland had a good counterattack opportunity in the 80th minute. Darren·Bent's shot in the Manchester United penalty area was blocked by Vidić with his body.
In the 85th minute, Ferguson replaced Zhang Kuang with Gibson. When Zhang Kuang came off the field, all Manchester United fans in the visiting team's stands stood up and applauded.
He raised his hands to signal to the stands, then walked to the bench, sat down, and breathed a long sigh of relief.
"Good game." Owen handed him a bottle of water.
"It's okay." Zhang Kuang unscrewed the bottle cap, "I just keep feeling uncomfortable in my nose."
"Me too." Owen touched his nose, "The smell seems to be engraved in the nasal cavity and cannot be dissipated."
The two were silent for a while.
"Say," Owen suddenly asked, "Berbatov's shoes..."
"Now that this is the case, why bother mentioning shoes? What we should be concerned about now is whether our women are still allowed to touch them after we return from the game. Oh, it's so damn unlucky."
"Ah? No way? Those things didn't splash on us..."
Zhang Kuang: "Think about it, if this happened to your partner, would you touch her that night?"
Owen:"This..."
At the final whistle, Manchester United defeated Sunderland 2:0 in an away game, achieving Premier League's seventh consecutive victory.
This opening can be ranked second in the history of Manchester United.
The first is the eleven consecutive wins at the beginning of the 2008-09 season. In that year, Manchester United had Cristiano Ronaldo, Rooney, Tevez, Ferdinand and Vidić were in their prime, and Giggs and Scholes were still in their prime.
Now it is 2010, Cristiano Ronaldo is gone, Tevez is gone, Giggs and Scholes are old, Manchester United has not won so many games in a row for a long time.
At the post-game press conference, Ferguson was first asked about the incident in the locker room.
"That is the most ridiculous thing I have seen in my 40 years of coaching." Ferguson said, with an expression that was both angry and wanting to laugh. "I have led teams to countless away games and been to countless locker rooms. I have seen leaks, no heating, and ones as small as storage rooms. But I have never seen, never seen, such a thing as the ceiling falling down."
The reporters in the audience tried their best not to laugh.
Reporter: "So do you think this was an accident or man-made?"
"I know this was not intentional by Sunderland, but it is really outrageous." Ferguson paused, "But having said that, my players showed professionalism. They did not give up the game because of this, but changed their spare jerseys and continued to play."
The reporter asked, "Has Zhang Kuang's condition been affected? He didn't score in the first half today."
"Of course it has an impact." Ferguson said, "I told him about it during the halftime break, and it does have an impact, because when this incident first happened, he was still suffering from nausea."
Reporter: "Jazz, Manchester United has won 7 consecutive league games. How long do you think the winning streak can last? Can Zhang Kuang's status be continued?"
Ferguson: "Of course, we will strive to continue our winning streak. As for Zhang Kuang's condition, I don't see any reason for his decline, unless he encounters feces falling from the ceiling every day."
The whole audience burst into laughter.
Zhang Kuang was stopped by reporters in the mixed zone.
"Zhang Kuang, what do you want to say about the locker room incident?"
"What I want to say is: I will bring a tent with me when I go to away games in the future." Zhang Kuang said, "I will change clothes in the tent."
The reporters burst into laughter.
"Do you think this incident has affected everyone's status?"
"It's affected." Zhang Kuang said, "I kept feeling like there was something in my nose in the first half. Even now, I'm still wondering if I breathed it in when I took a deep breath just now..."
"Okay, okay, stop talking..." The reporter quickly interrupted him, for fear that he would finish what he said next.
Another reporter asked, "Do you still have confidence in Golden Boy Award?"
Zhang Kuang thought for a while, "Reporters who don't know how to vote will think that I'm dirty just because I experienced something like this today? I escaped. It's just the air that's dirty. Everything about me is clean."
Reporter: "Including your chastity?"
"?????" Zhang Kuang's head was full of black question marks, "Golden Boy Award must the winner be a virgin? Then I meet their requirements, yes, that's right, I am a virgin who has been clean for 19 years."
Zhang Kuang said and shook his hair proudly.
"Haha..."
After playing Sunderland, the Premier League league will not resume until October 16th, with 13 international match days in between.
After experiencing such an unfortunate incident in Sunderland's away locker room, it was good for everyone to feel relieved for ten days.
On the international match day, Carrington Training Ground was half empty.
Rooney returned to England Team, Ferdinand and Vidić each found L'Équipe in their respective countries, and even Nani flew back to Portugal.
Zhang Kuang could have gone nowhere, but He Qigang arrived London three days ago.
He has now joined Hong Kong Football Association, so this time he will lead the team to talk to the players who are preparing to naturalize.
It just so happened that Zhang Kuang had an international match day here, so he took Zhang Kuang along to talk to these players, which would probably be more convincing.
After all, the number one Chinese star is now personally inviting people to his door, and many players will agree as soon as they get excited. You must believe that the influence of stars is very strong.
No, he just returned to the hotel when the call from He Qigang came.
"Mr. Zhang, I have made arrangements here," He Qigang's voice on the other end of the phone was very low, as if he was talking in a secret room, "Shane Laurie agreed to meet, and Birmingham. Cris Kang also replied the day after tomorrow, Belgium can fly over at any time."
"Where is Chow Ting-yang?"
"His parents want to meet you. Wigan I have an appointment with you next Wednesday."
Zhang Kuang held the phone between his ear and shoulder, flipping through information on the tablet with both hands.
Although he had already read the information of these people, he still had to read it again before going to talk.
Shane·Lawry, 21 years old, Aston Villa central defender, EFL Championship has rich loan experience, strong body and excellent heading ability.
Cris Kang, 22 years old, is the core of the Belgian Second Division league's offense. He has good ball-holding ability and can play as an attacking midfielder and forward. Chow Ting-yang, 16 years old, is a defensive midfielder of Wigan Athletic U18. He has great defensive coverage and good ball-playing ability.
Josh·Chen, 19 years old, Eerste Divisie league attacking midfielder, Ajax came from youth training, has exquisite skills.
And Xu Xin, that kid just went to Atlético Madrid, he is only 16 years old. The key is that I heard that Wanda wants to sign him? Zhang Kuang knows, what is Wanda going to do 'Football Star Project', the key is that Wanda no longer runs a football club.
Forget it, it doesn't matter, let's go and talk first. If we can reach an agreement, then let's talk. If not, forget it.
Originally, these people were all short men who were looking for generals. The real plan was his youth training plan. He believed that as long as he implemented the free plan with wages and bonuses, he would be able to find a group of good talents from the mainland.
The next day, He Qigang came to Manchester. He, Zhang Kuang, and two Hong Kong FA staff members drove from Manchester to Birmingham in less than two hours.
The agreed location was a high-end restaurant on the outskirts of Birmingham. It was very private. There was only a round table in the private room with white roses on the table.
Shane Laurie is more mature than he thought.
A 21-year-old mixed-race central defender, his father is Guangdong Taishan Chinese and his mother is Ireland.
His facial features have obvious oriental contours, but his figure is exactly the template of a British central defender. He is 188cm tall, with broad shoulders and a thick back. He looks like a wall when he stands there.
His agent sat next to him, a United Kingdom man in his forties, wearing a suit and leather shoes, with a cautious expression.
"Mr. He, Mr. Zhang," Shane said, speaking in English with a Birmingham local accent, "I have watched my father play football since I was a child.
He has always regretted that he did not play professionally. He said that if one day I can play for China, he will be very proud."
Zhang Kuang was not in a hurry to speak, He Qigang spoke first.
He Qigang: "No, the opportunity has come for China National Team. We believe that Hong Kong Team, which is formed with Zhang Kuang as the cornerstone, will definitely shine Asia.
You are in the United Kingdom, and you know his ability and level. However, it is not enough for a team to have only one Zhang Kuang, so you and a few others will be the help of the new Hong Kong Team."
Shane nodded in response to He Qigang, but he kept looking at Zhang Kuang. Zhang Kuang first picked up the teacup and took a sip, then looked into Shane's eyes.
"Do you know what naturalization means?"
"Know."
"Some people will call you a mercenary."
"I know."
"Some people would say you're here for the money."
"I know that too."
"If you behave well, they will say that you are the pride of Hong Kong Team and China National Team. If you behave badly, they may scold you with extremely unpleasant words." Zhang Kuang continued.
Shane was stunned for a moment when he heard this, and then nodded. "I understand."
"Okay." Zhang Kuang put down the tea cup and said in a low but clear voice, "I'll tell you three things."
He raised his first finger. "First, no matter what fluctuations Hong Kong Team goes through in the future, as long as I don't quit, I don't want you to quit.
Secondly, no matter what the reason is, I will do my best in Hong Kong Team from now on. If it is really due to my health, there is nothing I can do about it.
Third, if you join Hong Kong Team, you have to admit that you are a China person, and you must protect the interests and image of China outside.
In addition to the above three points, if you join Hong Kong Team, if you need any help, I will definitely do my best, including improving your skills and tactics, transfers and business image."
The private room was quiet for a few seconds, because Zhang Kuang did put forward three harsh conditions, but he also put forward three tempting conditions.
Shane's manager lowered his head and wrote something quickly on his notebook. Shane himself looked at Zhang Kuang, with an indescribable emotion in his eyes, as if he had been hit by something.
"I can understand transfers and the improvement of business image. You said you can improve my skills and tactics? Really?" Shane asked.