Born to be a coach [soccer]

Chapter 150

When Ronaldo sent a message to Anton, he retweeted a tweet, circled Anton, and added: "Welcome to Portugal."

The earliest tweet was made by Boas.The accompanying picture should be a close-up of the two of them taken by the photographer at the Luce Stadium. Boas somehow got it, and then posted the picture on Twitter with the text: "Look at this one who is it."

In the photo, Anton and Boas are very close, both of them have smiles on their faces, they look like good friends for many years.

But Boas did not include Anton when he sent this initial tweet.But this makes sense, because Boas was originally asking everyone to "guess" who this is.

Anton looked at his smile, and felt a little awkward no matter how he looked at it—it should be that Boas broke his shoulder too hard at that time, which made Anton feel very uncomfortable.

So Anton sent a private message back to Ronaldo: "He came to find me."

Ronaldo: "I guess that's it. He's a great guy..."

Anton: "I can tell."

Ronaldo: "...I haven't finished yet. He is very meticulous and thinks clearly before taking every step. Do you know how he was accepted as a disciple by Sir Robson?"

Anton has probably heard of this story - it is said that when he was in high school, Boas had a neighbor with Sir Robson, who coached in Porto, for a period of time.By some means, Boas found out about Sir Robson's daily schedule and itinerary, so he checked in every day at a cafe that Sir Robson must visit, and deliberately sat near Robson's favorite location.

Over time, Sir Robson began to pay attention to this young man who brushed his face every day in front of him.

He found that Boas took a bunch of sports newspapers every day, turned to the sports page, and then took out a notebook to write and draw on it.

People are curious, and Sir Robson was very curious. He repeatedly wanted to ask what the child was doing, but he couldn't speak Portuguese.Boas, like his "brother" Mourinho, has an extraordinary talent for languages-his English is very slippery.

Finally one day, Boas "discovered" Sir Robson's curiosity very empathetically, and took the initiative to explain his purpose to the other party: he wanted to create a database of football players for the whole of Portugal.Taking this opportunity, Boas, who was still in high school, showed the Jazz his knowledge and understanding of football, which immediately surprised Robson.

Because of this, Robson persuaded the Porto club to sign Boas, and made Boas, who had not graduated from high school, officially become his assistant.

It was this experience of following Sir Robson that created Boas later.

"So he knows that he knows what he's doing," Ronaldo continued to send a crackling message, "sit with you to watch the game, take a photo with you, and then tweet, all of which he thought in advance."

Anton felt the same way: "It was his plan to challenge me in private. There are so many preparations, but it is actually for such a sentence."

"Challenge? What challenge?" Ronaldo was surprised.He suddenly remembered that he was still Anton's opponent in the "Challenge of the Champions League".

Anton: "It's not a green life. It's a challenge in reality. He has been very friendly to me today, but he said quietly when he was parting that he asked my team not to be out in the Europa League group stage. When we wait for the knockout round After everyone matches up, play a good game and compare once."

Ronaldo: "That's right... that's right, if I were him, I would also want to fight you once."

Anton: ...

Ronaldo: "Just get ready to enjoy the reality of the 'Europa League challenge'! Villas-Boas is a very ambitious person, how do you say that Chinese saying, since childhood..."

Anton: "You look old when you are young!"

Ronaldo: "That's it. From a young age, he has always been like this. Just wait and see!"

Anton: "...Okay! So, shall we meet at noon tomorrow? Almada see you or not?"

Ronaldo almost forgot about Anton's invitation to dinner at noon tomorrow, and he was stunned for a few seconds before replying: "Well, see you soon."

After the two chatted, Ronaldo temporarily put the matter behind him, waited for half an hour before going to social media, and he found that Twitter was once again very lively.

Because Anton replied to Boas's tweet in the air: "Thank you Andre, I accept your challenge."

Now, fans who know Boas and Anton are all blown up: These two match up, what's the situation?Challenge, what challenge is this?

Take a closer look at the two "personnel involved", hey, there is no mutual relationship.It looks like the challenge is real.

But the two of them took a group photo so close, as if they have been friends for many years, and they are not coaching in the same country and the same league. What is the challenge for these two?

So some fans speculated: Since Boas posted a group photo of the two of them, as one of the best young marshals in football, these two can't be compared to their looks.

Immediately, fans with good news opened a "vote", with a group photo of Boas and Anton posted on it: "Look, take a look, don't miss it when you pass by—the two youngest handsome young marshals in football , which one is more to your liking, cast a vote, and their popularity is up to you!"

Ronaldo knew the inside story, and almost didn't laugh out loud when he saw this.He suddenly thought about it, and now he simply pretended not to know, and looked at the group photo of the two of them seriously, and then voted for Anton. After voting, he didn't give up, and forwarded the vote Go out, note: "I voted for Anton!" and circle the national team teammates, club teammates, and some former club teammates.

Many of Ronaldo's friends knew about Anton, so they voted for him.

With the help of Ronaldo, the entire European football world basically "knows" that Boas has challenged Anton, and the two are more important than "face value".This "monstrous wind" immediately blew across the entire network—after one night, Anton won by an overwhelming advantage with 78% of the votes.

Anton rested peacefully all night, and saw the result the next morning.

I don't know what Boas will think when he sees things turn out like this.

But no matter what he thought, Boas did not come forward to clarify the content of this "challenge".

Anton has grown up so much, and among the people who have dealt with him, there are a lot of ambitious young people.As long as Boas' ambition does not carry Anton with him, Anton actually has no objections.

But intimacy in front of others, hostility brewing in back - Anton doesn't like these two faces.

Anton's reply last night was just to expose one side, but he was misunderstood by the fans, and was fueled by Ronaldo. This appearance was actually beyond Anton's expectations.

But the opponent never came forward to deal with it, and made mistakes. Anyway, the competition for appearance is not a big deal for football coaches-this calmness also makes Anton very admired.

In any case, let's wait until both teams have qualified in the Europa League group stage.

Almada is a small town, only 20 minutes by ferry from Lisbon. Ronaldo has his own boat, but hired a water taxi to take him there from downtown Lisbon.Upon arriving at the port, Ronaldo boarded a taxi that Anton had arranged in advance.

The car drove closer and closer to the bank of the Tagus River, almost until it reached the bank of the river. Ronaldo immediately saw a small table on the high embankment, and Anton was sitting in the sun, reading a book.

The background behind him is the famous April 4 Bridge in Lisbon.This bridge resembles the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. The red bridge body is like a bright red ribbon, softly tied to the wide estuary of the Tagus River.This scenery and this person match really well.

This is not a tourist area, so the surrounding area is very quiet, only Anton is there.He heard the sound of the taxi's motor, immediately put down his book, and raised his hand to greet Ronaldo.When Ronaldo stepped forward, Anton had already stood up, opened a seat opposite, stretched out a hand and said with a smile: "Please sit down!"

Ronaldo took a look and saw that this pair of tables and chairs was actually placed on the long embankment beside the river bank. The azure Tagus River water was beating against the embankment repeatedly, and there was a constant sound of waves in his ears. Standing up, there was a coolness on the face and arms.

What a great place.

Anton immediately took out a notebook from his pocket, handed it to Ronaldo, and said with a smile: "I copied the menu, let's see what you want to eat?"

Ronaldo took it over and took a look, and saw that there were a few lines written on the page that Anton turned to: fitness meal, muscle-building recipe, boiled chicken breast in plain water, a little salt, some vegetables and fruits.

Ronaldo almost petrified: He came all the way to invite me to dinner, so please treat me to this.

Anton saw that Ronaldo's face was not right, he leaned over to take a look, quickly turned a page, and apologized repeatedly: "Ha, I made a mistake - these are the notes I made when I was learning from the club's chief nutritionist, please read it One page, then the next page."

Ronaldo doubted whether he did it on purpose.

However, turning over a page, Ronaldo saw Anton’s notebook writing: Alternative foods for muscle-building meals: deep-sea fish, seasonal seafood, quick cooking with olive oil, salt control, adding some vegetables and fruits...

Then below is a series of seafood names recorded in Portuguese, such as sardines, octopus, squid, sea clams, and various shrimps and crabs.It should be that Anton asked for an alternative recipe for the muscle-building meal in advance, and then went to the restaurant here to copy the seasonal ingredients for himself to choose.

Knowing that Ronaldo is extraordinarily controlled in his diet, he specially searched for an alternative recipe—this Anton, he also puts his heart into inviting someone to a meal.

Ronaldo chose a few at random, and was about to say, "No need to bother." Anton ticked the few in his notebook, turned around, and walked towards the small restaurant on the shore.After a while, he came out of the bistro, carrying two glasses in one hand and a tray with a bottle of light sparkling wine and a bucket of sparkling water with lemon in the other.

"Are you really... want to invite me to dinner?" Ronaldo suddenly became tongue-tied.

It's not that he doubts Anton's sincerity, otherwise why did he come here after all this trouble?It's just this battle and posture... Ronaldo really didn't expect it.

"Of course!" Anton opened his eyes wide in surprise, and looked at Ronaldo through thick rimmed glasses. "Of course I dare not break my promise."

"About the 'Challenge of the Champions League', there was indeed a problem with the emulator. We two players were supposed to form an alliance, but they became opponents by mistake. The developer of this emulator is related to me, and I replace the developer I apologize to you." Anton said sincerely, "I hope this experience will not affect your experience in 'Green Life'."

Ronaldo felt comfortable all of a sudden.He stretched his arms and legs, and felt that dining by the Tagus River, facing the 4.25 Bridge, was indeed a unique experience.

"Actually..." Ronaldo wanted to persuade Anton not to care so much.Although he failed to form an alliance with Anton, he thought about it afterwards and felt that it was actually good: Anton was selected to coach Liverpool. He had played for the Red Devils and Manchester United for many years before. It's extremely awkward, it's better to just be an opponent——

With an opponent like Anton, there can be no mediocre games.

"...Hey, why did you leave? Didn't you finish ordering?" Before Ronaldo could speak, he saw Anton turn around and leave.

"I finished ordering, so let's do it!" Anton had already walked away, and raised his hand at C Luo.

Ronaldo: ... Seriously!

Only then did he notice that Anton had already put on a leather apron, and he actually did the cooking himself.

The dishes Ronaldo ordered are home-cooked seafood from Portugal. The cooking methods are very simple, that is, grilling, boiling, and grilling... Lemon juice, tomatoes, and several southern European herbs are common seasonings.Thanks to the freshness of the ingredients, it is delicious without any special cooking.

But Anton's method is a bit special. He only uses the most basic seasoning for the grilled sardines, but he also makes a sauce.The grilled fish is juicy and juicy, very tempting in itself.But if you tear off the fish, dip it in the sauce and put it in your mouth, it will immediately have another flavor.

"This... is this really grilled sardines?" Ronaldo couldn't quite believe what he was eating.

Anton smiled and said, "Exactly." He mixed a Chinese-style sauce, added some hot and sour condiments and fresh herbs, in order to "bump" out the freshness and sweetness of the fish itself.This method of "dipping in water" is not very common in Western cooking. Ronaldo has never tried it. After trying it, he immediately fell in love with it.

"You must tell me the recipe of this sauce!" Ronaldo immediately decided to add grilled sardines to his fitness recipe: it would be even better if boiled chicken breasts could also use this sauce.

"Happy to help!" Anton responded in every way.

In addition to grilled sardines, the squid made by Anton is cut into flowers and then fried, the clams are steamed with eggs, and the crabs are cooked and then the meat is picked out and the shells are put back together...In short, Ronaldo I didn't eat any of them.Not only Ronaldo, but even the owner of this small restaurant has never seen it before. He wished to video the whole process of Anton's practice, so that he can learn from it in the future.

"I really feel that I have taken advantage of this meal!" Ronaldo never expected to have such an experience in advance, "If you can invite me to dinner every time, then I will be willing to be your opponent every day! "

The meal ended at one hour, and the two sat facing each other, bathed in the warm afternoon sun of Lisbon, chatting with each other.

Ronaldo was a little curious, and asked Anton: "You said that the developer of 'Green Life' has some contact with you. I always wanted to ask, 'Green Life' has been developed for so long, and we all know it is a very good football game. It's better than the ones I endorsed...cough, let's not talk about these. Why isn't 'Green Life' listed?"

"For the outside world, the last piece of the puzzle of 'Green Life' belongs to the full-level player, and the 'Life' module has not been developed yet." Anton told Ronaldo the truth without hesitation. "But the real situation is that the developer, that is, my own brother, Bernard, suddenly fell into a coma during the development process..."

Anton, who was originally unwilling to reveal anything to Boas, suddenly had the motivation to confide in front of Ronaldo, telling him all about his past in the past few years, including his own mental journey.

"...This matter has a great impact on me. To be precise, I entered the coaching team because of Bernard. I have been trying to find it these days. I believe that there must be some secrets hidden on the green field. Bernard is so obsessed. I want to try to find his consciousness and bring him back to reality..."

Ronaldo was silent, not knowing what to say to comfort Anton.

Finally, he sighed and said, "Anton, you really should tell this matter, at least it can relieve the pressure on yourself."

Anton: "...what I just said... sounds extremely absurd, but you don't doubt it at all, so you just believe it?"

Sometimes he is reluctant to confide to others easily because the matter is so unbelievable that other people don't believe it, but he has to spend a lot of time explaining it, and finally it doesn't make sense.But Ronaldo believed it without hesitation.

"Hey, brother, what do you mean by that? If I didn't trust you, would I still come all the way to this place without a village in front or a shop in the back?" Ronaldo laughed angrily, and almost reached out to pat table.

"By the way, didn't you just say that it's a bug in "Green Life" that we two players become rivals, but it's also likely to be a special arrangement made by your brother? I think, since that's the case, we should If this challenge is carried out to the end, no matter who wins, there will be something to discover, won’t it?” At this time, Ronaldo was refreshed and full of pride.

Hearing what Ronaldo said, Anton also nodded seriously: "I think so too. Cristiano, thank you for understanding me." He stretched out his hand to Ronaldo, and the other party also reached out and shook his hand seriously.

Unexpectedly, at this moment, Anton's cell phone rang in his pocket.Anton made an apologetic gesture, took out his phone and looked at it, and immediately smiled at Ronaldo: "It's Mr. Mendes!"

Cristiano Ronaldo reacted super fast, and when he thought of Mendes' intention to call Anton at this time, he couldn't help laughing out "ha".

So Anton pressed the answer button: "Dear Jorge... Yes, I'm in Portugal. By the way, I have a question that I can ask you—"

"In your opinion, how does it compare between me and Mr. Xu from the north of the city...ah no, it's Boas?"