Chapter 15 The first warm-up game

Lille FC is a team that competes in the Welsh Premier League, home at the Corbett-Sports Stadium in Lille, Wales, with only two low stands and a maximum capacity of 3,000 spectators. Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. ｂｉｑUｇE。 info is slightly fenced off by railings to distinguish the pitch from the rest of the surrounding area.

As humble as FC United's home stadium, Li Qingshan couldn't believe it was the home of a professional team.

It's actually a sports park, with rows of trees divided by many football fields, basketball courts, tennis courts, and a lot of flat grass.

It is rare to see such a large green pitch in a park surrounded by local residents. Li Qingshan looked at it and was envious - if there were many such field conditions in China, how could the foundation of Chinese football be better than now, not to mention whether it could have any impact on professional football, at least many children who like to play football no longer have to worry about the venue.

Lille's home stadium is a little simpler, but it does not mean that Welsh football is very backward, you must know that Cardiff City in the Premier League is the Welsh team, and the Welsh team also has stars such as Ryan Giggs, Bale and Ramsey, and the strength cannot be underestimated.

The red bus stopped in the parking lot of Corbett Sports Stadium, and as soon as Li Qingshan jumped out of the car, he saw a familiar figure.

"Lee!" Irma waved at him. Beside her, there is also a group of fans who follow FC United as they come to the away stadium. It was a warm-up game, but a lot of fans followed it away.

He wasn't a guy who was recognized by the fans, and the rest of the team was stopped by his friends.

That's the case at this level of play, where the players and the fans are very close and they are even very good friends. It's a game, it's more like a social event, and everyone walks outside on a sunny weekend afternoon in the name of football to relax after a hard week's work.

Marginson didn't stop the players from engaging with the fans, and FC United's players weren't like the stars, who tended to go to the pub for a few drinks after the game.

"What a coincidence, we just arrived at your bus." Irma pointed to the red bus behind Li Qingshan. "Will you play? Plum. ”

As soon as he talked about this question, Li Qingshan's face was much brighter, and his voice became louder: "I'm the first starter."

Irma laughed, "Then I'll cheer you on, Lee!" ”

As he spoke, he pointed to the jersey he was holding: "Is this your jersey?" ”

Some fans around him also attracted him, after all, Li Qingshan is a new face in the team.

Li Qingshan unfolded the jersey, revealing the number "9" on it

"Wow, the main number," one fan exclaimed.

At this time, fans poured in, all wanting to see the player wearing the team's number nine shirt. Li Qingshan's tall and strong body made fans feel at ease at a glance.

At this time, Marginson clapped his hands and shouted, "Okay, guys, get ready to warm up." ”

Li Qingshan said goodbye to Irma and followed Marginson into the court.

After seeing Li Qingshan leave, Irma led the fans straight to the back of the stadium goal, where there were no stands or seats, and they stood on the sidelines, holding on to the railing.

The position behind the goal has historically belonged to the die-hard fans. The most famous fan stands of any club must be located behind the goal, such as the KOP stand at Anfield and the south stand at the Westfaron Stadium.

A group of people fought to the back of the goal, and the men protected Irma in the middle, taking a place behind the goal. Once you've taken your seat, you start to talk about the next game.

"The new big man on the team looks very strong......... "The chubby freckled Cody. John said as he shoved his fries into his mouth.

"You know again? I think it's better to keep the forward partner from last season, and Matthew did a lot better last season. On the other side of him, the skinny Philip habitually sang the opposite tune.

"Hey, Lee is the guy I dug for the team," Irma, who was next to them, interrupted their conversation. "And ....."

Irma bought a pass.

"And what?" Fat John asked.

"And he'll be your classmate," Irma said.

"What a coincidence," laughed Philip. Then we'll have to cheer him on later. ”

At this time, the sun was still slowly slanting to the west, shining head-on on the FC United fans who occupied the positions behind the goal. The glare of the sun made Irma's eyes narrow.

…………..

FC United's players arrived in the visiting team's dressing room. After changing clothes in the dressing room, Marginson explained the tactics to the players.

FC United's tactics are simple, in fact, in the lower leagues of England, everyone's tactics are very simple, nine times out of ten are long passes, and the teams that try to play the technical flow at their feet will not go far in the lower leagues of England. Because the action in this kind of game is very rough, but there are few fouls. The referees have a very wide scale, and in the general professional league, the action of committing a foul is only commonplace at this level, and if every action is blown, a game cannot be played coherently.

The style of play in League One is enough to make some Premier League players lament that League One is a rugby game, and if they come to the seventh division, they probably won't think it's a football game at all, but an unlimited fighting competition.........

"The opponent is stronger than us, and we are fighting back steadily." This is obvious, no matter how good the opponent is, it has always been a professional team, and the strength is much stronger than FC United.

"Try to pass the ball to Dean." Marginson then spoke to the players. "Dean, you take the ball and pay attention to the position of Lee and Nick."

The players sat in their seats and nodded.

"Don't stick the ball in the back, break the ball and pass it forward"

"Lee, control the ball in the air, give it to Nick, you go and answer Nick's cross."

Marginson's tactics are as simple as that, attacking with three points: Dean, Nick, and Li Qingshan, and he has no targeted deployment for the opponent. Because he doesn't know much more about this opponent than the players in the room, everyone doesn't know anything. That's the way it is at this level, and amateur teams don't have scouts who specialize in gathering information about their opponents. The most important thing is to play yourself. As long as you can play at your level, it will not be difficult to win.

As the FC United players walked out of the dressing room to warm up, there were more fans on the pitch than before, and enthusiastic Lille fans flocked to the stadium. In addition to the low stands on both sides, fans on both sides of the stadium gathered more and more, surrounding the stadium three floors inside and three layers outside. Some fans even climbed the landscape trees around the stadium and sat on the forked trunks of the trees. There is also a small hill next to the stadium, and the top of the hill is also crowded with fans.

In England, the birthplace of modern football, the tradition of football is very strong. On such a sunny Sunday afternoon, it's a good weekend to go to the humble park with your friends, watch your team play a game against your opponent, win or lose, and have a drink at the bar after the game.

Li Qingshan's followers and teammates walked into the field to warm up.

Behind the goal of this half, where they warmed up, was where FC United fans gathered. They shouted slogans cheering for the team. However, their voices were immediately drowned out by the home team's fans. The fans on both sides were already fighting before the game even began.

It's also part of the football culture, cooperation and confrontation.

When the warm-up was over, the substitutes returned to the bench, although it was only a warm-up game, but the pre-game set of procedures was quite formal, and the captains of both sides came out to guess the heads and tails of the coins.

In the end, Dean lost the right to pick the edge and won the tee-off. The opponents chose the side with their backs to the sun, which was the western half, so that in the first half FC United had to face the blinding sun when they played, which obviously limited their performance.

Li Qingshan stood on the left outside the center circle, moving the joints of his ankles and wrists, waiting for his opponent to serve.