Chapter 335: Father-in-law
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
The second semi-final of the AFC Champions League was held at the home court of Dingtian. The fans of the home court were shouting very loudly. Their deafening shouts created a suffocating cacophony.
After the confrontation in the first round, Dingtian and Jeonbuk Hyundai were familiar with each other, a familiarity that was a disadvantage for Jeonbuk Hyundai.
The reason for this was that the head coach of Dingtian Club was Harman. The more familiar the two teams were with each other, the more rigorous the testing of the coaches' tactics would be. In this aspect, the Korean coach of Jeonbuk Hyundai was no match for Harman, who was among the top-level soccer coaches in the world.
Dingtian overwhelmed Jeonbuk Hyundai in tactic arrangements, comprehensively. Also, Dingtian's lineup was better than that of Jeonbuk Hyundai. Therefore, most of the suspense had been removed in the first half of the game. The score of 2-0 at half time almost destroyed the resistance consciousness of Jeonbuk Hyundai.
After all, this was the home court of Dingtian. On the grounds alone of the strength of Jeonbuk Hyundai, it was too difficult for them to score 2 goals in 45 minutes.
In the second half, Jeonbuk Hyundai adjusted their tactics, and launched their desperate counterattack. At the 64th minute, they scored one goal. Then Harman took countermeasures, and Dingtian scored the third goal after 5 minutes, changing the score to 3-1 and regaining the advantage of two goals.
There was now only 20 minutes left until the end of the whole game. It was impossible for Jeonbuk Hyundai to score two goals in such a short time. In the coach seats of Dingtian, the atmosphere was easy and pleasant.
Dai Li was standing beside the coach seats. This game went smoothly. Therefore, without a lot of players injured in the game, like in the first semi-final, Dai Li didn't need to do any massage for the players.
For Jeonbuk Hyundai, this was an away game. They wouldn't play savagely, like they did in their home court. Otherwise, they would definitely get red cards.
"Dai Li, I remember you were a coach of table tennis before, right?" Harman asked suddenly.
Now the face of Harman was filled with an imperceptible smile. As a head coach, he even had time to chat with Dai Li. Obviously, in his mind, he had already grasped the victory of this game in his hands safely.
Dai Li answered immediately, "I used to be the coach in the National Table Tennis Team of our country."
"Then what do you think of soccer?" Harman continued to say, "I mean, are you interested in being a soccer coach?"
"A soccer coach? You mean the physical training of soccer, right?" Dai Li asked tentatively.
"Not just the physical training, but also other aspects." Harman thought of it for a while, and said, "I mean a coach like Delassaux, Georg, or me."
Delassaux and Georg were Harman's assisting coaches. Although they were just assisting coaches, their coaching was quite professional, and it was no problem for them to lead a team. Their tactic skills were taught to them by Harman personally, and their levels of sideline coaching were also very high. Without Harman, they would be fully qualified as the head coaches of some small European clubs. just based on the grounds of their abilities.
Actually, being a head coach in a small club was not as good as an assistant coach for a top-level head coach. Normally, the small clubs didn't have enough money, so their head coaches couldn't make a lot of money, and they also didn't have enough high level players. Also, as a head coach, the pressure of pursuing good records was inevitable, and sometimes the head coaches even had to take the blame for others' failures.
In comparison, being an assistant coach for a top-level coach, like Harman, was much better – the pressure was low, the salary was high. If the game was lost, the responsibility would be undertaken by the head coach. If the game was won, a large bonus was awaiting. Also, the working experience in the resume would be more substantial.
Dai Li could understand Harman, and he replied, "I don't know the tactics of soccer; and I haven't been a professional soccer player before. I am not even good at playing soccer. In fact, I was just a physical trainer in the National Table Tennis Team, and was only responsible for physical training. I don't know the techniques very well."
"Nobody is born to be a good soccer player, and nobody is born with the knowledge of soccer tactics," Harman continued to say, "But I hope you could jump out of the boundaries of physical training and learn more knowledge related to soccer."
Dai Li was surprised, as he didn't expect such a requirement from Harman.
Then Harman continued to say, "Soccer has requirements upon the players' physical performances and personal techniques, as well as the tactics and cooperation of the team in the game. As a soccer physical trainer, you'd better know all aspects of soccer."
"You are working with Claude. You should notice that he is not just a physical trainer. He will also take part in our training plan workshop and in any discussion of tactics. He will also bring forth a lot of good suggestions." Harman continued to say, "We are a team, and an entirety. Just like a machine, each individual is a gear. When all gears are engaged perfectly, the machine could run rapidly and smoothly. If one of the gears loses several gear teeth, the efficiency of the whole machine would be impaired. Do you understand me?"
It seemed as if Harman worried that Dai Li couldn't understand him, so he spoke slowly. He even gestured to Dai Li as he spoke.
"You mean the knowledge related to soccer is teeth of the gears, right?" Dai Li asked tentatively.
Harman smiled, "It seems you have understood me. Young man, work harder and learn more, while you are still young. I am optimistic about your future!"
Dai Li nodded his head, but he was still confused in his heart. He didn't know why Harman discussed these issues with him. He also didn't know that the reason Harman was giving him direction was because Harman was planning to recruit him to the coach team.
Maybe the old man is overjoyed because of his victory in the game. Dai Li said to himself silently.
...
There were a lot of boxes on the second floor of the stand of the stadium. In a box, which was located at the best position, a man with slicked-back hair was surrounded by a lot of people. This man was Dingtian Xiao, who was the Chairman of Dingtian Group, and also the father of Yunan Xiao. Dingtian Group was named according to the pronunciation of his first name.
"Chairman Xiao, the young man who is standing beside Coach Harman is Dai Li." A guy beside Dingtian Xiao supplied this introduction.
"Is he rumored to be Yunan's boyfriend?" Dingtian Xiao looked at Dai Li with a blank look.
The guy beside him smiled. Since Dingtian Xiao said it was a "rumor", he didn't need to explain more. Dingtian Xiao had heard the slanderous gossip about Yunan Xiao's boyfriend, as all parents care about their children. Dingtian Xiao was also crystal clear about the details of when Dai Li drove Yunan Xiao home and met Fen Luo.
Actually, in his position, Dingtian Xiao didn't need to ask someone to investigate this issue deliberately. Someone would investigate the issue and report the result to him naturally, as many people in Dingtian Group, as well as in other enterprises, have business relationships with Dingtian Group and therefore, are always wanting to butter Dingtian Xiao up.
This young man is quite lively and spirited. Dingtian Xiao was still wearing a blank face. Someone had reported Dai Li's family background and working experience to Dingtian Xiao, which was more specific than the investigation report obtained by Fen Luo.
The one beside Dingtian Xiao peeped at Dingtian Xiao, but couldn't figure out whether Dingtian Xiao was looking at his son-in-law, or if he was planning to separate the lovebirds, at least not simply according to Dingtian Xiao's blank face.
He should be planning to interfere in this love affair. How could Chairman Xiao allow an ordinary person to marry his beloved daughter? The guy wondered to himself silently.