In the spacious and bright office of the Monaco head coach, Ranieri is absorbed in examining the information of the trial players handed over by the assistant coach and their performance over the past two weeks.
"Is the performance of this Chinese boy really so excellent?" When he opened the first page of the document, Afei's information came into view.
Name: Afei
Nationality: Chinese
Date of birth: August 9, 1986
Height: 180
Weight: 75
"Yes, among this batch of trial players, this little guy's performance is outstanding." Monaco has two assistant coaches. At this moment, it is naturally his right-hand man Paul Benetti who answers Ranielli.
Since the moment Afei stepped into the Monaco training base two weeks ago, Ranieri has never appeared on the training ground like evaporation from the world. In the past two weeks, it has been his cronie Paul Benetti and Ayers, the head coach of the reserve team, who co-sided over the overall situation.
"In these two weeks, this little guy is like a bright star, not only the most hardworking, but also the most outstanding." Benetti seems to have a high opinion of Afei.
"In two weeks, we held four fierce matches, and in these four games, the little guy didn't make a single obvious mistake." Benetti's words showed undisguised appreciation.
"Moreover, George was surprised to find that the little guy's concentration was as hard as steel. George even asserted that the little guy's concentration on the court was not even as good as Gian Luigi." George Perizzaro, another close friend of Ranieri, the goalkeeper coach from Italy, has a rich and colorful resume, like a magnificent football epic. His footprint has spread to many rich clubs such as Naples, Florence, Valencia, Atletico Madrid, Chelsea, Rome, Parma, Inter Milan, Juventus and so on.
From the names of these clubs, you can see the ability of Pelizaro. After all, the goalkeepers of these clubs are all outstanding, and there are world-class goalkeepers such as Buffon and Cesar, who are like bright stars, shining.
The "Gian Luigi" in Benetti's mouth is Buffon, the number one goalkeeper in today's football. When he heard the name, Ranieri couldn't help looking up and looked at his conies like an electric shock.
"George likes this little guy very much," Ranieri's tone seemed to have changed subtly, as if a breeze brushed the calm lake and rippled.
"From these competitions, George did admire this little guy, but how can a goalkeeper's level see his whole picture from the competition?" Bennett's answer was like a sharp sword, piercing the seemingly beautiful appearance.
Indeed, a player's ability is like the tip of an iceberg, and it is impossible to be fully exposed from training. Only on the field can a player's strength be truly tested, and the position of goalkeeper is even more different, like an indestructible fortress.
In other positions of the players, there are so-called teenage heroes. They are still young, but they can enter the field, like shining new stars, blooming their own light. For example, Monaco has just signed "Argentina C Ronaldo" Ocampos. This Argentine genius is two years younger than Afei, and even needs to wait a month to join Monaco, but he has already made a name for himself in world football with his excellent performance.
Such examples are everywhere in world football, but goalkeepers are completely different. For example, in today's world football, young and famous goalkeepers are rare. The older generation of Buffon is like an immortal legend. He made his debut at the age of 17, and at the age of 19, he sat firmly in the main force, dominating the world's first goal for nearly ten years, like an insurmountable peak. Neuer of the middle generation is like a rising star. He made his debut at the age of 20 and sat firmly in the main force at the age of 21. Now he is the top goalkeeper of the middle generation. The new generation of De Gea is like a shining pearl. He made his debut at the age of 18 and sat firmly in the main force at the age of 20. The summer transfer a year ago was dug up by Manchester United at a high price.
There is another crucial condition why these people can sit firmly in the main position when they are young, that is, the main goalkeeper is injured. You know, other positions on the court will be more or less troubled by injuries in a season, but the goalkeeper is the least injured of all positions on the court.
As long as the main goalkeeper is safe and sound, the substitute goalkeeper is like being beaten into a cold palace and has no future. Therefore, compared with other positions, goalkeepers need luck more often.
However, luck is only a part of it. If you want to seize the opportunity and become an outstanding goalkeeper, you also need to have an extremely strong heart. Other players can make mistakes, allow them to make mistakes, and even make up for their own mistakes.
However, the goalkeeper does not have such a privilege. Once the goalkeeper makes a mistake, it almost means that the goal he is guarding will be broken. Once the goal is lost, the goalkeeper will be under great pressure and even have deep doubts about himself.
This is also the reason why Catarano warned Afei before the trial training that "never lose confidence in themselves", especially for young people like Afei.
Therefore, the goalkeeper is also related to age to some extent. With age, experience will also increase, and the abundance of experience will make people more mature, and their mentality will also change.
The special nature of the goalkeeper is not only reflected in the fact that he is the only player who can use his hands on the court, but also reflected in his high requirements in all aspects, especially psychological and spiritual aspects.
"Then give him a contract!" With the fall of Ranieri's words, Afei, like a winged eagle flying high, officially embarked on the path of a professional player and became a real player.
More than an hour later, Benetti slowly walked out of Ranieri's office. When he returned to the training ground again, this group of trial players ushered in their final fate.
At this time, everyone's mood is like the magnificent sea, intertwined with apprehension, nervousness and expectation. For a moment, everyone's eyes were like a spotlight, focusing on the assistant coach, and Afei was naturally among them.
"Afei~~~" Benetti said concisely and called his name directly when he opened his mouth, and everyone knew what it meant to be named at this moment.
"Yes~~~" A Fei was confident. Maybe he couldn't compete with those top goalkeepers. However, he knew that he had an advantage that others did not have. Moreover, he only had one strong opponent among the trial players at the moment.
Although there were two goalkeepers in the competition two weeks ago, it was Ranielli's purpose to investigate the young Surzak, that is to say, Li Shou's real opponent was the experienced old goalkeeper.
The world of football is like the jungle of the weak and the strong. Afei has a deep understanding of this at this moment. There are more than 20 trial trainers, but the assistant coach only called three names.
The goalkeeper Afei, the remaining two are center-backs. Andre Raj from Italy, played for Serie A Bologna last season, and another one named Carl Medgiani played for Ajaccio, who was promoted to Ligue 1 last season. This season, Ajaccio has been relegated to Ligue 2 this season.
It is said that the two of them have a good relationship with Li Shou. Three of the four confrontations were the two defending in front of A Fei, and these three confrontations also ended with the victory of the three.
"You can ask the agent to come over to discuss the contract", which can be said to be a moment of heaven and hell.
Although Benetti began to comfort other players, obviously, Bennetti's comfort was like a glass of water. Those who failed to get the contract could only pack their bags gloomyly and continue to look for the next opportunity.
"Afei, Andre, let's have a meal together tonight to celebrate." The two weeks of trial training have made several people form a deep friendship, not to mention that the three of them have now received a positive answer from Monaco.
For this invitation, A Fei couldn't beg for it. It was not that he was greedy for this meal, but that A Fei became a monk halfway and was ignorant about many things. He could just ask the two of them for advice.