Chapter Sixteen: What Kind of Person Is Wang Lie?

“Damn it!”

Assistant coach Cesar Varo’s sudden exclamation drew Sam McNeil’s attention as he was arranging the work schedule. McNeil turned and asked, “What is it?”

“Wang mentioned that he wants to join the team for training this afternoon.”

“Let him,” McNeil said.

“But I forgot to tell Goetz…”

“What’s the problem?” McNeil waved a hand. “Don’t worry about it. We have our own work to deal with. Wang’s medical report is out. His physical condition really isn’t what it used to be. Most notably, his muscle flexibility has deteriorated badly. His movements are somewhat stiff, and his explosiveness has declined. Obviously, we can’t expect him to keep making endless high-speed sprints as he did when he was younger. But his strength is still above average… We need to think about how to make tactical and training arrangements suited to Wang’s current physical condition…”

Cesar Varo also decided that he had been worrying unnecessarily. Even if he had not given anyone advance warning, what could possibly go wrong?

They were all adults. Wang Lie was a veteran with twenty years of professional experience. What kind of situation had he not seen before?

This was not his first transfer, either.

He did not need anyone to teach him how to enter the dressing room or introduce himself to new teammates.

Thus, after McNeil’s reminder, Varo shook his head and pushed his earlier concerns from his mind, devoting himself entirely to the work at hand.

※※※

“Uh… I didn’t receive any notice from the coaching staff that you were coming to train today…” Elliott Goetz had no idea what to do with his hands. As captain, he had just been seen by a new signing in the middle of a team fight. He almost wished he could retire on the spot.

“I only decided at the last minute,” Wang Lie said with a smile.

Recalling the scene he had witnessed upon pushing open the door, Wang Lie suddenly wondered whether McNeil had deliberately failed to inform the team. Perhaps the manager wanted to show him the team’s true condition, without any disguise.

Did he want Wang to experience firsthand what kind of club he had joined?

That was rather bold. What if Wang packed his bags and fled overnight?

Wang Lie understood more and more why McNeil had insisted on bringing him here.

This chaotic dressing room really did need someone tough enough to keep everyone in line.

The current captain, Elliott Goetz, was clearly not that kind of figure.

Goetz took the smile on Wang Lie’s face as mockery, which made him even more ashamed. If Wang had merely heard the commotion from outside, Goetz could have pretended nothing had happened and covered it up.

But now Wang was standing right in the doorway and had seen everything clearly. If Goetz still pretended the incident did not exist, he would only be deceiving himself.

So all he could do was shake his head and sigh. “I’m truly sorry. You’ve only just arrived, and you had to witness something like that…”

He was deeply apologetic. The instigator, Sonny Dean, however, felt no such remorse. Instead, he addressed Wang in a taunting, deliberately provocative tone.

“It’s nothing, Captain. Even if Wang hadn’t seen it today, he’d have seen it in a few days. He might even get involved himself, right, Wang?”

“Shut up!”

If Goetz had not been the captain—if he had not been worried about setting a bad example by striking a teammate—he would have turned around and punched the bastard.

The other players were speechless as well. They had not expected Dean to provoke Wang Lie outright. Everyone knew he disliked Wang’s arrival, but he was not even bothering to hide it.

The kid had really let himself go ever since signing with Kensington.

Wang Lie could feel Sonny Dean’s hostility, but he was not about to do what the young Vitini had done earlier—throw down his bag and rush over to settle things with a new teammate physically.

He appeared to ignore Dean’s provocation completely. The smile remained on his face as he said something that stunned everyone in the room.

“I don’t think there’s anything wrong with it. This lively scene, with everything bursting into life and everyone competing openly, is far better than the lifeless atmosphere in Sufu United’s dressing room.”

Even Sonny Dean, who had been intent on provoking Wang Lie, was taken aback.

“What?”

He recovered quickly, though, and snorted. “As expected of a superstar from a giant club. You’re so eloquent that even your insults sound like praise.”

After that reminder, some of the players began looking at Wang Lie with less friendliness.

Wang Lie merely waved a hand. “Give it a rest, Dean. Tone down the sourness. I could smell it all the way from the car park.”

Then he faced the entire dressing room and spoke seriously.

“I mean it. Dean and Vitini may have just fought, but at least they expressed their opinions to each other openly and thoroughly. In Sufu United’s dressing room, even when people had something on their minds, they would not say it easily. Everyone looked as though they were weighed down by private troubles… Do you know when that dressing room was liveliest during the past six months or so?”

Everyone shook their heads in bewilderment. They found the question ridiculous. They were Thane players—how the hell would they know what went on in Sufu United’s dressing room?

Fortunately, Wang Lie soon revealed the answer instead of smiling and making them guess.

“It was when I was sent down to the youth team.”

The dressing room fell silent. But the silence was quickly broken by a snort of laughter that someone failed to suppress.

“Ah… sorry…”

Hugo Gondouz covered his mouth, looking slightly embarrassed. He had been the one to snicker.

Wang Lie did not mind. He shrugged.

“You don’t have to apologize. I was telling it as a joke. Compared with Sufu United, I think things here are pretty good. At least this is a normal team atmosphere. If you have an opinion, say it directly. Isn’t that better?”

Goetz genuinely could not tell whether Wang Lie was being sarcastic or speaking sincerely. All he could do was criticize himself from his own perspective.

“Regardless, fighting is wrong…”

Wang Lie patted him on the shoulder.

“Fighting isn’t the end of the world. We’re all men. If there’s a real conflict, having it out with each other is better than bottling it up and constantly plotting behind someone’s back. The most important thing is to be honest and communicate. If you have an opinion, say it. If you have something to say, say it. A problem can only be solved once it has been brought into the open.”

The people in Thane’s dressing room exchanged glances. None of them had expected the legendary troublemaker to behave like a peacemaker, or to be so easygoing and approachable.

Throughout Wang Lie’s twenty-year professional career, the media had always surrounded him. Every move he made had been watched and discussed.

Yet many people did not really know what kind of person he was. It was as though layers of mist surrounded him.

His public image was almost completely contradictory.

Some said he had a terrible temper and was domineering and rude.

Others said he was compassionate and never refused a fan’s request.

Some claimed he was cold-hearted and had few friends.

Others said he was always willing to offer advice and assistance to young players.

So every Thane player surely had a different answer to the question of what kind of person Wang Lie really was. Did Barnabas not think Wang was petty and vindictive?

Yet the Wang Lie standing before them now seemed less sharp-edged, eccentric, and solitary than the rumors had suggested.

Could it be that after being cast out by Sufu United and left with almost nowhere to go, he had finally decided to reflect on his past behavior and turn over a new leaf?

If that was truly the case, then perhaps they did not need to worry about how to get along with him after all.

Just as the Thane players were thinking this, Wang Lie spoke again.

“So although today is only my first day with the team, I intend to speak openly about what I’m thinking and communicate fully and honestly with all of you. Of course, that is also part of my personality. I’m simply the kind of person who says what he means and doesn’t beat around the bush. So sometimes I may come across as offensive…”

Standing beside him, Elliott Goetz suddenly had the strange feeling that Wang Lie was the real captain of the team—and he was not.

“First, let me introduce myself. My name is Wang Lie. I’m a Chinese player. You can call me Wang, or you can call me Wang Lie. Either is fine. But don’t call me ‘Lie Wang.’ That is not how we do things in China. It sounds awkward to me, and I may not even realize you’re calling me. Likewise, I won’t put your surnames before your given names when addressing you, because that is not what you’re accustomed to. This is a matter of habit, but it is also a matter of mutual respect. I respect your customs, and I hope you will respect mine.”

His words were somewhat… domineering, but no one could find fault with them.

There was nothing wrong with respecting another person’s customs or calling for mutual respect.

Who would stand up at a moment like this and announce that they intended to disrespect someone?

No one.

Even the troublemaker Sonny Dean remained silent. He simply stared fixedly at Wang Lie, trying to figure out what he was really up to.

In the quiet dressing room, Wang Lie continued.

“I’m very glad to meet you all. In fact, we’ve met before and played against each other, but today is the first time we’ve truly been formally acquainted. I’m also very pleased to join Thane and become your teammate. I’m sure everyone has heard many different versions in the media and online about how I came to Thane. What I’m about to tell you is my version.

“The night I was sent down to the youth team, I received a phone call from Manager McNeil. He invited me to join Thane because he believed I could still contribute to this team and remain an important member of it. I hesitated for several days before accepting. I didn’t make many demands regarding my personal terms. The transfer took so many days mainly because my agent was negotiating the terms of my release with Sufu United. I didn’t want to pay them a single penny in compensation, because I felt they had no right to demand it from me.”

Before they realized it, the Thane players had become completely absorbed in his story.

There were many versions online of how Wang Lie had come to Thane, but this was genuinely a “brand-new version” none of them had heard before.

After all, no media outlet could have known the precise content of the phone call between their manager, Sam McNeil, and Wang Lie.

“That’s the whole story. The manager and I both believe that I can still contribute here, that I can still do a great deal for this team. It is an honor for me. So I’m not here to retire. Who retires in the Premier League? If I wanted an easy retirement, why wouldn’t I return to China? More money, less work, and close to home—what could be better? But I chose to stay in the Premier League. Why?”

Wang Lie scanned the room. He noticed Vitini’s lips moving, as though the Brazilian youngster wanted to say something.

But he gave the boy no chance to speak. He answered his own question.

“Because I’m not satisfied. I’m not willing to leave England, to leave Europe, as a failure. I haven’t won enough yet. So…”

Wang Lie paused, then raised three fingers.

“To be honest, I came here for three things: to win. To win. And to fucking win!”

His words caused a considerable stir in the dressing room.

Wang Lie paid it no mind and continued.

“To win, I’m prepared to give everything. I’ll train hard, and I’ll give everything in matches. Of course, I know football is a team sport. I alone am not enough. So I’ll also drive every one of you to train relentlessly and give everything in matches.”

As he spoke, he stared directly at the other players in the dressing room. His eyes burned with fire, and he did not look away even once.

The other Thane players, faced with such intense and undisguised scrutiny, were the ones who grew uncomfortable. Some instinctively averted their eyes.

Wang Lie felt no embarrassment whatsoever. He continued.

“I’ll pull every one of you forward with me, and I won’t stop until we reach our goal. Don’t think I’m joking. I guarantee that I mean every word I’ve said. I’m serious. I don’t care what thoughts you’re carrying inside. I’m going to do this anyway. I’ll bind all of you together, turn you into one whole, and then we’ll charge forward together and win together.”

From the beginning, Wang Lie had been observing the expressions of his new teammates. Some were visibly energized by his words. Some looked numb. Others were plainly flustered.

So Wang Lie fixed his gaze on the flustered Sonny Dean and grinned.

“That is what I wanted to say to all of you. I’ll say it, and I’ll do it. I don’t know whether you can accept it. But it doesn’t matter. If you can accept it, that’s wonderful—it saves me some effort. If you can’t… you’ll accept it anyway. Don’t worry. Even if I have to drag you there, I’ll drag you all to the finish line. Even if I drag you until your skin is torn and your flesh is bloody, I won’t stop just because you cry out in pain. If you want to suffer less, then work hard to keep up with me. Start running.”

※※※

After introducing himself, Wang Lie did not stay behind to exchange pleasantries or build a rapport with his new teammates.

He changed quickly and walked straight out.

No one asked where he was going. Even though none of them had previously been his teammates, they had seen enough reports about him in the media to know that Wang Lie had gone out early to warm up—a longstanding habit of his.

He was always the first member of the team to arrive for training and the last to leave afterward.

Sometimes, you could go several days without seeing him in the dressing room. He would already have changed and gone out before the rest of the team arrived, then return from the training ground only after everyone else had left, changing and showering alone.

The fact that everyone had seen Wang Lie only after getting into a fight in the dressing room today was proof enough that he really had decided at the last minute to attend the afternoon session.

Once he left, the tense atmosphere in the dressing room began to loosen.

The Thane players seemed to come back to life. At last, they could breathe freely and speak without restraint.

Robbie Dean was the first to jump in, his familiar sarcasm intact.

“What a load of rubbish! Who does he think he is?”

His Brazilian nemesis, the young Vitini, immediately shot back.

“He’s Wang Lie, a two-time Ballon d’Or winner! He’s the leading active scorer, the leading active Champions League scorer, and the all-time leading scorer for his national team. He’s also a seven-time champion! Who do you think you are?”

Dean looked eager for another confrontation.

“Ha! What, you want to fight me again? Come on, then!”

Vitini snorted.

“Sorry, I don’t have time for that right now. I have to work hard to keep up with Wang!”

With that, he followed Wang Lie out of the dressing room, already changed into his kit, eager to catch up with his idol.

“Tch! What an obsessed idiot!”

Dean first gave an irritated snort, then turned to complain to captain Goetz.

“Wang’s only just arrived, and he already looks more like the captain. Clearly, he doesn’t give a damn about you, Captain.”

Goetz glared at him.

“You don’t give a damn about me either!”

Dean remained utterly unbothered, still grinning mischievously.

“So, Captain, do you really believe all that Wang said? I mean the part about dragging the whole team into the fight…”

“Whether I believe him or not, what difference does it make? He doesn’t need me to believe him. He’ll do it himself,” Elliott Goetz said. Then he turned toward the entire team. “I think Wang was right about one thing. Every one of us has to work harder than before. We have to give everything in training and everything in matches. I know there are plenty of unpleasant things being said about us outside this club. I hope all of you remember that until you leave, we are still a team.”

It was impossible to know how many people in the dressing room truly took his words to heart. Everyone simply continued with what they were doing, and few responded to their captain.

The team’s starting center-back, Hugo Gondouz, was whispering with his defensive partner, Maje Katic.

“This is an eye-opener. He really did express his thoughts fully and frankly… But he’s only just transferred here. I would have thought he’d been playing for this team for years.”

Katic smiled.

“I’ve never been Wang’s teammate, but the way he acts as though he doesn’t give a damn about anyone is exactly the same as when he was in La Liga. He hasn’t changed at all. I thought that, like me, he would become gentler with age…”

Barnabas asked him, “Aren’t you worried Wang will give you trouble?”

Katic glanced at Sonny Dean and lowered his voice.

“What is there to worry about? I’ve never slacked off, whether in training or in matches.”

※※※

Wang Lie had not yet reached the training ground when he heard someone calling from behind.

“Wang! Wang!”

He turned and saw Clayton Vitini, the young Brazilian player on the team, so he stopped and waited.

Seeing Wang Lie pause for him, Vitini immediately jogged a few steps and caught up.

Once he reached Wang, he flashed a broad grin, displaying a row of brilliantly white teeth.

“Are you going out early to warm up? I’ll come with you! I know this is your habit. From now on, please take me along whenever you do this!”

Wang Lie looked the Brazilian youngster up and down. He had quite a strong impression of Vitini, who had said more than once that Wang Lie was the footballer he admired most.

Those remarks had even sparked controversy online.

After all, Vitini was Brazilian. Instead of idolizing his compatriot and predecessor Roniel, he idolized a Chinese player—and one who could be considered Roniel’s rival at that. Roniel’s fans had always insisted that Wang Lie was not worthy of being mentioned alongside their idol, yet they were also particularly hostile toward him. Whenever Vitini declared Wang Lie to be his idol, many of Roniel’s supporters completely lost their composure, placing Vitini under tremendous public pressure.

Despite that pressure, Vitini had never changed his mind. He continued to express his admiration for Wang Lie publicly on numerous occasions.

Notably, when Wang Lie’s farewell letter to the supporters of Sufu United was published, Vitini had immediately liked and reposted it, calling Wang Lie a legend forever.

His loyalty was unmistakable.

That level of fervor made Wang Lie suspect that the youngster had probably been led astray by the media’s glorification of him and viewed him through the rose-tinted lens of a fan. Whether Vitini would still like him after actually spending every day alongside him remained to be seen.

You like dragons, don’t you?

Well, the dragon is standing right in front of you now.

Whether you truly like dragons or not—we’ll see.

Wang Lie smiled and nodded.

“Then you’d better work hard. Don’t say I didn’t warn you. Training with me is tough.”

Vitini was not intimidated in the slightest.

“That’s exactly what I want! I want to become like you!”

Wang Lie crooked a finger at him.

“Then come on. Let’s warm up together first.”