The History of Anxi City Soccer

Lu Ang had already found <> in the school's library. He flipped through it briefly. This was indeed a city with a long history of modern soccer. The foundation of soccer fans in 50 years was very strong, but soccer had declined in the recent 15 to 20 years. And it happened to be his generation when he was young.

Xia Mengyin saw Lu Ang sitting there. He was still wearing his black-framed glasses and had a backpack beside him. He was reading a book and looked very serious. His hair was messy as usual and covered his eyes.

She set her laptop bag on the table. "I didn't expect you to be here so early."

Lu Ang placed the book back on the table. He looked at Xia Mengyin in shock, but she did not notice anything unusual.

Xia Mengyin saw the title of the book. "Ah, you've already found it. I was actually going to recommend this book to you today. This book can only be found in our school's library."

Lu Ang said, "Yes, yes. I've already flipped through the pages and read the rough outline, but it's all about some of the history."

Xia Mengyin said, "Yes, because when I was young, I remembered that Anxi City City didn't have a team. Before I was born, the former Anxi City soccer team was disbanded."

Lu Ang asked, "Disbanded? Didn't they say they moved out?"

Xia Mengyin said, "Actually, you can say that. I've always felt that a soccer team in a city is a kind of city culture. Since this team moved away, wouldn't it mean that they were disbanded? Then, they would go to another place to build a new team. Anxi City's current team was actually newly established five years ago. It's a new team, but the stadium and office they use are still the old site of the original team."

Lu Ang asked, "So Anxi City's soccer stadium has been empty for more than 10 years?"

Xia Mengyin said, "Yes, my father said that 20 years ago, there was a problem with the team because of the capital. But he didn't specify the exact reason. After they disbanded, the capital flowed into the current Andong City."

Lu Ang replied, "I've heard of that before."

Xia Mengyin said, "At that time, many players in Andong City were not willing to play in the league anymore, but some of them followed their original team to Andong City. My father belonged to the former, and so was Coach Wang Tie. However, Coach Wang Tie became the soccer coach of the sports school, and my father finally chose to raise cows at the foot of the mountain, gradually moving away from the soccer field. However, he did play some amateur games later on."

Lu Ang asked, "What about this new Anxi City's soccer team?"

Xia Mengyin said, "This team is really new. They didn't know anything at first, so my mother is now their health consultant. In the second half of the year, the B-League is about to start. However, many of them are old team members who might retire after this season. Also, this team isn't rich, so I don't know what will happen next. I hope there will be more sponsors."

Lu Ang thought for a while. Indeed, when he did his own investigation, he found that the capital behind Anxi City's soccer team was indeed rather lacking. After all, Andong City was the provincial capital of Zhongju Province, and the economic center had already become Andong City.

Lu Ang said, "However, I took some time to watch some of Anxi City's competition. I feel that they are doing quite well. The tactics are quite interesting too."

Xia Mengyin said, "The current head coach is only 34 years old. He's a young, and very creative coach."

Lu Ang asked, "Creative?"

Xia Mengyin said, "Actually, Anxi City's current team is quite interesting. Coach Chen also likes a more innovative style of playing."

Lu Ang was deep in thought. He knew that the current head coach of Anxi City was Chen Yuechun. He had not been a professional soccer player for long and had started learning to be an assistant coach before he was 30 years old. He was very good at defensive tactics. This was the exact opposite of Andong City's coach. Perhaps it was because the players of Anxi City were older, so it was not easy for them to be able to counterattack so well.

It was rumored that Chen Yuechun wanted to sign a large number of young players in the summer transfer window, so that he could compete in the B-League and aim for the A-League. Some people understood that he should give the young players a chance, but there were also many people who didn't think highly of him because they felt that the players' lifespans were severely shortened. However, even in the previous B-League, there were some teams that had bought external help, and they were basically just making up for lost time. Only Chen Yuechun expressed that he wouldn't introduce external help in the summer transfer window. This made Lu Ang feel that it was quite interesting.

Lu Ang said, "I feel that Anxi City's soccer atmosphere is very good. When I'm free, I want to watch the match live."

Xia Mengyin said, "That's right. You saw it in the sports book. Although Anxi City doesn't have many professional players, there are a lot of people participating in the game. However, everyone loves and hates him. Also, let me tell you, the fans of Anxi City and Andong City sometimes berate each other and that really makes me laugh."

Lu Ang said, "This is very normal, just like Manchester City and Manchester United."

Xia Mengyin said, "Yes, that's probably the case. However, the fans are still unanimous. Just like in the top-level leagues, everyone naturally hopes that Andong City can achieve good results. After all, Zhongju Province only has one team that can compete in the top-level A-League. It represents the entire province, so we will still cheer for them."

Lu Ang said, "You're right. If Anxi City reaches the A-League, the fans on both sides will be very interested."

Xia Mengyin said, "Hahaha, that's right, that's right. That's really Manchester City and Manchester United. However, our team's standards are not comparable to those two teams in the Premier League." She sighed.

Lu Ang said, "That's true. Even if there are a lot of people watching the league, it still feels like we're only playing in our own system. We can't compare to teams in the Premier League at all."

Xia Mengyin said, "That's why young players like you have to work hard. The gap between us and them is too big. It's no wonder that many fans start scolding us every time we compete. It's because they expected better from us."

Lu Ang sighed.

Xia Mengyin said, "Don't be disheartened. Actually, fans are very biased. They will watch while they scold and still love the players very much. That's why the players have to work harder. You guys are still young players and don't participate in high-level international competitions, so you don't have to bear such a burden for the time being."

"Actually, there is also criticism of the youth teams." Lu Ang thought that Xia Mengyin didn't know.

He knew very well that half a year ago, his friendly match with the national youth team was his biggest nightmare. It was that match that had made Lu Ang feel completely powerless on the field. There was nothing he could do.

The difference was obvious. No matter how much he wanted to win back then, he could not.