Chapter 29

Naturally, Nagi has nothing to do with these things, but his agent, Balmond, is very keen to use Nagi to enter the national team, because this can greatly increase the influence and commercial value, but it undoubtedly failed again.

"Mina, I can't comment on your country's football. I really have something to say. They think you are not good enough to enter the national team. Your current value has reached more than half of the national team." Francisco Balmond said angrily.

"It's the first time I've heard the saying that football is not about fighting, it's about the ways of the world." Balmond said, "This is what the reporter revealed to me. He seems to be able to learn a lot of inside information. You entering the national team is about profit rather than ability."

Nagi comforted him and said: "Bamond, you should be more patient. I am still young. If I can play in the five major leagues and get higher honors in the future, I don't believe they will remain indifferent. Domestic fans won't agree either."

Balmond was on the phone and said, "I just think the so-called sophistication is stupid. No wonder the football in the country can't develop."

At the beginning of November 2000, the Spanish Mozusi Olympic Stadium was full of lights, and the stadium that could accommodate 45,000 people was almost full. The home team Espanyol and the visiting team Genk players entered the stadium one by one.

The Spaniard is currently ranked ninth in La Liga, and his strength is beyond doubt. There are many outstanding shooters such as Sergio Gonzalez and Roger Garcia.

According to pre-match media reports, the value of all Spaniard players is more than five times that of all Genk players, so everyone is more optimistic about the home team's victory, but the performance of Genk teenager Nagi was also the focus of many scouts.

Nagi looked around and looked at the Mozusi Olympic Stadium, which was twice the size of Genk's home stadium, and he couldn't help being fascinated. This is the stage of the five major leagues, and he can't wait to show his talents here.

From the Ivan-George Stadium in Verton with a capacity of about 5,000, to the Luminus Arena in Genk with a capacity of 25,000, to the current Mozusi Olympic Stadium with a capacity of 45,000, in just one year, the stage of Nagi's performance has become more and more exciting. Getting bigger and bigger, he also firmly believes that this is not the end.

With the whistle of the referee, the game officially began. Nagi frequently interspersed between the midfield and the frontcourt and was very active. In the 4th minute, he quickly started after getting the ball from the right, and the Spaniard central defender Hailey Braun stepped forward to press.

Facing the defense, Nagi dribbled the ball quickly, and Braun felt dazzled by the fancy skill of riding a bicycle to pick up fried meatballs. His body subconsciously blocked the direction of Nagi's fake move.Nagi feasily dribbled the ball past him.

Braun was taken aback. He didn't expect Nagi's dribbling skills to be so good. He quickly turned around and stretched out his hand, trying to hold Nagi to cause a foul and prevent him from breaking through easily, but he failed again. Nagi's speed was so fast that he had already run out position, Braun could only chase him away, and at the same time signal other defensive players to come over to defend.

Nagi brought the ball to the front of the penalty area. At this time, the surrounding Spanish defenders came to double-team. In a flash, he kicked the goal decisively, and the ball flew out like a cannonball.

There was only a loud "bang", the ball hit the post and bounced back to the penalty area, the defensive player quickly kicked the ball out of the boundary, and Genk got a front field sideline ball.

Nagi rubbed his head annoyedly, and adjusted the kick just a little bit. If the angle is a little bit to the left, it will definitely go in. The goalkeeper had nothing to do, what a pity!

Then Nagi created another excellent opportunity. When he broke through on the right, he used Cruyff to turn around and get rid of the defender's entanglement, and then made a cross, but Jason Aldridge, who followed up in the penalty area, was unguarded. In some cases, when hitting the door, it deviates from the range of the door frame.

Aldridge, who missed the opportunity, covered his face. He was also a little worried about gains and losses. He wanted to perform well on the European stage, so his mentality was out of balance and he missed the excellent opportunity.

The Spaniard's offense was quite threatening. In the 23rd minute, Roger Garcia threatened the visiting team's goal through a quick counterattack. Fortunately, Genk's goalkeeper Delbert Gleeson was brave and confiscated his shot.

Both offensive and defensive sides performed very lively, and the fans in the stands were also frantically cheering for their respective teams, but the Spaniard fans accounted for the majority, they knew that Nagi was the core of the team, as long as he got the ball, They hissed wildly.

In the 41st minute, Genk launched a quick counterattack. Christian Chivu sprinted on the right with the ball.

Chivu suddenly made an emergency stop to avoid the sliding tackle, and then passed a curved ball, directly finding Nagi in the penalty area. When Nagi received the ball, he was already near the bottom line of the penalty area, and Braun, who was defending beside him, Trying to raise his leg blocked his shot and goal line.

"Mina caught the ball in the penalty area, let's see how he handles it, he trapped the ball, beautiful, hit the goal, goooooooooooooooal, the ball went in! At the end of the first half, it was Nagi Mina who stood up again and broke the stalemate on the field."

"The way he handles the ball in the box is excellent, and we look again, he pulls the ball to the left with the inside of his right foot and easily avoids Braun's pressing. At this time, the Spaniard goalkeeper was also blocked by Braun. Part of the line of sight."

"Mina seized this slight flaw, made a decisive move, and by the time the goalkeeper reacted, it was already too late."

After scoring the goal, Nagi stepped over the billboard and came to the south of the stand. In a blue ocean, there was a small yellow area, which was the fans who came from afar to support Genk. Nagi faced the them and pumped this fists, then perform his signature hand-to-the-sky celebration.

The Genk fans in the stands ignored the angry Espanyol fans, cheered wildly and shouted Nagi's name, and the teammates who followed behind jumped on him one by one, pushed him to the bottom, and celebrated goal.

After the referee reminded the time, everyone spread out and stood defensively. Unexpectedly, they would lose the ball at the end of the first half. The Spaniard players looked very frustrated and had no desire to attack, so they entered the center. field break.

In the locker room, Genk head coach Aimee Antonis praised the team's first half of the game, "Whether it is offense or defense, we are very organized, and we will continue to work hard in the second half, allowing us to advance to the Europa League ahead of schedule."

Genk's locker room was full of fun and everyone was very relaxed. The difference was that the Spaniard's locker room was gloomy. The players hung their heads, no one spoke, and they sorted their clothes.

Head coach Dominique Nino clapped his hands, attracting everyone's attention, "Guys, it's not time to be frustrated yet. We were only one goal behind and we easily recovered in the second half."

"Besides, we had one win and one tie in the first two rounds. Even if we can't win this game, in the last round against Lokomotiv Moscow, as long as we don't lose by a big score, we can qualify for the top three, so we don't need to have any psychological pressure at all. , let's give it our all and don't let the home fans down.

After the change of sides, the head coach of Genk made substitution adjustments, replacing Jason Aldridge with a central defender, intending to strengthen the defense of the midfielder, but still leaving Nagion the field to contain the opponent. The team formation also changed from 4-4-2 to 4-2-3-1.

The Spaniard also made substitution adjustments, replacing a defender while replacing a high center with the intention of attacking Genk's defense, so there may not be a chance to equalize the score.

The home team launched a fierce offensive as soon as the kick-off kicked off. Encouraged by the home fans, the momentum was like a rainbow, and they also got several good chances. Unfortunately, the goalkeeper of Genk performed very bravely. lose.

In the 74th minute, Genk intercepted the ball in the backfield and launched a defensive counterattack. Gareth Barry broke through to the midfield with the ball and passed a strange arc ball with the outside instep. The ball passed the defensive player in the middle and came to the right at the foot of Nagi.

Nagi used his speed to get rid of the defender and dribbled the ball into the penalty area. The Spaniard goalkeeper Eusebio Bernhard made a decisive attack to block it. Nagi raised his right foot and hit the goal. Bernhard quickly fell to the ground to catch the ball but did not expect that Nagi just swayed the shot and flicked the ball to the right with his right foot past the goalkeeper.

Facing the empty goal, Nagi calmly pushed and shot. The Spaniard's defender fell to the ground and slid to the ground, but failed to catch up, and could only slide into the goal with the ball.

2:0, Nagi scored another goal, and Genk almost sealed the victory!

The Spaniards looked at the visiting team members who were running to celebrate, with a look of confusion in their eyes. Why did they concede the ball again? Is there a chance to win? Their fighting spirit and confidence were destroyed by this goal, and all they thought about was that they couldn't win this game, and they still had a chance in the next game.

After the game started again, the Spaniard's offensive slowed down, and Genk's defense also breathed a sigh of relief, and continued to play steadily. In the 87th minute, Genk once again tore apart the opponent's defense through continuous inversions.

Carl Beth in the midfield passed it to Nagi on the right. Nagi took advantage of the situation and made a pass. Barry jumped up and shook his head to attack the goal. Bernhard stretched his body to the extreme and touched the ball with his fingertips. As a result, the ball draws the bottom line along the far corner of the goal.

Afterwards neither side created any more threatening attacks. The referee blew the whistle for the end of the game on time. Genk relied on Nagi's brace to score twice and defeated the Spaniard away.

At the press conference after the game, Spaniards coach Wilbur Baumbach praised Nagi: "His technical level and competitive state are very good. It is hard to believe that Mina is a 17-year-old youth player. There's nothing the defense can do about him and I think he's more than capable of playing in the big five leagues."

Genk coach Aimee Antonis also praised Nagi: "Mina's role cannot be ignored. He is a sharp knife on our front line, and the opponent will pay the price if they are not careful."

Domestic CCTV was also very happy. After they got the video, they invited famous commentators to explain it overnight, and then broadcast it on the sports channel the next day.

The watching fans applauded Nagi's performance one after another. They left messages on the forum and said that Nagi's performance seemed to have surpassed the senior players who had studied abroad.

"Mina's explosive power and foot skills are also great," a netizen lamented, "I think he is much better than some international players. Genk's sharp attack is inseparable from Mina's performance."

Saki Yamada's performance in Frankfurt this year is not outstanding. Compared with last season, his current appearances and goals have shown a cliff-like decline. Reo Yuki and others are not forwards, so their expressiveness and progress on the court are not outstanding.

So everyone was focusing on Nagi, hoping that he will become a banner on the front line of Japanese football. Judging from this development, after the end of this season, Nagi's entry into the five major leagues was almost a certainty.

What is even more gratifying is that Nagi was selected as the 2000 Asian Footballer of the Year by virtue of his outstanding performance in the last season and this season. The AFC contacted Nagi's agent Francisco Balmond, hoping He can attend the awards ceremony held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia at the end of November.

"You will be the youngest Asian Footballer of the Year!" Balmond said excitedly on the phone: "You were nominated earlier, and the main competitor is Nawaf Timya from Saudi Arabia. Especially, this year is the Asian Cup year after all, and Saudi Arabia's performance is also remarkable."

"But Saudi Arabia's failure to win the championship was a big loss. Your superb performance was continuous, so you finally won with a slight advantage." Balmond revealed the details. The winner would have been announced at the awards ceremony , but the AFC was afraid that Nagi would not be willing to come to the scene, so it notified privately in advance.

"This is very helpful to expand your influence in Asia and increase your commercial value. I have confirmed with Genk that the game in those few days was the last round of the Europa League. You locked the first place in the group ahead of time, so The club has given you permission to take time off and they want you to win the award."

Now that Balmond has confirmed everything, Nagi will proceed according to his arrangement.

In the 15th round of the Ligue 1, Genk played against Saint-Truden at home. Nagi was still very active in the game. In the 31st minute, Nagi received a pass from midfielder Barry on the right and used a human ball to score when the defenders arrived. Get out, then miter the restricted area.

Nafi's attack speed was too fast, and St. Turden's defense was a little flustered for a while, so Nagi decisively seized this opportunity, volleyed with the outside of his left foot, and broke through the gate of Gavin Muller's handle.

Nagi was replaced shortly after the opening of the second half. The head coach Antonis wanted him to rest more in consideration of his going to Asia. In the end, the score of 1:0 was maintained until the end, and Genk continued to be in the standings.

After the battle, Nagi flew to Kuala Lumpur, where Balmond was already waiting for him. At the same time, CCTV also decided to broadcast the award ceremony live, because Nagi is a popular candidate for the Asian Footballer of the Year, and there are several nominations from Japan.

The award ceremony of the AFC was relatively simple, not as grand as the World Footballer. Before the ceremony, there is a red carpet and the like. After everyone is seated, it will officially begin.

Nagi's position is arranged in the middle area of ​​the first row. Next to him are Tim Yatt of Saudi Arabia and Shunsuke Nakamura of Japan. They are also popular candidates for the Asian Footballer of the Year. Nagi and them are not very familiar with each other. They nodded to each other.

Although Nagi is not timid on the football field with tens of thousands of people, it feels very awkward to sit here in a suit. In his opinion, there was a feeling of a child pretending to be an adult forcibly, and the awards are announced one by one. At that time, he only hoped to finish it sooner.

It is worth mentioning that besides Nagi, there are two other Chinese players who have been selected to the best team in Asia, namely Jiang Jin and Fan Zhiyi