Gao Bo sized up the old man.
His clothes were as meticulous as before, and other than his hair turning from silver-white to gray-white, he didn't seem to have aged much.
"Why can't I get through on the phone?" Gao Bo asked.
"They demolished the place, the phone's gone."
The old man waved his hand and walked into the house, signaling Gao Bo to follow him in.
"I heard you suffered losses from the demolition?"
"How could I suffer losses? I have so many students."
Gao Bo nodded. That was true; Old Chen's students were all over Meizhou in various industries, and the old man wasn't someone who would suffer losses.
"Where's Grandma?"
"She went on a trip with her son..."
"Why didn't you go?"
"I'm old, can't walk!"
The old man's voice was full of vigor, not like someone who was old at all.
"I think you're just too lazy to move..."
The two walked into the house. The living room was quite spacious, with snow-white walls, a few simple wooden chairs, and the walls covered with photos. Gao Bo looked closely; they were graduation photos of each graduating class from the orphanage's elementary school. The students in each photo were different, but the couple sitting in the middle were always Old Chen and his wife.
From their thirties to their sixties, the couple worked at the orphanage for over thirty years. More than thirty photos witnessed half a lifetime of time for an ordinary couple.
Gao Bo had great respect for people like Old Chen.
"The orphanage was merged into the city, so I retired and returned to my hometown."
Li Yuanshan put down his luggage and helped Old Chen sit down.
"Only this kid, couldn't focus on his studies and insisted on learning to play soccer..." the old man said, pointing at Yuanshan. "Now he can't even play soccer, it costs four hundred thousand to get a chance to play. These sons of bitches, they really dare to ask."
The old man cursed. Gao Bo looked around, remembering that Grandma Chen wasn't here, and breathed a sigh of relief.
"You're cursing again; Grandma will be terrible if she hears you..."
The old man seemed a little scared, and he instinctively shrank his head.
"You kid can't tell on me..."
"How would I dare to tell on you... What's the relationship between playing soccer and four hundred thousand?" Gao Bo quickly changed the subject.
"This kid Yuanshan was sent to our orphanage when he was nine years old. He was always throwing stones and didn't like to study, just loved to hold a ball and play soccer. Later, a soccer coach said he had some talent and went to the Meizhou soccer team's youth training team to play..."
"Nine years old when he came to the orphanage?" Gao Bo was a little strange. He looked at the tall and sturdy Li Yuanshan, who looked at least seventeen or eighteen years old. "Why haven't I seen him before?"
"He was sent over the year you went to England to study..."
"Wait... you're only fifteen years old this year?!" Gao Bo said, looking at Li Yuanshan with some surprise.
Li Yuanshan raised his head: "Of course I'm fifteen years old, I had my bone age tested!"
"I had it tested when I played in the U14 national competition before... Those people thought I was too tall and always suspected I was changing my age!" Yuanshan was indignant when he mentioned this.
"What's the deal with the four hundred thousand?"
"Those damn bastards..." The old man was very angry when he mentioned this.
"They said they would give four hundred thousand to get him promoted to the first team! These bastards are crazy about money!"
Paying money to play on the first team....
Gao Bo was silent. He had heard similar things from time to time, but this was the first time he had seen such a thing happen around him. The corruption of Chinese soccer was rotten to the core, and even the youth training of these small teams was full of money and power transactions.
Only players who paid money were promoted to the first team. How many children with real soccer talent were buried in such darkness?
He looked at Li Yuanshan's tall figure.
Although he didn't know what the kid's skills were like, just this physique looked much stronger than his peers.
Gao Bo quietly opened the soccer card system and checked Li Yuanshan's attributes.
This one look was critical; Li Qingshan's data shocked him!
Especially the data on physical fitness.
Explosiveness: 74
Jumping: 76
Agility: 80
Stamina: 79
Balance: 80
Strength: 80
Speed: 77
Physique: 80
At first glance, this data level is actually very ordinary. Most players in the Premier League have physical qualities around these values. But if you consider that Li Yuanshan is only a fifteen-year-old child, this physical quality is quite terrifying!
In terms of mental attributes, Li Yuanshan also performed well.
Willpower, courage, aggressiveness, work ethic, and off-ball running are all above seventy, which is quite commendable for a fifteen-year-old boy.
However, when looking at the technical scores, Li Yuanshan's performance was a bit tragic.
The highest shooting technique was 62, and other technical scores were below sixty...
His basic skills were too poor. Such technical performance really didn't look like he had gone through several years of soccer training.
"How do you usually train?" Gao Bo asked.
"We do physical training in the morning and practice basic skills in the afternoon...."
"Basic skills? How do you practice?"
"Just practice shooting and dribbling around cones."
"Are there any games?"
"Scrimmages within the team. Other than that, there aren't many other games, and you have to pay extra to play in games... Unless it's some games where the coach wants to pursue results, he will let me play."
Gao Bo shook his head. The domestic youth training environment was really smoky and chaotic. The training methods were crude and backward, and there were no regular games organized. Scrimmages within the team had very limited improvement for the players.
For youth training players, in addition to training methods, the most important thing is to have enough game experience, because only in games can players encounter all kinds of ever-changing situations, which will allow them to learn how to play soccer.
"This is a disc we prepared to send to various clubs, and I don't know if it can bring Yuanshan a trial opportunity." Old Chen took out a disc. "I recorded it myself. You take a look first. You're a soccer coach abroad, you see if Yuanshan can play soccer. This kid didn't study hard, and if he can't play soccer, I don't know what he can do in the future."
Gao Bo took it and played it on the TV.
The entire half-hour disc was all scenes of Li Yuanshan attacking with the ball.
This game disc was not professionally filmed, because Gao Bo also wanted to see Li Yuanshan's game situation without the ball. But considering that the disc recorder, Old Chen, was not a professional, Gao Bo didn't demand too much.
From the situation of attacking with the ball, Li Yuanshan was indeed quite strong. His physical quality stood out, which also made him look powerful in youth games, scoring goals like crazy.
After the disc was finished, the old man and Li Yuanshan looked at Gao Bo.
Gao Bo turned his head, he stared at Li Yuanshan and said: "Let me talk about your shortcomings first!"
"First of all, your basic skills are too poor! This is the most fatal, fortunately, you are only fifteen years old now, you can still practice! But... it will be very difficult!!"
Gao Bo was very serious. Adolescence is a critical period for practicing basic skills, this period is about twelve to fifteen years old, so after fifteen years old, the youth training camp enters the elite system, which is the first hurdle encountered by professional players, if you don't enter the professional echelon at the age of fifteen or sixteen, it basically means being eliminated - and this elimination rate is frighteningly high.
"I'm not afraid of difficulty!" Li Yuanshan stood up, the smiling face that looked a bit frivolous before was gone, he was also very serious.
"The difficulty I'm talking about is the very, very difficult kind, unless you put in extraordinary efforts, you may be able to play in the top professional league!"
"I will work hard!" Li Yuanshan was a little excited, from Gao Bo's tone, he had already heard that Gao Bo was preparing to take him away.
Gao Bo's expression was still serious, "Yuanshan, I will not take special care of you because of my relationship with you, I tell you, professional soccer is very cruel, the capable go up, the mediocre go down, without the slightest ambiguity!"
"The effort I'm talking about is the kind that risks your life!"
Li Yuanshan did not hesitate, he said loudly: "To play soccer, even if it means risking my life, it's worth it!!"