Chapter 61: Harmonious locker room
Back in Belgium, in the 26th round of the Belgian Pro League, Genk faced Beerschot. Although the long journey left the players exhausted, resulting in a somewhat lethargic performance on the field, the return of Aaron Abigail and Carl Bess injected a fresh energy. The first half ended with both sides deadlocked at 0-0.
Before the start of the second half, head coach Aimee Antonis had a conversation with Wang Feng, asking if he wanted to be substituted to rest. Wang Feng waved his hand, indicating he didn't need to be substituted. Currently, Genk was only three points ahead of Anderlecht, so winning this game was imperative.
Wang Feng's performance on the field gradually improved. In the 77th minute, Genk launched a quick counterattack from the left flank. Bess passed directly to Barry in the frontcourt, who then dribbled into the penalty area before playing a back pass to the outside of the penalty area.
Wang Feng was positioned at the top of the arc and quickly initiated a run, forcefully pushing aside the defending players. Without stopping the ball, he struck it directly as it rolled towards him, and the Beerschot goalkeeper's positioning was near the left post, so Wang Feng aimed for the far corner.
The ball traveled in a diagonal line through the air, hitting the inside of Beerschot's goal net.
"Goal! Gooooooooooooooooooal!"
"In the 77th minute, Wang Feng's world-class strike broke the deadlock against Beerschot."
"Wang Feng's confrontation with the opposing defenders was intense. Despite losing his balance after the shot, he managed to create a gap with sheer physicality and technical skill."
After getting up from the ground, nearby Genk players quickly gathered around Wang Feng.
"This is Wang Feng's 31st league goal of the season, and he's still leading the top scorer chart!"
In the 85th minute, Wang Feng and Barry orchestrated a splendid combination play on the right flank, culminating in Barry slotting into the penalty area and scoring, sealing the final score at 2-0 in Genk's favor.
After the match against Beerschot, Genk would host Schalke 04 at home.
On the morning of the match day, the surroundings of Genk's training camp were crowded with local fans who had come to cheer for the team.
After all, it had been many years since Genk had reached the quarter-finals of the Europa League, and their best result had been reaching the quarter-finals. Now, with a player like Wang Feng, they were even more hopeful of equalling or surpassing that historical achievement this season.
Club manager Bill Albert personally came to the scene to direct security personnel to maintain order and prevent accidents.
Every training session of the Genk players would elicit cheers from the fans on the sidelines, especially for Wang Feng, with constant chants of his name.
Many fans held banners filled with praise for Wang Feng, along with words of encouragement. Albert looked at all this with a sense of deep emotion.
The praise and affection from these fans were earned by Wang Feng through hard work and dedication. Regardless of where Wang Feng played in the future, he could already be considered a legend at Genk.
After training, the club arranged a fan meeting where Wang Feng, Gareth Barry, Christian Civu, and Jason Aldridge were asked to interact with the fans, fulfilling some of their small wishes.
The four players greeted the enthusiastic fans with smiles, took photos with them, and gave out their autographs.
Wang Feng was surrounded by the most fans, including many bold young girls who crowded around him, some even tugging at his clothes or shoulder straps, wanting him to sign.
Wang Feng could only smile wryly and cope with it. For him, this was even more exhausting than training.
As a young man full of vigor, being surrounded by these bold young girls made Wang Feng blush. This further piqued their interest, and they even started taking selfies with him.
The teammates on the side could only watch with envy and jealousy as Wang Feng was surrounded by people, while their own situation could only be described as desolate, like a ghost town.
After finally dealing with the enthusiastic fans, Wang Feng returned to the locker room looking utterly disheartened, collapsing onto a bench.
Seeing Wang Feng like this, Gareth Barry walked over with a smirk and whispered, "That must have been tough just now. Seems like you have good composure, not making a fool of yourself in public."
Wang Feng stared at him blankly, not understanding what he was saying. After a while, he finally understood and waved his hand disdainfully, "Go away, why is your mind so dirty."
Christian Civu complained, "Why do all the girls flock to Wang Feng? Am I not handsome enough? Not muscular enough?" Saying this, he even thumped his chest muscles.
Carl Bess chimed in unexpectedly, "Most girls prefer cute and fresh boys, not those with heavy features like muscle freaks." The people in the locker room burst into laughter at Bess's words, and Civu angrily ran over to tussle with Bess, and everyone joined in the fun.
The older players in the club, seeing this scene, were very pleased. They had witnessed too much intrigue and scheming in the locker rooms of other teams, and they understood even more how much a harmonious locker room could influence the team's performance.
The atmosphere in the team's locker room this season was extremely harmonious. Everyone celebrated victories together and didn't blame each other for defeats. Much of this was due to having a teammate like Wang Feng, who was willing to take responsibility and was dependable.
As they chatted, the conversation suddenly turned to women. Barry asked, "By the way, Wang, you still don't have a girlfriend?"
Wang Feng rolled his eyes and said, "I'm only seventeen, okay? Not even an adult yet."
"What's wrong with not being an adult? I went on a date with a blonde girl when I was fifteen, and it was amazing." Aldridge boasted on the side, "How about I introduce you to a few girls? They have a good impression of you."
Wang Feng laughed and scolded, "You, the big carrot, stop it. Everyone in the team knows how often you change girlfriends, I don't want to meet the girls you know."
"But in our team, you should be the only naive one, right? Is there anyone else?" Everyone shook their heads, even the homebody Bess was among them.
Wang Feng suddenly felt the world was full of malice, while Barry comforted him, "It's okay, Wang. After this week's match, I'll take you to the Netherlands for a trip. I know that place well."
"Then you introduce us, how well do you know?" Aldridge interjected, and the locker room erupted into laughter again, followed by inquiries. A group of energetic young men were most interested in this kind of topic.
It wasn't until captain Aaron Abigail saw that the conversation was getting out of hand that he stepped in to stop it. "Finding a decent girlfriend is the right way, don't always think about messing around." Abigail admonished.
In Europe, football players, especially those in the highest-level domestic leagues, are extremely attractive to girls because of their strong physique, youth, and wealth. Many beautiful young girls line up at their doors.
Because of this, many talented young players become intoxicated in the land of romance, ruining their own careers. Wang Feng didn't want to be like this. He was disciplined in his daily life and naturally wouldn't be licentious in this regard.
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