Born to be a coach [soccer]

Chapter 185

Ruben Smith, executive editor of sports at the Daily Mail, crosses a road and turns into an alley to buy a coffee at a café he knows well.

Ruben's office is located in the financial city. After the financial crisis broke out in 2008, the place was in a depression, and until now it is only slightly better, and the vitality has not yet fully recovered.But journalists like Reuben benefited somewhat around the bush: Prices were cheap, and the alley coffee shop hadn't raised prices in a long time.

The weather in January, at 1 o'clock in the afternoon, it was already gloomy like night, and the street lights were all on.Ruben held his coffee in one hand, took out his mobile phone in the other, and casually looked at any news worth paying attention to. Then he came across the news that Ibrahimovic might join Sunderland—according to the news, Ibrahimovic’s joining could be at any time. May be official.

"Maybe an official announcement at any time?" Ruben curled his lips vigorously. He has been in this industry for many years, and he knows that any changes may happen until the last moment—and besides, Ibrahimovic's agent "pulls fat" "It's no wonder Sunderland got it right.

Besides, Anton attracts players with his fighting skills. Ruben thinks this method is very fresh, but Ruben is very disdainful: Is this the legendary football manager who can't taekwondo is not a good cook? - Nothing to show off at all, it's just not doing business properly.

Thinking of this, Ruben remembered the fate of his report again, and couldn't help but sigh.

It has been a year, and Ruben and Sunderland have been entangled for so long, stepping on and praising him, he has developed extremely complicated emotions towards Anton: at one moment he thought that this person was a bastard who cheated the world, but at the next I lament that Anton is always unexpected, doing things that others can hardly imagine, not to mention the reasons behind it...

Reuben put the phone back in his coat pocket, looked up, and was about to go back to the office to finish the last bit of work.

He suddenly found a tall man in a long black trench coat and a black woolen hat standing beside him, with his hands in his pockets, walking beside him, very close.When Ruben stopped, he stopped too, and turned to look at Ruben.

Ruben was startled, but before he could react, a tall man with the same dress appeared in the alley ahead, with the same pockets in his pocket, looking at Ruben coldly.

"Mr Smith?"

The person next to him spoke, with a very distinct southern European accent, confirming Ruben's conjecture.

"You have misunderstood the person, my surname is not Smith."

Ruben felt something was wrong and said tremblingly.

"Your badge was left in the coffee shop." The man in black was holding a badge tied with a blue ribbon, with Reuben's name and photo on it.Because there is a discount in the cafe, Ruben just showed it when he bought coffee.

Now there is no way to deny it—Ruben took the badge, thanked him tremblingly, and then walked forward sullenly.

Footsteps sounded around him, and the man in black followed Ruben like a shadow.The people at the alley did not move their positions at all, and Ruben doubted that he would bump into them directly as he walked.

"Mr. Smith, there is a gentleman who would like to invite you to meet and say a few words."

Ruben ignored it, but quickened his pace, fear growing in his heart.

Because before he wrote that report, he had fully investigated the "big family" in Italy. At this moment, Ruben's mind was full of scenes from the movie "The Godfather", and he felt that he would be kidnapped the next moment.

He tried to speed up his pace, trying to get rid of the man in black's footsteps, but the man next to him followed closely and stuck to the route of Ruben's action, so that Ruben could only move forward in a straight line, and was finally caught by the waiting man at the entrance of the alley. The accomplice was blocked.

"I...I don't want to go with you!" Ruben was about to burst into tears, he searched his stomach, and then remembered a few Italian words he had learned when he was young, "Almighty God will bless you, let me go, please Let me go please……"

"Sorry, they are not Italian, and they can't understand you when you speak Italian to them." A clear voice sounded behind Lu himself.

English, a young man with a warm voice that sounded like heaven to Reuben.

Ruben turned around and saw Anton standing behind him.

The young mixed-race man stood behind Lu himself, and the warm light of the street lamp fell, dyeing his gray coat golden yellow.

"Anton..."

Ruben knew this man all too well.It's been since this time last year that this man has been in the spotlight.Even if he was burned to ashes, Ruben would recognize him. Now that he saw it with his own eyes, Ruben didn't feel awkward at all.

"They are friends from Portugal. They just came to the UK not long ago. They always thought that everyone in the UK dressed up solemnly, so they dressed like this. It surprised you." Anton smiled, and in Ruben's view, it was Laughing at his cowardice and cowardice.

Ruben couldn't help rushing up in anger: "I'm sorry, please forgive us media practitioners who are very busy and don't have time!"

He turned around and passed two men in black with a cup of coffee in his hand.Unexpectedly, Ruben's courage came together, and the two men in black were scared. The one at the alley turned his body to make way for Ruben, but the one who had been sticking to him did not catch up.

But Anton spoke up: "Mark Gary came to me after he left."

Reuben stopped immediately and turned to look at Anton suspiciously.

Anton looked like an Italian at this time, spreading his hands, gesticulating slightly as he spoke. "After Mr. Gary met me, I realized that I may have misunderstood you for a long time. So I thought I'd just find you and communicate directly."

This is a very candid opening statement.

Ruben was moved.

It didn't take long for him to sit in a small classic cafe, opposite Anton.The two Portuguese brothers were sitting at another table in the cafe at the moment, looking around at the furnishings of the cafe-it was indeed the appearance of just coming to England.

"Mark went to Sunderland to find you?" Ruben looked suspiciously at the person opposite.

Anton ordered an espresso and another glass of water.The cafe comes with a small chocolate.When Anton gulped down the tiny cup of espresso, Reuben couldn't help but bitter, wondering how the Italians tolerated such a bitter drink—and without sugar.

"Yes, Mark came to my house for a cup of tea." Anton said.

Ruben stared at him: "Mark signed a non-disclosure agreement." If Mark Gary leaked the secret, Ruben would not hesitate to hold him accountable for the leak.

Anton nodded: "Yes, he kept it a secret from beginning to end. So at the time I didn't know what the report you planned was about. I didn't have a clue until recently."

At this moment, he took off his glasses from the bridge of his nose, put them on the table, pinched the bridge of his nose lightly, raised his eyes to look at Ruben, and said, "I remember you once studied Sinology."

Ruben was a little dumbfounded: It seemed that the other party knew him well and had done a good job.

"There is a Chinese saying, 'A wise man never speaks secretly'. Your time and mine are precious, and I don't want to go around in circles with you. Your report is about my glasses, right?"

Ruben was shocked, he had no interface, and he didn't dare to nod - because he himself had signed a non-disclosure agreement.But he had to admit that Anton's straightforward approach shocked him a lot.

"I think you'd order a pair of glasses that looked exactly like mine, and then convince my barber to swap out my glasses while he cuts my hair, and put the fake pair on In front of my eyes. After I finished my haircut, I secretly exchanged my pair of glasses and returned them to me. As for what you did with my pair of glasses during this period, I think it might be for careful observation and video recording of the whole process Bar."

This is the result of Anton's repeated speculation: only in this way can Ruben and Mark crack the secret of his glasses.

"To be honest, I admire your observation ability very much. You are very keen. The clue of this news should come from the FA Cup semi-final last year."

Sunderland reached the semi-finals of the FA Cup last year, and Anton's glasses were knocked off and trampled by his opponent during the game.Anton was furious at the time, and the players of the team avenged his "big revenge" together.And Ruben, starting from such a trivial matter, unearthed Anton's secret, and he was indeed a veteran in the news circle.

"But I want to say that this matter concerns my family's privacy, and I don't want this news to be published in the newspapers." Anton's tone changed and became tough, unquestionable.

Ruben was excited: "Why? I can bet my career and tell you that this is definitely a good story! I have been in the industry for so many years, and the piles of bad articles and bad reports I have written are as high as mountains, but I never thought However, I can really discover such a moving story myself.”

Just as Anton was about to open his mouth, his words were interrupted by Ruben.

"Anton, please allow me to call you Anton - I know you all too well, I have been following you since your first day as Sunderland manager. Yes, I should apologize for that article Op-ed saying you're a 'nobody', I see you now, I apologize, it's ok - use this 'headline', 'hype' to get attention, I do More than once!"

The more Ruben talked, the more excited he was, he slapped the table and stood up.

Seeing this, the two Portuguese brothers sitting at the other end of the cafe also stood up.There was only Anton, sitting as firmly as Mount Tai.

"But do you think that as a journalist, my pursuit in this life is to attract attention and defraud newspaper sales?" Ruben put his arms on the table and moved closer to Anton.

"You may not imagine how much effort I have put into this story that you don't want to be published. When I wrote the truth of this matter into a manuscript, I cried in the middle of the night—"

At this point, Ruben's voice suddenly became hoarse.

"Because I once had a younger brother..."

Anton sat across from Ruben, just staring at Ruben at the moment, without making a sound.

Ruben lowered his head, unable to raise his head to face Anton for a long time.

"Good news does not necessarily have to use bizarre plots and explosive news to attract attention; really good news should achieve 'empathy', a good story can make people feel the same... This is what I insist on That's what got this story in the paper."