Chapter 11
[In 2004, at age 18, you were sent down to Aue's reserve team in the German third division. By the end of the season, you recorded 5 goals and 1 assist, and in the final month you earned a starting position.]
[That same year, you were finally selected for the national youth team training camp and participated in the AFC Youth Championship. For certain unspeakable reasons, you played less than 45 minutes in the semifinals, and due to an "injury," you didn't play in the final. In the entire tournament, you scored only one goal.]
[In 2005, at age 19, you finished the season in the German third division with 19 goals and 2 assists, becoming the team's top scorer.]
[That same year, you were again selected for the national youth team training camp and traveled with the team to the FIFA World Youth Championship in the Netherlands.]
[In the opening match, you defeated Turkey, runners-up of the European Youth Championship, 2–1. In the second match, you beat Ukraine, third place in Europe, 4–2. In the third match, you crushed Panama 5–1. You scored 4 goals in the group stage and became the brightest star of the tournament.]
[In the knockout stage, you didn't score, but you created one penalty and delivered one assist, helping China equalize against Germany. Unfortunately, we lost in the final penalty shootout.]
[Although you failed to surpass the nation's best historical result—7th place achieved in the 1985 World Youth Championship—you were selected for the Tournament Best XI and were named one of the world's top ten future stars, alongside Messi.]
[In 2006, at age 20, you were recalled to the German second division. In your very first match, you scored twice, attracting attention at home and abroad. Unfortunately, fate played a cruel trick—during the second match, you suffered a brutal tackle from an opponent and were carried off the field on a stretcher.]
[After the match, the team veterinarian judged the injury to be minor. Unexpectedly, after resting for a month, you were injured again shortly after returning and required immediate ankle surgery, ending your season.]
[That same year, due to injury, you failed to make the national Olympic team squad.]
[In 2007, at age 21, after six months of recovery, you finally returned to the pitch. However, your club no longer had a place for you, and you were once again sent down to the German third division to regain form. By season's end, you scored 17 goals and became the team's top scorer.]
[That same year, you represented the Olympic team at the Toulon Tournament. You narrowly lost to France 5–7 in a penalty shootout in the final. You scored 4 goals in total and became Dragon Country's top scorer.]
[In 2008, at age 22, you collapsed less than one minute into your first German second-division match. Your old ankle injury relapsed, and you were carried off on a stretcher. Throughout the season, your injury kept recurring, and you spent most of the time on the bench.]
[That same year, Dong Guowang also suffered a serious injury and missed the entire season. Whether you and Dong Guowang could participate in the Olympics became uncertain. Domestic fans called it the "fall of the twin stars."]
[In August, although your injury hadn't fully healed, you still played in the Olympics while injured. In the group stage opener against New Zealand, you received pain-killing injections just to take the field for your country.]
[You created several dangerous chances during the match but failed to score. This became a lifelong regret.]
[In 2009, at age 23, because you disregarded the club's interests and played in the Olympics with injections, you were still recovering when the new season began. Aue decided not to renew your contract.]
[In 2010, at age 24, you joined Antwerp in the Belgian second division.]
[In your first match, you were injured again. After a month of rest, there was no longer a place for you in the team.]
[After that, you drifted through multiple lower-tier leagues and gradually faded from public view.]
[In 2015, at age 29, tired of living abroad, you returned to your homeland and hometown, joining the China League One club Quan Jian.]
[In 2016, at age 30, you retired due to injury. After retirement, you returned to the football school that once trained you and became a football coach, teaching children aged 6 to 12.]
[Seeing those children, it felt like seeing your younger self.]
[In 2019, at age 33, you started your own football academy.]
[You had just taken a 1,000,000 loan from the bank and paid 500,000 in rent, preparing to make big moves, when China suffered the worst economic crisis in its history.]
[After painful reflection, you made the hard decision to cut your losses. Six months later, you shut down the football school, still owing the bank 500,000.]
[You tried to return to your original football school, only to find it had also gone bankrupt.]
[Needing to support your family and repay debts, you began driving for Didi.]
[From that moment on, your football career completely ended.]
…
Damn, this football career simulation was way too tragic.
Injuries again.
It even mentioned that Aue's team doctor was a veterinarian—was he screwed over by the medical staff?
This injury was far worse than the last simulation. It directly destroyed the entire football career.
The brightest moment was in 2005, at age 19—19 goals in the German third division, selected for the World Youth Championship Best XI, and named one of the world's top ten future stars alongside Messi.
But after the ankle injury in 2006, everything went downhill.
An athlete's greatest enemy is injury.
Truly, timing and fate.
You think a good start guarantees a good ending, but luck failed, and everything collapsed at age 20.
[Simulation Ended. Current Attributes:
Physical: 15
Technical: 30
Mental: 30]
[Choose one of the following four options:]
[Physical attributes at age 20 (Rating: 20)]
[Technical attributes at age 20 (Rating: 32)]
[Mental attributes at age 20 (Rating: 32)]
[Life experience at age 33]
Su Long looked at the three attributes. Just as he expected, the changes weren't large.
The biggest change was physical attributes—only a 5-point increase.
If he remembered correctly, his previous football life had a physical rating of 25.
This time, the starting point was higher, but the ending was worse.
After thinking for a moment, Su Long chose the life experience at age 33.
Rather than gaining five physical points, it was better to examine the tragic details of this life and avoid fatal traps in reality.
He also had many unanswered questions about this football career, which he hoped the life experience would explain.
[Selected: Life Experience at Age 33.]
The moment Su Long made his choice, memories from this football life flooded into his mind.
He saw himself at age 33, driving Didi. Passing a building, his eyes reddened.
That was the site he'd planned to use for his football academy. It had closed due to uncontrollable factors. The gates were locked, with a "For Rent" sign still hanging.
The life experience played in reverse.
The scene shifted to age 29, returning to his hometown team for trials.
The vision was beautiful—but his left foot was already ruined. After two matches, he was injured again.
When he retired, Su Long cried.
The scene shifted again—to a roaring stadium, a sea of red.
It was the 2008 Olympics.
The first group match—the most winnable game of the tournament.
For national honor and his own dream, Su Long chose to play with pain-killing injections.
Unfortunately, his injury still affected his performance, and he failed to score.
In the final group match of the Olympics, he couldn't play at all and cried on the bench.
The scene flashed again.
Now it was the 2005 World Youth Championship.
Nineteen years old. Full of ambition. Killing gods, slaying Buddhas.
Selected for the Tournament Best XI. Named one of the world's top ten future stars—alongside Messi.
This was the brightest moment of his football career.
Even Su Long himself felt it was unbelievable.
Did I really have the chance to be compared to Messi ?!