Who was it?
Who exactly scored the goal that put them in the lead?
The fans in the stands turned their attention to the player lying inside the goal. On the back of his red jersey, the number 17 was clearly visible, and the stadium immediately erupted into cheers for Ivica Olić.
Struggling to get up from the ground, Olić was quickly pulled back down by the nearest player, Žigić.
"You bastard, you stole my hat-trick!" Žigić pressed down on Olić, seemingly out of energy and panting heavily, before trying to pull him up.
"How are you? Ivica, are you okay? Can you hear me?" Žigić asked with concern.
At this moment, the New Manchester United players who had run over to celebrate also gathered around, looking at Olić with concern.
This was his first official match, but everyone could see how hard he had worked on the pitch. He could not be called New Manchester United's best performer, as Žigić, who had scored twice, and the substituted Darren Lyons had both performed exceptionally well, but he was definitely the most hardworking player on the pitch.
"I'm fine. I'm used to it. I just need to catch my breath!" Olić chuckled. His teammates' concern proved that he had been accepted by them, which was a good sign for a newly joined player.
Seeing Olić panting with his tongue half-out, the New Manchester United players burst into laughter.
"I heard people say that guys who pant like dogs can run exceptionally well. I didn't believe it before, but now I do. You really can run!" Žigić said, gripping Olić's shoulder tightly with a laugh.
Everyone chuckled at this, but seeing that Olić was fine, they all felt relieved.
The team had already used all three substitutions. If Olić were injured now, it would mean New Manchester United would be forced to play the rest of the match with one man down, which would not be a good thing.
"Alright, lads, the referee is calling. The match has to continue. We need to be careful, don't relax, and keep playing like we just did!" As the team captain, Karl Marginson patted Olić on the shoulder and signaled for his teammates to prepare for the restart.
As the team captain, the longest-serving player, and a crucial defensive midfielder, Karl Marginson had significant influence within the team, so as soon as he spoke, his teammates obediently followed.
Although many of these players would later become big stars, at this moment, they were just newcomers who had only just arrived. They had no fame, no strength, and no background. Everything had to be earned by them on the pitch!
...
After the match resumed, New Manchester United continued to show a surprisingly high fighting spirit, relentlessly attacking Rushden & Diamonds, who had already effectively surrendered. The newly substituted Hleb performed impressively. His pace, technique, and one-on-one dribbling ability added a touch of finesse to this gritty, hard-fought match.
From leading by three goals to falling behind, the Rushden & Diamonds players experienced a rollercoaster of emotions. Although their head coach immediately used the final substitution in an attempt to turn the tide, the players had completely lost their confidence, and simply swapping one player was not going to make a difference.
In the 87th minute of the second half, New Manchester United, having launched a fierce offensive against Rushden & Diamonds, scored another goal. This time, Žigić finally connected with a through ball from Krzynówek and smashed a powerful shot into the net from close range.
After completing his hat-trick, the tallest player on the pitch picked up the ball from the goal, sprinted all the way to the New Manchester United bench, hid the ball he used for his hat-trick, then went over to a ball boy to ask for another ball and kicked it back to midfield.
That scene caused a burst of laughter around the stadium, but amid the laughter, Žigić won the hearts of the New Manchester United fans, because his performance made him seem like a real, flesh-and-blood player.
After taking a two-goal lead, New Manchester United intentionally eased off their attack, and the remaining few minutes turned into garbage time.
When the referee blew the final whistle, Bruce walked over to the Rushden & Diamonds bench to shake hands and exchange a few words with the opposing head coach before returning to the dressing room.
Watching Bruce and the players leave, Ethan finally stood up from the stands.
Gigg Lane's two stands both had exits leading directly outside, and since only 4,057 people had come to this 8,000-capacity stadium today, the exits were not crowded.
"Ethan!" Jim chased after him from behind, followed by the male passenger who had ridden in his taxi.
"Hi, Jim!" Ethan greeted him cheerfully. The team had won, and as the owner, he felt happy too.
"When you see Steve later, you should tell him he'd better not play these thrilling games next time. I don't like comebacks every time. My heart can't take it!" Jim said with lingering fear.
Ethan chuckled immediately. If he had a choice, he certainly would not want every match to be so dangerous.
To be honest, when the first half ended, although Ethan was confident they could turn it around, he ultimately felt the odds were slim. But when the team actually pulled off the comeback, he felt as if he was dreaming.
"Who is this..." Ethan pointed to the man behind Jim.
"My passenger. I brought him along to watch the game on my way," Jim said with a smile.
"It wasn't on the way at all, was it? Mr. Driver, you were the one who insisted on dragging me here to watch the game!" To everyone's surprise, the man immediately turned Jim's words against him.
Jim immediately looked flustered, pointing at the man and wanting to say something, but unable to, because he was indeed in the wrong.
"My name is Malin, a Londoner." The man took the initiative to extend his hand. "Nice to meet you, Mr. Yu!"
"You know me?" Ethan was a bit surprised.
Jim stood to the side, staring suspiciously at the man in front of him with the look of a policeman interrogating a criminal.
"Of course. I spent several years in the United States. I saw your photo in a Wall Street magazine last year. The investments John Davey made for you have been classic case studies for Wall Street venture capital over the past few years."
"You also work on Wall Street?" Ethan felt relieved.
In fact, even though he deliberately kept a low profile and intentionally pushed John Davey to the forefront, creating such a large fortune in just one year made it impossible for Ethan to stay truly low-profile.
In some places, people try not to flaunt wealth, but in the West, it was almost impossible not to.
However, fortunately, Ethan had made all the preparations beforehand, which prevented his identity as a transmigrator from being exposed.
"No, no, no, I don't have that kind of brain. I returned to the UK and partnered with a friend to start a company, which is also related to football," the man said with a smile.
"Related to football?" Ethan immediately became interested. "Can you tell me about it?"
"Of course. You know, Mr. Yu, if you said that in Silicon Valley, thousands of people would definitely come to you with business plans. So many people hope you could take a look at their plans, even if it was just for a minute."
Being flattered was indeed enough to put someone in a good mood, and at least Ethan was in a very good mood right now.
"I have plenty of free time right now, so I can listen to you talk about your company. However, if it involves investment, then go find my investment consultant. You know, John Davey!" Ethan laughed, leaving himself an out.
The three of them walked out of the stadium, got directly into Jim's taxi, and arrived at a nearby coffee shop.
"Ethan, I don't think this guy is very reliable!" After entering the coffee shop, Jim found an opportunity to grab Ethan and said this.
"Why?" Ethan found Jim's behavior a bit funny, a bit like children forming cliques.
"No reason. He's smooth-talking. I don't think he's any good!" Jim muttered.
Malin, who was walking behind them, suddenly caught up in a few steps and slapped Jim hard on the shoulder, startling him. "Mr. Driver, it's not good to badmouth people behind their backs. Besides, I still reserve the right to report you. Do you want to have your taxi license revoked?"
Upon hearing this, Jim immediately did not dare say another word.
Ethan laughed, found a place to sit down, called the waiter, and ordered two coffees, while he only asked for a glass of plain water.
"I don't know why. I just don't like drinking coffee," Ethan said with a self-deprecating smile.
"Just like most British people like football but don't like the NBA. Who knows why?" Malin said with a smile.
After a pause, Malin continued, "But we cannot deny that in many aspects, the NBA does better and is more advanced than British football, such as commercial development, data statistics, and so on."
"Data statistics?" Ethan sensitively grasped the key point in Malin's words.
"That's right, Mr. Yu," Malin immediately looked at Ethan with new respect. "To be honest, I work in data statistics!"
"Data statistics on the football pitch?"
Malin nodded. "For example, how many shots a player has taken in total, how many were on target, how many were off target, how much distance they covered, how many successful passes they made, how many failed passes, and so on. Don't you think these data points can better reflect the role a player plays on the pitch?"
Ethan nodded after hearing this. He remembered that later on, there was such a football data statistics company in the UK, and it developed very quickly. It was acquired by Murdoch's Sky TV in 2001 or 2002, and within less than two years, it rapidly developed into the most authoritative football data statistics company in Europe.
What impressed Ethan the most was that whenever data was listed in authoritative magazines, websites, or newspapers later on, it would always have the title of OPTA attached, and many so-called data from authoritative institutions definitely came from OPTA. It was a professional football data statistics company.
"OPTA Data Statistics Company?" Ethan asked tentatively.
Upon hearing this, Malin's eyes widened, and he looked incredulous. "My God, how do you know the name of our company?"
You know, although this company was founded in 1996, in reality, even up to now, they had not been able to produce any decent results, and their name was not famous enough. They only occasionally collected specific data for some clubs to maintain the company's operations.
Yet Ethan had even heard of such a small company?
(To be continued.)
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◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 200 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)