…………

  …………

  Walking on the road back to Chemnitz training ground, a group of fans can be seen far away at the entrance of the training ground. They held up banners with some farewell words for the players, such as begging Ballack not to leave, and intimidating the club's high-level officials not to sell the players.

  When the fans saw Yang Chen and his teammates walking over, they immediately made way for them, with people constantly shaking hands with Yang Chen along the way. The fans looked very excited.

  Suddenly, a fan rushed out and tightly grabbed Yang Cheng.

  "Please don't leave Chemnitz, don't sell Barak, don't sell Jankola, don't sell anyone!"

  The excited and tearful expression made everyone around feel a pang of sadness, and many people also shed tears along with him.

  Looking at this group of fans, Yang Cheng smiled wryly, nodded and said in a low voice, "Sorry!" Then he walked into the training area, completely helpless.

  This move instantly enraged the fans outside the training area, who began to scold the club's high-level officials outside the training area, and even some people started throwing stones at the office building in anger.

  Yang Cheng stood outside the locker room, looking at the group of out-of-control fans in the distance, and felt sorry for them.

  At first, when Kuroba Naoki arrived, they regarded him as a savior, thinking he could lead them to glory. However, after more than half a year had passed, they found out that Kuroba was not up to par and so they began to viciously slander him, even going so far as to humiliate him.

  Now that they have taken over from Heibei and achieved excellent results, they have transferred their savior complex to themselves. They can't see the current situation of the club clearly. Even if they make a fuss, the club will eventually sell out big, which is an unavoidable reality.

  This summer, at least half of the first-team players left Chemnitz, and it's anyone's guess how strong Chemnitz will be next season, with only a small group of fans still holding on.

  "They are truly the most pitiful people in the world!" Yang Cheng sighed and said.

  Paul heard multiple meanings from the words, including Yang's sympathy for fans and his anger towards the club's high-level officials, but more is that he accepted reality.

  If those fans in the distance are still living in a wonderful fantasy, then Yang Chen is a real person, just like he realistically uses money to encourage players to perform on the field.

  All idealists in this world will eventually be ground and assimilated by the cruel and realistic world, becoming as realistic as the vast majority of people in this world!

  …………

  …………

  The 33rd round of the league, the home game against Lübeck was very unenthusiastic!

  This can even be said to be the most lackluster game Chemnitz has played since Yang Chen took over, although the team ultimately won 2-0, but the goal-scorer will soon no longer belong to Chemnitz.

  Terrence Gogia scored twice in this game, which is also his 19th goal in the 2nd Bundesliga this season, surpassing his previous season's top scorer. Now only Fritz from Bielefeld is ahead of him with 20 goals.

  Before this match, Chemnitz announced that the team's top scorer Torsen Güj? will join arch-rivals Dresden for 1.5 million marks after the end of this season and lead them to fight in the third-tier league, striving to help his old club return to professional football.

  The news had been rumored for a long time, but after it was confirmed, everyone still felt sudden. Because Jürgen's performance this season is enough to make him a place in the 2nd Bundesliga or even the 1st Bundesliga, but he would rather return to Dresden and even take a pay cut. This move made Dresden fans applaud and Chemnitz fans sigh.

  The ball is rolling, who's next?

  Yang Cheng suddenly hated this feeling of being unable to do anything, he could only sit in his own office, silently waiting for notifications from others, and then he watched as the players walked away one by one.

  Knock knock~

  "Come in!" Yang Cheng returned to his own office desk and sat down.

  Tuo Sen Gu Jiao came in, and this old general looked a bit embarrassed when he saw Yang Cheng.

  "I'm so sorry, Head!" Qiao's first words were an apology.

  Yang Cheng forced a smile, "It's okay, Torson!" After that, he couldn't help but let out a deep sigh.

  "I should have told you earlier, but Mr. Dielsmeier said that it was absolutely not to be revealed until the team's relegation was successful, only I didn't think that just before the match, a reporter found out, so..."

  Yang Cheng shook his head and stood up, came to Ju Qiao's side, and patted Ju Qiao's shoulder heavily. "It's okay, I respect your wishes, Tuo Sen. If you had told me in advance, I would have just been mentally prepared, but I will still definitely respect you!"

  "Dresden cultivated me, now he needs me, I cannot refuse!" Qiao said with a serious face.

  Yang Cheng nodded in understanding, this kind of player's loyalty to the club is often very pure and hard to come by.

  "By the way, Head, if you're interested, I hope you can go to Dresden for a look..." Ju Qiao was a bit nervous, but still spoke up, after all, this was also someone's request, "They have a series of plans for the new season..."

  "Alright, Torson, I'll definitely go see you, I promise!" Yang Cheng interrupted Qu Ge's words ahead of time.

  Qiao felt a bit helpless. He also knew that with Yang Cheng's current reputation, he would not lack the attention of powerful West German teams and would not stay in East Germany.

  "Hey, do you know why I didn't choose to join the East German team at first, but instead went to Turkey?" Qiu Ke suddenly spoke up and asked a very abrupt question.

  Yang Cheng furrowed his brow and shook his head, saying: "Can you tell me about it?"

  Qiao nodded, paused for a moment, and then said with a serious face: "Because I'm worried that if I also go to the West, I'll never want to come back to the East again!"

  Yang Cheng was taken aback and immediately recalled the bitterness and sourness in Ju Qiao's words.

  "After the reunification of the two Germanys, all our players became commodities, goods on a shelf, to be taken or snatched away at will. Do you know what I mean? The day before, we were still training together, and then suddenly, the next day, more than half of my teammates no longer belonged to the team?"

  "Stars, future newcomers, outstanding employees, famous coaches, and even some club management and scouts are all rushing to the west like crazy. Everyone has gone mad, it's all unreasonable!"

  "At that time, I watched as the people around me left one by one. I was very scared and panicked. I didn't know why they wanted to leave. I asked them for their reasons, and they told me that the environment in the west is better than in the east, where you can earn more money and become famous more easily."

  "I really don't understand, is money and honor really more important than the education we received from a young age and the values we established? Can money and honor really make us abandon our homes?"

  "I was afraid, I didn't want to be like them, so I went to Turkey, because I knew that going to Turkey would only make me miss my hometown more. Although after returning to the country, I involuntarily went to Hannover 96 and other teams, but my heart has always been in the East, so when Kurnaz called me, I returned without hesitation."

  Yang Cheng stood there, looking at Ju Qiao, not knowing what to say. He couldn't understand the way people of Ju Qiao's generation thought, just like he couldn't understand some of the actions of East German fans and clubs.

  But he was very clear, he respected these people, and respected this place!

  "My time at Chemnitz was the happiest season I've had in years, especially since you took over as coach. I'm really happy and it feels like I've returned to how I used to play."

  When it comes to this, Qu Ge smiles very happily, genuinely happy.

  "I'm really grateful that you reminded me, recalling some of the past that I had almost forgotten, and also my ideals and goals. So I worked hard in training, fought desperately in competitions, just hoping that one day, through this Chemnitz platform, I can tell all East Germans that we shouldn't belittle ourselves!"

  "Yes, in the East, we have no money, no hardware or software, and we can't even keep our most basic people, but that's not important. What's important is that we must have backbone, we must have fighting spirit and confidence, and we must deeply believe that one day, East German football can be like Chemnitz, slowly crawling out of the depths of hell, step by step, until we can hold our heads high and proudly tell the world: We are from East Germany!"

  At this moment, the image of Gu Qiao speaking was infinitely elevated in Yang Cheng's mind. Although he had a million reasons to be pessimistic about the future of Dongde football for the next 20 years, he couldn't help but admire Gu Qiao's determination and perseverance.

  He also firmly believes that when there are more and more people like Gu Qiao emerging in East Germany, it will be the heyday of East German football, and the comprehensive revival of East German football is just around the corner.

  "I'm so glad you listened to me talk so much, this is also the first time I've talked so much with someone in all these years, really!" After venting, Qiao felt relieved and calmer.

  Yang Cheng smiled and patted Qu Qiao's shoulder, "Don't say that, at least you consider me a close friend, right? Anyway, no matter what, I'll always support you. In my eyes, you're forever the top striker of Dongte!"

  Jiao's face lit up with a smile after hearing this, "Thank you, Head!"

  Two people hugged each other tightly.

  "Although I am no longer a member of Chemnitz in name, I will still try my best to win the last game. The team has already been relegated and there is no hope for promotion, but I have discussed with the players and we will still give our all in the last game, not for the club or the fans, but for you!"

  "Head, we will kick out a wonderful game for you, a game that completely belongs to you!"