Chapter Twenty-Five: The Dog Running Counterclockwise

Three months after enrolling, Long Bisheng was thoroughly satisfied with everything at school. In his eyes, the coaches were all brilliant world-class tacticians. Aside from the fact that hardly any of his classmates seemed intent on seriously pursuing football here, everything over the past three months had convinced Long Bisheng that this was exactly what a true football academy should be.

Though compared to him, the other students were mostly just passing time at the academy, did that really matter? Hadn’t his father once said that the odds for a student like him to become a professional player were about twenty to one, perhaps even slimmer? As long as he performed well and became that “one,” what did it matter what happened to the rest?

The only thing that bothered Long Bisheng somewhat was that whenever teams were divided for matches, the coaches always put him at center-back. Their reasoning was that he was tall, decent in the air, but not particularly fast—making him perfect for the position. But Long Bisheng disliked this role. He turned slowly and was hardly agile; while he had no trouble dealing with high balls, against quick opponents with nimble footwork, he often had no choice but to foul. And as a center-back, mistakes could be fatal; sometimes a single foul could cost the entire game.

Yet, aside from center-back, Long Bisheng couldn’t think of any position truly suitable for him. He’d tried goalkeeper, but his hands were clumsier than his feet. As a midfielder, he lacked the stamina. He wasn’t fast enough for striker. He even asked a coach once—what position suited him best?

The coach, picking his teeth, spat forcefully before replying, the pungent aroma of chili making Long Bisheng involuntarily take a few steps back. “Position? You silly boy! How old are you now? Do you even know what fundamentals are? Without those, how can you do anything? Master your basic training first before you think about positions! Play center-back as you’re told. The coaches have their reasons!”

Long Bisheng fled and dared not mention it again.

Perhaps the coach was right. After months of basic training, Long Bisheng’s fitness and technique had improved greatly. His ball control was more assured, and playing center-back had honed his heading ability. He learned how to use his body for positioning, how to judge the flight of the ball, how to contest headers. With weekly matches, even his weakness in teamwork had improved; at least now, standing on the pitch, he no longer felt lost and bewildered.

As the temperature steadily dropped, the cold arrived swiftly in Shaanxi. When the biting wind from the Loess Plateau swept through the city, training on the outdoor field became impossible, and everyone had to move inside. The so-called “training hall” was actually just a small basketball gym; a hundred students packed in made it feel suffocating. The school had no choice but to split the classes into four groups, which inevitably disrupted the training schedule.

With the deepening cold, fewer and fewer students came to train. One day, Long Bisheng braved a heavy snowstorm to reach the gym, only to find, to his astonishment, that aside from the two coaches on duty, he was the only one there.

He had tried to rouse his roommates before leaving, but each of them remained huddled in their quilts, unwilling to budge. Long Bisheng hadn’t given it much thought; it turned out it wasn’t just his roommates, but the students in all the other dorms as well—no one wanted to train in such weather.

Before his arrival, the two coaches had been chatting idly, already quite familiar with the personalities of the students after nearly a semester. With snow this heavy and the temperature so low, they’d figured that if no one showed up after a while, they’d simply go home. Who could have predicted Long Bisheng would come alone?

The two coaches exchanged surprised glances as Long Bisheng brushed the snow from his clothes and, full of enthusiasm, asked, “Coach, what are we training today?”

“Look at the situation today, do you really think we can hold training?” one coach replied, spreading his hands. Truth be told, they were somewhat annoyed. In this weather, even they didn’t want to be out. How pleasant it would be to stay in the dorm, simmer a hot pot over an alcohol stove, sip some wine! They could be enjoying themselves by now—so what was this kid doing, coming out in this weather? Did he think he was being especially diligent?

“I can train by myself,” Long Bisheng replied, oblivious to the irritation in the coach’s voice.

That left the two coaches speechless. Long Bisheng simply took it for granted: he’d paid his tuition, today was a scheduled training day, so why shouldn’t he come? If no one else came, he could train alone—wasn’t that enough?

But the coaches saw it differently. If everyone else stayed away, why didn’t he just go home as well? Was he trying to prove something? This wasn’t the first time this had happened. On previous occasions, when only a few students showed up, the coaches would just declare a day off, and the other students would leave happily—except for Long Bisheng, who always looked reluctant, hoping to stay and train more. He always seemed unwilling to waste his tuition, an attitude the coaches had vaguely chided him for more than once, but whether out of stubbornness or obliviousness, he never seemed to get the point.

“Fine, if you want to train, I’ll let you train,” said the other coach, walking over to the blackboard on the gym wall and scribbling down a list. “Here are today’s drills. There are four hours until the end of the day. I’ve written everything out for you. Follow the list.”

“Okay,” Long Bisheng replied, stepping forward to read the blackboard. At that moment, one coach tugged at the other, and the two of them slipped out of the gym as quietly as thieves.

“Why bother arguing with him? After all these months, don’t you get it? That kid’s like a dog running counterclockwise—always different from the rest. Training plan is set; let him practice alone if that’s what he wants. Come on, let’s go have a drink!”

“Exactly. If he wants to train, let him. Let’s see what comes of it! If anyone’s losing out, it’s him, not us. Come on, let’s go drink!”

Four hours later, the “counterclockwise-running dog” finally emerged from the gym, exhausted, crossing the snowy field alone before returning to his dormitory.