People | England's Dream No. 10, Bellingham's Madrid Road
On June 14, Beijing time, Real Madrid officially announced that 19-year-old English midfielder Bellingham signed a six-year contract with the team until the summer of 2029. Today, after England's homegrown star has been lost for a long time, someone is finally on the world-class stage.
On Wednesday, Real Madrid finally secured a well-known deal to announce the arrival of 19-year-old England midfielder Bellingham. Worth 103 million euros, just the base transfer fee, equivalent to £88 million, Bellingham has become the second most expensive player in British history, after his hometown Grealish. But if the 30% floating clause is fulfilled, Bellingham, who has a six-year contract with the Blancos, is worth more than £100 million, which is not difficult.
The English, who are naturally superior to the colonies and conquests of the "empire that never sets", have every reason to raise their eyebrows. Because their football, like their lost empire glory, has not seen an icon on the continent for many years - of course, you can also say that this is because they have the world's first league, and the family register princes of each team do not need to travel to a foreign land, hard or redundant to prove something that can be done in front of their own door, or will eventually be done in front of their own doorstep. The former is like Marcus Rashford and the latter is like Sancho.
But like Manchester United, in the face of the data that can be objectively quantified, it is also necessary to bow its proud head to Real Madrid. The name is linked to Real Madrid, which is already a manifestation of strength, and being tied to Real Madrid means the pinnacle of the reputation of the player's career so far, and the door to success with half a foot. But whether it will be written into history or forgotten depends on self-struggle. The last time the Englishman appeared at the Bernabeu, it was the first issue of the galaxy, and the names of David Beckham and Owen were still talked about, and the original "British Empire Star" Woodgate was almost completely hidden in the dust. Bell could not be counted here in any way, and it is known that there were four countries in England, and the Welsh and the Onsa had a feud in their bones.
Also raising their eyebrows are the people of Birmingham. The country's two champions were born here. But Bellingham is different from Grealish, the Manchester City left winger who is jokingly called "shaker" by the Chinese world, attracts popularity by brainless happy style, and the wanton freedom of "only live today", in the era of star discipline problems are more inclined to Internet addiction, the shaker makes people feel some of the kindness linked to traditional star pie: go to nightclubs, drink big drinks, make a lot of money... Through the power of the Internet, his incomprehensible Birmingham English has set off a wave of native English speakers learning English again. Brother Shaozi promoted the rural sound: "I didn't have a scooby." The British scratched his ears and cheeks, and it took a long time to realize that he was saying, "I don't know." "Ask him about his skills and tactics or deeper football questions, and most of the shakers dedicate themselves to the camera with clear and ignorant eyes.
Bellingham, who speaks with the same Birmingham accent and swallowing his voice, is the opposite of Grealish, who acts entirely intuitively and has little brain. Like all success stories of early talents, Bellingham broke Birmingham City's first-team record at the age of 16, became a big English player at the age of 17, and then landed in football mecca at the age of 19.
As the second largest city in the UK, Birmingham is 3 hours' drive from London, after the baptism of the Industrial Revolution, it is still a metropolis with a population of one million. Looking at football, the city is bordered by Aston Villa to the north and Birmingham City to the east, which has spent most of its history outside the Premier League, having survived in the Championship since its last relegation from the top flight in 2011. Most of the world's fame in recent years has been due to Bellingham, followed by the retirement of the 17-year-old No. 22 jersey when Bellingham left the team in 2020. Public opinion scoffed.
The American style of retired numbers is rare in the world of English football, and no legendary retirement has ever seen the number sealed with it, and the number here is a symbol and represents inheritance. As a result, Birmingham did this for a kid who made fewer than 50 appearances. Figure what? Because the kid left a £25 million transfer fee, or did they foresee that he would definitely be a hen laying golden eggs in the future? According to Dortmund's financial announcement, 5% of Bellingham's 103 million to Real Madrid is Birmingham's second transfer share.
As Bellingham became more successful, his story with Birmingham became more understood. He entered Birmingham's youth academy at the age of 7 and grew steadily during this period, being poached many times but still choosing to stick with it. He made his first-team debut in the Carabao Cup, Birmingham 0-3 Portsmouth; He made his Championship debut after 15 minutes off the bench in a game that had already been declared a loss, 3-0 to Swansea. In August 2019, when Birmingham hosted Stoke City, the team started with an injury and trailed 1-0, assistant coach Paco Herrera offered to manager Crotec: "How about Jude? Dead horses as live horse doctors, Crotec clapped, and 16-year-old Bellingham made his home debut at St Andrew's Stadium, only to equalise Birmingham City with 15 minutes left. More unexpectedly, three minutes later, Bellingham scored the ball from the edge of the box to take the lead. The local boy skated to the edge of the pitch and St Andrew's ground shook.
From that day on, Birmingham fans loved him with all their hearts. The reason is simple, he is loyal, tenacious, young but mature and steady, polite and clear-headed. In the face of defeat, he is the saddest one, the pain of the fans, the mourning of the fans. The last time he represented Birmingham, he was injured and lost due to cramps, and he did not have the slightest hope for the wider future: "I couldn't help the team, I had to resign myself to fate, and in the end I let everyone down. Not only did we disappoint everyone, we also disappointed the club. He was outspoken about his teammates' mistakes, but did not forget to emphasize the locker room's fondness for "sinners" and the overall responsibility of the collective movement, and finally took the problem to himself: "I had a responsibility to help my teammates break the goal like this, but it didn't work, I knew there was no chance to do it again, but I would watch the replay again and again, and I was sure I could do better." I'll keep practicing, even if I don't get another chance. ”
The reporter couldn't bear to blame himself: "The fans of this game are here to see you off." You've done a great job, don't beat yourself up too much. Bellingham replied, "Maybe." But until the end of today, we are still a team. When you lose, everyone is responsible. But I understand that a good player here carries the expectation that things will work. When I didn't do it, or did it but wasn't enough, or almost did it but didn't help, I had to take responsibility in this way. You said it was a good game, but I didn't score or assist, which wasn't enough. ”
The local boy was gone, and Birmingham permanently mothballed the 22nd. Why Bellingham keeps wearing the number 22 is a credit to Birmingham Academy coach Dodds. Bellingham, 12, wanted a number 10, which he told Dodds, who responded: "I think you can be a number 22. He asked what that meant, and Dotz explained: "You can be number 4, number 8 and number 10 – number 22 stands for omnipotent." "Dotz coaxed the child to do it, but it may not be bad at predicting.
The number 10 is a symbol of deity in many countries, such as Maradona in Argentina. In the UK, this position is a collection of fictional ideals in the series: wearing this shirt, you have to convince the ticketing fans that their time has not been wasted. You have to have both skill and skill, determination and desire, you have to do everything, you can inject will into the ball and you know the value of the sport. The appearance of Bellingham made England's long-called mirror moon once again have a substance. Most importantly, he has the most essential trait to become a mass icon - appearance.
Bellingham, wearing the number 22, is best positioned to become the country's next superstar, but his choice was unexpected, joining Borussia Dortmund instead of Manchester United to continue his personal growth outside England and the Premier League. The poor reputation of English players has gradually improved in recent years, and Bellingham is one of them. Dort seems smart now, because they will make stars (not just fame), secondly, it will give young people a steady stream of playing time in the league and Champions League, and thirdly, they will allow players to leave at the right time and leave a high transfer fee.
In the story of genius, the sacrifice and protection of the family is often overlooked, but it is the most important. Bellingham's father, Mark, was a former police officer and also had a very prolific semi-professional (amateur) football career, and he quit his job for the sake of his two sons. His mother, Denise, was almost through the early careers of him and his younger brother Job. Although Bellingham looks mature and legally reaches adult age, he is still a child, vulnerable and impulsive, and inevitably tempted. Landing in Westphalia, the hottest football stadium in Europe, to live in a completely unfamiliar environment, Mark and Denise agree that the latter accompanies their eldest son to live in Dortmund and drives Bellingham to train, while the former stays in England to support his youngest son Job. Now 17-year-old, Job was promoted to the Birmingham first team in 2021 and was also selected for the England youth team.
Bellingham was not without difficulties at Dort, but it was inextricably linked to the turmoil during the alternating reigns of Terzić and Rozee. Let's not talk about his highlight moments at Dort, which fans are very familiar with, let's talk about his character. In the 2022 Europa League defeat to Rangers, after a passing error, the broadcast microphone clearly captured Bellingham's dissatisfaction with Schultz: "You can't even let go of a ball of X, you really X thoroughly, every time he X like this!" Schultz was 10 years older than him. Bellingham's harshness and aggressiveness made fans comfortable watching, because in that rotten game, Dort most wanted to be seen was that everyone showed such blood.
On another occasion, in December 2021, after Dort's 3-2 defeat to Bayern, Bellingham openly questioned the current referee Zwar: "What else can you expect from Germany's most important match being handed over to a referee with a record of manoeuvring matches? Bellingham was investigated and punished by the German Football Association for his remarks, but gained support in public opinion. Time writes editorial: Bellingham is just telling well-known facts. Zwar, who was implicated in the 2005 match-fixing scandal in Germany and banned for six months, is still able to enforce Germany's top league to this day.
The above examples do not confirm that Bellingham's actions represent justice or justification. But it's all a combative side of his personality that should help his life in Madrid. After all, Madrid is not a greenhouse, and no wallflower can survive here.
And the most gratifying thing for Englanders is that he is a complete local, who is once again standing on the world-class stage after the long-lost star of England.
Text|Holden
Editor|Fat Cat