Chen Yu didn’t know what kind of mood Paxson was in when he went home, but later that day, on his way back to the hotel from the hospital, Chen Yu borrowed a few books from the cardiology department.
The discovery that Eddie Curry had coronary heart disease had piqued Chen Yu’s interest in heart conditions.
In the world of professional sports, heart disease has always been a prevalent ailment.
The long-term, high-intensity training put immense pressure and wear on the heart.
From a doctor’s perspective, Chen Yu hoped to find some solutions to balance training and injuries.
Back at the hotel, he quickly handled some routine emails from his clinic and read for a while before finally going to bed.
Just as he was drifting into a deep sleep, Chen Yu was startled awake by his phone ringing.
As a doctor, Chen Yu never turned his ringer off at night. In fact, he turned it up to the maximum volume, afraid he might miss something important.
He fumbled for his phone and glanced at the screen, which made him a little more alert.
"Bruce, what’s up?"
Chen Yu answered the call. On the other end was Bruce Arena, the head coach of the United States National Soccer Team.
"Chen, you must be resting. I’m sorry to bother you, but something’s happened over here, and I need your help." Arena’s voice was filled with exasperation.
"Oh?"
Chen Yu sat up and glanced at the wall clock. He had only been asleep for a little over an hour. Rubbing his temples, Chen Yu said, "You should be in France right now for the Confederations Cup, right?"
Because the finals were in June, Chen Yu hadn’t accompanied the National Team to the Confederations Cup in France.
Arena said, "Don’t even mention it. Yesterday, in our group stage match against Argentina, Claudio was tackled by their defender, Pleasant, and sprained his right knee. You know he already sprained that same knee back in March, but this time, it’s a tear."
"He’s supposed to join Manchester City this summer, but he hasn’t signed the contract yet. He’s afraid this injury will affect the deal, so..."
He didn’t finish, but Chen Yu understood. "Then have him fly back to the States. Send him directly to Phoenix. I’ll be back in Phoenix the day after tomorrow at the latest."
Jay’s surgery was a success, and his follow-up treatment could be transferred back to Phoenix.
There was no point in Chen Yu staying in Chicago any longer. He would visit his mother tomorrow and then prepare to head back.
"I’ll arrange that," Arena replied over the phone, but his voice was hesitant as if there was something else he wanted to say.
A thought struck Chen Yu, and he guessed what Arena was getting at. "Bruce, are you asking me to come to France?"
Bruce quickly said, "If you have the time, that would be for the best, of course. You have no idea... McBride’s ankle has been sore, Stuart’s back hurts, his muscles are tight, and oh, Donovan also told us he has a dull ache in his groin."
"Hold on."
Chen Yu cut off the rambling Bruce, sounding rather exasperated. "Bruce, you guys shouldn’t have participated in the Confederations Cup in the first place. Even Mexico backed out. Plus, the season just ended. The players need rest, not to play in a pointless Confederations Cup."
’If you’re going to participate, at least do it in the ’05 cup. What’s the point of this year’s?’
For Central and North America, Mexico had withdrawn, and the United States only took their place.
The World Cup champions, Italy, had also withdrawn.
The teams that did show up, Brazil and Argentina, as well as the host nation France, all sent their B-teams.
Arena sighed. "Don’t say it, Chen. To be honest, I regret it too. So, do you have time to come over?"
Since he’d asked, Chen Yu couldn’t just refuse him outright. He first asked when the tournament would end.
Arena hurriedly replied, "It’s not for much longer. The group stage ends on the 24th. We have two games left. As for the semifinals, it’s a long shot that we’ll even make it."
The United States had been placed in Group B, along with Brazil, Argentina, and Cameroon.
Cameroon was a strong team, and even though Brazil and Argentina sent their B-teams, the United States Team still had a slim chance of advancing.
After a moment’s thought, Chen Yu said, "Alright, I’ll head over tomorrow."
It would be a tight schedule, but since he had decided to open a consulting firm, Chen Yu was already mentally prepared to become a frequent flyer.
After hanging up, Chen Yu quickly tried to get some more sleep.
He woke up early the next day, first going home to see his mother before taking a flight to France in the morning.
By the time he arrived in Lyon, it was already the morning of the 22nd, local time in France.
Team manager August Martin and Arena came to the airport together to pick up Chen Yu.
"Bruce, we’re friends, so you don’t need to keep thanking me," Chen Yu said in the car, smiling and waving his hand to stop Arena’s words of gratitude. He added, "Besides, I didn’t come here just for you guys."
’Coming to France was a last-minute decision, but Chen Yu also wanted to take the opportunity to travel around Europe and expand his consulting firm’s business.’
’It shouldn’t be too difficult.’
’Internationally, his name was an undisputed gold standard.’
’Take Inter Milan, for example. If he offered to provide them with medical consulting services, Moratti would probably be so happy he’d sign a contract with Chen Yu on the spot.’
’But no matter how great his reputation was, he still needed to talk to them in person.’
’As for Ligue 1, Chen Yu hadn’t had much contact with the teams.’
’However, Chen Yu didn’t think it would be a problem.’
’After last year’s World Cup, because of Pire, Zidane, the French, and Lemerre, they should all owe him a favor.’
The car soon arrived at a local hospital.
After his injury, Claudio Reyna had traveled with the team from Saint Etienne to Lyon and had already been admitted to the hospital there.
Upon seeing Chen Yu, Reina’s face was full of apology. He knew how busy Chen Yu was in the United States.
"Don’t worry about it."
Chen Yu waved his hand and picked up the medical chart to examine it.
It was indeed a ligament tear—a Grade 2 tear of the medial collateral ligament.
But for Chen Yu, even a complete rupture wouldn’t be a major issue.
"Just arrange for him to fly back to the States."
Chen Yu didn’t waste any more words. There was no point in him staying in France under these circumstances. He should just go home and wait for Chen Yu to return for treatment.
The local doctors had probably told him the same thing.
But as always, the same words coming from Chen Yu’s mouth were clearly more convincing and reassuring.
So Reina let out a visible sigh of relief.
He was already 30 years old this year. Sunderland had been relegated again, and he still wanted to play in the Premier League. Manchester City wasn’t a powerhouse, but it was one of his only opportunities, and he cherished it.
Leaving the hospital, Chen Yu returned to the hotel where the United States Team was staying.
The Brazil Team was also staying there.
At eight o’clock that night, the group stage match between the two teams was set to begin.
Although the Brazil Team had sent their B-squad, there were still some familiar faces from the World Cup.
Goalkeeper Dida, defender Belletti, and midfielders Emerson and Ronaldinho.
Chen Yu didn’t recognize the rest.
He didn’t even recognize the coaching staff anymore. That little old man Scolari had moved on, resigning from his position as head coach of the Brazil Team.
His departure was likely due in part to not winning the World Cup last year.
However, Chen Yu actually knew that Scolari had already agreed to resign and join the Portugal Football Association even before the World Cup.
The current head coach was Carlos Parreira, whom Chen Yu had never met.
"Chen."
As he reached the hotel lobby, Chen Yu heard someone call his name.
He turned his head to see someone striding quickly toward him, pulling him into an excited hug.
You saw his teeth before you saw the man.
It was Ronaldinho.
"Nelson, Juliano, Emerson." Chen Yu pulled away from Ronaldinho and greeted the others.
Dida, Belletti, and Emerson were all there waiting for him.
Besides them, there was also the Brazil Team’s doctor, Luis Lencio, and the team manager, Lopez.
Chen Yu greeted them one by one, his gaze falling on the two remaining young men.
One of them had very thick eyebrows.
"I remember you." Chen Yu had some impression of the young man. He thought hard for a moment and said, "I saw you at Ronnie’s comeback match the year before last. Your name is Ad..., I think?"
The young man quickly replied, "Sir, my name is Adriano Ribeiro."
Chen Yu nodded.
’In truth, he still couldn’t quite recall.’
But back in October of ’01, during Ronaldo’s comeback match, Chen Yu had been invited by Moratti to watch the game live in Italy.
He had seen this kid in the Inter Milan locker room at the time.
Back then, he was just a nobody. If it weren’t for his thick eyebrows, Chen Yu would have had almost no impression of him at all.
"Are you still with Inter?" Chen Yu asked, shaking his hand.
A flash of embarrassment crossed Adriano’s eyes. He shook his head and said, "But I’m still an Inter man."
After the match where he’d met Chen Yu, he had been loaned out to Florence the following January due to a lack of playing time.
Following Florence’s relegation, Inter sold half of his ownership rights to Parma and sent him there.
However, Inter still retained the right to buy him back.
So there was nothing wrong with him saying he was still an Inter man.
Chen Yu then looked at the other young man.
He immediately extended his hand and introduced himself, "Hello, sir. My name is Luiz Fabiano. I’m good friends with Ricardo, and I’ve heard him talk about you often."
Ricardo?
Chen Yu paused for a second before realizing who he meant.
’It must be Kaka.’
He had a pretty strong impression of that handsome young man.
"How is he? Is he still playing in Brazil?" Chen Yu asked.
’Kaka should be 21 this year. If he stays in Brazil any longer, his talent will go to waste. He should be trying to make his way to Europe.’
Fabiano shook his head. "No, he’s preparing to go to AC Milan this year."
"That’s great," Chen Yu nodded, then added, "I’m planning to go to Italy next week. Maybe I’ll get to see him then."
The players had all been waiting here specifically to have a word with Chen Yu.
However, Chen Yu didn’t chat with them for long.
Many players on the United States Team had injuries and were waiting for him to take a look.
McBride’s ankle, Stuart’s back, Donovan’s groin...
A whole host of issues, big and small.
None of them were major problems, but how did major problems develop? They evolved from minor issues that weren’t dealt with promptly and properly.
Professional athletes really needed to be more conscious of protecting their own bodies.
After quickly dealing with everything, Chen Yu went with the team to watch the match live.
Except Chen Yu watched the game from a private box in the stadium.
Chen Yu hadn’t deliberately concealed his travel plans, so local reporters in Lyon already knew that he had arrived in France.
As a result, later that day, Mr. Jean-Michel Aulas, the president of the Lyon Club, contacted Chen Yu and invited him for a meeting.
Chen Yu hadn’t hidden his trip precisely because he had this in mind. He readily agreed, but set the meeting place at Gerland Stadium.
Also present was the Lyon Team’s head coach, Paul Le Guen.
As a legend of French Football, the former Paris Saint-Germain captain, who once had a thick head of hair, was now starting to thin on top as he entered middle age.
He rubbed his forehead and said, "So, you’re saying that you will provide us with player medicals at least twice a year, as well as customized professional training and improvement plans for each of our players."
Chen Yu nodded.
Paul Le Guen hesitated for a moment, then said, "Chen, your proposal is very attractive to us, and it’s exactly what we need. I’m just a little worried that if you end up providing services to teams in leagues all over the world, you might be spread too thin."
"After all, there’s only one of you in the world."
Chen Yu’s vision was wonderful and extremely appealing.
When Florentino was waving wads of cash, trying to poach Chen Yu for Spain, what football club in all of Europe didn’t have the same idea?
Even Paul Le Guen had suggested it to Oulas.
And now, Chen Yu’s proposal was equivalent to him serving as a medical consultant for all teams simultaneously.
But if that was the case, Paul Le Guen was genuinely worried that Chen Yu wouldn’t be able to handle it all by himself.
Or rather, that the services provided wouldn’t reach the level of a full-time, dedicated professional.

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