Soccer Stories for the Gap Between the World Cups in the US, Canada, and Mexico 美加墨空窗期的蹴鞠文

1. 1 退 [Football] Retired, and Refusing to Take the Fall [足球]退役后，拒绝背锅 A Lifetime of Holding White一世执白No CP957k WordsCompleted Some people die, but they are still alive. Noah is still alive, but as far as football is concerned, he's dead. The media lament: "England without Noah is like King Arthur without Excalibur." The legends of the game sigh: "Noah was to Sir Alex Ferguson what George Best was to Sir Matt Busby, and what Paul Gascoigne was to Sir Bobby Robson." And the fans? They're busy holding online funerals, weeping every day over GIFs of him collapsing on the pitch, mourning the loss of a fleeting genius a 12.5kFavorites31kClicks/ch34kGifts

   Curator note

   There's a lot of writing about competitions; it's true that competitive stories are all about competition! There's no romance but there is brotherhood (it's the first time I've seen Lu Xiaopang written about, hahaha). It's the kind of story that can completely satisfy whether you want to see a family story, a competitive theme, or brotherhood.

2. 2 安 [Football] Anton's Green Pitch Diary [足球]安东绿茵日记 Caramel Pudding Li焦糖布丁李Danmei (BL)2.4M WordsCompleted [Main story complete] The soccer romance anthology next door, Letters, has started *The author is a fan of clean romances and doesn’t write Real Madrid, Barcelona, or Cristiano Ronaldo because I don’t like them. I’ve watched soccer for 16 years. If you’ve watched for less time than me, don’t give me writing advice in the comments. What’s it like for a female college student about to enter the workforce to suddenly become an 18-year-old Italian-Chinese guy? Anton, struggling to load an Italian 23.6kFavorites51.3kClicks/ch169.4kGifts

   Curator note

   Anton! This is so awesome! But strangely enough, after watching the show with only nine fans, I suddenly became a fan of 21 people. Teacher 9, I'm sorry, watching you in a relationship is still a little scary.

3. 3 豪 [Football] The Wealthy Club Captain Wants to Retire [足球]豪门队长想退役 NINA YeNINA耶Danmei (BL)1.4M WordsCompleted [The next story, The Big Dreamer, is listed on my profile. An evil little octopus who stays forever young, forever divorced, and forever more in love with his next club. Basically, a serial ex-wife type.] On his thirtieth birthday, Karl becomes yet another footballer to win every major honor. He wears the captain's armband and earns top wages. The executives rely on him, his teammates trust him, his opponents respect him, and the fans adore him. He's the best defender in the world. But all he wa 18.8kFavorites33.6kClicks/ch97.7kGifts

   Curator note

   Although it's more like a coming-of-age story disguised as a football novel, it's incredibly delicate, even frighteningly so. There are genuinely good "heartthrobs" out there; may there never be another heartthrob who pretends to be beautiful without realizing it. I tend to slip into my old habit of writing like a nanny, but this is one of the few books by the author that I could finish completely and cried over the protagonist.

4. 4 米 Football’s Eternal Milan [足球]米兰永恒 A Single Scallion一之葱Danmei (BL)800k WordsCompleted Ludwig Vittorio Agniel 1994–2017, one of the greatest forwards in AC Milan's history. One man, one club, red and black for life. As compensation for a god's mistake, Ludwig would be given a perfect life. * The late 20th century was the most glorious era in AC Milan's history. Starting in 1990, under coach Capello, the team won three consecutive league titles. In the 1994 Champions League final, they defeated Barcelona at the Athens Olympic Stadium to claim the fifth Champions League trophy in 10.6kFavorites17.8kClicks/ch26.9kGifts

   Curator note

   Later on, the author seemed to lose interest and started writing at 2x speed, but it's undeniable that the earlier parts were quite good, even though the protagonist is a heartthrob...

5. 5 最 [Football] The Last Red and Black [足球]最后的红黑 plasmonnNo CP849k WordsCompleted [b] “Do you have a wish?” Ryan, the current chairman of Manchester United, replied, “No.” “Yes, you do. You want to revive Milan.” Ryan Beckham: ? “I don’t. I don’t want to. That’s not me.” After a freak accident in time, Ryan Beckham returns to the past. The System tells him that he can return to his original timeline only if he manages to revive Milan. Ryan: “What if I don’t?” System: “Then I’ll make Manchester United go bankrupt... Mr. Chairman Ryan, surely you don’t want Manchester U 14kFavorites27.2kClicks/ch207.7kGifts

   Curator note

   A beginner's guide; after reading it, who wouldn't love Milan?

6. 6 救 Football: Redemption [足球]救赎 Lu Xingyao路行遥Danmei (BL)792k WordsCompleted Pinned notice: The Maldini pairing’s IF storyline is now available. If you’re interested, check out the other Football story in my column, But I’m the Older One! Synopsis: A sudden car accident. A fifteen-year-old Chinese boy is reborn in the body of a nine-year-old Italian child. No family, no retained memories, no golden finger, and he can’t speak the language. Fino is a little panicked... Looks like it’s time to find myself a dad, Fino thinks. He turns his eyes toward Maldini on the televisi 13.5kFavorites23.2kClicks/ch32.4kGifts

   Curator note

   Aside from the excessive descriptions of appearances and the somewhat forced nature of the romantic storylines (whether it's first love or true love), it's a good read!

7. 7 我 [Football] I’m Just That Good at Assists [足球]我就是能助攻 Wind Southward风斯图南No CP1.3M WordsCompleted Pinned: Can you all call me Feng Sibei? I can’t change my pen name right now, but I want it to be Feng Sibei. Thanks, girls! Also known as: The Spineless Midfielder Play Football! All you need is legs! A sharp-tongued football fan transmigrates into a Bayern youth forward with a broken ankle. His running is youth-team level, and his shooting is neighborhood-pitch level. On the first day of his recovery, the club’s youth director tries to get him to quit. The story starts on hell difficulty! 23.5kFavorites35.5kClicks/ch110.9kGifts

   Curator note

   Overall, it's well-written, and German team fans should enjoy it. While the protagonist has a cheat-like advantage, it's not a purely wish-fulfillment story; there are wins and losses, and the match scenes are engaging. However, watching the protagonist off the field feels a bit disjointed, and there are occasional vulgar, masculine descriptions that are uncomfortable… but overall, the flaws don't outweigh the merits.

8. 8 米 Milan City's Pig-Raising Report [Football] 米兰城养猪报告[足球] Bosons and Feline Fermions玻色子与费喵子Danmei (BL)220k WordsOngoing ----Unlocked because a friend said they missed this story---- The posted content may be tweaked a little later because certain words are being censored, but the original computer and saved files are long gone, so updates are unlikely. A Mao has had his ups and downs in recent years, with people coming and going... Keep working hard. This story comes from a young man named Alfredo Sforza. Warning: This story may contain a lot of pork products and a small amount of pig-slaughtering scenes. Please 4.6kFavorites10.5kClicks/ch5.8kGifts

   Curator note

   Adding this isn't a recommendation, but a warning to myself not to blindly trust recommendations or to let things slowly deteriorate just because they seem good at first. It started off quite well; I devoured 60 chapters overnight, but the more I read, the weaker it became… It's like a kindergarten-style parenting novel disguised as a Milanese story. It's clearly written as a football novel, but the actual matches are impossible to depict. The characters are so out of character that everything seems to exist only to highlight the protagonist's parenting skills. It's like reading a story about a matriarch in an ancient mansion raising her daughters with her concubines, yet it all feels like something out of a bygone era.

9. 9 听 [Football] I Followed Saint's Advice and Became Milan's Golden Boy [足球]听克圣的话，成了米兰金童 Bao Bao Da包包哒Danmei (BL)1.2M WordsCompleted In 2015, just after being diagnosed with cancer, Cruyff was thrown back to 1996 by a mysterious force. Before him was an Italian orphan, clutching a rock as he sank to the bottom of a river. "Do you want to lift the Hercules Cup?" A dying boy met a dying legend. One had nowhere to go, and the other had little time left. And so Giovanni, who hated football, became Cruyff's most prized pupil. From a troubled child who was looked down on to a superstar who stunned Italian football. His journey was 16kFavorites13.5kClicks/ch225.6kGifts

   Curator note

   It's flawless! The matches are written in a clear and engaging way, and even the tactics are never boring. The friendships and romances outside the matches are also well-developed and reciprocated. I just wish the author could serialize it for 3 million words!

10. 10 从 [Football] Becoming the King of Football from Scratch [足球]从零开始成为球王 Drifting in a Frost-Free Harbor流离不冻港Danmei (BL)1.1M WordsCompleted [Important! There will be wins, hat tricks, and teammates or opponents who would have scored not playing or not scoring. Please stop saying I'm stealing the spotlight. This is a sports competition novel! If I wrote everything exactly like real life, you might as well watch match footage!] Patrick Ormanni is an obscure youth academy player from rainy London, playing for Premier League powerhouse Arsenal. He's got decent talent, but compared with the top players, it doesn't amount to much. His y 13.4kFavorites16.2kClicks/ch49.3kGifts

    Curator note

    I've been following this series from the beginning until now, and I'm getting a bit tired of it. The match descriptions are so-so, there's a lot of romance, but Dong Ge's character has gone way out of character too much. The male lead isn't as likable as he gets later on either; he talks a lot, and all he's written about is "diligence," but honestly, the author's writing skills aren't really good at depicting the improvement in his abilities or the match descriptions. I might read it when I'm bored, but I'm not really willing to spend money on it anymore. I'll just leave it to gather dust for now.

11. 11 可 [Football] But I'm the Older One! [足球]可我才是年上啊！ Lu Xingyao路行遥Danmei (BL)752k WordsCompleted Career-focused blurb: Building a dynasty is hard. Reviving one is harder. Fino knows this all too well. Over ten years at Milan, he has seen the team climb to the top and sweep through European football, and he has watched it sink to the bottom and struggle through turmoil. It’s fine. It’s only an aging squad, the retirement of club legends, anxious hearts, wavering decisions from the club, a revolving door of managers… and a few knives in the back from the front office… He can surely drag the t 6.9kFavorites8.9kClicks/ch18.4kGifts

    Curator note

    The author's writing style is lacking in depicting competitions; many parts read like a diary entry, making the reader drowsy. Furthermore, although this book is set in a parallel universe, the protagonist is nowhere near as likable as in the other book, with far too many descriptions of him as a heartthrob—it's almost frighteningly over-the-top…

12. 12 信 [Football] Letters [足球]信笺 Caramel Pudding Li焦糖布丁李Romance1.4M WordsOngoing Currently updating the story of Big Indra Important!!! (Actually, I'm out of options.) Football romance stories are still romance stories about football. The author writes ordinary men and women: they get together when it suits them and break up when it doesn't. Nobody owes anyone fidelity... Assume every couple has been with other people before, except Kaka. But I'm not writing saintly Kaka, and he has nothing to do with being a saint either. If you want chaste romance, you can stop reading he 12.1kFavorites9.4kClicks/ch72.8kGifts

    Curator note

    Oh my god, I can finally recommend this after finishing the first story! Strictly speaking, this isn't a sports novel because there's very little actual match content, but the author did a very thorough preliminary research, and the female lead has a very appealing character, making it feel like it actually happened. It also avoids the typical saccharine sweetness of football romance novels (I have no idea how many terrible female lead stories I've read). It's a great way to refresh your mind when you're feeling overwhelmed by sports novels!

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