The Forbidden Son of Football

This may be a kind of soccer story you've never read before.

There are no tired old Systems, transmigration, or cookie-cutter templates here, but there is a special skill beyond anything you could imagine.

A group of old men hailed as legends of soccer are crammed into an ordinary home, waiting for a boy to come back for his birthday.

Eighteen candles stand on the cake, and a card bears a line of small print:

“Congratulations. You can finally play soccer in public.”

They waited eighteen years.

Waiting for him to finally set foot on the pitch.

Waiting for him to shoulder the heavy dreams of generations in a country starved of soccer.

On the field, physical endurance clashes with dreams.

Off the field, light and darkness tear at each other.

In every scene, passion and tragedy intertwine.

Some call him Johan Cruyff's last disciple.

Some call him the pillar holding up a decaying empire.

All he knows is that every time he scores, he has to look up at the sky: someone up there is waiting for him to report back.

If you've ever stayed up late watching TV, waiting for a miracle.

If you believe someone will one day make up for all that waiting in a single moment.

This book is for everyone who loves soccer.