Chapter 321: True Blue Will Never Stain
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Claude paused and then smiled. The smile on his face was not the same as usual. It was only a cover for his anger.
"The training mission is done? Has it been three days? Including today, it has been only four days. To lose five kilograms in such a short time! That table tennis coach is joking! His humor is misplaced," Claude sniffed.
Theoretically, it was possible to lose five kilograms in three days. Many extreme dieters could lose a lot of weight in a short time, but Claude thought it would be impossible for Dai Li to achieve such results.
Even his assistant could feel that Claude's smile was full of hostility.
"Uh…Mr. Claude…" his assistant said again.
"Is there anything else?" Claude asked impatiently.
"Coach Dai Li asked me to tell you, if you have any question, you can have a look at this." His assistant handed him a document.
"Today's body weight report?" Claude looked closely and found the weights of Feng Gao, Yunping Zheng, and Jinshan Sun, and the date that their weights were measured. At the end of the report, there was the seal and signature of the team's medical group. The three players had lost more than five kilograms compared with their weight three days earlier.
Dai Li gave me this report because he expected I would not believe him. However, it was too intentional. Does he think I'm a fool? Does he think I don't know they have just lost the water in their bodies? Claude scowled at once, and he felt like he was being teased.
Theoretically, a body weight report with the signature of the team's medical group should have been compelling; it was certainly enough to prove that Dai Li had actually helped the three players to lose five kilograms each. But Claude thought that these players had only lost water weight rather than cutting actual fat.
Claude really needed athletes to lose excess fat.
It was easy for athletes to lose their body water. When an athlete stayed away from drinking water during a period of exercise, then the body would naturally be dehydrated and the athlete's weight would be less. In a professional soccer game, those players could easily lose a couple kilograms if the weather was hot. However, the amount of weight lost in the game could be replenished by drinking water; technically, it could be called weight loss.
Therefore, Claude assumed Dai Li had used this method to help the athletes to lose weight, and he thought that Dai Li had asked the medical group to make a fake body weight report to fool him.
Claude believed Dai Li had done this just to show off his ability.
Claude could put up with his coaches' poor ability, but he couldn't tolerate them deceiving him with trickery. Therefore, after seeing this body weight report, he was provoked to anger.
"I hate cheaters and I can't tolerate cheating in my team! I must fire him!" Claude said with a gloomy face.
"But I heard that Li was recommended by the team shareholder, so if it is not necessary, I can't fire him! But he must get away from my team." Obviously, Claude was sophisticated. He knew that if he offended the shareholders, he might cause some unnecessary trouble to Harman's whole coaching team.
Claude thought for a while and came up with an idea. "I can expose him in front of the whole coaching team, and then everyone will know that he is a cheat. Then I will have sufficient reason to fire him! Even the shareholders will be embarrassed to shield him!"
Thinking of this, Claude said to his assistant, "Please go to the medical room and inform them that I want to give the athletes an electrolyte test!"
After more than an hour, the meeting was over, and Coach Harman looked at the crowd and asked if anyone wanted to say anything.
Claude decisively stood up and said, "Ladies and gentlemen, I just found out that the weight of Feng Gao, Yunping Zheng, and Jinshan Sun has been brought down to standard. They have successfully lost five kilograms. If so, can the three players get involved in normal training?"
"Last season, Yunping Zheng was always our starter, and Feng Gao and Jinshan Sun are important on the bench. Especially Feng Gao, who scored six goals last season. If they have lost the excess weight, they should return to normal training," said assistant coach Draco
Harman asked, "Claude, I remember you said that the three players began to lose weight three days ago, and your expectation for them was five kilograms. I know it's not impossible to lose five kilograms in three days, but to be honest, it would be very difficult."
"Yeah, I think so too," said Claude. He swung the body weight report in his hand, "But the newcomer, Dai Li, did it. And he also sent me a body weight report."
Claude gave the team doctor Marla Rodney the weight test report, and the doctor looked at it and then nodded to the crowd. "Yes, it is the seal of our medical group."
"So, the three players actually lost five kilograms in three days? The new physical coach is great!" Someone in the meeting room made an exclamation of surprise.
"I couldn't agree with you more. I was surprised that the club had recruited such a talent." Claude stressed the word "talent" in particular. Then he added, "So I'm going to see the weight loss results of the three players in person. Do you have any interest in going with me? Marla Rodney, you are the team doctor, please come with me!"
Marla Rodney frowned. At first, he thought that Claude was suspicious of the medical group's weight test results. But after he considered it, he instantly understood Claude's intention.
"I would like to go with you!" said assistant coach Draco.
The head coach, Harman, said to the crowd, "If you don't have anything important, let's go together and have a look."
Everyone in the coaching staff, including the assistants, goalkeeping coach, physical coach, team doctor, therapists, and data analysts, had followed Harman for many years. The tacit understanding between them had formed since their work together in Europe, so at the moment, they knew Claude's intention under the circumstances.
"Is Claude going to fire the new coach?"
"The new coach was so bold that he dared to cheat on Claude's assignment."
"It is impossible to lose five kilograms in three days, so it will be interesting to see what happens next."
Those in the meeting room couldn't help talking about it.
Chowtai Kim felt uncomfortable, and he thought Dai Li had impressed the head group so much that he might be overshadowed. Yet, hearing the whispers in the meeting room, he suddenly understood the whole thing.
It was a fraud! I'm the best, for sure! Chowtai Kim curled his lip, laughed, and stood up to go taunt Dai Li.
Dai Li was surprised that the whole coaching staff was in front of him.
Apart from the head coach Harman and the physical coach Claude, he hadn't yet met the other people in front of him, such as the assistant coaches, the data analysts, and so on. He had just been here for three days, and he hadn't had the opportunity to get in touch with the other core members of Harman's team.
Why are so many people here? It seems that all the members of Harman's team are here. It was just some weight-loss training, is this really necessary? Dai Li couldn't help thinking of the three athletes who had lost weight.
Are the three players so important to the coaching team? One of them is a starter and the other are two benches, but their performance was not very good in the game several days ago. Those foreign players, on the other hand, were quite great.
Dai Li stood there and guessed blindly. After all, he was not a soccer coach, and so he didn't know very much about professional soccer. When it came to the tactics of professional soccer, Dai Li was just as uninformed the average person.
Meanwhile, the three players were already standing on the scale.
The first on the scale was Feng Gao. When he steadied himself, the staff next to him immediately spoke out his weight.
"81.05 kilograms!"
"It's amazing, he is five kilograms lighter than three days ago!"
"In terms of shape, he seems to be thinner than he was a few days ago, too."
"But he is a little heavier than last year. Although the weight conformed with the standard of normal training, he was six kilograms heavier than last season."
"It doesn't matter, the new season hasn't started yet. His weight could be 75 kilograms after he has trained in the team for several days."
Everyone murmured.
The second on the scale was Yunping Zheng.
"78.80 kilograms!" The staff spoke out his weight.
"Zheng's weight loss result was more obvious than Gao's! He has lost 5.7 kilograms?"
"Yeah, if he keeps on training for one more day, he would lose six kilograms."
"Yunping Zheng is older than the others, and it is normal for athletes of his age to gain weight. If he could maintain his weight in this range, he would be quite successful."
"You have got a point! Coach Harman has planned to reduce how much he starts in all competitions. After all, he is more than 30 years old, so his body is certainly not as good as the younger athletes. What's more, older athletes are more likely to get hurt."
The third on the scale was Jinshan Sun, who had lost more than five kilograms.
According to the scale, Dai Li had more than met Claude's demands. At the same time, he also seemed very relaxed.
"It was true, everyone has lost more than five kilograms! I thought the new physical coach was a fraud!"
"Calm down, the fun hasn't started yet! Have a look at Claude's expression…"
Claude was looking at Dai Li with a mocking expression in his eyes.
Why is Claude looking at me like that? He gave me a week to finish the task, but I did it in three days. He should have praised me, but why this? Dai Li was confused.
Claude waved to his assistant. "I asked you to prepare the electrolyte test. How is it coming?"
"It can be done at any time," answered the assistant.
"Well, now we can test their electrolytes." Claude deliberately amplified his voice so that everyone could hear it.
Electrolyte test? I got it! Everyone there was a professional, they finally figured out that the three players had only lost their body water, but they didn't speak out. When Claude proposed an "electrolyte test," even the less responsive could understand.
If an athlete lost five kilograms in three days by losing body water rather than fat, then the body would be in a state of dehydration. At this point, only an electrolyte test could distinguish between the two.
After exercise, the body would sweat a lot. Apart from the loss of body water, the body would also lose a massive number of electrolytes. In fact, in terms of the metabolism of body, the loss of water is the same thing as the loss of electrolytes. For example, if saline and glucose were injected into someone who was dehydrated, their body would be supplemented with water and electrolytes.
Claude proposing an electrolyte test at this moment obviously revealed his intention. As long as the test report showed some problems, then he could prove that the three players were in a state of dehydration, and the so-called five kilograms of weight loss was useless for the athletes. What's more, the physical condition of the three players could be affected if they stay in a dehydrated state for a long time.
Claude looked at Dai Li with elation, and it seemed that he wanted to say, "I've seen through your trickery."
However, Dai Li couldn't help sighing, and he even looked at the three players with sympathy.
When Dai Li heard the words "electrolyte test," he immediately understood that Claude believed that the three players had just lost their body water rather than their fat.
Claude was so scornful of me that he overthought this. I just promised to help the three players to lose five kilograms in three days! It is the three players who suffered as their blood was drawn, Dai Li thought silently.
The medical team of the Dingtian Football Club had special testing equipment and professional doctors, and they were dedicated to serving the athletes. Therefore, they were faster in completing the electrolyte test than a hospital laboratory would have been. Soon, the medical team brought three reports.
"Here is the report!" Claude looked at Dai Li again and he found Dai Li was not nervous at all.
Pretend to be calm; I wondered how long you can hold it! Chowtai Kim gloated over Dai Li at the distance.
The staff of the medical team handed the test report to Marla Rodney, the head doctor of the medical team. He was a professional doctor, so it would be the most authoritative for him to interpret the medical report.
"What are the results?" asked Claude.
"Nothing wrong!" Marla Rodney looked up and gave Claude a nonplussed look, then he repeated what he had said, "The result of the electrolyte testing was normal!"