Chapter 2153 - 554: Happy Birthday, Brother
"Of course, I don’t give a damn about the bastard who tricked my daughter away."
Van Marwijk cursed with a laugh.
In fact, his relationship with his son-in-law Van Bommel was very good.
"Then why did you come to my place?"
Huang Kaiwen asked.
Van Marwijk put down his glass, stayed silent for a few seconds, then said, "You should know the situation of the Netherlands national team. Outside they call us the ’unofficial kings’. Every time there’s a big tournament, people start by mocking the Dutch for loving internal strife."
"Yeah, I’ve heard some rumors. What do you need me to do?"
Huang Kaiwen asked.
"Here’s the thing."
Van Bommel chimed in, "These days I’ve talked a lot with my father‑in‑law about Milan. The atmosphere in Milan’s locker room is much better than in the Netherlands, and you also have good relationships with many Dutch players. So we hope you can join the Netherlands coaching staff, become the team manager and assistant coach of the Netherlands national team. Both my father‑in‑law and I feel that this could ease the tensions in the locker room."
Hearing this, Huang Kaiwen fell into thought.
Joining a national team coaching staff for a big tournament was indeed pretty interesting.
It would also help his future coaching career, let him clearly and directly understand the differences between national team football and club football, and the tactical emphasis and other things.
Plus he could learn a lot from an old fox like Van Marwijk.
But he still had some concerns.
Van Marwijk spoke up, "Are you worried about the Olympics, Kevin? I saw in the papers they all say you’re planning to win another gold at the Olympics, but the European Cup and the Olympics don’t clash schedule‑wise. And we’ll give you the best training environment. Even if you want to hire a coach, the money will be covered by the Dutch Football Association. We really need you to act as the lubricant for the Netherlands national team. The atmosphere around recent National Team matches has already become quite tense. If we don’t have someone strong enough to keep them in check, I’m afraid this time will once again be a global joke."
"Alright, I’ll do it!"
Huang Kaiwen nodded.
Van Marwijk had already laid it out this far.
Huang Kaiwen really had no reason to refuse.
A talent like him truly wasn’t going to see his Olympic performance affected by training a few hours less every day.
Once he heard Huang Kaiwen agree,
Van Marwijk immediately stood up excitedly, reached out to Huang Kaiwen and said, "Welcome to my coaching staff, Kevin."
"Hope we can win the title together, Berth!"
Huang Kaiwen gripped Van Marwijk’s hand and said seriously.
Whether playing or coaching, Yellow Ball King always had only one goal.
"Alright, since you’ve agreed I’ll get going, I need to head back and discuss the details with them right away." Van Marwijk said as he walked outside.
Huang Kaiwen followed him out and tried to persuade him, "Stay for the party, it’s just one more day anyway."
Van Marwijk shook his head with a smile and said, "Forget it, I won’t mix in with you youngsters. When I arrived that kid Robin kept sneaking glances at me. If I stay he’ll feel uncomfortable."
Huang Kaiwen nodded and didn’t urge him further.
Having the National Team head coach there would indeed affect van Persie.
He walked Van Marwijk out and told Neo to take him to the airport.
Back in the living room, Huang Kaiwen handed Van Bommel a box and said, "Since you already know in advance, I’ll give you your present now."
Van Bommel took it and opened it, seeing a delicate leather‑strap wristwatch, with an inscription engraved on the back, in Dutch: "To Mark van Bommel, who never gives up until the final second and forever pursues victory."
Even at his age, Van Bommel still felt his eyes getting a bit wet.
He stared at the back of the watch, reluctant to look up.
His wife Andra cast a grateful look at Huang Kaiwen.
Recognition from Huang Kaiwen was more important to Van Bommel than a "French Football" cover.
Huang Kaiwen quietly got up, leaving the room to the couple.
"Kevin, you’ve been slacking off this whole time!"
Inzaghi shouted loudly.
Huang Kaiwen promptly flipped him the middle finger.
Buffon said irritably, "Filippo, you haven’t done anything either, you’re just causing trouble here."
"Nonsense, I made a cabbage salad, that’s my specialty."
Inzaghi argued.
"If cutting up the vegetables, squeezing out the water and mixing them with salad dressing counts as cooking, then there isn’t a single person in this world who can’t cook."
Gattuso said from the side.
Inzaghi immediately grabbed the ketchup and squeezed it hard at Gattuso.
Splat—
Gattuso’s face and clothes were covered in ketchup.
"I’m gonna kill you!"
Gattuso roared and charged out.
The two men, whose combined age was pushing seventy, launched a chase scene in front of their families.
...
A little after 5 p.m.
Only then did Beatrice tell Kaka that Huang Kaiwen had invited them over.
Kaka, still sulking, immediately dumped his son into the crib and started changing clothes, grumbling, "Such a big deal and you didn’t tell me earlier. Kevin is definitely planning to celebrate my birthday!"
"I celebrated your birthday at midnight yesterday too."
Beatrice bent over to change their son’s clothes and said crossly.
Kaka curled his lip and said nothing, but he was still busy in the walk‑in closet, changing outfits one after another.
Having already finished dressing their son, Beatrice knocked hard on the door to remind him, "If we don’t leave now, we’re going to be late."
"Got it, got it."
Kaka hurriedly picked one outfit and put it on.
He lifted the stroller and rushed downstairs.
Watching Kaka’s back, Beatrice couldn’t help sighing.
She never dared ask things like if he fell into a river with Huang Kaiwen, who he would save first, because whatever the answer was, she knew she wouldn’t like it.
Kaka dragged Beatrice along as he sprinted.
If she’d known it’d be like this, Beatrice would’ve just worn jeans and sneakers to spare herself the suffering.
When the two arrived and saw the preparations in the yard of Kevin’s house, Kaka’s eyes were already red.
"Hurry up, we’ve been waiting for you!"
Huang Kaiwen waved with a smile and casually tossed Kaka a gift box.
Kaka opened the box and saw a wristwatch. He was about to examine it carefully when he suddenly noticed there was a hidden compartment inside.
Kaka took out what was inside and found a piece of paper. On it was written: "U482 has been repaired, you can drive it back whenever you want, Indiana Jones!"