Chapter 177 Japan’s provocation and AFC’s solicitation!
A few minutes later, the first half of the game ended.
The Chinese team returned to the locker room with a huge score advantage.
Before entering the player tunnel, they enjoyed a warm welcome from fans in the stands on both sides of the tunnel.
Seeing the joy and excitement on the fans' faces, the Chinese national team players seemed a little flattered.
The Chinese national football team’s performance in foreign wars in recent years has not been very good, especially after the 02 World Cup.
Before Lin Feng joined the team, the Chinese team had only won against Indonesia once in an away game.
All other games were lost, and the results were terrible.
Precisely because of the dismal record, fans of the Chinese national football team have become accustomed to being scolded.
The fans spent money to buy tickets to watch the game. When the game was lost and the fans were disappointed, it was reasonable for them to curse and vent.
As long as you don't greet the players' families in front of them, the national football players will generally endure it and won't talk back.
But now, not only are they not scolded, but they are also treated like heroes. The contrast is so great that the players of the national football team are a little uncomfortable.
Otherwise, fans, please calm down. I am still used to the way you scolded us...
Having said that, the Chinese national team players were still very happy and returned to the locker room with joy and excitement.
In the stands, the enthusiasm of the fans did not fade. After the players from both sides left the field, the fans had nothing to do, so they started chatting:
"Isn't the Iraqi team very strong? How do you feel about that?"
"Haha, I think the media is exaggerating. At halftime, the score was 3-0. They were no match for us at all!"
Suddenly someone raised a point of view: "Is it possible that it is not that the Iraqi team is not strong, but that our Chinese team is too strong?"
This view has been supported by many people.
"Compared to the past, our lineup has only changed a few people, but these few changes have greatly improved our strength! !"
Although he did not name anyone for praise, strangely enough, all the fans present understood who he was talking about.
……
The big lead in the first half gave the Chinese team ample room for adjustment in the second half.
Zhu Guanghu was not conservative either. He made personnel adjustments at the beginning of the second half.
Shao Jiayi was replaced by Zhao Xuri.
This is a signal of strengthening midfield control and paying more attention to balance on the field.
Of course, you can also understand this as a signal that the Chinese national football team is reducing its offensive strength.
This is how the Iraqis understood it. After the Chinese national team made substitutions, they tried to launch a counterattack with a vengeance, but they were unable to get past the midfield.
After training in the Austrian Super League for more than half a season, Zhao Xuri's strength has improved significantly.
Although he did not play many times for the team, the training intensity of Rapid Vienna was not low. The scientific training methods, reasonable diet, and the experience gained during his playing time all helped him improve a lot.
Zhao Ritian was very excited after coming on the court. He made full use of his physical advantage, running at all costs and pressing aggressively, turning the Iraqi team's midfield upside down.
The Chinese national team's midfield is at least one level stronger than that of the Iraqi team. When Shao Jiayi, who is strong in offense but weak in defense, was on the field, the Iraqi team could not gain any advantage.
Now that a defensive midfielder has been brought on, they have even less hope.
After trying for more than ten minutes, the Iraqi team's offense still did not improve. Although they managed to complete a few shots, none of them were on target and they did not pose any threat to the Chinese team's goal at all.
On the contrary, it was the Chinese team. In the 65th minute, Zhao Xuri, who came on as a substitute, suddenly shot a world-class goal in the chaos, once again penetrating the Iraqi team's defense and changing the score to 4:0!
Once this goal was scored, the rest of the game completely entered garbage time.
Zhu Guanghu waved his hand and replaced Zheng Zhi with Cui Peng in the 67th minute, and five minutes later replaced Lin Feng with Zhou Haibin.
When the two players left the field, the Chinese fans who came to watch the game stood up and applauded them.
The performances of these two players today are obvious to all, especially Lin Feng. Although he did not score a goal, he provided two assists, and his shadow could be seen in every threatening attack of the Chinese team.
If he hadn't been there, the Chinese team would never have won so easily!
As soon as Lin Feng left the court, the fans immediately lost interest and their interest in watching the game was reduced by more than half.
"Oh, it's boring. The Iraqi team is still too weak. The Asian Cup qualifiers are still not good enough!"
"Yeah, if we meet top Asian teams like Japan and South Korea, this game will be quite interesting!"
"You are so proud of yourself. We have only had a few days of prosperity, but you are all so proud of yourself. Have you forgotten the fear that we were dominated by West Asian teams?"
"Haha, a man should be treated with new eyes after three days of absence. We now have Lin Feng and Chen Tao, the young players of the National Youth Team. We are no longer the same old people. How can you still look at us with the old eyes?"
"That's right, our current goal is to become a top team in Asia. What's there to be happy about defeating a second-rate Asian team like Iraq?"
"That's right. After all, we have defeated the German team before. So shouldn't it be easy for us to defeat the small Iraqi team?"
The fans of the Chinese national football team were a little bit distracted, and the players on the field played a little bit laxly after taking a big lead.
This attitude was soon punished.
In the 77th minute, the Iraqi team finally seized on a foul by the Chinese team in front of the penalty area and used a direct free kick to knock on the Chinese team's goal with difficulty.
The score became 1:4, and the Iraqi team scored a face-saving goal.
"Cui Peng's foul was unnecessary. He wasn't threatening that much. It was enough to block him from passing the ball. There was no need to foul!"
In the commentary booth, the two commentators were quite critical of Cui Peng's choice to foul and give the opponent a free kick.
"But losing a goal is not a big deal. We are still three goals ahead. There are only 12 minutes left in the game. There is not much time left for the Iraqi team!"
In the past, we always heard the commentator shouting "There is not much time left for the Chinese team". Now, suddenly during the Chinese team's game, when we heard this sentence without the words "Chinese team", the fans felt a little dazed.
It seems that things have really changed in Chinese football!
After Iraq scored a goal by chance, they never had a chance to change the score.
The score remained 1:4 until the end of the game!
The Chinese team defeated its biggest rival in the group in the Asian qualifiers and won two consecutive victories. The situation for qualifying is very good, and they have basically secured first place in the group in advance.
We can’t lose to Singapore in the next round, right?
However, when we think about the fact that Singapore once defeated Iraq 2:0 at home, this possibility cannot be completely ruled out. After all, a football is round!
……
Zhu Guanghu was very satisfied with the result of the game. At the press conference after the game, he took Lin with him to attend the press conference.
"Ahem, if you have any questions, you can ask them now!" After achieving a big win away from home, and defeating their bitter rivals in West Asia, Zhu Guanghu even straightened his back when he spoke.
I almost want to carve the words "Praise me now" on my forehead!
However, the reporters did not give him face. When they saw that Zhu Guanghu brought Lin Feng, they completely threw Zhu Guanghu aside and ran to interview Lin Feng.
Fortunately, Lin Feng has a high emotional intelligence. When answering questions, he always turns the topic to Zhu Guanghu. Later, he even pushed all the questions to Zhu Guanghu, giving the latter a chance to show off in front of the media!
"Coach Zhu, what do you think of the Japanese team's head coach's remarks?"
After Japan's 6-0 victory over India last month, Japan's head coach Zico made a bold statement that he would defend his title in the Asian Cup and said that if he met the Chinese team, he would defeat them like he did last time.
If someone else said this, Zhu Guanghu and Chinese fans would probably just listen to it and not take it too seriously.
But it is different for Zico and the Japanese team. In the last Asian Cup held in China, the Japanese team stole the championship from the Chinese team with a handball, which many Chinese fans still cannot get over.
As the saying goes, enemies become jealous of each other when they meet. I didn't go looking for you, but you jumped out on your own initiative!
Zhu Guanghu put away his relaxed expression and said seriously:
"Although Zico is a famous coach, I don't agree with what he said. I think everyone knows how the Japanese team won the last final.
Last year, my team played against the Japanese team twice. The Chinese team remained undefeated, and in one of the games we defeated the Japanese team by a large margin.
If we are lucky enough to meet the Japanese team in the Asian Cup, my players and I will be very happy because it will be a great opportunity for revenge! ”
The reporter looked at Lin Feng again, wanting to ask about his attitude towards the matter.
Lin Feng shrugged: "The coach has said what I wanted to say. I would like to add one more thing. I hope that Coach Zico can keep his job after the World Cup!"
As soon as these words came out, the reporters at the scene brightened up:
Is Lin Feng implying that the Japanese team will suffer a crushing defeat in the World Cup and that head coach Zico will be fired by the Japan Football Association?
Although no one can predict the future, this possibility is quite high!
The Japanese team is considered a top team in Asia, but when it comes to the World Cup, it's Karami.
Considering that the Japanese team is in the same group with the defending champion Brazil, there are also strong teams such as Croatia and Australia in the same group.
There is a big question mark as to whether they can qualify from the group stage!
If we play worse, we might not even get a point or a goal.
Asian teams have never been competitive in the World Cup. Qualifying from the group stage is already a huge success, and going further in the knockout stage is extremely difficult.
Although the best result of Asian teams is reaching the World Cup semi-finals, how they got there is something that only those who understand will understand.
……
After the national team's game ended, the national football team was disbanded on the spot.
Players from the local league returned to China on chartered flights, while players studying abroad returned directly to their respective leagues.
The league and the Champions League are in full swing, and they don't have much time to waste. They must rush back to prepare for the game.
Lin Feng was originally planning to leave as soon as possible, but just before he was about to leave, someone from the Football Association found him.
He also brought another person - AFC Vice President Zhang Jilong.
"Haha, Xiaolin, let me introduce you. This is Mr. Zhang Jilong, the vice chairman of the Asian Football Confederation and a senior veteran in our football foreign affairs work!"
The people from the Football Association were afraid that Lin Feng didn't know the person, so they hurriedly introduced him to Lin Feng.
But in fact, Lin Feng recognized the other person from the first time he saw him.
This person is no simple man. He is the hero behind the Chinese team's qualification for the World Cup.
Many people say that the reason why the Chinese team was able to advance to the 2002 World Cup in Japan and South Korea was all thanks to his operation!
As the saying goes, it is better to shoot well than to kick well.
Zhang Jilong observed Lin Feng after he came in. After the people from the Football Association introduced the two parties, he took the initiative to extend his hand and said with a smile:
"I have heard of your name for a long time. Seeing you today, I can see that you are indeed a hero at a young age. It is a blessing for Chinese football and Asian football to have a talent like you!"
"Chairman Zhang, you are too kind. Football is a team sport. It is not my own achievement. It is inseparable from the joint efforts of thousands of football players and the wise leadership of people like you. After all, the speed of a train depends on the locomotive!"
Lin Feng's neither-self-righteous nor arrogant answer made Zhang Jilong feel very comfortable.
In the past, when young players like Lin Feng's age saw him, most of them didn't dare to look him in the eye. They were timid and couldn't even utter a complete sentence.
However, Lin Feng gave him a completely different feeling. The little guy's eyes were full of confidence, and he didn't treat him like a god at all just because he was the vice president of the Asian Football Confederation.
Even in his previous sentence, Lin Feng secretly mocked the leaders of the Football Association.
The train runs fast, relying on the headband.
What if the train doesn’t run fast or even goes astray?
Whose responsibility is that?
This little guy is quite interesting!
Time is precious for both sides and there is no time to waste on attacking.
After testing Lin Feng's attitude towards the AFC, Zhang Jilong stated the purpose of his visit directly:
"The Asian Football Confederation sent me to find you, mainly to inquire about your attitude and see if you are willing to become the image spokesperson for next year's Asian Cup!"
Lin Feng was indifferent to this kind of thing and took an indifferent attitude.
But he felt that things would not be that simple. As expected, Zhang Jilong continued:
"Actually, the AFC wants to give you this year's Asian Footballer of the Year award, but they're afraid you won't accept it, so they sent me to test your attitude. The Asian Cup spokesperson is just a cover, a stepping stone. We are all compatriots, and I won't hide it from you. If you agree, there will be great benefits."
After listening to Zhang Jilong's explanation, Lin Feng suddenly understood.
Asian football has never had a star like him who has such a huge influence in European and even world football.
Therefore, the AFC wants to use his influence to establish him as a leader in Asian football, to publicize and promote Asian football, in order to seek greater benefits from FIFA.
For example, a place in the World Cup!
Now the AFC can only allocate places for each World Cup. For Asia, which has a population of more than 40 billion and dozens of countries, this number of places is really too few!
It is true that Asian football is still relatively weak, but it will not always remain so weak.
The AFC has great ambitions!
This is a good thing. Lin Feng is happy to contribute to making the Asian football industry bigger.
But this favor can't be done for free, you have to give some extra benefits, right?
Lin Feng went straight to the point, staring into Zhang Jilong's eyes and asked:
“What benefits is the AFC willing to give?”
Zhang Jilong smiled and said: "If you agree, the AFC will give us some care in youth training, leagues, etc. In addition, it will also give up some interests in the changes of senior management, for example, the next AFC president!"
(End of this chapter)
