Chapter 225: Chinese football has changed
After the game, major domestic media rushed to report the results of the game as if it were New Year's Day.
"China 1:1 France" appeared in bold and black fonts on the front pages of major media outlets.
There is no need to exaggerate or create any shocking headlines. Just a simple statement of the facts, with a photo of the Chinese national football players gathering together to celebrate after Lin Feng scored a goal as the background image, is enough to make the fans climax on the spot.
This is the French team, one of the favorites to win the World Cup.
Such a team was actually tied by the Chinese national team!
My national football team is so awesome!
For a time, on the streets, online and offline, the Chinese national football team and the result of this game became the hot topic among fans.
Although the Chinese national football team did not qualify for this World Cup, their record of 1 win, 2 draws and 1 loss in this World Cup training is enough to satisfy the fans.
And considering the strength of these four opponents, this result is enough to make the fans of the Chinese national team even feel proud.
To be honest, few people could have imagined that this game would end in a draw before the game.
After all, there is a huge gap in strength between the two teams, and the Chinese national team looks like it is going to be defeated.
Although Cisse's accidental leg break had a certain impact on the French team, the French team has a strong lineup and the absence of Cisse will not have a fatal impact. Even Trezeguet, who came on as a substitute, may have performed better, so this result is definitely an upset.
Although it is just a warm-up match, the result and score do not mean anything.
However, when the Chinese national football team faced two European powerhouses, Switzerland and France, they managed to tenaciously equalize the score when they were behind, which is enough to show the resilience of the Chinese team.
We will never see that Chinese team that cannot fight against the odds, will lose its composure once it falls behind, or even surrender directly!
Such a Chinese team will naturally easily win the respect of the fans.
After the game, French media and fans were impressed by the strength of the Chinese team. They even felt that the Chinese team had the ability to enter the World Cup.
Although it is not known why the Chinese national football team with such strength did not appear in the roster for this World Cup, the French unanimously believe that as long as the national football team maintains this form, they will definitely be seen in the next World Cup in South Africa!
In an interview, France coach Domenech said that the warm-up match with the Chinese team gave him a lot of inspiration.
The Chinese national team did an excellent job in both high-pressing and low-post defense, especially the many attempts to exploit the gaps between the French team's midfield and back line and actively look for opportunities to shoot long shots, which caused considerable trouble for the French team.
Several players in the Chinese team, especially player No. 8, tried many times to cut in and shoot from the wing, which left a deep impression on him.
In short, the Chinese team's performance in this game refreshed their views on Asian teams.
Influenced by the 2002 World Cup in Japan and South Korea, many Europeans, especially Italians and Spanish, have a negative impression of Asian teams, especially East Asian teams. They think that Asian teams like to play dirty tricks and use underhanded means to undermine the fairness of the game.
But these problems were completely absent from the Chinese team in this game. The Chinese national team committed fewer fouls and received fewer cards than the French team.
As for bribing the referee to do something shady, that's out of the question.
Therefore, the fact that this game ended in a draw is a reflection of the strength of both sides.
Not only the coach of the French team, but also the players of the French team gave high praise to the Chinese national team after the game. Some French players even took the initiative to find the Chinese national team players to exchange jerseys.
For example, Zidane found Lin Feng and offered to exchange jerseys with him.
Lin Feng was also surprised. He didn't expect Zidane to do this.
In response to Zidane's invitation, Lin Feng readily agreed and sent his best wishes to the French team for their upcoming World Cup journey.
"I wish you all the best in the World Cup and make it to Berlin!"
The German World Cup final will be held at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin. If the French team really marches into Berlin, they will reach the final.
Zidane also understood Lin Feng's implication. He smiled and hugged Lin Feng:
"Thank you for your blessing. If we really march into Berlin, I will mail you tickets and invite you to watch the game!"
Lin Feng didn't expect such a good thing to happen. He was originally worried about the tickets for the finals.
Tickets for other matches are easy to get, but tickets for the finals are hard to buy, even if you pay extra money and find a scalper.
I didn’t expect Zidane to be so thoughtful and give such a big gift. Zidane is such a good man!
"It's a deal. See you in Berlin then. See you there!"
"Okay, see you there or see you!"
……
With the match against the French team, the Chinese national football team's European training camp has come to an end.
The original plan was to return directly to China and disband on the spot.
But tomorrow is the opening ceremony of the World Cup, so many players have suggested going to Germany to watch the opening ceremony and feel the atmosphere of the World Cup.
"Now that we are here, if we don't go to watch the World Cup live, wouldn't it be a waste of time?"
"Although we didn't make it to the World Cup, it doesn't mean we will never make it to the World Cup again. Going to the scene now to feel the atmosphere of the World Cup in advance will also give young players more motivation to play in the upcoming World Cup qualifiers. I think this is a good thing!"
The Chinese national football team performed very well in this warm-up match and the players worked very hard, so when faced with the players' request, Zhu Guanghu really had no way of refusing.
So I had to apply to the higher-ups. If they agree, then I can go. If they don’t agree, then there’s nothing I can do.
After all, if we go to Germany, we will have to spend money on food, clothing, housing, transportation and buying football tickets. If it is one or two people, Lao Zhu can afford to pay for it out of his own pocket.
But a team including the coaching staff has more than 30 people in total. With so many people, he would have to empty his family's pockets. He can't afford it!
This kind of request for funding, especially for a project unrelated to the competition, would have been basically out of the question in the past.
The Football Association and the General Administration would like to spend every dollar in half, so how could they agree to an activity for the national football team that they consider to be a pleasure?
However, the results of the Chinese national football team's overseas training were so good that it had a great impact in the country, and it was a positive impact.
CCTV even took more than 30 seconds in its news broadcast to report on the match between the Chinese national football team and the French team, which made the leaders of the Football Association and the General Administration feel proud.
This is a real political achievement!
So he waved his hand and agreed to the application submitted by the Chinese national football team, and immediately transferred the funds to the account without any delay.
Old Zhu was dumbfounded. He had been dealing with the Football Association all his life. When had he ever seen the Football Association be so efficient?
In the end, Lao Zhu could only sigh:
"It seems that Chinese football has indeed changed!"
Since the leaders above have agreed and provided sufficient funds.
Then things are simple.
Everyone immediately flew straight to Munich to witness the opening ceremony of the German World Cup!
……
On June 6, at 8:16 local time, the opening ceremony of the 20th World Cup was held at the Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany.
In order to cater to overseas audiences, the opening ceremony was held in the afternoon, and the kick-off match was at six o'clock in the evening, so there was no fireworks show at the opening ceremony, and it lacked a bit of the grand festive atmosphere.
But the Germans arranged many programs and invited a large number of celebrities, singers and famous football stars to attend the opening ceremony, which made it quite lively.
Unfortunately, most of the Chinese national football team's players neither understand German nor understand the Germans' performances, nor do they have the artistic talent to patiently appreciate them. Everyone is eagerly looking forward to the opening match in an hour and a half, and the content of the discussion is also related to the opening match.
"By the way, who do you think will win this game?"
"Of course it's Germany. After all, they are the host country, and their opponent Costa Rica is not that strong. I think Germany has a high chance of winning!"
"Hey, great minds think alike. I also think the German team will win!"
"What do you think the score will be?"
"3:1!"
"2:0!"
"Boom boom boom!"
The players were discussing the score when suddenly a burst of exciting and majestic drum beats was heard from the court.
Everyone turned their heads and saw a large group of men dressed in all kinds of strange costumes, black stockings, and hats with feathers on them, carrying big drums and beating them as they walked.
Everyone looked at each other in confusion, wondering why European men still wear black stockings?
Isn't this something women wear?
Moreover, in that era, the social atmosphere as a whole was still relatively conservative, and generally only very open-minded women would wear black stockings.
So after seeing this scene, everyone exclaimed that it was an eyesore.
"Ahem, this is the traditional German national costume. By the way, stockings and high heels were originally invented for men to wear."
Lin Feng, who had lived in Germany for many years, saw everyone's shocked expressions and had to explain to everyone.
In 2006, Germany as a whole was relatively normal, with far fewer monsters than it would be a decade later.
As these people performed drumming, strips of red carpet were stretched out diagonally across the court.
A little girl in white clothes and holding a trumpet ran towards the center of the venue. Behind her was a little boy in overalls riding a bicycle.
When the two children appeared, the drummers began to leave the stage one after another.
By the time the little girl and the little boy stood in the center of the field, the red carpet had covered the entire field and the green grass had turned red.
When the red covered the last bit of green, the little boy took the trumpet from the girl and began to play it.
The moment the horn sounded, a giant white curtain with the word "welcome" written on it fell from the sky.
The red carpet and welcome slogans represent the Germans' welcoming gesture towards fans from all over the world.
When the giant white screen appeared, the football king Pele came to the stadium holding the World Cup trophy, accompanied by another "football king" and German supermodel Claudia Schiffer.
"Look, the King of Football is here!"
"Which soccer champion?"
"Huh? Who else could it be but Bailey?"
……
Soon after Pele showed up, the German president and a number of senior FIFA officials also showed up.
After these senior officials delivered a brief speech, the opening ceremony ended.
The much-anticipated World Cup opening match, Germany VS Costa Rica, is about to begin!
The Chinese team is no stranger to both the German team and the Costa Rica team.
The Chinese national team has played against these two opponents in the past. Costa Rica was the group stage opponent of the Chinese national team in the 2002 World Cup, and Germany played a friendly match with the Chinese national team last year.
Although the Chinese national football team lost 0:2 to Costa Rica in the World Cup, they defeated Germany 3:1 away in Germany.
But from the personal experience of the Chinese national football team, the German team is obviously stronger than Costa Rica.
But the fact that this German team lost to the Chinese team means they are not without weaknesses.
If they didn't perform well in this game due to nervousness or any other reasons, they might still lose.
The ball is round, and being strong on paper does not necessarily mean you will have the last laugh. Yesterday's match between the Chinese national team and the French team once again proved this truth.
However, the course of the game was somewhat surprising. Just six minutes into the game, Germany scored the first goal through Lahm.
This is the second fastest goal in the history of the World Cup opening game!
Lahm's goal made tens of thousands of German fans at the scene excited. They shouted slogans of "Ole Germany" and lined up in the venue.
However, because there were a large number of reporters sitting in one of the stands of the stadium, the crowd would stop every time it reached the reporters' place, causing great dissatisfaction among the fans at the scene. Many people raised their middle fingers towards the reporters' seats, and some fans who were farther away vented their dissatisfaction by stomping their feet hard to create an "earthquake".
Feeling the vibration coming from the stands below their feet and the noisy scene, the Chinese national football team members who came to watch the game couldn't help but worry.
"Is this court solid? Will it collapse if someone steps on it?"
"That shouldn't be the case, right? This stadium was built specifically for this World Cup. It can't possibly collapse so quickly, right?"
Having said that, it is certainly impossible to say that I am not worried at all.
It is said that Germans are rigorous and rigid, but now it seems that this is misleading. Judging from the crazy behavior of these fans at the scene, how can they be rigid at all?
When they get crazy, they are crazier than anyone else!
Just when German fans were celebrating because their team scored a goal, Costa Rica quickly equalized the score.
The goal for them was scored by Costa Rican record scorer Juan Antonio Wanchope.
Seeing their opponents quickly equalize the score, the Germans in the stands were no longer happy.
Especially some gamblers who bet on the German team to win, were so scared that their hearts almost stopped after seeing Costa Rica score a goal.
"The German team's defense is so weak that they let the opponent score so easily. I feel like this game is really hard to predict!"
The players of the Chinese national football team couldn't help but complain about the German team.
I felt that the German team played a little bit floating today. It seemed that they did not put too much energy into defense, and their minds were focused on offense and winning.
Costa Rica taught the Germans a lesson with their attack: don't underestimate any opponent!
However, just when the Chinese players thought the game would be more tense because of Costa Rica's quick equalizer, the German team scored again.
The goal for the German team this time was scored by Chen Tao's teammate, striker Klose from Werder Bremen.
(End of this chapter)
