Chapter 23 Final Opponent
The team won the game and Krauchen was very happy.
Considering that the players have been training and playing very hard during this period, and there are still 5 days before the final, he gave the players another day off.
The players had just received the winning bonus from the Football Association, and now they heard that they had a day off, so they were all very happy.
Mao Biao, who was lively by nature, found a bottle of champagne from somewhere and ran towards his teammates.
"Fuck, I just changed my clothes!"
"C-Mao, don't run away, I'm going to let you know why the flowers are so red!"
Many of the team members who were attacked had already changed their clothes and were ready to go out. Not only did they miss their shower, but their clean clothes were also soiled by the attack.
In a rage, they cursed and swore at Mao Biao and chased him, trying to use physical means to improve their relationship with him.
"Brothers, I was wrong. I will dare to do it again next time!"
Of course, Mao Biao would not give in easily. He continued to provoke them with his words, while using his nimble steps and slender movements to avoid being surrounded by the crowd.
Several people staged a cat-and-mouse game in the locker room, making the already noisy locker room even more restless.
But the space in the locker room was limited after all, and Mao Biao was soon trapped in a corner by his teammates with no way to escape.
The pig-slaughtering screams and the occasional pleas for mercy such as "Brother, I was wrong" and "I'll never do it again" mixed together and reached everyone's ears.
Seeing that everyone was almost done making noise, Chen Tao clapped his hands vigorously:
"Alright, alright, stop making trouble. Let's get ready. I'm treating you all to dinner tonight!"
"Brother Chen is awesome!"
"I love you so much, Brother Chen!"
Everyone had long been tired of the training meals at the base, and after being abroad for so long, they all began to miss the taste of their hometown food.
So, under the guidance of local overseas Chinese fans, the National Youth Team found a Chinese restaurant with a good reputation and had a feast.
Coincidentally, the owner of this Chinese restaurant is also a football fan. After recognizing the national youth team, he insisted on giving everyone a free bill.
But the meal was quite expensive, and the national youth team felt embarrassed to take advantage of the other party.
So there was some negotiation between the two sides, the National Youth Team insisted on paying, while the boss insisted on not accepting any money.
"How about this? You guys take a group photo and I'll hang it up in the store for display. This will offset the cost of this meal. How do you think?"
When others heard what the boss said, they all thought it was a good suggestion.
After hearing what the boss said, Lin Feng looked at the boss with interest.
This boss has a great business sense!
The boss just needs to put up this group photo and promote the fact that the national youth team players had eaten here.
Once the Chinese national youth team wins the World Youth Championship, this place might become a pilgrimage point for domestic football fans.
If some top stars emerge in this national youth team in the future, the publicity effect will probably be even stronger.
So don’t just think of it as a group photo. The benefits it can bring to the restaurant are far more valuable than the cost of a meal.
"no problem!"
Chen Tao didn't seem to think too much about it and agreed without hesitation.
He might be able to guess a little bit about his boss's thoughts, but he didn't care too much.
This restaurant is affordable and the food is delicious, so he doesn't mind promoting it.
……
Taking advantage of the meal, Chen Tao and Lin Feng indirectly asked the players about their attitudes towards the head coach.
Overall, the players are very satisfied with head coach Krauchen.
Although the old man was sometimes very strict and had high requirements for their training, under his strict requirements, everyone clearly felt that their own strength had improved.
In addition, since he led the team to participate in the World Youth Championship, he has achieved unprecedented brilliant results on the field, which further deepened his prestige in the minds of the players.
And when Chen Tao vaguely revealed that Krauchen could use his connections in Europe to help everyone study abroad, everyone's support for Krauchen soared again.
Although many people still have concerns and dare not confront the Football Association directly.
But as long as someone takes the lead, there is no problem if they follow behind and wave flags and cheer.
The team members' statements gave Chen Tao peace of mind. Naturally, he didn't need anyone else to take the lead. He could do it himself.
Chen Tao, who has always been responsible, will naturally not back down on such matters.
After resolving their worries, the national youth team players focused completely on training.
In another semi-final that followed, Nigeria defeated Morocco and advanced to the final, becoming the opponent of the Chinese national youth team in the championship race.
Although Nigeria is not as famous as the favorites to win the championship such as Brazil and Argentina.
But their strength cannot be underestimated at all.
Apart from the unexpected loss to South Korea in the group stage, Nigeria has not lost any other games since then.
They have drawn with Brazil, eliminated Ukraine, and even the host Netherlands team fell at their feet.
Although this team does not look so star-studded and dazzling.
But if you underestimate their strength, you will inevitably pay a heavy price.
Given that the opponent has strong physical fitness and outstanding defensive capabilities.
When preparing for the training, Krauchen specially strengthened the offensive training.
Because he was worried that the team would get stuck in a positional battle, Krauchen specially put Zou You, who rarely played, into the main lineup during the team's training match.
Zou You is 1 meters tall and is the tallest among the five forwards of the national youth team.
However, due to the outstanding performance of Gao Lin, Dong Fangzhuo, Zhu Ting and others, Zou You has not played in this World Youth Championship.
But just because he didn’t appear before doesn’t mean he won’t appear in the future.
His height gives him the potential to serve as a surprise weapon.
If all offensive means fail, Krauchen is likely to substitute him and give it a try.
Zou You had always been on the substitute team before and rarely practiced with the main team.
So his performance in the first few training matches was not very ideal.
But this cannot be entirely blamed on him. After all, he originally played as a defensive midfielder. Since there was no tall center forward in the national youth team, he was transformed into a forward.
He has played as a striker for too short a time, and he does not yet possess many of the skills that a striker should master.
Therefore, using him alone on the front line will have a mediocre effect.
Krauchen obviously also discovered this problem, and he immediately began to try out permutations and combinations.
He let Gao Lin, Zhu Ting, Mao Biao and Dong Fangzhuo play in turn, forming a double forward lineup with Zou You to test the effect.
Zou You’s performance when partnered with other people is not particularly good, but he has good chemistry with Gao Lin.
The reason is probably because Gao Lin is better at passing the ball.
Zou You used his height to grab the landing point and passed the ball to Gao Lin. Gao Lin could break through, pass and shoot, with a wide range of options, making it difficult for the opponent to defend.
But, if that is the case, wouldn’t it be more effective if Lin Feng’s position was placed as the shadow striker and Zou You passed the ball to him?
Krauchen had a bold idea!
(End of this chapter)
