Chapter 1 Genius of the World Youth Championship 2005, April 6. Tilburg, The Netherlands. World Youth Championship, quarter-finals. Germany U20 vs. China U20. Although the venue of the competition was thousands of miles away, it still attracted about 6000 Chinese fans to cheer for the Chinese team. The not-so-large stands of the William II Stadium were completely filled with red, and Chinese fans who came from afar turned this place into their home ground. "Chinese team!" "come on!" "Chinese team!" "come on!"
Uniform cheers rang out from the stands, making the European fans who came to watch the game look at each other in confusion, some of them wondering if they had come to the wrong place. Is this in the Netherlands or in China? For fans of a football powerhouse like them, it is probably difficult to understand the mentality of fans of a football weaker country. With the Chinese national football team once again failing in the World Cup qualifiers and suffering a bitter defeat in the Asian Cup final held in China last year, Chinese football is accelerating its slide into the abyss. At this time, the news that the Chinese National Youth Team won all three group matches, scored an average of three goals per game, and advanced to the knockout stage as the group leader was like a shot in the arm, igniting the hopes of the fans and attracting unprecedented attention in the country. Obviously, after missing out on the ticket to the 2006 World Cup in Germany, many fans have become extremely disappointed with the current national team and are beginning to pin their hopes for the future of the national football team on this national youth team, which is hailed by the media as the Super Platinum Generation. Perhaps in the eyes of Europeans, this is just an ordinary game and no one pays attention to it. But for Chinese fans, this is a crucial game that concerns the future of Chinese football. …… This national youth team, known as the Super Platinum Generation, is certainly very strong. Just three minutes into the game, the National Youth Team got off to a dream start. Chen Tao, who was highly expected by countless domestic fans and was dubbed a genius, took a free kick at a very tricky angle in front of the penalty area and hit the dead corner of the goal. Germany goalkeeper Reina had no reaction, and the Chinese national youth team took the lead and scored first. "Wow, this free kick is awesome!" "Well done Chen Tao!" "As expected of the Super Platinum Generation, much better than the Chinese national football team!" The Chinese national football team has always been known for being a weakling in major competitions, but this national youth team has the spirit of a newborn calf that is not afraid of a tiger. Facing the powerful German team, they played so fiercely and so well! But the German team was no pushover. They took advantage of the Chinese Youth Team's inattention after they scored a goal and just one minute later, they used a quick counterattack to quickly equalize the score. After the goal was lost at the speed of light, the fans who had just been praising the national youth team immediately turned hostile and started to curse:
"Damn it, I really can't trust these guys too much. They get carried away as soon as they have an advantage!" "Is our midfielder sleepwalking? Why not stop him?" "Damn it, this Zhao Ming is slower than my turtle!" "The German team is indeed a traditional European powerhouse. They are really strong!" …… According to the plot familiar to Chinese football fans, after the opponent equalizes the score, the Chinese team usually becomes morale-destroying, and then the opponent completely seizes the initiative and eventually loses. But the national youth team under Krauchen dared to fight and did not hesitate at all because of the goal. After stabilizing their position and withstanding the opponent's counterattack, the Chinese National Youth Team once again launched an attack on the German team. These young players of the National Youth Team have solid skills, they cooperate well with each other, and their offensive coordination is smooth and pleasing to watch. The powerful German team was suppressed by the Chinese national youth team. Among them, the best performance was from the core of the National Youth Team, Chen Tao. His sharp breakthroughs and beautiful dribbling drew warm cheers and applause from the fans. "Chen Tao is so strong. He seems to be a level higher than everyone else on the field. Is he really our country's player?" "To be honest, when I first saw him play, I couldn't believe it. He was so strong!" "A good talent like Chen Tao must be nurtured carefully and must not be polluted by the big dye vat in China!" "That's right. If he continues to stay in the Chinese Super League where match-fixing, gambling and refereeing are rampant, it will only delay him. We should send him abroad as soon as possible. Players of his age are in the growth stage and urgently need high-level competitions to train themselves!" "I heard that a team in Europe has taken a fancy to him. I wonder if they have sent scouts this time!" "Don't worry. A tournament like the World Youth Championship is held in Europe. There will definitely be scouts from major European clubs there. What's more, there is a little monster in Argentina that is attracting much attention in this World Youth Championship!" The Argentine monster mentioned by fans is naturally the 18-year-old Leo Messi, a genius from the La Masia youth training camp. But apart from Messi, there are many other players in this World Youth Championship who will become famous players in the future football world. Fabregas, David Silva, Falcao, Aguero and others have received widespread attention from the outside world. As a result, the match between the Chinese team and the German team also attracted some scouts to come to the scene for inspection. After seeing Chen Tao's wonderful performance, they were naturally attracted. "This guy is pretty good!" "Well, he plays football very smartly, has good footwork and is very creative. He has the potential to become a star!" In this era, many Chinese national football players study abroad. In front is Yang Chen from the Bundesliga, and behind are Sun Jihai and Li Tie from the Premier League. Therefore, it is not a question whether Chinese players can gain a foothold in the top five leagues. Naturally, European club scouts will not deliberately ignore players from China.
If we consider the huge market of more than one billion people behind the other side, Chinese players become even more attractive. For the five major leagues, they have always been eyeing the huge pie of the Chinese market. But there is a prerequisite, that is, the player's personal strength must be sufficient, otherwise, buying someone who cannot play in the game will not have any effect. …… The situation of this game was very tense. In the 19th minute of the first half, the National Youth Team took the lead again with a penalty kick. But the German team tenaciously equalized the score before the end of the first half. After the start of the second half, the National Youth Team missed opportunities one after another, and the opponent seized the opportunity to change the score before the end of the game. In the 78th minute, the German team launched a quick counterattack. No. 7 Drula made a cross from the bottom, and the Chinese Youth Team's defense line missed a man, allowing the opponent's defender Matip to score with a header from the far post. 3:2, the German team completed the reversal! After scoring the goal, the Germans were so excited that they ran to the sidelines to celebrate. The two teams had played against each other when the Chinese National Youth Team was training in Germany, and the German team did not gain any advantage that time. The Germans obviously recognize and are even wary of the strength of this national youth team. This game was so difficult that this victory was even more precious. This goal basically confirmed that they will advance to the quarterfinals! Because of this goal, the Chinese national youth team has already fallen half a foot into an abyss from which there is no return. The few German fans in the stands gave their team a warm round of applause for its performance and cast contemptuous glances at the Chinese fans next to them. German football is full of talented players, and among those players representing the youth teams, there may not be a single future German international. So they don't understand why the Chinese are so crazy about the youth team's games, as if they were playing in the World Cup. The Chinese National Youth Team was in a gloomy mood. In the stands, the fans who had been excited for most of the game now felt their hearts sink into an ice cellar. "It's over, it's over, another three minutes of darkness! This is such a familiar plot!" "Alas, the National Youth Team is going to lose this match!" "It's really like a piece of mud that can't be helped!" "Looking at the current state of the national youth team, I'm afraid we can't count on the future national football team!" "Disband, you idiots, stop wasting money!" Seeing that the Chinese national youth team was about to be defeated, the fans wailed online, and some of the hot-tempered ones even started cursing. Ever since the battle at Wulihe in Shenyang in 2001, Chinese football seemed to have used up all its luck. In recent years, things have been going wrong and the team has been falling into the abyss step by step. Now, probably only a miracle can save the national youth team! …… The head coach of the national youth team, Krauthen, immediately prepared to make a substitution after the German team scored: "Lin, Dong, you two, get ready to go out on stage."
"When you two come on stage, you must..." Hearing the head coach calling his name, Dong Fangzhuo, unable to suppress his inner excitement, suddenly stood up. He could not wait a moment and just wanted to go on the court immediately. The other young player sitting next to him was much calmer. While carefully checking his equipment, he also listened attentively to the head coach's tactical arrangements. After listening to the head coach's instructions, he walked to the sidelines calmly and prepared to go on stage. This kind of substitution at a critical moment is already particularly eye-catching, and when the fans at the scene and in front of the TV saw clearly who was substituted, they were collectively shocked. The sign held up by the fourth official on the sidelines indicated that the absolute core No. 10 was replaced. In the National Youth Team, the player wearing the No. 10 jersey was none other than Chen Tao, who performed the best in the whole game. For a moment, the fans were collectively confused. Who will replace Chen Tao? Could it be the number 23 standing next to Dong Fangzhuo? PS: I’m very sorry. I had planned to start writing this new book immediately after the previous one was completed in May, but Doudou broke his arm, which delayed me for more than a month. Coupled with my own procrastination, I have been delaying it until now. I’m really sorry! New book uploaded, please take care of it (End of this chapter)