Chapter 1: The Genius of the World Youth Championship
June 22, 2005.
Tilburg, Netherlands.
World Youth Championship, Round of 16.
Germany U20 vs. China U20.
Although the match was held thousands of miles away, it still attracted about 6,000 Chinese fans to cheer on the China Team.
The not-so-large stands of the Willem II Stadium were completely filled with red, as the Chinese fans, who had traveled a long distance, turned it into their home ground.
"China Team!"
"Go!"
"China Team!"
"Go!"
Uniform cheers echoed in the stands, making the European fans who came to watch the match look at each other in dismay, some even wondering if they had come to the wrong place.
Was this really the Netherlands or China?
For fans from football powerhouses like them, it was probably difficult to understand the mindset of fans from football weak nations.
With the National Football Team once again falling in the World Cup qualifiers, and suffering a heartbreaking defeat in last year's Asian Cup final held on home soil, Chinese Football was accelerating its slide into the abyss.
At this time, the news that the National Youth Team had won all three group stage matches, scoring an average of three goals per game, and strongly advanced to the knockout stage as group leaders, was like a shot in the arm, igniting the fans' hopes and attracting unprecedented attention domestically.
Evidently, after missing out on the ticket to the 2006 Germany World Cup, many fans were utterly disappointed with the current National Team and began to pin the future hopes of the National Football Team on this National Youth Team, which the media hailed as the "Super Platinum Generation."
Perhaps to Europeans, this was just an ordinary match that few people paid attention to.
But for Chinese fans, this was a crucial match concerning the future of Chinese Football.
...
This National Youth Team, hailed as the "Super Platinum Generation," was naturally strong.
Just 3 minutes into the match, the National Youth Team got off to a dream start.
Chen Tao, whom countless domestic fans had high hopes for and called a genius, took a Free kick from outside the penalty area with an extremely tricky angle, sending it straight into the top corner of the goal.
Germany's Goal Keeper Reina had no reaction; the National Youth Team struck first, scoring the opening goal.
"Holy cow, this Free kick is amazing!"
"Well done, Chen Tao!"
"As expected of the Super Platinum Generation, much stronger than the National Football Team!"
The National Football Team had always been known as a "soft-footed shrimp" in major competitions, but this National Youth Team showed a bit of the "newborn calf fears no tiger" spirit.
Facing the strong Germany, they played so fiercely and so well!
But Germany was not to be trifled with; they seized on the National Youth Team's lack of concentration after scoring, and just one minute later, they quickly equalized the score with a fast counter-attack.
After conceding a goal at lightning speed, the fans who had just been praising the National Youth Team immediately turned hostile and started cursing loudly:
"Damn it, I knew I couldn't trust these guys too much, they get carried away as soon as they have an advantage!"
"Is our midfield sleepwalking? Why didn't they stop him!"
"Damn it, this Zhao Ming is slower than my turtle!"
"Germany truly lives up to its reputation as a traditional European powerhouse, their strength is indeed formidable!"
...
According to the familiar script for National Football Team fans, after the China Team was equalized by the opponent, their morale would usually collapse, and then the opponent would completely take control, eventually leading to defeat.
But this National Youth Team under Klaus Toppmöller dared to fight and showed no hesitation because of this conceded goal.
After stabilizing their formation and withstanding a wave of counter-attacks from the opponent, the National Youth Team once again launched an attack on Germany.
These young players of the National Youth Team had solid footwork, excellent teamwork, and their offensive combinations flowed smoothly, which was a pleasure to watch.
The powerful Germany was, on the contrary, suppressed by the National Youth Team in terms of momentum.
Among them, the best performer was Chen Tao, the core of the National Youth Team.
His sharp breakthroughs and beautiful dribbling drew enthusiastic cheers and applause from the fans.
"Chen Tao is so strong, he feels a level above everyone else on the field, is he really a China Team player?"
"To be honest, when I first saw him play, I also found it a bit hard to believe, he's really too strong!"
"Such a good talent like Chen Tao must be carefully nurtured, and absolutely must not be corrupted by the domestic 'big dyeing vat'!"
"Exactly, continuing to stay in a place like the Chinese Super League, where match-fixing, gambling, and black whistles are rampant, is completely wasting him. He needs to be sent abroad early for overseas training. Players his age are in their 'growth period' and urgently need high-level matches to hone themselves!"
"I heard that some teams in Europe have already taken an interest in him, I wonder if they sent scouts this time!"
"Don't worry, for a major tournament like the World Youth Championship, especially when it's held in Europe, there will definitely be scouts from major European clubs present. Moreover, in this World Youth Championship, there's a little prodigy from Argentina who's receiving a lot of attention!"
The Argentine prodigy mentioned by the fans was naturally the 18-year-old talent from the La Masia Youth Academy, Lionel Messi.
But besides Messi, there were many other players in this World Youth Championship who would become famous in future football.
Players like Fabregas, David Silva, Falcao, and Aguero all received widespread attention from the outside world.
Affected by this, the match between the China Team and Germany also attracted some scouts to observe.
After seeing Chen Tao's brilliant performance, they were naturally impressed.
"This young man is quite good!"
"Hmm, he plays with great flair, has good footwork, and is very creative. He has the potential to become a star!"
In this era, there were quite a few National Football Team players playing overseas.
There was Yang Chen in the Bundesliga, and later Sun Jihai and Li Tie in the Premier League, among others.
Therefore, whether China players could establish themselves in the Premier League was not a questionable issue.
European club scouts naturally would not deliberately ignore players from China because of this.
If one also considered the huge market of over a billion people behind him, a China player became even more appealing.
For the Premier League, they had always coveted the huge cake that was the China market.
But there was a prerequisite: the player's individual strength had to be sufficient, otherwise, buying someone who couldn't play would have no effect.
...
The situation of this match was very tense; the National Youth Team took the lead again in the nineteenth minute of the first half with a penalty kick.
But Germany stubbornly equalized the score before the end of the first half.
After the second half began, the National Youth Team continuously missed good opportunities, while the opponent seized the chance to change the score just before the end of the match.
In the 78th minute, Germany launched a quick counter-attack, with number 7, Drulović, crossing from the byline. The National Youth Team's defense had a lapse, allowing the opponent's defender Matip to score with a header at the far post.
3:2, Germany completed the comeback!
The Germans, after scoring, were ecstatic and ran to the sidelines to celebrate wildly.
When the National Youth Team had previously trained in Germany, the two teams had already played each other, and that time Germany had not gained any advantage.
The Germans clearly recognized and even feared the strength of this National Youth Team.
This match was so difficult, which made this victory even more precious.
This goal basically secured their advancement to the quarterfinals!
And the National Youth Team, because of this conceded goal, had one foot already fallen into an abyss of no return.
A small number of German fans in the stands applauded their team's performance warmly and cast disdainful glances at the Chinese fans next to them.
German Football was rich in talent, and among these players representing the youth team, there might not even be a future Germany National Team member.
So they couldn't understand why the Chinese were so crazy about a youth team match, as if it were the World Cup.
The National Youth Team side looked somewhat gloomy, and in the stands, the fans who had been excited for most of the match now felt their hearts sink into an ice cellar.
"It's over, it's over, it's the 'black three minutes' again! This familiar script!"
"Sigh, the National Youth Team is probably going to lose this match!"
"They really are rotten mud that can't be propped up!"
"Looking at the National Youth Team, the future of the National Football Team probably can't be relied on either!"
"Disband them, a bunch of useless bums, stop wasting money!"
Seeing that the National Youth Team was about to be defeated by a last-minute goal, fans online were wailing, and some hot-tempered ones even started cursing directly.
Ever since that battle in Shenyang Wulihe in 2001, Chinese Football seemed to have run out of luck, encountering constant setbacks in recent years and slowly falling into an abyss.
Now, perhaps only a miracle could save the National Youth Team!
...
The National Youth Team's coach, Klaus Toppmöller, immediately prepared to make a substitution after Germany scored:
"Lin, Dong, you two get ready to come on."
"When you two come on, you must..."
Hearing the coach call their names, Dong Fangzhuo, unable to contain his excitement, suddenly stood up, unable to wait a moment longer, only wanting to get on the field immediately. The other young player sitting beside him appeared much calmer.
He carefully checked his equipment while attentively listening to the coach's tactical arrangements. Only after hearing the coach's instructions did he unhurriedly walk to the sideline, ready to enter the field.
Substitutions at such a critical moment were already particularly eye-catching, but when the fans at the stadium and in front of their televisions clearly saw who was being substituted, they were collectively shocked.
On the board held up by the fourth official on the sidelines, the number 10, representing the absolute core, was being substituted.
And within the National Youth Team, the player wearing the number 10 jersey was none other than Chen Tao, who had been the best performer in the entire match.
For a moment, the fans were collectively confused.
Who was going to replace Chen Tao?
Was it the number 23 standing next to Dong Fangzhuo?
PS: I am very sorry. After the last book was completed in May, I planned to start a new book immediately, but I didn't expect Dou Dou to break his arm, which delayed me for over a month. Plus my own procrastination, it has been delayed until now. I am truly very sorry!
New book uploaded, please give it your support.