Grass roots glory

Chapter 835 Entering the World Cup Time

"There is still half a month before the opening of the World Cup. The local international players who play for the Chinese Super League have completed their assembly in Guangzhou. Lippi's coaching staff revealed that after waiting for several European players to return to the team, the team's sprint preparation plan will begin. In Before ushering in the first opponent of the World Cup, Côte d'Ivoire, the Chinese team will have a warm-up match with Saudi Arabia at home. After arriving in Brazil, they will also have a final warm-up match with the European powerhouse Croatia and the South American powerhouse Chile... It is reported that Lippi will After the warm-up match against Saudi Arabia, the final 23-man squad for the World Cup will be finalized."

"Zhou Tiancheng, Jiang Hao, Hao Junmin, and Ming Tao, four Bundesliga returnees, appeared together at Guangzhou Baiyun Airport. The four chatted and laughed happily. They all expressed their strong confidence in the World Cup. Zhou Tiancheng only stated his position lightly: the goal is to break through It came out! At the same time, we noticed that Zhou Tiancheng’s unhealed left shoulder injury seems to be fine. Fans and friends can raise their expectations for this World Cup. The Golden Globe winner will lead the Chinese team with seven overseas returnees. We will never repeat the mistakes of the 02 World Cup."

Entering the end of May, with the end of the five major leagues, CCTV has focused all its attention on the World Cup coverage.

One morning, when viewers of CCTV’s five sports channels turned on the TV to lock the channel, they were surprised to find that the logo had turned into a symbol of the Hercules Cup—the name will be officially changed to the World Cup in the next month. Thematic channels follow the practice of the Olympic Games every four years.

Of course, only this World Cup has such an investment. Every day, the top 32 World Cup tour is played on a loop. In particular, the three opponents of the Chinese team in Group C, Côte d’Ivoire, Greece and Colombia, have received special attention. According to CCTV’s forecast , defeating Greece, which has an aging lineup and whose strength has declined significantly, should be very promising. As for the veteran African team Côte d'Ivoire and Colombia, which is the main youth storm, it still looks like a lot of fun to strive for a draw.

The attitude of CCTV is actually self-evident.The Chinese team seems to have a good chance to emerge from this group.

The high expectations of the media are understandable, but this atmosphere makes the fans faintly worried: so optimistic, are you sure?Are you sure it's not a copy of the 02 World Cup "winning Costa Rica, drawing Turkey, and losing to Brazil to qualify"?

The lessons of history are vivid in my mind. Although the Football Association seems to be smart this time and has not talked about any goals until now, using CCTV to shift the focus may not represent an attitude.

But as for the national team...

As the media saw at the airport, Zhou Tiancheng, Jiang Hao, Hao Junmin, and Ming Tao were chatting and laughing. It seemed that they were going home for vacation, and it was impossible to tell that this was about to go to a big event.

When Jiang Hao came up, he lightly punched Zhou Tiancheng's chest, and Zhou Tiancheng dodged subconsciously, but the fist landed on his left shoulder.

Zhou Tiancheng suddenly had a painful expression on his face, which made several people look serious.

"What's the matter, Brother Cheng, are you still okay?"

"Does it matter? Brother Cheng, you have to be cured if you are sick. It's not a problem to hold on."

"It's all your fault, Haozi, for not even saying hello."

Jiang Hao looked serious, and turned back to Zhou Tiancheng: "Blame me? You didn't tell us, I said, really, Xiaotao is right, Brother Cheng, are you okay? Don't go to the World Cup then, If you fall down on the field, it will be lively."

Zhou Tiancheng raised his eyebrows: "Curse me? Isn't that just right? It's time to show your ability. When the time comes, you'll carry the team on your back. Seeing how relaxed you are, I'm sure your confidence is extraordinary."

Jiang Hao chuckled: "That's not because of you, Brother Cheng, as long as you feed me cakes and make me feel comfortable, I think we will be underestimated just by qualifying from the group."

Zhou Tiancheng nodded and said, "I'm fine, as long as you're not afraid of dying."

They are relaxed, but the fans are watching the news of the national team every day, so the tension and devotion cannot be compared with them.

Any little trouble is enough to set off a big discussion in various football post bar circles.

"According to the news from the national team and team reporters, in the first day of the team's tactical joint training, Lippi focused on rehearsing the three formations of 4-2-3-1, 4-4-2, and 4-3-3. Random switching puts higher demands on the defense system of the Chinese team. Lippi, who has rich experience, does not seem to be ready to place all his hopes on the strong offensive firepower of the Chinese team, and pays more attention to making up for the shortcomings of the offensive and defensive balance. This is his Learn from the experience of reaching the pinnacle in the World Cup stage."

The fans' first reaction to such news is: It still depends on Zhou Tiancheng.

"I really feel sorry for Brother Cheng. According to this rhythm, we have to count on him to fight desperately with those gangsters in the midfield in the first game."

"What is strength to support the stage? Hahaha, can I say that Lippi is also hugging his thigh? We don't read much, so if we misunderstand, please lighten up..."

"There's nothing wrong with that. Aren't the thighs of football stars just for hugging? Didn't Lippi also hug the thighs of Cannavaro and Pirlo in the 06 World Cup? It's lucky to have thigh hugs. Could it be that he can do it by himself?"

"Ha, he's on? He really can't..."

However, Lippi is in the role of the coaching bench, and his vision is very unique. Strictly speaking, most of the people in the first day of training could not achieve the intensity he required.

But Lippi is not in a hurry, even if the training is interrupted, he must first instill confidence in everyone.

This is very necessary for the Chinese team. Except for Lippi himself, no one in this team knows what the World Cup is like. When the Chinese team went to the World Cup last time, Zheng Zhi's ability was completely sufficient. The strength of a large number of international players is not inferior to him, and his youth was his only regret at the time.Milu was summoned from the National Youth League to Kuai Ma Qubo on the wing. He believes that experience should be the most important thing in the midfield.

Lippi looked at everyone and said: "I don't think there is anything special about the World Cup. Many of you have faced the top giants in Asia and even Europe. On the stage of the World Cup, the opponents have changed to the national team. That's all. My request to you will not change. In the next period of time, I ask to strengthen our characteristics and learn to control the ball. When you can be confident and bold in yourself, the control and operation of the entire team , even Brazil has to retreat."

Lippi set the tone for the preparation and participation of the entire World Cup.But since he said this, the reporters are no longer particularly aware of the national team's preparations.Training is only open to the media for a limited time each day.

This makes the old topics brought up by the media continue to ferment. The roster of 23 people, tactics... all kinds of problems can't be seen before the warm-up match.

But the national team is not as tense as the outside world imagines.Although the preparations are closed, the outside is tight and the inside is loose.

Entering the World Cup time, this is the most favorable rhythm for the young Chinese team.

(End of this chapter)