Ultimate Demon Sword

Chapter 256 More Important Matters

He Wei was also a little surprised when he saw He Chao on the field: "He Chao replaced Yin Hongbo? Although he has proved his ability in the U23 Asian Cup and has been selected for the national team many times. But there are not many opportunities to play. Could it be that Lippi wants to take this opportunity to let He Chao learn more defensive experience and awareness from Zheng Zhi and Liang Xin?"

Partner Xu Yang slowly added: "Lippi should have bigger considerations. Don't forget that there are only three months left in the World Cup. It is impossible for Lippi to employ people without purpose at this time."

Xu Yang's words are actually obvious hints, and fans naturally understand.

Obviously, the Chinese team is still sitting on the field with more experienced and mature Hao Junmin, Zhang Xizhe and Huang Bowen, but Lippi chose the young He Chao!

Adding Wen Zhihao and Liang Xin, and Liu Ruofan who was selected for the first time... Could it be that Lippi intends to set off a youth storm with young players on a big stage like the World Cup?
Although everyone is happy to see Lippi injecting a lot of fresh blood into the national team, but more worried about whether such an approach will backfire?More importantly, the World Cup is the top palace in the football world, and its status in the minds of Chinese fans is even more extraordinary.It is not too much to say that it is the common football dream of all Chinese fans.Lippi's daring to take young players to Russia is equivalent to betting on his fame in the eyes of Chinese fans.

Chinese fans are very realistic.According to the grouping of the Chinese team.The possibility of losing all three games and going home is not small. Will Lippi be directly overwhelmed by the saliva of the media and fans? Will the Football Association blame the coaching staff?
This is by no means alarmist talk. Serbian coach Milutinovic, who led the national team to the World Cup in Japan and South Korea last time, is a lesson from the past.

After leading the national football team to the 02 World Cup, Milu was called the "savior" and "dream fulfiller" of Chinese football by the media. For a while, he was very popular, and countless advertising endorsements also extended an olive branch to him.He has almost become a household name in China.

But after the Chinese team returned home after a disastrous defeat in the World Cup, the direction of public opinion has completely changed.Questions such as Milu's aggressive tactics and over-reliance on veterans began to appear.At that time, Li Ming, who was selected for his outstanding performance in the national team, and Zheng Zhi, who had already made his mark in the Olympic team, were not selected for the squad. This also became the basis for the media to criticize Milu: poor selection.

In the end, Milu drove high and low in the coaching position of the national team, and the ending was not satisfactory.

After a historical lesson, everyone will worry about whether Lippi will leave the national team's coaching position prematurely because of the risk.It's not about Lippi's reputation, but about the future of Chinese football. If Lippi only brings fans a momentary enjoyment as the coach of the national team, what about after that?Is it like the dark reincarnation that lasted more than ten years after 2002?

The original intention of inviting Lippi to coach the Chinese team is not limited to this, but to hope that he will inject the most advanced football concepts into the deep-seated genes of Chinese football development. He is not only the coach of the national team, but also the "godfather" of Chinese football. The annual salary of 2000 million euros is really worth it.

……

After He Chao debuted, his performance was not too eye-catching, but at least compared to the East Asian Cup at the end of last year, he was much more eye-catching when he first appeared in Lippi's national team.The Chinese team seized the Japanese team's pass error and scored the goal that sealed the victory. It was from He Chao's accurate prediction of Kagawa Shinji's direct pass. After stealing it, Liang Xinchang passed it to the frontcourt.

The record of 20 years of invincibility every day has officially come to an end in this match.The fans are very happy. After the Korean fear is broken, the Japanese fear has also become a thing of the past.In Asia, the only opponent that the Chinese team did not win is Iran, which ranks No. [-] in Asia.But everyone is not in a hurry now, the record will always be broken one day.As long as they can play well in the upcoming World Cup in Russia, Chinese football can also win a prestigious position in Asian football.

After the game, in addition to congratulating the national team for winning the game and interviewing Liu Ruofan, who made a stunning debut, Lippi's use of young players was also the focus of everyone's attention.

A reporter from Sina.com asked, "The World Cup is approaching. Has the coaching staff basically determined the 23-man roster for the World Cup?"

This question is cleverly asked, insinuating to test the national team's strategy for the World Cup.

Lippi replied: "The main force framework has been basically determined since the top [-]. We need to create a team that combines the old and the new, and is suitable for the characteristics and strength of the World Cup. Through these games and the subsequent concentrated sprints, the coaching staff will inspect the substitutes for individual positions."

CCTV football reporter Ai Tingting is younger, and the question is more direct: "Coach Lippi, please comment on Liu Ruofan's performance today. At the same time, I also want to ask you to recruit such a player who has no previous experience in the national team at this time. Does it mean that they will have a chance in the World Cup?"

Contrary to the expectations of most people present, Lippi did not completely deny it, saying: "If the coaching staff thinks their ability and state are competent, of course they should get such an opportunity."

Reporters are more interested. Isn't Lippi worried that such a risk will not pay off?
The PPTV reporter then asked: "For the upcoming World Cup, does the national team have performance indicators?"

After listening to the translation, Lippi showed a bit of displeasure, and replied directly: "At present, the coaching staff has not received any news from the Chinese Football Association. Of course we will not do such an irresponsible thing, because it will increase the psychological pressure of the players, which is extremely detrimental to the preparation and performance on the field."

Lippi's tone of voice raised significantly at these words.Before all the reporters could react, he took the microphone and said to everyone: "Since everyone is so interested in the future of the national team's World Cup, please give me some time to say a few digressions to the reporters."

His deep eyes swept across the audience, and only Lippi’s voice was left at the press conference: “In everyone’s perception? How old is a young player? Is 23 years old? Because the Chinese Super League has a U23 playing policy... But in my opinion, only 19 or [-] years old are considered young. In a few days, we will play against France. Why don't you question whether he should play in the World Cup or not?"

"If you don't give young people a chance, they will never grow up. An unparalleled stage like the World Cup is the best learning opportunity."

"Speaking of results, I hope everyone can rationally look at the prospects of the national team's World Cup. I know that Chinese fans need the World Cup very much, but not only us, the level of football in Asia as a whole is indeed far behind that of Europe. The national team will do its best to face any opponent and try our best to achieve the best we can."

"But what is the value of the World Cup to this team and to Chinese football as a whole?"

"After the World Cup, there is still the task of the 2019 Asian Cup during my tenure. The experience in Russia this time will be an important experience. The national team will focus on longer-term goals. In 2019 and even 2022, when these young people grow up, the Chinese team will be truly strong."

The audience was silent, and everyone was ready to applaud. Lippi adjusted his glasses and continued: "Personally, I am grateful for the fate with Chinese football. Leading Guangzhou Evergrande to win the AFC Champions League has made my coaching career truly complete. Even though my fate with the Chinese national team may only be in the next year, I hope that through our efforts, we will attract more children to fall in love with football and walk on the football field. Realize that football is not just a sport, so that the Chinese team will have more Wen Zhihao and Liang Xin. In the future, Chinese football will be like South Korea and Japan. To become a frequent visitor to the World Cup, this is the more important thing for Chinese football, and it is also the biggest suggestion I can give to Chinese football.”

(End of this chapter)