The Red Era: Living in Seclusion in a Siheyuan as a Boss

Chapter 826 The Asian Cup is here again!!!

"HLVINGLVING Youth never fades, HGIVEMEGIVEME passion surges, VETHESUN sunshine ignites the colors of dreams."
Past setbacks have turned to dust; love is an eternal faith, and our cries echo through the heavens.

LVINGLVING, young people should dare to love! HGIVEMEGIVEME, youth is the coolest!

In the summer of 2004, the Asian Cup theme song "Declaration," passionately performed by Hu Yanbing, a renowned and talented male singer from Southeast University, resounded throughout the country, and this energetic and youthful battle song quickly became a nationwide sensation.

The powerful melody paired with inspiring and passionate lyrics has not only become a classic sung on the streets, but has also ignited the boundless anticipation of Asian football fans for the upcoming Asian Cup.

Whenever the rousing chorus plays, it's as if you can see the athletes sweating on the green field and the flags waving by thousands of fans in the stands.

This song has transcended being merely a competition theme song, becoming the most inspiring declaration of youth this summer.

2004 was the year of the quadrennial Olympic Games.

Just as the Olympic torch arrived at Southeast University and the Athens Games were about to open, another international sporting event—the Asian Cup Football Championship—also came to China.

From July 17 to August 7, strong teams from Asian football powerhouses such as South Korea, Japan, and Persia, as well as the host nation, Tokyo University, will compete in four venues: Beijing, Jinan, Chengdu, and Chongqing, vying for the Asian Cup championship, which represents the highest level of Asian football.

As the only "official dedicated car supplier" for this competition, Yanjing Jingchi Automobile Company's Jingchi series cars will be active throughout the entire competition.

Mr. Liu Changhao of Yanjing Jingchi Automobile Company attended the press conference for the signing of the Asian Cup football sponsorship agreement at the Kunlun Hotel as a guest.

At the meeting, Mr. Liu Changhao, representing BJ Yanjing Auto, signed a sponsorship agreement with the organizer, World Sport Football Ltd, to become the "Official Dedicated Car Supplier".

According to the agreement, Yanjing Jingchi will provide 108 dedicated cars for this Asian Cup event and be responsible for their normal use during the race to meet the event's transportation needs.

At that time, Yanjing cars will appear in various competition venues, hotels where athletes are staying, and other public places, as well as in Asian Cup promotional materials and advertisements, to welcome Asian football officials and athletes with football fans across the country.

When discussing the significance of Yanjing Auto's vigorous promotion of this Asian Cup, Mr. Liu Changhao pointed out that Yanjing has achieved remarkable results in just ten years since its establishment.

03年12月，凭借京驰 E-300一车型的成功销售54.2万辆，燕京汽车一举跻身世界轿车前10名的行列；

In May of this year, thanks to its outstanding sales performance, Yanjing Automobile once again entered the top five in monthly sales rankings of the world's passenger car companies.

The numerous achievements have forged the "Beijing Miracle" created by Yanjing Automobile Group in the global passenger car market.

Mr. Liu Changhao said that while Yanjing Auto Group is committed to social and economic development, it also does not forget the construction of social morality.

Since its establishment, Yanjing Group has been paying close attention to the football development of Dongda University.

From sponsoring the "Yanjing Guoan Football Team" as the title sponsor, to sponsoring the "Women's World Cup" and the East China Super League, to fully sponsoring the "Mini Football World Cup" China region events.

Yanjing Automobile Group has been committed to promoting the sports cause of Dongda University and connecting Dongda football with the world.

Sponsoring football is a tradition that is an important part of Yanjing Auto’s global marketing strategy, which focuses on “football marketing.”

This year's Asian Cup football tournament is being held on the home turf of Southeast University, marking the first time the university has hosted a large-scale international football event. As the "official car supplier," Yanjing Automobile Group will also mobilize resources to fully commit to all aspects of the tournament.

Along with sponsoring the Asian Cup, Yanjing Automobile Group will also introduce itself to the people of Asia, and its Jingchi and Warrior models will become a symbol of Yanjing Automobile's steady and rapid growth.

The quadrennial Asian Cup football extravaganza has attracted sponsors from various companies under the Liu family, in addition to Yanjing Automobile Group.

Today, as one of the world's top three mobile phone brands, Huawei Group is no exception.

As the "Official Communications Equipment Partner" of this Asian Cup, Huawi Group will provide the event with state-of-the-art communication technology support.

Huawei Group announced that it will cooperate with Xinlang.com to jointly launch a special channel for the Asian Cup, in order to consolidate Huawei's leading position in the mobile communications market.

Clearly, after a series of adjustments in the communications market, Huawei has once again turned its attention to the mobile communications market, and this time Huawei has chosen a sports strategy.

Previously, Huawei had become the main sponsor of the Dongda Dream Team, the East Super League and the Asian Cup in the past few years. Through its cooperation with New Wolves on Asian Cup news, Huawei aims to become a leader in the Asian communications field in the shortest possible time.

At the same time, another heavyweight enterprise under the Liu Group, the "Four-Tier Hotel Group," also announced that it had become an "officially designated reception hotel."

The “Four-Tier Hotel Group” will provide its five-star hotels in each competition zone as designated accommodations for participating teams and officials, and promises to provide guests from all over Asia with the highest standard of service.

The timely sponsorship from various companies affiliated with Southeast University brought a sigh of relief to Zhang Jilong, the head of the Southeast University Football Association. The first domestic sponsorship for the Asian Cup has finally been secured, which has reduced the operational pressure of the Asian Cup to some extent.

It is said that these sponsors and the Football Association reached an agreement in just one month.

In addition to the 13 official sponsors and suppliers designated by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), the Southeast University Organizing Committee has also obtained the right to sponsor several other types of products for this Asian Cup, including official vehicles, mobile phones, and hotels for the event.

The AFC official in charge of the event said, "The strong support from these local companies not only demonstrates the strength of Southeast University's enterprises, but also highlights the vigorous development of Southeast University's sports industry."

With the joint efforts of all parties, I believe this Asian Cup will become the most successful tournament in the history of Asian football.

As the tournament approaches, the football atmosphere in major cities is growing stronger.

In the competition zones such as Yanjing and Jinan, Asian Cup-themed decorations can be seen everywhere on the streets and alleys, and the stirring melody of "The Declaration" is played on a loop in shopping malls.

Many fans have begun to spontaneously organize cheering activities, making banners and slogans, and preparing to cheer for the Dongda team.

It is particularly worth mentioning that this year's event also introduced the concept of a "football carnival" for the first time.

On match days, interactive experience zones will be set up outside stadiums in each competition area, allowing fans to participate in activities such as football games and meet-and-greets with star players.

This innovative initiative received a warm response from fans, and pre-sale tickets sold out on the first day of sales.

On July 17, 2004, the 7th AFC Asian Cup kicked off at the Liujiazhuang Stadium in Beijing.

This is the largest professional football stadium in the country, which can accommodate 120,000 people to watch the game at the same time, with a record attendance of 99,000.

The most eye-catching feature is the roof, which is not only visually stunning but also boasts a retractable design that is a key highlight. Its luxurious terrace is also sure to get your blood pumping.

Since its construction, Liujiazhuang Stadium has undergone three large-scale expansions and is now one of the landmark buildings in Liujiazhuang High-tech Zone.

This is the first time the stadium has hosted the Asian Cup football tournament.

This is also the first time that Southeast University has hosted a large-scale international football tournament.

Compared to other Asian countries, Tokyo University's football program is relatively underdeveloped, and it has experienced many ups and downs in recent years.

The first major competition they participated in was the Persian Asian Cup in 1976. The Dongda team performed well and won third place.

In the eyes of many fans, the Chinese national football team of the 80s may have represented the highest level of football at Southeast University.

In the 1984 Asian Cup, the Dongguo national football team even won the runner-up title once.

In the 1988 Asian Cup, Dongda team started strong but finished weak, only managing to get fourth place.

On their journey to qualify for the World Cup, the Dongda national football team experienced another heartbreaking "black three minutes." Since a domestic coach couldn't save Dongda football, they brought in a foreign coach, and thus, the German Klaus Schlappner stepped onto the historical stage.

He was the first foreign coach in the history of Dongda University's national football team to be hired by the team itself. He once boasted that he would lead Dongda University to the World Cup. He once proudly said: "I am the first person in European football to look up to Dongda University."

The first test for this Mr. Shi after taking office was the 1992 Asian Cup.

In their final group stage match against Qatar, East Asia University can only advance to the semifinals if they win.

Facing a difficult situation, goalkeeper Fu Yubin made four saves against the opponent's threatening shots, and Dongda defeated Qatar 2-1 in the end.

This was Schlapner's first victory since taking over, and after the match, he didn't forget to take a bite out of the head of the hero, Fu Yubin.

As a competitive goalkeeper, Fu Yubin's role extends far beyond this.

In the third-place match, Southeast University and the UAE battled for 120 minutes. In the penalty shootout, Fu Yubin saved two penalties from the opponent and then scored the winning goal himself.

After winning, Fu Yubin patted his opponent on the shoulder with a smile, a scene that fans jokingly called "the smile of a god".

It was after winning third place in this Asian Cup that the Dongda Football Professional League began to develop rapidly. Various companies of Dongda University sponsored the professional league. Later, Yanjing Guoan, sponsored by Yanjing Automobile Group, was the strongest team. It dominated the Dongda Super League for more than ten years and was the undisputed champion of the Dongda Super League and the number one powerhouse in Asia.

With the booming success of the East Asian Super League and the dominance of other national teams in the AFC Champions League, fans in Tokyo have increasingly high expectations for the national team's performance.

Four years later, fans are full of confidence for the upcoming Asian Cup.

However, unexpectedly, the Chinese national football team's fate in this Asian Cup was full of ups and downs. After experiencing both joy and sorrow, they still could not escape the fate of being eliminated.

In their first group stage match, Dongda lost 0-1 to the Central Asian "Cotton Country".

Fortunately, in the second match, the Dongguo national team turned the tide and won a complete victory against Seres with three goals from Ma Mingyu, Gao Feng and Li Bin.

Ma Mingyu's long-range shot from 35 meters opened the scoring, and the image of him sitting on the ground shaking his head in celebration after scoring became an unforgettable classic memory for countless fans.

The final match is against Japan; a draw would be enough to advance.

Neither side in East Japan seemed to have any desire to fight, and they played a "fixed game" on the field.

Until the very last minute, this otherwise dull match took a dramatic turn.

Japanese left-back Naoki Soma's shot, which wasn't particularly threatening, somehow broke through the Tokyo team's goal, and their qualification seemed to be slipping away. But who knew that the next day, Seres would upset the "Cotton Country" and the Tokyo team would advance to the quarterfinals by virtue of their superior goal difference.

In the quarter-final match against Saudi Arabia, the Dongda team conceded four goals after leading by two, resulting in a disastrous defeat for Dongda football at the time.

Entering the new millennium, Dongda Football also ushered in a new beginning.

The "miracle coach" Milutinovic brought the philosophy of joyful football to Southeast University.

The changes he brought to Southeast University's football team were first evident on the Asian Cup stage.

In their first group stage match, the Dongda team once again faced their nemesis, the "Kimchi Nation" team. Under Milutinovic's leadership, the Dongda team managed to draw 2-2 with the "Kimchi Nation".

Su Maoqin made a great contribution to this victory.

Trailing 0-1, Dongda team's Wu Chengying intercepted the ball and after more than a dozen passes, Su Maoqin headed in a brilliant pass from Chen Gang to equalize the score.

After that, the Chinese national team conceded another goal, and Su Maoqin won a penalty kick, which Fan Dajiang converted.

Among them, Su Mao Qinmao's header goal was a model of the Chinese national team's counter-attack and was also called the best goal by Milutinovic.

The draw against their arch-rival, South Korea, greatly boosted the morale of the Chinese national football team.

Milutinovic's first Asian Cup under his leadership ended with a fourth-place finish, which was undoubtedly a shot in the arm for Dongda Football and laid the foundation for qualifying for the World Cup a year later.

This year is the closest Dongda National Football Team has come to winning the Asian Cup. As the host team, Dongda is determined to give their hometown fans a good performance.

On July 17th, doves of peace filled the sky above Liujiazhuang Stadium, and the majestic drums resounded. 500 children from Liujiazhuang, holding the flags of the 16 participating countries, marched with joyful steps.

Today, the sky over Liujiazhuang area of ​​Yanjing was gloomy, and the weather forecast predicted heavy rain. However, the rain did not come. Instead, the passion of the Liujiazhuang Stadium was palpable as the 13th Asian Cup opened in a peaceful, united, and friendly atmosphere.

On this day, Liujiazhuang Stadium was packed with people, with the local residents of Liujiazhuang taking advantage of their status as the host village to occupy almost half of the stands.

If it weren't for the need to consider fans and viewers from other regions and countries, everyone you see would be from Liujiazhuang.

This was the first time such a major competition had been held in their hometown, so even Liu Zhiye and Gan Ning, a married couple, disguised themselves and secretly came to watch the opening ceremony under the protection of several guards.

Over the years, Liu Zhiye felt like he was a wound-up spring, never stopping for a moment.

Now that I'm almost seventy and retirement is just around the corner, I'm starting to enjoy my retirement life ahead of time.

Liu Zhiye was not satisfied with watching the Asian Cup at home. At this moment, he thought to himself, "Why don't we host a World Cup?"

It's too late for the next World Cup in Germany, but the World Cup after that in South Africa should be changed to the Tokyo World Cup.

Liu Zhiye has the confidence to back it up. Putting aside everything else, the Rothschild family's influence in the world is no joke.

At 6:30 p.m., the first thing to appear before the audience was a 100-person drum and gong team, which played the prelude to the Asian Cup being held at Southeast University in the form of traditional folk drums and gongs.

Subsequently, 20,000 peace doves, carrying the aspirations of the Asian people for peace and common progress, took to the sky.

In the final performance, a giant clock appeared in the center of the stage, with 240 girls forming a giant red pointer that slowly moved.

Finally, the stage stopped in front of the presidential platform on the left, where a huge banner celebrating the centenary of FIFA was unfurled.

Renowned Asian singers Hu Yanbing and Sun Nan joined forces to perform the theme song "Declaration" for this year's Asian Cup, bringing the opening ceremony to its final climax.

The opening match kicked off at the stadium, with Liu Yunfei as the starting goalkeeper, Li Weifeng and Zheng Zhi as the center-backs, Zhou Ting and Wei Xin guarding the left and right flanks, Li Xiaopeng and Zhou Haibin in midfield, Yan Song and captain Zhang Junzhe as the left and right wingers, and Li Jinyu and his teammates as the two strikers.

In the 30th minute of the match, Dongda's midfield maestro Li Xiaopeng was unexpectedly injured and had to leave the field. Shao Jiayi, who had just recovered from injury, came on as a substitute.

In the 40th minute, Bahrain striker Huber chipped the ball over the onrushing Liu Yunfei and scored.

In the second half, Yan Song dribbled into the penalty area and won a penalty. Zheng Zhi calmly converted the penalty with a Panenka to equalize the score after his first attempt was ruled invalid.

In the 66th minute, Zhou Ting delivered a through pass, and Li Jinyu made a run forward and slotted the ball into the net to take the lead.

After that, Sun Jihai replaced Shao Jiayi, and Li Yi replaced her teammate.

In the 89th minute, Bahrain equalized with a long-range shot from the edge of the penalty area, giving the host team a disappointing start as they were held to a 2-2 draw by a team composed of amateur players in their first match.

(End of this chapter)