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Chapter 74 National Team Assembly

Kofi Rossiter couldn't figure out how things had developed to this point.

He was leading the team well: in the first 20 rounds of the league, as a newly promoted team, they had seven wins, six draws and seven losses, accumulating 28 points and ranking ninth.

With such results, one can even dream of qualifying for the UEFA Champions League.

In the 0st round, his team lost 1: to Waltham at home.

It's okay, it's normal. After all, the opponent is one of the big teams in the Premier League, and the strength gap is huge. Losing by only one goal is already a very tenacious performance of the whole team.

As long as we kick that damn "mercenary" in the next 22nd round, we can regain victory...

Then everything changed.

They lost 1:4 to Tyne away from home, and he himself became a clown because of his fierce attack on Wang Lie before the game.

He was even questioned and criticized by the club management.

He had intended to respond to the club and those who had criticised and ridiculed him with a win.

However, from that 1:4 defeat to now, five league rounds have been played, and he only won 1:0 against Brighton White Mountain away in the th round.

All other matches are lost!

Hurlingham FC has also been sliding down the league standings, falling from ninth to its current eleventh place.

If it weren't for the fact that Sydham, which is ranked 12th, was so poor and had lost the last three league games, Hurlingham FC's ranking might have been even lower.

The "mercenary" Tyne, which he had looked down upon before, replaced them and became the ninth in the league, and even had the hope of participating in the UEFA League!
So why did things turn out like this?

Am I wrong in my criticism of Wang?
Isn't he getting older?
Isn't he putting his personal interests above the team's?
Shouldn't he quit the stage?

Then why are the damned Wang and Taein who picks up our unwanted trash the ones who are performing better and better?!

Why is my team getting worse and worse? !

What went wrong?!

Suddenly there was a burst of cheers, waking Kofi Rossiter from his doubts about life.

He returned to the visiting team's dugout at Liverpool Stadium.

The number seven of the Scouse team was dribbling the ball towards the penalty area of ​​Hlingham FC. Behind him was a Hlingham FC player lying down.

The cheers just now came from here.

"Chi! He knocked down Cornismagee!"

Chi Zhen, who had knocked down Cornismaggi, had already entered the penalty area. The cheers in the stands of Liverpool Stadium were getting louder and louder.

Amid the cheers of the Scouse fans, Chi Zhen raised his head and glanced towards the center, then he swung his left foot as if to make a cross.

Hurlingham FC centre-back Charlie Billington slid in to try and block his cross.

Chi Zhen's left foot pushed the football to the right, and at the same time he turned his body, swung his right foot... and shot!
The football made an arc and went straight to the upper corner of the goal!

Hlingham FC goalkeeper Valdimar Adelstenson leaped forward and stretched his arms as far as he could, but he still couldn't touch the football!
The football flew into the goal and was blocked by the side net.

The cheers at Liverpool Stadium reached their climax.

"1:0——!!! At the end of the first half, Chi finally broke the deadlock! The Scouse team took the lead at home! A beautiful goal! Very much in Chi's personal style! He broke through the wing and cut inside before shooting directly into the far corner! The defenders of Helingham couldn't stop him at all! Today's Chi is like a fully charged car! Fast! Flexible! Sharp! Unstoppable!"

After scoring the goal, Chi Zhen excitedly ran towards the corner flag area, then slid to his knees!
Because he rushed too hard, he couldn't even keep his balance when he slid to his knees. His body tilted to one side during the sliding process. In the end, he simply changed from sliding to sliding...

Then he lay on the ground, being overwhelmed by the swarming teammates!

"Well done, Chi Zhen! This is his tenth goal in the Premier League this season! This is also the first time he has scored more than 10 goals in a single season since joining the Scouse team!"

Zhao Chuanfeng said: "Chi Zhen and Wang Lie are both in good shape, which is actually a good thing for the national team. Only with sufficient competition can the team's combat effectiveness be maintained..."

Luo Jin almost laughed out loud after hearing this.

He really wanted to say: I'm afraid Coach He just wants to cover your mouth now...

Of course he wouldn't really say it out loud. As a commentator for national television, publicly mocking the head coach of his national team during a live match would also involve infighting among fans, which would get him into trouble.

After celebrating the goal, the teammates all walked back to their own half, with Chi Zhen lagging behind.

He was also shaking his fist at the Scouse fans in the stands.

Every time he waved his hand, the cheers from the stands grew louder.

He waved three times, and the Scouse fans in the stands responded with three loud, unison cheers.

Just like an orchestra conductor.

After interacting with the fans, Chi Zhen patted the Scouts team logo on his chest.

After doing all this, he turned around and ran back to his own half.

Behind him, the Scouse fans in the stands sang the "Pool Song":
"China Boy! China Boy! China Boy! China Boy, Oh! China Boy, Oh!"

When Chi Zhen first arrived at Scots, because Wang Lie had a famous nickname "China Wang", the local media in Liverpool used "China Boy" to describe Chi Zhen, who was only 22 years old at the time.

"China Boy" also became Chi Zhen's nickname among Scouse fans.

After Chi Zhen performed well, he had his own cheering song, which was "China Boy". The original song came from the famous German band Dschinghis Khan.

Being able to have his own cheering song shows that Chi Zhen has fully won the hearts of Scoos fans.

China Wang is evil, but China Boy is good!
China Boy will definitely defeat the evil China Wang and become the real China King!

Of course, this beautiful ideal has not been realized so far.

Perhaps only in the Chinese national team has China Boy completed his counterattack against China Wang - he has squeezed Wang Lie to the bench and become the core of this Chinese team.

※※※

"...After Chi Zhen broke the deadlock with a goal, the Scouse team seemed to have opened their scoring account... In the end, they defeated Hlingham FC 3:0 at home, giving Kofi Rossiter a four-game losing streak. And the Scouse team also won four consecutive games after losing to Tyne. Currently in the standings, they have left fourth-placed Sofia United eight points ahead, and there is still hope for the championship...

"...Later on the same day, Tyne's away game against Sherwood United was the first time Wang Lie failed to play the entire match since joining Tyne. But it was understandable, because he had to return to China to participate in the national team competition. Considering the fatigue of the journey and his age of 38, there was really no need to force him to play the full 90 minutes in every game...

"The match against Sherwood United was also the second match in which Wang Lie did not score a goal since joining Tyne. However, he contributed an assist to help Van Ginkel score the first goal. When he was substituted in the 3th minute, Tyne was already two goals ahead of Sherwood United. In the end, Tyne beat Sherwood United 1: away from home. After losing to Clayton Athletic, Tyne stopped its downward trend with two consecutive wins.

"In addition to Chi Zhen and Wang Lie, Fu Xiaofeng also contributed an assist in this round of Ligue 1, helping Lille win the game.

"...On the last match day before the national team match, many of our overseas players performed well, which also laid a solid foundation for the next two World Cup qualifiers...

"It is reported that in this World Cup qualifier, the Chinese team's overseas players will go directly to Qatar to join the national team, so as to avoid unnecessary energy consumption on the journey..."

※※※

"Mr. Raysend, Wang neither scored nor played the full game in Tyne's match against Sherwood United. Does this mean a major benefit for us?!"

Jose Rezende, the head coach of the Qatar national team, was thinking about something when he was interrupted by the loud shouting of Nasser Qassim, the Portuguese translator hired by the Qatar Football Association. He cursed angrily:

"Idiot! How can this be considered good news? This is actually very bad news!"

"Ah?" Kasim was a little surprised and blurted out: "Why?"

"Because it means Wang is accumulating strength. He gave up the league match against Sherwood United. So who do you think he is going all out against?"

Kasim reacted and pointed a finger at himself: "We?"

"Smart." Leisen said sarcastically.

"Ah? That... isn't that bad? Aren't you planning to score points at home?" The young translator was worried.

"It's very bad, but it's not a big problem because overall, the situation is still under our control..." Rezende looked confident.

Seeing that the translator didn't seem to understand, he sighed and explained, "Let's put it this way, the better Wang performs in Tain, the better it is for us. Did you know that there is a conflict between Wang and Chi?"

Cassim nodded repeatedly, he knew this.

"But now Chi is the core of the Chinese team, and Wang can only play as a substitute. So Wang has performed so well recently, do you think he is still willing to play as a substitute?"

After being reminded by Rezende, Kasim came to his senses: "So Wang will definitely not be content to sit on the bench again. This time when he returns to the Chinese team, he will definitely have a bigger conflict with Chi and the Chinese team's coach! But if the Chinese team's head coach He lets Wang start, it will cause a tactical conflict between him and Chi, which will cause Chi's dissatisfaction... Chi's recent state is also very good."

"Smart." This time, there was no sarcasm in Rezende's tone. He continued to explain to the translator:
"From the games over the past month or so, Wang is in really good shape. So good that I even doubt he is really 38 years old... But Nasser, you have to know that what determines a team's fighting power is not the condition and strength of a certain player, but the team atmosphere. The most important thing is the unity within the team."

"So you're saying... the Chinese team will fall into internal strife because of the conflict between Wang and Chi? And the internal strife will seriously affect their combat effectiveness?"

"That's right. This is our chance." Rezende nodded. "If we seize the opportunity, we might be able to get three points at home!"

In the sixth round of the top 12, Qatar will face China at home, Australia will challenge Thailand away, and Iran will challenge North Korea away. If Qatar can beat China at home, the points will increase from the current six points to nine points.

If North Korea and Thailand can create some trouble for their respective opponents in their own home turf...

It is not impossible for Qatar to finish in the top three of the group.

※※※

Qin An had just arrived at the hotel where the Chinese team was staying when he met Lu Changqing who had also just arrived. The Chinese team's main left-back was standing outside the hotel and being interviewed by Chinese reporters.

"...The weather is cool and the game is at night, so there is nothing to worry about the temperature. Although we are playing away, we will do our best to deal with it..."

Then he was interrupted by Qin An who suddenly squeezed in front of him.

Qin An made a "V" sign to the camera and shouted, "We will win! We will win!"

Lu Changqing turned around and saw that it was Qin An, so he smiled and asked casually, "When did you arrive?"

"Just arrived." Qin An turned around and showed the camera and Lu Changqing the bag he was carrying.

Then the two of them started chatting in front of the camera.

When the reporters saw this, they caught Qin An for an interview and asked him, "Qin An, was the journey hard?"

Qin An shook his head: "It's not hard. How can it be hard to play for the national team?"

When Lu Changqing next to him heard this, he gave his friend a thumbs up.

His answer also drew laughter and praise from the reporters present:

"Da Qin's awareness is really amazing!"

The reporters asked again: "Qin An, what do you think of Wang Lie's return to the national team?"

"Of course it's a good thing!" Qin An said without hesitation, "Brother Wang is in such a good state now, I believe he will be of great help to the national team!"

Reporters all knew that Qin An was the Chinese team's number one "Wang fan", so their answer was not surprising.

After the interview, the two of them picked up their suitcases and walked into the hotel. Lu Changqing asked Qin An, "Are you so happy because Brother Wang is back?"

"Hey, of course!" Qin An's smile did not fade. "But the most important thing is that Brother Wang performed well!"

Lu Changqing lowered his voice: "You are so happy, Coach He is about to pull out all his hair..."

Qin An also lowered his voice: "I didn't agree to let Xiaochi be the core... I don't have any objections to Xiaochi, but if we want to lead our team to win, it has to be Brother Wang! In terms of leadership qualities, Xiaochi is far behind Brother Wang..."

As they were talking, the two of them came to the staff of the Chinese team and asked them to get the room cards.

The two of them naturally lived in the same house.

When receiving the room card, Qin An specifically asked the staff which room Wang Lie was staying in.

Then he went back to the room, put his luggage away, and went to find Wang Lie.

Long time no see, missed you.

He had already made up his mind that when he saw Brother Wang, he would give him a big hug.

When he knocked on the door, he found that the person who opened the door for him was not his brother Wang, but the national team's substitute central defender Zhuang Yunsheng. So he asked with some envy: "Hey, Yunsheng, you and Brother Wang live in the same room?"

"Yes." Zhuang Yunsheng saw Qin An constantly looking inside, and knew that he was definitely not here to see him, so he took the initiative to say, "Brother Wang is not here, he just left less than two minutes ago."

"Ah? Where did he go?"

"He was called away by Director Cai."

Qin An was a little surprised: "He was called away? What happened?"

"I don't know." Zhuang Yunsheng shook his head. "Director Cai didn't say, and Brother Wang didn't ask."

Qin An frowned, but he didn't ask any more questions. Instead, he said goodbye to Zhuang Yunsheng and returned to his room.

Seeing his roommate come back so quickly, Lu Changqing guessed, "Brother Wang is not in the room?"

"Yes." Qin An nodded. "Zhuang Yunsheng is in the same room with him. He said that Brother Wang was called away by Director Cai."

"Director Cai? Oh, then maybe he wants to find Brother Wang to find out about the latest situation." Lu Changqing thought it was normal.

Based on Brother Wang's performance over the past month, anyone who sees him would be curious and want to find out what's going on with him.

"It should be like this, but I always have a bad feeling." Qin An frowned.

"Tsk, don't think too much! What kind of ominous premonition could it be? I think they might just catch up on the old times, since they have a good relationship." Lu Changqing disagreed with his friend's premonition.

※※※

"We have watched all the video recordings of your games since you transferred to Tyne several times. There is one question that I still don't understand, so I'd like to ask you in person."

Cai Bokang and Wang Lie were walking and chatting, and he asked a question.

Wang Lie asked in a very good manner: "What's the matter? Cai Zhi, just ask."

In front of his former captain, he didn't act like a "superstar" at all.

As for the "ball bully", there is not even a trace of him.

"Just... did you change your age before?"

When Wang Lie heard Cai Bokang say this, he was stunned for a moment, then realized that Cai was joking with him.

Sure enough, seeing Wang Lie in a daze, Cai Bokang started laughing first.

So Wang Lie also laughed: "To change your age, you just fill in a younger one, how can you change it to a higher one?"

Cai Bokang exclaimed: "But your recent performance really makes it hard to believe that you are already 38 years old..."

Wang Liexin thought, isn’t it because I’m cheating?
But he said something else: "Tsai, they say 'changing a coach is like changing a knife'. I can't change Sofia's coach, so I have to change my own coach. After coming to Tyne, I am not as anxious as before, so my performance will naturally improve."

After the plug-in started to take effect, Wang Lie kept looking for reasons to explain why he was getting younger and younger.

Long-term self-disciplined life and various high-tech training methods are one of the main reasons.

One of the reasons is that mentality affects performance.

Of course, because he didn't have any games to play in Sofia United in the first half of the season, his physical condition was not good. Now that he has stable games to play in Tyne, he naturally performs well, which is also one of the reasons.

In short, the final right of interpretation is in his hands, and what he says is what it is.

what?
You do not believe?
It’s none of my business if you don’t believe me!
Believe it or not, I will pull you down if you don’t believe it!
Anyway, he has been subject to the most stringent doping tests among football players. He knows whether he has taken drugs or not, and he is not worried about any problems in the urine test. The anti-doping agencies have endorsed him.

So no matter whether others believe it or not, they can only accept the fact that his performance is getting better and better.

Cai Bokang obviously didn't care about the authenticity of Wang Lie's reason, or rather, the point of his visit to Wang Lie was not on this topic at all, it was all nonsense.

On the one hand, of course, it creates a relaxed atmosphere, paving the way for what’s to come.

On the other hand, doesn’t this also show that his relationship with Wang Lie is special?

After all, not just anyone can joke with Wang Lie.

Cai Bokang actually wanted to test Wang Lie through this matter to see if he was still dissatisfied with himself for helping He Zhenyong take him out of the main lineup, and if he had any resentment in his heart...

So he made a joke.

If Wang Lie turned pale or behaved unnaturally after hearing this joke, Cai Bokang would know that his reputation and favor with Wang Lie had been exhausted.

Wang Lie responded with a smile, and Cai Bokang heaved a sigh of relief. It seemed that Wang Lie still recognized him as the "old captain"...

So he told some interesting stories from the past to get in touch with Wang Lie.

Then the two of them arrived at their destination while talking.

The door of the room was open, but Cai Bokang still knocked on the door and then walked in with Wang Lie.

Wang Lie immediately saw the national team head coach He Zhenyong in the room.

He Zhenyong also stood up from his seat after hearing the knock on the door.

Looking at Wang Lie who came in with Cai Bokang, he took the initiative to extend his hand to him: "Nice to meet you again, Wang Lie. Thank you for your hard journey."

(End of this chapter)