Starting with playing defensive midfield for Evergrande

Chapter 19 Three's Company: There Must Be One Who Can Teach Me (Seeking Monthly Tickets)

February 14, 2013, 6:2 PM.

A luxury private jet painted with the red Evergrande logo landed smoothly at Tokyo International Airport.

Although Guangzhou Evergrande's first opponent in the AFC Champions League is not in Tokyo, but in Urawa Ward, Saitama City, Saitama Prefecture, which is relatively far from Tokyo, they still made sure to provide the players with a better preparation environment.

Mr. Xu managed to book half of a five-star hotel in Tokyo, as well as a private sports field next to the hotel.

There are no other reasons!

It's all about being rich, powerful, and arrogant!

Evergrande is a top club in China, but in 2013, before winning the AFC Champions League, Evergrande had little recognition in Japan.

There weren't many reporters, and there weren't many fans either.

The Evergrande players quietly boarded the bus to the hotel.

Su Hao and Liao Lisheng sat in the last row.

The first team is present for training camps, but that doesn't mean everyone will make the final roster.

Throughout the journey, Liao Lisheng kept predicting who would make the final roster for Su Hao.

Liao Lisheng didn't include himself in the calculations, but he remained convinced that Su Hao was absolutely a shoo-in.

Of course, Su Hao only listened to Liao Lisheng's prediction.

Su Hao genuinely never imagined he would make the roster.

After all, how could someone like me, a complete novice who has never even played a single official match, possibly...
However, once they arrived at the hotel lobby and Madanoni announced the players' room arrangements, Su Hao himself became a little uncertain.

because
Madanoni called out his name when he read out the names of the third pair of roommates.

"Zheng Zhi and Su Hao are in 9003!"

Su Hao was stunned!

You should know that according to traditional practice, the room arrangement for training camps or away games is usually the starting lineup + starting substitutes + substitutes!

Will Zheng Zhi be a substitute?
It's impossible even with a fool's eye, could it be...?
At this moment, Su Hao wasn't the only one who was bewildered.

Even Zheng Zhi was somewhat surprised.

As for his ability, Zheng Zhi had no doubts after that training session alone.

But as I said before, considering his experience, age, and even his mentality, it's questionable whether Su Hao can even be a substitute.

Why were they assigned to be together with me?

"Holy crap, the old man's courage is truly astounding!"

Everyone was in a state of surprise, but Qin Sheng, who was usually loud and boisterous, seemed to understand something and said something like that.

Courage!!!

Upon hearing these two words, and then looking at Lippi sitting on the luxurious sofa in the lobby, wearing glasses and smoking a cigar, one can immediately sense the presence of these words.

Zheng Zhi seemed to have realized it too.

16 years old!
In Chinese football, this age is considered that of a child, but in other countries, the youngest player to appear in Serie A is 15 years old.

This old man!
At that moment, Zheng Zhi truly realized what it meant to be a world-class coach!

Indeed, only this old man has such courage!

"Holy crap! I told you, you'd be fine!" Madanoni started assigning rooms to the other people, while Liao Lisheng was so excited, as if he himself was going to make his appearance, that he put his arm around Su Hao's shoulder and said.

A dozen minutes later, Su Hao, carrying his suitcase and feeling dizzy, followed Zheng Zhi into their room 9003.

"Xiao Hao, which side do you usually sleep on?"

Without putting on airs of seniority, Zheng Zhi asked about Su Hao's habits as soon as he entered the room.

"Brother Zhi, I'm fine with either side. Whichever side you prefer, I'll sleep on the other one!"

"Then just sleep anywhere, I'm not picky, it doesn't matter which side I sleep on!"

After saying that, Zheng Zhi placed his suitcase on the side against the wall, leaving the side by the window for Su Hao.

Zheng Zhi now understands that the old man is truly determined to support young players this time.

However, it's no wonder the old man dared to gamble like that!
After all, Su Hao's strength is undeniable. Of course, Zheng Zhi also understands that the old man didn't say anything, but simply arranged for Su Hao to be by his side, so that he could take good care of Su Hao during this period.

"Xiao Hao, have you ever had contact with Japanese players before?"

After packing his luggage, Zheng Zhi sat on the edge of the bed and began to do his job.

"No, Zhi-ge, to be honest, I only played a lot with those teammates in the reserve team. Forget Japanese players, I haven't even played with any Chinese Super League players."

This wasn't Su Hao pretending to be weak while actually being strong; rather, the housing allocation issue had a truly enormous impact on him.

Look at this, Zheng Zhi is already preparing to explain the habits of Japanese players. Doesn't this clearly indicate that he will be playing in his AFC Champions League debut?
Moreover, given Evergrande's usual practice, I am even more likely to start at Saitama Stadium 2002!
However, compared to the slight unease in his heart, what Su Hao was really concerned about was his rare mission.

Su Hao had thought he was going to miss out on that rare treasure chest, but now look what happened!
As long as I can play.
At least the task can be considered completed!
"Let me put it this way, Xiao Hao, the biggest strengths of Japanese players are their footwork, fundamentals, and tactical execution! I've had a lot of contact with Japanese players in national team and club matches. Physically, Japanese players can't match us, but their agility is definitely better!"

"When you encounter a Japanese player, remember not to make a blind tackle."

"Besides that, mentality is also very important. Don't think that Japanese players are better than us. The reason we can't beat them is often because we can't execute tactics as well. In a one-on-one situation, we are not afraid of them at all!"

"In the previous Asian Cup qualifiers, we played against Japan, to be honest..."

Zheng Zhi then explained to Su Hao the issues that needed to be considered when facing Japanese players.

Su Hao also began to wonder if his current question mark-filled screen could actually beat the Japanese players.

However, considering that I was able to handle Conca and Zheng Zhi with ease, I thought that Urawa Red Diamonds from Japan should theoretically not have much of a problem!

Throughout the entire night, Zheng Zhi shared all his experiences playing against Japanese players with Su Hao.

Su Hao initially just listened, but eventually took out his notebook and started taking notes.

He has no shortage of technical skills, but he really lacks the kind of on-field experience that Zheng Zhi mentioned!

"The Japanese can be really cunning sometimes, remember this: if you can fall to the ground, do so. If they try to kick you or something, remember not to retaliate immediately. Pretend to be injured first and see if you can get them a card! Shout, but don't scream too loudly, just make sure it sounds like you're in pain!"

"Oh! By the way, I'll call Gao Lin tomorrow. That kid's pretty good at falling down and stuff."

"Well, there's a lot more. During the match, someone might verbally attack you and disrupt your mentality. Didn't Zidane lose his composure in 06 because Materazzi verbally abused him? In this regard... Oh! Old Qin, this guy is reliable, he's quite knowledgeable about this!"

Many years ago, Su Hao in his previous life was just like those armchair fans, believing that Chinese football had nothing to offer except to be criticized.

But this night
Su Hao discovered that what the Analects said was absolutely right!

"Among three people walking together, there must be one who can teach me."
P.S.: Thank you so much for all the monthly tickets and recommendation votes, I'm so grateful!

This book is absolutely going to bankrupt the fathers!

Three kowtows!
(End of this chapter)