Chapter 1 The Contract

Chen Wei looked at the masked people filling the streets outside the car window, secretly rejoicing that the Football Association and Qiu Suhui had signed the contract as early as they did. Sure enough, no sooner had they signed than SARS arrived. News also came from the Asian Football Confederation that the China-Syria match had been postponed due to force majeure, the specific date to be discussed by all three parties. If they hadn't signed the contract before this, then Luo Wenqiang would have had plenty of time to cast his net far and wide, fishing around for benefits. With the demands Qiu Suhui had made, there was no way the Football Association would have considered him otherwise.

People often say, "Humans propose, Heaven disposes." How true it is!

Qiu Suhui only went to the Football Association to report after the press conference, and then began to prepare to summon a new group of Olympic team members for training according to the list in his mind.

Chen Wei looked at the new list of Olympic team training members that Qiu Suhui had given him, so surprised that he couldn't close his mouth for a long time, while Qiu Suhui sat in his office, leisurely drinking coffee.

"This, this is the training list? But why do I see nearly 90% new names?" Chen Wei tactfully offered his opinion.

"Yes, examining potential new talents is the main purpose of the first training session." Qiu Suhui took a sip of coffee. "These people are potential new talents that I discovered in the U21."

Chen Wei looked at the list, then at Qiu Suhui, and then sat down on the sofa next to him, gently placing the list on the coffee table between them. "Xiao Qiu, are you even trying to hide things from me?" He stared at Qiu Suhui, "Tell the truth, what are you up to?"

Qiu Suhui smiled, "Hehe, since you've already guessed, I won't hide it from you. What do you think is the biggest problem with the previous Olympic team?"

"Previous? Are you talking about the previous Olympic teams?"

"No, I mean this one, Shen Weiguo's one."

"A problem? Not really, right? Since their time in the national youth team, they have been the team with the best results, and they have always been highly anticipated. What problems could there be?"

"This Olympic team has trained under Shen Weiguo for more than four years, so much so that the media calls them the 'Shen Family Army.' In my opinion, the Shen Family Army no longer has the passion they once had. Every training session, all I see are the same old faces. It's not easy for new people to come in. Do you think that bringing in Zhang Jun and Yang Pan on the basis of this group of people will guarantee qualification?"

"Won't it?"

Qiu Suhui shook his head, "Football is a team sport, and adding two stars won't change the current state of the Chinese Olympic team. And even if they have such strength, it will be very difficult for them to integrate into the current Olympic team. Don't think that I'm exaggerating, even if you have the strength now, you may not be able to win trust. Those Olympic team members have been tainted by materialism and other unsavory things… Oh, sorry." Qiu Suhui suddenly remembered that Chen Wei was in charge of the Olympic team, and saying that the Olympic team was tainted was tantamount to saying that Chen Wei's management was ineffective.

"It's okay, go on." Chen Wei shook his head. He knew that there were some bad tendencies in the Olympic team, but it shouldn't be enough to exclude Zhang Jun and Yang Pan, two outstanding players of the same age, right?

"Many Chinese players have a blindly arrogant mentality. Before the World Cup in South Korea and Japan, didn't someone say that there would be no problem taking down Brazil? What was the result?" Qiu Suhui smiled disdainfully. "What's more, Zhang Jun and Yang Pan have only played professional football for a year, but they have received so much praise, which will inevitably lead to dissatisfaction among some players. Then there is the clash of two football philosophies. Zhang Jun and the others represent advanced Dutch football, while the Olympic team, which has trained under Shen Weiguo for more than four years, is still stubbornly clinging to the outdated style of physical acceleration. This clash of ideas is likely to lead to a split in the Olympic team."

Chen Wei narrowed his eyes, "Is it that serious?"

"I came back from the Netherlands, what do you think?" Qiu Suhui asked Chen Wei with a smile.

"Oh, I understand."

"Since the match against Syria has been postponed, then I will have plenty of time to reshape a team…"

"Wait, reshape a team? Is there enough time? We still don't know when the match against Syria will start…" Chen Wei interrupted Qiu Suhui.

"Hehe, Shen Weiguo used more than four years to shape a team in his mind, and I can initially shape a team in my mind in half a year. With scientific training methods and humanized management, as well as a thorough understanding of the characteristics of each player, I believe I can do it, as long as the Football Association gives me full trust." Qiu Suhui replied confidently.

"Okay, okay, I understand. Continue, tell me about your plan."

"I will reshape a team according to my philosophy, and these people…" Qiu Suhui pointed to the list, "are the best clay. The previous people are already failed semi-finished products, and there is no value for me to keep them. If you want to use such a team to enter Athens, I can't do it."

"Okay." Chen Wei picked up the list again, "But how are you going to explain such a training list to Luo Wenqiang and the media and fans?" He looked at Qiu Suhui and said.

Qiu Suhui smiled, "Examining potential new talents is the main purpose of this training session." He repeated what he said at the beginning.

Chen Wei looked at Qiu Suhui, "Okay, I'll report it for you. But you have to be careful…" He didn't say what to be careful about, but everyone knew what he meant, right?

When the major media received the Olympic team's training list, they could hardly believe their eyes. Some even suspected the competence of the Football Association, wondering if they had mistakenly taken the list of the national youth team. Otherwise, why were 95% of the names on the list unheard of? What about the previous Olympic team members? What about those super-platinum players?

Despite the surprise, the list was still published as usual. After all, if you don't publish it, other media will, and you will lose the initiative in the news war.

"...The following is news about the Olympic team. The new head coach Qiu Suhui has announced a new list of Olympic team training members. Unexpectedly, in this list, unfamiliar faces account for the vast majority. The following is the 35-man list for this training session, seven from Dalian: Wu Shangshan, Feng Lin..."

One can imagine the shock this list caused among the media and fans, and many fans even believed that Qiu Suhui must have had a problem with his brain due to being too excited about being elected as the head coach of the Olympic team.

"Excellent players are not equal to excellent coaches!"

"Qiu Suhui is digging his own grave!"

"The 'Dutch' coach who came back from the Netherlands!"

"A certain Olympic team member: I can't understand the list."

……

Qiu Suhui threw the newspaper aside, almost all of them were criticizing him. He had expected this situation, and the media's stuff had no lethality to him. At worst, he wouldn't read newspapers and magazines in the future. But the pressure from the other side made him have to consider it carefully. Just this morning, Luo Wenqiang came to the Xianghe training base in the suburbs of Beijing with a gloomy face, accompanied by Chen Wei.

When he saw Luo Wenqiang's face like a stone tablet, he knew that the accountability had come.

As soon as he sat down, Luo Wenqiang directly questioned the training list: "Coach Qiu Suhui, I would like to hear your views on the training list. Why are there thirty new faces in the 35-man list? And many of those thirty people have not even played a minute of Jia League game."

Qiu Suhui was not as carefree as when he was alone with Chen Wei. He sat upright and answered the full-time vice chairman of the Football Association in a very serious tone: "This is my first training session after taking over the Olympic team, and I attach great importance to it. Recruiting a large number of new players is to examine their strength."

"The previous Olympic team members are also very strong. Why waste time examining new players? You must know that the match against Syria is imminent!" Luo Wenqiang said with a frown. God knows how long the "imminent" in his mouth would be.

Qiu Suhui felt very uncomfortable, thinking that "discussing problems" with this kind of idiot was a real waste of time! The contract clearly stated that except for Chen Wei, no one else had the right to interfere with his work as the head coach of the Olympic team. It had only been a few days since the signing, and Luo Wenqiang, the old guy, was already itching to interfere. He didn't want to say more to Luo Wenqiang, and in fact, it was useless to say more, so he threw out a sentence coldly: "Let's see the results. If we lose the match against Syria, I will resign automatically!"

This was really a word without any skill, leaving no way out for himself, and no face for Luo Wenqiang. Luo Wenqiang was also stunned, probably not expecting a coach to dare to speak to him like this. Chen Wei sat on the side and didn't know what to say. For a time, there was no other sound in the office except for the low humming of the air conditioner.

After a long while, Luo Wenqiang's face twitched a few times, "Okay, the Football Association respects your opinion. We'll talk about it after the match against Syria. Chen Wei will be responsible for the work of the Olympic team. If you have anything, contact him directly." He stood up and put on a fake smile, "The hope of Chinese football is in your hands, cheer up!"

Qiu Suhui also reluctantly squeezed out a smile: "Please rest assured, leaders, I will not fail the expectations of the leaders."

After seeing off Luo Wenqiang and Chen Wei, Qiu Suhui returned to the office and looked at the Biluochun tea that he had prepared for Luo Wenqiang, which was still steaming. The guy didn't even touch it. He picked up the ceramic cup and threw it directly into the trash can in the corner. The more than 500 yuan per half kilo Biluochun tea continued to emit heat in the trash can.

He never drank tea, only instant coffee. This expensive Biluochun tea was bought to entertain senior leaders.

Chengdu, Sichuan, dormitory of the Rongcheng Club youth team.

Xiang Tao was stuffing local specialties into his bag… Local specialties? Yes, in addition to training and competition clothes, shoes, and some personal items, he specially bought a large bag to hold these local specialties.

When he received a call from Qiu Suhui himself at his home in Zigong, he thought he was dreaming. He, a person in the club's youth team whose reserve position was not even stable, could actually be selected for the Chinese Olympic team! Although it was just a training list now, and did not mean the final 23-man match list, it still made his family excited for several days.

So, his mother, father, grandfather, and grandmother were all mobilized. His family was not rich. His grandparents were retired, his mother was a teacher at a primary school in the town, and his father worked for others in Yibin. Their child was selected for the Olympic team this time, and they could not send any valuable gifts – in fact, they shouldn't send gifts at all, so the family members who were good at cooking prepared countless bags of delicious food made at home for him to take to Beijing.

"Share these with your teammates and coaches, and get along with them. You are trustworthy, be humble and learn from the coaches, and don't have conflicts with your teammates…" The simple retired worker, his grandfather, didn't know that people didn't care about these things made at home. Besides, the weather now was such that even if they were taken to Beijing, they would probably spoil.

Xiang Tao had already distributed half of them when he returned to Chengdu. His salary was not enough to treat guests, so he had to use this instead. Of course, he wouldn't know that some jealous "teammates" would turn around and throw those things into the trash can, not forgetting to spit two mouthfuls of smoky phlegm on them: "You little bastard! Does that coach have a problem with his eyes!"

Barely pulling up the zipper, Wang Yu was already knocking on his door with his suitcase: "Hurry up! People are waiting!"

Xiang Tao, who was 1.83 meters tall, picked up two heavy bags and turned around: "Coming! Coming! What's the rush! These are for eating on the road. If there's nothing to eat on the road, what are we going to eat? You still complain when there's food!"

Wang Yu, whose hands were not idle, smiled and kicked Xiang Tao's butt: "Let's go! To the Olympic team!"

Zhengzhou, Henan, youth team of the Zhongyuan Club.

Liu Peng took off the captain's armband, placed it next to his pillow, looked at the dormitory he had lived in for two years again, then carried his bag and turned to leave.

"Let's go! To the Olympic team!"

Si Ma Hongxin silently pulled up his suitcase and followed him. The door of the dormitory closed gently behind them.

When the two walked out of the dormitory building, they were taken aback. The teammates who should have been taking a nap were all gathered outside the dormitory building, waiting for the two of them. When they saw the two coming out, someone started shouting: "Captain! Come back early!"

As soon as he finished shouting, he was beaten by others, "Pain!" "Go to hell! Can't you say something auspicious?"

"Old hag, you obviously have no culture. How did you go to elementary school? You should say it like this: Captain! Farewell! Don't come back! Take root and sprout in the Olympic team like a small tree!"

"Ouch--" a group of people vomited.

Liu Peng smiled, and the sadness of parting was diluted.

"I will be back. Zhongyuan is my home. Everyone, take care!" After saying that, he and Si Ma Hongxin were about to get on the club's car.

"Captain! Don't forget us when you become famous!" Seeing that the two were about to leave, the teammates couldn't care about order and started shouting in a mess.

"That's right! Captain, I was just joking. We are still waiting to cheer you on in front of the TV!"

"Captain, take care!"

"Have a good trip, Captain!"

"Captain, work hard in the Olympic team and win glory for us Henan people! Okay!"

Liu Peng looked at the teammates he had been with day and night for two years, pursed his lips, his nose was a little sore, and he believed that Si Ma was not much better off. Because he was already facing the car himself, leaving a slightly curved back to everyone.

Liu Peng didn't say a word, just pulled Si Ma into the car quickly. As soon as the car door closed, he saw Hu Li sitting opposite him. "Coach Hu?"

Hu Li smiled and said to the two of them, "I'll take you to the train station. Did you hear what they said?" He pointed to the players swarming up outside the window.

Liu Peng nodded.

"You two are the representatives of Henan football. Work hard in the Olympic team and win glory for our Henan people, okay?" Hu Li also asked this.

This time Liu Peng nodded heavily: "Okay!"

April 17, 2003, the first batch of Olympic team members, four from Sichuan, reported. On the morning of April 18, the second batch of three from Beijing reported. On the afternoon of April 18, four from Guangdong reported, and three from Shanghai reported. On the morning of April 19, two from Henan reported, and four from Shandong reported in the afternoon. On the morning of April 20, two from Hunan reported, two from Hubei reported, and two from Shaanxi reported…

Three taxis stopped at the entrance of the Xianghe training base, and several people came out one after another, taking their luggage from the trunk.

"Wow! This is the Xianghe training base? I used to only see it on TV. I didn't expect I could come here!"

"Hehe, you should buy a lottery ticket tomorrow. You've been chosen out of so many people in the country. You're lucky! When you win five million, you won't have to play football."

"What are you talking about? I don't play football entirely for money!"

"Haha, then what are you for?"

"I…"

"Okay, stop arguing, let's go, let's go!"

On the afternoon of the 21st, the last batch of seven from Dalian reported.

On the morning of the 22nd, the meeting room of the Olympic team at the Xianghe base.

Qiu Suhui looked at these players from all over the country, speaking in various dialects, with satisfaction. Many of them had excitement and anticipation in their eyes. This was the real hope of Chinese football, Qiu Suhui said to himself in his heart.

"Okay, your respective dormitories have been assigned, and you have also received your daily necessities. In the remaining months, you will be here for a period of closed training, so understanding the management specifications of the Olympic team is the first thing…" Zhu Qiang, the leader of the Olympic team, announced the management measures for the closed training of the Olympic team, “…You must return to the dormitory before 10:30 pm; you must ask for leave to go out on holidays, and you must return to the team before 11:00 pm; no overnight stays! No going to bars and drinking! No smoking and gambling! No going out casually! No bringing relatives to the base! No unauthorized interviews without permission! No…"

So many "noes", so many "musts", were much stricter than in the club's youth team. Some people had already begun to express dissatisfaction in a low voice. "Bullshit! Is this a team training session, or a concentration camp?!" Xiang Tao muttered in dissatisfaction in a low voice.

The only five "old" Olympic team members among the thirty-five people sat together, and some of them sneered: These hicks! They don't even understand the rules of the Olympic team and they still come to train? Go home early!

Zhu Qiang stopped, then he stared at Xiang Tao, and kept glancing at the player information next to him, finally matching the face and the name: "Xiang Tao! What did you say?"

"Ah? I didn't say anything…" Xiang Tao didn't want to be kicked out of the team on the first day, so he quickly forgot what he had just said.

Zhu Qiang ignored him, and was about to continue to announce his "Three Main Rules of Discipline and Eight Points for Attention", but was interrupted by Qiu Suhui next to him: "Okay, team leader Zhu, these management regulations are dead, they are not suitable for managing living people." He saw the light in some people's eyes disappearing little by little, and quickly opened his mouth to stop him, not even caring about Zhu Qiang's face. In his heart, the face of a hundred leaders was not as good as the light in the eyes of an excellent young player.

"Okay, what needs to be said has been said, dismiss! Rest early, normal training starts tomorrow!" Qiu Suhui announced the dismissal in a few words, which really surprised many people. They thought this meeting would take at least two hours, right? How could a national-level team not hold meetings often and hold long meetings?

Only Liu Peng and Si Ma Hongxin were used to it. Qiu Suhui was like this when he was in Zhongyuan. He didn't like to hold meetings just to show the authority of the head coach. People who really do things don't have time for small meetings every three days and large meetings every five days?

Someone stood up and cheered, then left the meeting room, jumping around.

Until the last Olympic team member left, Qiu Suhui said to Zhu Qiang on the side: "Is there anything else, team leader Zhu?"

"Coach Qiu, I want to know why you didn't let me announce the management regulations to them? You know, this is a compulsory course for new players, when Shen Weiguo led the team before…"

"Hehe!" Qiu Suhui interrupted Zhu Qiang with a smile again, "Now I'm leading the team, so naturally there must be differences. These players are not suitable for being bound by those rules and regulations. The Olympic team does not need rigid engineers now, but needs individualistic warriors."

"But being individualistic means difficult to manage…"

"That's just the management method is wrong. To say something that may be a bit heavy, team leader Zhu, there are no players in this world that cannot be managed, only coaches who don't know how to manage. Like that Xiang Tao just now, I noticed him in the U21. He is a player with a strong desire to perform and an outstanding personality. So he rarely gets a chance to play in the Rongcheng youth team, because he is not liked by the coaches. But no one has noticed his balanced left and right feet, extremely fast speed, and his awareness of daring to insert himself into the attack from the back. As long as he is trained properly, I believe he will become China's Carlos…"

"Haha! China's Carlos?" Zhu Qiang laughed, "Does Coach Qiu think that with the current level of Chinese football, a genius like Carlos can appear?"

Qiu Suhui was very upset by the team leader's laughter. Why would Chinese football create two kinds of monsters? The arrogant and the self-deprecating. "Why can't China produce Carlos? Why can't it produce Ronaldo? Why can't it produce Rivaldo? Who stipulates that?"

Zhu Qiang didn't say a word this time. Maybe even he himself didn't know how to answer Qiu Suhui's question.

Qiu Suhui's tone softened, after all, they still had to work together in the future. "Team leader Zhu, you are the team leader, and I am the head coach. Only if the two of us cooperate well and work together can we bring the Olympic team to Athens. I believe the team leader also hopes to see that scene, right?"

"…Hope…" Zhu Qiang muttered.

"That's great! Since our goals are the same, then there's nothing to worry about!" Qiu Suhui clapped his hands, then picked up the player information and left the meeting room, leaving Zhu Qiang alone inside.

For Zhu Qiang, this was the most difficult group of Olympic team members he had ever encountered. Each one was simply like the Monkey King who had just entered the Heavenly Court, naughty and ignorant of the rules. Especially that Xiang Tao with his Sichuan dialect!

But in Qiu Suhui's heart, these young people, many of whom had not even played for one minute in a professional match, were the hope of Chinese football. Of course, the prerequisite was to give him time, and these players must maintain their own characteristics, and not change color in the big dyeing vat of Chinese football. But now the problem came, he couldn't always take care of these people and train them according to his own ideas, right? They would eventually have to return to their respective clubs, some would be promoted to play professional matches, and some would continue to hang out in the youth team or the second team. The best way out was naturally to go abroad, but how many foreign clubs would want these unknown young people?

"Sheng-ge, what do you say is going on!" Several old Olympic team members gathered in Li Suisheng's dormitory to lament the vicissitudes of life. "Shen-zhi was doing well, but he just left, leaving us here to suffer the anger of the new coach!"

"That's right, that's right! What is the background of that Qiu Suhui? Why is even the team leader afraid of him?"

Li Suisheng said, "I have heard some things. He used to be a rising star at the World Youth Championship, as famous as Van Basten. Later, he went to the Netherlands for a period of time, and retired after playing in the country for a few years."

"So powerful? As famous as Basten?" Someone exclaimed.

"But so powerful, why didn't he achieve any decent results for China?" Someone questioned.

"That's right, maybe it was blown out by the reporters? No one has seen him play football, at least I don't believe he has any ability!"

Just as a few people were talking, they heard a burst of noise coming from outside.

"Bullshit! Open the door for me! Ya Tou (Wang Yu's nickname), open the door for me!"

"No, no! Haha!"

"You don't open it? If you don't open it, I'll give you a slap in the face!" Then there was a loud knocking sound, no, it should be said to be a banging sound.

Someone in the room said disdainfully: "It's that Sichuan hick again!"

The banging sound continued unabated. Finally, someone couldn't stand it anymore, and Li Suisheng frowned and got up to open the door: "Knock! Knock your head! Go to sleep if you have nothing to do! What's all the fuss about?!" He was the former captain of the Olympic team, and unconsciously put on the captain's majesty. But he forgot that most people had not played football with him, so naturally they didn't recognize him as the captain, and what he said had no deterrent effect at all. Especially when he was facing that Xiang Tao who was not afraid of anything.

Xiang Tao was only stunned for a moment, and then retorted, "What are you shouting about! I'm knocking on the door, I didn't knock on you! What are you scolding me for!"

The "knocking" in Xiang Tao's mouth meant knocking on the door, and in Sichuan dialect, it was pronounced "kao" in the first tone, but in Li Suisheng's ears, it had a completely different meaning. He was already dissatisfied with the new coach's recruitment of miscellaneous people, and had a fire in his belly. Now that he was provoked by Xiang Tao, he burst out instantly.

"Bang!" He punched Xiang Tao in the chest. Although Xiang Tao was only 1.83 meters tall, he was very strong. He only staggered slightly, then kicked back, "Your mother x!" But he kicked one of the people next to Li Suisheng.

"Where the hell are you kicking! If you want to die, say it, I'll beat you until even your mother won't recognize you…" Before that person finished scolding, Xiang Tao punched him in the face again: "Why talk so much nonsense when fighting?!"

Xiang Tao bravely fought two people, but was kicked from behind. Wang Yu next to him couldn't stand it. "I fuck your ancestors!" He also kicked over, worthy of being someone who played football, they basically used their feet when fighting.

"I fuck!"

"Stop! Stop! Don't fight!"

"Beat him to death, that little bastard!"

"Good fight!"

"Quick, pull them apart!"

"Who's going to call the team leader, go call the coach!"

……

Looking at the group of players in front of him with varying degrees of injuries, some people still had unconvinced expressions on their faces. Zhu Qiang was trembling with anger: "You… you, you are too much! You fought just a few days after entering the Olympic team! What do you think this place is? Now…"

Qiu Suhui stopped Zhu Qiang: "Now everyone go back to sleep, we will have a meeting tomorrow morning, go rest. Oh, also." He said gloomily, "No one is allowed to talk about what happened tonight. Otherwise, whoever tells it, I will let him get out!"