Chapter 106 The Eve of the Battle

Just before the National Olympic team set off for Tehran, the capital of Iran, Zhang Jun had already departed in advance. However, his destination wasn't Tehran, but Belgium, home to one of the world’s best orthopedic specialists. Wollerdam had arrived earlier to arrange the preliminary work for Zhang Jun's surgery.

When Adriannese heard that Zhang Jun's ankle ligaments were torn, he stood frozen for a long time, unable to recover his senses. He knew the seriousness of this injury and that it would be almost impossible to return to his pre-injury state. We may never see Zhang Jun dribbling past several players alone, swaying past the goalkeeper, and putting the ball into the empty net again, nor will we see him scoring those incredible goals on the field… But the effort still had to be made. After speaking with Qiu Suhui on the phone, he immediately began arranging for Zhang Jun to go to Belgium for treatment.

Qiu Suhui had also been having a hard time lately. Zhang Jun's injury put him under unprecedented pressure. Fans and the media were now asking, "Who allowed the Zhang Jun with hidden dangers to play continuously?" Completely forgetting who had clamored to put Zhang Jun in the starting lineup when the starting list was being decided. The Football Association also questioned Qiu Suhui: "Why didn't you substitute Zhang Jun in time during the match in Iran?" Also forgetting who was so eager to have Zhang Jun return to China to participate in the match.

There were enough troubles off the field, and there were also many troubles on the football field. Xiang Tao was sent off with a red card for violent behavior during the match. The Asian Football Confederation had already imposed a severe punishment of three matches and a fine of three thousand U.S. dollars on him. This meant that Xiang Tao, who was the most active player besides Zhang Jun in the three matches, would miss all the remaining qualifying matches.

After losing the star forward Zhang Jun, Qiu Suhui was also facing the dilemma of a lack of defenders. The role Xiang Tao played in the match was not just as simple as having one more person in the defense. Qiu Suhui had already called Yang Pan, hoping that he could return to participate in the second leg of the China-Korea match on May 1st no matter what.

At the same time, he began negotiating with Bologna, hoping that the other party would understand the current situation of the Chinese team and let Yang Pan return to participate in the match.

Bologna's attitude was still unclear, and the match with Iran was imminent. The National Olympic team had arrived in Tehran, the capital of Iran, on April 13th. After two days of adaptation training, the second leg between Iran and China would kick off on April 16th at the Azadi Stadium in Tehran, the capital of Iran.

The Iranian team wasn't doing well either. Kameli had been banned by the Asian Football Confederation for a full year for serious violent behavior and fined $10,000, which was a very, very severe punishment. At the same time, the Iranian Football Association was still conducting an internal investigation into the matter. If the investigation results showed that Kameli had done it intentionally, he would also face a severe punishment of being banned from participating in any level of national competition for two years.

In addition, Kohan had also been dismissed by the Iranian Football Association, and like Kameli, if the investigation results came out, he would be permanently banned from being hired by the Iranian Football Association. The coach of the Iranian National Olympic team was temporarily Faraki, which was very unexpected by the media. Both Chinese and Iranian media believed that the coach of the Iranian national team, Croatian Ivankovic, was the most suitable candidate. However, Faraki, who was called a dark horse coach by the Iranian media, attached great importance to the second leg match with the Chinese team. At the same time, given some of the things that happened in the first leg, he also hoped that both sides could look at the match calmly. “This is just an ordinary Olympic qualifier. I apologize for what my predecessor did, but this should not affect the second leg match. Although Iran, with two consecutive defeats, is facing the possibility of being eliminated, we will still fight to the end. Even if we unfortunately lose to China in this match, Iran will not give up the match. China is now the biggest favorite to qualify, followed by South Korea. If the Chinese team beats us in Tehran, then for the honor of Iranian football, we will do our best in the match against South Korea in Seoul.”

The perpetrator was punished, but whether it was a ban, a fine, or a dismissal, it couldn't save Zhang Jun's left foot. Everything was irreversible. Time, starting from the evening of March 27, 2004, had entered one of the thousands of crossroads from a fork in the road. No one knew what awaited Zhang Jun and everyone else.

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Challanging the Iranian National Olympic team away from home, Qiu Suhui didn't need to give any pre-match mobilization at all. Because of Zhang Jun's matter, all the players were holding back a bellyful of anger. Originally, the Chinese team at the Olympic level didn't have any grudges with Iran, but since March 27, 2004, the two sides had officially become enemies.

Despite Faraki's appeal, who would care about those things you babbled before the match when it really came to the match? Victory is victory! We came to Tehran to take revenge, so what!

In this match, Iranian fans created a very enthusiastic home atmosphere. Iran's home stadium, Azadi Stadium, has always been the graveyard of visiting teams, and in this match, they also hoped to overwhelm China in terms of momentum.

But the eleven players of the Chinese team were like eleven ferocious beasts with red eyes, completely forgetting everything around them. As soon as the match started, they rushed up to tear the other side to pieces. What boos, what curses, what hostile gazes, all of them could go to hell after the opening whistle sounded!

This kind of momentum was absolutely incomparable to the Iranian team, who had done something wrong.

The result was predictable.

The angry Chinese team swept Iran away in the famous "visiting team graveyard" Azadi Stadium with an overwhelming momentum, and the score of 3:0 completely drove Iran out of the chance to advance to Athens, and also turned Azadi into the home team's graveyard.

In the absence of two great generals, each player in the Chinese team erupted with surprising energy, using strength, absolute strength, to beat the Iranian team without any power to fight back.

Li Yongle established his position as the core of the Chinese team's midfield with one goal and two assists. He performed exceptionally actively in this match, changing the taciturn image he had on the field in the previous three matches. He constantly shouted, directing his teammates to press forward and defend, and repeatedly asked for the ball to take responsibility.

When Qiu Suhui recruited the college player Li Yongle, probably no one would have thought that there would be today. This also proved that Chinese football has never lacked geniuses, but only lacked talent scouts who discover geniuses and the soil for geniuses to grow.

"On April 16th, at the Azadi Stadium in Tehran, relying on Li Jie's goal in the 20th minute, Li Suisheng's goal in the 53rd minute, and Li Yongle's goal in the 81st minute, the Chinese National Olympic team defeated the Iranian National Olympic team 3:0 away from home. With four wins in four matches, fifteen goals scored, and only one goal conceded, they are ranked first in this group. They only need to draw with South Korea in the match on May 1st to qualify in advance. But in fact, with a huge goal difference advantage, as long as the Chinese team does not lose in the last two matches, they will have already qualified. And two consecutive defeats are almost impossible for the current Chinese National Olympic team. On the other hand, after losing to South Korea and China in succession, Iran has only accumulated three points in four matches and has been eliminated in advance. The remaining two matches, as coach Faraki said, are purely for the honor of their Iranian football. The biggest opponent of the Chinese team is currently the South Korean team, who have three wins and one loss in four matches. The China-Korea match at the Helong Stadium in Changsha on May 1st will be a crucial battle to decide their respective fates. If the South Korean team wants to qualify, they must win against China, and even if it is to end history, the Chinese team cannot allow themselves to lose to South Korea."

A newspaper wrote this the day after the China-Iran match.

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Zhang Jun was gone, and now everyone was waiting for another person. Playing against South Korea, without Zhang Jun and Xiang Tao, it was a bit difficult to win. But if that person came back, it could be said that there would be no suspense at all.

So, while everyone was recently worried about Zhang Jun's injury, what was that person doing?

He had just experienced two consecutive defeats against Brescia and Inter, but this didn't have much impact on Yang Pan's starting position. Because in the four matches in March, Bologna remained undefeated with three wins and one draw. Yang Pan was indispensable for the three consecutive wins. Although he still hadn't scored a goal, his assists accounted for almost a third of all Bologna's goals in these three matches. This was a very remarkable achievement.

On April 25th, Bologna would face Siena away from home. This match had to be won. First of all, the opponent's strength was not strong, and secondly, after two consecutive defeats, the team urgently needed a victory to reorganize their confidence. Two consecutive defeats and three consecutive defeats were not the same thing.

So, Mazzoni was very hesitant about whether to let Yang Pan go back to participate in the Olympic qualifiers. But Yang Pan took the initiative to find Mazzoni after training and expressed his desire to return to participate: "Sir, you know. China and South Korea are like Argentina and Brazil in Asia. Any Chinese player wants to play in the match against South Korea. I know your concerns. I can guarantee you that there is no problem with my body. This kind of back-and-forth travel has no impact on me. I can take a plane back on the night of the May 1st match and should still be able to make it to the match against Empoli."

Mazzoni was amused by Yang Pan's idea. Even if he could make it in time, he wouldn't let Yang Pan play. Resting for a week and playing the last two league matches well was the most important thing. "Okay, you can go back to your country. But be careful not to get injured. Zhang Jun is your good friend, and I feel sorry for him too."

Yang Pan clenched his fists and said, "Don't worry, it will be the opponents who get injured, not me."

"Well, you continue to start in tomorrow's match. After you finish playing, you can go back to your country. Then, don't rush back after the match with South Korea. Rest for a day before leaving. This will be better for your physical strength and body." Mazzoni patted Yang Pan on the shoulder. The league had entered the second half, and many teams had problems here and there. Bologna was not a big club. The difference between the main players and the substitutes in many positions was too big. Having a "steel warrior" like Yang Pan, who was tireless and could attack and defend, was indeed too important.

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Dall'Ara Stadium was packed. As Yang Pan secured his starting position, more and more Chinese reporters came here. Today's home match, because Yang Pan had confirmed that he would return to participate in the China-Korea match, attracted even more Asian reporters, including Korean reporters.

When Yang Pan appeared, he received cheers from the Bologna fans, just like his teammates. Now everyone regarded him as a member of Bologna. This Chinese lad not only won the trust of his Bologna teammates with his quick breakthroughs and beautiful assists but also won the love of the fans. You could even see many fans wearing No. 7 jerseys with Yang Pan's name on them asking him to sign.

Everything was good. After half a year, Yang Pan finally gained the recognition of Bologna and gradually gained the recognition of Italy. The league had not yet ended, and several clubs had already asked about his price. However, Yang Pan was a little disappointed that his favorite AC Milan had not yet made a move. They were in great shape now. As long as they beat Udinese away from home in this round of the league, they would win the Serie A title three rounds in advance. It was estimated that they thought the current personnel configuration was very reasonable and that there was no need to introduce any new players.

If it wasn't for Zhang Jun's accident, Yang Pan would have been in a great mood. When he heard that Zhang Jun had been injured and left the field in the match against Iran, he called Li Yan as soon as possible, hoping to confirm and understand Zhang Jun's injury. At that time, Li Yan only said that Zhang Jun had been sent to the hospital, but the specific injury would not be known until the next day. Later, before he could call Li Yan, Li Yan called him first and told him: "Zhang Jun has been diagnosed with a torn medial malleolar ligament in his left foot. It is said that after treatment, he will not be able to recover to his pre-injury state, and it will seriously affect his football career…"

During that time, Yang Pan didn't perform well and was in a slump. Two consecutive losses to Brescia and Inter cannot be said to have nothing to do with Yang Pan's slump, but Mazzoni knew the situation, so he continued to give Yang Pan his trust.

Now Zhang Jun's emotions were stable, and he had gone to Belgium for treatment. Yang Pan's state had also rebounded. This home match against Siena was an opportunity for him to repay his coach's trust.

After the match started, perhaps affected by the two consecutive defeats, Bologna did not enter the state quickly. Siena instead took on a posture of reversing the role of the host, frequently posing a threat to the goal guarded by Pagliuca.

Yang Pan also performed not very excitedly with the whole team. It had been thirty minutes, and he had only broken through with the ball once. Most of the time, he was working hard to defend in the midfield. Some people even worried that Yang Pan's slump had not passed.

A reporter stood up in the press box and stretched. Although Siena was attacking, the quality of their attack was really poor. After creating three threatening shots within the first ten minutes of the game, they were basically just making a lot of noise without producing any rain.

"This match is really boring." He yawned and muttered to himself.

Siena's midfielder made a passing error, and Yang Pan easily intercepted the ball. But this time, he didn't pass the ball out like before. Facing the opponent who came up to press him, he first made a feint to pass the ball to the right winger who was coming up from behind. Then, taking advantage of the opponent's center of gravity shifting over, he quickly pulled the ball to the right with his right foot. Immediately after that, he used his left foot to forcefully push the ball straight forward, accelerating! Overtaking! Breakthrough!

After breaking through, Yang Pan dribbled the ball on the right side of the midfield. According to the previous matches, he would definitely choose to cross from the right wing. So, Siena put their defensive attention on this route, setting up a pocket and waiting for Yang Pan to drill in, and then close the door and beat the dog.

But Yang Pan had no intention of going to the right. He pulled the ball to the center and moved closer to the center! Did he want to attract the opponent's attention to the middle and then distribute the ball to the side?

Just when everyone was guessing, Yang Pan shrugged his shoulders and brought the ball to a place only twenty-three meters away from the goal. The opponent's defensive midfielder was chasing him from behind. Regardless of whether he wanted to pass the ball or shoot directly, he shouldn't be given a space of twenty meters to dribble the ball in the center!

Unfortunately, they realized this problem a little late.

Yang Pan took the lead ahead of his opponent. He swung his right leg and then took a powerful shot! The whole person was lifted into the air by the force of the shot, just in time to avoid the tackle from behind!

The football spun at high speed and roared towards the goal like a shell!

Before the goalkeeper could react, the football had already hit the net behind him, sticking to the right post!

The ball went in!!

"gooooooooooooooooooooooooooooAL!! Yang--Pan!!!"

Dall'Ara Stadium was boiling. When the match reached the thirty-second minute, Yang Pan scored the first goal for Bologna! This goal was completely Yang Pan's personal performance!

"Too awesome! 148 kilometers per hour! Yang Pan explodes! This is his first goal in the Italian league! Cheer for him!!"

"Yang Pan! Yang Pan!! Yang--Pan!!!"

After scoring the goal, Yang Pan ran all the way back to the coach's bench and then hugged Mazzoni, the coach who trusted him. This was the best reward for trusting him.

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Yi Lan suddenly stood up in front of the TV and cheered, startling a waiter behind her, and the tray fell to the ground. The sound made her wake up. She was now in her father's restaurant, not in the stadium, so she embarrassedly made a face at her father on the side and sat down again.

On the other hand, her father lit a cigarette for himself and looked thoughtful at Yi Lan's focused appearance.

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Yang Pan, who had scored a goal, became even more active. He kept inserting and retreating on the right wing. This side already faintly had the feeling of being included in his sphere of influence.

With the activity on the right wing, Bologna also seemed to be driven by Yang Pan. Locatelli, Hidetoshi Nakata, Signori, Bellucci… After all, this was Bologna's home stadium. How could they let Siena run wild here?

Yang Pan's goal was like a shot of stimulant, waking everyone up. In the remaining matches, Bologna launched a full attack on Siena. But Siena all retreated to their own half, shrinking inside and not coming out. Bologna didn't have a better way to deal with them.

Until the end of the first half, the score was 1:0. Bologna led Siena with a long shot from Yang Pan in the thirty-second minute.

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"Huh? Why is Yang Pan so excited today? The number of shots he took on his own in the first half alone was five! This is a bit rare!" A Chinese reporter was a little surprised with the statistics from the first half.

"Isn't it because of Zhang Jun? Now that Zhang Jun is injured, Yang Pan is depressed. He can't vent his anger, so he has to take Siena as a knife." His companion answered.

"Zhang Jun is injured, but Yang Pan has exploded. The two of them are really in sync. They take turns, no matter what happens, there will not be any major problems with the Chinese National Olympic team…"

His companion interrupted him: "Work, the second half will start in a while."

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All his teammates were in the locker room celebrating his first Serie A goal with Yang Pan, including Carlo Nervo, who had been taken over by him to his starting position.

"Well done! Yang, did you hear the broadcast on the field?" Bellucci was one of the people who had the best relationship with Yang Pan, because Yang Pan always comfortably sent the ball to his feet, allowing him to score goals.

Yang Pan smiled and shook his head.

"They said that the speed of your shot was as high as 150 kilometers per hour! Oh my god! No one on our team can shoot such a fast ball. Even I have to be careful when you swing your right leg outside the penalty area in the future!"

Everyone laughed. The first thirty minutes of the first half were really depressing, but since Yang Pan's long-range shot scored, the opponent's morale had been inexplicably hit. The home team's morale was high, and the offensive was like a tide. In this way, it seemed that the Chinese boy Yang Pan's performance on the right wing had unknowingly become one of the barometers of Bologna's performance.

Mazzoni smiled and said to Yang Pan: "Good job, continue in the second half!" These were the best fifteen minutes Yang Pan had performed since joining Bologna. Even Mazzoni couldn't find any faults. The later the league got, the better his performance became.

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Yang Pan stepped onto the field in the second half with full confidence. He wanted to use his performance today to pave the way for his trip to the National Olympic team.

Sure enough, Yang Pan in the second half was even more active than in the first half. His fast dribbling breakthrough won cheers from the home fans, and even his quick return after losing the ball made the fans applaud him.

In the sixty-second minute, thirty minutes after the last goal, Yang Pan scored again!

This time, it was still a long-range shot, but it slightly changed direction on the leg of the opponent's defender during the flight. The goalkeeper failed to save in time and could only watch the ball fly into the goal from his side, brushing past him.

After scoring the goal, Yang Pan excitedly jumped over the billboard and ran to the stands, shouting loudly at the home fans who were cheering for him! The entire Dall'Ara Stadium was ignited by his roar! Cheers, earth-shattering cheers!

Either don't make a sound, or make a surprising sound. Either don't score a goal, or score two! Today was really Yang Pan's explosion day!

Many fans began to shout for a hat-trick, but Yang Pan failed to score another goal until the end of the match. Because he had to go back to his country to participate in the match, Mazzoni replaced Yang Pan with Nervo in the seventieth minute.

All the fans stood up and applauded Yang Pan to see him off. His popularity now was evident.

After Nervo came on the field, he assisted Della Bona to score the third goal in the eighty-second minute, completely sealing the victory for the team. But his performance had been completely overshadowed by Yang Pan's brilliance.

After the match, everyone was talking about Yang Pan, talking about his goal at 148 kilometers per hour, which was also the best goal of this round of Serie A. He himself was selected into the Serie A Team of the Week for the second time. It could be said that when Yang Pan returned to China, he was carrying countless praises and blessings, and also carrying the expectations of countless Chinese fans.

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"Yang Pan Returns!" "Two Goals, Yang Pan Demonstrates to South Korea!"…

While Zhang Jun flew to Belgium to prepare for surgery, the domestic media was not idle. On the one hand, they continued to pay attention to Zhang Jun's treatment, and on the other hand, after reporting on Yang Pan's first two Serie A goals in lengthy articles, they conducted a "full follow-up interview" on Yang Pan's return to China to participate in the China-Korea match. They couldn't wait to write a special topic about whether Yang Pan stepped on the land of Changsha with his left foot or his right foot when he got off the plane, and tell the enthusiastic readers that Yang Pan was full of confidence, which could be seen from his steady pace.

Zhang Jun was injured, and Yang Pan returned to the team. During this time, various newspapers made a lot of money.

Compared with Zhang Jun's slightly low-key return, Yang Pan said when he arrived in the team and accepted a reporter's interview with great pride that the purpose of his return was to lead the National Olympic team to defeat South Korea at home and make South Korea completely suffer from "China-phobia" from now on.

"I have never considered the problem of whether I can qualify. Do you think we can't qualify now? I only have one goal, and that is to defeat South Korea with my own hands. It's a pity that I couldn't come back to participate on March 3rd, but it's also very interesting to defeat South Korea at our home. What? The Koreans said they wanted to defeat us at our home? You must have misheard. They must be joking. They didn't defeat us at their own home, so they don't even think about it now that we're at our home. In short, I hope that we can bring joy to Chinese fans at the Helong Stadium on May 1st."

These were Yang Pan's words. Careful people compared them with Zhang Jun's and could see that in addition to their common confidence and ease, Yang Pan also had a very strong momentum, which came from Serie A, the most competitive league in the world. Anyone who successfully came out of that place must have experienced very, very fierce and strict competition. After they returned to their respective national teams, this momentum would naturally show. Confidence, courage, strength, fearlessness of strong enemies, willingness to sacrifice…

Yang Pan was only twenty-two years old, but he had already experienced that fierce league and successfully broken through. The reporters couldn't help but sigh at Yang Pan's maturity, which might have something to do with his experience and growth environment.

Like Zhang Jun, Yang Pan's return was welcomed by all the members of the National Olympic team. In fact, everyone had been waiting for Yang Pan to come back. Even Zheng Chuan, the right winger who started every match in the previous four matches, knew that he would never be the main player, because Yang Pan was there.

His speed was unparalleled, his long shots were powerful and heavy, his assists were selfless and accurate, and his Serie A experience was unmatched in the team. Therefore, when Qiu Suhui decided to officially hand him the captain's armband, no one in the team objected. Even the former acting captain, Liu Peng, was happy to sit as the second captain.

Yang Pan naturally wouldn't decline. As he said, he came back to lead the team to victory. How could he be considered "leading" if he wasn't the captain? Besides, he had been the captain from elementary school to high school, so he wouldn't feel uncomfortable wearing the captain's armband now.

Like the captain's armband, the No. 7 jersey also belonged to Yang Pan. In the National Olympic team, 11 and 7 were two very special numbers. When choosing numbers, everyone took the initiative not to ask for these two numbers, because they all understood that before choosing numbers, these two numbers already had owners. No. 11 belonged to Zhang Jun, and No. 7 belonged to Yang Pan.

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Li Yongle, Liu Peng, and Yang Pan, these three friends who had known each other since their student days, being able to gather in the National Olympic team should also be a very happy thing for each other. But the actual situation was not as outsiders imagined.

After training, some of the more popular players were surrounded by reporters and fans for short interviews or group photos and autographs. Yang Pan was surrounded by the most people, but when accepting reporters' interviews, he always had a straight face and answered questions like a routine. Only when taking photos with fans would he show a smile, but that was only for a moment. After the flash, his face became straight again.

Li Yongle on the side only had fans around him, no reporters, so it was much easier to deal with. So, he quickly finished his work and found a place that was not noticed by others to wait for Yang Pan. Looking at Yang Pan's performance, he knew that Yang Pan was still worried about Zhang Jun's matter. Especially after returning to the National Olympic team, in the place where Zhang Jun had lived and fought, he seemed to be able to feel Zhang Jun's pain during that time.

Yang Pan and Zhang Jun were not friends, but brothers, closer than real brothers. If Zhang Jun was in pain, Yang Pan would definitely not be better. The two of them seemed to be sharing each other's pain while also working hard to play football for each other. When Yang Pan was trying his best to fight for the main position in Serie A, Zhang Jun was counting Yang Pan's share and desperately scoring goals in the National Olympic team, leading this team that had been formed for less than a year and giving the Chinese people a big surprise. And now that Zhang Jun was unfortunately injured, Yang Pan would also bring Zhang Jun's share and work hard in the National Olympic team.

It's so good to have such brothers! Li Yongle sighed in his heart.

Yang Pan finally politely refused after taking a photo with a little girl, saying that he had to rush back to take a shower and change his clothes, otherwise he would catch a cold.

He saw Li Yongle waiting for him, so he ran two steps and walked towards Li Yongle, shaking off the crowd. And those fans and reporters were also very aware and didn't follow him to ask for autographs.

"You are so popular!" Li Yongle laughed.

Yang Pan managed to squeeze out a smile: "It's okay, they are all very enthusiastic."

It could be seen that Yang Pan's mood was not high. If Zhang Jun was by his side before, these two people would definitely tease each other, which would be lively. If those fans and reporters were lucky, they might be able to see the scene of Yang Pan chasing Zhang Jun in the National Olympic team.

"Still thinking about Zhang Jun's matter?"

"Yeah." Yang Pan nodded, "I called him yesterday. It seems that things are not going well in Belgium. Many medical centers dare not take his foot injury, saying that the surgery is too difficult and the risk is high."

Li Yongle didn't speak. He knew that if he had sent it out for treatment the first time he was injured, it might not have been so bad. But that quack doctor had delayed him for more than two weeks, more than two weeks, how many things could he have done!

Obviously, Yang Pan also knew this, so he began to scold the quack doctor: "Damn liar! He dared to pretend to be a 'miracle doctor' to cheat fame and profit in the National Olympic team! If I meet him, I will make him look good!"

Li Yongle didn't know much about traditional Chinese medicine. He had only seen traditional Chinese medicine doctors use bamboo boards to fix fractures in martial arts novels. But Zhang Jun's was not a fracture, but a ligament tear. It seemed that there was no successful precedent for traditional Chinese medicine to treat ligament tears. Well, would it count if the meridians were broken and healed with internal strength?

"Forget it, things have already happened, it's useless for you to scold him again. I heard that after that traditional Chinese medicine doctor went back, he still opened his clinic and took his patients, but it seems that he no longer calls himself a 'miracle doctor'. No matter how fiercely you scold him, it won't affect his business. Traditional Chinese medicine is not good at this in the first place, so you can only blame the Football Association for grasping at straws when they were desperate, sigh!" Li Yongle sighed. Indeed, as he said, the media had scolded that Dr. Hu as a "quack doctor", but not being good at this aspect didn't mean that traditional Chinese medicine doctors were not good at other aspects. Not being able to connect ligaments didn't prevent people from curing colds, right? It was just bad luck for Zhang Jun, and everyone who cared about Zhang Jun was cheated. Instead of finding trouble with the actors, it would be better to question the director of this farce. As a result, the Chinese Football Association was once again unable to raise its head in the media and fans' scolding during this time. Knowing that they were in the wrong, they all disappeared and no longer expressed any opinions on this issue. Only Chen Wei was still running around under the scolding, criticism, and pressure, on the one hand, paying close attention to Zhang Jun's treatment, and on the other hand, doing public relations everywhere, hoping to minimize the negative impact of this matter.

Luo Wenqiang, the person who made the decision to hire a traditional Chinese medicine doctor, shrank into his shell and didn't come out, only pitying a group of his subordinates!

"Humph! The Football Association!" Yang Pan snorted heavily, "They never understood football! Who has ever seen a traditional Chinese medicine doctor being hired to treat a ligament tear? Why don't they all break their ligaments and go to a traditional Chinese medicine doctor!"

Li Yongle made a "hush" gesture: "Keep your voice down. If these words are heard by a reporter, the National Olympic team will be completely turned upside down. It's better to restrain yourself."

Sure enough, Yang Pan's voice became much smaller. It seemed that he was also afraid that the above words would be spread out by a reporter to make trouble. It was just that he was still a little unwilling: "If I become the chairman of the Football Association in the future, how could Chinese football be as useless as it is now!"

"Hey, don't talk about the future, let's talk about the upcoming China-Korea match. This is your first time representing the National Olympic team against South Korea, right? But they won't be unfamiliar with you. They will definitely keep a close eye on you."

Yang Pan frowned: "If anyone dares to get within three meters of me, I don't know where my shot will go, maybe it's not impossible to hit someone's face!"

"…Is this your way to break man-to-man defense? The South Korean team has no feud with you." Li Yongle said.

"Once you're on the field, everyone is an enemy except your teammates!"

"Then… did Qiu-zhi ask you to directly shoot at the faces of the wall if there are any free kicks in the match?" Li Yongle glanced at Yang Pan. (Qiu-zhi = Coach Qiu)

Yang Pan turned his head to look at Li Yongle: "No… But, your method is not bad."

"…Don't say I taught you if you kill someone."

"I'm not kidding, let's talk about serious things. What do you think of the match with South Korea?" Li Yongle asked.

"Follow Qiu-zhi's arrangement, try our best to win. Starting from March 3rd, we will maintain an undefeated record against South Korea for the next twenty years." Yang Pan's answer was really concise, organized, and clearly structured, as expected of someone wearing the captain's armband!

"Your goal is really long-term. I didn't think so much. We will do our best in every match, and since we are at home, there is no reason not to let everyone have a good festival, haha!" Li Yongle laughed.

"That's right!" Yang Pan suddenly called out.

Li Yongle was shocked: "What's wrong?"

"I just thought about your suggestion. Instead of shooting at the face, it would be more lethal to shoot directly at the crotch." Yang Pan touched his chin and said seriously.

"…"