Chapter 1 The Month After

A month after the Chinese Olympic team successfully qualified, Qiu Suhui finally recovered from his busy schedule. He went home to visit his family and fulfill his filial duties. Then, he successfully prevented the Football Association from recruiting Yang Pan into the national team for the Asian Cup. Next was the Olympic training camp, but not long after it started, the players noticed that only Hu Li was leading them on the training field; Coach Qiu was nowhere to be seen.

Hu Li told everyone that Coach Qiu had gone to Europe to observe the highest-level football event of the summer – the 2004 European Championship in Portugal.

However, many players privately believed that Coach Qiu must have taken this opportunity to go on a publicly funded trip to Portugal.

After enjoying a two-week vacation, the Olympic youngsters gathered again, carrying the hopes of hundreds of millions of fans across the country, striving for the Athens Olympics.

※※※

Yang Pan's return to China could almost be considered a triumphant homecoming. He was featured on television, in newspapers, and in magazines. As the first Chinese player to play in Serie A, the first Chinese player to score in Serie A, and the first Chinese player to join the powerhouse AC Milan, his influence in China extended beyond just football.

CCTV5 once again invited Yang Pan to participate in an interview program. This time, the person sitting next to him was Li Yongle, who had quickly risen to fame with the Olympic team's excellent performance in the qualifiers, instead of Zhang Jun.

"Li Yongle used to be your and Zhang Jun's opponent!" Liu Hongmin said with a smile. The audience was always interested in the past of celebrities, especially when the pasts of two celebrities were intertwined.

"He still is now," Yang Pan corrected the host.

※※※

Xiang Tao sat in front of the TV, watching Yang Pan and Li Yongle on the screen and muttering to himself, "Even Lao Hu was invited to the scene, why don't I have that luck?"

Wang Yu tapped him on the side, "Wait until you're as famous as them."

"Am I not famous enough?" Indeed, compared to when he first joined the Olympic team, Xiang Tao could be considered quite famous, but…

"Idiot! With your kind of fame, it's already giving you face that you haven't been on the news for negative stories!" Wang Yu scolded from behind. Many people now knew that Xiang Tao was the prank king of the Olympic team. If Qiu Suhui didn't have enough prestige, Xiang Tao might have been expelled from the Olympic team long ago by the higher-ups.

"Hey, girl! Have you ever thought about what we're going to do after the Olympics?" Xiang Tao suddenly asked.

"What to do?" Wang Yu was stunned; he really hadn't considered this question. "...I guess we'll go back to the club."

"Yeah, you should be fine going back. But me... hehe!" Xiang Tao smiled, "You know, whether it's the youth team or the first team, the coaches at the club don't really like me. Even if I perform well here, they won't give me a second glance."

Wang Yu looked at his good friend, "Then what are you going to do?"

"Me..." Xiang Tao rested his chin and looked at the TV, where the host was asking Li Yongle about his future plans. "...I want to go abroad to play football, no matter where I go, I just can't stay in China."

※※※

"So you're planning to go abroad directly to develop?" Liu Hongmin asked Li Yongle rhetorically.

Li Yongle nodded, "My agent is already working hard on this matter. I think there should be some definite news after the Asian Cup."

"Then is there any club you particularly favor?" This was a question with a small trap. Liu Hongmin was actually asking Li Yongle in a roundabout way which club he wanted to go to the most right now. But when Li Yongle answered truthfully, Liu Hongmin felt that he had asked a pointless question.

Li Yongle replied, "I'm a fan of Inter Milan."

Liu Hongmin thought to himself that it was impossible for you to go to Inter Milan right now; Inter Milan wouldn't possibly reserve a spot for you on the first team. It's better to be realistic. Because this answer was completely unexpected, all the questions he had prepared in advance were rendered useless, so he could only laugh dryly, "Ha! There are indeed many Inter Milan fans in China, ha!"

※※※

"Ha! Inter Milan! His aspirations are really high!" Xiang Tao laughed loudly in front of the TV.

But Wang Yu interrupted Xiang Tao's laughter, "Just go to any club? Do you think going abroad to play football is that easy? Just leave whenever you want?"

"I've already talked to Lao Qiu, and he promised to help me recommend me to foreign clubs. With his connections abroad, it's not difficult. As long as I'm willing, I'll go to a team in a lower league. As for the club, they can't wait for me to leave," Xiang Tao said, still looking at the TV.

"Impossible, with your current strength, there's no reason for the club to let you go..." Wang Yu said somewhat excitedly.

"Girl, you don't know, I went to the team during the vacation and met some old acquaintances," Xiang Tao said to himself, ignoring Wang Yu's sudden excitement. "I just suddenly remembered that I had forgotten something at the team, so I went back to get it. Guess what those people said? They said I was back to show off. They said that someone like me, who can't even make the youth team's starting lineup, can actually play on the Olympic team, and my family must have given the higher-ups a lot of money... I'll f*ck their ancestors! Am I showing off to them? Those sons of b*tches aren't qualified for me to do that!"

It's no wonder Xiang Tao was so excited. His family, from his grandfather to his father, were all workers. Although they weren't rich, and could even be said to be somewhat poor, they were all upright people. In the eyes of those worldly and sophisticated people, their family's temperaments were all strange and unapproachable. Saying in front of Xiang Tao that his family had given money for him to enter the Olympic team could be said to be insulting Xiang Tao's family. This was something Xiang Tao absolutely could not tolerate. Wang Yu knew Xiang Tao's temper well, saying such a thing and not being beaten by Xiang Tao until he couldn't recognize his own relatives would be accumulating eight lifetimes of virtue.

"How many ended up in the hospital?"

"No, none," Xiang Tao shook his head. "I didn't even lay a hand on them."

"Why?" Wang Yu was somewhat surprised.

"I don't want to be expelled from the Olympic team for a moment of pleasure." Xiang Tao was able to calm down his emotions when his blood was rushing to his head, which made Wang Yu look at him with new eyes. But this was actually due to Qiu Suhui's credit. Qiu Suhui always told Xiang Tao that if he wanted to have great development, then that irritable temper must be restrained, especially in China. "Besides, I'm now a starter for the Olympic team, what about them? They don't even know if they can get into the first team. I'm afraid that hitting them would lower my status. Hehe!"

"F*ck! Are you just going to let it go like that? I'll go back and clean up those sons of b*tches for you! I still have some prestige in the team."

"It's not worth it," Xiang Tao shook his head again.

"Then I'll go to the coach to plead..."

"Haha! If that's the case, the coach will definitely look at you with very strange eyes, making you feel uneasy, and then ask you: 'Wang Yu, haven't you been with that Xiang Tao for too long, and your brain has become stupid?' Although you are a starter on the team, it's best not to stick your head out in this situation, otherwise even your position will not be guaranteed."

Wang Yu shut his mouth.

"Okay, thank you both for accepting our interview! We look forward to your wonderful performance at the Athens Olympics!"

"Pi!" Xiang Tao turned off the TV, and then said to Wang Yu, "Want to go out and play?"

Wang Yu shook his head weakly, "No, I... have a bit of a headache. You go by yourself."

Xiang Tao smiled, then opened the door and rushed out.

Girl, you don't have the ability and qualifications to worry about me yet! But don't think too much, that's better for both of us.

Xiang Tao went out for a walk, but didn't meet anyone. Bored, he stood in the corridor and shouted at the top of his lungs, "Everyone come out! The betting is open! The betting is open! The opening match of the European Championship, Portugal vs. Greece, is now accepting bets!"

Instantly, the tightly closed doors opened one after another, and people jumped out from inside: "I've been waiting for Brother Tao to open the betting, I'll bet on Portugal, ten yuan!"

"Damn! You're really stingy! I'll bet on Portugal, twelve yuan!"

"Damn, you're not much better!"

...

"Hey, hey! You're all stars, and you're only betting this little money? The highest is fifty yuan, the lowest is... this... who bet one yuan?" Xiang Tao shouted while looking at the ledger in his hand. "My god, everyone is more stingy than the last! The Olympic team's materialism is not ordinary!"

Wang Yu sighed as he watched Xiang Tao yelling and shouting. After being teammates for eight years, will there finally be a day when they part ways?

※※※

The most important event of this summer, the 2004 European Championship in Portugal, officially kicked off at 4:30 p.m. local time on June 12 at the Estádio do Dragão, the home stadium of Porto.

After a wonderful opening ceremony, the match between Portugal and Greece began. No one had imagined what role this match would play in this European Championship.

Portugal lost, losing cleanly in front of 50,000 hometown fans.

Before the match, people were talking about the last swan song of Portugal's golden generation, the strength of the French legion, the English lads, the Italian handsome guys, Spain's Raul, the Netherlands, Germany... reeling them off one by one. But the facts once again proved that the European Championship is a hotbed for dark horses. Denmark in '92, the Czech Republic in '96, and then Greece this year.

After defeating the host Portugal, many people still thought that it was only because the host underestimated their opponents and were nervous that the Greeks achieved their first goal and first victory in nearly twenty years of international competitions.

People generally have a psychology of believing in authority and worshipping the strong. Football is no exception. But the Greeks used their tenacious defense and high-efficiency counterattacks to advance rapidly. After qualifying from Group A, they eliminated the defending champion France and the hot favorite Czech Republic with two consecutive 1-0 victories, and finally stood on the final stage of this European Championship - the Estádio da Luz in Lisbon. They went from the beginning to the end, which was enough to explain the problem. But most people still thought that the Greeks had just had good luck, and the two 1-0 victories were nothing more than despicable negative tactics. They would not be able to defeat the Portuguese team, which had the advantages of timing, location, and harmony.

But unfortunately, in the face of miracles, all advantages were already insignificant. Another 1-0!

Charisteas, this tall center forward, only twenty-two years old, made the hosts cry after ending France.

Greece could no longer be described as a "dark horse", they were a "Trojan horse virus".

Many fans were still sighing for Portugal and complaining about the "golden generation". But Qiu Suhui only focused his attention on the Greek coach Otto Rehhagel. What kind of magic did he use to lead the Greek team, which was still a standard pushover team more than a decade ago, to the European Championship title?

Qiu Suhui felt that thoroughly understanding Rehhagel's methods would be very useful for the current Chinese national team. Haven't some people already compared the Chinese team in the Asian Cup with the Greek team? However, it seemed that the Chinese team was not yet qualified to be compared with the Greek team, they were not on the same level.

Speaking of the Asian Cup, although Arie Haan liked Yang Pan very much and hoped that he could participate in the Asian Cup, Qiu Suhui had already refused the Football Association's request to transfer Yang Pan to the national team with a very tough attitude.

Yang Pan was not an iron man. He had just finished a season in Serie A and was going to participate in the Olympic Games in August. If he was allowed to participate in the Asian Cup in between, he would have no time to rest at all. This would be extremely detrimental to his next season, especially since he would have to compete with a group of world-class superstars at AC Milan.

The Football Association's approach was tantamount to killing the chicken to get the eggs, and was completely short-sighted. Therefore, Qiu Suhui did not hesitate to make Luo Wenqiang and the General Administration of Sport extremely unhappy with him, but also had to ensure Yang Pan's rest time.

Arie Haan was a reasonable person. After communicating with Qiu Suhui, he announced that he would no longer ask Yang Pan to come back to play in the Asian Cup. The Football Association had no excuse, and the matter was finally settled and no longer mentioned.

※※※

While Zhang Jun was still undergoing rehabilitation treatment under the careful care of Feng Qing and Su Fei, the entire Olympic team had already ended their short training camp in China and flew to the Netherlands under the leadership of Qiu Suhui to conduct adaptive training at Ajax's training base.

Because it was currently the holiday season, the huge base only had the Olympic team as its user. It was quiet, but Qiu Suhui felt that without those Dutchmen, the Olympic team lacked a good teacher and reference point.

After settling down those excited lads, Qiu Suhui came out alone to wander around. He used to be very familiar with this place, after all, he had worked here for more than a year and created the beginning of Ajax's third glory with Van Gaal. But now this place made his head ache a little, it seemed that the base had undergone some renovation and expansion. Qiu Suhui walked at will, turning left and right, and had already gotten lost.

"Uh, is this... east? Then that should be west? But I was clearly walking north just now?" Qiu Suhui scratched his head and muttered to himself at a small fork in the road.

"You seem to be in some trouble, do you need my help?" Someone asked in English from behind.

"Ah, thank you very much. I want to go to Building 3 in Area A, please..." Qiu Suhui turned around and was shocked, "Marco?"

The person who came was none other than the once-powerful Dutch striker Marco van Basten.

"Hi! Qiu, long time no see!" Basten raised his hand and greeted him.

The two had been selected into the best team at the same World Youth Championship, were compared to each other, and Qiu Suhui's experience of studying in the Netherlands allowed the friendship between the two to continue from the World Youth Championship to the present.

But unfortunately, due to different circumstances. One became a superstar who would later become famous in the world of football, and his early departure made countless people reluctant to let go. The other, however, muddled through in his own domestic league, and eventually had his left foot crippled, retiring earlier than the former, but not many people remembered his glorious past.

Qiu Suhui's talent back then made Basten somewhat envious, but the endings of the two were so different. Is this fate?

"Ah, yes. We haven't seen each other for a long time," Qiu Suhui replied, he really didn't expect to meet him here today.

"I heard Ronald (Koeman) say that a Chinese team would be coming here for training during this period, but I didn't expect you to be the coach. Tsk, look at you now, you're already the coach of the Chinese Olympic team, and I'm just a coach of a club's youth team."

"I heard that the Dutch Football Association is looking for you to become the coach of the Dutch national team?" Qiu Suhui asked rhetorically.

"Haha! Let's not talk about these things first. We've finally met each other, what does it look like to be standing here chatting? Let's go have a cup of coffee, it's on me," Basten said with a smile.

※※※

"This is a cafe inside the club, what do you think? Not bad, right?" Basten said with a smile.

Qiu Suhui turned his head and looked around the cafe. Whether it was from the decoration or the service, it reminded people of the cafes outside. Ajax after he left had undergone great changes, even the cafes had been renovated. "It's really good... When I was here, if I wanted to drink coffee, I had to ask someone to brew it, or buy instant coffee to make myself. The conditions are much better now..."

"Haha, acting like an old-timer!" Basten said with a smile.

"Hey! If we're talking about the experience of coaching at Ajax, I'm really your senior, Marco." Qiu Suhui glanced at Basten, this dashing swordsman who was once able to move freely in the penalty area and score goals as easily as reaching into a bag to take something out was also old, and in the blink of an eye was already forty.

"Ha! Everyone is old! I'm forty this year, and you should be forty next year, right?" Basten said with a smile, the reunion with his old friend after a long absence made him feel exceptionally good.

Qiu Suhui nodded.

"Sometimes I feel that life is quite impermanent," Basten sighed, "We had the same beginning, but we don't have the same ending. I once said that I would never touch football again, but instead I was gradually pushed to the position of candidate for the Dutch coach. What about you, are you doing well in China now?"

"Um, the environment of Chinese football... how should I put it, it's a bit complicated, hard to say. But fortunately, I met a group of promising players. As long as they develop well, they will be the future of Chinese football."

"Are you talking about Zhang Jun and Yang Pan?"

"Yes. Although my career has had too many regrets, they seem to be my continuation." When talking about Zhang Jun and the others, hope flickered in Qiu Suhui's eyes.

"Hehe, I just hope they don't end up like you," Basten said with a smile, but the smile was a bit bitter. When Qiu Suhui was studying in the Netherlands back then, his performance even attracted the attention of Ajax, who intended to recruit him and form a frontline partnership with Basten. But unfortunately, Chinese football at that time had not implemented professionalization, and there were extremely strict requirements for players to go abroad to play football, and ultimately did not agree to Ajax's request. And Qiu Suhui returned to China a few months later, and Basten had no chance to meet Qiu Suhui again. Later, he heard that Qiu Suhui had retired from football in China due to a serious ankle injury to his left foot. The two ultimately were not able to fight side by side on the football field. It could not be said that it was a regret. And after this reunion after more than ten years, both of them were already coaches, serving their respective countries.

"Let's not talk about the past," Two people who had experienced the same storms, ups and downs, and then returned to the ordinary, all had some feelings more or less when they were nearing forty. "I was originally planning to go directly to you, but I didn't expect you to take the initiative to come to me."

"Is there anything I can do?"

"It's about Zhang Jun. As you know, Zhang Jun has not made much substantial improvement in Volendam this year. The reason he performed so well is really because he has such a young body to guarantee it. But I'm very worried, people who rely on their bodies to play football will suffer a lot in the future. The coach is not a person who can give Zhang Jun improvement in terms of technique. What he needs most now is someone to guide him in terms of technique. Now that he is injured, technique is even more important. So..."

"So you thought of me?"

"Yes, currently only your experience and qualifications can help him. You are both center forwards, you should have a lot in common, right?"

Basten thought for a while: "Okay, I promise you."

Qiu Suhui smiled, he raised his coffee cup and said to Basten: "Thank you, cheers."

"But I seem to be cultivating a very powerful opponent for the Netherlands," Basten sighed.

"Haha! Don't think so much. To be honest, not only me, you also want to see your football continue to appear on the field, right? He is a person you can pin your hopes on." Qiu Suhui drank the coffee in his cup in one gulp.

The Chinese can hope that he will win honor for his country, so what am I, a foreigner? Basten thought, entrust him to continue my football? Don't be ridiculous, Basten is Basten, Zhang Jun is Zhang Jun. There is no need to clone another me, let him play his own football.

"Okay, I wish you and your team to win honor in Athens!" Basten also drank the coffee in his cup.

※※※

"I'll send you back," Basten said to Qiu Suhui at the door of the cafe.

"No need, I'm afraid those lads will eat you if they see you," Qiu Suhui shook his head.

"But can you find your way back alone?" Basten asked with a smile.

"This..." Qiu Suhui looked at the completely changed surroundings, this used to be just a forest next to the base.

"Haha!" Basten laughed again. "I'll still send you back. I also want to see those lads you call 'the future of Chinese football'."

When Basten appeared in front of the Olympic team members, they were really glad that they had listened to Qiu Suhui and stayed in their rooms obediently. Now that their idol was in front of them, they were so excited, no need to say more.

Signing autographs and taking photos, Basten was busy. But he was very interested and did not show any dissatisfaction. This made Li Yongle, who got his autograph, had to admire him. The brilliance and qualities of a superstar will not disappear with the passage of time.

After enjoying the happiest day since coming to the Netherlands, the Olympic team officially began training in the Netherlands. In addition to daily training, Qiu Suhui also used his personal connections to secure some high-quality warm-up matches. For example, the Ajax youth team that Basten brought out when he was in charge. As a result, under Qiu Suhui's request to Basten to "not be soft", the Ajax youth team indeed unceremoniously defeated the Olympic team 3:1. The only goal for the Chinese team came from captain number 7, Yang Pan, who scored with a powerful shot that pierced the opponent's goal. Unfortunately, the overall strength gap still made the Olympic team lose, and also made them realize their shortcomings.

Time passed really quickly. While the Olympic youngsters were training hard in the Netherlands to improve their level, the Asian Cup was about to kick off in China. This was an important test for Arie Haan and his disciples before the World Cup.

The future of Chinese football is gradually deviating from its original trajectory. But who knows whether this deviation is good or bad? Or perhaps no one realizes this deviation at all, it needs an opportunity for people to recognize it.