Chapter 274 (Part 1)

The Chinese team's fierce attack made the Senegal coach's heart race. He was afraid that China would extend the score to 3-0, which would mean there was really no way to play.

Fortunately, the lads withstood the pressure and the Chinese team's fierce offensive. As long as there was a period of respite, he could organize a counterattack.

In the second half, after more than ten minutes, many of the Chinese team's players had already soaked the dry jerseys they had just changed into during the halftime break.

Even Sophie's sleeves on the sidelines were soaked through—she always used them to wipe the sweat from her face. Luckily, she didn't like wearing much makeup, just a little lipstick, or else her face would have been a mess.

The sweltering weather reduced the momentum of the fans. Many people were so hot that they didn't even want to open their mouths, but the players still had to play in such an environment.

The German commentators said that this was the most treacherous high-temperature, muggy weather in Germany, but the Chinese team had run into it, what "good" luck.

Zhang Jun once again felt difficulty breathing. The air humidity was too high, making it difficult for him to breathe, and this time it was accompanied by the "symptom" of being unable to move his legs. Most of the time, he could only stand in place.

Seeing this, Qiu Suhui was glad, he had to be glad that the team had a two-goal lead in the first half, giving him more options now. He stood up and issued instructions from the sidelines: "Withdraw! We'll play defensive counterattack!"

They couldn't always attack blindly; they had to know how to control the rhythm. Appropriate withdrawal would help conserve the players' energy.

Seeing the Chinese team withdraw and not attack as fiercely as before, the Senegal coach waved his hand and asked his players to attack. He had to equalize the score as soon as possible.

In an instant, the situation on the field changed. The Chinese team, which had originally taken the initiative, began to withdraw and defend due to physical factors. Senegal, which was originally on the defensive, took the opportunity to chase out and launch a fierce attack on the Chinese team's half.

Diouf loved this. Before, he couldn't get the ball for a long time, so he couldn't use his strength. Now it was different. He had three shooting opportunities in five minutes. Although only one shot was on target, he at least had a shot.

An Ke was now very busy. In addition to saving the opponent's shots, he also had to take responsibility for directing the defense.

"Ah Sheng, someone's open! Don't worry about the ball! Go mark him!"

"Xiang Tao, don't rush too hard! Watch out for them getting behind you!"

"Li Yongle! Foul when necessary! I won't let them score from a free kick!"

"Cover! Cover! The center is open again!!"

…

During this period, An Ke's loud voice never stopped. At the same time, he repeatedly ended Senegal's powerful attacks.

Having an excellent goalkeeper is like having half a team. This was Beckenbauer's evaluation of Kahn at the 2002 World Cup in South Korea and Japan. At that time, the German team only entered the World Cup finals through the play-offs and was considered the worst German team in history. They were not among the favorites to win the championship, but with Kahn's excellent performance, they reached the finals step by step, which surprised many people.

The current Chinese team's defense was definitely not good, but because there was an An Ke, Qiu Suhui was somewhat relieved.

If they wanted to attack, let them attack. When they had accumulated enough strength, they would give them a fatal blow, and then the game would be over.

Qiu Suhui adjusted his sitting position and chose what he thought was the most comfortable posture to watch the game.

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If everything went according to Qiu Suhui's plan, this would be an unremarkable game. For many neutral German fans, the encounter between two teams without big-name stars would be nothing to watch if the game itself was uneventful.

The referee must have thought the same thing.

Diouf was dribbling the ball in front of the Chinese team's penalty area. His feints made Zheng Jun unable to handle it and lose his balance. After fooling Zheng Jun, he broke into the penalty area from the other side! Zheng Jun knew that he must not let the opponent enter the penalty area, otherwise things would be difficult. So, he stretched out his foot and tripped the opponent when he saw that Diouf had not yet stepped into the penalty area.

Diouf fell into the penalty area, and the referee's whistle blew.

It was a foul, no doubt about it, and An Ke was preparing to direct everyone to form a wall.

But in the next second, they were dumbfounded. The referee from Argentina ran into the penalty area and pointed to the penalty spot!

It was a penalty!

It was actually a penalty!?

There was an uproar in the audience. The big screen was replaying the scene just now. Zheng Jun's foul was beyond doubt, but the foul location was indeed outside the penalty area. It was just that Diouf fell into the penalty area due to the momentum. No matter what, this could not be a penalty. The referee's decision was a misjudgment!

However, the referee who made the penalty did not intend to change it. He stood in front of the penalty spot, insisting that his penalty was correct.

The Senegal substitutes and players on the field were cheering. The players stepped forward and hugged Diouf, as if they had already scored the goal.

Looking at the opponent's happy expression and the referee's rigid face without any expression, Zheng Jun was furious. Ignoring his teammates' persuasion, he rushed to the referee, pointed his finger at his eyes, and shouted at him: "Are you blind?! This is obviously a free kick. I fouled outside the penalty area, not inside! What the hell are you calling a penalty!! You goddamn black whistle! How much money did they give you?"

This was obvious dissatisfaction with the judgment, plus verbal abuse of the referee. The referee naturally would not let go of this opportunity to punish Zheng Jun, and unceremoniously gave him a yellow card. Fortunately, he couldn't understand the gibberish of Chinese, otherwise it would not be as simple as a yellow card, and a red card would have been justified.

If Wang Hui and Li Yi hadn't desperately stopped Zheng Jun, he probably would have actively applied for a second yellow card after seeing the first one.

Qiu Suhui was certainly very dissatisfied with the penalty, but what made him even more angry was Zheng Jun's performance. As the captain, he was so impulsive and reckless, how could he lead the whole team? Look at what kind of "example" he was setting?

Many Chinese players believe that the leader of a team should be bloody, powerful, and dare to stand up in any situation, fight with the coach, fight with the referee, fight with the fans, and have endless fun. Only then is he considered to have prestige and be a captain. But in reality, they have just watched too many crudely made gangster films. This kind of person is not a captain, but a *qiuba* (a player who acts like a bully).

I used to hear people say "bandits on trains and bullies on roads," and the nature of *qiuba* is similar to this.

What should a real captain be like? Please refer to AC Milan's Baresi and Real Madrid's Hierro, and the German national team's Beckenbauer. That is a real captain, whether on the field, in the locker room, or in life off the field, caring for teammates, fighting for appropriate rights, helping and supporting newcomers, and always setting a good example in everyone's mind, using personal charm to resolve conflicts, not fists and cliques.

So, Chinese football is not professional enough. Many people don't have those professional things in their minds at all. This captain culture is also a component of professionalism.

Chen Wei said that Chinese football has a long way to go to become professional. He is indeed justified. For Chinese football to achieve true professionalism, the term of one chairman is not enough, and two are not enough. This requires the unremitting and common efforts of thousands of Chinese football people. Unfortunately, even the most basic professional reforms are fraught with obstacles, and the future of Chinese football is still as bleak as the starlight in the cloudy night sky.

Qiu Suhui rushed to the sidelines and shouted inside: "What are you doing! If you want to leave early, I'll replace you! Shut your mouth after the referee makes a decision!" These words were for Zheng Jun to hear. He had long wanted to prevent this reckless, rash man who only leads others astray off the field from being the captain. But in this national team, new and old players each account for half, and there are not many old players in the main positions. For the sake of team balance, he could only continue to put the captain's armband on this person.

The best candidate in his mind should be Yang Pan, who was the captain in the national youth team. No one in the new generation of players has more leadership qualities than this precocious young man.

※※※

The referee waved his hand to disperse the Chinese players who were trying to argue, not only giving Senegal a non-existent penalty, but also giving Zheng Jun a yellow card.

This was not a black whistle, but only a misjudgment. Because the location of Zheng Jun's foul was too close to the edge of the penalty area, it was inevitable to make mistakes with the naked eye in the blink of an eye. We must firmly believe that the World Cup held by the rigorous and meticulous Germans will be much cleaner than the previous one.

Despite understanding this, some fans were still cursing the referee as a black whistle, which was a kind of venting, and was still understandable. In addition, some fans were cursing Zheng Jun, believing that it was his clumsy performance in defense that caused this result. This kind of cursing, leaving aside the venting factor, was also reasonable and well-founded, making people have to nod in agreement.

In the one-on-one with Diouf, An Ke was defeated. He flew out and pounced, only to find that the opponent had pushed the penalty to the middle.

2:1! Senegal pulled back a point!

This goal caused a subtle change in the situation on the field.

A one-goal lead made the Chinese team no longer as relaxed as when they had a two-goal lead, while Senegal saw the hope of equalizing the score with twenty-five minutes left in the game. They would definitely attack more vigorously, giving the Chinese team greater pressure.

For the Chinese team, this was actually both a good thing and a bad thing. The bad thing was that they had to be more active, which required a lot of physical strength. The good thing was that Senegal's large-scale attack would inevitably make the gaps behind them more obvious. As long as the Chinese team seized the opportunity to counterattack, the chance of scoring would be greatly increased.

Opportunities are fair to both sides of the game, it just depends on who can seize these opportunities and destroy the opponent's opportunities more. The group stage is still a bit better, but once you enter the knockout stage, it is almost a competition of which side can destroy the opponent's opportunities more, rather than seizing your own opportunities. Therefore, many World Cup knockout matches are relatively dull and ugly.

"Play defensive counterattack!" Qiu Suhui used gestures to tell Yang Pan on the side, and then he passed the order down. He now wanted to deliberately cultivate Yang Pan's invisible prestige in the team. Starting from these small details, slowly and gradually let others accept the fact that Yang Pan was giving orders.

"Defensive counterattack! We're playing defensive counterattack!" Yang Pan shouted to his other teammates. "They will definitely press up! Don't let go of any defensive counterattack opportunities!"

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Senegal's offensive was as fierce as people expected. They wanted to take advantage of the momentum of just scoring a goal to equalize the score again.

The Chinese team naturally retreated to defend. Currently, Senegal's morale was high. The smart thing to do would be to avoid their sharp edge, survive their initial onslaught, and then wait for the opponent to exhaust their strength and not catch their breath, and then take the opportunity to counterattack, which would surely have a miraculous effect.

The enemy advances, we retreat; the enemy retreats, we advance; that's pretty much what it means.

Only Zhang Jun was left in front, and Wu Shanshan was also ordered to retreat to defend. Senegal's offensive was like a tide, and even the commentators were worried about the Chinese team: "Now is the critical moment for the Chinese team, as long as they can defend... but can they successfully defend?"

Diop took another long shot, which was touched by a Chinese player in the middle, slightly changing its trajectory. Fortunately, the range of the change was still within An Ke's control. He fell to the ground and made a sideways save, pressing the ball on the ground.

Getting up from the ground, An Ke cheered on his teammates: "Good! Just like that! Let them shoot from long range! But don't let them enter the penalty area! They can't score from long range!"

These words were quite disdainful of Senegal. Which goalkeeper would dare to say that he could prevent all of the opponent's long shots from scoring? An Ke only regretted that the opponent couldn't understand his Chinese and couldn't provoke them.

An Ke's idea was very risky, which could lead to backfiring, but he liked it this way and enjoyed it. Often in Bundesliga matches, he would use words to tease the opponent, and even if he failed, he would not learn a lesson. This was determined by his personality.

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Subsequently, both sides were deadlocked in the midfield, with interceptions and counter-interceptions, and neither side could gain an advantage. The fast pace of offense and defense was also because both sides made more mistakes, which surprised the commentators.

"Ah! Zhang Jun of the Chinese team is dribbling the ball, he passes the ball, a beautiful opening... Why didn't Wu Shanshan run up? What a pity!"

"Senegal is counterattacking, the Chinese team only has three defenders, they haven't encountered any obstacles! The Chinese team is in danger! Long shot? Diouf actually took a long shot! They could have entered the penalty area, I really don't know what Diouf was thinking..."

"It's Senegal's attack again, an opportunity! Diouf is dribbling the ball very fast, Li Suisheng can't catch up... Aha! A mistake, Diouf didn't adjust the rhythm of his feet, he lost the ball himself!"

"Zhang Jun also got an opportunity! Ah, why didn't he stop the ball well? Look at the expression of the Senegal goalkeeper, he's a little relieved to have survived a disaster."

…

The audience was also watching with great interest, changing their emotions and making sounds according to the changes in the situation on the field.

Perhaps seeing that the Chinese team was currently at a disadvantage, some of the Chinese fans present began to sing "Ode to the Motherland." At first, it was just a small group of thirty or so people singing, but it gradually spread, and more than ten thousand Chinese fans sang this passionate "Ode to the Motherland" in unison, turning a small range into a large chorus.

This uniform singing was much better than the chaotic horn sounds before. The players competing on the field immediately felt different.

The weather was already hot and humid, and the intermittent horn sounds before could not only fail to have a cheering effect, but on the contrary could only make the players feel more irritable, especially those who played football abroad felt this even more. Now, hearing the chorus of more than ten thousand people, what do you ask the Chinese players feel in their hearts? Blood boiling, blood boiling ah.

And this grand chorus was initiated by the "Monkey King" Niu Jianhua. Seeing that the situation on the field was unfavorable to the Chinese team, he wanted to find a way to cheer on the Chinese team and stimulate them. After thinking about it, he thought of watching the English Premier League broadcast, and he could hear the fans singing in the stadium clearly in front of the TV, which made him, an ordinary fan, feel passionate.

He has always felt that the lack of professionalism of Chinese fans is reflected in the fact that the means of cheering are too simple. They cannot use the most effective means to cheer for the team they support and cannot drive the atmosphere of the stadium. From this World Cup onwards, he wants to use his influence among the fans to correct everyone and make Chinese fans professional as well.

※※※

"Listen to this singing." Zhang Jun stopped Yang Pan who was about to throw a side ball.

Yang Pan listened with his ear: "Oh, Ode to the Motherland. What's the matter?"

"Don't you think this is the first time we've heard the singing of Chinese fans at the World Cup? Don't you have any special feelings?"

"What feelings?" Yang Pan shrugged. His mind was not on listening to what the fans were singing.

"Blood boiling!" Zhang Jun clenched his fists.

"Then go score another goal first, and let the Senegal coach's blood pressure boil!" Yang Pan pushed Zhang Jun, he had to hurry up and serve the ball.

Zhang Jun grinned, obviously he had forgotten the sweltering heat, and all he had in his mind was scoring goals.

Isn't Senegal attacking fiercely? Then he would use a counterattack to score another goal against them, killing his heart of equalizing or even surpassing, and completely locking in the victory.

Yang Pan threw the side ball to Li Yongle. He didn't let the Senegal players force him up, so he took a long shot, which was higher than the crossbar.

Yang Pan waved to him, signaling him to quickly return to defense, and he also turned and ran back. Even Wu Shanshan, although he was still upset in his heart that Li Yongle did not give him the ball, but chose to shoot directly, had to quickly return to defense. But

Only Zhang Jun remained in front, slowly walking back, paying attention to his position with the opponent's defenders, not letting himself be offside.

It was twenty-nine minutes into the second half, and he was waiting for an opportunity, he was still waiting for an opportunity. Qiu Suhui never let him run around the field, which seemed extremely active, but for him it was just a waste of physical strength. He only needed to appear in the appropriate position when the team wanted to score.

The rest, just wait for the cheers.