Chapter 146 A Meeting on the Field

Gathering teammates for a meeting immediately after conceding a goal isn't something you see often. Usually, a captain or leader will use words and actions to boost morale after a goal is conceded, which is normal. But a meeting… what kind of meeting?

Though the players of the Chinese Olympic team were surprised, they still listened to Zhou Yi and gathered around him, even forward He Ying.

While the Japanese team celebrated their goal, the Chinese players returned to their penalty area and surrounded Zhou Yi.

"It's not a big deal, just one goal," Zhou Yi said from the center of the huddle. "This is the final, and anyone who makes it to the final is no pushover. It's not strange for them to score. The key is what we do after conceding. Did you guys notice that Japan is using a *qiangbiwei* (high-pressing) tactic in this match, which is why we're having a hard time adjusting? This goal happened because of that. But it's not a big deal. We've faced *qiangbiwei* before, haven't we? South Korea, right? What happened in the end? Didn't we eliminate them? So, as long as we stabilize our mentality and slowly wear them down, there's nothing to be afraid of. Actually, we have plenty of opportunities. The more aggressively they press, the more gaps they'll leave behind."

Instead of frantically trying to boost his teammates' morale, Zhou Yi calmly analyzed the situation facing both sides.

Japan's *qiangbiwei* tactic had indeed caught China off guard at the start of the match, making the Chinese Olympic team players uncomfortable.

But after hearing Zhou Yi's words, everyone gradually calmed down. He was right. We'd seen this *qiangbiwei* before when facing South Korea. The South Koreans were the best at it, and we still beat them, didn't we?

Could Japan's last-minute *qiangbiwei* be better than South Korea's?

"That's right, hit them on the counter-attack! Just pass the ball to the front!" someone suggested.

But Zhou Yi shook his head, rejecting the suggestion. "No, we can't do that yet. While there are plenty of gaps behind their defense, we'll only make more mistakes if we try to counter-attack under their pressure. If we lose the ball, we'll face their onslaught. So, when we have the ball, don't rush to pass it forward. We need to be patient. They want to win in chaos, so we can't let them create chaos. They want to play with speed, so we'll play tai chi with them!"

Zhou Yi's analogy was vivid, and everyone nodded, indicating they understood.

Seeing this, Zhou Yi clapped his hands. "Alright, they're done celebrating. Let's get back to our positions."

As everyone dispersed, Yang Muge walked beside Zhou Yi, heading out of the penalty area, and suddenly asked, "But Zhou Yi, that Yamaguchi Hotaru is still following you..."

Zhou Yi waved his hand. "It's nothing. Let him follow."

"But it's obvious they're targeting you..."

"Isn't that what I learned from you, Lao Yang? I suspect they watched the Dortmund vs. Schalke 04 match recording."

Zhou Yi's words left Yang Muge speechless. He had defended Zhou Yi in almost the same way in that match...

Seeing Yang Muge's silence, Zhou Yi laughed. "Alright, don't worry. You defended me like that in that match, and did you win? No, right? So they won't win this match either."

He spread his hands.

Hearing this, Yang Muge didn't know whether to be happy or frustrated—he couldn't stop Dortmund from winning even with such tight defense on Zhou Yi, so Zhou Yi was using that to prove that the Japanese team couldn't stop him.

But there was still one problem: "The strength of Dortmund's players and our..."

"Are you doubting yourself, Lao Yang?" Zhou Yi asked in return.

"No."

"Then are you doubting the other teammates?"

"Of course not!" Yang Muge quickly waved his hands.

"Then that settles it, right? I admit our overall strength isn't as good as Dortmund's, but the Japanese team isn't as good as Schalke 04 either. So we can still win."

※※※

The Chinese coaching and bench areas had been shrouded in gloom after conceding the goal, but soon everyone saw the players gathering together at Zhou Yi's call...

"What's going on, Jiang?" Blazevic asked his translator, Jiang Xiaojun.

"Uh, I don't know..." Jiang Xiaojun looked confused. But he quickly found the answer. "They must be boosting morale, like when they huddle together before the game..."

Blazevic nodded, satisfied with Zhou Yi's performance. Though they conceded a goal, he saw Zhou Yi's leadership ability. When Zhou Yi joined the Olympic team, there was some debate among the coaching staff about the captain's position. He wanted Zhou Yi to take over the captain's armband, but some coaches objected, arguing that the original captain, Zhang Linpeng, was doing well, and suddenly changing captains before the Olympics would hurt the team's morale and shake人心 (people’s hearts). What would Zhang Linpeng think if he was stripped of the captain's armband? And whether Zhou Yi, who had parachuted into the team, had the ability to become a convincing captain was also a problem. Although he was famous and had outstanding achievements, leadership in the locker room didn't depend entirely on fame and achievements.

In the end, Blazevic overruled the objections and insisted on making Zhou Yi the captain.

Zhou Yi didn't decline or stand on ceremony and accepted the captain's armband.

Now it seemed that his decision could only be described as "brilliant and wise."

This captain had really helped him a lot...

※※※

In the Japanese coaching and bench areas, there was also jubilation after the goal. Head coach Kantsuka Takashi and assistant coaches Mutō Akira and Ogura Tsutomu hugged each other.

They were so excited because their tactics had worked, which meant they had made the right bet!

Suddenly deciding to change the usual tactics before the match and adopting a new and unfamiliar tactic was actually a major taboo. But for victory, sometimes you need to make some seemingly unusual choices and take necessary risks. This was a gamble, and fortunately, they had bet correctly!

After celebrating the goal, Kantsuka Takashi shouted to the players on the field from the sidelines: "Play like this, keep pressing them! Keep snatching the ball! Try to score another one!"

Based on Kantsuka Takashi's inherent impression of Chinese football, he believed that the Chinese team would fall into chaos after conceding a goal. As long as the Japanese team continued to increase the intensity of their encirclement and suppression, they would be able to defeat their opponents! The biggest weakness of Chinese players was their poor mentality. They had psychological problems and were prone to panic when faced with difficulties, and their ability to withstand pressure was too weak.

He had specifically analyzed that the Chinese Olympic team had been sailing smoothly all the way in this Olympics. They had never conceded a goal first in a match. They had always scored first and played with the wind at their backs. So once they fell behind in a match, the unprepared Chinese players might fall into a 六神无主 (helpless and confused) state.

This goal from the Japanese team was like a bucket of ice water poured on the heads of the Chinese players, extinguishing their fighting spirit!

Kantsuka Takashi missed the scene of Zhou Yi gathering his teammates while celebrating with his staff. If he had seen it, he might not have thought that way...

His impression of Chinese players was basically accurate, and most Chinese players were still like that now. But this did not represent all Chinese players, especially this Olympic team.

Kantsuka Takashi's research was obviously not thorough and serious enough...

The scene that Kantsuka Takashi didn't see, Kagawa Shinji, who was sitting in the VIP box, saw clearly.

He had a bad feeling when he saw Zhou Yi gathering his teammates together.

Although he couldn't hear what Zhou Yi said, he could imagine that Zhou Yi must be comforting and reassuring his teammates.

The team wasn't defeated by the sudden goal, which was what Kagawa Shinji cared about the most.

The Chinese team still had fighting power...

※※※

Because China conceded the goal, China kicked off after the restart.

The Japanese team wanted China to control the ball so they could press them – after scoring a goal through *qiangbiwei*, the Japanese team tasted success.

When the Japanese players rushed up to press, the Japanese fans at the stadium and in front of the TV were excitedly cheering for the Japanese team.

They seemed to have already seen the Chinese players panicking and looking embarrassed under the impact of the Japanese players...

But it was a bit different from what they imagined. The football passed back and forth between the feet of the Chinese Olympic team players, but there was no panic or embarrassment.

Especially Zhou Yi. Although Yamaguchi Hotaru was following him closely, Yamaguchi Hotaru could only prevent him from controlling the ball and stopping it. Once he passed the ball directly without stopping it at his feet, Yamaguchi Hotaru couldn't do much about it.

And Zhou Yi could really pass the ball completely without stopping it.

In Yamaguchi Hotaru's eyes, it was as if Zhou Yi knew in advance where to pass the ball, so when he was waiting for the ball to come, he had already made adjustments, so when the ball rolled to him, he could directly send it to where it should go.

The occasional pass was nothing, everyone could do it, but doing it all the time, always doing it, was terrifying.

Moreover, his direct passes weren't just simple back passes. He could even pass the ball forward – using his heel to flick the ball between Yamaguchi Hotaru's legs.

But this could only slow down the Japanese team's offensive pace, and it was difficult for them to organize any decent attacks.

"Japan is continuing to press China. I think China should organize some attacks to threaten Japan's goal, on the one hand, and force them to stop pressing so hard..." Mark Lawrenson analyzed the situation as a neutral party. "I have to say, Japan seems to have entered the final faster than China, and their players have more momentum. China must reverse this situation, otherwise their goal will be broken again sooner or later. Zhou Yi's one-touch passing is indeed impressive and amazing, but this is not a long-term solution. No one can guarantee not making a mistake in a ninety-minute game. But as long as he makes one mistake, China may suffer a fatal blow!"