Chapter 23 A Battle of Words

The fact that the Chinese and South Korean Olympic teams had met in the quarterfinals of the Olympics was something worth hyping up for the media in both countries.

Putting aside the history of grievances between China and South Korea in football, and the many grievances between the two countries in areas other than football, these two Olympic teams had their own story.

In the Asian qualifying round for the Olympics, China and South Korea were placed in the same group.

The Olympic team's first game in the group stage was against South Korea, and they lost in South Korea. Of course, the Chinese football team losing to the South Korean football team away from home was consistent with the Chinese football team's usual performance. But at that time, the Olympic team already had four of the Five Little Dragons, only Zhou Yi was missing.

However, in the subsequent crucial match, the Chinese Olympic team defeated the South Korean team at home, snatching their top spot in the group. According to the rules, only the top team from each of the three groups could directly advance to the London Olympics. The remaining three second-place teams would face off in a single round-robin competition, and the team with the highest score would then play against an African team on April 23rd of this year in England to determine who would participate in the Olympic Games.

From this schedule, not obtaining direct qualification would be very troublesome.

It meant having to play four more games.

So the South Korean Olympic team originally thought that they would definitely be the top team in this group and directly advance to the Olympic finals.

Unexpectedly, a Chinese Olympic team emerged out of nowhere and pulled them down from the top spot. China replaced them and obtained direct qualification for the Olympics, while the South Korean Olympic team had to play in the Asian internal playoffs and then compete with the African team, Senegal, for the last ticket.

Fortunately, they finally fought their way out of the Asian playoffs, defeating Syria and Uzbekistan, and then defeated Senegal in the final qualifying match to qualify for the Olympics. Otherwise, they wouldn't even be able to participate in the Olympic finals, which would be embarrassing.

The South Koreans also value national honor very much.

Although they eventually made it to the Olympics, the process was somewhat humiliating, making the South Koreans feel they had lost face.

And all of this was because of the Chinese Olympic team, so the South Koreans would naturally hold the Chinese Olympic team accountable.

They didn't expect to have the opportunity to settle this debt so quickly at this year's Olympics.

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As soon as the results of the draw were announced, or rather, as soon as the third round of the group stage ended, the South Koreans couldn't wait to issue a challenge to the Chinese team.

"I think this is a great opportunity. The Chinese team is very strong, but we are also confident that we can go further!" South Korean Olympic team striker Ji Dong-won said confidently when interviewed by reporters.

"But the Chinese team has Zhou Yi," a Korean reporter asked the confident player.

Born in 1991, Ji Dong-won said: "Yes, they have Zhou Yi, but we also have players like Ki Sung-yueng. And football is a team sport, not something that one person can decide."

Ji Dong-won said these words with a lot of confidence. Of course, it made sense for him to say so, because he himself was indeed a very capable young talent.

He created many "firsts" in South Korean football. For example, he was among the first players born in the 1990s to be selected for the Olympic team. The players participating in the London Olympics were actually born in the late 1980s, that is, players born in 1989, and these people had been a group since they were in the youth team. And Ji Dong-won became the first player born in the 1990s in this team of players born in the 1980s.

In addition, he was also the first player born in the 1990s to win a gold medal at the Asian Games, the first player born in the 1990s in the South Korean national team, the first forward born in the 1990s in the South Korean national team, the first player born in the 1990s to score a goal at the Asian Games, the first player born in the 1990s to score a goal at the Asian Cup...

Among the players of his age in South Korea, Ji Dong-won is one of the most promising, and among the forwards of his age, he is the most outstanding.

He scored two goals at the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games, and then scored four goals at the 2011 Asian Cup, ranking second on the top scorer list.

With such achievements, he would of course be a little arrogant. And this behavior of his is seen by the South Korean media and fans as a standout personality, full of confidence, and straightforward and cute.

Of course, in the eyes of the enemy, it may not be a good thing...

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"Damn! What do you mean it's not up to one person to decide the outcome of the game?" Sun Pan was looking at reports on domestic portal websites about the China-South Korea game on his phone. The domestic media translated various South Korean media reports about the game. He became more and more angry as he read them. When he saw Ji Dong-won say those words, he couldn't help but burst out cursing. "Does he need to emphasize that football is a team sport? Does he think we only have Zhou Yi on our team?!"

"That's right, I also think this is blatant contempt!" Zhou Yi also said. "Panpan, it seems like your impression on them in the qualifiers last time wasn't deep enough."

Hearing Zhou Yi say this, Sun Pan became even more annoyed, and the veins on his forehead were about to pop out.

The last time the Chinese Olympic team and the South Korean Olympic team played against each other, Sun Pan made a solemn (verbal) vow before the game, and he also shut out the South Korean team in that game, fulfilling his promise.

Logically speaking, such a performance should be dazzling enough, right?

But judging from the South Korean players' remarks, he doesn't seem to have been remembered...

"Damn it! This time, I will definitely make them remember your Grandpa Sun's face!" Sun Pan gritted his teeth.

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Ji Dong-won's remarks not only made Sun Pan very unhappy, but also made Chinese fans very unhappy. And the Chinese media naturally knew what domestic fans liked to see most, so when reporting, they consciously made selective reports. For example, Ki Sung-yueng, who Ji Dong-won mentioned as his senior, fully expressed his admiration and respect for Zhou Yi when interviewed by South Korean reporters, and believed that the Chinese team not only had Zhou Yi, but also other outstanding players, and was a difficult opponent to deal with.

However, Chinese reporters didn't translate this passage at all, or even if they did, they hid it in a large, densely packed text.

Unlike Ji Dong-won's remarks, which were not only extracted as headlines, but also highlighted in bold in the main text, allowing readers to see them at a glance.

This is the approach of the Chinese media.

The South Korean media was no better. They hyped up the past grievances between the two sides in this game, focusing on the colors of hatred, and promoted this game as a "revenge battle." They translated all the negative comments that Chinese fans saw after the domestic media's selective reporting into Korean, and then fed them back to South Korean readers and fans, guiding South Korean fans to mock and ridicule the Chinese team in various ways.

"Ji Dong-won is right! As a football team of the Republic of Korea, we should have such confidence when facing the Chinese team!"

"Did the Chinese team think that they had broken our fear of Korea just because they beat us once? We must let them know that this is an incurable disease!"

"Ji Dong-won is so handsome! I really want to have his babies!"

"Ji Dong-won, well done! You must teach those arrogant Chinese a lesson in the game!"

These are the voices of South Korean fans.

Under the guidance and manipulation of the media in China and South Korea, the pre-match atmosphere was heated up.

However, Zhou Yi did not fall into this rhythm. After Ji Dong-won's remarks were published, many reporters came to interview Zhou Yi, wanting to hear his response.

Everyone knows that Zhou Yi is not as kind as he looks on the outside. He also has a temper. Sometimes he is like a cactus, and he will prick people.

They all hoped that Zhou Yi could give some explosive answers to give them room for hype.

Unexpectedly, Zhou Yi said with a calm expression: "It's useless to say anything before the game starts. I think everyone should pay attention to the game itself."

Seeing that Zhou Yi was not cooperating, a reporter asked unwillingly: "In the last qualifier, the Chinese team defeated the South Korean team at home, causing the South Korean team to play a few qualifying matches. Now the South Korean side therefore believes that this is a revenge battle, what do you think?"

Zhou Yi shook his head: "I wasn't a player on the Olympic team in that game, so it's hard to comment on this matter. But it's normal for a losing opponent to want to win back, there's nothing to think about."

Zhou Yi's low-key and calm performance was really disappointing to the reporters.

But did they think that the hype would stop because of this?

Of course not possible.

What are reporters for? Specially stirring up trouble and creating incidents.

Zhou Yi didn't provide them with ammunition, they knew how to create it themselves!

So Zhou Yi's calmness was interpreted by some media as... "arrogance"!

"Facing Ji Dong-won's challenge, Zhou Yi showed disdain, and his arrogance was overflowing..." This was the South Korean media's interpretation.

"As one of the biggest stars in this Olympic Games, Zhou Yi certainly has reason and qualification to do so. And Zhou Yi also slapped Ji Dong-won hard in this way. If the South Korean side thinks that the honors Ji Dong-won has won at a young age can make him so arrogant, then the honors Zhou Yi has won at about the same age can already trample him in the mud!" This was the Chinese media's interpretation.

These reports were translated and spread by reporters from China and South Korea, and they were all passed on to each other's fans, and the raging flames of hatred burned even more vigorously...