Chapter 1 The Goal is the Championship

That evening, the most eye-catching news in sports wasn't the announcement of the Chinese Olympic delegation, but Zhou Yi's mention in an interview that the goal of the national Olympic team was the championship.

The idea sounded utterly absurd at first. Of course, the sports news offered a reasonable explanation—it was Zhou Yi's way of self-motivation, merely showing his confidence in the upcoming Olympics, not necessarily meaning he would actually win the championship.

This explanation reassured many people—the world was still normal, after all…

Nevertheless, some still found Zhou Yi's statement incredibly crazy. If it were truly about self-motivation, wouldn't reaching the knockout stage or the top four also serve the purpose?

Why specifically the championship?

One netizen analyzed at length online that Zhou Yi's words were likely not self-motivation, but what he genuinely thought. He truly wanted to win the championship; his goal was the Olympic gold medal.

The netizen inferred from Zhou Yi's past statements and actions that he wasn't one for empty words.

So, this was likely Zhou Yi's true intention.

But if that were the case, the question arose—what made Zhou Yi believe the Chinese national Olympic team could win the Olympic gold medal?

Even major global betting companies didn't favor them; the Chinese national Olympic team wasn't a favorite to win gold.

It was an incomprehensible issue.

Zhou Yi's arrogance and hubris might be the only plausible explanation.

But… that clashed with Zhou Yi's consistent public image. He wasn't the arrogant type…

This matter left many of Zhou Yi's fans puzzled and pained. They didn't understand why Zhou Yi would say such a thing but were unwilling to believe their idol was wrong.

※※※

While everyone was surprised by Zhou Yi's sudden ambition, Zhou Yi was in head coach Blažević's room for a private talk.

Without Jiang Xiaojun, the national Olympic team's translator, only Zhou Yi and Blažević were present.

They communicated directly in German, so language wasn't an issue.

This wasn't a casual chat. Blažević looked at Zhou Yi with a serious expression, having just asked a question as serious and earnest as his face.

He asked Zhou Yi whether his statement during the interview at the Great Hall of the People today was a joke, self-motivation, or something else entirely.

Zhou Yi had been summoned to Blažević's room after dinner at the Xiangshan training base.

Facing the head coach of the national Olympic team, Zhou Yi smiled gently and said, "Because I really want to win the championship, sir."

Upon hearing Zhou Yi's answer, Blažević's serious expression didn't waver. He continued to stare at Zhou Yi and asked, "But do you know how difficult that is?"

"Of course, I know, sir," Zhou Yi nodded.

"Then why did you say it?"

"Any championship is difficult. No championship comes easy. But we can't give up striving for a championship just because it's difficult, right?" Zhou Yi spread his hands. "Besides, I think the difficulty of our team winning the Olympic gold medal should be lower than winning the World Cup, right?"

He chuckled at that.

Blažević still didn't laugh, staring at him intently: "Then what makes you think we have a chance of winning? Whatever the odds may be."

"Then I'll share my views."

Blažević nodded, signaling him to continue.

So, Zhou Yi began with the four seeded teams, analyzing their strengths and weaknesses for Blažević one by one.

The host team, Great Britain, was the first to be sentenced to death by Zhou Yi. Although their strength looked impressive on paper, with the addition of three overage players, all formidable, the joint team of Wales and England had lost a crucial winning factor from the very beginning: chemistry. The England team had never played with the Wales team before. Their players might be teammates at the club level, but the national team level was different from the club level. Furthermore, the apparent discord between Welsh and English players would affect the team's performance on the field. Zhou Yi boldly predicted that this team would be fortunate to make it to the knockout stage. As for the British media's high expectations of this team, Zhou Yi believed they were worthless because everyone knew the British media loved to exaggerate and talk nonsense.

The Spanish national team, fresh from winning the European Championship, was in its golden age, dominating the world of football. Many teams were emulating them. But that didn't mean the Spanish national Olympic team was equally dominant. On the contrary, the Spanish national Olympic team wasn't as strong as people thought. Although they had players like Mata, Javi Martínez, Alba, Tello, Thiago, and De Gea, who were either starters or regular substitutes in their respective clubs, their lack of emphasis on the Olympics would be their fatal weakness. Many of these players were already starters in their clubs, and after a season, they were generally fatigued. Coupled with the fact that the Olympics lacked appeal to European teams, these professional players wouldn't prioritize the Olympics. Insufficient attention to the Olympics would lead to problems in their preparations, and poor performance and low morale during the games were entirely possible. So, upon analysis, unless the Spanish national Olympic team from top to bottom took it seriously, they wouldn't have much of a chance.

Brazil had age-appropriate players like Neymar, Ganso, Oscar, and Lucas, as well as overage players like Marcelo, Thiago Silva, and Hulk. Their strength was also outstanding, and the media considered them a major favorite to win the championship. But in Zhou Yi's view, this team also had many problems. Besides the similar issues as Spain, having many geniuses didn't necessarily mean they could be molded into a team. Brazilian players were used to fighting individually. Coupled with the Olympic curse, they also carried a heavy burden. To win the championship, they had to defeat not only their opponents on the field but also their own mental demons.

Mexico was also one of the seeded teams in this Olympics and was in the same group as China. Mexico had good overall strength and outstanding individuals. At the same time, countries like these would place more emphasis on competitions like the Olympics because a World Cup title might be out of reach, but an Olympic title was more realistic. With effort, they could become world champions too.

In Zhou Yi's opinion, Mexico was likely to be a formidable opponent for the Chinese team in their quest for the Olympic championship.

As for the two Asian opponents, Japan and South Korea, Zhou Yi believed that in terms of team strength, the Chinese team wasn't weaker than them, and they wouldn't necessarily lose if they met.

After analyzing all these potential medal contenders, Blažević asked him, "What are China's advantages then? According to what you said, we also have players in our team who play in European leagues. Aren't they fatigued?"

"Of course, they are also tired. But we will value this competition more than them," Zhou Yi said. "We are not participating in the Olympics just to 'participate.' We are serious about winning the gold medal."

Hearing Zhou Yi say this, Blažević shook his head and said, "You are serious, and I believe that. But football is not a game you can win just because you want to."

Zhou Yi nodded: "Yes, I know. That's why we need you, sir, to take charge of training and develop tactics."

"Of course, that's my job," Blažević nodded. "Studying opponents, developing tactics, and arranging training. These are all my jobs. But what puzzles me is that these are not your jobs. Why do you know so much about our opponents?"

"If you want a gold medal, shouldn't you learn more about your opponents?" Zhou Yi said. "Sun Tzu's Art of War says, 'Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated.' Understanding the opponent is the first step to victory."

A hint of a smile finally appeared on Blažević's usually stern face.

Seeing the head coach's smile, Zhou Yi knew that the coach must think he was a very motivated player. Although he was indeed quite motivated, the main reason he knew so much about these opponents was that he could already play the Olympics in advance in the virtual space. It was a concept similar to a dungeon, where he could see the data and status of each of his opponent's players in advance and even play against them. It was like playing a game, playing an entire Olympics.

Zhou Yi had already played against his potential opponents many times in the virtual space, so he was very clear about their strengths and weaknesses.

※※※

When Zhou Yi finally left Blažević's room and returned to his and He Ying's room, Sun Pan, Yang Muge, and Guo Nu all rushed over, asking him what the head coach had talked to him about privately.

Zhou Yi smiled slightly: "You have to prepare yourselves mentally, the training that follows will be more difficult than before!"

"Damn, what did you say to Old Bu?" Sun Pan said angrily.

"Do you want to win a gold medal, Panpan?" Zhou Yi asked him.

"Of course, I do!" Sun Pan answered quickly.

"So, for the Olympic gold medal, you have to pay a price, right?" Zhou Yi spread his hands.