Dear Gua
Chapter 514 Korean Ambitions (Daily Transition)
The main training content was still tactical cohesion, supplemented by set pieces.
For these T1-T0 stars who had just fought hard for a season, diet and sleep were more important, as was adapting to the Russian climate.
The World Cup was only a few days away, there was no time for you to level up; this wasn't a bodybuilding competition after all.
Bayer's logistics and Spain's logistics argued for a long time, and finally decided to let Li Kang continue to maintain a six-meal-a-day diet.
The agent team was also busy.
After all, Li Kang was the World Cup ambassador.
Every night, his little assistant tutored him on basic Russian etiquette and customs.
As the saying goes, the Germans know the most about Soviet Russia.
"One day, the post office issued stamps with Brezhnev's portrait."
"But they wouldn't stick."
"Why?"
"Some people's saliva was going in the wrong direction."
"Others were licking in the wrong direction."
Li Kang was stunned, not understanding for a moment.
The little assistant laughed: "That's the humor of Soviet Russians!"
Outside the window.
Vicente del Bosque, passing by, happened to hear these words and frowned, his mustache twitching: "Hmph, Germans celebrating spiritual victories."
The highly anticipated 2018 World Cup was about to kick off.
Countless tourists flooded into major Russian cities.
Intense and brainwashing commercials assaulted the world's sights and sounds.
Among them, Chinese companies accounted for 30%, a record number of sponsors for the World Cup.
Some marketing accounts wanted to mislead the audience, saying: "Oh, these Chinese companies are fools, spending money randomly..."
But that wasn't the case.
It wasn't about being fools, it was that these companies were judged by the World Cup Organizing Committee to be second-level brand merchants.
The 'fishpond' of advertising space and exposure rate was only so big.
It was a seller's market.
There were also many wealthy companies in various regions around the world, but even if they spent money like crazy, they were only third- or fourth-level support merchants.
As for the 'short-term' return on World Cup advertising: the World Cups in South Africa and Brazil had already provided the answer.
But that was just short-term data.
Just like what CCTV host Bai Yansong said on the economics channel: "The Chinese elements of the 2018 World Cup in Russia, besides the national football team, everyone else has gone."
This meme would probably be repeated at the Qatar World Cup four years later.
As for the advertising content?
The most memorable advertisement on the TV screen was:
'I am Messi, I wasn't born strong, I was just born to strive.'
Watching Messi lying on the grass, the audience's desire to remix and parody grew stronger.
However, on the internet, the most popular advertisement was the 2014 Singaporean anti-gambling public service advertisement.
The content was roughly:
On the eve of the 2014 World Cup, several children were playing in the park, discussing which country would win the World Cup.
Xiao Jie said Brazil.
Xiao Hua said Argentina.
Xiao Wei said Spain.
Finally, Xiao Ming said sadly: "I hope Germany wins, because my dad took all the savings at home to bet on Germany winning."
Hearing these words, the children were silent.
The atmosphere instantly became heavy.
The screen went black, and then a line of text slowly appeared: "Control the ball, kick away gambling addiction."
The result...
The result was that the German team won the championship!
The Singapore Council on Problem Gambling was dumbfounded: the anti-gambling advertisement had become a gambling inducement advertisement!
So, on the eve of the 2018 World Cup, many people were looking forward to Singapore's anti-gambling public service advertisement.
June 7th.
The Spanish national team arrived at the Krasnodar Football Academy in southern Russia.
The reason for choosing this place as a training base was:
On the one hand, the environment and facilities were very complete and excellent, and it was close to the Krasnodar Stadium.
On the other hand, it was due to the efforts of the Krasnodar Krai Minister, who exchanged a very low reception price for a peak season for the local accommodation and tourism industries. Undoubtedly, the influence of superstars was too great.
"Damn it, why are there still fans holding up the flag of Catalonia? And putting Ramos' poster together."
"And the Basque cross flag..."
"Isn't that the green and white flag of Andalusia?"
"I am Alpha, and Omega; the first and the last; the beginning and the end... the coat of arms of Asturias? What the hell!"
The bus slowly drove into the training base.
The roadsides were crowded with fans, and the flags they held made the Spanish players unusually angry. The key was that everyone was angry for different reasons.
Míchel Salgado told everyone to calm down quickly, hesitated for a moment, and said, "Take it easy, maybe they're just *Crusader Kings* players."
The base had 12 natural grass pitches, two indoor pitches, and a regular pitch that could accommodate 1,600 spectators.
Li Kang went to his room, put down his backpack, and went to the training pitch with De Gea.
The two planned to continue getting used to the World Cup's designated ball - the Adidas Telstar 18.
This ball was weird.
It was made of some new material.
With the World Cup just around the corner, goalkeepers from various national teams said: "This high-tech ball is rounder and smoother, its flight path is more erratic, and it's harder to save."
Telstar was the first match ball Adidas provided for the World Cup in 1970 in Mexico, and the color was black and white!
This design changed posterity's first impression of football.
It made people think of football as a ball composed of white hexagonal leather and black pentagonal leather.
Before 1970, footballs were shit-yellow, and the sewing method was the same as volleyballs.
After 1970, until the early 21st century, all footballs in video games and film and television works used the Telstar prototype.
June 14th.
The opening ceremony of the Russian World Cup.
Viewers in front of the TV stared at the screen, eagerly waiting.
The director's camera suddenly switched from the crowded Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow to space!
The black and white Telstar 18 match ball brushed past a Russian astronaut and fell towards the earth.
Then the classic "Deng! Dengdengdeng~" sounded.
It was Tchaikovsky's "Piano Concerto No. 1."
This song was also very familiar to fans in the Eastern countries, because it often appeared in Subor games.
Especially "Tetris."
Speaking of Tetris, that was another very long story.
"Yuri Bashmet and Daniil Trifonov, world-class viola players and pianists, kicked off the 2018 World Cup."
"Several fighter jets drew jet trails of a football field in the sky above Moscow!"
"The camera gives us a famous historical site."
The commentator couldn't name the magnificent sculpture on the screen.
That was the female warrior wielding the 'Sword of Victory,' the 'Motherland' in the hearts of the Soviet people.
After the victory of the Battle of Stalingrad.
The Soviets did not promote victory, but expressed their longing for the sacrificed warriors with sadness.
This was the romance of a fighting nation.
The sculpture was unrelated to religious mythology.
The 'Soviet Mother's' sword was 33 meters long and weighed 14.6 tons.
And she herself weighed 8,000 tons.
No need for devout faith, that blade piercing the sky would awaken the fighting will of future generations.
The camera switched again.
Luzhniki Stadium.
Ronaldo led a ball boy out of the tunnel.
Applause thundered.
British singer Robbie Williams, wearing a red suit, strode out arrogantly, and sang the 2018 World Cup theme song "Feel."
Unexpectedly.
This guy was singing... and actually gave the camera the middle finger.
The director was so frightened that he quickly switched the picture.
And happened to cut to Putin and several heads of state.
They watched the Brit do this and raised their hands in displeasure.
Then.
Russian soprano Aida Garifullina appeared.
"Ah ah ah~~ ah ah ah~ ah ah!"
A beautiful voice that was difficult to describe in words, soul-stirring.
Robbie Williams wanted to touch her hand, and Aida suddenly retracted her hand.
The performances on the pitch continued to change.
The flags of the 32 participating teams gathered in the center circle stage.
Ronaldinho was in casual clothes, smiling brightly, beating a hand drum.
Ronaldo continued to hold the ball boy, looking excitedly at the tunnel.
A few minutes later.
A moment of anticipation was born.
When Li Kang walked out of the tunnel holding the black and white Telstar 18.
The whole place suddenly boiled!
More than 80,000 fans shouted his name at the same time!
"Lee!!!"
"Lee!!!"
"Lee!!!"
All over the world, fans in front of TVs and under large screens couldn't help but shout.
"2018 Russian World Cup ambassador, Li Kang!"
"He put the football under his feet."
"He should gently pass the ball to the mascot, Zabivaka, in front of him!"
"Eh? That's not right!"
The towering stage in the center circle, pillars of fire spurted out!
Li Kang leaned slightly and swung his left foot!
Bang!
The football rose from the ground, making a beautiful arc in the air, and fell towards the stage surrounded by 32 flags!
Finally, it fell into the brazier, and the flame went out in time.
A gust of wind blew.
32 flags fluttered in the wind.
The exquisite long pass skill brought the Russian opening ceremony to its climax!
"A new chapter of the World Cup has begun, under the Saint Isaac's Cathedral in St. Petersburg, on the deck of the Aurora cruiser, in front of Pushkin's sculpture, on the campus of the Moscow Oriental University... Russia is showing the world its culture and creativity."
"Starting from the 1958 World Cup in Sweden..."
ESPN live broadcast room.
Barrage like a waterfall.
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[So handsome! What's Li Mingdeng's background! Pretending to be cool at the World Cup opening ceremony at the age of 20!]
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[And a sponsorship fee of 100 million, although it's said that Abramovich paid for it.]
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[Smi da, our Lee is so handsome.]
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[Yaga, the whole universe is yours.]
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[I was just so afraid that Li Mingdeng would burst his suit pants with one kick.]
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[I hope Li Kang doesn't experience too many ups and downs and too many regrets in the summer of Moscow.]
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[What do you guys think about the opening match?]
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[Thirty million, I bet Germany wins!]
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[You fake fan, the two sides in the opening match are Russia and Saudi Arabia.]
Li Kang couldn't leave directly.
Under the guidance of the organizers, he walked step by step to the main stand and sat next to a Middle Eastern man wearing a red and white checkered scarf.
Two sign language interpreters were also assigned behind the seat.
Wrap a cloth around your head, I'm the richest in the world.
The color of the scarf also has a level.
"Hello hello."
The Middle Eastern man greeted enthusiastically in English and stopped talking.
Li Kang nodded politely in response, then turned his gaze back to the pitch.
The game was one-sided.
Russian center forward Dzyuba dominated the scene, showing his forward dominance!
Why was he so awesome but couldn't play in Europe?
In the past years, Ronaldo, Balotelli, Drogba, Agüero, Ibrahimović, Suárez, Van Persie, Falcao, Džeko, Klose, Gómez, Mandžukić, Podolski (Cologne version), Benzema, Lewandowski, Tevez, Henry, Bergkamp, Higuaín, Diego Forlán, Cavani, Torres, and even Huntelaar.
These typical or atypical center forwards were versatile.
In the frenzy of tactical changes, they used their own style characteristics to make a name for themselves in the five major leagues.
A hundred flowers bloomed.
It seemed that in those beautiful times, the entire football world's fortune had fallen on the "center forward" position.
In counterattacks, traditional center forwards would hold the ball in the frontcourt and then pass it back to the support point, which would then distribute it to the wings to launch a transition attack.
The above group of perverted center forwards could turn around with the ball and complete a breakthrough, forming a one-on-one; or turn around and blast a world-class goal; or organize the ball distribution themselves, without the need for a support point.
The rhythm of the attack chain was not on the same level.
In positional warfare, traditional center forwards had to arch back and forth in the opponent's penalty area, causing the opponent's defense to tilt and shrink, so that the wing teammates could get space to cross; if the opponent didn't tilt or shrink, suppressing the crosses from both sides, then the traditional center forward had to continue running, helping the teammates to pull out space for long shots... theoretically, even the older Van Basten didn't play like this.
The above group of perverted center forwards, in positional warfare, could not only reflect the fulcrum role, but also switch out their respective mutated forms, possessing richer means of breaking defenses.
Who was the most outstanding "traditional" center forward in the five major leagues?
Carroll.
Active in mid-to-lower-level teams since 2006.
Even Giroud, who was misunderstood by many fans as a "traditional center forward"...
He was actually also non-mainstream, his foot skills were too good, all kinds of god-level goals.
Kane?
Kane worked very hard, constantly developing his various abilities. His upgrade path was very comprehensive, and the complete body could never be a traditional center forward.
Too bad.
As time went by, the fortune of the center forward position seemed to have been plundered.
Other positions on the pitch ushered in a hundred flowers blooming.
The era of center forward scarcity had arrived.
When clubs racked their brains to find a few "traditional center forwards," they found that they were invisible for most of the game, and their confrontation couldn't beat the increasingly perverted center backs... maybe they were useful in the second-level leagues.
"Modern center forwards"... there were only so many people in the world, how could there be enough to distribute?
What was lacking was not traditional center forwards, not some big guy rushing forward and啪啪 scoring goals. The opponent's clubs' defenses were not that idiotic.
What was lacking were versatile modern center forwards.
Sometimes, the football world was a cycle, Van Basten was already working towards "modernization and all-roundness" in that era, and now major clubs were still looking for traditional center forwards.
Beep! Beep beep~
The opening match was over!
Russia 5:0 Saudi Arabia.
Li Kang regained his thoughts and looked down at his phone.
The national team coaching staff sent a lineup prediction for the Korean team: the center forward position was the "traditional center forward" Kim Shin-wook, who was 1.98 meters tall and a霸 in the AFC Champions League.
St. Petersburg, New Peterhof Hotel.
The Korean team players felt very happy, they finally had their own single rooms during the entire World Cup.
Young players and young assistant coaches didn't have to squeeze into one room with multiple people because of some seniority.
Even happier was that the Korean Football Association airlifted 4 tons of kimchi to Russia!
Head coach Shin Tae-yong was 48 years old this year, and his hair was well-maintained.
His brain was very strange.
Perhaps because he was under too much public pressure, this guy made the "whitewashed" Korean team the team with the most fouls in the qualifying and friendly matches again.
And it wasn't tactical fouls, but malicious actions such as low blows and elbow strikes.
The efforts of the previous coaches to 'whitewash' the image for more than ten years were in vain.
The Korean team's roster for this World Cup was even more magical: only six overseas players, led by Son Heung-min, were recalled, and the remaining positions... were all stars from the K League, Chinese Super League, and J League.
It was incomprehensible.
There were actually many Korean players playing overseas.
This guy also didn't like to have the team play around Son Heung-min.
Very strange.
Could not understand his brain circuit.
"We scrambled the numbers of 4 players in training so that Spain's spies would not be able to know our specific tactics. They cannot distinguish who we are. In the eyes of Europeans, Asian faces are almost the same!"
"In the match against Spain, our entire team will play around Kim Shin-wook!"
"Those dwarfs can't withstand our high-altitude bombardment!"
"Smi da!"
Shin Tae-yong clenched his fists: "There is an ancient Chinese saying that a peng rises with the wind one day and soars ninety thousand miles!"
The Korean players were shocked!
Especially Kim Shin-wook, with his green hair, had a firm gaze!
June 16th.
St. Petersburg Stadium.
68,000 spectators from all over the world gathered here, looking forward to the first round of Group B: South Korea vs. Spain.
The flags of "Blood and Gold" and "Taegeuk Warriors" were huddled in the corner stands.
Due to Li Kang's increasing influence, the bullfighting army's group stage tickets were swept away by neutral fans. As for the national camp's reserved tickets? They had long been taken away by scalpers.
The vast majority of the four stands were neutral fans wearing the bullfighting army's No. 6 jersey.
"ESPN! ESPN! Good evening, viewers!"
"Welcome to watch the first round of Group B in the 2018 World Cup!"
"Korea vs. Spain!"
"Taegeuk Warriors meet the bullfighting army!"
"A face-to-face dialogue between Son Heung-min and De Gea!"
Player tunnel.
Son Heung-min smiled at Li Kang, not daring to be too affectionate.
The atmosphere was subtle.
Several overseas players from the Korean team wanted to show their goodwill, saying something about exchanging jerseys after the match, but were met with a cold attitude from the Spanish players.
Some things cannot be whitewashed.
In the 2002 World Cup, in the quarter-finals, Spain had two goals disallowed by the black whistle Al-Ghandour, and even Enrique's perfect one-on-one was ruled offside.
In the end, South Korea was able to advance to the top four.
Beckenbauer was so frightened that he flew to South Korea overnight to put pressure on FIFA!
Semi-final.
South Korea vs. Germany, the referee was changed on the spot!
'They blacked Italy and Spain, did they think they could also black Germany from reaching the World Cup final?'
It can't be whitewashed now either.
The current coach, Shin Tae-yong, encouraged Korean players to commit fouls, breaking up the match through fouls.
(End of this chapter)