Godfather of national football

Chapter 184
The Loftus Stadium in Pretoria, South Africa, is named in honor of the founder of the Pretoria Sports Association, Robert Owen Loftus.

The stadium was completed two years before the World Cup and can accommodate 2 people. Most of the audience in the stadium are South Africans, with a small number of Chinese and French.

When Li Guo walked out of the player tunnel, he saw Domenech not far away. Perhaps because of the great pressure, Domenech looked much older.

Because it is the last round of the World Cup group stage, the two games in the same group kick off at the same time, which means that the game between Argentina and Côte d'Ivoire will be played at the same time as this game.

This is also to prevent match-fixing or negative matches in the World Cup, and to make the World Cup more exciting.

When entering the stadium, a gust of cold wind came out, and Li Guo shivered all over. Just as Li Guo was pulling on his down jacket for training, Domenech turned around and noticed Li Guo. The Frenchman still maintained his usual elegance.

In fact, in his previous life, Li Guo felt that Domenech was more like a university professor than a football coach.

A football coach needs to be a bit ruffian, the kind who can swear foul language, but it's hard to imagine that foul language will come from Domenech's mouth.

Li Guo also smiled at the other party, and was about to move to his bench, when Domenech stopped Li Guo, "Hey, can you promise me something."

Li Guo stopped in his tracks. In his impression, the current Li Guo and Domenech should not know each other.

"Okay, as long as I can do it."

"No matter what the final result is, how about the two of us find a place to have a drink after the game?"

Li Guo smiled lightly, "Of course, but you treat me."

Domenech also smiled slightly in response to Li Guo.

*****
Ribery,
Cisse,

Henry,

When the superstars of the French team ran out to warm up, there was a burst of noise at the scene.

"France is still a strong team," Li Guo thought, "the runner-up of the last World Cup."

The 2006 Berlin decisive battle is still fresh in Li Guo's memory. Zidane's scoop penalty, Materazzi's header equalized, and the final penalty shootout.

Of course, these are not important. The most dramatic thing is Zidane's red card in overtime. If there is no red card, maybe everything will be different.

But football has no ifs!
Before the game, it was said that Zidane rushed from France to Pretoria to stabilize the morale of the army, but Li Guo knew that this might not help, just like Manchester United later, the more Ferguson was in the stands, the greater the pressure on Moyes in front.

Lori and Mandanda are warming up in front of the goal in the distance. Li Guo estimates that the French team's starting goalkeeper should still be Lori. In fact, these two goalkeepers are the type that Li Guo likes very much. The reaction in front of the goal is fast and relatively honest.

Li Guo personally doesn't like Neuer's goalkeeper with a forward heart. In this regard, Li Guo's football thinking is still very traditional.

At this time, a handsome guy ran out. Li Guo saw that it was Gourcuff. Simply put, this is Kaka from France. He is sunny and handsome, passing the ball accurately. Except that he does not have Kaka's long-distance running ability, Gourcuff is a very good midfielder.

Li Guo also knew that Gourcuff did not leave his mark on French football. After all, times have changed. Later football emphasized rhythm, speed, and confrontation, and midfielders like Gourcuff gradually became less popular.

Li Guo gestured to the warm-up players of the Chinese team. Fang Suo and Sun Jihai ran over, and Li Guo pointed to Gourcuff.

"He, the important thing in this game is to stare at him."

Fonso looked at Gourcuff, and felt that the latter seemed to have no specialties other than being handsome, and Fonso was not very familiar with Ligue [-] players.

"Head, is he very good? I think Ribery, Henry, or even Malouda are better than him."

"Yes, but whether it's Ribery or Henry, they are nerve endings, and Gourcuff is the brain of the French team. He can pass through the midfield like a scalpel. Remember Riquelme in the 2008 Olympics?"

Fang Suo and Sun Jihai nodded. They felt that what Li Guo said was always right. After the arrangement, Li Guo waved his hands, and the two returned to the court to warm up.

"Li Guo..."

Chen An yelled behind him, Li Guo turned around and saw Chen An's expression, he knew something was wrong, "What's wrong?"

Chen An chuckled, "Have you thought about what will happen after we qualify?"

"Eighth-finals?"

Li Guo hadn't really thought about it, but Chen An thought about it. If they advance to the quarter-finals, then the Chinese team may face the Dutch and Danish teams.

If the Chinese team wins the first place in this group, then they can play against Denmark, otherwise they will be against the Netherlands.

"Netherlands OR Denmark," Chen An raised a finger in each hand.

"I also want to push Argentina to play the Netherlands, but I'm afraid Maradona won't agree," said Li Guo with a chuckle.

Chen An rubbed his hands. He knew that if the team played against Denmark, there was still hope, but if they met Holland, they would probably stop. "Hehe, let's not talk, let's watch this game first."

Now the Chinese player with a yellow card is Fang Suo. The rule of this World Cup is that the yellow card will be cleared before the semi-finals, which means that if you get a yellow card in the semi-finals, you will not be suspended because of the previous yellow cards.

In this way, the lifelong regret of Ballack of the German team in the 2002 World Cup who received a yellow card in the semi-final and missed the final can be avoided.

In fact, Li Guo and Chen An were most worried about this before the game, the yellow card.

Because there is still a big gap between the strength of the Chinese team's substitute players and the main players, once the main players are suspended on a large scale, it will be very difficult to play no matter what opponent they encounter next.

"Li Guo, do you want to remind Fang Suo to be gentle, he already has a yellow card on him?"

Li Guo shook his head, "That would be counterproductive. Fortunately, Datou's yellow card has been cleared. I don't think you should worry too much."

*****
Maybe it was because of the traffic in South Africa or the procrastination of the South Africans. The whole stadium was not filled until the warm-up was over, and the vuvuzela was loud, but now the players of both teams are used to it.

The captain of the Chinese team in this game is Zhou Dun. Zheng Zhi should have been the captain in the absence of Li Weifeng, but Zheng Zhi is unwilling. Everyone knows, because this should be Zheng Zhi's last World Cup, and Zhou Dun is the future of the Chinese team.

In the end, Li Guo didn't insist too much, and readily agreed to let Zhou Dun be the captain of the game.

When the players of the two teams lined up on both sides of the player tunnel, Zhou Dun was at the front of the Chinese team, and Diarra was the captain of the French team. The players of the two teams were waiting to enter the court under the guidance of the referee, and the battle was imminent.

(End of this chapter)