Godfather of national football

Chapter 340 Octopus Paul
Every time it comes to the World Cup draw, German TV [-] will conduct a mock draw the day before the draw.

And with the rise of social media, this craze has also swept the world this year. It is said that Spanish TV has made it clear that it will follow up, and China's CCTV will also hold a mock lottery ceremony.

In Germany, the rules and props used in the simulated draw are all modeled after the World Cup draw, but the draw guests are different. They are not football stars, but the famous octopus Paul.

Of course, this is not the famous octopus Paul in the World Cup in South Africa. That octopus passed away in October 2010 in the Oberhausen Aquarium where it became famous. Anyway, after the World Cup in South Africa, all octopuses in the world are probably called Paul.

It is said that Paul III will draw lots for everyone this time, and he will be the only guest of this draw ceremony.

First of all, the beautiful hostess of the TV station introduced the lottery process. The top 32 are divided into 4 tiers. The first tier is the seed team, and the second tier is 7 teams. This is very special. The reason will be known later. The 7 teams are 5 African teams and 2 South American teams.

The third pot is 8 teams, 4 Asian teams and 4 Central and North American and Caribbean teams.

Pot 9 consists of [-] teams, all of which are European teams.

This is a new rule this year. It seems unreasonable at first glance. There are not 8 teams in each pot, so how to draw?
So the first step is to draw an unlucky team X from the fourth tier and put it in the second tier. The reason why it is said to be unlucky is that this X will definitely enter the death group.

And Paul III first wanted to draw out this unlucky guy, and in the end the unlucky guy was Portugal.

In this way, there will be 8 teams in each pot, and the next step will be convenient, as long as the principle of avoiding the same continent (except Europe) is drawn out one by one, and Brazil, as the host, will automatically enter A1, and the second pot will be A2, and so on, so the X is the first suspense of the draw ceremony, and it is also a new rule added this time.

Finally, after Paul III's "drawing", Germany was placed in Group D, and its opponents in the same group were Ecuador, the United States, and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

If this is the case, it can be said to be a top pick, and Paul III's grouping situation for the Chinese team is in Group F, with Argentina, Algeria, and Italy in the same group.

If this is the case, then the Chinese fans will yell at them. The last time they entered the group of death, it was fortunate that the French team had internal strife. What about this time?

*****
The results drawn by Paul III were not recognized by Chinese netizens. They were all waiting for the CCTV version. The guests invited by CCTV were not octopuses, but old international players Li Tie and Yang Chen. After all, it is impossible to find 8 draw guests like the World Cup, so there are two meanings.

The rules are the same. First of all, the unlucky ones. The X drawn by Li Tie is England. The audience smiled knowingly. England does often play the role of unlucky ones in the World Cup. I have to say that Li Tie's draws are quite accurate.

Then everyone took their places, and finally the Chinese team was in Group D, with Belgium, Côte d'Ivoire, and the Netherlands in the same group.

If this result really happens, Chinese fans can completely accept it. Except for the Netherlands, other teams still have some fights.

The host Zhang Bin teased the two guests, "If tomorrow the Chinese team is in the same group as this result, the two of you will work as commentators for the World Cup next year on CCTV. I will replace the leader and give you a guarantee."

*****
While the media in some countries are busy simulating lottery draws, other countries are busy deciphering them, such as the British BBC.

The BBC has always been known for its ability to expose FIFA scandals. The most famous one was in 2010, the night before the announcement of the right to host the World Cup, the BBC exposed the shady secrets of FIFA on the ownership of the right to host the World Cup, which directly led to a huge crisis of confidence in FIFA.

And this time, on the night before the World Cup draw ceremony, the BBC revealed that there may be a problem of human manipulation in the draw.

The topic of manipulating the draw of football games can be described as a cliché. Whether it is the World Cup, European Cup, or Champions League, they are all suspected of being man-made.

I remember that before the 2006 World Cup draw ceremony in Germany, Bai Yansong said that someone wanted to blackmail Argentina. Liu Jianhong asked, how do you know, and Bai Yansong said, anyway, I know.

The method disclosed by the BBC to control the lottery is to control the temperature of the lottery ball, or the control of the background computer program. Of course, the BBC has no conclusive evidence, but most people also believe that there may be a certain degree of control, such as for safety. For example, if Russia and Ukraine are grouped together (hypothetically), it will increase the pressure on security.

There is also for the excitement, for example, if the favorite to win the championship enters the death group, will the excitement of the game be reduced, and the host should not take care of it.

So the BBC's report this time is not as sensational as it was in 2010. That time it captured the video of the person in charge of the Caribbean selling tickets directly, and the ugly situation of FIFA was clearly exposed.

In addition, South Korea's KBS also conducted a mock lottery. The results they drew showed that China entered the death group. The audience believed that the lottery was 100% manipulated, and there was no need for an investigation.

The once-in-four-year football feast will officially start after the draw. The team will find the corresponding opponents to warm up. The preparations for the game will be very clear. Li Guo accepted an interview with his old friend, Brazil Globe Sports. When talking about the draw, he only hopes to be treated fairly.

Perhaps in order to save his character, Li Guo expressed his firm belief that the FIFA draw is fair and there cannot be any artificial manipulation.

In the end, Li Guo reiterated that it is difficult for the Brazilian team to win the championship. "If you want to hear lies, I can say it, just like I said that the draw is fair, but I don't want to lie to the Brazilians. You have Neymar, but you don't have Kaka and Ronaldinho."

The Brazilian audience also slowly treated Li Guo coldly, otherwise they would be pissed off. Some people thought Li Guo was right and called for Kaka to return to the national team.

On December 12th, the beautiful Shoipi seashore was like a gentle girl, smiling and welcoming visitors from all over the world.

Big names in football circles from all walks of life stepped on the red carpet and walked into the exhibition center. Li Guo and Zhou Dun were dressed in suits, and their handsome looks attracted countless photographers to take pictures.

Li Guo said that he would not speak today. After accepting the photo, Li Guo and Zhou Dun walked into the hall, which was already full of people. After they found the seats for the Chinese delegation and sat down, the lottery ceremony was about to begin.

(End of this chapter)