Champion’s Heart

Jiang Xiaojun, the coach and translator of the Olympic team, is still worried that the team will be nervous because it will face Brazil today. {{\u003c(八(〔一[中文网[ [ }?)])}\u003e]]

In the hotel restaurant, he was having dinner with Blazevic, and the issue came up during the meal.

Tonight is the game. I hope the players slept well yesterday... Jiang Xiaojun said.

Do you think they're going to have trouble sleeping? Blazevich asked.

After all, we are going to play against Brazil today. When I think about this opponent, I worry that the players will be nervous. You should know, Mr. Bu, that the psychological quality of Chinese players has always been the worst. Otherwise, how could there be a 'tie'? What about the joke about qualifying but never qualifying? Jiang Xiaojun said.

As soon as he finished speaking, there was a burst of laughter outside the restaurant.

Amid laughter, a group of players from the Olympic team walked in. When they saw Blazevic, they all came up to say good morning to the head coach and translator Jiang Xiaojun.

After saying good morning, they went to get their meals.

Then a group of players from the Olympic team appeared at the door. They also walked in talking and laughing, and then said good morning to Blazevic and the translator before going to get their meals.

The players of the Olympic team always come in in twos and threes like this, come to the head coach's table to say hello, and then go to eat, talking and laughing while eating.

Soon all sixteen players from the Olympic team were dining in the restaurant. Since there was no room for one table, they were divided into four tables and gathered together to chat while eating.

Jiang Xiaojun listened for a while and found that they were just chatting about idle things, and the keyword Brazil was not mentioned.

Anything new, Jiang? Blazevic asked his translator, Jiang Xiaojun.

Jiang Xiaojun shook his head: No, they were just chatting.

Blazevic laughed when he heard this, with an unsurprised expression: What you just said is right, Jiang, but I think those are the history of Chinese football. And now, what they create is the future of Chinese football. .

He nodded lightly at the Olympic team players with his fork, with some pride in his tone.

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Eat, physical training, rest, eat, rest, eat,

Rest, get out.

In this process, the Chinese media has begun full coverage of this semi-final.

Starting from the team's physical training in the morning, reporters gathered outside the hotel in Manchester to do various live broadcasts.

Various experts and celebrities were also invited from home to look forward to the semi-finals. In the broadcast of other Olympic events, news about the preparations of the Olympic team will be constantly inserted.

Although it is the Olympic Games, it feels like this day is the World Cup, where football is the protagonist.

On the Internet, this semi-final is also the most concerned about. Although this game will not kick off until 2:45 a.m. the next day, Beijing time, the fans can't wait.

When all the players of the Chinese Olympic team boarded the bus in front of the hotel, it was only an hour and a half before the start of the game, and football broadcast signals were inserted more and more frequently.

The broadcast room at the back is ready and the guest hosts are in place. He Ping, the commentator of this game ahead, posted a photo on Weibo. The photo was taken by him from the commentary box. The stands of the Old Trafford Stadium are still empty, with only a few dozen people. He wrote on the photo: How full will this place be in another hour and a half?

The match between the Chinese team and the Brazilian team is just a semi-final of the Olympic men's football team, but judging from the attention paid by the Chinese media and fans, it is more like a final.

If Olympic officials also want to consider ratings and advertising revenue, they should better let China and Brazil meet in the final...

In the Internet age, more and more news can be disseminated and understood through the Internet, so on Weibo, there are constantly the latest news from the front. Although it is already past midnight on August 8, there are still some news on Weibo. Countless people kept refreshing the page and waiting.

They are delighted with every photo and message they refresh.

A reporter took a picture of the Chinese team players boarding the bus and sent it back to China and posted it on Weibo, and wrote: The boys of the Olympic team started to board the bus and were getting ready to leave. It seemed that everyone's expressions were quite relaxed. My mood is also good, and it seems that I have not been affected by the public opinion incident two days ago at all...

Netizens retweeted: Come on! It's up to you! Don't think too much, just try your best and have a clear conscience! Actually, being able to reach the semi-finals is already amazing. Put down your baggage and enjoy it. Let’s compete!” “The focus of the Olympics is participation. At this time, medals are not important. Compete well and show your style!”

Everyone supported the team with passionate words, cheered them on, let them relax, and hoped that the players would not be under too much pressure. Almost all the good things in Chinese football over the years have been caused by pressure. This time they hope that the Olympic team can avoid a repeat of bad luck.

But looking at the photos, some people are listening to music with headphones, some are playing with their phones with their heads down, and some are talking to their teammates. In short, everyone has expressions on their faces, and they are not dumbfounded.

Fans feel that this team is indeed a little different from the Chinese team they have remembered in the past...

After all the players and coaches boarded the bus, the bus closed the door and drove to the Old Trafford Stadium, where the fates of the Chinese team and the Brazilian team intersect, the venue for this game.

Although Zhou Yi has been in European football for three seasons, he has never played at Old Trafford because he and Dortmund have not met Manchester United in the Champions League.

The same is true for the other four of the Five Tigers, and none of them have been able to play against Manchester United at Old Trafford.

Although this stadium is famous, it is a bit unfamiliar to them as players.

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After arriving at Old Trafford, the players changed, waited and warmed up before returning to the dressing room.

When they were warming up, there were many fans in the stands. They were clearly distinguishable in the stands. The red ones were Chinese fans, while the yellow-green ones were Brazilian fans.

At a cursory glance, Brazil has more fans.

This is normal, after all, the strength of Brazilian football and the stars in the team give them more supporters. Not only are Brazilians among these people, but there are also fans from other places who are also fans of Brazil.

The only Chinese supporters are overseas students and Chinese-funded institutions in the UK. It is considered good to be able to fill the stands behind the goal.

In fact, in the previous games of the Chinese team, the stadium was never full. The game with the highest attendance rate was against the South Korean team. A large part of the reason for this was because the opponent was South Korea.

This semi-final is expected to be their first sold-out game since participating in the Olympics.

Playing in such an environment is also a test for the boys of the Chinese Olympic team.

In the locker room, the team's head coach Blazevic is doing the final mobilization for his players.

There are still ten minutes left before the two sides will take the field. He needs to fully mobilize the emotions of the players in this short period of time, just like the Olympic team's first group match in the Olympics.

First, he emphasized the team's tactics: From the beginning of the game, we must actively grab, whether in the frontcourt or the backcourt, dare to surround us, and don't worry about the space after surrounding us. As long as you can give the Brazilian team If they put pressure on them, they will make mistakes. When defending, you can make bigger moves, but be careful not to give the opponent a free kick opportunity that can directly attack the goal in too dangerous places. Nothing else, although we don’t have much time to prepare for this game. It’s a lot, but I believe everyone is ready.”

He paused, then pointed to the wardrobe in the locker room and said:

Take a good look, boys. You are now in the heart of Old Trafford. This stadium has a nice nickname, 'Theatre of Dreams.' In this stadium, many heroes have been staged. Epic and legendary stories, countless superstars have become famous here, this is a stage where dreams come true. I hope that today, your dreams can come true here.

Blazevic finished speaking. He didn't say too much because the team's current mood is very good and he didn't need to say too much. Saying too much would be counterproductive.

After he finished speaking, Sun Pan clapped his hands hard and stood up, calling out: What do you think Brazil is? Fuck them!

More team members also clapped their hands and stood up from their seats while shouting.

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At the same time, in the Brazilian team's locker room, head coach Meneses had already finished what he wanted to say. The last words he said were: Lads, enjoy football. Remember, when Brazilians enjoy football, they are invincible!

In fact, what he said is right. If Brazilians can play football wholeheartedly and devote themselves to this kind of enjoyment, they can indeed be said to be invincible. Considering the Brazilian's football talent, this is not something to be proud of.

And the atmosphere before the game was really relaxed. Brazil is strong, not to mention the players are in excellent condition during training. Let's just say that the Chinese team, their opponent, has been in various situations. Whether they still have the heart to prepare for the semi-finals is a question.

Brazilian players do not believe that the Chinese team can cause them trouble. Although this team has several players who play in Europe, the two people that Brazilians can really remember are Zhou Yi and Sun Pan. Because these two people have played against many players from the Brazilian Olympic team.

The two of them are also the Chinese players recognized by Brazilian players as the strongest and most in need of attention.

The implication is that except for these two people, no one else in the Chinese team needs to be taken to heart. (To be continued.)