Champion’s Heart

As expected, the words Shinji Kagawa told reporters did not appear in the media. Instead, Shinji Kagawa encouraged the players of the Japanese Olympic team.

...Although Zhou Sang and I are teammates, of course the national honor is more important at this time. I hope the Olympic team can defeat the Chinese team and win the first Olympic men's football gold medal for Japan in history. I will be there at that time The stands at Wembley Stadium are cheering for the Japanese team!”

This is a very normal and common statement. There is nothing wrong with it, but it has no practical significance.

But at the same time, the head coach of the Japanese Olympic team, Takashi Sekitsuka, received a call from a Japanese reporter. The call lasted 21 minutes. After the call, Takashi Sekitsuka fell into silence and was alone in the hotel. The room was filled with deep thought for a long time.

Then he took out his phone and called the team's coaching staff, assistant coaches Tsutomu Ogura, Satoru Muto, physical fitness coach Riuchi Meng, and even goalkeeper coach Hisatori Fujiwara came to his room.

They came together to formulate specific strategies for the following finals against the Chinese team.

In fact, the team already had a countermeasure, which was to stick to themselves and play according to the usual Japanese football style. To put it bluntly, it's about passing the ball and controlling the ball, and then it slowly wears off with the Chinese team, depending on who is more stable.

But after receiving the call, Sekitsuka Takashi thought for a long time, and finally decided to overturn the strategy that had been formulated and instead adopt Shinji Kagawa's suggestion.

Is this really what Shinji Kagawa said? Assistant coach Muto Kaku asked after hearing what Sekitsuka Takashi said.

Yes, it was he who conveyed the message to me through a reporter. Guanzhong Takashi nodded and said firmly.

If it's really Kagawa Shinji's opinion, then I think it can be considered. Muto Saku gave his opinion. After all, he is very familiar with Zhouyi. He understands its strengths and weaknesses.

But do we have enough time to complete this transformation? You must know that we are not just as simple as sending one person to follow Zhou Yi. Another assistant coach Tsutomu Ogura was hesitant. This means that we actually have one less person fighting. The person who follows Zhou Yi cannot count on him for offense or defense. He may even disrupt our own defense arrangements...

I understand, but I think it's not impossible. The key is how aware we are. Sekatsuka Takashi said. If you have the ambition to win the championship, you must overcome any difficulties.

But the problem is, even if we do this, we may not be able to win. Tsutomu Ogura said.

There is no game in this world that you can win for sure.

Ogura? Guan Zhonglong smiled. There are risks, but I think this risk is worth taking.

Since you have completely considered it, I have no objection. How to do it specifically? Tsutomu Ogura gave up his doubts.

This is why I called you here. We have to adapt the team to a new set of tactics in the remaining time. In addition, everything we talked about today is not allowed to be disclosed to the media, nor is it allowed within the team. Put a gag order on this tactical adjustment. This is our secret weapon to use against the Chinese team!

Understood! The coaching staff nodded in agreement.

※※※

While the Japanese team is preparing intensively to compete with the Chinese team, China is full of longing for this final.

This game has a double meaning for Chinese fans. It is not only an Olympic men's football final, but also a continuation and reflection of the grievances between Chinese and Japanese football.

Let’s not go too far, just talk about the Asian Cup at the beginning of last year. The Chinese team made it all the way to the finals when they were not expected at all and faced Japan in the finals. Unfortunately, Zhou Yi missed the game due to suspension, which caused the Chinese team to They lost to Japan in the final and lost the championship.

But the feud in this game is enough to attract the interest of Chinese fans.

In addition, there is still a period of hatred between China and Japan in history that is difficult to erase and forget. Although today is an era of peace and China-Japan friendship is promoted, the scars of history are not so easy to erase in the minds of the Chinese people. The war decades ago cannot be repeated, but the stadium provides another possibility. Let China and Japan compete on the football field.

Therefore, every confrontation between China and Japan always involves a lot of football surprises. No one will say that football allows these things to go away, because they cannot go away, between China and Japan, they cannot go away.

Chinese fans hope that the Chinese Olympic team can defeat the Japanese team and not only win the gold medal, but also get a bad breath.

If the Chinese team's opponent is Mexico in the final, many people may think that they should not put pressure on the Olympic team at this time. Winning the silver medal is already making history. But when meeting Japan, almost no one would want the Chinese team to lose to Japan in the final, except for Japanese fans at home... Do these people exist? Of course they do, because Japanese football is indeed very strong and there will naturally be fans.

But having said that, such people are very few after all. The niche within the niche is completely unrepresentative and can be ignored.

So before the final even started, it had already surpassed the scope of the Olympic men's football final and became the focus of the showdown between China and Japan.

A reporter went to interview Zhou Yi and wanted to hear his views on this situation.

Zhou Yi said: This is just an ordinary Olympic final. I don't want everyone to attach too much to this game. There is no need. Winning the Japanese team will not only add another gold medal to our Olympic delegation, but also It makes no sense. It does not mean that the overall level of Chinese football is higher than that of Japanese football.

A reporter asked again: But a year ago, the national team lost to Japan in the Asian Cup final. Isn't this a good opportunity for revenge?

Even if we beat the Japanese Olympic team here, it cannot change the fact that we were runner-up in the last Asian Cup. If we want revenge, it should be in the Asian Cup. Defeating the Japanese team and winning the championship is revenge. Other than that, nothing else.

The reporters who were interviewing Zhou Yi all shook their heads secretly - Zhou Yi had returned to the state that made reporters feel boring. After he angrily denounced the two Japs at the press conference, he seemed to have restrained his sharpness.

Everything he said sounded fine, but the combination was so boring. No gimmicks!

How they hope Sun Pan can be interviewed. Maybe they can hear Sun Pan say Little Japan as quickly as possible...

As a result, now they can only face a boring Zhou Yi.

Damn gag order!

※※※

Time flies very fast. After the Chinese team played the semi-finals against Brazil on the night of August 7, on the night of August 10, the Olympic men's football event ushered in the third or fourth place finals, with Brazil facing Mexico.

The final result was somewhat unexpected.

Everyone thought that the Brazilian team, which was blocked from the finals by the Chinese team, would definitely go all out in the third or fourth place finals, because they had already lost the gold medal and were absolutely not allowed to lose the bronze medal.

After all, a bronze medal can save some face, right?

But it just didn’t happen.

The entire Brazilian team was in a state of disbelief in the third-place final against Mexico, and it seemed that they had not yet recovered from their loss to the Chinese team in the semi-finals.

In the end, they lost to Mexico 1:2 in the third and fourth place finals and did not even win a bronze medal.

After the game, some Brazilian media angrily criticized the performance of the Olympic team, believing that the football kingdom had disgraced them.

As the team's leader and number one star, Neymar has also been scolded by the Brazilian media and fans.

But this has nothing to do with the Chinese team. It was their turn the next day.

At 10pm on August 11th, Beijing time, the finals are finally here.

This time is actually quite convenient for domestic audiences to watch, as you don’t have to stay up late.

When the British media reported on the game before the game, they claimed that one billion viewers in China would watch the final, which would set a viewing record for Olympic football events.

Although this report is quite nonsense and shows that British reporters do not understand China, this final will indeed be the most watched game in the history of Olympic football.

The Chinese media and fans paid as much attention to this game as the semi-final against Brazil.

China's national television started broadcasting live at two o'clock in the afternoon. There were reporters outside the hotel where the Chinese team stayed. In addition to reporters, there were actually many fans. Many of these fans were international students in the UK. They wore The five-star red flag was waiting outside the hotel. They were not here to ask for autographs and photos from the players, but just hoped that when the Chinese team went on the field, they could shout Come on, Team China from the nearest distance to see them off.

These people will stay outside the hotel until the afternoon and will not leave even at noon when the sun is strongest.

Until the afternoon, they finally waited for the players of the Chinese Olympic team. They appeared in the lobby one after another, and the team bus stopped outside the lobby. Everyone knew that the team was about to set off.

As the Olympic team players appeared in everyone's sight, everyone cheered.

Shouts of Come on Team China and Team China must win rang out one after another.

The Olympic team players who were waiting to board the bus in the lobby obviously heard such shouts, and some of them waved to the fans outside the gate.

This made the cheers outside the gate even louder.

Head coach Blazevic and his translator were the last to come down. After he appeared in the lobby, the players of the Chinese Olympic team began to walk towards the door, ready to board the bus.

The cheers continued to grow, and reporters also came forward one after another, carrying cameras and microphones to the gate, hoping to take the opportunity to interview the players of the Olympic team.

Sun Pan waved his hand pretentiously: Please wait for our good news, people of the motherland!

He Ying was very calm: We will do our best.

Guo Nu: I, I, I... Then he was pushed into the car by Zhou Yi: Hurry up, Lao Guo, don't block the road!

Behind him, reporters asked at the top of their lungs: I heard that Pele just said that he is more optimistic about the Japanese team winning the championship. What do you think, Zhou Yi?

Without looking back, Zhou Yi pushed Guo Nu into the car and said, Didn't the Japanese beat him up?

Blazevic was the last one to board the bus. After he got on the bus, he turned around and stood at the door and waved to reporters and fans with a smile.

Then the bus closed the door and drove away from the hotel amidst the flashes of reporters and the cheers of fans, heading towards Wembley Stadium, the stadium for this game.

There, a game worthy of being recorded in history is waiting for them. (To be continued.)