There was a carnival at White Hart Lane, but there were angry curses from some Chinese football fans at the National Stadium in Bangkok.
"Refund!"
"Money back!"
"That's a damn thing!"
"What did you kick?"
"Thank you for supporting you so much!"
"Come all the way here..."
“Fuck, refund the money!!!”
In early May, after collective consultation, the football team decided that Dujkovic would no longer serve as a consultant for the national football team, and preparations for the Asian Cup were launched with Zhu Guanghu as the core.
After announcing the preliminary roster for the Asian Cup, Zhu Guanghu hurriedly took the team to Bangkok to play a friendly match with the Thai national team.
As you can imagine, the result was that the national football team lost 0-1.
At the post-match press conference, Zhu Guanghu said that he was not satisfied with the result of the game or the performance of his players, but he was mainly responsible for the loss.
"This friendly match can be regarded as a wake-up call for our coaching staff and the entire team to prepare for the Asian Cup. We are not afraid of problems being exposed now, but we are afraid that problems will be exposed during the actual game. By then it will be too late! "
"Now, fortunately, we still have a lot of time to solve the exposed problems, and don't forget, this is only our first roster, and there are still many main international players who have not returned to the team!"
"I hope that after this battle, the Chinese team will perform better in the future."
The first half of Zhu Guanghu's words can be regarded as official clichés. Almost every time he loses a game, the coaching staff will use them as an "excuse."
What really caught the attention of reporters and fans in the audience was Zhu Guanghu's last words.
What do you mean that many of the main international players have not returned to the team?
In this friendly match, Li Tie is back.
There are also Shao Jiayi from Germany, Sun Xiang from the Netherlands, Shi Jun from Switzerland...
Who else is missing?
Charlton's Zheng Zhi?
Manchester City’s Sun Jihai?
Or the one at White Hart Lane?
While reporters were holding microphones and asking questions anxiously, Zhu Guanghu stood up after finishing his speech, patted his butt and bid farewell to the press conference.
Seeing this, the fans felt even more itchy.
That afternoon, the national football team took a flight back to Guangzhou.
Then they were disbanded on the spot, and the players went back to their homes to look for their mothers.
Although it was just a simple friendly match, it caused quite a stir in the country.
"Yangtze Evening News" stated that there are still two months until the Asian Cup, and the Chinese team still has many problems.
If you can't even win the Thai team, then how can you talk about winning against Japan and South Korea?
"Beijing Times" also stated that the away game, weather and venue are only objective facts and should not be an excuse for losing the game.
After nearly a year of selection and training, if the national team still loses the game due to away games, then it can only be said that the national team is not mature yet.
"Hubei Daily" was more extreme in its statement.
If you can lose against an opponent like Thailand, there is no hope for the Asian Cup.
Since the 1998 Asian Games, the two teams have met 5 times so far. The Chinese team has won all five games, and even won the 2001 King of Thailand Cup with a 5-1 victory.
It was also an away game that year and we were scored by someone else, but we were still able to score 5 goals at that time!
Take last year's friendly match in Qinhuangdao, the Chinese team still defeated its opponent 4-0.
The defeat in this friendly match fully proved that the national team is in decline. Even if there is still a certain amount of strength left by the former international team, the ability to perform between home and away games has been greatly reduced.
Taken together, the Chinese team will gradually lose its suppression of other East Asian countries, and other national teams will gradually lose their fear of the Chinese team.
After analysis by various media outlets, the following day's headline of "Oriental Sports Daily" printed these words: "A lion fights a rabbit with all its strength. The national football team should unite all available forces!"
This report bluntly exposed the shortcomings of the current national team, as well as a series of miscellaneous problems within the shoes.
After listing more than ten items, the topic changed and he reposted the just-concluded final game of the Premier League.
Charlton failed to avoid relegation, but Zheng Zhi’s performance in the past half year is obvious to all, and he will represent Charlton in League One in the second half of the year; Li Tie recovered well at Sheffield United and also got a certain amount of playing time; Dong Fangzhuo began to gradually earn Taking advantage of the opportunity, he gets more and more involved; Sun Jihai has become the main force in Manchester City, and may even become a Manchester City star...
Among these players in the UK, Tottenham Hotspur defeated many Premier League giants such as Arsenal and Liverpool and won third place in the Premier League.
The newspaper interface also included a picture of a party at White Hart Lane where fans were celebrating their victory. The fans in the picture had joyful smiles on their faces, which was in sharp contrast to the fans who had just watched the national football match.
The meaning of "Oriental Sports Daily" has been very obvious. In order to play well in this Asian Cup and even achieve results in next year's Olympic Games, the Chinese team must unite all available forces.
Wang Xiaodong, who has a well-established Chinese background, is not an ethnic Chinese, but a real overseas Chinese.
It has also been reported many times that invitations from national teams such as the Netherlands, England, Spain, Finland, and Wales have been rejected. Wouldn't it be a waste of resources to leave such outstanding players unused?
Players' personal problems and temperaments are irrelevant.
If Wang Xiaodong is really a person who has difficulty integrating into the team, then why is he so popular with teammates, coaches and fans whether at Southampton or Tottenham?
Even England star Kevin Keegan has praised Wang Xiaodong on many occasions. If the shoes cannot recruit such a player into the team, then the problem is definitely the shoes!
As soon as this report came out, it immediately aroused support from fans across the country.
Even the aunts and uncles who sell soy milk and fried dough sticks in the morning market will discuss Wang Xiaodong's football skills with customers while doing business.
In the eyes of these lowest-level fans, all non-class conflicts are nothing.
It must be that Zuoxiao went too far, or that Zuoxiao used domestic methods and words to talk to Wang Xiaodong. With Wang Xiaodong's fiery temper, of course he wouldn't accept it.
Suddenly, there were loud voices in the country, and it was no longer something that an organization like Foot Shoes could suppress.
...
On May 16, at the exit hall of Glasgow Airport in Scotland, hundreds of reporters surrounded the Tottenham players who had just gotten off the plane.
No matter how the security personnel tried to stop them, those microphones with long poles were still handed over to Wang Xiaodong, Lennon and Berbatov.
In the bustling crowd, Wang Xiaodong's eyes lit up and he spotted many familiar Asian faces.
Especially the red national flag on the other side's press card, Bai Xiaotian suddenly felt extremely cordial.
"Wang Xiaodong, Wang Xiaodong, Wang Xiaodong!!!" Reporters and fans mingled together, waving their arms towards Wang Xiaodong.
When the coach wasn't paying attention, Wang Xiaodong quickly ran over to take the pen and signed several names.
"Xiaodong, when are you going to go back to play football!?" An elderly man asked while Wang Xiaodong was signing.
"Ah, are you going back? Let's talk about it later. There are still two games left. Let's play these two games well first." Wang Xiaodong replied without raising his head.
"Xiaodong, you don't know, the domestic fans are looking forward to your return!" The old man kept chattering, "Xiaodong, as long as you join, then our Chinese team will be the best in Asia. What will happen then? B, no stick will work. Xiaodong, please think about it again and don’t always get angry with those bastards in Foot Shoes!"
"Hahaha, uncle, you are really joking. How can I be in the mood to be angry with them?" Wang Xiaodong smiled freely after signing his name. "I came to Scotland today to play in the finals. I won't think about any other issues for the time being. Thank you all. My compatriots have come all the way to cheer me on, and I promise to give everyone a wonderful game!”
Looking at Wang Xiaodong's back, some people complained that the uncle talked too much, while others sighed. Wang Xiaodong's avoidant attitude seemed to be gone.
"Lao Li, do you think Wang Xiaodong can return to China to play football?"
"I'm sorry!" Lao Li shook his head, "I've been doing interviews outside all year round, and the ideas of these foreigners are completely different from ours. Wang Xiaodong has lived in the UK for so many years, and his behavior will be affected to some extent. Yes. For a professional player, his career is more important. He always goes to the national team to play substandard games, what if he gets injured?"
"Lao Li, what you said, can the Asian Cup be called a substandard competition?"
"Hahahaha, Asian Cup? Is it high-level? It depends on who you compare with!" Lao Li pointed at the Europa League logo, "What do you think of the Europa League? Is the Asian Cup or the Europa League higher? Don't forget , Wang Xiaodong played in the final today!"
"Well, when you say it that way, it seems like that's really what happened..."
...
At the press conference that afternoon, Martin Joel openly announced the starting list.
Spurs have nothing to hide.
This is the case for Tottenham this season, facing tough odds all the way until now.
Youth, energy and hard work are what Tottenham rely on most this season.
When the pronunciation of "WANG XIAODONG" was heard, there was a burst of cheers from a corner of the audience.
Although they were well prepared, when they actually heard Wang Xiaodong's name, these reporters from China couldn't help but be extremely excited.
Think about the other players in Europe, some of whom are still working hard in the second-tier leagues; think about the Japanese and Korean players in Europe, they have hardly reached the heights that Wang Xiaodong is today.
To be able to reach the European finals was only Cha Bum-gen who had done this back then.
As the ancient god of Asian football, Che Fangen, he helped Frankfurt and Bayer Leverkusen win the Europa League championship respectively.
Although the European Cup Winners' Cup had not yet been integrated into the Europa League at that time, the competition process was equally fierce.
Now that Wang Xiaodong has stepped into the UEFA Cup final as Tottenham's absolute main force, he has undoubtedly created a new history.
Even though Wang Xiaodong has not played a game for the national team, his name has already been engraved in the history of Chinese football.
With Wang Xiaodong's age and ability, his honor figures can only be higher!
So, on the manuscripts sent back to China, the reporters also wrote: "Wang Xiaodong starts again and will lead the team to compete for the championship."
Yes, in the eyes of fans, Wang Xiaodong is Tottenham's real leg.
The previous hat trick and big four are proof!
That night, betting companies around the world conducted so-called "expert-style" analysis of the starting lineups and formations of both sides, and set odds based on the guessed game results.
Interestingly, Tottenham's odds are much lower than Werder Bremen on the other side.
Obviously, everyone is more optimistic about this "powerful" team from the Premier League!
Since it was the Europa League final, CCTV 5 also carried out satellite signal broadcast.
The fans who had read the news in the newspaper early in the evening sat on the sofa to prepare on time, with small drinks and dishes on the coffee table, waiting for Wang Xiaodong to lead the team to the field.
