On June 12, the national football team returned to Beijing by plane.
On the 14th, Football Footwear held a press conference to announce the 30-man roster for the Asian Cup national football team, of which 23 were selected:
Goalkeepers: 1. Li Leilei (Shandong Luneng Taishan), 22. Yang Jun (Tianjin TEDA)
Defenders: 2. Du Wei, 3. Sun Xiang (Shanghai Shenhua), 4. Zhang Yaokun (Dalian Shide), 5. Li Weifeng (Shanghai Shenhua), 7. Sun Jihai (Manchester City), 13. Zhang Shu ( Jingcheng Guoan), 16. Ji Mingyi (Dalian Shide), 23. Cao Yang (Tianjin TEDA).
Midfielder: 6. Shao Jiayi (Cottbus), 8. Li Tie (Sheffield United), 15. Zheng Zhi (Charlton), 12. Zhao Churi (Dalian Shide), 14. Zhu Ting ( Dalian Shide), 10. Wang Xiaodong (Tottenham Hotspur), 18. Zhou Haibin (Shandong Luneng Taishan), 19. Zheng Bin (Hubei Wuhan), 20. Mao Jianqing (Shanghai Shenhua)
Forwards: 9. Han Peng (Shandong Luneng Taishan), 11. Dong Fangzhuo (Manchester United), 17. Qu Bo (Qingdao Zhongneng), 21. Wang Peng (Dalian Shide)
Facing reporters in the audience, head coach Zhu Guanghu made the following explanations.
"1. The reason why Xu Yunlong and Du Zhenyu were put on the waiting list was entirely because they were injured;"
"2. Li Jinyu, the top scorer in the league last year, was not selected because of the huge gap between his performance in the club and the national team, and the decision was made based on the comprehensive consideration of the opponent situation in the Asian Cup and the tactical needs of the national football team;"
"3. As for the failure of former national football captain Zhao Junzhe, his situation is similar to Li Jinyu, and there is Wang Xiaodong in the team as a supplement;"
"4. Based on discussions within the team, the final decision was made. Wang Xiaodong, who returns to the team for the first time, will wear the No. 10 jersey."
"5. Since the roster can be submitted no later than 24 hours before the start of the Asian Cup, all 25 people participating in the warm-up training will go with the team."
After Gojo explained, the audience cheered.
While the defeat of Zhao Junzhe and Li Jinyu disappointed many fans, it makes sense if you think about it carefully.
Foot Shoes always wants to explain that the two people's defeat was not because they failed in some "struggle" of "privilegeism" and belonged to the abandoned party; but Wang Xiaodong's selection was precisely because of some kind of "privilegeism" victory.
But no matter what, most fans are still very much looking forward to it when they see this list.
From a configuration point of view, this national football team is no less than the national team that won the runner-up three years ago.
...
As soon as the news came out, fans across the country immediately joined the discussion.
The National Olympic Games' Toulon Cup tour has just achieved the best results in history, and this is the moment when the enthusiasm of domestic fans is high.
At the morning market in Beijing, discussions about football can be heard everywhere.
"Old Zhao, have you noticed that I have become more and more energetic these days!"
"Oh? Is there something happy about you?"
"Of course!" Lao Li said with joy, "Our national team is becoming more and more like a strong team!"
"National team? Football? Are you kidding me?" Lao Zhao said in surprise, "Didn't you say they played badly a few days ago?"
"A few days ago was a few days ago, and now is now. Didn't you read the newspaper? In the latest list of our national team, 7 people are returnees!"
"Seven people? Who are they?"
"Sun Jihai, Sun Xiang, Zheng Zhi, Shao Jiayi, Li Tie, Dong Fangzhuo...and Wang Xiaodong!"
"Wang Xiaodong? Wang Xiaodong is back?"
"Yes! And he also wears the No. 10 jersey! Tsk, tsk, tsk, he is a proper main force!"
"Listening to what you said, it seems that we really have some hope!" Old Zhao nodded, "I have also heard of that young man Wang Xiaodong. My children bought a lot of his autumn clothes and clamored for the European Championship every day. . I thought, it wouldn’t be too bad for this European champion to play in the Asian Cup!”
"What's so bad? You can't do it any better!" Lao Li gave a thumbs up, "Although Wang Xiaodong is young, he plays football very well! With him in the midfield, everyone can attack Don’t come here!”
"If you say that, then we have hope for this Asian Cup?"
"Not only in the Asian Cup, I estimate that even in next year's Olympics, our results will not be bad!"
While fans across the country were discussing the roster, five days later, reporters from all over the country gathered at the Xianghe training base in Hebei to watch the national football training camp.
...
Through the fence, people can only see the players wearing training clothes and doing some routine training on the court.
It looked no different from the preparations for competitions in the past. The guys were passing the ball and running in circles. Even Wang Xiaodong, who attracted the most attention, was holding his arms and doing basic training meticulously.
"Coach, how are you?" Zheng Zhi asked eagerly in front of the administration building.
Although the number 10 jersey of the main team was given to Wang Xiaodong, Zheng Zhi is still the core and captain of the team. Therefore, some of his suggestions will be listened carefully to above.
"Alas, it still doesn't work." Zhu Guanghu shook his head, "The above said that this has been decided now. If the venue is temporarily changed... I'm afraid it won't be appropriate, and there is a suspicion of changing it overnight."
"Okay, if that's the case, let's forget it." Zheng Zhi also lowered his head after hearing this and said no more.
This Asian Cup is co-organized by Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam. Veteran players such as Li Weifeng and Zheng Zhi have been suggesting that pre-match training should be held in Guangzhou because the climate and temperature there are similar to those in Malaysia.
It allows the team members to quickly adapt to the feeling of raining for a while, being exposed to the sun for a while, and the weather is as hot as a steamer.
Many players know that if they do not adapt for a period of time in this kind of weather, they will not be able to run at all during the game.
However, the suggestion to change the venue was ultimately rejected.
"Then... what about the physical coach?" This time, Zheng Zhi changed from expectation to temptation.
"The words of the physical fitness coach...well, it's hard to describe in words."
Zhu Guanghu shook his head, he didn't know how to explain.
"In fact, we have already been equipped with specialized physical trainer shoes, and they are also England's big-name physical trainers." After saying this, Zhu Guanghu paused.
"But, but he has gone back to the UK to deal with the issue of the personal trainer contract with Beckham in the past two days. It is not certain when he will come back, so..."
"So, there isn't even a physical fitness coach, right?" Zheng Zhi's eyes were filled with disappointment again.
"Xiao Zheng, the Asian Cup is about to start. If you can overcome this little thing, let's get over it."
"Concentrate all your attention on training. As long as we win back on the court, nothing will matter, don't you think?"
Looking at Zhu Guanghu's peacemaker's face, Zheng Zhi did not say a word, but shook his head and conveyed the disappointing news to other teammates.
Among the team, the ones who were most concerned about this matter were the returnees and Li Weifeng.
The game is held in Southeast Asia in the summer. It is a huge physical test for the returnees who have played in Europe for a season.
Li Weifeng was only selected into the team a few days ago at Zhu Guanghu's strong request, so these people are in urgent need of a professional physical coach to help them adjust their bodies.
"If it doesn't work, let me help you train." Just when the guys were at a loss, a voice came from the side.
"You? Xiaodong?" Zheng Zhi turned his head and saw Wang Xiaodong with a relaxed look on his face.
