Fox in the Penalty Area

Chapter 338 It's not too late to come back today

The French commentator in the commentary stood up excitedly from his seat after seeing Hou Lai's goal. He shouted loudly: "Hu Lai scored! Hou Lai scored again! This is his third goal of the game. A goal! A hat-trick! My God! It's his first World Cup! He's already the top scorer with five goals! Guys, can you believe it? Did you ever imagine that before the World Cup started? A player from China can lead the World Cup scorer list!"

The Spanish commentator laughed and said: "What else can I say? In front of such a wonderful performance, what else can I say? Hahaha... This is football, friends! This is football! Here, you can see A new World Cup team is forcing the world champions into a scramble! You can also see a new football hero being born!"

British TV commentator Matthew Cox pointed to the pitch and said loudly: "Ladies and gentlemen! Please allow me to introduce you once again... This is the top scorer and most impressive player in the English Premier League last season. Best player, striker from Premier League champions Leeds City... Hu-lai!!!”

The Qatar commentator was hoarse and just kept repeating Hu Lai's name, and he didn't stop until his voice was hoarse.

In the entire commentary booth, all the commentators fell into varying degrees of madness.

This is the charm of football. In the face of a great enough performance, people can completely put aside the differences of nationality, race and politics and sing praises for him.

So is Hu Lai's performance great enough?

Of course, unquestionably great!

※※※

After the celebration, the players of the Chinese team returned to their own half, and they could still hear the deafening shouts from the stands one after another.

They couldn't hear some voices, and they didn't know what they were shouting.

But some were heard clearly and familiarly.

At first they thought those fans were shouting the usual cheering slogans like "Come on China" and "Long live China".

But if you listen carefully, you will find that there is no word "team" in the slogans shouted by these people.

Not "Long live the Chinese team".

It's "Long Live China".

It's not "the Chinese team is awesome".

But "China is awesome".

The difference of one word has a great psychological impact on the players of the Chinese team.

They suddenly remembered what Team Leader Hong told them at the internal meeting before going to the World Cup:

"You go out to represent the image of the country. If you play well, the overseas Chinese and overseas Chinese in North America will be honored. If you don't play well, it will be embarrassing, and the overseas Chinese and overseas Chinese will also lose their heads. Come on. Always keep in mind that the heart of this jersey is embroidered with the five-star red flag!"

At that time, some players murmured in private, thinking that the words of the team leader Hong were not level-wasn't this putting pressure on us?

In the past, all kinds of leaders held meetings non-stop, which made us all nervous. When we went on stage, we couldn't move our legs when we thought about the righteousness and honor...

The media has criticized this approach countless times.

Now the Football Association really rarely uses this method to increase the psychological burden on everyone, but instead reduces the burden on the team. Say something like "Football is football, just focus on the game and don't think about anything else".

This time the Chinese team finally participated in the World Cup for the first time, why did the team leader Hong put a heavy burden on our shoulders?

Until this moment, listening to the deafening shouts of "Long Live China" and looking at the Chinese fans waving national flags in the stands, those international players who had muttered before realized how correct the words of the team leader Hong were.

Regardless of whether anyone said those words, their team represented China in the American arena.

Otherwise, why are they called "Team China"?

Therefore, it is only natural that their performance will be linked to the image of the country.

This is an objective fact whether Team Leader Hong says it or not.

In the past, they would regard it as pressure, because most of the time they used their performance to humiliate Chinese fans. Of course, there is pressure to be scolded.

But now, they used their performance to embarrass all the Chinese fans... They didn't feel that it was a huge pressure all of a sudden, but it turned into a surging power, pushing their legs to run back to themselves halftime.

"The game is not over yet!" In the crowd, captain Yao Huasheng reminded his teammates loudly, "Brazil will definitely counterattack next, hold on! We must hold on! We must not lose this game!"

"No problem, Team Yao!" Lin Zhiyuan responded loudly, "I promise not to let them score another goal!"

The substitute players ran back with them, and Jiang Wanqing, who had already been replaced, also slapped his hands for encouragement: "Hold on! Hold on to this point! Let's bid farewell to the World Cup with an unbeaten record!"

"Come on!"

"come on!!!"

The players of the Chinese team ran back along the sideline, and then separated at the center line.

The players on the field returned to their positions, and the substitute players returned to the bench one after another, but instead of sitting back in their seats, they all stood on the sidelines, cheering for their teammates.

Mao Junzheng failed to go back, he was held back by assistant coach Li Zhifei: "Get ready to play!"

Mao Junzheng was called to warm up from time to time in the second half, so now let him play and he can play immediately, and there is no need to warm up again.

He quickly took off his substitute vest and came to Shi Wuyin's side: "Guide Shi."

Shi Wuyin nodded and then gave the opportunity: "You go to the field and play central defender with Yao Huasheng, let Wang Guangwei go up to the midfielder to help the midfielder defend... remind everyone not to be flattened by the Brazilian team's offense, and keep enough anyway. The depth, there must be layers between the back line and the avant-garde line..."

He is going to use his last substitution spot.

※※※

Hu Lai, who returned to the Chinese team's half, stood outside the center circle, waiting for the Brazilian team to kick off.

Then he noticed that someone seemed to be looking at him, so he looked over according to his feeling.

Sure enough, Kabanka was staring at him.

That look was not friendly.

However, Hu Lai also fully understands why Kabanka has such a look - no matter whose team is equalized in the last few minutes of the game, I am afraid he will not be friendly...

But if you are not friendly, you are not friendly, so Hu Lai is not afraid.

You are in a bad mood, what does it have to do with me, Hu Lai?

On the contrary, I am in a great mood!

So he turned to Kabanka and grinned.

Kabanka laughed so much that she was a little autistic, she could only look back and look down at her toes.

※※※

Ramon Cantero, who saw this scene in front of the TV, suddenly smiled: "Ha!"

Melly beside him asked him strangely: "What are you laughing at, Ramon?"

Cantero proudly said: "My hope of revenge next season will be greatly increased!"

Melly couldn't understand: "Why do you say that?"

Cantero pointed to the TV screen: "Because Kabanka also experienced what we felt in the Olympics before! So when he returns to the league next season, he will definitely hold back his energy and seek revenge from Hu Lai!"

Seeing her roommate so happy, Meili hesitated to speak: "But..."

"But what?" Cantero asked.

"Uh, but Ramon... We were eliminated last time, but this time the Brazilian team will not be eliminated..."

Cantero couldn't laugh anymore, and was even a little depressed.

※※※

After the game restarted, the Chinese team players on the field soon received instructions from assistant coach Li Zhifei to kick the football out to create opportunities for dead balls so that the Chinese team could make substitutions.

Mao Junzheng was already standing on the sidelines, just waiting to play.

So when the Chinese team grabbed the ball, Xia Xiaoyu kicked the football forward and out of bounds with a big kick.

The reason why they did not choose to kick out of the sideline nearby was, of course, because after the substitutions were completed and the game resumed, the Brazilian team would not directly threaten the Chinese team's goal.

He Feng praised Xia Xiaoyu's move: "Very smart! Xia Xiaoyu has grown very fast in this World Cup!"

Seeing the football going out of bounds, the referee blew his whistle and gestured for a substitution on the sidelines.

The fourth official held up the substitution sign, Mao Jun on the 4th was going up, and Zhang Qinghuan on the 10th was off.

"Replacing with a central defender, Shi Wuyin instructed that this is to try to defend the tie... Also, the current score is completely acceptable for the Chinese team..."

Yan Kang laughed beside him and said, "It's not only acceptable, it's perfect! Ha!"

After going through such a game, although there will definitely be some people fantasizing about scoring another goal to beat Brazil, most of them are already satisfied.

From the score to the process, they are satisfied.

After Zhang Qinghuan turned his head and saw that he was replaced, he first raised his hands, applauded the fans in the stands, and then turned around and walked down.

This is the second time he has been replaced in this World Cup, but the meaning is completely different from the first time he was replaced.

That time, because of his mediocre performance on the court, he was replaced more like a deserter, fleeing in a hurry.

But in the next two games, he performed very well - in the game against Russia, he assisted Luo Kai to score the only goal of the Chinese team and helped the Chinese team draw Russia 1:1.

Today's game was also the kick he shot, which finally gave Hu Lai a chance to make a header.

Although in terms of technical statistics, he neither assisted nor scored in this game, but his performance in the game cannot be simply summarized by technical statistics.

"Zhang Qinghuan was replaced. His organization in the frontcourt of the Chinese team in this game is the key to the Chinese team's three-goal draw with Brazil... In the contest with Dudu Carlos, the top European midfielder, He is not at a disadvantage. Think about how much Chinese fans and the media had high expectations for him when he first debuted...Think about the absurd things he did later...Who would have thought that this person could actually appear in the What about the World Cup?" After He Feng made a few comments, he couldn't help feeling emotional.

As a CCTV commentator, living in the capital, he naturally watched Zhang Qinghuan play football a lot, and he knew Zhang Qinghuan's past clearly. It was also because of this that he was so sad.

"Anyway... He Feng, Zhang Qinghuan took a detour, but in the end he returned to the road that we all expected him to take. And he walked very well! Seeing his performance in this World Cup , I think that although he is already twenty-six years old, he can still play football in Europe! He plays football with his brain, not his body, so what does it matter if he is a little older?"

"That's right, you're right, Yan Kang. Since he is a prodigal son... he should be brave enough to wander and make a living! I hope his performance in the World Cup can be seen by more eyes from Europe. Good midfielder, he deserves to go to Europe!"

He Feng sighed again: "Someone once said that if Zhang Qinghuan hadn't taken the detours of those years, perhaps we would have entered the World Cup four years ago. But that is a hypothesis after all, maybe even if he hadn't taken the detours, we would have won the World Cup four years ago. We can't get in in 2022... The important thing is that we are really in the World Cup now. The detours we have taken have also made Zhang Qinghuan what he is today. Every road you have traveled, every mistake you made when you were young, has finally made you who you are today...

"You and I are all mortals, no one can avoid making mistakes, but how to face one's own mistakes is the key to whether a person can truly grow. Some people fall into their own mistakes and cannot extricate themselves, while others can learn from their mistakes. Learn lessons, muster up courage, get up and move on. I think real maturity should not be pursuing perfection, but facing one’s shortcomings. This is the essence of life...Romain Rolland once said: There is only one person in this world There is a kind of true heroism, which is to recognize the truth of life and still love it. In this sense, our 'prodigal son' is a true hero! A strong man who can dominate himself!"

In front of the TV, the little nurse who was listening to He Feng's words sat cross-legged on the bed, tears streaming down her face.

With tears in her eyes, she seemed to see the heartbreaking figure sitting on the hospital bed in the warm afternoon sun.

She wiped away her tears, and saw the smiling face on the TV screen as bright as the sun again.

Tears could not stop streaming down.

All the well-prepared makeup was crying.

※※※

Exhausted, Zhang Qinghuan walked slowly towards the sidelines. He passed by Hu Lai, and Hu Lai said to him, "Brother Huan, do you want me to help you down?"

"Get out!" Zhang Qing laughed and cursed.

"Wait for time, Brother Huan!" Hu Lai hurriedly explained.

"Nonsense, I know. I don't need your help, I will walk slowly!" Zhang Qinghuan waved to him, and continued to walk slowly towards the sidelines.

When passing by Luo Kai, he offered to extend his hand, and Luo Kai also reached out to give him a high five.

Then Zhang Qinghuan walked off the stage with a satisfied smile on his face.

There were Brazilian players yelling at him on the road, signaling him to hurry up, but he ignored them completely, neither arguing with others nor obeying to speed up.

Just shaking his head like that, walking like an old man walking in the alleys of the capital.

Then look up at the sky.

Dad, didn't you embarrass your old man?

As if he heard his father's praise, his smile became brighter, and he even hummed a song happily: "...waiting to go through the sea, waiting to read all the joys and sorrows, and the heart is tired and rebellious. Your face is covered with dust and mud , what a white-haired lost man..."

It's not too late to come back today

colorful sky

Bright moon as candlestick

also return, also return

take suffering as a ship

tears as sails

heart like arrow

Don't say that the sky has no boundaries and the sea has no shores

Even if the return journey takes ten thousand years

It's not too late to come back today

come back with old friends

innocent boy