Golden Greenery

At 3:4, the Chinese team fell at the last moment of reaching the finals.

The Colombian referee Roldan, who favored the Chinese team for the whole game, did not even wait for the kick-off to resume. He only blew the final whistle after the players from both sides retreated to half-court.

Wang Dalei, who was eager to become a point hero again, lay on the ground and cried bitterly. Except for Zhuo Yang, all the players of the Chinese team collapsed on the ground.

This time, Zhuo Yang did not pick up his teammates one by one and comfort them like in the previous moments of failure. He stood alone in the field, like a tree in the rain.

The incoherent ecstasy of the Taoist only reflected his coldness and loneliness.

Zhuo Yang thought that after six hundred years of tragic and chaotic dreams, nothing could disturb his mind after being reborn as a human being, but he was wrong. At this moment, he felt deeply lost and lonely.

Once again, a close brother scored a stoppage-time winner, one in South Africa eight years ago. But Zhuo Yang was not too sad eight years ago. The Chinese team made a historic appearance in the knockout rounds, and had a close match with the Netherlands, which was aiming to win the championship. This far exceeded the expectations of the outside world and Zhuo Yang himself for the team.

That failure is the regret of the winner.

Today, eight years later, if Zhuo Yang had been told a month ago that the Chinese team would reach the semi-finals, he would have accepted it calmly. The semi-finals were an amazing achievement.

But today, he couldn't accept it.

After a tough battle, Brazil was easily eliminated on penalty kicks. The die-hard fans of the opponent turned to worship, making Zhuoyang fully aware that the Chinese team had the possibility of winning the championship. That day, he changed.

He is already 33 years old, and no one can resist the passage of time. The six-hundred-year-old sheep is an illusion, but the 33-year-old Zhuo Yang is the reality. Zhuoyang knows that his football has reached its peak, and is even gradually declining from the peak. The occasional feeling of inadequacy since last season is a clear example.

It's not just physical function. He has made incredible passing and running errors with his teammates many times. He has never been able to maximize his abilities in the World Cup. Zhuoyang's football has become confused.

All this shows that the body and consciousness of the 33-year-old are declining, at least in a downward trend.

Therefore, after eliminating the king Brazil, Zhuo Yang was suddenly very eager to win this year's World Cup. He wanted to stand at the top for the country and himself while the peak was still there.

In football, Zhuoyang has always had strong self-confidence, because in his sixteen-year career, he can win almost any honor he wants. From Madiburg in the ignorant period, to Milan, Barcelona, ​​Real Madrid, and then to Manchester City after rebirth, Zhuoyang is a winner with his own championship attributes.

A long time ago, Zhuoyang didn't have the luxury of winning the World Cup. When he was in Madiburg, he once said to Ronaldinho of Barcelona: I must win the Champions League. You go and win the World Cup. I don't have a World Cup, and the Champions League is my World Cup.

When he was in Barcelona, ​​Zhuoyang said to Messi: I don't have a chance to win the World Cup, you do, be your football king.

With the vigorous development of Hope Football Spring Buds, China has opened up a terrifyingly huge football talent reserve. With the continuous heavy investment in the field of Yiyang, the Chinese Professional League will implement comprehensive reforms this year and undergo earth-shaking changes.

Zhuo Yang did not expect such rapid development. It is indeed not difficult for Chinese people to do something well. As all this blossoms, Zhuo Yang knows that one day Chinese football will touch the Hercules Cup and it will become the norm. But I'm afraid it will be difficult for me to catch up.

I hope that Chunlei’s gratifying group of talented children will take over the responsibility of the rise of Chinese football sooner or later, and will definitely become a new pole in world football. Europe is the Arctic, America is the Antarctic, and China will be the roof of the world.

Zhuo Yang originally hoped to realize his dream of winning the World Cup in 2022, when he was 37 years old with the children of Hope Chunlei. But after football showed signs of deterioration, Zhuoyang didn't dare to hope for it.

It's not that he doesn't believe in those children, but Zhuo Yang will not tolerate himself becoming a supporting role in football. At the age of 37, he might have become someone to be taken care of by his children. Zhuo Yang would not allow this to happen.

He wants to win a World Cup with Zhuo Yang, not a World Cup with Zhuo Yang.

The Eight Great Vajra of Return to the West was originally just for transition, but I didn't expect that the effect of taking it would be so obvious. The Chinese team won consecutive victories, which finally ignited Zhuo Yang's desire to compete for the top spot this year.

Time waits for me, this year, in Russia.

After this year, I will hold the Hercules Cup in my arms and watch the younger generations galloping on the green. I will play happy football for two more years without any competition. Real happiness, happiness in winning or losing, because I have the World Cup.

But all these sweet dreams were shattered by Scar's thunderbolt kick, and there was no chance of remedy.

Who can understand Zhuoyang's loss and sadness?

I have done my best, worked hard for the team and the group for ten years, and it cannot be better. Where should I go next?

The stronger the hope, the sadder it is when it is shattered. Zhuo Yang was disappointed with himself, the team, and football.

Everything is my fault. In the group stage, because of my personal righteousness, I gave the Chinese team the most difficult enemy to deal with. Because of his personal relationship with Dazhi, he was forced to keep the old man in the national team, but he shattered the dreams of 1.4 billion people with one kick.

If I had to choose again, would I still have ambitions? Will I still fight for Denmark to protect my scar? It should still happen, because I am such a person, so everything is my fault.

I am an extremely selfish person. For the sake of personal friendship, I disregard the interests of the country and the national football team. But I have always been this kind of person, and if I lose my friendship, I will no longer be the complete Zhuoyang.

Everything is my fault.

The French people were making noise all around, and the Chinese team coach and bench players began to silently pick up every teammate who collapsed on the ground. But no one dared to disturb Zhuo Yang, not the Chinese nor the French.

At this moment, Zhuoyang gave up his long-standing responsibility as captain and gave up the hope that all the people had placed on him. He was tired.

All the negative emotions piled up, and at this moment, Zhuo Yang decided to end it.

Retire!

No more kicking. There will never be a better Zhuo Yang, Zhuo Yang will never have better football, and Zhuo Yang will no longer be happy on the court.

No more playing, neither the national team nor the club. Football is still rolling without me, and the Hercules Cup is still brilliant. Regret and perfection are just relative concepts. Football's incompleteness may be the most reasonable.

The take-off of Chinese football has begun. With time, I have completed my work and fulfilled my responsibilities. Chinese football... doesn’t need me anymore.

I want to retire.

There was a decision in my heart, but even more intense sadness came over me. The green field that I had been dreaming about for more than ten years has just left. It turns out that leaving is not a pleasant feeling, and it is not at all as free and easy as I originally thought.

Am I considered a success? It should be counted, no, it must be counted, I was once better than everyone, I once had the most championships and the most records.

Am I a loser? Maybe so. Football doesn’t owe anyone a World Cup, and it certainly doesn’t owe me one.

I'm leaving, and from now on I'm going to live a wild life, drinking a different wine every day, because I like drinking. We invite friends to drink together every day and chat about dirty jokes over the wine. We drink from the age of 33 to 133, as long as we live that long.

Football cannot give me this kind of happiness. Football is too rigorous, has too many rules and regulations, the training is annoying, and drinking is not allowed in football.

When I got tired of talking about dirty jokes, I played the piano for my friends while they sang and danced. I bought the largest private yacht in the world, where I would drink, sing, dance, and tell dirty jokes with my friends, and travel around the world telling dirty jokes.

The constraints of football can no longer restrain me.

These things are exciting to think about.

But why can't I be happy? Why am I still so sad?

Zhuoyang stood alone in the middle circle, like a tree in the rain.

No one dared to disturb him, not even Scar.

Finally retiring, Zhuo Yang suddenly felt panicked and overwhelmed. At this moment, he was so helpless.

He wants to see his parents and sister immediately. They are Zhuoyang's eternal support, and they will be the same when he is 133 years old. But my parents are not here today. They are in China.

Only Koko is by his side, and only his wife is with him in St. Petersburg.

Zhuoyang suddenly turned back to look for Kou Kou's direction, only to see his wife had come down from the stands, and now under everyone's gaze, she was gently holding up her skirt and running towards him on the court.

Zhuo Yang went up to Kou Kou and hugged Kou Kou tightly in his arms, tears streaming down his face in an instant.

He didn't know why he was crying, whether it was failure or football or retirement, but he couldn't stop crying.

Zhuoyang slowly knelt down on one knee, buried his head in his wife's arms, and cried silently. Koko protected him like a saint.

At this moment, all the Chinese fans who were originally disappointed shed tears.

It turns out that this god-like man is also fragile, and his majestic body is so lonely. He is our captain and our king, but our king is so tired.

In the darkest moment of Chinese football, he stepped back resolutely and shouldered the hope of the Chinese people alone. In these ten years, he never gave up and always struggled for football. Even after life and death, he never stopped loving football.

He is already a world-class rich man, a very young rich man. He should buy the world's largest yacht and travel around the world while drinking and chatting with friends, like other young rich men.

But he invested almost all his money in football and the development of Chinese football. His private life could be called frugal among the rich.

He is our captain, but we have only seen his hero, his greatness, and his perseverance, but we did not realize that he is just a young man of flesh and blood. His solitude, his loneliness, and his helplessness have all been ignored by us.

The affectionate Chinese fans were the first to cheer up. They began to sing "Chinese March" and "Song of Zhuo Yang". The singing gradually gathered, and the night sky of St. Petersburg regained its splendor.

During the song, Zhuo Yang said to his wife: "Kou Kou, I want to retire, okay?"

"Yeah." Koko gently stroked his face. "I'll travel around the world with you, every day."