Midfielder Ruler

"Ouch-ouch——"

As the referee on duty blew two short and one long whistles to end the game, the sky above the Pernambuco Arena rang out with deafening cheers from Chinese fans.

The Chinese players in the stadium were so excited that they cried with joy. Many players couldn't believe that the team actually defeated Cote d'Ivoire!

The players on the bench also rushed to the court at the end of the game to enjoy the hard-won victory with the players on the court.

In other words, enjoy a history-making victory.

Twelve years ago, the Chinese team lost all three games at the World Cup in Korea and Japan, scoring no goals and conceding nine goals. At that time, many players present were still children, such as Sun Jingbo, the youngest member of the team, who was only six years old in 2002.

Tang Zheng was only thirteen years old at the time. He still remembered the heavy heart he felt sitting in front of the TV watching three World Cup games.

It was at that time that Tang Zheng determined to become China's best player and lead the Chinese team to the World Cup.

Leading the Chinese team to the World Cup is the first step for Tang Zheng, scoring goals and winning the game is the second step, and the next step...is qualifying from the group!

Colombia is the seed team in Group C and has strong overall strength. The possibility of defeating Colombia is very low. However, there is good news for the Chinese team. Colombia is the opponent they need to face in the final round of the group. As long as they defeat it in the second round Greece and the Chinese team can win two consecutive games in the group and qualify early.

Tang Zheng, who was broadcasting the scene, was very excited. He raised his arms and waved them upward several times.

Commentator Xu Yang added loudly and almost crazy after He Wei's passionate commentary: "This is a day that people across the country must remember! Not only did we score a goal in the World Cup, we also got three points! We can beat Cote d'Ivoire in this round. Next time There is also a chance to defeat the former European champion Greece in the round! The media who questioned the Chinese team before the game should open your eyes! I believe that the Chinese team will definitely appear in the knockout rounds of this World Cup!!"

Lippi, the head coach of the national team, let out a sigh of relief when the full-time whistle sounded. In order to prepare for the World Cup, he chose very strong warm-up opponents. Therefore, in the entire warm-up match in the first half of 2014, he lost more than he won.

To put it bluntly, I have only won one game, but considering the overall strength of the warm-up match opponent Macedonia, this victory is not very convincing, especially since the two warm-up matches before the World Cup lost to Italy and Chile in a row, which left Lippi with the burden. Too much public pressure.

The ‘unexpected’ defeat of Cote d’Ivoire in the first round of the World Cup group stage was not easy.

immediately,

Lippi, who appeared in the broadcast, walked towards Ivory Coast coach Lamouchi, politely shaking hands and offering simple comfort.

Lippi is a well-known coach in world football. When Lamouchi played for Serie A teams Parma, Inter Milan, and Genoa, he played against Juventus, which Lippi briefly coached. Therefore, Lamouchi is very interested in the over-60s coach. Lippi was respectful. Even if he was in a bad mood after losing, he did not forget basic etiquette.

As the official winner of the match, the on-site director also paid special attention to him. Many fans could see Tang Zheng slowly walking towards the mixed zone through the TV station that did not cut off the live signal.

At this historic moment, Tang Zheng directly ignored those well-known foreign TV stations and chose to be interviewed by reporters from CC5, the most influential TV station in China.

Xiao Linzi, an intern reporter from CC5 who just graduated this year, had to let him, the intern, take over the shift because two of his colleagues suddenly caught colds and it was too late to be transferred from other places. Therefore, Xiao Linzi, who was worried about making mistakes, was still working on drafts. Brewing, a little absent-minded.

Tang Zheng stood in front of the sponsor sign and habitually extended his right hand to take the microphone, but the young reporter standing in front of him didn't hand it over for a long time...

As a result, Tang Zheng's right hand froze in the air and his brows wrinkled unnaturally. Media from other countries were also watching, and the atmosphere became very awkward.

However, Tang Zheng was used to seeing big winds and waves. His broad vision was not only reflected in the football field, but also in life. He saw the word "Internship" written on the young press card in front of him, so he smiled and stretched out his hand to look at it. The reporter, who was younger than him, had his eyes dazzled, pointed his right index finger at the microphone, and said jokingly: "Hey, brother? You don't seem to want to interview me?"

Central 5 intern reporter Xiao Linzi finally came to his senses and quickly handed the connected microphone to Tang Zheng, while he kept apologizing: "I'm sorry, I was just thinking about how to ask you a question. A little distracted."

"It's okay, don't be nervous, just ask whatever comes to mind." Tang Zheng's people-friendly image was once again reflected, and he patted the reporter in front of him on the shoulder again.

Xiao Linzi held up his glasses frame with his right hand and his brain was working quickly. He had a solid foundation and asked a very common question: "Have you ever thought about winning the game before the game?"

Tang Zheng took the connected microphone with his right hand and said without hesitation: "Yes, of course, the tactics assigned to us by Coach Lippi before the game are very reasonable. The shortcomings and tactical ideas of the Ivory Coast team's players have also been analyzed in detail. We also If you use his tactics, winning is the inevitable result."

Tang Zheng spoke eloquently, and CC5 reporter Xiao Linzi also got better and asked the question that domestic fans wanted to hear: "We defeated Cote d'Ivoire, and next there will be Greece and the seed team Colombia. Are you confident?"

"Of course I have confidence, but..." After Tang Zheng said this, he paused and thought for a moment before saying: "But the games have to be played one by one. Don't think too much about the results for the time being. For the entire team, the game is If the process is good, the result will not be bad. I believe that my teammates can play better in the next game and next game."

After answering two questions in a row, the interview time for CCTV 5 was also up, so Tang Zheng had to be interviewed by other foreign media from the organizing committee.

The signal of CCTV 5 switched to the Beijing studio. The commentator Song Shixiong obviously had not recovered from the joy of the Chinese team's victory, and he was full of passion: "What is a leader? This is a leader! Don't be arrogant when you win! Full of confidence in the future! I finally I know why Tang Zheng’s career is so successful, because he is never afraid of challenges!”

At the same time, Xiao Linzi, a CC5 intern reporter who had just finished interviewing Tang Zheng, secretly wiped away a cold sweat, but he was more excited and excited.

He has been a fan since he could remember. To be more precise, he is a fan of Tang Zheng, and he has a lot of experience.

When the Football Association punished Tang Zheng heavily, Xiao Linzi, who was well-known in the hacker community, had hacked into the Football Association's official website many times to vent his anger on Tang Zheng's behalf.

Being able to interview your idol in person is such a wonderful feeling!

※※※

At the regular press conference after the game, Lippi, the head coach of the Chinese team, who was interviewed by the media, expressed the excitement of the team's victory. He also said that the next two rounds of the group stage have become more critical. The international rankings of the Greek team and Colombian team are very high. Going up, the strength is quite strong, and maintaining a tie is the core idea of ​​the Chinese team in the remaining two games.

The captain Zheng Zhi who was traveling with him had a lower attitude. He said: "Winning Cote d'Ivoire is more about luck, so winning the game is not very convincing, so the next two group matches should maintain a higher level of attention. Try to get points.”

Lippi spoke Italian and Zheng Zhi spoke Chinese.

Through the official translator, the foreign media reporters who came to the press conference hall of the Pernambuco Arena were speechless.

This... is simply a case of getting something cheap and being nice, especially the domestic media in Cote d'Ivoire, who felt like crying without tears.

After unexpectedly losing to the Chinese team in the first round, they will face the strong seed team Côte d'Ivoire in the second round. If nothing else happens, they are likely to lose, which means that Côte d'Ivoire, which has lost two consecutive games, will be eliminated directly.

The domestic media in China were also relatively speechless, but thinking about the positive effect that the national team defeated Cote d'Ivoire in the first round, which had a positive effect on qualifying for the group, there was no dissatisfaction. Anyway, football matches are based on performance.

The performance of the Chinese team in the first round was very qualified!

Returning to the hotel where the Chinese team stayed, many players were in a state of excitement, and the same was true for Tang Zheng.

This excitement is even stronger than when he led Dortmund to win the Triple Crown in the 2012-2013 season.

But Tang Zheng is very forward-looking. The Chinese team's next World Cup group match against Greece is four days later at the Dunes Stadium in Natal.

The first training flight to Natal tomorrow will not be heavy, but he knows that excessive excitement will affect his mental state the next day.

A poor mental state will naturally affect the quality of training the next day.

In tournament-based competitions, there won’t be many training sessions, so the general pursuit is quality.

So after Tang Zheng's brain turned to one side, he ignored the fact that the time was now close to twelve o'clock in the evening, local time in Brazil. He clapped his hands twice in the hotel lobby, and when his teammates' eyes gathered, he said: "Brothers, let's go there first. I have something to tell you in the reception room on the building, is that okay?"

Tang Zheng's influence in the national team is now even greater than that of captain Zheng Zhi, and no one has any objections, including Zheng Zhi.

At the same time, he is holding his assistant Madaloni and his Chinese assistant Li Tie to discuss whether to hold a meeting with the excited Chinese players to avoid being overly excited and affecting their state and the second round of the group stage.

But just as they were discussing the results, the Chinese players who were still in the lobby just now followed Tang Zheng and walked inside.

Lippi raised his eyebrows, and Li Tie asked in a low voice: "Marcelo, shall I ask about the situation?"

"No need." As soon as Li Tiejian turned around, Lippi shook his head and said, "I know what Tang wants to do."

"oh?"

Li Tie and Madaloni expressed curiosity at the same time.

"If I guess correctly." Lippi said with a smile: "Don's thoughts should be the same as mine. He is a phenomenal player, unparalleled. I think... when he ends his career, he will be a very good head coach."

※※※

The hotel conference room was a place where Chinese players had been many times since arriving in Recife, so they were no strangers to it. Everyone sat down casually.

Tang Zheng didn't give any clues. After his teammates sat down, he went straight to the topic: "I think the brothers here are still very excited right now?"

"Of course I'm excited, winning the first game of the World Cup!"

Lu Liang, who is very familiar with Tang Zheng, performed amazingly in the final group stage and said it without thinking.

"This is a must!" Gao Lin also took out his mobile phone, turned the screen around, and said excitedly: "I just posted a Weibo, and there are thousands more comments. After the game, there are already Tens of thousands of comments, retweets and likes, so cool!”

"Don't mention it. There are many female fans expressing their love in Weibo comments, some sending private messages, and some bold female fans directly sending private pictures. Oh my god, he is so awesome." Left back Jiang Zhipeng said excitedly.

"Really?" Cai Huikang, who was also at the Genbao training base, his eyes lit up, and he turned around and gave Jiang Zhipeng a 'you know' look: "I'll take a step to talk later."

…

Other teammates also expressed their opinions, which was very lively.

Tang Zheng smiled helplessly, but he knew what he was going to do, so he clapped his hands a few more times: "Brothers, please stop for a moment, I haven't finished speaking yet."

After about five seconds, the entire conference room became quiet, and everyone looked at Tang Zheng again.

It is not difficult to see that Tang Zheng's status in the Chinese men's football team is very high.

Tang Zheng took a deep breath, adjusted his condition, his expression became serious, and said in a deep voice: "I know that brothers are very excited and excited now, but I hope you can better control your personal emotions. This is just for our World Cup trip. The first game, the first victory! Next there will be Greece and the even more powerful Colombia. Not to mention facing Colombia in the final round, Greece is a very strong opponent.”

Having said this, Tang Zheng looked at Lu Liang, Yan Junling, Wu Sanshi, Zhang Linpeng, and Hao Junmin, these relatively successful overseas players, and said with undiminished momentum: "There are no weak teams in Europe. I think your experience is no better than mine." Qian, we don’t have anything to be excited about now. Winning against Cote d’Ivoire has become a thing of the past. We also know that saying these words at this time makes people a little confused. They think that I am throwing cold water on it. We should celebrate now! But why should I say it? Because. "

This time Tang Zheng looked at everyone present, his voice was an octave higher, and he said loudly: "I have the same thoughts as you have in your mind! I want to win the next game! But... if I keep my current thoughts and Mentally, I think everyone will not be able to sleep tonight. This will seriously affect the state of tomorrow. The second round of the group stage will be in four days. I don’t want my brothers to be affected by off-field factors and affect their performance in the game..."

Tang Zheng said a lot of things in one breath and was so direct that some teammates felt unhappy, but they had to be convinced by Tang Zheng.

Because every word Tang Zheng said makes sense. The biggest reason why European players are able to perform stably, and even weak teams may not lose to strong teams by a large score, is that European players have extremely high self-discipline and can regulate their personal emotions very well. .

Especially for Greece, whose overall strength is not much different, team comes first.

Otherwise, how could we win the European Championship in 2004?

Tang Zheng also mentioned Lippi's hiring standards for the team. If a player is too excited and affects his training status the next day, he will be dissatisfied with the head coach Lippi. There really will be no place to cry.

The tournament system has always had a dense schedule, and many head coaches will choose to rotate. Players who have not been able to play in the game before are expected to get a chance to play.

Even if you don't get the starting spot, it's okay to come off the bench and show your face in front of the country.