World Cup of Great Powers

Li Tie left anyway.

Ladd approved his departure without even asking.

This made Jin and Chi very angry, but they were helpless.

Even when they were angry, they even thought that if they failed in the final because of this, they would have to pay tribute to Zeng Zheng when they went back.

On March 16, the Gold Cup final was played in the rain.

The Colombian team participating this time is not the main lineup of the Colombian national team, but is composed of players from the Olympic team.

Even so, the team also includes famous Colombian striker Aspria and others.

In the previous four games, the performance of most of the main players has not been outstanding, and the opponent's strength is "weak".

Even though it was the final, head coach Luis Garcia still chose to make seven substitute players today in order to train and prepare for the upcoming South American World Cup qualifiers.

On the contrary, the main force of the Chinese team came from afar.

At the beginning of the game, the Chinese team started a fierce confrontation with the Colombian team.

Without Li Tie to guard the midfield and backcourt, Ladd had to strengthen the fight in the midfield and frontcourt to attack and defend the opponent.

Even though Colombia's personal skills and speed are superior to the Chinese team, due to the fierce pressing of the Chinese team in the midfield, not only did they lose momentum to the Chinese team throughout the game, they even had very few shooting machines.

Not much.

Seeing such a scene, Jin and Chi breathed a sigh of relief.

Maybe the local team is not optimistic about this trophy, but the Chinese team who came from afar are eager to take the trophy home.

Of course, in terms of geography, Colombia is actually an invited country.

The championship trophy of this CONCACAF Gold Cup is destined to come from the two invited countries.

The two sides fought for the entire first half, and the turning point of the game came in the last minute of the first half.

Sun Jihai, who plays for Manchester City, took a seemingly mediocre corner kick. Unexpectedly, the ball was bumped by the Colombian defender at the front point and did not go out of the penalty area. Instead, it flew to the back point.

Su Maozhen, who had been waiting here for a long time, flicked the header, and the ball went straight to the base of the post and bounced into the net.

Although Colombian goalkeeper Gomez fished the ball out smoothly, it was too late and the ball had already crossed the goal line.

The Colombian defended Sun Jihai's pass from the right, but ultimately could not escape his set-piece assist.

After the start of the second half, Luis Garcia replaced Boria, who had a weak attack in the first half, with striker Kongo.

Although Boria and Aspuria often made wonderful breakthroughs, the experienced General Fan could always destroy the ball before they shot.

According to the current FIFA world rankings, the Chinese team is ranked 19th, Colombia and Mexico are ranked 24th and 10th respectively.

Therefore, in these two games, Zeng Zheng has not been idle and has been paying attention to the performance of his own players.

From the current point of view, it is not a problem for General Fan to play in the main position for another three to five years!

Zeng Zheng was very happy when he thought of Du Wei, Zhang Yaokun and others in his youth team.

With General Fan leading these two people, the national team's back line can at least be smoothed out.

As for Li Weifeng, it's okay for him to take care of himself. Let him tutor the younger students, but he doesn't have the ability yet!

At the 67th minute, Ma Mingyu succeeded in countering offside from Zhang Xiaorui's through ball and broke through to a single goal.

This time, Lao Ma did not use his signature explosive shot to resolve the battle, but lightly passed the ball around Gomez and then pushed the ball into the empty goal.

In desperation, the Colombian goalkeeper reached out and pulled Ma Mingyu down, who was almost exhausted. Colombia was sentenced to death.

Center forward Jin Toulaomao took the penalty kick and expanded the score to 2-0.

After all, it was about the finals. This time, the Chinese coaching staff did not replace the newcomers to "adapt to the game" as soon as they took the lead like in previous games.

It wasn't until the 88th minute of the game when the victory was almost sealed that Liu Cheng, the youngest player on the team, was sent on to the field.

Then in stoppage time, substitute goalkeeper Gao Jianbin replaced Jiang Jin.

So far, all 22 players from the Chinese team have played in this CONCACAF Gold Cup.

When the whistle sounded at the end of the game, Jin and Chi, who had been busy on the sidelines, wiped the sweat from their foreheads together.

"Almost, Lao Jin!"

"Yeah, I'm just a little too high and I won't be able to go up!"

"Xiao Fan still had the foresight and deliberately kicked the ball out of bounds."

"If it weren't for this foul ball, I really don't know how to explain it when I go back!"

...

After returning to China with the CONCACAF Gold Cup championship, the national team was enthusiastically welcomed by fans.

No matter what competition he plays, the title of champion is a pass wherever he goes.

Coupled with the media's publicity, the players of this national team suddenly became famous.

Many people did not return to the team immediately after returning to China. Instead, they participated in five or six exclusive interview programs at the invitation of the TV station.

His strength hasn't improved much yet, but his reputation has been lost first.

The team was temporarily disbanded, and Zeng Zheng also came to Zhuxie to report on his work.

"Xiao Zeng, in your opinion, is there anything else you want to add for this CONCACAF Gold Cup?"

After winning the championship, both Xu and Wang were very happy.

The more championships the Chinese team wins, the more status it will have in the AFC and the more influential it will be in FIFA.

This is a fact visible to the naked eye.

After Zeng Zheng handed over the summary report of the two games against Mexico and Colombia, he said with a serious face:

"Uncle Xu, let's participate in some American competitions. I think this is a good thing and I don't object to it."

“But the CONCACAF Gold Cup doesn’t seem to be ready yet.”

"Strong teams like Mexico and Colombia fell into our hands not because they were not strong enough."

"Mexico is a typical example of carelessness and underestimation of the enemy, while Colombia does not take this cup to heart at all."

"So the reference to these two games is of little significance."

Xu Fang heard Zeng Zheng’s voiceover.

"Xiao Zeng, what do you mean by letting me go?"

"Didn't the kid next door spend money to play in the America's Cup?"

"Can we also consider it?"

Zeng Zheng said bluntly, "The overall level of the participating teams in the America's Cup is still very high. Only by fighting against these teams can we see our real shortcomings."

This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! Xu Fang nodded when he heard the words, and first explained:

"Participating in the competition on such a small day is completely to make up for the vacancy left by the withdrawal of the old lady."

"After all, Xiaoli's relationship with South American countries is better than ours, so it is reasonable to invite them to participate."

"But since you think it would be good for the team for us to participate in more American competitions, then we will make a preliminary draft."

"Starting from this year, I will try my best to play against American teams every year."

"It can not only promote relationships, but also enhance our strength. This is a completely beneficial and harmless thing for us!"

"Thanks to us for winning the CONCACAF Gold Cup this time!"

"If we are eliminated in the group stage, it's up to us whether they will take us with them next time!"

What Xu Fang said makes sense.

Zeng Zheng also took this relationship into consideration before traveling to North America with the team.

The America's Cup is a national football tournament with a long history, formerly the South American Football Championship.

When talking about South America, fans will immediately think of many football powers, such as Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay and other countries.

But the problem is that when the fans pointed their fingers to name the South American teams they were familiar with, they did not realize that these were all member countries of CONMEBOL.

Because there are so few teams, teams from Central and North America are invited to participate in the America's Cup every year.

Like Mexico, Costa Rica, the United States, Panama, Honduras, Jamaica, etc.

Last year's invitation to Xiaori was also the first to invite national teams from other continents.

Although they were eliminated in the group stage in the early days, this also provided an idea for South American Football Confederation.

From a geographical perspective, it is reasonable to invite East Asian countries to participate in the America's Cup.

In Xu Fang’s words, last year’s America’s Cup also invited the national football team.

But considering the actual situation, I was declined by China Bamboo Shoes.

The first reason is that many teams in South America are very strong, and we are afraid that we will be embarrassed if we go there rashly and end up at the bottom;

Second, although from the map it seems like you can just fly over the Pacific Ocean to get to South America, in fact, if you want to go to other South American countries from us, you have to transfer in Europe.

In this way, places like Brazil and Argentina can be regarded as the furthest countries our team has visited.

After drafting a plan to enter the American competition, Xu Fang closed the door of his office and lowered his voice.

"Xiao Zeng, have you heard that we are going to take over the Asian Cup?"

"heard."

"Okay, you are quite well informed." Then, Xu Fangruo glanced at Zeng Zheng meaningfully, "Then what do you think of this matter?"

"How else can I look at it? I'm just a coach. Of course it's better if it's held on our territory!"

Xu Fang waved his hand, "Xiao Zeng, that's not what I'm talking about."

"Which one is that?"

"I heard that you have invested in infrastructure companies recently?"

"What infrastructure company?" Zeng Zheng blinked.

"You brat, you're still pretending to be with me, right?" Seeing this, Xu Fang stopped hiding, "Your youth training school in Dalian, Harbin's football stadium, and those two areas in Maojiawan

Do you have any shares in the new venue?"

"That's right." Zeng Zheng said calmly, "I know a turf dealer from Southeast Asia..."

"Then can you introduce me to Bamboo Shoes?" Xu Fang was waiting for Zeng Zheng's words. "You also know that if we host it, it is imperative to expand the football field. I will find some of your venues.

People from the Football Association have seen it, and it definitely meets the standards! If the price is right..."

Seeing Xu Fang's eyes light up, Zeng Zheng recalled the phone call Miss Qian made to him a few days ago.

"Uncle Xu, I can give you an introduction, but one thing is that the other person may not care much about money."

"Don't care about money?" Xu Fang was a little confused, "If he doesn't want money, what does he want?"

In Xu Fang's view, it is natural for businessmen to pursue profits.

If a businessman doesn't want money, then you have to worry about his motives.

"Shares." Zeng Zheng said bluntly: "The other party does not want to sell the turf, but only shares in the football field."

"Share? Then this is a bit difficult to handle."

When Xu Fang heard this, although he was temporarily relieved of the other party's motives, new worries came again.

The football fields across the country are not made of bamboo shoes.

There was nothing Zeng Zheng could do about it.

Although the system's turf and various infrastructure facilities are of high quality and low price, they can only be named under Zeng Zheng's name.

If this piece of land has nothing to do with Zeng Zheng, then no matter how good the turf is, it will turn into wasteland overnight.

Nowadays, Zeng Zheng, who has good connections, no longer relies on such rudimentary means as video editing to make money.

Using turf and stadium facilities to enter the real estate and infrastructure sectors is the way to make a fortune!

Seeing Xu Fang frowning, Zeng Zheng couldn't help but remind him: "Uncle Xu, if it doesn't work, let's build our own stadium!"

"Building a stadium? What you said is easy!" Xu Fang rolled his eyes at Zeng Zheng, "The Asian Cup will start in the second half of the year, and it will take less than half a year to complete the game. How dare you say that it takes half a year to build an international-level football stadium.

!”

Zeng Zheng flexed his fingers, looked at the millions of exchange points he had accumulated over the years, and made a simple calculation. It was more than enough to build a few football fields.

As long as there is land approved by labor and government, even bricks can be redeemed from the system.

"Uncle Xu, how will you know if you don't try?" Zeng Zheng whispered immediately, "Jianglong is planning to build its own home stadium. If the Jianglong stadium is built..."

"Place the Asian Cup in Harbin?" Xu Fang raised his eyebrows, "You brat, you really dare to think that!"

After saying that, Xu Fang snorted.

"If you can really build this stadium within half a year, you might be able to win one or two group matches in Harbin!"

"Oh? In other words, we are really going to take over the Asian Cup?" Zeng Zheng's eyes lit up and his voice instantly raised an octave.

"You brat, are you trying to trick me? Let me tell you, I didn't say anything!"

"Yes, yes, Uncle Xu, you didn't say anything, you didn't reveal anything to me!" Zeng Zheng blinked.

The old man and the young man each had their own thoughts and ended the meeting.

...

At the end of March, prominent football figures from various AFC countries attended the AFC awards ceremony held in Beirut, the capital of Lebanon.

Zeng Zheng was fortunate enough to be invited and came to Beirut.

Along the way, Lebanon's infrastructure, customs, natural climate and social security were all observed by Zeng Zheng.

Even the streets of Beirut have military and police training with guns from time to time. With this kind of security environment, it seems difficult to continue hosting the Asian Cup.

At the award ceremony, Zeng Zheng and the National Youth Team were well deserved to be named the best young pair and best coach of the year.

The most promising young players were also picked up by Shao Jiayi.

When a string of "a" sounds sounded in the auditorium and every Chinese face was shrouded in the spotlight, everyone present began to realize.

At least in this three-thirds area of ​​​​the AFC, Chinese football has begun to gain momentum.

However, at this awards ceremony, the most dazzling thing was not Zeng Zheng and his youth army.

When Sun Wen stood on the podium again, everyone in the audience was numb.

"Oh my god, it's really Sun Wen!"

"Damn it, Sister Wen is so powerful!"

"Sister Wen has made history!"

"Sister Wen is really a modern Mulan!"

"Men's football players, take a good look. Don't think that just going to North America and becoming an insignificant champion is just a matter of time. These are the heroines!"

This time, not only the netizens watching the live broadcast in the Jiulang chat room exploded, but even Sun's father who was watching the live broadcast of the awards in front of the TV was in tears.

Looking at Sun Wen holding a cup in both hands with his face frozen in laughter, Sun's father couldn't help but shook his head and said: "I can't afford it, I can't afford it..."

Even the Chinese people who came to the scene to participate in the ceremony did not expect that Sun Wen could defeat Yin Lang's Ali Dai Yin after winning the best national team of the year, the best women's national team of the year, and the most valuable female player of the year.

Hidetoshi Nakata of Japan, Bashar Abdullah of Kuwait and Hwang Sun-hong of South Korea won the Asian Footballer of the Year award!

This is already the highest individual award in Asia!

This is also the first time that a female football player has ranked among the top five Asian Footballers and finally won this honor.

Sun Wen made history at this moment!

"I am very happy to be elected Asian Footballer of the Year."

"I think without the joint efforts of my coaches and teammates, I would not have won the World Cup, nor would I have received such an important honor."

"Here, I would like to thank my coach, my teammates, my family, and the thousands of fans who silently support our Chinese women's football team."

Speaking of this, Sun Wen wiped away his tears and just met Zeng Zheng's eyes in the audience.

"Of course, here I also hope that our men's football team will get better and better and make greater contributions to highlighting the level of Asian football."

"Wow~~~"

The audience burst into applause again.

Amidst the continuous applause, Zeng Zheng tilted his head and whispered to Ou Chuliang, the goalkeeper next to him who had just won the best team:

"Brother Ou, please bear with me for a few more days."

"After returning to China this time, it's time for you to rejoin the team."

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