Chapter 001: Preparing for the World Cup (Goodbye to 2017, Thank You!)

"Whoa—"

Each Real Madrid player took turns holding the Champions League trophy high at the Stadium of Light, and the Real Madrid fans in the stands were in high spirits and hysterically created a deafening cheer.

It was a sleepless night for many Real Madrid fans.

The Champions League title, which has been waiting for eleven years, is here again.

The team's 10th Champions League title is exciting enough to think about.

Real Madrid president Florentino is one of the most excited of these people, and he is extremely proud of his insistence on buying Tang Zheng last year, 125 million euros in exchange for a Champions League title and a huge Chinese market, why not?

It's a cost-effective investment with a crazy high investment and high return!

Some people are excited, and naturally some people feel lost, and this is the case with Atletico fans.

They are infinitely close to winning the Champions League this season, but ...... It's all tears.

Athletic matches have always been about the winners, and no one pays attention to what the losers have experienced, so everyone's focus is on Real Madrid, who won the championship.

At the regular press conference after the game, the excited Real Madrid players made a big fuss about the championship press conference under the leadership of Tang Zheng and Cristiano Ronaldo, and Marcelo, who is known as the team's favorite, took a bucket of cold water and poured it directly on the head of the head coach Ancelotti who was interviewed by reporters under the instigation of Tang Zheng, which scared him enough.

The press conference hall at the scene was very cooperative, and there was a continuous 'click' sound of shooting.

Obviously, these are the ones that could be used as headlines in tomorrow's daytime newspapers.

Real Madrid was able to win the Champions League this season, although it is a bit of an exaggeration to say that Tang Zheng is the biggest hero, but it can definitely be said to be one of the most heroes.

Ten goals and fifteen assists.

Other Real Madrid players originally wanted to trick Tang Zheng, but with the failure of the team's favorite Marcelo to trick and was 'beaten' by Tang Zheng, Tang Zheng is tall and strong, and has the legendary Chinese kung fu, so he can only randomly trick other teammates.

The Real Madrid players, who won the Champions League, did not end their party in the dressing room, and they replied that they would continue to celebrate the victory at their hotel, which lasted until the early hours of the next morning.

Almost the entire hotel is home to Real Madrid players, coaches and staff, and fortunately, the club's hierarchy has secured a hotel for the three days before and after the Champions League final in advance, otherwise it is likely to lead to complaints from non-football fans.

Of course, most of the guests who stay at Real Madrid's hotel come for the name of Real Madrid, so even if the noise is too loud, there will be no complaints.

The Real Madrid squad returned to Madrid on a chartered flight the following afternoon, but were not disbanded on the spot, as the club prepared a grand championship dinner and a citywide championship parade.

At the same time, the world's sports media are covering the 2013-2014 Champions League final that ended last night at the Stadium of Light in Lisbon, where Real Madrid scored an incredible equaliser before the end of injury time, and then reversed to seal the win!

Cristiano Ronaldo, who scored twice, and Tang Zheng, who scored a brace and passed a shot, became well-deserved headlines, while most of the media in China chose to ignore Cristiano Ronaldo's role.

Because in the eyes of the Chinese domestic media, praising stars from other countries has entered the popularity of praising compatriots, plus Tang Zheng is the absolute hero of Real Madrid's ability to enter extra time, and the two goals scored by Cristiano Ronaldo can be seen by anyone with a discerning eye that Tang Zheng is conceded to Cristiano Ronaldo.

The first is the goal of overtaking the score, Tang Zheng faced Courtois with a single knife, and football experts who have studied Tang Zheng know that his single-knife shooting rate is even higher than that of a striker, so assisting Cristiano Ronaldo is completely a favor.

Not to mention the penalty that sealed the win, which Tang Zheng created with his outstanding foot skills.

And Tang Zheng doesn't like to use penalties to brush up on goal numbers since his debut, so Cristiano Ronaldo naturally takes penalties.

However, Cristiano Ronaldo's ability is unquestionable, and both goalmouth and penalty kicks require excellent footwork and good mental quality.

Many Chinese domestic media began to look forward to the World Cup in Brazil next month, the second World Cup journey of the Chinese men's football team.

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On May 26, the third day of Real Madrid's Champions League victory, at 10 a.m., the whole team took the club's double-decker open-top bus from the Valdebebas training base to the Bernabeu Stadium.

Then head from the Bernabeu Stadium to the Harvest Goddess Square to show the fans of the city the Copa del Rey and Champions League trophies won by Real Madrid in the past 2013-2014 season.

Especially the Champions League trophy, the championship trophy that the whole Real Madrid team struggled for 12 years to regain.

The 10th in team history!

At the same time, a number of media outlets around the world have bought the live broadcast rights of Real Madrid's championship trophy display, and China has also bought a large number of media purchases, so domestic fans can watch the Real Madrid championship trophy display through the Internet and TV.

Tang Zheng was a key player in Real Madrid's 2013-2014 Champions League triumph, so he appeared on the broadcast screen very often, and the Chinese fans sitting in front of the TV looked particularly excited.

During the whole journey of Real Madrid in an open-top bus, many local Real Madrid fans can be seen holding up Tang Zheng's huge posters from the broadcast screen, and they know that in the past 2013-2014 season, Real Madrid was able to win two honors directly related to Tang Zheng.

It is worth mentioning that there is a funny scene in the broadcast screen, and many fans in front of the TV still clearly remember that Real Madrid did not hold the trophy in the celebration after winning the 2010-2011 Spanish Copa del Rey season, and fell down with his hand, and then was crushed by a car......

So the team favorite Marcelo is very funny to hold the other side of the trophy, that is, not to give Ramos a person to hold the trophy high.

Even if Ramos breaks free of Marcelo, other Real Madrid players will flock to 'protect' the trophy, so much so that Ramos in the broadcast screen often rolls his eyes.

He Wei, the central 5 commentator sitting in the Beijing studio, suddenly changed his voice: "The Real Madrid players who won the double in the 2013-2014 season seem to be in a very good mood, and the World Cup in Brazil next month is getting closer and closer to us, I don't know if the Real Madrid players can continue to perform well in the World Cup and lead their respective national teams to go further......"

Just as the broadcast picture was given to Tang Zheng, who was holding up the Champions League trophy and the Copa del Rey trophy, He Wei then turned to Tang Zheng: "There is no doubt that the biggest star of the Chinese team is the 2013 FIFA Golden Ball winner Tang Zheng, he has won the championship every season since the beginning of his career in River Plate, and the Brazil World Cup is about to start next month. Ivory Coast and Greece are in Group C, and now Colombia's top striker Falcao is confirmed to miss the World Cup due to injury, which is good news for the Chinese team...... Even if they lose to the seeded teams, Ivory Coast and Greece can also fight for it, and they may not miss out on finishing second in the group......"

Duan Huo, who was a guest commentator, said with a smile: "He Wei is right, our Chinese team head coach Lippi once led the Italian team to win the World Cup in Germany, and has rich coaching experience, especially in major events, I believe that the Chinese team led by Lippi will definitely qualify for the group if it does not say that it will advance to the quarterfinals and semifinals!"

"Tang Zheng is the absolute core of Real Madrid! Artemisia Junmin is the vice captain of Schalke 04, Zhang Linpeng is now the absolute main force of Porto, Yan Junling of the country is growing rapidly, and the scoring ability of the teenager Lu Liang, Wu Sanshi's performance in the Europa League in the past 2013-2014 season is remarkable, and even won the green plum of a number of deadly teams in the top five European leagues.

The Chinese fans sitting in front of the TV listened and listened, seeming to ...... The Chinese team's World Cup journey is really worth looking forward to.

An hour later, the open-top double-decker bus for all the Real Madrid players arrived at Plaza de la Harvest in the centre of Madrid, also known as Plaza Ciberez.

Boasting some of the most famous street sculptures and the most beautiful fountain in Madrid, the square has been an icon of Madrid since its completion in 1782, and in the past all members of the team would come to the square to celebrate with the fans after each of the Madrid championships.

This is not the first time Tang Zheng has come to Ciberez Square, but it is definitely the first time to come with glory.

Tens of thousands of Real Madrid fans, under the management of the Madrid police, sang the Real Madrid anthem "Come on, Madrid!" to bless the goddess.

The Real Madrid anthem "Come on! Madrid" is so catchy that even foreign tourists can easily sing to the rhythm of the game, and some even fall in love with football because of this Real Madrid championship celebration.

The most frenetic moment of the atmosphere in Harvest Square was undoubtedly the captain Casillas who presented the Harvest Goddess with the UEFA Champions League trophy, and tens of thousands of Real Madrid fans and tourists created a deafening huge cheer in the frenzied atmosphere.

Madrid is a city full of not only Real Madrid fans, but also Atletico Madrid fans.

Listening to the shouts from Harvest Square, Atletico Madrid fans felt bad in their hearts.

The Champions League champion was once so close......

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The 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil will be held from the 12th of next month to July 13th in 12 stadiums in 12 Brazilian cities.

Originally, the Football Association specially approved Tang Zheng for a five-day holiday, that is, on May 31, he will meet with the national team at the Xianghe training base to officially prepare for the World Cup in Brazil.

But Tang Zheng did not accept the holiday, and he took a flight back to China with his family that night.

Without even returning home, he flew directly to Shanghai to meet the national team at the Xianghe training base to prepare for the penultimate warm-up match before the start of the World Cup with the Italian men's football team in the Bird's Nest on June 2.

The last warm-up match was on the 7th, when the Chinese men's football team flew to Santiago, the capital of Chile, on a chartered flight to play the last warm-up match with the Chilean men's football team before the start of the World Cup.

The two warm-up matches were very targeted, with Greece in the same group being good at defending and counter-attacking, as was the Italian national team.

Obviously, this warm-up match was a warm-up match that Chinese men's football head coach Lippi got through personal connections, and the last warm-up game away from San Diego was a warm-up game for both teams.

Chile and Colombia are both South American teams with similar playing styles, which can give the Chinese team an understanding of the playing style of the same South American team, while the Chilean team needs an Asian team as a warm-up opponent because it is in Group B, which has an Asian representative team, Australia...... The two football associations hit it off.

After participating in Real Madrid's championship celebration, Tang Zheng returned to China non-stop to prepare for the World Cup, and the news quickly became the headlines of Chinese domestic media, and the head coach of the Chinese men's football team, Lippi, was interviewed by the media to highly praise Tang Zheng's character.

In fact, for Tang Zheng, it is just the glory of the country, which is more important than everything!

However, head coach Lippi and his team suggested that Tang Zheng should first undergo recovery training and wait until his physical condition was well recovered before practicing tactics with the national team.

As a professional player, Tang Zheng naturally knows Lippi's intentions, although he is the number one star of the Chinese men's football team, he chose to follow the advice of Lippi's coaching team and first follow the German physical fitness coach Meyer for recovery training.

Tang Zheng knows that it is a little difficult to catch up with the No. 2 warm-up match with the Italian men's football team, and he also knows that speed is not enough, anyway, as the number one star, he will definitely become a core player, and Lippi is a world-class coach, so he naturally understands this.

The starters can't catch up, and the substitutes are still no problem.

It is worth mentioning that before Lippi took charge of the Chinese men's football team, he intended to let Tang Zheng, who had stronger leadership skills, serve as the captain of the national football team, but Tang Zheng declined in order to show his contribution to the veteran captain Zheng Zhi in the national team, so it was still the 34-year-old veteran Zheng Zhi who led the national team to the World Cup.

In the blink of an eye, June 2 came, and the Chinese team faced the Italian national team at the National Stadium.

With a full hour to go, the 80,000-seat National Stadium was packed.

This shows how strong the appeal of the current Chinese men's football team and the Italian national team is.

The starting line-up for the warm-up matches between China and Italy was the same as Tang Zheng guessed, he did not appear in the starting list, but appeared in the substitute lineup.

At the pre-match press conference of the warm-up game, head coach Lippi also talked about the starting list of the warm-up game, and he admitted that Tang Zheng, who participated in a full season, would not appear in the starting list, so no fans were dissatisfied.

As long as fans who follow European football know that in the past 2013-2014 season of Real Madrid, Tang Zheng was basically full attendance, the games continued, and he just flew back from Madrid without even a day of rest, and forcibly arranging Tang Zheng into the starting lineup would cause dissatisfaction among fans.

Tang Zheng is a man, not a god!

If the Chinese team wants to go further in the World Cup in Brazil, it still depends on Tang Zheng's performance.

The Italian men's football team won the World Cup in 2006, but the current Italy has a feeling of being green and yellow, but there is no doubt about the level.

In the face of the Chinese team, the visiting Italy chose to defend and counterattack, and the home team Chinese team also tended to defend and counterattack with Lippi's main skills and tactics, so it was difficult for the Chinese team to organize an effective attack without Tang Zheng in the middle, and the two sides ended the first half with a score of 0:0.

In the second half, Tang Zheng did not appear until the twentieth minute of the second half.