"Chu Liang!"

As soon as he walked out of the airport hall, Ou Chuliang heard a familiar shout.

Wang Junsheng came to Ou Chuliang's side with a glorious face, and grabbed Ou Chuliang's hand: "Chuliang, you are here, everyone is waiting for you these days!" ”

"Uncle Wang, why are you here in person?" Seeing Wang Junsheng, Ou Chuliang was also stunned. Anyway, he is the vice president of the Football Association, and he actually came to the airport to pick up a player in person. When this thing gets out, what kind of system will it become?

"Staying in the hotel every day, I'm getting sick! Come out and breathe! Wang Junsheng was chic, "Besides, you call me uncle, uncle picks up nephew, this is not natural!" ”

Although assistant teacher Chen Xirong was also on the side, this was a private relationship after all, so Ou Chuliang and Wang Junsheng were not so formal.

This trip to Riyadh is another turning point for the Football Association to dig out its own wallet, from officials to players, all of them look like bulls and bsooths.

Chinese football has grown from scratch to the fact that the players are now free from the interference of travel, which is already a very proud progress. On the other hand, whether it is the Asian Cup championship or the World Preliminary Tournament in the past two years, fans are very satisfied with the results of the football team. This money is also comfortable to spend!

"Scheduled? How are we grouped? ”

"It's all arranged." Wang Junsheng nodded and said, "The group opponents are Brazil, Australia, and Mexico. On December 13th, let's play Brazil first. ”

"Brazil!" Ou Chuliang smacked his lips, "This is an old rival." ”

The Confederations Cup, formerly known as the King Fahd Cup, is a tournament that invites continental champions to compete, and has been held twice in 1992 and 1995.

This year's King Fahd Cup was taken over by FIFA and directly renamed the Confederations Cup. So this year is the first edition of this Cup.

The origin of the Confederations Cup is also very simple, the World Cup is held every four years, and many fanatical fans simply cannot afford to wait. So the Confederations Cup came into being, which is held every two years and invites continental champions from all continents to participate.

Just like this year's Confederations Cup, the participants include the host Saudi Arabia, the 94 World Cup winner Brazil, the '95 Copa America winner Uruguay, the '96 Africa Cup champion South Africa, the '96 Oceania Cup champion Australia, the '96 Gold Cup '96 winner Mexico, and the '96 Asian Cup winner China. The '96 European champions Germany refused to participate, so the runners-up Czech Republic filled the vacancy.

The eight teams are divided into two groups, A and B, and play a single round-robin group stage, with the top two teams in the group advancing to the semi-finals. In fact, as long as they make it out of the group, they still have two games to play.

For the Chinese team, the most important thing to meet is Saudi Arabia and Australia, after all, they are both teams in the same "zone" of the World Preliminaries, and everyone has studied each other.

But Saudi Arabia and China are both Asian teams, so it is impossible to be divided into one group. When he heard that there was Australia in the group, Ou Chuliang actually felt very lucky.

At the current level of the Chinese team, whether it is the champion of the last World Cup or the runner-up of the last European Championship, there is a big gap between the strength of the opponent and the opponent.

Therefore, the Football Association led the team to come, and there was no big requirement for the team, and the ultimate goal was to qualify from the group.

As for whether it is fourth or first after qualifying, everything depends on fate.

The Football Association didn't ask too much of the competition, and neither did Ladd's coaching staff.

In later generations, the Confederations Cup was also considered a preview of the World Cup, as it was mostly held before the start of the World Cup. Since it's a rehearsal, there's no need to work hard.

Under the condition of ensuring health and safety, giving full play to the maximum strength is the bottom line standard of the task issued by the Football Association.

For Ladd, this is also a highly valuable military training!

On the taxi to the hotel, Ou Chuliang asked Chen Xirong, who came to pick him up, "Coach Chen, what are we going to do this time?" Do you want to fight Brazil? ”

"You'll have to ask Mr. Ladd." Chen Xirong spread his hands, "But listening to what he meant, it seems that he doesn't want to fight Brazil." ”

Ou Chuliang nodded, and Rad's first judgment was similar to what he thought.

Everyone knows the story of Tian Ji horse racing, in this era when utilitarian football is becoming more and more mainstream, the philosophical principles contained in Tian Ji horse racing are what any team and coach strive to emulate.

How to get the maximum result with the minimum cost, and if you can calculate such a topic, you can be regarded as a world-class marshal. Otherwise, just like the women's football team in last year's Olympics, the coaching staff has no plan. When they really rushed to the finals, they could only drink the defeat in the face of the prepared American team.

How to play this Confederations Cup, how to play in the group stage, how to play in the semi-finals, whether to win the championship or not. At the same time, considering that the World Cup will be played in the middle of next year, should the Confederations Cup championship be contested at risk?

Compared to Rade, Brazil coach Mario . Zagallo should have more headaches.

As the "founder" of four-star Brazil, Zagallo lives up to his name.

When Brazil won the World Cup in 1958, he was still a fledgling young man; When the Brazilian national team won the World Cup in 1962, he was the captain; When he won the World Cup in 1970 and 1994, Zagallo became the head coach and coach of the Brazilian national team.

Now, the veteran coach is about to lead the Samba Army to the World Cup in France, and every move he takes, he is cautious, and he moves his whole body.

Now it depends on how he characterizes the Chinese team, whether it is a "strong competitor in the group" or "other players in the group who are not worth mentioning".

According to Chen Xirong's introduction, Riyadh has gathered sports reporters from all over the world in the past few days.

After learning about the grouping, a very interesting news came out of the mouths of those European journalists: the Brazilian team wants revenge!

When he saw this word for the first time, Ou Chuliang was a little surprised.

Brazil is already the strongest team in the world, who does he need to get revenge on?

Uruguay?

Uruguay has missed a number of international competitions in recent years, all of which are almost forgotten.

The team they sent to participate in the competition is very young, even younger than the Chinese team, and most of the players are young people who have been promoted from this year's World Youth Championships.

The revenge of the Brazilians against Uruguay is simply unjustifiable.

After going through the participating teams one by one, Ou Chuliang still didn't react.

"Brazil's revenge? What kind of revenge do they have? To whom is revenge? ”

Hearing Ou Chuliang's question, Chen Xirong turned his head and looked at Ou Chuliang in surprise.

Until he found out that he really didn't understand, Chen Xirong suddenly patted Ou Chuliang's shoulder and smiled: "Chuliang, did you really forget or fake forgot?" Revenge on us, of course! Hahaha. ”

"Haha, our small country is really a noble person who forgets things!" Wang Junsheng, who was sitting in the co-pilot, also turned his head and teased.

"Vengeance on us?"

Ou Chuliang was stunned for a moment, and then remembered that there really seemed to be such a thing.

At last year's Atlanta Olympics, Brazil lost 0-1 to China in front of the world.

This time, I was in the same group as the Chinese team by mistake, so it's strange if I don't take revenge!

Ou Chuliang smacked his lips, "Tsk, it seems that this is still the case!" ”

"What 'like'?" That's it! Chen Xirong laughed and said, "You don't know, Riyadh has been going crazy these days." There are even places to bet on how many goals the Brazilian team can score! You don't know how much Brazilians hate you! ”

"Brazilians hate me? I'm afraid it doesn't make sense! Ou Chuliang spread his hands, "I was also kicked out of the Brazilian environment, and for Brazil, I can be regarded as 'my own person'." And Sao Paulo and other Brazilian teams have a good sense of me, and when I have nothing to do, they call me and ask if I want to play with them. Even if Brazilians don't respect me, they don't hate me! ”

"No, Coach Chen, what did you just say? Where did this news come from? ”

Seeing Ou Chuliang's suddenly realized expression in the rearview mirror, Wang Junsheng exclaimed: "It is worthy of Chu Liang, his observation is so keen." ”

"That's right, although our team has been interviewed by journalists from Brazil and South American countries a few times in the past few days, they are very friendly and do not ask any hostile questions."

"On the contrary, the media in Europe are not very good, they ask all kinds of questions, there is no limit at all, basically what they are interested in asking, which makes it very difficult for our translators."

"The news that 'the Brazilian team wants revenge' is also coming out of the mouths of their group."

When Ou Chuliang heard this, he knew it.

This is a common trick used by Europeans and Americans.

And this trick, more than a thousand years ago, our ancestors had already played badly.

For example, there is a civil official named Xun Guo Yuhuo in the Three Kingdoms, and he is very good at using the strategy of driving the tiger and devouring the wolf to thwart the enemy army.

In the Confederations Cup, it is unlikely that it will be the Czech Republic, the runner-up of the European Championships. It's the European countries that are participating in the World Cup and want to win it.

If Brazil really has a thrilling group PK match with the Chinese team, as long as one is injured, then those Europeans will earn it.

Take a look at the luxury lineup of the Brazilian team participating in this competition, whether it is Ronaldo or Romario, the Rollo combination is unrivaled in the world. What's more, there is also Robert in the team. Carlos, Cafu, Dida and other famous players, any of them get a certain club, they are really the main force.

So these Europeans really played a profitable chess move, and all they have to pay is that little spit on the moist skin!

When he came to the Sheraton Hotel, Ou Chuliang met his familiar teammates again. Looking at every kind smiling face, Ou Chuliang felt a burst of warmth.

Although there are "north-south factions" and "Sichuan-Chongqing factions" in the national team, they are just big guys looking for suitable teammates to get together according to different customs and habits in different regions. Unlike Naples, everyone is in fear and thinks about their own future.

After Ou Chuliang and Ladd said hello, Ladd didn't stay longer, but continued to sit in front of the lamp, thinking about the pile of papers on the table.

This time the World Preliminary Tournament qualified, the Football Association held a commendation meeting, and also reformed the national team according to the opinions put forward by the fans.

For example, on the question of who coaches the national team, there are more than 20 people on the two coaching staff at home and abroad, and outsiders who don't know still think this is the team!

Therefore, the coaching staff must be streamlined, and the two Chinese and foreign coaching staff must not only be merged, but also elect a head coach as Director Zhu. Otherwise, something will happen during the World Cup, and that's fucked up.

Qi Weisheng's attitude was very respectful this time, and he directly retreated to the second line, giving up the position of head coach to Ladd, and Ladd's contract renewal with the Football Association was also extended until the World Cup was eliminated or the championship was won.

Now, the decision-making power of the club is in the hands of Ladd alone, and the responsibility on his shoulders is getting heavier and heavier.

The slightest carelessness will extinguish the hope of the whole people.

The Chinese team is too fragile, like crossing a single-plank bridge, and can't withstand the slightest toss.

The grouping of this Confederations Cup is very similar to that of the World Cup, with a distant master in the group and two opponents who "look like you".

Is it Tian Ji horse racing and abandoning the car to protect the handsome? Or do you want to be the best?

The trade-offs during this period made Ladd very difficult.

For example, Brazil are the strongest opponents in the group, so the other two teams have basically lost when they meet Brazil. So at this time, if the Chinese team gets 1 point against the Brazilian team, it will have an advantage over the other two teams.

But on the other hand, if the Chinese team loses points and loses the game in a fire draw with an extremely strong opponent like Brazil, and there are a few more injuries or red and yellow cards, it will be devastating for the next two games.

Therefore, at this time, it is not only necessary to study the hearts of the two opponents, but also to decide how to play these three group games according to the order of the three games.

It's the same with the World Cup.

Anyway, the Chinese team is not like Brazil, which wants to win the championship everywhere. For the Chinese team, as long as they qualify for the group stage, it will be a great success.

For a team that is on the rise, it is the right choice to recognize its shortcomings and decisively abandon those temptations that are imminent.

......

On the other side, just as Ou Chuliang walked into the Sheraton Hotel with his luggage on his back, a short bald head secretly disappeared around the corner of the street.

After a while, the short bald head came to a room. In the room, there is another bald head. They sat in a circle on the bed and were playing cards.

"Ronnie, guess who I saw?" The short man leaned on the bed with a bald head, lifted the hole card that the person next to him was upside down on the bed and glanced at it a few times, and he couldn't see any other expression on his face except for a smile.

"Who?" The bald head named Ronnie was a little dissatisfied with his hole cards being seen, and covered the cards in his hand to prevent the other party from peeking.

Seeing this, the short bald man suddenly shouted exaggeratedly: "Ronnie, don't pretend, you lost this time!" Your hole card is just a three! ”

Ronnie didn't expect the other party to suddenly reveal his bottom, and instantly got up from the bed.

"Boom!"

Before he could speak, Ronnie's head almost cleft a hole in the ceiling.

Everyone around him laughed when they saw him covering his bald head and grinning teeth.

"Fake, Robert, who do you say lost?" As he spoke, Ronnie pushed all the chips in front of him to the center, "Or do you think I'm a person who easily throws in the towel?" Stud! Which of you follow? ”

Carlos just wanted to make a joke, but who would have thought that this young bald head who had just hit a bag with his head would react so much.

"Is his hole card really a three?" Another bald head crept up to Carlos and asked.

"Who knows?" Carlos spread his hands with a helpless expression.

Looking at Ronaldo, who was jumping on the bed, Romario looked at the cards in his hand again, gritted his teeth, and pushed all the chips to the middle, "I'll follow!" ”