The day after returning to the capital from Zurich, Wang Junsheng presided over a "briefing".

The meeting was supposed to be held in the office of the Football Association, but there were so many people who came that we had to change the location at the last minute.

Eye-droppings and Qi Wusheng and Ladd attended at the same time, looking at the room full of friends from the press all over the country, it is not difficult to see how much attention the Chinese people attach to whether they can qualify for this World Cup.

For this reason, the "big-name reporters" in the football world have also changed the previous advice of "professional league-oriented" and recorded every detail of the "briefing" in detail.

"Although our team is in the same group as Saudi Arabia and Iran, we avoid South Korea and Japan, and we don't have to face Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, which are unknown enemies. At the same time, in the arrangement of the schedule, the Chinese team drew A3, which is not like the last round of A4 bye, which is extremely beneficial to our team. Qi Shusheng was the first to speak.

"Then can you ask Coach Qi to analyze the strength of the Chinese team in Group A?" A reporter from Hong Kong was the first to ask.

"Frankly speaking, the overall strength of Iran and Saudi Arabia is higher than ours, Kuwait is at a similar level to our country, and Qatar is the only one whose level is lower than ours."

"But that doesn't mean we're in third place, and we're going to have to win from the start until we qualify."

Qi Caosheng's speech was exchanged for a series of applause from the audience, his analysis was still in place, and his judgment of the situation in Group A was also very accurate.

With such a result of the draw, many officials of the Football Association feel that it is normal to qualify and not to qualify. At this moment, when the overall strength of our team has not really surpassed the opponent, we can only talk about "fighting", but not "certainly".

There is a precedent for this.

In 1991, when Xu Hebao faced the public media before the World Preliminaries, he had the determination to "make a concerted effort to qualify", but as soon as his words came out, he was criticized and attacked by the people and the media.

Talking big, too pompous, and creating pressure on the players for no reason. In short, after Xu followed the failure, he received more criticism.

Wang Junsheng has always maintained this idea of "moderation", which cannot be said to be wrong, but he has not taken into account the changes in the background of the times.

Although the year is in the 90s, China is developing rapidly every day. All walks of life are catching up with and surpassing European and American powers every day.

In addition, Hong Kong has returned to China at the beginning of the month, and countless Hong Kong people are looking at the Chinese team, looking forward to their beloved team qualifying.

If Qi Zhaosheng said anything about Xu Hebao back then, then even if he failed in the end, he would be unanimously sought after by the media and fans at that time.

So sometimes, you have to take it when you need to take out some blood, even if there will be villains attacking you afterwards.

"So for this top 10 match, will the Chinese team have any changes in technology, tactics and personnel?" Another question from the media asked.

This time, Qi Miaosheng gave up the microphone, and Ladd coughed lightly and walked up.

The old man spoke as much Chinese as he could, so that the workload of the translator would be a little less.

"The Chinese team has already won the Asian Cup and the World Youth Championships, and through that, I think the level of the Chinese team should not only be ranked third in the group. So I think for Iran and Saudi Arabia, they're going to have a headache when they're trying to deal with us than when they're trying to deal with them. ”

As soon as Ladd opened his mouth, he denied Qi Caosheng's analysis, and some reporters moved their eyes and cameras to Qi Caosheng's face, and the former national team coach's face did not change in the slightest.

"This misunderstanding of the World Preliminary Tournament will improve the overall awareness of the team ideologically, and the offensive and defensive ideas must be consistent, and no player can fall behind." After Ladd spoke again, many people in the audience began to nod.

Coming up to talk about ideas, this old man in the former Yugoslavia understands China better than most people.

"Secondly, I will choose to invest more troops in the midfield, strengthen the individual quality at the back, and make the back line simple and tidy. The two wing-backs will need to make the most of the space in the wide corridor and boldly attack from the middle and back. ”

'It requires a good sense of the game and a lot of fitness, as well as quality passing.

'So in terms of selection, I look at the player's individual quality rather than his age.

Speaking of which, many people in the audience began to nod their heads again. If it is a native, you have to think about the "status" of the players in the team, but Ladd doesn't have to think about these at all.

Regarding the selection of people, Yang Shuai has a natural advantage.

"Can you tell us more about the specifics?" The reporter couldn't wait to ask.

"It's simple, young players." "I'll entrust young players who have just come back from the World Junior Championships and who have done well. ”

"Huh~"

Ladd's sentence can be regarded as making it clear, it seems that this time the Chinese team will send a lot of young soldiers to participate in the war!

However, the media did not oppose much, but were still very excited.

Jianlibao's performance at the World Youth Championships is obvious to all, and they still want to see this group of young people perform more impressively on the national team.

Seeing that the audience began to be noisy and noisy, and everyone's emotions were slightly excited, Wang Junsheng hurriedly took the microphone and changed the topic: "In order to complete the preparation task, the Football Association decided to lead the whole team to the United Kingdom in August for an eighteen-day pen training. ”

"Five friendlies are planned for five clubs: Crystal Palace, Arsenal, Chelsea, Charlton Athletic and Manchester City. Then all of them rushed to Seoul for the second round of the confrontation with China and South Korea. ”

"Then return to China to adjust for ten days and directly enter the 'top ten', from August 7 when the whole team is concentrated to the end of the top ten game, the coaching staff should be the same as the athletes, ignore the things outside the window, and only think about the World Cup."

Wang Junsheng's speech also received a lot of applause, and then a reporter asked "what should I do if the young players do not meet the requirements and goals of the coaching staff during training", "what should I do if the British training camp is stranded", "can the main players of the other five clubs be on the British training plan", "Is the 10-day 'recovery period' a little short", "Can the five-game tape be obtained", "What should I do if the independent hospital is injured in the game" and other topics, Wang Junsheng answered them one by one.

Afterwards, Ou Chuliang learned from Vice Chairman Xu that for the Chinese Football Association at this time, it was very bold to put forward a plan for the whole team to rush to the UK for training.

There is only less than half a month from the date of the matter to the date of punishment, and in such a short period of time, it is necessary to practice eating, lodging, traveling, and practicing places, and to find opponents for the competition.

In the end, the Football Association divided the work together, and Vice President Han Jingmin handed over the task to his subordinate Beijing Gaode Sports and Cultural Center, which has a certain economic strength and a good reputation in the English football circle.

When the other party's manager Liu heard that there was such a task, he took it very happily. He also patted his chest and assured that he would be willing to be punished if the national team was unhappy with the training grounds, accommodation, food and opponents in the UK.

In this way, with the help of the warm-up of patriots and football lovers, Manager Liu only took 12 days to arrange the local itinerary in the UK, and even brought back the referee's name and phone number when he returned to China.

In addition, the good news from all walks of life in the division of labor and cooperation, air tickets, passports, and foreign exchange have also been handled in advance, coupled with the support of the British Football Association, and the training camp in the UK has been carried out smoothly.

Although the preparation time is tight, it is well arranged under the close pursuit and slow catch-up

The second important thing for the Football Association is to determine the home stadium of the game through repeated deliberation and extensive consultation.

On this issue, the Football Association team led by Wang Junsheng has carefully and repeatedly scrutinized.

At first, everyone thought that this was the last World Cup in the 20th century, and it was also the last time that the Chinese team hit the World Cup in this century.

It is of great significance, and it is understandable that such a major event will be held in Beijing.

However, at that time, the 15th National Congress of the Communist Party of China was being held in Beijing, which was an epoch-making conference, so it was obviously inappropriate to set the main venue in Beijing.

In order to strive for a glimmer of hope, Wang Junsheng also specially asked the relevant departments in the capital, and the answer was no.

The first plan was aborted.

At this time, some people raised the question of whether Shanghai could be held in harm's hands because of the fact that Shanghai is the most modern metropolis in China, and the conditions are also good in all aspects.

However, Shanghai will host the 8th National Games in Japan, and it is impossible to have so much energy to host the home stadium of the Chinese team in the World Preliminaries, so Shanghai is also out of consideration.

Beijing and Shanghai are not good, and the rest of the cities are almost on the same level, Wang Junsheng and his leadership team fell into deep thought.

The principle of choosing a home stadium is very simple, as long as it is conducive to the national team qualifying, it is the best home stadium.

Finally, a voice sounded: "It's better for us to choose Dalian!" ”

As soon as everyone heard this, they became interested.

Someone immediately made a simple existing analysis and quickly came to the following conclusions.

1: The competition cycle of the top 10 competition is very long, from September to November, and the weather in Dalian during this period is the best among the alternative cities;

2: In terms of hardware facilities, Golden State Stadium has just been completed and is a modern stadium. The turf is flat, the seats are comfortable, communication is convenient, and the view is wide.

3: Safety and security issues. Since the beginning of the reform and opening up, Dalian has developed rapidly, and its urban construction, social order, and civilization are far better than in the past.

4: The enthusiasm of the masses for football. Dalian is the "special zone" of China's football reform, and in recent years, Dalian has developed rapidly in football, and the level of organization of football, the population who love football and the degree of concern of the masses are all ranked among other alternative cities.

In the end, after repeated deliberations, the Football Association set the home stadium of the Chinese team at Dalian Jinzhou Stadium and reported it to the National Sports Commission.

When the news came, the citizens of Dalian rejoiced, and the whole city was immersed in a sea of joy.

"Oh my God, the World Cup is going to be held in our place? That's a good thing! ”

"yes, yes, so you can see the national team up close! Needless to say, I'm sure I'll buy tickets for every event! ”

"Ma Mingyu, Peng Weiguo, General Fan, Ou Chuliang! Ahhh I can see Ou Chuliang! ”

People spontaneously took to the streets to cheer and celebrate. However, none of these simple people dared to walk in the lawn, and many people were in awe when they looked at the green lawn.

After receiving the inspection team of the Football Association, Neck Xilai, who was the mayor of Dalian at that time, said that Dalian City would give the green light all the way and fully support the holding of the top 10 matches.

Wang Yilin, chairman of Wanda Club, also waved his hand and bought the ticket management right of the home stadium.

"If Comrade Wang Junsheng needs it, I will pay all the transfer costs of the Chinese team's away games, and I can also cover the bonus of the national team!" Wang Yilin is arrogant.

Wang Zhijun, the general manager of Dongfang Building, is also very chic: "As long as Vice Chairman Wang speaks, the national team can pay as much as you can, even if you don't pay."

China Northern Airlines provided preferential fares for the Chinese team's domestic flights, Futian Garment Factory provided suits for the whole team, and Lawrence Shoe Factory provided leather shoes

All walks of life across the country have consciously contributed and blessed the national team, wishing that Chinese football can go from Dalian to the world in the last world preliminary tournament of the 20th century.

After all the work was arranged, Wang Junchang breathed a sigh of relief, looked out the window at the sparrows that fell leisurely on the wires, and collapsed on the sofa of Vice Chairman Xu's house.

"Lao Xu, you don't know, I've been busy these days, and I've lost 10 pounds!" Wang Junsheng's voice was a little fluttering, and it seemed that he was really tired.

"Okay, good, Lao Wang, you have the most credit!" Vice Chairman Xu pulled Wang Junsheng up from the sofa like a child, "Hurry up and eat it while it's hot, this is the meat sauce I secretly beat behind my lover's back." You don't know, these days she looks at the meat to death, except for Ou Chuliang, I and Xu Promise can't eat it! ”

"Yo? And what's going on? Wang Junsheng rubbed the chopsticks with his hand and picked up a large white pie of chopsticks from the basin. Then I poured half a bowl of meat sauce from a small bowl and stirred it up and down with chopsticks.

"Is that not it?" Vice Chairman Xu rolled his eyes, "As soon as I heard that the top ten competition started so soon, she actually cooked food for Ou Chuliang in the past few days, which is closer than her own son!" If Xu Yu and I want to move the chopsticks, we have to wait for him to finish eating and pick up some scraps. Tut-tut, who made the family a national first-class athlete! ”

Hearing what Vice Chairman Xu said so miserably, Wang Junsheng also trembled. Subconsciously picked up the sauce bowl and poured another spoonful into his big bowl.

"Eh, I haven't eaten yet, what are you doing?" Vice Chairman Xu was not happy and snatched the meat sauce back.

Wang Junsheng didn't care, but changed the topic and said, "By the way, Lao Xu, why didn't I see Chu Liang?" What did he do? ”

"He" Vice Chairman Xu poured all the meat sauce in the sauce bowl into his own bowl, and then picked up a large lump of noodles with chopsticks and rubbed it back and forth in the sauce bowl.

"He received a call a few days ago, and now he is back in his hometown."

"Hometown?" Wang Junsheng was stunned, "Which hometown?" ”

Vice Chairman Xu pouted, "Of course it's Guangdong, where is the grandfather!" Which hometown? A place with loved ones is home! ”