2002, South Korea-Japan World Cup.

The birth of this World Cup is also related to Blatter's consolidation of his position as president of FIFA. Originally, Havelange decided that Japan would host the '02 World Cup, but it was opposed by South Korea.

At this time, Blatter became the president of FIFA, or Blatter was confirmed by Havelange as the president of FIFA. At that time, Havelange certainly did not really want Blatter to become the president of FIFA, and his preferred FIFA president was his son-in-law, the president of the Brazilian Football Federation, Shetra.

It's just that there was a lot of opposition at the time, and Havelange didn't want to be criticized. That's why Blatter became the president of FIFA. Hopefully there will be a transition and then Shetra will become FIFA president.

But Blatter didn't want to be a puppet, and he didn't want to be a transitioner.

So at that time, Blatter began to woo some people, and one of the people he wanted to woo was Jung Mong-joon, the chairman of the Korean Football Association. Jung Mong-joon's family is not only a big Korean conglomerate, but he is also a top richest man. Coupled with his influence in the AFC for many years, and he was already the vice president of FIFA at that time, his strength in world football is still very strong.

So Blatter wooed Zheng Mengjun, and Zheng Mengzhun also needed South Korea to host the World Cup, so as to allow himself to enter South Korean politics.

The two hit it off.

The last unlucky one is Japan. Japan had already decided to host the World Cup alone, but it was precisely because of the alliance of Blatter and Jung Mong-joon that South Korea and Japan cooperated to host the World Cup. And in the publicity before the World Cup, South Korea has more characteristics. It makes Japan more aggrieved.

In addition to wooing Zheng Mengzhun, a powerful faction in the AFC, Blatter also gave favors to many small and weak football countries. Although their football strength is very poor. But they all have a vote in FIFA.

As a result, Blatter's position is becoming more and more secure.

Of course, how the Korea-Japan World Cup came out has nothing to do with a referee like Jack. Judge of Jack's level. Not qualified to think about these things. These things may have something to do with a top referee like Corina.

On May 27, 2002, the World Cup referees had already started to get the list of referees for the group stage of the World Cup.

It's just the distribution of the group stage.

Knockout stage after the group stage. It doesn't happen right now. Because the group stage is also prone to problems. It's like a top referee who was supposed to be the referee in the knockout round of the World Cup.

But because his performance in the group stage of the World Cup was too poor, or there was a very serious misjudgment, then he would be sent away directly by FIFA. Therefore, the World Cup knockout stage is at the end of the group stage, and the referee will be reassigned. But basically the referees who are qualified to enforce the knockout rounds of the World Cup, FIFA knows it.

Jack also got the game he was supposed to enforce.

Very good game, for Jack. Because Jack was placed in Group C.

Group C is very interesting, with Brazil, which is known as the city of football, and Turkey, which is also very strong. Of course, there is Costa Rica in Latin America, and China, which entered the World Cup for the first time, is also the country of Jack's ancestors.

There are too many World Cup referees right now, and the World Cup group stage is only 48 games. Therefore, most of the referees can only enforce one group stage, and those who can enforce two group games are the top referees in world football.

Jack is a junior and is still a latecomer.

So it was only one game. Forty-eight matches in the group stage, Jack is a game in Group C. There's only one game like that, and then pack up and go home. That's Jack's mission in this World Cup.

It's not a bad game for Jack though, it's just the start of the World Cup. It is the first round of Group C, the match between Brazil and Turkey.

For a junior referee like Jack, being able to officiate Brazil's game. Very proud. In Group C, there are also referees Kilos from Greece, as well as South Korean referees Kim Yong-so and others.

Of course, Jack didn't care much about them.

You're not an enemy who needs to compete. If it's a team. Of course, it's about keeping an eye on your opponents. But for the referee, after everyone has finished their game. You can go back to your own house and find your own mother.

Including Kilos and Kim Yong-so, everyone only needs to enforce one game in the group stage. Basically, the journey of this World Cup is over. Maybe Kim Yong-so, as a local referee, may have the opportunity to officiate the knockout round, but after a game of law enforcement like Jack, the referees who leave the World Cup will not have anything to do with each other. Therefore, there is no need to know and communicate.

But there are a few people that Jack can't ignore.

That's the two assistant referees assigned to Jack. Jack didn't know the two assistant referees, and I didn't know that there was such an assistant referee when I got the list today. The two assistant referees are from Singapore and El Salvador.

One is an Asian referee and the other is an American referee.

It made Jack laugh. I didn't expect that I, an English referee, came to the World Cup to enforce the law, and the two assistant referees had never heard of their names. But no matter what, Jack needs to communicate with the two of them, and everyone needs to have a tacit understanding with each other.

Otherwise, Jack alone would not have been able to enforce the game.

Originally, when Jack was in England, he would follow the affairs of the two teams before every game. Analyze the style of the two teams, analyze the style of the club coach, analyze the players to focus on in each team, etc.

But there is no way around it at the World Cup. After getting his own enforcement report, the first thing Jack had to do was go over and talk to his assistant referee. Instead of focusing on the things of the two teams.

…………

"Jack. Hello, Referee Lee. ”

The two assistant referees weren't too young, and Jack had already seen their profile. Krishnan from Singapore. Vistula. Natan, Chinese New Year's Eve, is an international referee in Singapore.

Fernández from El Salvador. Alfaro. Vladimir is also thirty-four years old. Originally, according to the previous World Cup practice, it was impossible for the referees of these two small countries to enforce the World Cup.

After all, the two countries are too small and the football is too poor, and there is no way to have a very good referee. They are not the same as the football weak countries, because they are small countries in the same way.

Those big countries, even if they are weak in football, the referees will have enough experience. But these small countries don't have a comprehensive league and have a very small number of matches, resulting in them not having enough experience.

But because of Blatter's policy, there are so many referees from small countries in this World Cup.

They were all older than Jack. They had also seen the profile of Jack, who was only twenty-six years old. But the referee is the referee, and he has a lot of power, which is not comparable to the assistant referee.

"Referee Natan, Referee Vladimir, hello."

English is a lingua franca, and to be able to become a World Cup referee, everyone has an English background. Those who are ambitious and want to become international referees will learn English.

Because only by learning English can you have a chance to appear in the World Cup in the future. Otherwise, how can you cooperate with other referees.

A few people exchanged pleasantries, after all, it was the first time for everyone to meet. Neither of them are familiar with each other, but the game is getting closer. The match between Brazil and Turkey, which Jack was going to officiate, was scheduled for June 3.

It's only five or six days away.

In such a short period of time, Jack has to get acquainted with his referee team and develop a tacit understanding with them. And several of them will be flying out of Japan tomorrow because the match will be held in Ulsan, South Korea.

"You see, Turkey has always been very physical. But this time FIFA's request is simple, it is to protect the attack, to protect the attacking players. Therefore, there are many restrictions on physical confrontation. ”

After all, we are referees, and we will be able to talk about it soon.

But because they didn't have a personal relationship, of course Jack didn't think about having any personal friendship with them. That is, to cooperate once, after the cooperation is completed, it is estimated that everyone will not have the opportunity to cooperate again in this life.

After all, Jack's main battlefield in the future is European football. Even if he officiates the World Cup in the future, he will not have the opportunity to cooperate with assistant referees from small and weak football countries.

This year's World Cup is a special circumstance under special circumstances. So Jack was straight to the point about the game.

Brazil?

I almost didn't make it to the World Cup, stumbled in the World Cup qualifiers in South America, and shit luck came to the World Cup. Compared with the current hot European football powerhouses such as France, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, and England, many people are not optimistic about Brazil. Even their sworn rivals, Argentina, are far higher than Brazil in terms of odds to win the title.

However, although Brazil is not favored, there are still many superstars. From the alien Ronaldo, the footballer Rivaldo, and the very expected Ronaldinho, their "3R" combination is still quite concerned.

As for their opponents, Turkey, their performance in the World Cup qualifiers was okay and not very bad. But it seems that Turkey is nothing more than a second-rate team in Europe.

Although Brazil did not perform well, Turkey is definitely not Brazil's opponent in everyone's eyes.

Of course, these analyses have nothing to do with Jack. Jack's focus is on how the game is playing. Jack's concern is that Turkey, like England, has a fierce style of play.

And it is precisely now that FIFA demands strict enforcement, and Turkey and Brazil are at a disadvantage in this regard. There is also the fact that Brazilian players like to do small movements, and like Rivaldo, they are all masters of acting.

This jack needs to be considered before the game.

So Jack and his assistant referee were open and honest about his thoughts. (To be continued......)