Green Field Eunuch

Chapter 424 You Must Have Looks Like Me

"The match is over. The Chinese team defeated the Iraqi team 5-1 again, avenging their defeat in the 2010 World Cup qualifiers!"

"Shan Yongzhuo was still the best player. Although he didn't have the explosive performance of the last game, he still scored four goals and was the biggest contributor to China's victory!"

"They are all great!"

The CTV5 commentator said excitedly.

The winning Chinese football players gathered together and circled the field to thank the Chinese fans who had traveled a long way to support them.

The fans responded with cheers and a massive sing-along, as the song "Ode to the Motherland" echoed through the stadium in Doha, Qatar.

The Chinese national football players, especially the veterans, had many feelings to share.

After all these years, can they still earn the respect of fans?
After so many years, will they finally be able to stand on the field of the top ten competition again?
The game is over.

The Iraqi team was completely convinced. Their head coach Zico said in an interview: "With Shan Yongzhuo on the Chinese team, no team in Asia can beat them."

"We must set our sights on the last two games. To advance, we must win both of those games."

"Of course, I also hope that the Chinese team can carry forward the spirit of football and give their all in the upcoming matches..."

Zico's words carried a hint of helplessness.

They lost to Jordan in the first round, and even if they win both of their next two matches, they will still have to rely on China's results.

Singapore has already been eliminated, and their remaining opponent is Jordan.

Since the Chinese team's final match is against Jordan, and having already qualified, Zico couldn't help but suspect that the Chinese team might throw the game and not send Shan Yongzhuo to play.

After all, Shan Yongzhuo still has European club matches to play.

However, Zico doesn't think the Chinese team can defeat Jordan, who are aiming to qualify, if they don't send Shan Yongzhuo.

Thinking about this, Zico felt a deep sense of helplessness.

There's nothing we can do about it. Jordan's schedule is much better than Iraq's. Besides, what can we do when they lost to Jordan in the first round?
The Chinese team had no interest in dealing with the Iraqi team. The day after the match, the entire team flew to Singapore to prepare for the fifth group stage match.

Shan Yongzhuo naturally traveled to Singapore with the team. Although the continuous flights were tiring, Shan Yongzhuo would never miss such a good opportunity to score goals.

Upon arriving in Singapore and disembarking from the plane, the entire team received a warm welcome.

These are not just Chinese fans who came to Singapore, but also many local Singaporean fans.

After checking into the hotel, there were many fans around wearing Manchester City number 10 jerseys, holding up all sorts of signs.

"Welcome Shan Yongzhuo to Singapore!"

"I want a signed jersey!"

"..."

These were all fans supporting Shan Yongzhuo; there were so many that the police had to be called in to maintain order.

Then, during training, the Chinese team encountered more trouble.

Many enthusiastic female fans from Singapore rushed onto the training ground, hugging Shan Yongzhuo and asking for photos, autographed jerseys, and other requests.

Left with no other choice, Shan Yongzhuo had to fulfill all their requests.

This also stunned Shan Yongzhuo. He had never received such enthusiastic support from fans when playing away games in other countries.

The incident of fans storming the stadium caused a significant impact and became a hot topic of discussion.

That's Shan Yongzhuo's influence. In fact, Singapore is a country with a large Chinese population, and China has a significant influence in Singapore, with many Singaporeans choosing to develop their careers in China.

For example, some singers and actors choose to develop their careers in China, not only because of China's huge market, but also because of the natural cultural commonalities among Chinese-speaking countries.

This is the influence of soft power.

From the earliest Singaporean couple Christopher Lee and Fann Wong, who achieved success in Taiwan, to famous singers like JJ Lin and Stefanie Sun, who have achieved great success not only in Taiwan but also in mainland China.

For example, some young people in Singapore also choose to study in China.

Of course, the quality of this international student is...

Now, as the number one Chinese superstar in football and also the world's number one player, it's easy to understand why Shan Yongzhuo received such a warm welcome and enthusiastic support when he came to Singapore.

For Chinese people with a strong sense of cultural identity, Shan Yongzhuo, the number one Chinese superstar, is naturally a source of pride.

The female fans didn't care about all that. To them, Shan Yongzhuo was not only the number one superstar in football, but also the number one handsome star.

From the perspective of Singaporeans, since the Singapore team is a pushover and can't beat any of their group opponents, Singaporeans feel no pressure in supporting Shan Yongzhuo.

This situation was also reflected on the day of the competition.

Once inside the stadium, everyone realized that this was no away game; it was practically a home game.

Inside the stadium, a large number of Singaporean fans defected, especially the enthusiastic female fans who mingled with the Chinese fans and cheered for Shan Yongzhuo with all their might.

Only die-hard fans in Singapore cheered for their team, but their numbers were actually quite small.

This situation left the Singapore team players feeling helpless, and they wanted to yell at the female fans who had betrayed them.

Male fans betraying their idols is nothing to them, but the betrayal of a large number of female fans is a psychological blow.

But they felt helpless.

There's nothing we can do; comparisons are odious. They're just players for the Singapore national team, nobody in the world of football.

And the other party is Shan Yongzhuo!

The pinnacle of world football.

The Chinese team, on the other hand, was simply amazed by Shan Yongzhuo's influence.

"Brother Dan is really amazing!"

Yu Hai sighed with envy, a sentiment shared by everyone.

Although their image has been turned around with each victory of the national football team.

However, they don't have that many female fans. In fact, for most of them, the only female fans who support them are their mothers and wives.

"When you're as good as Xiao Dan, you'll have just as many female fans too," Li Weifeng said with a smile, patting Yu Hai on the shoulder.

"No, impossible." Shan Yongzhuo laughed, "Besides my ball skills, you also have to have my looks."

"It's a pity that no one on our team can achieve that."

"..."

Everyone felt like they had been dealt a devastating blow, and they decided to ignore Shan Yongzhuo; his words were just too infuriating.

(End of this chapter)