Football: Starting from the 05 World Youth Championship

Although they have been out of the public eye for several months, the last time the national Olympic team played a match was back in June.

However, the expectations of fans for the national Olympic team have not diminished at all; in fact, they have continued to rise.

A little over a month ago, the two friendly matches that the national Olympic team participated in under the name of the national team gave the outside world hope.

Although they didn't win that match, everyone was perfectly accepting of the result considering Denmark's strength.

This time, the Chinese Olympic team's warm-up match opponent is the United States team.

The US team is slightly weaker than the Danish team, so the Chinese Olympic team will have a relatively easier time playing against them.

More importantly, the US team has also qualified for the men's football event at the Beijing Olympics, so the other side attaches great importance to this warm-up match, and the two sides can have a good exchange of skills.

Because this FIFA international match day is very long, the two teams arranged two friendly matches.

Originally, the match was planned to be held at Changsha Helong Stadium, but at Klaus Toppmöller's insistence, the venue was changed to Tuodong Stadium in Kunming.

This stadium is a lucky place for Chinese football. The Chinese team has never lost here. In addition, the opponents are not strong. Therefore, many fans are optimistic about the two upcoming matches.

"Lin Feng, please sign your autograph for us!"

"Lin Feng, keep going! We will always support you. You are the pride of Chinese football!"

"Can we see your Golden Globe Award?"

The next day, during the open training session, a circle of fans surrounded the stadium.

When the fans saw Lin Feng come to the sidelines to retrieve the ball, they immediately cheered excitedly.

After picking up the soccer ball, Lin Feng smiled and waved to the fans outside the fence.

This move garnered an even more enthusiastic response from the fans, with many even getting so excited that they started climbing over the metal fence, triggering the alarm system and causing a piercing siren to sound at the stadium.

Lin Feng was startled and quickly left the scene, fearing that if he stayed any longer, the fans would do something even more extreme.

"Your influence among the fans remains as strong as ever!"

"No, no, no, Brother Zheng, you're wrong. Ever since Brother Lin won the Golden Globe, his influence in the domestic sports world has been second to none. He even said that he is the leading figure among Asian athletes!"

Gao Lin surprisingly spoke succinctly, without any sarcastic remarks, which surprised Lin Feng, as if they were meeting for the first time.

Klaus Toppmöller coughed from the sidelines, and everyone immediately stopped chatting and continued training seriously.

The biggest highlight of this warm-up match is to see how well the over-age players integrate with the other Olympic team players.

Therefore, in these two matches, Klaus Toppmöller plans to field two different starting lineups to test the players' abilities.

Determine which positions require recruiting over-age players and which do not.

Because the Olympics are being held on home soil, both eligible and over-age players are eager to compete at the Bird's Nest.

Therefore, everyone in the training field was extremely serious, all wanting to leave a good impression on the old German man who had the power to make the decision.

Klaus Toppmöller was very satisfied with everyone's performance, as these young players in the team had become a bit arrogant lately.

The addition of these over-age players has put unprecedented pressure on the eligible players.

After all, recruiting over-age players is equivalent to the team paying a high price to sign foreign players, and they will definitely become the team's starting main force.

This means that the eligible players whose positions are replaced will either not be selected for the 23-man roster, or they will only be relegated to the bench and watch from the sidelines.

If they don't want to lose their positions to over-age players, they'll have to be extra careful.

In this sense, the Chinese Olympic team's players of the appropriate age were only supporting roles in the two matches against the US Olympic team.

……

The US team arrived in China after Christmas. On December 28, after three days of training with the Chinese Olympic team, the US team arrived in Kunming.

On December 31, the first leg of the match between the two sides officially kicked off at Tuodong Stadium in Kunming.

This is the first official match for the national Olympic team in preparation for the Beijing Olympics. The whole team is eager to win and get off to a good start for their 08 Olympic journey.

For the first match, Klaus Toppmöller selected three over-age players: Sun Xiang, Li Weifeng, and Zheng Zhi.

This arrangement clearly reflects the team's focus on the attacking combination of Sun Xiang and Mao Jianqing on the left flank, aiming to create a breakthrough from the sidelines.

However, whether it was due to nervousness or a nicotine addiction, the Chinese Olympic team played somewhat passively at the start of the game.

On the contrary, the American team used their physical advantage to complete two long-range shots in the middle, testing Wang Dalei's ability to save.

As the youngest player in this national Olympic team, Wang Dalei has the most stable starting position.

Since joining Inter Milan, Wang Dalei's skills have improved rapidly.

Under scientific and systematic training methods, he has corrected many bad habits he had developed since childhood, his basic skills have become more solid, and his mindset has become more mature.

Although he is not yet nineteen years old, he already has the air of a great general.

When directing his teammates in defense, he dared to give orders even to national team veterans like Li Weifeng, showing no fear whatsoever.

This left a very deep impression on many fans, who all believed he would become the future goalkeeper for the national team.

In terms of backup goalkeeper, Klaus Toppmöller also dared to think and act. Instead of recruiting Liu Zhenli, who was older and had more match experience, he chose the 20-year-old young player Zeng Cheng.

Clearly, Klaus Toppmöller is not just considering the Olympics, but is taking a holistic view of the long-term future of the Chinese national football team.

His exceptional promotion of these young people is paving the way for their smooth entry into the national football team in the future.

After the US team's initial three-pronged attack failed to materialize, the Chinese Olympic team gradually stabilized and began to take the initiative.

In the 24th minute, Zheng Zhi intercepted the ball and made a through pass.

Lin Feng, making a forward run, dribbled past two defenders and then used a miscommunication between the opposing goalkeeper and defenders to chip the ball into the box.

However, Gao Lin, who was following up, faced an open goal with no one defending him, and headed the ball against the crossbar...

The crowd erupted in uproar, and tens of thousands of fans were stunned.

You managed to miss that shot? Typical Gao Lin!
However, before the Chinese national team's attack was over, the ball hit the crossbar and bounced back onto the field, landing at Zheng Zhi's feet.

Zheng Zhi decisively took a shot, and the ball deflected off an opposing player's leg during its flight, thus unexpectedly flying into the goal.

"Oh my god, that scared me to death! I thought the ball was gone!"

"Gao Lin, are you even capable? If not, let Dong Fangzhuo handle it!"

"The veteran players are the most reliable in crucial moments. Klaus Toppmöller made the right choice with Zheng Zhi!" The fans cheered for the goal while discussing the players' performance on the field.

Lin Feng's performance goes without saying. Although he didn't have a strong desire to attack in this game, he mostly focused on organizing, passing, and defending, and rarely made forward runs to shoot.

However, his role on the field cannot be ignored. With him on the field, the national Olympic team can hold the ball in the attacking third and is not afraid of the opponent's physical confrontation and pressing.

Only in this way can we obtain a continuous stream of attacking opportunities!
After taking a 1-0 lead, the national Olympic team relaxed considerably, especially the younger players.

After relaxing, their performance improved, with Mao Jianqing repeatedly creating trouble for the opponent's defense on the left flank through his individual skills.

Sun Xiang was also very active, frequently dribbling down the wing and delivering crosses.

Unfortunately, Sun Xiang's crossing accuracy is a bit off. He has great chances every time, but his passes are really not good.

This made many fans very anxious, wishing they could lend Lin Feng's passing ability to Sun Xiang.

"Sun Xiang's passes are always so crooked, could it be because he has strabismus? Maybe he should get them corrected and wear corrective glasses, that might fix the problem?"

"You're a genius! If only it were that simple. I've watched him play for Shenhua for so long, and I've never seen his crosses ever be accurate!"

"His passing ability is simply lacking; it's a fundamental skill issue, and he needs to practice more!"

"I think it's a matter of talent. Logically speaking, there must be a reason why no one has talked to him about this problem. It's been so many years, and he still hasn't changed!"

The fact that fans have time to chat idly on the sidelines shows that the national Olympic team is in a good position recently.

If the enemy's offensive threats were to come wave after wave, they certainly wouldn't have the leisure to chat here.

After the Chinese Olympic team improved their performance, the American team seemed to play somewhat hesitantly, as if they were a little afraid of the Chinese Olympic team.

Especially when Lin Feng had the ball, it was very obvious that the American players were highly tense and wished they could send three or four people over to deal with Lin Feng.

Family members, who would understand? Playing a warm-up match for the national Olympic team, and you actually run into the Ballon d'Or winner and the FIFA World Player of the Year on the field? Is there any justice in this world?
I've never seen anyone bully people like this!
Rather than saying the American team was afraid of the Chinese team, it would be more accurate to say they were intimidated by Lin Feng's reputation.

After all, just six months ago, they witnessed Lin Feng leading the Chinese team to defeat their big brother—the US national team!
Even the eldest brother couldn't handle it, let alone them!

It's almost as if Gojo Satoru died, and a level-one sorcerer was sent to fight Sukuna.

With the opponent restrained, the Chinese Olympic team can dominate!
In the 38th minute, Lin Feng made a through pass from the left flank into the center of the penalty area, and Gao Lin redeemed himself by seizing the opportunity to make it 2-0.
After conceding the goal, the Americans finally launched a decent counterattack.

In the 41st minute, the US team launched an attack from the left flank. Atidol used his speed and strength to break through the blocks of Li Weifeng and Feng Xiaoting before finishing with a shot.

Wang Dalei accurately predicted the ball's trajectory and dived to save it.

In the second half, Lin Feng's performance remained outstanding.

In the 53rd minute, he spotted an opportunity on the wing and passed the ball to Mao Jianqing, who used his speed to get past the defender and break into the penalty area, but unfortunately his final shot was blocked by the goalkeeper.

In the 72nd minute, Lin Feng took the free kick he had created himself.

With a crisp swish, the ball sailed past the goalkeeper's outstretched fingers and once again nestled into the American team's net.

Lin Feng's goal ignited the passion of the fans in the stadium, with tens of thousands of fans chanting his name in unison and worshipping him.

Although he had been quite restrained in his performance, he still managed to contribute two assists and one goal.

All three goals scored by the Chinese Olympic team were related to Lin Feng.

Lin Feng was in a good mood. After hearing the fans' shouts, he smiled and waved to the fans in the stands.

Then he was replaced by Klaus Toppmöller...

In Klaus Toppmöller's words, such a competition was not difficult for Lin Feng and did not serve any training purpose.

Rather than letting him waste his energy on the field, it's better to substitute him early to rest and give others a chance to perform.

Replacing Lin Feng on the field was Wang Yongpo, who had previously participated in Inter Milan's training camp.

It is said that he has already reached an agreement with a foreign club, and will officially announce his move abroad as soon as the European winter transfer window opens.

Wang Yongpo was exceptionally proactive after taking the stage, eager to seize the opportunity to showcase his abilities to the world.

However, the gap in strength between him and Lin Feng was ultimately too great. After Lin Feng left the field, the national Olympic team players on the field felt awkward no matter how they played.

It feels like a fish that has been taken out of the water and can no longer swim freely.

Seeing this, the assistant coaches of the national Olympic team frowned and said to Klaus Toppmöller:

"Aren't we relying on Lin Feng a bit too much? After he leaves the field, the players on the field suddenly seem to have lost their way!"

Klaus Toppmöller smiled and nodded: "They do rely on Lin Feng a bit too much, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. At least they know how to play when Lin Feng is around!"

Even top clubs like Inter Milan and Real Madrid can't solve the problem of Lin Feng's dependency.

How can Chinese football, with its lack of talent and weak resources, possibly be solved?

Relying on Lin Feng isn't a bad thing; all you need to do is devise a set of tactics around him.

The real danger is that they have Lin Feng on their team but don't know how to use him; that would be a disaster!
In stoppage time, Wang Yongpo finally found his chance to shine. He made a clever through pass from the edge of the penalty area, and substitute Zhu Ting broke the offside trap to create a one-on-one opportunity.

Unfortunately, like Gao Lin, whom he replaced, he got nervous when facing the goalkeeper.

A powerful shot was clearly aimed at the goal, but the ball ended up hitting the side netting.

This made the fans at the scene cover their faces, saying that his shooting skills were beyond saving!
After the match, Zhu Ting himself expressed his deep regret when discussing that shot:

"I don't know what's wrong with me, I can't even score such a simple shot, maybe I caught it from my teammates!"

Ultimately, the Chinese Olympic team, which dominated the entire match, achieved a winning start, easily defeating the United States 3-0 in their first game.

After the game, the American players rushed to the sidelines, eager to exchange jerseys with Lin Feng.

The American players who failed to snag a jersey then set their sights on Lin Feng's shorts, shoes, shin guards, and even socks.

In an instant, Lin Feng was completely exposed!

He was dumbfounded. Was the other person there to play football or to chase after a celebrity?

Why do I feel like everyone on the American team, except for the goalkeeper who was incredibly frustrated after conceding three goals, is a fan of their own team?
He had seen Ronaldinho enjoy similar treatment at the Club World Cup.

When Lin Feng was stripped naked by the opposing player, the fans in the stands almost went crazy with laughter.

Reporters, eager for a good spectacle, used cameras and even video cameras to capture this dark chapter of Lin Feng's past.

The following day, headlines and photos of Lin Feng's "fallen from grace" appeared on some newspaper pages. (End of Chapter)