Football: Starting from the 05 World Youth Championship

Compared to the first warm-up match, Feng Xiaoting's performance in the second match was significantly better.

This finally put Klaus Toppmöller's mind at ease.

Although the outside world says that the 85 national youth team is a super golden generation, the pool of talent for the national Olympic team is not very large due to the weak youth training foundation of Chinese football.

Especially in the defense, if it weren't for the need for a veteran in midfield, Klaus Toppmöller would have preferred to use all three over-age slots in the defense.

In this situation, if Feng Xiaoting, the only one capable of shouldering the responsibility, were to experience a decline in performance, it would be a devastating blow to him.

On June 21, the Chinese Olympic team faced their final opponent in this training camp – the Vietnamese national team.

Klaus Toppmöller originally wanted to invite a European team to simulate the strong European teams he might face in the Olympic knockout stage.

Unfortunately, the European Championship was in full swing at that time.

The strong European national teams are all busy playing in the European Championship and simply don't have the time.

With African and Latin American teams already played in the first two matches, the Chinese Olympic team could only set its sights on Asian teams.

Vietnam was a dark horse in last year's Asian Cup, reaching the Asian semi-finals for the first time in history. Although they suffered a crushing defeat to China in the semi-finals, their strength in Southeast Asia should not be underestimated.

Using them as practice targets is a good option for the national Olympic team.

At least the Vietnamese won't throw the game in a friendly.

In last year's Asian Cup semi-final, the Vietnamese team was thrashed 6-0 by the Chinese national team, which was a great humiliation for the Vietnamese people.

After the Asian Cup, Vietnamese football players have made surpassing China their main development goal and vowed to take revenge on the Chinese national team.

Unfortunately, they are no match for the Chinese national football team at this stage, and if they were to actually face them, they would only bring shame upon themselves.

But when they face a weaker Olympic team than the Chinese national football team, the Vietnamese really get fired up.

If we can't beat the Chinese national football team, surely we can beat you?

The match against Vietnam was held at the Shenyang Olympic Sports Center, in the heart of Chinese football.

Liaoning FC not only contributed a large number of talents to Chinese football, but the national team also qualified for the World Cup in Shenyang.

It's a pity that the Wulihe Stadium, where the Chinese national football team was trying to qualify for the Olympics, was demolished last year.

The Shenyang Olympic Sports Center is a stadium rebuilt on the south bank of the Hun River after the Wulihe Stadium was demolished.

Next month, the Chinese team will face a crucial World Cup qualifier here, and the Olympic team is essentially paving the way for the senior national team.

The Vietnamese weren't lying after all. In the starting lineup announced before the match, all of Vietnam's key players appeared, most of whom were the same players who participated in last year's Asian Cup semi-finals. They were familiar faces to Lin Feng and others.

These people were clearly surprised when they saw Lin Feng and his group.

I thought the Chinese Olympic team wasn't very strong, but I never expected to see so many familiar faces on this team.

Lin Feng, Chen Tao, Gao Lin, Zheng Zhi, Li Weifeng, Sun Jihai...

These were all the starting players for the Chinese national team when they played against Vietnam.

Other players who were selected for the national team roster for that Asian Cup include Zhao Xuri, Cui Peng, Zhou Haibin, and Dong Fangzhuo.

At first glance, apart from the goalkeeper being unfamiliar, this is practically a youth version of the Chinese national team.

Although this Olympic team is somewhat weaker than the national team, they should have no problem dealing with Vietnam.

After the match started, the Chinese national team quickly got into the game and used their midfield advantage to firmly control the ball.

In the 22nd minute, the Chinese national team played a combination play in the attacking third, with Lin Feng breaking through on the left wing and then sending a diagonal pass into the penalty area.

Gao Lin received the ball with his back to goal, turned and fired a shot into the net, giving China the lead!
"Gao Lin has improved! He handled that ball very calmly and played it beautifully, reminding me of Van Nistelrooy, the king of the penalty area!"

"Yes, the most criticized aspect of the national team's forwards in the past was their lack of composure and rational decision-making in front of goal. Gao Lin also had this problem before, but now, after playing abroad for several years, not only has his shooting skill improved significantly, but his mentality has also undergone a huge change!"

Similar to Feng Xiaoting, Gao Lin saw a significant increase in playing time and personal statistics at Borussia Dortmund last season.

Last season he made 31 appearances for Borussia Dortmund, including 27 in the league and 4 in the cup.

Most of these appearances were as starters, and in the 31 games Gao Lin played, he scored 9 goals, including 8 in the league and 1 in the cup, and also contributed 5 assists.

Nine goals may not seem like many, but they are far from the level of truly top strikers.

However, this statistic would place him in the top 30 scorers in the Bundesliga, and within the Borussia Dortmund team, he would be the second-highest scorer after Petric.

For Gao Lin, who is only 22 years old this year, it is already very good to achieve such results. After all, Ribery, who was signed by Bayern for a high price, only scored 11 goals last season.

Because of Gao Lin's outstanding performance, Borussia Dortmund renewed his contract early on, raising his annual salary to 140 million euros.

If Bundesliga teams didn't generally have lower salary levels, Gao Lin could have earned more.

Gao Lin, who scored for the national Olympic team, was enthusiastically received by tens of thousands of fans at the scene.

Gao Lin was intoxicated by the feeling of being the center of attention.

But he didn't get carried away with his success. He immediately found Lin Feng and wanted to celebrate with him.

"Brother Lin, your passes are so satisfying! If I had a midfield maestro like you feeding me the ball at my club, how could I have only scored 9 goals!"

"Don't worry, your team's new coach will bring you top-class midfielders, and more than one!"

Gundogan, Götze, Reus, Kagawa Shinji... these players will join Borussia Dortmund one after another. Under Klopp's leadership, a violent youth storm will sweep through the Bundesliga and even European football.

"Huh? Brother Lin, how did you know we changed coaches? Only a few people within the team know about this; it hasn't been officially announced yet!"

Gao Lin was skeptical of Lin Feng's words, but was more curious about his knowledge of Dortmund's coaching change.

“I not only know that you changed coaches, but I also know that your coach is a scruffy old man named Jürgen.”

Now, Gao Lin was filled with respect.

He only learned the new coach's name from a chance conversation with a club manager; it seemed to be something like Jürgen Klopp.

Gao Lin had no recollection of this person, but from Lin Feng's words, he guessed that he might be someone important, otherwise he wouldn't have attracted Lin Feng's attention.

"Brother Lin, tell me, what kind of person is our new coach? Can he lead our team to success?"

"Instead of wasting your time worrying about this, you should practice your shooting skills and physical fitness. Otherwise, even if Dortmund takes off, it won't have anything to do with you!"

Klopp is a tough guy. Playing under him, you not only have to fight hard, but you also have to run a lot and run fast.

This requires extremely strong physical fitness; players who can't run or play carelessly have no chance against him.

Gao Lin's situation isn't much better than Feng Xiaoting's, after all, he'll be competing with people like Barrios and Lewandowski in the future. Barrios is a little easier to deal with; he's not particularly strong and lacks discipline, so he's not a major concern.

But Lewandowski is a striker of historical caliber in football. If he really joins Dortmund, Gao Lin's life will probably be tough.

……

Trailing behind, the Vietnamese team launched a full-scale counterattack against the Chinese Olympic team after the restart.

However, the Chinese Olympic team's defense remained unshaken. The duo of Feng Xiaoting and Li Weifeng, who had been tested in the Asian Cup, stood firm against the Vietnamese attack, giving their opponents no chance to exploit.

The defensive midfield partnership of Zheng Zhi and Zhao Xuri also caused chaos in the opponent's midfield.

With their attack failing to break through and their defense remaining largely undefended, Vietnam quickly conceded their second goal.

In the 30th minute, the Chinese Olympic team successfully intercepted the ball and launched a counter-attack. The Vietnamese players failed to stop Lin Feng from getting the ball in time, which allowed him to once again deliver his signature long-range, low through ball, accurately finding Gao Lin between the two Vietnamese defenders.

Gao Lin has never had such an easy chance before. He received the ball and went one-on-one with the goalkeeper, and then scored another goal with a simple kick.

Within ten minutes, the Chinese Olympic team scored two goals, with Gao Lin completing a brace.

"Brother Lin, give me another one! I've never scored a hat trick in the national Olympic team before!"

As the record holder for most hat-tricks in the history of the Chinese national football team, Gao Lin wants to etch his name into the record of the Olympic team as well.

But after he scored consecutive points, the Vietnamese team was on high alert and guarded Gao Lin like a raging flood.

Lin Feng really wanted to help Gao Lin, but the other party wouldn't give him the chance!

Moreover, this Vietnamese team is not a pushover; they were not beaten to the point of being unable to fight back.

In the 36th minute, Vietnam's attack resulted in a foul by Li Weifeng, and the referee awarded a penalty kick, which Vietnam converted to pull one back.

In the second half, neither side created many good opportunities.

However, under the relentless high-pressure attack of the Chinese Olympic team, the Vietnamese players made a fatal mistake.

In the 72nd minute, the Chinese Olympic team won a corner kick. Because of the obvious height advantage of the Chinese Olympic team, Lin Feng did not plan to use any corner kick tactics. He planned to pass the ball directly to the area with more players and use the height advantage of the Chinese Olympic team players to launch an aerial bombardment.

For many years, one of the Chinese national football team's secret weapons against Southeast Asian teams has been headers, which have been virtually invincible.

However, this time, Lin Feng miscalculated.

The Chinese Olympic team players failed to secure the first ball; the Vietnamese team won it.

However, a dramatic turn of events occurred.

Perhaps the pressure from the national Olympic team was too great, or perhaps the excessive physical exertion caused the movements to become distorted.

The Vietnamese defender's header clearance turned into a header shot, and the ball swerved rapidly before flying towards his own goal.

The Vietnamese goalkeeper, caught off guard, could only watch helplessly as his own goal was breached once again.

The score became 3-1, and what helped the Chinese Olympic team extend their lead was actually an own goal by the Vietnamese team!
After conceding that goal, the exhausted Vietnamese team's morale plummeted, and they could no longer withstand the Chinese Olympic team's attack.

In the 86th minute, Sun Jihai delivered a cross from the wing, and Zhou Haibin finished the move to make it 4-1.
In the final moments of the match, the entire Chinese Olympic team was creating opportunities for Gao Lin, but unfortunately, his shots always fell just short of scoring.

Ultimately, the Chinese Olympic team defeated Vietnam 4-1 at the Shenyang Olympic Sports Center, a lucky place for Chinese football, securing their second consecutive victory in the warm-up matches.

After securing two consecutive victories, the morale and confidence of the national Olympic team have been greatly boosted.

They can't wait to welcome their first Olympic Games competition at the Bird's Nest Stadium!

……

After the three warm-up matches, the national Olympic team's training camp is basically over.

The remaining days were used to refine the formation and familiarize ourselves with the tactics and strategies.

As for the roster and starting lineup for the Beijing Olympics, which is of most concern to the outside world, Klaus Toppmöller did not announce it immediately.

He originally planned to have one training camp in June, but the Football Association changed its mind and asked him to have another training camp in July to ensure that there would be no problems.

Klaus Toppmöller felt it was completely unnecessary, as many players on the national Olympic team were scheduled to participate in the World Cup qualifiers next month.

This kind of serious competition is more effective than any training camp.

Unfortunately, the leaders of the Football Association, or rather the General Administration of Sport, attached great importance to this Olympic Games and felt that they had to make good use of this last month.

After all, other athletes participating in the Olympics are in their final training sessions, and it wouldn't look good if word got out that the national Olympic team wasn't training.

The domestic public opinion environment, especially the media environment, is very unfriendly to football.

In previous years, they used exposing the shortcomings of the national football team and even deliberately distorting and smearing it as a selling point. Although things have improved in recent years, it cannot be ruled out that they will go back to their old ways.

If the national Olympic team fails in this Olympics, the media will definitely seize on this and make a big deal out of it, criticizing the national team for not trying hard enough and losing the game.

So let's do as the Romans do. Even fake effort is still effort. Don't worry about whether it's effective or not, just start practicing.

The German man understood, but he was also genuinely exhausted and decided to quit after this job.

At 67 years old, he has indeed reached the age to retire.

The national Olympic team will be disbanded after the Olympics.

He has no intention of taking over the national football team, let alone starting over to take charge of the next generation of U20 players.

After all, compared to the 85 national youth team, the number of promising talents in the 87 national youth team has decreased sharply, and as for the 89 national youth team, it was simply unbearable to watch.

Having long been involved in and managed China's youth football teams, Klaus Toppmöller was more aware than anyone of the enormous hidden dangers facing Chinese football in the future.

After the generation of the 85 or 87 national youth teams, Chinese football experienced a collapse in talent development.

The lack of youth training has left Chinese football facing a predicament of having no one to rely on in the future.

Even now that youth training has gotten back on track and is gradually emerging from its slump, the situation remains challenging.

It will take at least another decade or more to see any results.

During this period, Chinese football could only rely on players born in 85 and 87 to keep going.

If they get injured and crippled one day, they'll have nowhere to turn to cry.

Klaus Toppmöller sighed. "Fine, let them have a training camp then. At worst, I'll reduce some of the training sessions so they can rest and recharge before the Olympics." (End of Chapter)