Football: I am only 16 years old, and you want me to retire and make a comeback?

Chapter 722 2023 Asian Cup in China?

Dongqiudi Match Report: Manchester United defeated Beijing Guoan 4-2 at the Bird's Nest, securing their first preseason victory. Tang Ye scored twice for MVP, while Li Lei and Yu Dabao also found the net. (219232 comments)

[20 comments, our national security team has really done something!]

[This is a rigged match, brothers! I'm really not happy that Li Lei didn't get the MVP. GGBond manipulated the game!]

Has Eskeriva taken office? If so, won't Chengdu be another battle between the two leaders?

Wow, that's awesome, I just noticed!

[Eskeriva transferred to the Chinese national team in order to defeat Ten Hag again! It turns out the hatred in their physical battles wasn't just an act. Go, Eskeriva!]

"Thank you everyone, thank you!"

At the Bird's Nest Stadium, Tang Ye held a microphone and thanked the more than 9 fans present.

Wow!!!

"No problem, Tang the King of Balls, you're awesome!"

"No need to thank me, you're the coolest!"

"..."

"Cough cough!"

Blowing on the microphone, Tang Ye organized his thoughts: "Calm down, brothers, calm down and listen to me."

The room fell silent, and Tang Ye continued speaking.

"To be honest, I was quite surprised when I arrived at the stadium today. I expected it to be packed, but I didn't expect the fans to be so enthusiastic."

"Wow!!!!"

"Tang Ye! Tang Ye! Tang Ye!"

Manchester United's jerseys and the Chinese national team's jerseys are both red, which resulted in the stands being completely red.

Because Nike jerseys and Adidas jerseys are slightly different, the red in the stands appears to have a gradient effect from the perspective of the live broadcast.

There are also super posters of Tang Ye and Piggy Hero!
“I remember, well… as far as I can recall, this should be my first time playing football at the Bird’s Nest, but it’s not my first time in Beijing. To be honest, I really like it here; the facilities at the Bird’s Nest, including the stadium, have exceeded my expectations.”

"We might play in the Bird's Nest again this year for the Asian Cup qualifiers, but it's not confirmed yet. I would be very happy if we could play there."

Wow!!!

Come to Wuhan!

"Hangzhou! Hangzhou!"

"Xi'an! We must go to Xi'an!"

The fans were a bit too enthusiastic, which caused Tang Ye to have to pause every few words to let the fans in the stands calm down.

"Speaking of the Asian Cup qualifiers."

The host stepped forward: "We've received information that Escriva is interested in coaching the Chinese national team. Is this true?"

"Um……"

Tang Ye pondered, recalling his conversation with Eskeriva the night before last: "It's true."

"Wow!!!!"

Upon hearing this news, the already excited fans became even more thrilled.

This is basically equivalent to an official announcement.

"So what do you think are the reasons that Escriva came to coach the Chinese national team?"

"Well... I think a coach should choose a team that he believes has potential. We have the potential to qualify for next year's World Cup, which is why he came here."

"You will have your second preseason game at the Chengdu Phoenix Mountain Sports Center in five days. Will Eskriva take over before then?"

The host asked the key question, and the room quieted down considerably.

If Escribá takes over directly, he will have the opportunity to lead the Chinese men's national football team against Manchester United.

But it's a pity.

According to Tang Ye's reply, the contract for the national team head coach will not be signed so quickly, especially at this crucial juncture when the Chinese men's football team is aiming for the Qatar World Cup.

Even though Escriva is a Champions League-winning coach, he still has to go through the approval process.

What if Eskeriva is not suitable? The Football Association can't afford that cost!

"We all know that there is still a gap between the Chinese national team and Manchester United in terms of strength on paper."

The phrase "paper strength" is used very well, which shows that the host today has made special preparations.

"Given the gap in strength on paper, what adjustments will you make to balance the game?"

"This one……"

Tang Ye tilted his head slightly: "I should be with the national team."

Wow!!!

Awesome!

Although it was Manchester United's China tour, and Tang Ye was also on Manchester United's roster.

But it turned out to be Manchester United vs. the Chinese national football team...

Tang Ye could go to the Chinese national team to play against Manchester United, which could also be considered a Manchester United China tour.

Yes, that's right.

……

Reprinted from Tang Ye's interview: He should represent the national team in the second warm-up match, against Manchester United.

Ten Hag interview: We don't care who the coach of the Chinese national team is; we will play well in every warm-up match.

Chinese Football Association: The Chinese national team plans to begin the first phase of training on July 19 in preparation for the Asian Cup qualifiers.

The Chinese national football team's training camp wasn't solely about making money from the friendly match against Manchester United; another objective was to put pressure on the players who would soon be participating in international competitions.

The Chinese Football Association attaches great importance to the upcoming AFC Champions League final round of 12 qualifiers. Therefore, just like last year, this training camp is divided into two phases.

第1阶段是7月19日开始，到8月1日结束，结束后球员各自返回所在的联赛参加训练和比赛。

第2阶段是8月20日开始，准备2周后正式开始第一场亚预赛12强的比赛。

Today's Headlines - Schedule of the Chinese national football team in the Asian Cup qualifiers (12 teams).

September 2, UAE vs. China (Round 9), Sharjah Stadium, UAE.

September 7, China vs. Vietnam (Round 9), DL City Sports Center Stadium.

October 7, China vs. Saudi Arabia (Round 10), Shanghai Pudong Football Stadium.

Upon seeing the schedule, many fans immediately checked the Premier League timetable.

The new Premier League season will begin around August 15.

hiss……

Upon closer examination, the challenges facing the Chinese national football team are actually quite significant.

The main point is Tang Ye, who needs to travel back and forth between England and China.

……

That same evening after the match, Manchester United players partied at a bar near Workers' Stadium.

At this moment, Douyin was filled with two posts.

First, there's the matter of the Chinese national football team's upcoming World Cup qualifying matches. The stadiums for the first two home games have already been confirmed.

However, the Chinese Football Association has not specified where the subsequent home games will be held. Netizens have been recommending stadiums from their hometowns in the comments section of Douyin, and some have even started online arguments.

Then it was Zhang Xizhe's live stream.

After the match, Beijing Guoan midfielder Zhang Xizhe went live on Douyin to answer questions from fans and netizens.

"Why can't we win even if we throw the game... We just can't win, what can we do? We didn't plan to win in the first place."

"Tang Ye, Tang Ye is definitely top-notch. He's not in the same league as us, we're just on the same national team, not at the same level."

"Hey, wait a minute, why are there so many people in the live stream who don't watch football? Have you guys even watched the Chinese Super League? Don't judge us by Tang Ye's standards. We really did our best at 2-4. Manchester United gave us a lot of leeway, otherwise we wouldn't have scored those two goals!"

[Zhe-ge, you actually had a chance to win! You just didn't seize it.]

"Don't give me a chance. You might not be able to see it on the field, but you'll know once you come out and play on the field."

Zhang Xizhe browsed the live stream chat: "Do you know how I felt in the classroom? I knew the other side was throwing the game, but it was still very difficult, especially in midfield. Midfield is the most tiring. Tianyi (Gao Tianyi) and I were both suffocating."

"One person cannot reverse the situation alone..."

"Damn it, I'm not Tang Ye."

Zhang Xizhe suddenly remembered something and glanced back at the Beijing Guoan number 10 jersey hanging on the wall. "Hey guys, some of you who are new to football, don't mistake it for someone else."

"Tang Ye is number 10 on the national team, and I'm number 10 too, but I'm the fucking number 10 for Beijing Guoan. Don't go and criticize Tang Ye just because I'm wearing a vegetable sticker on the field. I'm not Tang Ye."

Zhang Xizhe panicked.

[Hahaha! Is Zhe-ge going to Chengdu too? I'll pick you up from the airport!]

【Awesome, awesome! 】

[I declare Zhang Xizhe a true Premier League player! He plays Manchester United today and will play again in five days. So awesome!]

"Where's the fun? You'll know when you get on the pitch. Manchester United beating us is no different than beating their youth team. Some people in the live stream don't believe it, haha."

"Eskeriva... Hmm, I saw the group chat, it's highly likely that Eskeriva will be joining the national team."

"Whether he can take over before playing Manchester United... that's definitely not going to happen. The national team coach is joking with you. When we play Manchester United, it should be Tie Ge leading the team."

Upon hearing that Li Tie was leading the team, many fans in the live broadcast room were saying things like "It's over" and "We're doomed to lose."

"Hey, no!"

What's wrong with domestically produced coaches?

"Don't look down on domestic coaches!"

"Based on the information I received, though I'm not sure, and please don't say it was me. The information I received is that Tang Ye will likely come to our side, which would balance things out a bit, and we should still have a chance to score."

……

On the way to Chengdu.

[Season settlement in progress...]

Yes, it's that time of year again for the season to end.

However, compared to his previous display of muscle definition, Tang Ye appeared somewhat calmer this time.

At this stage, rewards like comeback points are no longer useful to me.

It can't be said that it's completely useless.

To be honest, spending tens of thousands of points to buy a template doesn't really improve Tang Ye's performance.

However, the system seems to have taken this issue into account.

The reward Tang Ye received this time was unrelated to the comeback points.

[The season has ended. You can choose one of the following two rewards.]

It's a classic multiple-choice question, but this time it's not a choice of 3, but 2.

[Filippo Inzaghi, the Penalty Area Destroyer (Ultimate Legend)]

[Batistuta's powerful long-range shot template (Legend)]

You can choose one of the two, but the strengths of the two templates are still different.

Inzaghi's penalty area killer template is objectively stronger, after all, he is a top-tier legend.

However, for Tang Ye, who has returned to Manchester United for the new season, his ability to play in the penalty area is not actually that important.

Batistuta's long-range shooting ability from outside the penalty area would be more suitable for Tang Ye, but the corresponding template level would be slightly lower.

"Um……"

After careful consideration, Tang Ye made what he considered the most appropriate choice.

You have obtained the Filippo Inzaghi penalty area killer template (Premium Legendary).

[Position: 93 → 93]

[Shots on goal: 91 → 92]

[Field of view: 100 → &￥%￥￥**@]

[Field of view: 100]

Tang Ye (22 years old)
[Ball possession: 93; Passing: 96]

[Shots: 92; Headers: 62; Set pieces: 94]

Speed: 82; Endurance: 85; Physical Strength: 90

[Defense: 78; Vision: 100]

Overall rating: 96
Tang Ye's current template is honestly a bit overpowered; even Inzaghi's template only increases his attributes by 1 point.

Hey……

In fact, a value that is too high is not always a good thing.

There's too little room for improvement!

"Will you meet up with the national team directly after you get off the plane?"

Ten Hag stood next to the chair, with the Manchester United manager pressing down on the back of Tang Ye's chair with one hand.

“Oh, Mr. Eric.”

"The national team will arrive a day later, so I'll go to the hotel with you guys first and stay here for one night. I'll go over to them the next night."

"Ah."

Ten Hach nodded slightly, then suddenly changed the subject: "Is Ferran coming too?"

"He should still be early; the assistant coach will lead us in the next game."

Ten Hah nodded slightly, his eyes fixed on Tang Ye's.

He seemed a little skeptical.

He felt that Tang Ye was lying about this matter!

"Are you...are you sure Ferran won't come? Hmm...even if he comes, I won't say anything. I even hope he comes, because we actually have a pretty good relationship."

“He’s definitely not coming back. The contract probably hasn’t been signed yet, and even if it were, he couldn’t come over in such a short time, sir. He needs some more time to get to know our national team.”

"Yes, that's true."

Ten Hach nodded.

They had barely left when they came back.

“But Tom, I have to tell you this: regardless of whether Ferran comes or not, and regardless of what tactics he might employ, you need to be clear about one thing: you are a Manchester United player, a Chinese national team player, not Ferran Eskreva’s player.”

“I’m not saying Ferran is bad, it’s just…”

Ten Hach said earnestly, "Well, I'm not specifically referring to Ferran. What I mean is, some coaches might tell you things that mislead you, causing you to see and understand things incorrectly. Oh, and by 'some coaches,' I don't mean Ferran; I mean all coaches, you know what I mean."

Tang Ye didn't know why Ten Hach was emphasizing this aspect, so he could only nod repeatedly to show his understanding.

……

The Chinese Football Association officially announced that Francisco Escribá will serve as the head coach of the men's national football team, with a contract that will last until September 2024.

Sources say that Escriva's annual salary with the national team is about 600 million euros, a decrease of about 150 million euros compared to his salary at Dortmund.

According to official sources, it has now been confirmed that Eskeriva will coach the Chinese national football team. Fans have begun to study Eskeriva's tactical philosophy and its compatibility with the Chinese national team, and speculate on what tactics Eskeriva might adopt.

At that moment, a news item from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, overshadowed everything else.

The Kuala Lumpur Times front page headline: AFC plans to bring the 2023 Asian Cup back to China.

At the 2019 AFC meeting, China won the right to host the 2023 Asian Cup, and as a result, began construction of FIFA standard stadiums such as Dalian Suoyu Bay, Xiamen Bailu, and Chengdu Fenghuangshan.

However, due to the impact of the pandemic, at the beginning of this year, the Asian Football Confederation announced that the 2023 Asian Cup would be moved to Qatar, which greatly disappointed Chinese fans.

However, there are some problems with having Qatar host the 2023 Asian Cup, because Qatar is the host of the 2022 World Cup.

Hosting two top-level events in two years is a difficult situation even for Qatar, an oil-producing nation.

The pressure is too much!
If Qatar is indeed to host the 2023 Asian Cup, it would likely have to replicate the situation of the Tokyo Olympics, with the 2023 Asian Cup starting in 2024, which is something the AFC is very unwilling to see.

With the pandemic gradually receding and the 10 super stadiums that China has prepared for the Asian Cup already under construction, the AFC has no reason to return the hosting rights to China.

[Awesome!!!]

This place is really comfortable, guys.

[The pressure is immense, being the defending champions and playing at home...]

Whether he can come back is still uncertain, brothers, don't celebrate yet!

[A day of celebration! We absolutely have to go to the club tonight. Actually, it's not that I want to go, it's just to celebrate with the brothers.]

……

(End of this chapter)