Football: Starting from the Ronaldinho template

Chapter 95 Third-place match against Iraq! Unexpected twists and turns! (18)

Qin Ming had just finished his massage and was about to go for a walk when he saw many Chinese fans hanging banners and slogans outside.

We celebrate together when we win, and we shoulder the burden together when we lose!

Keep up the good work and live up to expectations!

As long as you keep moving forward, no matter how slow, we can wait!

【.】

It has to be said that in the entire world of football, the emotional value provided by Chinese fans is absolutely among the highest.

Qin Ming waved enthusiastically to them, opened the gate, and walked over. "Why didn't you go to watch the game live?"

"Didn't we fail to buy tickets?"

One of the young men said, then took out a jersey from his bag, "Qin Ming, could you please sign this for me?"

"Hey, it's no trouble at all. I'm just here to get your autograph."

Qin Ming took each jersey and got their autographs. After signing more than 30 jerseys, his wrists were a little sore.

"Hey buddy, can you take a picture of us?"

Qin Ming even found an Australian stranger, only to discover that the stranger actually knew him.

He himself was unaware that, due to his performance in previous competitions, his hashtag had risen to the top of Twitter's Australian section.

Anyone who knows football recognizes it.

After the passersby finished taking their photos, Qin Ming even signed an autograph for them. Seeing that more than half an hour had passed, he decided to give up the walk and go straight home.

The teammates didn't arrive until evening.

How are your legs feeling?

Zheng Zhi forced a smile.

After all, no one is happy when they lose a game, let alone when they can't advance to the finals.

It's important to know that the Chinese team has never won the Asian Cup.

Even if they know it's difficult to beat Australia, at least they have a chance to advance to the final, right?
Now we can only strive for third place.

"The recovery is going quite well; I should be able to catch up."

Qin Ming remembered that the third-place match was in four days, and with those days, he had essentially rested for eight days.

I'll go to the hospital for a check-up beforehand.

"That's good."

Zheng Zhi nodded.

After dinner, Perrin clapped his hands and said, "Don't dwell on the lost game. Our Asian Cup isn't over yet; there's still a tough battle waiting for us."

"Finally, we are not living in a fairy tale. We must face the gap between ourselves and our opponents and accept the fact that they are stronger."

"At the same time, we must be brave enough to face failure and learn from it. I think we will turn this failure into motivation."

"We have a long time ahead of us."

Having worked as a physical education teacher, youth coach, assistant coach, and head coach, Perrin knows how to help players cope with failure.

The Chinese team members nodded in agreement.

The training base was bustling with activity for the next few days, as everyone learned to turn failure into motivation.

After a check-up at the hospital, Qin Ming learned that his injury had finally healed. When he shared the good news with his teammates, he was greeted with cheers.

Although Wu Lei and others want to improve, it doesn't mean they don't want to be teammates with Qin Ming.

Soon, the time came to July 1st.

Newcastle Stadium.

Iraq, China's opponent, is a country ravaged by war.

However, their football level is among the top in Asia.

It is worth mentioning that.

Since the overthrow of Saddam Hussein's regime in 2003, the Iraqi national football team has reached the quarterfinals of the Asian Cup for four consecutive editions, including their incredible championship victory in 2007 and their semifinal appearance in this Asian Cup.

Moreover, the glory of Iraqi football in the post-Saddam era was not limited to the Asian Cup.

At the 2004 Athens Olympics, the Iraqi team, which had only been at war for one year, miraculously finished fourth in the Olympic football competition.

This is the second-best result in the history of Asian men's football at the Olympics, second only to Japan's bronze medal at the 1966 Mexico Olympics and South Korea's bronze medal at the 2012 London Olympics.

Even after the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime, Iraqi football continued to thrive at the Asian Games.

At the 2006 Doha Asian Games, Iraq lost 0-1 to the host country Qatar in the final, winning its best-ever result of a silver medal.

At the 2014 Incheon Asian Games, the Iraqi men's football team faced North Korea in the semi-finals. Unfortunately, they lost 0-1 to North Korea in extra time, but they still won a bronze medal.

At the 2009 Confederations Cup in South Africa, the Iraqi team almost shocked the world again. They drew 0-0 with hosts South Africa in the opening match and narrowly lost 0-1 to the seemingly invincible Spanish team in their second game.

Through the above review, it is not difficult to find that, starting from the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003, Iraqi football has created eight miracles in various continental competitions over the past twelve years.

If creating a miracle once counts as an upset, then eight upsets in twelve years only prove that Iraqi football has indeed made tremendous progress and has now basically stabilized as one of the top teams in Asia.

As for the reasons...
During Saddam Hussein's era, his son was the president of the Football Association, and this guy would beat up players whenever the team lost a match.

He also carried a small knife with him, and would shave the player's head if he lost.

Oh, and there are even more outrageous ones.

They whipped the players' feet, made them kick the wall, or even a solid football made of cement, until their feet were bloody and mangled.

Later, a secret prison was set up in the Iraqi Olympic Committee building in Baghdad, where all the players were imprisoned when Iraq was eliminated from the World Cup final in 1990.

Even Mussolini wasn't as ruthless as him.

After reading about Iraqi football history, Qin Ming realized how lucky he was. He patted Gao Lin on the shoulder and said, "Luckily we are Chinese, otherwise your shooting skills would probably have gotten your legs broken."

"It's so brutal."

Gao Lin shuddered as he thought about the planes he had shot down.

When Qin Ming and his teammates went out to warm up, they found that there were very few Iraqi fans.

why?
Because of the economic problems caused by war, how could they possibly afford to go abroad to watch football?

Moreover, during this Asian Cup, more than ten young people from Mosul, Iraq, were brutally executed by local terrorist organizations simply for watching Iraqi matches.

Their families were so afraid of retaliation that they didn't even dare to hold a funeral for them.

In some corner of the world, people are losing their lives because of watching football; this reality is truly cruel.

Qin Ming looked at the Iraqi players opposite him, feeling a little sympathy for them.

After they finished warming up and returned to the locker room, Perrin went over the established tactics again and urged the national team players to cheer up.

Because this match is also a battle of wills.

There's a saying circulating within the Iraqi national team: "Every day, people die in battle in our country, but no one ever brings shame to the nation on the football field. Even if we die, we should die with dignity!"
When players go on the field with this kind of belief, it's like having a buff.

"We also carry the expectations of many people, and we must do our best no matter what!"

Don't let yourself have any regrets!

"Come on, three, two, one!"

"come on, come on, come on!"

"CCTV! CCTV!"

Good evening, everyone!

"We are now broadcasting live the third-place match of the 26th AFC Asian Cup in Australia in 2015!"

"China vs. Iraq!"

"I am He Wei, the commentator for this match!"

"I am Liu Jiayuan!"

At Newcastle Stadium, after the national anthem, the players from both sides exchanged team flags. This time, Zheng Zhi failed to guess the direction the coin would land.

Iraqi captain Younis demanded the right to choose sides.

As the team's absolute core player, he didn't play for the club. That's right.

He has not played for any team since his contract with Al-Ahli ended in 2014.

He did that because he was too old and unable to adapt to fighting on multiple fronts, so he chose to fight for his country when faced with two options.

By the way, he is also the player who has scored in four consecutive Asian Cups.

He was the best player and top scorer in Iraq's Asian Cup victory in 2007.

Moreover, he is one of the people Chinese fans fear the most.

why?
因为在最近的10年里，中国队和伊拉克队在国际A级赛事中共交手7次，伊拉克队以4胜2平1负的战绩稳压中国队。

在2010和2014两届世界杯预选赛20强赛，伊拉克队4战中国队3胜1平，特别是在2011年的连续两场1-0战胜中国，直接断送了国足冲击2014年世界杯之旅。

In a sense, the Iraqi team is the nemesis of Chinese football.

Younis has participated in almost every match against the Chinese team in the past decade, and he scored both winning goals against China in the 2011 World Cup qualifiers.

"Now, let me introduce the starting lineups for both sides!"

"The Chinese team's head coach did not change the formation, opting for a 4-2-3-1, a balanced formation in attack and defense. Goalkeeper:"

“We see some changes in the attacking lineup, with Gao Lin leading the attack as the lone striker, while Yu Hai has dropped back to play as an attacking midfielder.”

"I think this is Perrin's way of adding a focal point in the attacking third and limiting the Iraqi defense to give the midfield more room to move around."

"Qin Ming, who missed the semi-finals, has recovered from his injury and returned. Hopefully, he can deliver an even more brilliant performance today."

"Iraq's head coach, Radhi Shenehir, also fielded a 4-2-3-1 formation, with the goalkeeper as..."

"Looking at the current Iraqi team, I am reminded of 2007, when the Iraqi team relied on outstanding players such as Younis, Akram, and Hawar to win the Asian championship."

"But now the only familiar face we can see is Eunice."

"But of the remaining young players, seven come from overseas clubs, including players from leagues in Sweden, the Netherlands, Turkey, England and the United States. These overseas players form the backbone of this Iraqi team."

He Wei gave a brief introduction.

In the comments section of Dongqiudi (a Chinese sports betting platform).
-
[Younes' counter-attacks are sharp, and he's a powerful header; be very careful.]
-
It's alright. Without Akram in midfield, Younes's effectiveness is halved.
-
I wonder how Qin Ming is doing today?
-
[I saw in the announcement that he has recovered from his injury and has been training for a few days, so he must be doing well, right?]
-
[Returning to Germany after playing for the national team is even more frustrating. How can Wolfsburg cope with competing on three fronts? I think they're about to collapse!]
-
[We might have to strategically withdraw from one of the events.]
-
【.】

Newcastle Stadium.

Many Chinese fans came to the stadium for the match, and they prepared a giant poster in the North Stand.

Qin Ming's parents were among them, raising their hands to hold up the red flag, as if they were supporting the future of Chinese football.

Beep! ! !
The piercing whistle signaled the start of the match.

The Chinese team didn't rush after kicking off; instead, they started passing the ball around in midfield.

As for why we chose to play a defensive counter-attacking style in the last game, it was because Qin Ming's absence meant that no one in the attacking third could hold the ball, whether it was Wu Lei or Hao Junmin.

"Qin Ming received Zheng Zhi's pass, and Yassin immediately closed in to press him!"

"The latter plays in the Swiss Super League—"

"Wow! What an exaggerated cow tail dribble! Who wouldn't be confused by that?"

He Wei saw Ya Xin instinctively extend his foot but was immediately shaken off.

The Chinese fans at the scene immediately cheered, it seems that Qin Ming is in good form today, and most of their worries have dissipated.

On the court, Qin Ming dribbled forward a few meters before encountering Iraq's help defense.

"One person on each side! Even if it's a foul, you can't let him get past!"

Salim yelled to block the outside, while his teammates blocked the inside.

Moreover, Yassin, who had been beaten, gritted his teeth and chased back.

Surrounded by three defenders, Qin Ming sprinted forward with the ball without hesitation, making a move to break through from the front.

But when Abdul Amir got close, it caused a gap in his left rib area.

No Look Pass!

*Thud!* The football was discreetly passed out and found Yu Hai, who was coming to receive it.

How could someone known as the "Chinese Robben" not know how to cut inside?

Although his footwork wasn't particularly fast, Qin Ming attracted a lot of defensive players, giving him more safe time.

"Yu Hai is going to kick me!"

"Let's see if there's a chance to score. Hamid is very focused, and Gao Lin gets to the second ball and scores on the rebound!"

"what?"

He Wei was completely dumbfounded as he watched the football head straight for the stands.

They were so close to the goal.

How come he can masturbate?
"Mine! Mine!"

Gao Lin shook his head in frustration.

He sprinted too fast just now, and when he slowed down and shot again, he didn't control the point of contact with the ball properly due to inertia.

"It's okay! Let's try again!"

Qin Ming waved his hand, "Turn back to defense!"

He felt more comfortable playing than before after Gao Lin started today.

Because Iraq's rear defense line cannot be positioned too far forward.

This results in greater spacing between formations, providing more room for both passing and dribbling.

However, Iraq quickly launched a counterattack.

With only Eunice remaining from the Golden Generation, Akram lost his core figure and thus the central hub for offensive and defensive transitions.

Therefore, Iraq's tactics became simple.

An aggressive playing style.

Left winger Kalaf advanced with the ball, and after being dispossessed by Zhang Chengdong, he immediately got up and worked with his teammates to win the ball back.

Zhang Chengdong, in his haste to pass the ball, immediately passed it to Kasim.

The latter immediately launched a long pass and cross, aiming for space behind Zhang Linpeng.

"Eunice!"

"At 36, he's very experienced; he made a forward run while positioned right on the offside line!"

"One-half goal!"

"careful!"

Wang Dalei's habitual forward positioning allows him to launch timely attacks.

And Eunice showed no signs of slowing down.

Faced with a 50/50 chance of possession, both players chose to fight tooth and nail.

Bang! A muffled sound came from the close-up sound system. Wang Dalei was hit, spun around once, and then crashed heavily onto the grass.

But he punched the ball out of the penalty area with both fists.

Eunice wasn't much better off.

Because when a goalkeeper comes out to attack, he instinctively protects himself by jumping up and tucking his knees in.

"Is something okay?"

The two teams looked at the person lying on the ground and asked nervously.

The referee blew his whistle to stop the game and let the team doctor come onto the field to examine the players.

"Damn! That guy rammed into me so hard, I feel like my shoulder is going to break!"

Wang Dalei puts on a mask of pain.

On the other side, Eunice's vision went black, and he couldn't breathe.

(End of this chapter)