There is a belief called football

Chapter 215 Flying training warm-up match

After watching the game, on the plane back to China, Stan looked at the scenery outside the porthole, thoughtful.

"Stan, what are you looking at, the plane is in the stratosphere, so you can't see anything," Li Qiao said.

"Yes, I just look around, sometimes when I notice that I'm flying so high, I suddenly feel very scared, in case...",
Li Qiao knew that Stan was about to say something frustrating again, so he interrupted Stan quickly, saying: "Don't say anything unlucky to me, I still want to live a long life."

Stan chuckled, "It's just that I heard that Bergkamp in the Netherlands never dared to take a plane. Every time Arsenal went to an away game, he didn't go with the team. I thought it was ridiculous at the time, but I don't know why, but now I understand him."

"Hehe, why are you suddenly sentimental today?" Li Qiao asked.

"Because of yesterday's game",
"Little German game"?
"Yes, his lonely back after losing. Do you know that he is the defending champion and ranked first in the world, but he still looks so lonely after losing a game. How cruel is competitive sports?"

After listening to Stan’s words, Li Qiao also thought about it. Competitive sports are indeed very realistic. When Ronaldo was omnipotent, everyone called him an alien, saying that his speed did not belong to this world.

"But competitive sports also make a lot of money," Li Qiao said.

Stan nodded, "Yes, the fame is big, I understand."

Li Qiao knew that there must be a meaning behind Stan's words, so he asked: "Are you worried about the next top 10 match?"
Stan didn't answer, but turned his head to the porthole.

*****
Back in China, there are still 9 months before the game on September 11. Stan plans to arrange 2 warm-up matches in these two months, one game every half a month, to test the team's training and maintain the state. The 4 opponents chosen by Stan are "Costa Rica", "Bolivia", "Iceland", and "South Africa".

Careful people can tell at a glance that "Stan" means lofty goals and has already made plans for the World Cup in advance. Normally, teams from different continents are grouped together in the World Cup groupings. Except for European teams, teams from other continents will not be grouped with teams from their own continent. Therefore, Stan let the national team understand the football styles of different continents in advance.

For this reason, Stan was very particular about choosing his opponent for the warm-up match. This time, he chose a team from Central and North America, the Caribbean, South America, Europe, and Africa as a warm-up team.

And if the Chinese team finally enters the World Cup, then the grouping situation may be similar to encountering teams from these continents.

On August 8, the Chinese team finished their last warm-up match against South Africa. The results of the final four games were: China 21-4 Costa Rica, China 0-1 Bolivia, China 1-1 Iceland, China 0-3 South Africa.

4 draws and 2 losses in the 2 warm-up matches. Such a result is quite normal and not unexpected. Stan is also basically satisfied with the results of the warm-up match. The opponents chosen by Stan are quite strong, so the result will definitely not be good, but the effect of training will be better. I really learned something from the strong team.

For example, in the match against Costa Rica, the Chinese team lost possession of the ball in the midfield in front of the Costa Rica team with good ball control and exquisite skills, which led to a very passive scene. After the game, Stan did not return to the locker room.

The conclusion of the players is very simple, the ball is not as good as the opponent, simply put, the skill is not as good as the man!
"Then what to do"?Stan snapped.

Go to the youth training again to improve your skills?If someone dared to answer like that, then Stan would probably punch someone on the spot.

No one in the final 23 had a good idea.

Stan tapped his right hand angrily with his left hand and said loudly: "Prediction, prediction...".

"Pekovic, get my tactical board",
Stan drew and explained on the tactical board, "For example, if the opponent wants to pass the ball, there are two players A and B who can pass. If you put all your eggs in one basket to defend A, then your probability of success is 50%.
"Why is Italy's Cannavaro so short and still an excellent central defender? The secret is to predict and guess the opponent's mind."

Stan pointed to his head, then pointed to his legs, "Remember what's on top of you is the most important thing on the pitch. Football is not a simple-minded sport with well-developed limbs."

In this way, Stan talked for half an hour on the sidelines before allowing the team to go back to the locker room to take a shower, and this kind of explanation did let the players learn a lot.

*****
In another game against Iceland, after the loss, the team saw Stan with a serious face when they walked off the pitch, and they knew that "after-school tutoring" was inevitable.

Stan asked Qi Qi to hold his tactical board, and he explained.

"Header, our success rate of grabbing headers in this game is only 20%, so low that I feel ashamed, why?"
"The opponent is tall and big," someone replied.

"Yes, the Nordic team is tall and big. This is an inherent advantage. We can't help it. I don't blame you for this, but why are you so stupid?"
Everyone looked at each other in blank dismay, thinking: "What did we do wrong"?
"In the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, the Japanese team, which is shorter than ours, was able to win against the Nordic Denmark. Why? Because they play with their brains. The Nordics are very strong in frontal interception, but they are slow to turn around and defend. And you choose to pass the ball to the forward line. Are you looking for death? Why don't you have more through balls?"
"I ask you to watch the game between Japan and Denmark after the game. After that, we will know how to deal with such big teams when we meet them."

After training the players, Stan reminded everyone to take a shower quickly so as not to catch a cold.

*****
In the past two months, the next opponent of the Chinese team, the South Korean team, has not been idle. They have arranged 3 warm-up matches, namely the "UAE" from West Asia, "Kazakhstan" from Central Asia, and "New Zealand" from Oceania.

But compared to the Chinese team whose minds have already flown to the World Cup, the South Korean team's ambitions are much smaller. The three opponents are not strong. South Korea won 3 to 3 UAE, 0 to 1 Kazakhstan, 0 to 2 New Zealand, and won all 0 games.

If you don’t analyze it in detail and just look at the results, then the Koreans can be satisfied and indulge in masturbation, but professionals in the football circle can see that the Chinese team has a higher vision. Although the results of the warm-up match are ugly, they have learned more.

On September 9, Stein announced the 2-man roster for the new national team. In the 23 warm-up matches, Stein called up a total of 4 players for inspection, and only 43 players remained in the end.

Stan wants to complete the transition between new and old players during his term of office, so the old players will gradually withdraw from the national team. This time Stan did not call Shao Jiayi, but Sun Jihai and Li Weifeng are still retained. These two people are still indispensable at present.

In addition, Stan has recruited two newcomers - Wang Song and Park Cheng.

But Stan knew that if he wanted to improve the strength of the Chinese team in a short period of time, "signing in" was still the only way. Lin Zhijian's joining caused a lot of controversy at the beginning, but after two games, no one in China has questioned it, and instead praised it.

After tasting the sweetness, Stein sent 5 professional scouts to all continents to find Chinese players, asking for overseas Chinese like Wei Xiao and Lin Zhijian. However, Stein originally thought that such a job should not be difficult in today's technologically advanced world, but it was only when he actually did it that he realized that such a job is tantamount to finding a needle in a haystack.

Because overseas Chinese also use foreign names, you can’t search online or at the local household registration department. You can only search for them city by city like doing underground work, pay attention to local news, and break into the local Chinese community.

But no matter how difficult it is, Stan will definitely stick to this road to the end. Besides, these resources should belong to China. Even Iranians know how to find Iranian descendants overseas to serve their country. China should do this even more.

In the upcoming 10th round of the top 4 match against the South Korean team, Stan will not have any new players to join, and the two newly promoted players will not be considered by Stan.

Before the game, at the invitation of the media, Stan led the Chinese team to shoot a promotional poster. On the poster, the Chinese team led by Stan held a giant dragon, while the Koreans on the opposite side turned into Tai Chi tigers. The confrontation between China and South Korea has always been known as the duel between the "Chinese dragon" and the "Tai Chi tiger". This time the poster also quoted this history.

On September 9, the whole Chinese team took a special plane to Seoul. At the request of Stan, the special planes of the Chinese team will be named "Feilong", and two red flying dragons will be painted on the left and right sides of the nose of the plane. This will be the image of the Chinese team's special planes.

Because the results of the first two games were very good, thousands of people came to the capital airport to send off the fans of the Chinese team, and many of them held up banners saying "Flying Dragon Triumphant".

The Chinese players in the cabin were very excited. Someone said: "I am proud of Chinese football for the first time."

"Aren't you proud before?" Stan asked with a smile.

"Hehe, my grades are not good, and I don't have the capital to be proud. Now it's different. We are the first in the group, and our backs are straight."

"Haha, keep your pride until we beat the Koreans," Stein said.

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(End of this chapter)