There is a belief called football

Chapter 244 A road trip with constant twists and turns

After the holiday, Stan returned to work. On March 3th, the Chinese team had a bye in the 26th round. In the 7th round, Australia and South Korea both scored 7 points. If you see the next match schedule, you will know that the bye is not good for the Chinese team in the next game.

Because June 6th is the away game with Uzbekistan, and June 4th is the last game against Australia. In just 6 days, it will be decided who can represent Asia to Brazil next year.

At the end of February, the Xianghe base was cold and there were not many staff members. Stan watched the video alone in the office of the base. The coach watched the game like a writer read a novel. It was the most important job in life.

What Stan watched was the last game of the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup top 10 match where the Chinese team lost to Uzbekistan.

That was the only game Milu lost when he led the team to the top 10.

Stan held the phone in his hand and kept turning it. He wanted to call Milu and ask why Uzbekistan’s away game was so difficult, but he remembered the agreement with Milu again. Stan didn’t want to waste that precious consultation opportunity at this time.

"Even if it's going to be used, it will be in Brazil next year," Stan thought.

"It's been 10 years, it's different, now Uzbekistan is different, and China is even different," Stan thought, and then turned off the computer in front of him.

******
On May 5th, Stein released the new 27-man roster of the national team. Stein did not call up the newly discovered "Chen Fei" because he had some troubles in his family, and he did not call in Lin Zhijian because Hamburg's performance was not good and he needed to play in the relegation play-offs. Of course, Stein could force Lin Zhijian to be called up, but he thinks it is not necessary for the time being.

Of course, Stan has recruited Ding Mu, and it is speculated that Ding Mu may replace Yu Dabao in the future. Except for these small changes, Stan's national team is not much different from the previous lineup.

For the match on June 6, the national team flew to Uzbekistan’s capital Tashkent on May 4. As soon as they got off the plane, the national team players felt uncomfortable.

Especially some players from southern China - Li Qiao, Qi Bing, Zhou Dun and others had even stronger physical reactions. On the first day of staying in the hotel, many players of the Chinese team started to have a slight fever, which made Stan very anxious.

After the treatment, the others recovered quickly. Only Li Qiao still had a fever and diarrhea. This is actually what the Chinese call the symptoms of acclimatization.

On the 30th and 31st, Stan only arranged for physical training in the hotel gym and swimming pool. At this time, Stan did not dare to conduct systematic training. On June 6, most players had already adapted to the weather in "Tashkent". At this time, Stan started training with the ball, group confrontation training, and shooting training.

On June 6, Li Qiao's fever subsided, but he still seemed very weak. Team doctor Dong Zhou suggested that Li Qiao should return to China for recuperation.

"No, I can't go back now," Li Qiao said.

"You go back tomorrow, and I'll transfer "Yu Hai" right away," Stan said.

"No, I'm a small problem. It's probably because I ate a bad stomach on the first day. The mare's milk here is so delicious. I drank too much on the first day."
Dong Zhou knew that drinking too much mare's milk would cause diarrhea, but that was not the main reason. The main reason was that the body had not adapted to it. Everyone's ability to adapt to different places was different. Maybe in another week, Li Qiao would be able to fully adapt to "Tashkent", but it was too late.

"I'm a doctor. My job is to ensure the health of the players. I don't care about the rest. Li Qiao, based on my experience, it's not good for you or the national team if you stay."

"Okay, don't argue, Li Qiao, you go back tomorrow, this is an order, don't worry, against a team like Uzbekistan, if Dong Zhou and I form a striker combination, we can still win."
Li Qiao chuckled, what Stan said was too exaggerated, but what Stan said really comforted Li Qiao, he believed that without him, the national team could still take away 3 points.

"Okay then, I'll just watch you beat up your opponents in front of the TV",
******
Stan asked Yu Hai to come over that day, but the news he got was that Yu Hai had slightly strained his thigh muscle during club training, and there was no major problem, but...
Stan denied it as soon as he heard it, and now players who are not [-]% healthy don't use it to make trouble.

Fortunately, the roster of 22 people is enough. The rules stipulate that except for 3 goalkeepers, the addition and deletion of others can be determined according to the situation.

But a series of failures made Stan faintly worried. People in the football circle are a bit superstitious, and Stan is the same. He is a little worried about this game now.

*****
On the day of the race on the 4th, the weather was sunny, but the wind was very strong, and the body temperature might only be around 15 degrees, which was very cool.

To make matters worse, in a country with only 100 to 200 mm of annual rainfall, it is not easy to maintain a modern lawn. Stan discovered this problem when stepping on the field before the game. The turf is very dry and hard, which is not conducive to players' performance.

Uzbekistan's home stadium, "Pektago Stadium", looks like a modern stadium, but it is only a permanent structure of the stadium. For consumables such as turf, the Uzbeks do very poorly.

In addition to being the home court of the Uzbek national team, this stadium is also the home court of the Uzbek domestic strong team - "Cotton Farmers". Those who have watched the AFC Champions League may have a certain impression of this team. It is a very tough team. Many players in the Uzbek national team are also from this team.

At the pre-match press conference, Stan complained a lot about the poor lawn of the stadium. Stan described the feeling as playing football on a concrete floor.

"If our stadium lawn is like a carpet, then the stadium lawn here is like a concrete floor," Stein said bluntly.

But it’s useless to complain anymore. It’s like the South American team has been complaining about Bolivia’s “defying” plateau course, but there is nothing to do. The geographical conditions of that country are like that, and it is impossible to change.

Before the game, Stan was also asked why Li Qiao returned to China early, and Stan took the opportunity to complain about the bad weather here, but this time the reporter did not buy Stan's account as usual, but felt that Stan made a big deal out of a molehill.

Stan is really not feeling well. There are too many things that are not going well this week. Even people like Stan feel a little tired. Many people at the press conference also saw that Stan is not in a good state.

*****
The competition was very difficult, Li Qiao was replaced by Sun Ke, and Lin Zhijian was replaced by Deng Zhuoxiang, but after it really started to work, Stan realized that the situation was far from what he imagined.

First, Sun Ke is also a wide player, but he is not as comprehensive as Li Qiao. Li Qiao can play bottom, cut inside, pass, and can organize offenses, but Sun Ke can only play bottom.

Deng Zhuoxiang on the right is similar, and what disappoints Stan even more is that the slow Ding Mu loses the support of the midfielder, and it is difficult to get the ball in front of the tall and strong Uzbek defenders.

After watching the game for 10 minutes, Stan suddenly felt that history might repeat itself. Like in the 2002 World Cup qualifiers, would China still suffer a defeat in an away game?

Among the offensive players of the Chinese team, except for Li Qiao and Lin Zhijian, everyone else holds the ball quite well. It is easy for people to guess what you want to do. There is no such thing as Li Qiao who often plays with a turn and a heel.

Defense needs discipline, offense relies on change, and the Chinese team without Li Qiao lacks change in the frontcourt.

At 20 minutes into the game, the fans started setting off fireworks, just like in Serie A. Stan wonders why this very annoying and dangerous habit is condoned in some countries.

This situation is also true in Europe. The Bundesliga and the Premier League are absolutely not allowed, but Serie A has repeatedly banned it. This kind of behavior will greatly reduce the visibility on the field.

"A country like this should really be removed from the AFC," Stein thought.

At 30 minutes into the game, the visibility of the stadium has been significantly reduced, and there are clusters of red lights in the stadium. From a distance, "Hell's Home Stadium" really lives up to its name. Stan is a little dissatisfied, but he has no choice. Whether this violates the rules or not, Stan does not know.

At this time, Sun Ke was taking the ball from the wing. He was a right-footed player and was not good at cutting inside, so he was a little bit twisted when playing left winger. Facing the Uzbek right back, Sun Ke made a feint with his right foot, made a bicycle move, and dunked the ball to the left.

Unexpectedly, Sun Ke had done this move three times in the first half, and the opponent had already seen through Sun Ke's intentions. When Sun Ke smashed the ball, the opponent stretched out a kick to intercept the ball.

Sun Ke kicked his right foot and moved forward with his left foot, but the ball was broken, and it was too late to chase back.

The right back passed the ball forward to his midfielder Jeparov. At the same time, Uzbekistan's big striker No. 9 "Akhmedov" beckoned for the ball in the penalty area.

Jeparov saw his teammates in the penalty area, and he swung his legs to pass the ball. At this moment, Zhou Dun also realized that Jeparov might pass the ball. He stepped back a few steps, and it was this retreat that made Jeparov change his mind.

Zhou Dun and Wei Xiao were both in the penalty area. It was impossible for Ahmedov to get rid of the defense of these two iron guards, so Jeparov prepared to shoot directly from a long distance. Maybe there would be an unexpected effect. Everything was the same as 12 years ago. That time, Uzbekistan beat China 1-0 at home because of a long shot.

Jeparov's long-range shot was very powerful. Yang Zhi made a pounce, but still failed to block the ball. Uzbekistan led 1-0.

After conceding the goal, the Chinese team launched a 10-minute onslaught, but the forward line shot again and again without scoring, and the Chinese team entered the vicious circle of gaining power and not scoring.

Sun Ke and Deng Zhuoxiang also tried to pass the ball to Ding Mu, but because there was no tacit understanding, they were always either not strong enough, or Ding Mu ran too early and was offside.

Just like that, in a game that should not have been lost, the Chinese team lost 0-1 away. Li Qiao, who was in front of the TV, almost cried when he saw the result.

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(End of this chapter)