There is a belief called football

Chapter 269 What I See and Think on the Streets of Porto Alegre

The World Cup competition is in full swing. There is no rest day after the first round, and the second round will start soon.

The Chinese team also went non-stop to the next city - Porto Alegre, where the Chinese team will usher in the second opponent in the group stage - Nigeria.

After getting off the plane, the whole team got on the bus. Although there were not as many fans who picked up the Chinese team at the airport as those giants, there were still a few hundred people, most of whom were Chinese.

After checking into the hotel, the whole team was not in good condition. On the one hand, it was the psychological discomfort caused by the loss, and on the other hand, it was also the exhaustion of the journey. The team doctor Dong Zhou found that the jet lag of the players was reversed, but the biological clock formed over decades cannot be changed overnight.

*****
"Stan, the players are not in good health," Dong Zhou said to Stan.

"I know, not to mention the children, but even me, I have been feeling sleepy these days",
"Have you watched the Japanese team's game?"Dong Zhou asked.

"How can there be that time",
"In the Japanese team's game against Côte d'Ivoire, the Japanese team had a certain advantage in the first half, but in the second half it was obvious that the Japanese players could not run anymore, and they were finally reversed by Côte d'Ivoire."

After hearing this, Stan put on a straight face, nodded, and said, "You mean I understand, but we have done enough preparations, what else can we do?"
"It is early morning in Asia at this time, and it is the most normal thing for Asians to be sleepy, which is difficult to change," Dong Zhou said.

"I know this. For example, in the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup, European teams generally performed poorly. In fact, this is also the factor. When we played at night, it was the time when Europeans took a nap."
Dong Zhou nodded, "I guess this competition will be difficult for Asian teams."

Stein joked: "The next World Cup in Russia will be fine".

"It's rare that you can still joke, Stan",
"What else can I do? Find Blatter and ask him to find another place to hold the World Cup"?
"Hehe, of course it is impossible, but there is one thing we can do",
Stan narrowed his eyes, expressing interest, "tell me."

"reduce training volume",
Stan expected Dong Zhou to continue talking, but Dong Zhou said that he had finished speaking, it was as simple as that, "reduce the amount of training".

"But isn't that easier to get tired?"
Stan has learned about exercise physiology. If a person keeps training, his body will not get tired easily, but if he recovers after a period of interruption, he will feel very tired.

Anyone who has climbed a mountain knows that if you feel tired, walk slowly, or stand still, but don't sit down, otherwise, you will feel very tired when you stand up again after a few minutes, because your body has already rested.

Dong Zhou smiled, and he gave Stan an example of climbing a mountain. After giving the example, Dong Zhou said: "When you are tired from climbing a mountain, you must not continue to walk, nor can you sit down. You can only walk slowly, but how slow should it be? This requires a certain degree."

Stan smiled, and he patted Dong Zhou, "Doctor, stop talking nonsense with me, go and make the training plan for me, I trust you, you don't need to explain to me."

This is Stan's advantage-do not use doubtful people, and employ people without suspicion.Stan is different from many head coaches in this regard. For example, Guardiola does not believe in team doctors.

*****
After Dong Zhou made the training plan, he also changed the team members' recipes for the past few days. Red meat such as beef was deleted and replaced with white meat - fish, chicken and so on.

Stan took a look and transferred it directly to Pekovic. He will lead the team to train these days. Stan himself wants to study Nigeria. In fact, Stan knows very little about African teams. African teams are always strange.

Looking at Nigeria's 23-man roster, it can be said to be star-studded. The midfielder "Mikel" played for Chelsea, "Onazi" played for Lazio, "Moses" played for Liverpool, and "Mousa" played for CSKA Moscow who left a deep impression on everyone in the Europa League.

Stan feels that if these people are under his command, he is confident that he can reach the quarterfinals of the World Cup. However, Stan also watched the first game against England and found that these good players did not play at the level they should have.

This kind of team is commonly known as "nerve knife", just like "Bolton" in the Premier League. When they perform well, the top four teams in the Premier League are also defeated by it. When they perform poorly, they can't even win the FA Cup.

"Will this nerve knife in Nigeria hold the blade or will the knife be turned against itself?"thought Stan.

Picking up the phone, Stan wanted to call Milu, because Milu once coached Nigeria, but when he finished typing the number and was about to dial, Stan hesitated, and finally Stan put down the phone.

"Bored, bored," Stan thought.

Stan is very easy to get angry recently, which is very rare. In the past, Stan got angry to annoy his opponents on the court and profit from it, but Stan is still very calm in his work. This is the character of the Yugoslavs, and it is also a habit that Stan has formed for a long time. Milu was like this back then, standing on the sidelines and always smiling, just like a professor.

In fact, what Stan does not know is that this is because when people are nervous and stressed, the adrenaline secretion increases and people are irritable.

Stan threw away the pen in his hand, and was about to go out for a walk to get some air. If this continued, he was afraid that he would be overwhelmed.

*****
Walking on the streets of "Porto Alegre", Stan suddenly felt refreshed. He hasn't taken a walk for a long time. Recently, there are hotels, buses, and stadiums at three o'clock.

Stan also knows in his heart that his bad temper recently is due to one thing, that is, if he loses the second game, then the Chinese team will be eliminated, which Stan is unwilling to face.

As he walked, a football with worn skin and a yellowish surface rolled to Stan's feet, and Stan instinctively stepped on it with the sole of his foot.

Just when Stan looked up, he saw five children looking at him with timid eyes, presumably this was their ball.

Stan doesn't speak Portuguese, so he just smiles and kicks the ball back to them.After the child got the ball back, he started playing on the side of the road.Stan didn't leave right away, but looked at them, and saw a kid standing in front of the wall like a goalie, with cardboard gloves on, and behind him was the goal, just a goal drawn on the wall with chalk.

It’s such a simple equipment, but the five children played happily, and the satisfaction on their faces infected Stan. Immediately, Stan’s troubles disappeared. He thought of his childhood, in the turbulent former Yugoslavia, when he played football for happiness.

"Football should be happy, so what if you are eliminated in the second game? At most, Russia will start all over again in 4 years."

In fact, when people have troubles, they are often mediocre. If they think about the problem, it is not a big thing. It can be said that the innocent smiles of a few children melted Stan's chilly heart.

After thinking about it, the ball rolled over again, and this time the children looked at Stan with a smile. For the first time, the children were afraid that Stan was a bad guy and would steal their ball, but Stan kicked the ball back to them. They thought that Stan must be a good person, so this time, the children not only were not afraid of Stan, but also waved, hoping that Stan would join.

Stan Yile, "Since I left the Guangzhou Tianbao Youth Training Camp, I haven't really played football with the children. To be honest, I really miss it."

Stan gave an OK gesture and joined them.

*****
In the evening, when the whole team saw Stan walking in from the door covered in ashes, Qi Bing couldn't sit still, "I've heard that the law and order in Brazil is not good, coach, you must have encountered robbers."

But looking at Stan's relaxed face, it doesn't feel like it. He even seems to be in a better mood than when he left. Could it be that like "Ip Man", he beat ten of them one by one, drove the robbers away, and wiped out harm for the people?

"Stan, what's wrong with you"?Li Qiao asked eagerly.

"I feel like I'm back in my childhood",
"Coach, have you found the time machine?"Qi Bing asked.

Li Weifeng slapped Qi Bing behind him, and said: "Coach, do you want to call the police?"
In the end, Stan took out his mobile phone and showed everyone the photo. It was a photo of him and his children before he left. Only then did everyone understand, except for one person—Qi Rate.

"Stan, your son"?
As soon as the words fell, everyone scratched the back of the rate's head together.

"Look at them, the cardboard gloves, the shin pads, the soccer ball that's torn to yellow, but they're happy, that's what football should be," Stein said.

"I want to apologize to you, I have a bad temper these days",
Everyone smiled at Stan, saying it was okay.

"Okay, let's eat."

Stan joined the players and ate together. Many people asked what happened in the afternoon, and Stan told everyone in detail.

*****
The defending champion is gone, but everyone couldn't believe it when they knew the result. Spain was eliminated in the second round of the group stage.

And the upset continues, Costa Rica beat Italy, so that Italy's qualifying situation hangs by a thread.

The combination of the 2010 World Cup champion and the 2006 World Cup champion made the atmosphere of the World Cup in Brazil a bit cold, but this is football. In the world of football, no one has privileges, because football is round, and everything is possible.

At 06 o'clock in the morning on June 23, BJ time, the match between China and Nigeria was about to start, but at 3 o'clock, another match in this group would start first, England vs Belgium, although the Chinese team could not watch that match, but the whole team paid close attention to what happened on the other field, because the result of that match would directly affect the situation of the Chinese team's final round of qualifying.

The players had been watching the live text of the game on their phones on the bus to the stadium.

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(End of this chapter)