Chapter 1 When the Dream Started

...When reporters from this newspaper went to interview the national Olympic team members who are still at various clubs, they were stunned by the news.

"That's impossible. Is it April Fool's Day?" one player told the reporter. But when the reporter affirmed the answer, he fell into a long silence, then he dropped a sentence and left: "Don't interview me, my mind is in a mess right now!"

Almost all the players said that their minds were in chaos after hearing the news, which shows how much Shen Weiguo's sudden resignation hit them. Only one player, who declined to be named, said: "We all know that Coach Shen is under a lot of pressure, and he always bears it alone. He is a good person. I don't know why Coach Shen resigned? The game with Syria is coming up soon. During the training camp some time ago, he also told us that he must take us to Athens." The reporter called Shen Weiguo, but the landline went unanswered, and the mobile phone was always turned off...

"Must take us to Athens..." Qiu Suhui muttered, throwing the newspaper aside and stretching. "That's a good saying! It's a pity that the mission failed before it even started, causing the hero to be covered in tears..." It was impossible to tell whether he was really regretting it or mocking something.

"Xiao Qiu, do you really think Shen Weiguo resigned for health reasons?" Hu Li said beside him.

"I don't know, and I don't want to know... ha-- yawn --" Qiu Suhui yawned and stood up: "Lao Hu, let's go to training."

"Huh? Aren't you going to 'reconnoiter the enemy' today?" Hu Li was a little strange. This was the first time in this competition that Qiu Suhui had not appeared on the training ground on the last day before the game.

"Everything that needs to be observed has been observed. The rest will be observed in the final."

The team was warming up under the guidance of the physical coach, while Qiu Suhui and Hu Li stood aside and watched. He didn't go up until the team finished warming up.

"Who can tell me what kind of game is on Sunday?" Qiu Suhui asked loudly, standing in front of the players.

The players were used to Coach Qiu's style of "playing dumb when he knows," and one of them replied loudly: "Coach, it's the final!"

"Um, what final?"

"The U21 final!"

"If you win, what can you get? Answer me loudly!"

"National champion!!" All the players replied passionately.

"You're quite good at boosting morale," Hu Li praised from the side, but Qiu Suhui's next words almost made him fall over.

"Very good! Now forget what you just said!" Qiu Suhui looked serious, not like he was joking. "I want you to remember that it's just an ordinary U21 game, insignificant compared to the various major competitions you may encounter in the future. Go all out, play to your proper level, and you will naturally win the games you should win! Okay, rest for five minutes, then we'll continue training!" Qiu Suhui waved his hand.

"Xiao Qiu, I don't understand what you just..."

Qiu Suhui handed the cone to a coach, then lowered his head and quickly wrote something in his notebook. While writing, he answered the question raised by Hu Li: "Those kids, just a U21 final, and some of them are getting carried away, and some of them are nervous. If I don't say a few words, I'm afraid they won't even be able to find the goal when they get on the field."

"How did you see that?"

"Lao Hu, when you were warming up just now, didn't you notice that their movements were a little stiff and out of shape?"

Hu Li thought carefully: "Your eyes are really sharp."

"Hehe, it's become a habit. For young people, if you only give them guidance on technique and ignore their thoughts, it's the coach's biggest dereliction of duty. I've re-formulated the training plan for these two days, changing the training time from two sessions a day to one session a day, but with increased training intensity and more content. Take a look, is there anything wrong?" Qiu Suhui put away his pen and handed the notebook to Hu Li.

Hu Li looked at it: "There's a big problem. The game is coming up soon, but the plan you made is too intense. After so many games, the players' physical fitness is not very good. It's easy to get injured in training this way!"

"That's why I changed it to one session a day. Let them rest in the morning and train in the afternoon. When the game gets to this point, it's not just our team that's tired, the other team is the same. But I think that compared to physical fatigue, psychological slackness is the most terrible thing. Also, remember when I said that they generally have a bad psychological state? I want to use high-intensity training to make them so tired that they don't have the strength to be proud or nervous. Hehe..."

Hu Li looked at Qiu Suhui's training plan: "Speaking of caring about this game, aren't you just as concerned?"

"Ah?"

"Otherwise, why would you come to guide their training three days in advance for the first time?" Hu Li glanced at Qiu Suhui.

"Ah? Ha!" Qiu Suhui gave a dry laugh, and finally came up with a reason to explain. "I let the players relax so that they can perform better on the field, but if even the coaches relax, the result of the game will be known without even playing it. So for the coach, every game is a final. The coach's pressure cannot be told to outsiders!"

"Chang Youli!" Although Hu Li didn't admit defeat, he agreed with Qiu Suhui's statement in his heart. Thinking about those big-name professional coaches who would be hospitalized for treatment or simply leave the coaching profession due to excessive pressure. After one Bundesliga coach took office for the sixth time, a reporter asked him: "If you were a reporter, what question would you ask yourself?" The coach simply replied: "Using the words my father often asked me: 'When will you learn to be smarter, kid?'..."

Liverpool coach Houllier was hospitalized for heart disease, and the Hamburg team's coach made a shocking statement at a press conference after losing a game: "Before I hang myself, do you have anything else to ask?" Even optimists like Milu, an old urchin, had a brief fainting spell in the toilet during the half-time break of the top ten match against Qatar.

If you love him, let him be a coach, because that is heaven.

If you hate him, let him be a coach, because that is hell.

Looking at the rain falling outside the car window, Chen Wei's heart could not be at ease. He had boasted to Luo Wenqiang that he would persuade Qiu Suhui to be the head coach of the national Olympic team within a week. But in fact, he had only met Qiu Suhui once at that work conference, and the two had not even said a word. What did he rely on to persuade the other party? The position of head coach of the national Olympic team was a hot potato at this time, and not everyone dared to take it. In less than a month, it would be almost impossible to re-familiarize the team, lead the team to defeat Qatar, and enter the finals. Moreover, one thing was also very important: the salary of the head coach of the national Olympic team was so pitifully small. He is now thriving in the club, would he come?

It seems that he can only put down his airs, lower his attitude, and use the righteousness of the country as the main reason to persuade this Coach Qiu who has been in Europe for many years.

"Xiao Fang, drive faster!" Chen Wei said, rubbing his temples.

When an inconspicuous black Passat, with wind and rain, quietly drove into the Kunming Honghe training base in the night, the sleepy security guard would naturally not know whether this meant that an era of Chinese football would begin arduously in this wind and rain?

At this time, Qiu Suhui was sitting in the dormitory with hot coffee, chatting with Hu Li.

"Tomorrow is the final, and you let the players have a day off today. Aren't you afraid that they won't be able to focus tomorrow afternoon?"

Qiu Suhui spread his hands: "The heavens are not showing face. Training in this cold and humid weather is more likely to cause injuries. It's better to give them a day off to relax their minds... We have been tightening them up for two days. As the saying goes, there should be a balance between relaxation and tension!"

"I really don't understand. The coaches in Dalian added an hour of training and insisted on leading the team in the rain..."

"Haha!" Qiu Suhui laughed, "At least from the perspective of pre-match mentality, we have already won!"

The phone rang at this time, and Qiu Suhui picked it up easily: "Hello, this is Qiu Suhui... Well, let them in."

"Guests?" Hu Li asked after Qiu Suhui put down the phone.

"Hehe, a friend from afar," Qiu Suhui said with a smile.

"Oh, then I won't disturb you. I'll go back to rest." Hu Li got up to leave, but Qiu Suhui stopped him: "Lao Hu, don't go. This matter is also related to you, sit down and listen."

"Related to me?" Looking at Qiu Suhui's mysterious smile, he felt that this "friend" was not an ordinary friend, and this matter would not be an ordinary matter. He hesitated for a moment, then sat down again.

When Hu Li saw Chen Wei, his shock was beyond words: their immediate boss! What was he doing here? It didn't seem necessary to come in the middle of the night to inspect the work, right?

Chen Wei was also very surprised to see Hu Li: "This is..."

"Hehe, he is my most trusted and capable assistant." Qiu Suhui smiled, his meaning couldn't be clearer: you can say anything in front of both of us.

Chen Wei looked at Qiu Suhui, then at Hu Li, and finally decided to believe what Qiu Suhui said--that the person was his assistant, not a reporter from a certain media--he turned his attention to Qiu Suhui again: "Coach Qiu, time is short, I think I won't be polite."

"That's right, I don't like those things either."

"Coach Qiu, I think you should know the purpose of my visit." Chen Wei addressed Qiu Suhui as "you," which was really respectful to the extreme, putting down his airs to the extreme, and lowering his attitude to the extreme.

"Yes, I've read the newspapers," Qiu Suhui nodded.

"Then, can you tell me your answer?"

Qiu Suhui pondered for a while. In fact, the answer was already in his mind, but he deliberately made this attitude so that he could have room for bargaining when signing the contract later. If he was too eager, the Football Association would seize the handle of "you can't wait." "This..." He replied hesitantly, "Tomorrow is the final, and my mind is full of that game right now."

"I understand, I can give you a week to consider," Chen Wei said quickly, "There is also one thing I hope you will definitely agree to. After the U21 final, the Football Association's Youth Office will organize a short lecture here specifically for U21 coaches. I recommend you as the lecturer for this lecture, what do you think?" Chen Wei can be said to be the most humble and least dignified vice chairman in the Football Association.

"Lecture?"

"Yes, a lecture specifically for the cultivation of young players, lasting for two days. It won't take up too much of your time."

"Since it's to contribute to the cultivation of youth football, I won't refuse. But I hope to extend the time to a week. Two days is too short, and you can't talk about anything substantial. A week, although I can't fundamentally improve everyone's training level, I can let them make fewer mistakes." It was time to show his strength, so Qiu Suhui agreed without hesitation and seemed very enthusiastic--he was wholeheartedly dedicated to Chinese football!

Chen Wei did not expect Qiu Suhui to agree so readily, and he was not as difficult to get along with as the media reported.

"Okay, that's settled! Please also consider that matter carefully." Chen Wei looked down at his watch, and the hour hand was already pointing to one o'clock in the morning. "There is a final tomorrow, so I won't disturb you. Good luck!" He got up to leave.

"Are you leaving so soon? Chairman Chen, won't you sit for a while longer?" Qiu Suhui got up to stay, even though he knew that the other party couldn't stay.

"No, I have to rush back to Beijing. The Football Association's work is also busy! It's all caused by that matter..." Chen Wei said halfway, turned to leave.

"I'll see Chairman Chen off." Qiu Suhui grabbed an umbrella and followed out. Hu Li was stunned for a moment, then followed out the door.

At the entrance of the dormitory building, Chen Wei looked at the rainy sky: "This rain keeps falling. Tomorrow's game will be very difficult against Dalian, right?"

"Hehe! I'm from Dalian, and I know Dalian football very well. We have confidence and assurance in tomorrow's final," Qiu Suhui replied while holding an umbrella for Chen Wei.

"That's good, win the first championship in coaching in China! I'm leaving, you should go back and rest early." Chen Wei was about to get into the car, but Qiu Suhui stopped him.

"Chairman Chen, don't call me 'you' in the future, I can't afford it. Just call me Xiao Qiu."

Chen Wei looked at Qiu Suhui and smiled: "Then don't call me 'Chairman Chen' in the future, I'm three years older than you, just call me Lao Chen, haha!" Chen Wei patted Qiu Suhui on the shoulder, he knew that that matter would not be a problem, and a stone in his heart also fell to the ground. Because Qiu Suhui was not very friendly to him at first, even a little arrogant, but now his attitude was obviously different. "Good luck!" He finished speaking and got into the car, closed the door, and the car drove away slowly.

According to Qiu Suhui's personality, he would not fraternize with people from the Football Association, but Chen Wei was different. Of similar age and without official airs, Chen Wei made Qiu Suhui feel good about him after contacting him. Furthermore, the most important point was that Qiu Suhui believed that this Chen Wei really wanted to achieve something. It can be said that the two had no differences on this point.

After Chen Wei left, Qiu Suhui and Hu Li turned around and went back to the room.

"Xiao Qiu, what was he talking about? How could it be related to me?" Hu Li, who had been silent all the time, finally had a chance to ask this question. His mind was full of question marks.

"Hehe, Lao Hu, if you were to be the assistant coach of the national Olympic team, would you be interested?" Qiu Suhui smiled slightly at Hu Li.

The spring rain had been falling for four days without stopping, with only slight changes in the amount of rain. The Henan team's sportswear that Qiu Suhui was wearing had been soaked by the rain. This was already his second set of sportswear, which he had just changed during the half-time break. Not only his clothes, but his hair, eyebrows, the tip of his nose, and his chin were all covered with water droplets.

Hu Li could feel that Qiu Suhui beside him was indeed very nervous, which could be seen from his serious expression and the occasional spasmodic contractions of his facial muscles. The game had been going on for seventy minutes, and the score was still 0:0. The powerful Dalian team was almost pressing Henan team to bombard them. If it weren't for Sima Hongxin and Liu Peng's excellent performance, the scoreboard would have been updated several times by now.

Wu Shangshan, who ranked in the top three in Qiu Suhui's survey materials, a Dalian striker whose ancestral home was Ningde, Fujian, threatened the goal guarded by Sima Hongxin time and time again. Every one of his shots seemed to hit Qiu Suhui's heart hard.

The field was slippery, but Wu Shangshan was still the most dazzling player on the field. His speed almost disrupted the entire Henan team's defense.

Again! A Dalian team midfielder made a through pass, and Wu Shangshan understood and inserted, broke through! Liu Peng made a sharp turn, slipped, but he still stretched out his long legs to interfere with the opponent's shot. Wu Shangshan still shot even though the angle was not very good, and the ball hit Liu Peng's toe and went out of the baseline.

Sima Hongxin pulled Liu Peng up from the mud: "Good job!" He patted Liu Peng's head, and Liu Peng loudly asked his teammates to seize the time to stand their ground.

Wu Shangshan knocked the mud off the bottom of his shoes and looked up at the No. 5 wearing the captain's armband. He thought he had shaken off the entire defense with his acceleration just now, but he didn't expect that the opponent still blocked his shot. The No. 5 had been broken through by him several times throughout the game, but he was never able to successfully shoot. Looking at his jersey, which was not clean at all, he was much more embarrassed than him. But he knew that the No. 5 had never been at a disadvantage, worthy of being the captain of the Henan team, the best defender, Liu Peng.

The Dalian team's corner kick was taken, and Liu Peng once again headed the ball out before Wu Shangshan.

Ten more minutes passed, and the Dalian team's coach began to lose his composure. He walked to the sidelines and loudly asked the players to press up, press up, press up again! Qiu Suhui won again in terms of patience. He saw the other coach stand up and walk back and forth in the command area, with a faint smile on his face that was not easily noticed.

In the eighty-ninth minute, the Henan team finally waited for an opportunity after nearly ninety minutes of hard defense in embarrassment. The Dalian team pressed up in a big way, because if they went to extra time, both sides would not be able to bear it physically. Liu Peng successfully snatched the ball from Wu Shangshan in a one-on-one situation. At that time, Wu Shangshan tried to break through Liu Peng with speed, but Liu Peng only blocked the position with his body, and the ball was easily broken. Immediately afterwards, Liu Peng kicked the ball to the frontcourt with a big foot. The Dalian team's reserve player jumped up rashly but didn't hit the ball, and it went over his head! Henan team's forward Wang Yu, who followed up, easily got the ball, and then facing the goalkeeper Feng Lin who attacked, he lobbed the ball into the empty goal!

The ball went in! The Henan team scored through a counterattack at the last moment! 1:0 lead over the Dalian team! The goal scorer Wang Yu ran to the coach's bench very excitedly and hugged Qiu Suhui to celebrate, and as a result, Qiu Suhui was also turned into a mud monkey by a group of mud monkeys.

Qiu Suhui was only excited when the goal was scored, and then he returned to calm. Until the referee blew the whistle to end the game, he just stood up and applauded, turned around and went to shake hands with the disappointed Dalian team's coach. On the other hand, Hu Li was as happy as an old child, jumping and jumping. He had been working at the Henan Zhongyuan Club for five years, and it was the first time he had seen the team have such a glorious moment.

Of course, the most excited were the players. Half a year ago, when the head coach suddenly dismissed, they did not know what the future was waiting for them. But now, they are the national champions of U21. Since 1989, Henan football has not been able to win any youth event championship in the country. The once glorious "Zhongyuan Mighty Tigers" has also gradually declined with the process of professionalization. Now, their performance seems to have made those who care about Henan football see the roaring tiger again.

And all this should be attributed to that coach who came from afar, Qiu Suhui.

Liu Peng returned to the dormitory with a gold medal around his neck, holding the championship trophy and the best player trophy, with a happy face. Behind him was a group of equally happy teammates, singing and jumping into the dormitory building.

Qiu Suhui and Hu Li deliberately stayed at the back, walking slowly. "Lao Hu, how have you been thinking about that matter?"

Hu Li looked at the joyful figures of the children disappearing into the building: "I've thought about it. Thank you very much for your trust and recognition of my ability. But I can't bear to part with these children. Many of them are I watched them come in with my own eyes."

"I understand, five years of relationship cannot be made clear overnight."

"To be honest, I am too straightforward, and I may not even know when I offend people, so I have always been an assistant coach."

Qiu Suhui smiled, so he knew!

"However, meeting you is not only a blessing for those children, but also a blessing for me. I have learned a lot with you, and maybe I will never be as good as you, but I am still confident that I will not let these children be wasted in my hands."

"Hey, don't say it like it's a farewell to life and death. I'm just going to be a coach for the national Olympic team. We're not separated by life and death!"

Hu Li smiled embarrassedly.

"So you've decided to stay in Zhongyuan?"

Hu Li nodded.

"Well, everyone has their own ambitions. I won't force it, but I don't know if I can meet such a good assistant as you again!" Qiu Suhui sighed.

"Don't you want to think about how to say goodbye to those children then?"

"Say goodbye? Hehe, I'll leave with a transfer order from the Football Association. Do you still want me to see them off with tears in my eyes? Haha!" Qiu Suhui stopped laughing halfway through, and thought of the faces of those players, alive, the first group of players he came into contact with when coaching in China. Each one was simple and cute, and a little silly... His heart seemed to be pricked by a needle, he stopped laughing and was silent for a while. "I'd better say something to them..." he murmured.