Chapter 271 (Part 1)

The next day during training, Hu Li indeed saw a team that was different from before. Everyone was working hard and full of fighting spirit. Hu Li couldn't help but marvel at the greatness of a movie, which could really inspire so many people.

This also proved one thing: this team still had a future.

China's pre-match training camp was finally able to start normally, but at this time, they were only three days away from officially entering Germany.

Even if the internal unity problem was successfully resolved, the time left for this team to train was too short. The media was still not optimistic about the Chinese team's future in the World Cup. They believed that the Chinese team's goal was to score a goal and tie one game, and they shouldn't expect to qualify from the group stage.

Qiu Suhui didn't mind what the media said. He even often used the media's contempt to motivate his players, letting them know that they were looked down upon. If they wanted to prove themselves and change other people's perceptions, they had to take practical actions in the World Cup.

People will have a mentality of not admitting defeat, especially when they are underestimated. The Chinese team players now only wanted to prove themselves, and as for any team conflicts, they had long been thrown aside.

Under the guidance of this mentality, the team's training efficiency was greatly improved. Three days passed in a blink of an eye. On June 4th, the Chinese team arrived in Munich by plane to make final preparations for the opening match four days later, officially starting their World Cup journey.

After solving the problem, Qiu Suhui once again announced a ban on the media. He didn't remember the media's "outstanding sharing" in this incident at all, and kicked them away after using them.

This also made Sophie feel helpless. Many times, she could only take some worthless photos. Zhang Jun called her to explain that now was a critical moment, "We all only have one word in our minds: Brazil, Brazil."

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On the Brazil side, the defending champions had a relaxed attitude in preparing for the game. They had been fighting in international football for many years. What kind of storms hadn't they seen? A small Chinese team couldn't make them feel threatened.

Ronaldo, in an interview, politely said that he knew that there were many players in the Chinese team playing in Europe, and even some playing in top teams, but he also emphasized that Brazil's goal was the championship, and they were confident in defeating any opponent.

Even Pereira only said politely that the Chinese team should not be underestimated. In fact, it could be seen from the training that he still underestimated China, because he had been training in offense, not defense.

It seemed that only Kaka maintained sufficient attention to the Chinese team, because only he knew the strength of several players in the Chinese team best. In an interview, he said that although the Chinese team had been affected by the fighting incident before, they still couldn't be underestimated. Their attack was good. When a reporter asked about his relationship with several main players in the Chinese team, he smiled: "We are friends, very good friends. But we will all go all out, because that's football. If we win, I will treat them to dinner, haha!"

Of course, Kaka didn't think that the Chinese team was strong enough to defeat Brazil, so he was ready to treat. But they could still create trouble for the Brazilian team in the special opening game.

What about the Chinese team?

Zhang Jun didn't accept interviews with reporters. Yang Pan stood up and said: "That's right, we have this agreement. But I look forward to us treating him to dinner even more. Football is round, anything can happen. We want to learn from Senegal in the Japan-Korea World Cup and knock the defending champion off their horse in the opening game."

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After entering Munich, it was still just training and training every day, which was no different from being in the Netherlands. It's just that some people would circle the dates on the calendar: there are still xx days until the opening game. This was the same as the countdown on CCTV5, which made people feel a sense of urgency and anticipation for the upcoming war.

Many fans started planning how to watch the game after seeing the preview. June 9th was a Friday, and the game would kick off at 5:30 PM local time. Beijing time was exactly 12:30 AM on June 10th, which was already Saturday, so fans didn't have to worry about getting up early to go to work after staying up late to watch the game.

This was destined to be the opening game with the largest number of television viewers in history.

Although they had criticized Chinese football a lot in the past, when there was a game with the Chinese team, everyone still wanted to watch it.

What's more, this was a game between the Chinese team and Brazil?

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The red circles on the calendar gradually increased, and the countdown numbers on TV became less and less. Time passed quickly, but some people felt it was too slow.

Until one afternoon, Qiu Suhui said to all the players participating in the training: "Go to the conference room tonight, we'll watch a movie."

This day was the day before the opening game.

Many people knew what movie Coach Qiu wanted them to watch, because that movie was indeed very suitable to watch before a big game.

So, after dinner, everyone gathered together again to relive *Any Given Sunday*. Although it was the second time watching it, no one felt bored. In fact, many people had been looking forward to watching it again.

It was still that speech. This time, many people felt deeply. For those players around thirty years old, this World Cup was likely to be the last World Cup in their careers. There would be many opportunities to make money, but they would only have one chance in their lives to participate in the World Cup and play the opening game against Brazil. Would they let this opportunity slip away easily? No, never!

After the movie was over, Qiu Suhui didn't say anything. He just told everyone: "Get some rest early, get a good night's sleep, and prepare for the game tomorrow afternoon."

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Zhang Jun lay on the bed and began to look forward to tomorrow's opening game. He found that the more he looked forward to it, the more nervous he became. This was his first time participating in the World Cup, participating in the World Cup that he could only watch on TV before. Even though he had been in foreign countries for many years, he couldn't help but be nervous. Because this was the World Cup, the dream stage for every professional player.

"Yang Pan, are you asleep?"

"No." In the darkness, Yang Pan's voice came clearly.

"Are you nervous too?"

"A little bit, maybe."

Yang Pan finally felt nervous too. This was indeed the World Cup. Zhang Jun felt a little more balanced in his heart. Zhang Jun turned over, facing Yang Pan: "What do you think I should say to Kaka when I see him? It feels very strange. It's the first time I'm playing against Kaka on the field."

"What else can you say? Shake his hand, and then pat him on the head and say: 'Kid, you've gotten fat again.'" Yang Pan wasn't playing against Kaka for the first time, so he didn't feel anything special.

Zhang Jun laughed: "Although I don't know what to do, I'm still looking forward to the game starting soon."

Yang Pan also turned over: "Kaka must be looking forward to it too. Go to sleep, we need to have a good spirit tomorrow."

Zhang Jun didn't speak, but he didn't close his eyes. He was staring at the ceiling in a daze. The atmosphere of the World Cup was getting stronger and stronger. The hotel they were staying in was covered with German World Cup promotional flags. As long as he turned his head slightly outside, he could see something related to the World Cup.

When he went to the Allianz Arena yesterday to get used to the venue, he saw almost all of the scenery along the way was related to the World Cup. Because they had to compensate for the training debt they owed during the early training camp, the Chinese team was training every day even when they arrived in Germany, so there was no chance to go out and walk around. Zhang Jun had very few opportunities to contact the outside world. Sophie would occasionally call him to tell him about the fresh things outside, but that was just listening after all. There wasn't much feeling if these things weren't seen with your own eyes. Only in the past two days, when he came back from the Allianz Arena, did he truly feel: The World Cup is here.

Tomorrow, what will tomorrow's game be like?

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Sophie was calling her family at home. She had to call home every day, even if it was just a few words, it was better than not calling, otherwise her parents would worry.

Tomorrow is the World Cup. As a photographer, Sophie will appear behind the goal to capture every wonderful moment.

"Yes, I will pay attention, Mom. You will watch the game tomorrow, right? Hehe, maybe you can see me too. Let's cheer for Zhang Jun together, that's his first time. Okay, I won't say it, it's too late. Dad, Mom, good night."

Sophie sighed softly after hanging up the phone, and then lay down on the bed. Tomorrow was Zhang Jun's first time, but it was also her first time. She was equally nervous.

She had checked the camera countless times, and she was sure there shouldn't be any problems.

What else wasn't ready now? Sophie always felt that something was wrong.

What was it? What was forgotten?

Sophie turned over, changing from lying down to lying on her stomach. She suddenly remembered that she had to pray for Zhang Jun. So she sat up, holding her hands together near her mouth.

I wish Zhang Jun will perform well, I wish he won't get injured again, I wish he can score a goal. Finally, good luck to the Chinese team.

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June 9, 2006, Friday, sunny turning cloudy, east wind 2 to 3, temperature 34 degrees Celsius, humidity 10%.

"Hello everyone! Behind me, this huge white ring-shaped roofed building is the Munich Allianz Arena, which will host the opening match of this World Cup. It will host three group matches and one semi-final. It is one of the most modern stadiums in the world." Qi Wei from CCTV5 was standing in the square opposite the Allianz Arena holding a microphone. He looked at his watch, "It is now 3:40 PM local time, and in one hour and twenty minutes, the 2006 German World Cup will kick off! As you can see, many, many fans have gathered in front of the stadium. We saw Brazilian fans wearing Brazilian flags, and we also saw a large number of Chinese fans! They came to Germany from thousands of miles away to cheer for the Chinese team! This will be an exciting moment! The Chinese team will play the World Cup opening match against the Brazilian team in this modern stadium!"

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Everyone was sitting in the hotel lobby, with their own backpacks at their feet. The hotel staff was busy transporting these backpacks with names written on them to the outside and loading them into the bottom of the bus. The players were waiting for their coach.

Qiu Suhui asked Hu Li in his room: "Lao Hu, do you think I should dress more formally or casually?"

"Just wear what you usually wear today." Hu Li sat on the bed, wearing black sports pants with red trim, and a red short-sleeved t-shirt with white trim.

Qiu Suhui looked at the suit spread out on the bed, then looked at Hu Li, and then said: "Forget it, I'll wear a t-shirt. It must be very hot wearing a suit today."

Qiu Suhui, who had changed his clothes in the bathroom, came out and said to Hu Li: "Take your bag, let's go. I hope the guys downstairs aren't getting impatient."

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Xiang Tao was constantly murmuring: "World Cup, World Cup, World Cup..."

Yang Pan was listening to his mp3, leaning on the sofa and resting with his eyes closed. An Ke was busy calling home, Li Yongle was silent, and Ke Lu simply fell asleep on the sofa. Didn't he take a nap?

Some people were wandering around, unwilling to stop, because their legs would keep shaking as soon as they stopped. The rest were chatting quietly in small groups, and the topic was naturally inseparable from the World Cup, the opening game, and the Brazilian team.

Zhang Jun was fine, studying the red lucky bracelet on his wrist, which Sophie had specially woven for him before the World Cup, hoping to bring him good luck.

He leaned on the sofa, raised his head, and squinted his eyes, looking at the blue sky outside through the huge floor-to-ceiling windows.

Well, the weather is nice today, it's a good day to play football.

Qiu Suhui's clapping reminded everyone that it was time to leave. The players stood up one after another, almost at the door. Ke Lu even stretched.

"Okay, get on the bus, let's go!" Qiu Suhui waved his hand, and then got on the bus first. The players followed him onto the bus one after another. In another hour, they will witness the opening of the World Cup at the Allianz Arena, which is the first time in their lives for many of them.

Zhang Jun looked up again at the blue sky above his head. The sunlight was not too dazzling, and he could feel a clear breeze blowing. It must be very cool at night.

This will be a game that he will always remember in his heart, whether we win or lose. An Ke once asked him what kind of celebration he would use if he scored a goal in the World Cup. Zhang Jun didn't answer him at the time, because he hadn't thought about it yet. He still hasn't thought about it now, because he hasn't thought about this question. He's not thinking about scoring goals, he's just thinking about playing football now.

Zhang Jun was still walking at the back of the team. He took a deep breath, raised his foot and stepped up. The car door slowly closed behind him. In front of him were twenty-two teammates and coaches.