Chapter 1 Advocate's Misfortune

Advocaat felt that the unluckiest person wasn't An Ke, but himself. He gave the captain's armband to Zhang Jun, and then Zhang Jun withdrew from the national team due to injury. Then he gave the captain's armband to An Ke, but he didn't expect An Ke to retire directly due to injury...

This captain's armband seemed like an ominous object, and whoever was associated with it would be unlucky. Now that both captains were gone, who should he give the captain's armband to?

Looking around, Yang Pan was undoubtedly the most qualified in the national team, but he didn't like the number 7. The captain's armband could never be given to him—Advocaat had a sense of unease in his heart, worried that this scheming person would pose a threat to his authority. Looking at it this way, it seemed that only Inter Milan's captain, the midfield core Li Yongle, was the most suitable... It's a pity that he was a bit dull.

The 2014 Brazil World Cup Asian Qualifiers had already started one round. The Chinese team won 2-1 against Syria at home with all its main players. Next, they were going to challenge Japan away. This was the biggest threat in this group, and whether the Chinese team could qualify depended on the results of their matches with Japan.

The match was at the end of April, but the domestic media was very pessimistic about the prospects of this match. After the main scorer Zhang Jun left, the national team fell into the embarrassing situation where the forwards couldn't score. The two goals in the previous match came from the midfield, one from Li Yongle and one from Yang Pan. Advocaat seemed to have no solution to this embarrassment. Wu Shangshan's state in the club was very good, but for some reason, he became mute when he arrived at the national team, while Li Jie was the top scorer in the Chinese Super League, but he couldn't even find the goal when he arrived at the national team.

Now they were missing a main goalkeeper. Although Sima Hongxin performed well, he had been playing in China all the time. Moreover, because An Ke had been holding the position of the main goalkeeper of the national team, he had less experience in international competitions. In addition, like Qiu Suhui, Advocaat liked passionate goalkeepers like An Ke, and didn't quite trust the silent, tall goalkeeper.

But now he had no room for choice. If he didn't let Sima Hongxin play... he wouldn't trust other goalkeepers even more.

Now, the domestic media described Advocaat's biggest worry as a main player being injured and absent. The already incomplete lineup was really stretched. The Chinese team's substitute strength couldn't be considered strong. Their glory in the past few years was all thanks to the main players' miraculous lack of injuries and stable performance. If a main player was injured and absent for a match in the South Africa World Cup, the consequences would be unimaginable.

He now had to pray to God every day, to bless the main players not to be injured before the match with the Japanese team, and to come to Beijing vigorously.

※※※

The Japanese media had high confidence in this match. The Japanese team also had many players returning from overseas, although their fame and strength were not as good as the Chinese team's overseas legion. What they were most proud of was the enthusiasm of the Japanese fans, believing that the Chinese team would definitely be frightened by the roar of the Japanese fans. In addition, what made the Japanese happy was An Ke's sudden retirement. In this way, the Chinese team's strength would be further reduced. They believed that the most threatening Zhang Jun had retired from the national team more than a year ago, so their defense didn't need to deploy heavy troops and could confidently press up to attack.

Now, the biggest threat to the Japanese team within the Chinese team was Yang Pan, because his style of play happened to restrain the Japanese style. The strong style and unreasonable breakthrough shooting were almost impossible for the Japanese, whose style of play was soft, to defend against. In terms of body, no one in the Japanese team could compare to Yang Pan; in terms of speed, no one in the Japanese team could compare to Yang Pan; in terms of strength, no one in the Japanese team could compare to Yang Pan.

If they were to pray, the content would definitely be to hope that Yang Pan would be injured and absent from this match.

Unfortunately, Yang Pan was as strong as an ox. In his career, who had ever seen him absent from matches for a long time due to injuries? Even if he was injured, they were all minor injuries. When he was at the peak of his state, he played for Milan for two seasons without missing a match, and never had problems with physical exhaustion.

The other two people like him were Inter Milan's midfield core Li Yongle, and Fiorentina's defensive pillar Xiang Tao. These three people's physical conditions were naturally better than others. But there were also differences between the three: Yang Pan had an absolute advantage in body, and others couldn't injure him even if they wanted to; Li Yongle was good at rationally using his body and skills, and skillfully avoided dangerous actions that could cause him injuries; Xiang Tao, on the other hand, was because of his position, he only injured others, and no one injured him...

※※※

Currently, the Chinese team and the Japanese team both had three points in this group. The Japanese team temporarily ranked first due to the advantage of goal difference. Because of the Chinese team's good performance in the World Cup in recent years, especially after winning a world championship, FIFA had taken more care of Asian football, giving Asia four qualifying spots. They didn't have to compete with the 15th place in Europe or the 5th place in South America for qualifying rights. As long as they got the top two in the two groups of the quarter-finals, they could enter the World Cup.

Therefore, even if the Chinese team ranked second after all the matches, they could still qualify.

But due to some historical reasons, the match between the Chinese team and the Japanese team could not be lost. They could lose to anyone, Singapore, Hong Kong, or even the Maldives, but the match with the Japanese team could absolutely, absolutely not be lost.

A few days before the match, Chen Wei specifically found Advocaat, and gave this Dutch old man a crash course on the history of Sino-Japanese football clashes and the history of the eight-year war of resistance against Japan, using this to demand from him: the bottom line for the away match against Japan was to draw, losing the match would have very serious consequences for both of you.

Advocaat nodded in agreement on the surface, but had his own ideas in his heart: the last two matches of the first three matches of the group stage were played together. If he exhausted all his strength in the match with the Japanese team, and even caused some players to be injured, then the third match with Qatar would not be easy to play. He was considering more how to best benefit the Chinese team's qualification, rather than boring national grudges. He was a foreigner, and could not understand the Chinese people's degree of resentment towards Japan.

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On April 23, all the players finished their respective leagues and returned to China to report and gather. On the first day of training, Advocaat handed the golden captain's armband to Li Yongle in front of all the players. But most people's eyes swept towards Yang Pan again, which made the Dutchman very unhappy, because those people cast inquiring gazes, and even Li Yongle couldn't help but turn his head to look at Yang Pan, and only took the captain's armband from the coach's hand when he saw that he had no reaction.

This detail made Advocaat deeply realize that even if he didn't give the captain's armband to Yang Pan, he was still the most prestigious person in the national team. Although Zhang Jun, An Ke, and Li Yongle were all captains in name, the real captain underground was this silent person. His authority was not in danger of being challenged, but had already been challenged!

This discovery made Advocaat very angry. He even wanted to put Yang Pan into the cold palace, just like his fellow villager Arie Haan dealt with Wang Hui, making Yang Pan a benchwarmer, no matter how unfavorable the match was, he would not let him play, draw if it was a draw, lose if it was a loss! But there was still some reason in his heart. He realized that if he really did that, then the one who would roll away would definitely be him, not Yang Pan. He had to stay in this position, no matter what means he used. The conditions here were good, the treatment was very good, why should he leave? He was about to retire, and it was excusable to earn more money for his retirement before retirement, even if it meant sacrificing the interests of some people.

When the Chinese team arrived in Japan, they were still warmly welcomed by the media. After all, they were world champions, and although two absolute main players had left, their reputation was still there. For some third-rate teams, just this name was enough to scare them into defeat without a fight.

Advocaat was very satisfied with this situation. This showed that the Chinese team was still very threatening to the Japanese, and maybe he could use this.

Yang Pan appeared in front of the reporters with a blank expression. They threw questions at this player who would cause a lot of controversy as soon as he entered the national team. And Yang Pan's reaction to these reporters was to ignore them all, keeping a cold face and saying nothing. Now he was even colder than Kroos. Since Kroos was with Karina, he had at least some smiles. Once Yang Pan entered the national team, it was basically impossible to see him smile. Even if he scored in the last match, he roared at the coaching bench with a ferocious expression during the celebration—his discord with Advocaat was already well known, and there was no need to pretend to cover up anything.

Seeing that Yang Pan was so uncooperative, the reporters turned their attention to the new captain of the Chinese team, Li Yongle. Li Yongle would naturally not be as cold as Yang Pan. When interviewed by Japanese reporters, he talked about the matter of wearing the captain's armband: "Ominous object? No, I have never heard of it. Where did you hear it from? Zhang Jun and An Ke's retirement made me very sad and regretful, but it has nothing to do with the captain's armband. I believe that if they have the opportunity, they will definitely choose to wear the armband... Um, me being the captain? Yes, I am the captain in Inter Milan, but the club and the national team are completely different, and there is no experience to talk about. I know my ability and personality. Although I don't think I can be a good captain of the national team, I am far from my three predecessors. In my heart, Yang Pan is the most suitable person for this position, but since I am the captain now, then I will try to make myself worthy of it."

Li Yongle's remarks were first published in the Japanese media, and then reprinted by the Chinese media, and then seen by Advocaat. He was somewhat dissatisfied with the last part of Li Yongle's words. He didn't let Yang Pan be the captain, but you insisted on saying that Yang Pan was the most suitable to be the captain. I trust you so much, aren't you undermining me?!

For a time, he didn't know who he could trust in this team... Yang Pan was not okay, and Li Yongle was not okay now. Xiang Tao and Kroos were definitely not okay either. He couldn't see through the taciturn Sima Hongxin at all, and there were others... Except for those substitutes who were personally promoted to the national team by him, he had no so-called confidants, and his control over this team was also weakening. He didn't understand why, from the day he took office, the players in this team had serious hostility towards him.

Of course, he wouldn't understand, because the Chinese team had been deeply branded with Qiu Suhui's mark. They were used to obeying Qiu Suhui, joking with Qiu Suhui, and fighting north and south together. Now, no matter who came to coach them, they would not accept it in their hearts. They believed that only Qiu Suhui had the qualifications and ability to manage them, and no one else could.

This was a nostalgia for the past years, and dissatisfaction with the current situation. Zhang Jun and An Ke's farewell further aggravated this emotion, and it would erupt one day.

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Two days later, the Chinese national team challenged the home team Japanese national team at the Yokohama World Cup Stadium. This match was highly anticipated. CCTV5 arranged for live broadcast to the whole country, and the Japanese side naturally also broadcast live to the whole country.

The grievances between Chinese football and Japanese football would continue to extend, and there would be no day when they would be terminated.

Advocaat followed Chen Wei's instructions and sent up all the main players: goalkeeper Sima Hongxin, left back Xiang Tao, center backs Li Suisheng and Liu Peng, right back Wang Liang, defensive midfielder and captain Li Yongle, attacking midfielder Kroos Lee, left winger Zhao Pengyu, right winger Yang Pan, forwards Wu Shangshan and Li Jie. This lineup was basically the strongest lineup of the Chinese team. The commentators analyzed from this starting list that Advocaat wanted to win Japan away and lay a good foundation for the World Cup qualification.

But what did Advocaat say to the players in the locker room? "Don't fight too hard, and maintain your strength when necessary. Our goal is not Japan, but the next match with Qatar. So you must try to avoid injuries. I hope to see a complete team when the match ends."

The Chinese team players understood that Advocaat had already found a way out for this match. Xiang Tao whistled disdainfully, causing Advocaat's dissatisfaction. He glared at Xiang Tao fiercely.

Before the match started, the Chinese team players formed a circle near the midfield, as was customary for important matches.

"Hey, Yang Pan, say something!" Xiang Tao pushed the silent Yang Pan next to him, "Are you mute?! You used to lead us to play. In this match, you can also see that that Dutchman doesn't want to win at all. In my opinion, maybe he would be relieved even if we lose."

The teammates next to him echoed.

Yang Pan finally opened his mouth: "You can't accept losing to the Japanese team?"

"Damn!" Xiang Tao cursed, "Who would want to lose to those little Japs? Are there fewer grudges against them on the football field? Are there fewer grudges off the football field? New grudges and old hatreds are all counted together. Today, Grandpa, I will fuck them until they fly!"

Yang Pan looked at the excited Xiang Tao: "I didn't expect you to be a radical youth..." (fenqing: angry youth)

"Which 'fen' are you talking about?" Xiang Tao became vigilant.

"Naturally, it's the 'fen' of 'anger'. Did you think I would say the 'fen' of 'feces'?"

"Ah, then there is no problem. If you say the latter, you are scolding me."

"Don't worry, I am also a radical youth..."

"So you also agree to fuck the little Japs?" Xiang Tao was overjoyed.

"This... Xiang Tao, do you remember a sentence that Coach Qiu (Qiu Suhui) once said to me? Do you all remember it too?" Yang Pan looked up at everyone.

No one remembered every sentence that Qiu Suhui had said. They all shook their heads.

"Coach Qiu once told us that when facing teams like the Japanese team, who have national hatred and family hatred with us, we must put down the hatred in our hearts and keep our minds calm, so that we can play our own football on the field and win the match. Otherwise, anything can happen under impulse."

Everyone listened in stunned silence. Did Coach Qiu say this?

It seemed that he did say it... but the tone was stronger than this.

"What do you mean..." Xiang Tao asked.

"I think that Dutch old man probably thinks the same way. He wants us to treat this match as an ordinary match, so that we can truly take the initiative in the match into our own hands..."

Xiang Tao shuddered: "What a cold joke!"

"I'm not joking!" Yang Pan became serious. "So this match will be played according to what that Dutchman said! No one is allowed to object. This is the coach's order!"

"Hey, Yang Pan, are you crazy? How could you agree to that person's tactical arrangements? You also..."

"Okay, disband! The referee has been waiting long enough. The Japanese are also getting impatient. Prepare to kick off!" Yang Pan stopped Xiang Tao's questioning, and he took the lead to get up and leave here.

Afterwards, everyone helplessly took their places.

Li Yongle stood in the backfield and looked at Yang Pan, who was at the right side of the center line, and he suddenly smiled. The words just now were definitely not Yang Pan's inner thoughts. No, maybe they were... but the purpose seemed to be a little different. But how exactly was it different? Li Yongle couldn't guess, he just felt that things after this would definitely be very interesting.

Only Xiang Tao was muttering angrily, he couldn't understand Yang Pan's words and deeds today at all.

Yang Pan was apologizing to Zhang Jun in his heart at this time. He handed the team over to him, but now he was going to lead the team to a dead end step by step. The teammates probably didn't understand him, and he didn't want those people to understand. But Zhang Jun, you must understand me, believe me no matter what happens in the future. But I won't tell you my plans. It's enough for me to do some things alone. I don't want you, who are as simple as you, to be involved by me. You definitely won't be interested in the treatment I may suffer. I guarantee it!

A great man has things that he will not do, and also things that he will do.

He looked up ahead, his gaze passed over the Japanese team's goal, and over a blue stand. He seemed to see through everything. At this moment, there would no longer be a trace of guilt and pity in his heart. Even if the front was hell, he would go in without hesitation.

Let time prove everything that happens in the future...

"Bip!" The referee from Singapore blew the whistle to kick off this match!

※※※

Ninety minutes later, the score on the big screen of the Yokohama World Cup Stadium was very dazzling: Japan 2:1 China.

The Chinese team took the lead with a goal from Kroos at the beginning of the match, leading the Japanese team. This score lasted until the 70th minute of the whole match. Everything looked good, and it seemed that there was not much problem for the Chinese team to win.

But Advocaat replaced Kroos with Wang Yu at this time, and replaced forward Wu Shangshan with a center back, planning to hold on to the one-point advantage. The Japanese team then launched a crazy counterattack, like Japanese samurai committing suicide, in the cheers of tens of thousands of Japanese fans in the audience. Their attacks were all desperate—regardless of how empty the defense was, even the goalkeeper approached the midfield several times.

Unfortunately, the Chinese team replaced Wu Shangshan, who was the fastest in counterattacks, and Kroos, who could control the ball, so there was no way to take advantage of these opportunities. At the same time, Yang Pan unexpectedly only assisted in defense in the backfield and no longer went up to attack.

This cowardly style of play finally brought them evil results. The Japanese team scored two goals in the 82nd minute and the 91st minute respectively, reversing the score. The Chinese team wanted to counterattack when they were behind, but they were powerless. They wanted to kill the enemy, but they were unable to turn the tide, and could only watch the Japanese celebrate this victory wildly in their own stadium.

Advocaat naturally attended the press conference with a gloomy face. He pushed the responsibility for losing the match to the players, believing that there was no problem with his tactics, and that the performance in the first 70 minutes was good enough. It was the players' own pride and complacency that allowed the Japanese to equalize and even reverse the score. He replaced two defensive players to strengthen the defense, but he did not let the players shrink back. Among them, he also specifically criticized Yang Pan's performance in the final moments, believing that he did not play the role he should have played, and did not organize the attack in times of crisis, but instead defended blindly.

These criticisms attacked Yang Pan like a storm, and his prestige in the team was also questioned by the players because of a speech before this match. No one came out to speak for him. In this way, Yang Pan seemed to be attacked from both sides and deserted by everyone.

Faced with this unfavorable situation, how would he respond?

The match lost to Japan caused an uproar and anger in China. Some people followed Advocaat's words and accused Yang Pan. His performance in that match was indeed not good, and it was far from the match against Syria in the first match. Some people also accused Advocaat of having the wrong tactics. Replacing attacking players with defensive players was a sign of escape. Moreover, he pushed all the responsibility to the players after losing the match, without the demeanor of a head coach and without daring to take responsibility.

Chen Wei was also very angry about the loss of this match. He was not a fool, and he could see what tricks Advocaat was playing. He even had the idea of ​​dismissing the Dutchman. At this moment, the appearance of one thing changed everything.

※※※

"Hey, Lao Li." Yang Pan greeted Li Yan affectionately on the phone.

"Go to hell! Call me Brother Li!"

"Oh, calling you this way seems intimate..."

Li Yan coughed twice: "Let's not talk about this. I have prepared everything you asked me to prepare. But I feel that some of the words you said in the 'exclusive interview' are... inappropriate. Are you really sure you want to send it out? Do you want all the readers in China to see it?"

"Ha, what a coincidence, I called you to talk about this too." From the sound, Yang Pan was not disturbed by the recent crisis at all. "Send the full text as it is, and don't modify every word I wrote, including the punctuation marks I wrote. And it must be placed on the front page. I know you have this ability..."

"But this is too... that, right?" Li Yan was still hesitating.

"No, not at all." Yang Pan said, "Those answers were all written by me after careful consideration. It must be done this way, and then let other media reprint and hype it up as much as possible, keep hyping me, and make this 'exclusive interview' the hottest topic in the Chinese sports world, the focus of attention!"

"..." Li Yan sighed, "I will do as you say."

Thirty minutes later, Li Yan called Yang Pan, "The manuscript has been sent out. The editor-in-chief was very happy after reading it. Without waiting for me to speak, he decided to arrange it as the front-page headline, with eye-catching titles and subtitles, and the original text was sent out without changing a word. Are you satisfied now?"

Yang Pan laughed: "Satisfied, very satisfied! Just wait for your name to become popular again!"

"I am no longer at the age where I yearn for fame." Li Yan shook his head and said, "I just want to know why you are doing this?"

Yang Pan was silent for a while, then smiled and said: "If I say I am doing it for the good of Chinese football, I am afraid you definitely won't believe it, and few people in this world will believe it. So, I am going to completely destroy Chinese football... This reason is cool, right?"

Li Yan was stunned.

"The defending champion can't even pass the World Cup qualifiers. Let me personally achieve the most humiliating defending champion in World Cup history. What do you think?"

"Are you crazy, Yang Pan!"

"No, I am very calm now." Sure enough, Yang Pan's tone did not change at all, it was as calm as water.

"You... do you really think that you can achieve your 'great' goal with this 'exclusive interview' alone?!" Li Yan's tone was filled with a hint of anger.

"Of course not." Yang Pan continued to say calmly, "So I still have big moves next. If the FA's reaction is within my expectations... As for what it is, I can't say. Just wait and see the show then."

"You, you are simply... No, I am going to cancel this manuscript!"

"Is it still in time? It should be on the printing press now, right? The manuscript of the famous reporter Li Yan never needs to be reviewed. The space is reserved in advance, and then the manuscript is submitted and put on it, and it is directly taken to print and publish..." Yang Pan said leisurely, but Li Yan did not feel good, because the above words were exactly what he used to brag to Yang Pan and Zhang Jun, and what was even more deadly was that his bragging was not half false...

"Also, Lao Li, I remind you: That 'exclusive interview' manuscript that is destined to cause an earthquake was co-written by us. The interviewer is you, Li Yan."

Hearing this sentence, Li Yan suddenly felt like a deflated ball, and lost his energy all of a sudden.

"So I said, we are now grasshoppers on the same rope, and no one can escape. You might as well bet on me..."

"Bet on what?!" Li Yan shouted angrily, "Bet on you completely destroying Chinese football, which has finally improved, and becoming the laughing stock of the world? I misjudged you, Yang Pan! What exactly made you become like this today?! Where did that positive and upward Yang Pan who looked forward to a better future with Zhang Jun go!" He pressed the hang-up button forcefully, and then felt that it was not enough, and slammed the phone against the wall, and the poor phone became a victim of Li Yan's anger again, and it scattered into a pile of parts.

Yang Pan held the phone that kept ringing with a dial tone, shook his head with a wry smile.

"So I said I am doing it to save Chinese football, you definitely won't believe it, Brother Li..."

※※※

"War is on! Yang Pan bombs Advocaat and the Chinese Football Association! - The defending champion will lose the World Cup qualification!" These main and sub-titles are scary, right? That is the effect the media want.

Just when the relationship between Chen Wei and Advocaat was tense, this thing that seemed to emerge from the ground, "Exclusive interview with Yang Pan by famous football reporter Li Yan", allowed them to find a common enemy at once.

In the interview, Yang Pan elaborated on his views on losing to Japan. Contrary to Advocaat, he pushed all the responsibility to the head coach. He believed that it was precisely Advocaat's cautious and conservative tactical arrangements that caused the match to change, and also said that in the locker room, the head coach asked the players not to work so hard, protect themselves, and that it did not matter even if they lost. He also said that the players who participated in the match at that time could all be his witnesses.

However, after the interview came out, no players came out to speak. When reporters wanted to interview them, the players remained silent, saying that they were looking for an excuse to refuse the interview. This attitude made the media and the public suspicious, and some people believed that Yang Pan was lying.

Afterwards, he continued to criticize Advocaat's coaching ability, believing that he came to China just for the high salary, to consider his retirement. He did not consider Chinese football at all in his mind, and such a person was not worthy of being the head coach of the Chinese national team, and said that even he would do better than him... This was a bit exaggerated. He scolded the Dutch coach for being tactically conservative, for being muddled in on-site command, and for not knowing what modern football was.

After scolding the head coach, he turned his attention to the Chinese Football Association led by Chen Wei. He first rehashed the old accounts, believing that Qiu Suhui's departure was completely forced by Chen Wei. Chen Wei abandoned his early promise of "not interfering with the national team" and wanted to extend his hand to the national team. Qiu Zhi (Qiu Suhui) argued on reasonable grounds to no avail, and could only helplessly choose to leave in the end.

Then he said that Chen Wei's selection of the head coach was not based on whether it was suitable for the current environment of Chinese football, but based on whether he was obedient. So the seemingly good-old-man Advocaat became his first choice - here he deliberately downplayed Luo Shengmao, who was the number one favorite at the beginning.

From this point, it can be seen that Chen Wei is ambitious. He attempted to control the entire Chinese football in his hands. The promise he made after taking office to establish a "professional football alliance" organization has not been fulfilled, and it is estimated that it will not be fulfilled in the future. Why? Because he was afraid that this organization would stand up and share his power! This old man is no longer Chen Wei, who was full of spirit and vigor when he first took office. He has transformed into a "power machine", only knowing how to fight for power and profit, and indifferent to the life and death of Chinese football.

"...If such a chairman does not step down, and such a coach does not leave class, the demise of Chinese football is just around the corner. Then we will wait and see the joke of the defending champion being eliminated in the qualifiers! Just wait for my beloved Chinese team to become the laughing stock of the world, the most humiliating defending champion in World Cup history!!"

Honestly speaking, although Yang Pan revealed a lot of inside information, his words were very exaggerated, and he completely denied Chen Wei's early achievements, portraying him as an all-evil, mediocre, and only knowing how to play with power and manipulate officials.

But these words were very useful. From the moment this exclusive interview came out, it caused a very big reaction. CCTV5 even went to the national team training base again to exclusively interview Yang Pan. This time, in front of the camera, in front of 500 million fans across the country, he repeated the words in the newspaper again, and this time with a fierce tone, the effect was even better.

In less than two days, the Chinese people were divided into two factions. One faction accused Yang Pan of shirking responsibility, shifting attention, exaggerating things, and having sinister intentions; the other faction strongly supported Yang Pan, believing that what he said was true, and everyone had seen the performance of Chinese football and the FA in the past two years, and right and wrong were in the hearts of the people.

The main force of the "Down With Yang Pan Faction" and the "Support Yang Pan Faction" were all netizens on the Internet, but the leading figures were all people with high prestige and influence in the Chinese football circle. This war was fought fiercely, and the world was dark. People seemed to have forgotten the fact that the Chinese team would face Qatar at home a few days later. The morale of the army was disturbed, and the hearts of the people were disturbed... That match of the Chinese team was hanging.

Yang Pan chose a very good time. When the Chinese team lost to the Japanese team and the whole nation was indignant, many people lost their minds. So this discussion spread from the Internet to traditional print media, and finally even the TV station could not avoid it. His "bombardment" had a much greater impact than Hao Haidong's "bombardment" of Milu back then. Moreover, because the third quarter-final match was coming soon, this impact would definitely continue to the match. It was really hard to say what the outcome would be.

And the phrase "War is on!" has also become a new buzzword, ranking first in Baidu's Chinese search terms.

※※※

Yang Pan's sudden attack caught the Football Association off guard. In the first few days, they didn't know how to respond, and the Football Association's work was almost paralyzed. It was not until three days later that the Chinese Football Association expressed their views on this matter:

Yang Pan's words and deeds can only represent him personally and cannot represent the Chinese national team. The Football Association is very angry about his actions that disregard the overall situation and vent his anger at will because of private grievances. And they are studying detailed punishment measures against him. For the time being, they will suspend his qualifications to participate in national team matches, and ask him to deeply reflect on and review his mistakes, and publish his letter of apology publicly in the media!

It should be known that the punishment for Hao Haidong's bombardment of Milu twelve years ago was not so severe. At least he could still play in the national team, and Milu also knew that China's qualification depended on Hao Haidong, so he took the initiative to show goodwill.

But this time, the Football Association was really angry. Advocaat expressed his tough silence on this matter. Everything seemed to be developing in a direction unfavorable to Yang Pan.

What the Football Association did not expect was that their announcement not only did not calm things down, but instead aroused even greater storms. Many people who had always been dissatisfied with the Football Association accused the Football Association of being bureaucratic and acting like they were the boss. It was really inappropriate to suspend an old captain and a meritorious minister of Chinese football so easily. Some netizens even ridiculed: "Chen Wei must have shit in his brain!", and the netizens below him replied: "No, his brain has always been shit."

And one day later, the name of Yang Pan was indeed missing from the starting list of the Chinese team's match against Qatar at the Beijing Workers' Stadium. Not only that, but he could not even be found on the bench. He was left alone at the Xianghe training base and did not come with the team.

Even his teammates could not understand Yang Pan's actions in the past few days, and did not understand why he would make such extreme actions. It should be known that Yang Pan has always been planning before acting, and would never be so impulsive. What exactly was the reason? Li Yongle could not figure it out either.

In that match, Advocaat's tactics were very aggressive and bold. The Chinese team put on a strong attacking formation at their home stadium. He seemed to want to use this method to prove his ability to the public. But unfortunately, the morale of the team was in chaos, and the hearts of the people were scattered. It was not easy to lead the team... They could not completely implement this set of offensive football tactics. The attack was messy, and the defense was not focused enough - Yang Pan's words really affected his teammates who lived with him day and night. In the end, they failed to score several times, but instead allowed a former Brazilian midfielder who had changed his nationality to Qatar to steal a goal. The Chinese team lost 0:1 at their home stadium!

With only three points in three matches, their ranking had fallen to third, and they had temporarily lost their qualification.

It seemed that everything was developing as Yang Pan had said, and the voices supporting Yang Pan in the country had completely surpassed the voices against Yang Pan. Chen Wei's days at the Football Association were getting more and more difficult, and Advocaat also seemed to be on the verge of being dismissed.

At this time, Li Yan, Yang Pan's "accomplice", could only hold his head and painfully watch the chaotic Chinese football. Is this the effect you want?! In his heart, he angrily questioned Yang Pan. Having made up his mind, Li Yan decided to speak for the Football Association for the first time, and write something to compensate for his sins - the "exclusive interview" back then was that he wrote down the prescribed questions according to Yang Pan's requirements and sent them to him, and then let him slowly write out the answers like doing a question-and-answer test, and finally send them back to Li Yan for him to send out - he no longer cared whether anyone would believe his current position, and he did not care what role it could play. He just wanted to save Chinese football. After working as a reporter for so many years, he found the feeling of being a hero for the first time: Yang Pan, you want to destroy, then I will come to save!

At this time, the day after the match ended, Yang Pan suddenly notified the media that he would hold a press conference at the Beijing Hotel.

Afterwards, every word he said at the press conference was like a hydrogen bomb, detonating in the Chinese football world, and the climax of this incident finally came...