Chapter 130 A Sea of Joy

As the referee's whistle blew and He Ping roared, the singing instantly turned into deafening cheers. Everyone cheered and jumped, hugging each other, regardless of whether they knew each other or not. At this moment, they were all ecstatically carried away.

"We won!!" Many people shouted this sentence.

"Long live! Long live the Chinese team! Long live China!" someone shouted, and then more people followed.

All over the country, everything became a sea of joy.

And the center of this ocean was the New Wembley Stadium, thousands of miles away.

When the referee blew the whistle to end the match, all the Chinese Olympic team's substitutes and coaches waiting outside the field swarmed into the stadium.

The Olympic team players on the field also cheered with their arms raised.

Everyone couldn't wait to vent their emotions.

Ever since they defeated the South Korean team, a raging fire had been suppressed in their hearts. No matter how happy they were, they couldn't show it, because the game wasn't over yet.

Now, after this game, there were no more semi-finals or finals. They could vent all the emotions they had been suppressing and celebrate properly.

Yang Muge, next to Zhou Yi, was so excited that he hugged Zhou Yi at the first moment, which showed how excited he was.

"Congratulations to the Chinese team! They have won the Olympic gold medal! This is their first football gold medal in history!" Mark Lawrenson said. "This is a remarkable achievement for Chinese football!"

After embracing Jiang Xiaojun, Guo Bing stood on the sidelines, watching the jubilant Chinese Olympic team players.

Those young faces were filled with vivid smiles. Some of them had been scolded as members of the most failed Olympic team, and some were considered unmanageable football hooligans, but now they were all heroes of Chinese football.

He thought of Zhou Yi patting his chest and guaranteeing him that he would definitely win a gold medal to satisfy the delegation leaders.

He delivered on his promise.

And the leaders of the delegation should probably be glad that they didn't continue to insist on punishing Sun Pan at the beginning.

If things had continued to develop according to the traditions of Chinese football, he might not have seen this scene in his lifetime.

Fortunately, fortunately.

Now he, Guo Bing, was also the leader of this heroic collective, which would be the most beautiful stroke in his personal career resume.

※※※

After the game, the excited Chinese players were besieged by reporters and had to accept interviews.

Standing in front of the Chinese reporters, Sun Pan was still very excited and couldn't help but howl, which made the female reporter who followed the team to interview cover her mouth and laugh. Then she held out the microphone and asked, "Sun Pan, your performance in this game was very good, and the triple save was even more amazing. Can you talk about what you were thinking at the time?"

The happy Sun Pan opened his mouth and said, "At that time, I only had one thought, I must not let the little Jap...uh..."

He suddenly remembered the gag order Zhou Yi had given him. Now that they had won the championship, everyone was very happy. It seemed that no one was stopping him from being interviewed, but if he said something wrong again...

So he quickly slammed on the brakes. However, because he braked too hard, his brain didn't react for a while, and he didn't know how to smooth things over, so he could only stammer:

"Uh, this... is... is absolutely, absolutely can't let them score again!"

Finally finished, Sun Pan's back was covered with sweat.

Then he waved his hand and refused to be interviewed again, for fear that he would say something wrong again.

With his personality, he didn't care about being scolded or punished, but he was worried that his slip of the tongue would cause trouble for Zhou Yi. How could he always let him wipe his ass?

Sun Pan ran away, but the reporter wasn't in a hurry, because a bigger star was coming.

Zhou Yi came.

The female reporter who followed the team to interview took the initiative to open her arms and made a request: "Zhou Yi, can I hug you?"

Zhou Yi was stunned for a moment, then smiled and nodded: "No problem, I'm single anyway."

The reporter smiled happily, then stepped forward and hugged Zhou Yi.

Immediately, the two separated, and then the reporter began to fulfill her duties. She held the microphone and said to Zhou Yi: "I really want to thank you, thank you, Zhou Yi! You have written history for Chinese football! This is the first world championship in Chinese football history!"

"I'm also very happy that we can achieve this honor," Zhou Yi replied. "I'm very happy to dedicate such a championship to the Chinese fans."

"Well, you said before the Olympics that your goal in this Olympics was a gold medal, and now you have indeed achieved this goal. So, may I ask why you were so confident in winning the gold medal at the beginning? In fact, few people were optimistic about the strength of the Olympic team being able to achieve anything in the Olympics..."

"Of course, of course, in the eyes of many people, we are not strong, and the Chinese team is simply synonymous with failure. They are afraid of losing to any opponent. But I want to say that if you are afraid of losing this and afraid of losing that, what are you doing in the Olympics?" Zhou Yi said. "So I think there is only one thought—since you are here for the Olympics, then don't be afraid, just do it! Face it head-on! Facts have proved that as long as we are not afraid ourselves, then no one can stop us!"

Zhou Yi's words sounded a bit rough in the end, so the female reporter used a smooth way to explain Zhou Yi's words: "Is it a case of the brave winning when narrow roads meet?"

"Yes, the brave wins when narrow roads meet! If football is a game where the strong always win, how boring would that be? Football is round, and there are countless possibilities. As long as you don't give up, you can realize your ideals," Zhou Yi nodded.

"Finally, is there anything you want to say to our audience and fans in front of the TV?"

"Thank you for your perseverance and unwavering support in the most difficult years, so this championship is what you deserve. The Olympics is just the beginning. Next, we will work hard to enter the finals of the Brazil World Cup. I hope that we can hear everyone's singing on the field in Brazil. Thank you, and pay tribute to you!"

After saying goodbye to Zhou Yi, the female reporter, who often appeared in news about the national football team, faced the camera, held the microphone, and said with tears in her eyes: "Zhou Yi said it so well. In the darkest days of Chinese football, how many colleagues chose to give up helplessly? How many people looked disdainful when they talked about 'Chinese football'? But thanks to those who did not give up on Chinese football, whether they were players or fans, they finally waited for the day when the clouds cleared and the fog dispersed. Borrowing Zhou Yi's meaning as a conclusion—this is the best gift for the guardians of Chinese football. Thank you, every vivid face in front of the TV!"

※※※

The award ceremony was the final climax.

The Mexican team, which won the third place yesterday, also came to the stadium, and they would step onto the third-place podium.

First, the third-place team received the award, and then the runner-up, the Japanese team, also stepped onto the podium. Some people had recovered from the blow of the defeat, and smiles appeared on their faces.

In fact, apart from not winning the championship, they had also created the history of their country's football. The Olympic silver medal was the best result of the Japanese adult men's football team in a world competition.

This in itself was enough to be proud of.

After the Japanese team received the silver medal, it was the Chinese team's turn to step onto the podium.

"The historic moment is coming!" He Ping said excitedly. "We will witness Chinese football...climbing to the peak for the first time!"

The Chinese players had returned to the locker room and changed into the special award uniforms of the Chinese Olympic Sports Delegation. Wearing them on their bodies, the color scheme was very similar to scrambled eggs with tomatoes, which had been criticized by many people.

But at this moment, everyone said on the Internet: "Now it's really good to see scrambled eggs with tomatoes!"

This was the effect of the championship halo...

The Chinese players did not directly step onto the podium. Instead, everyone stood under the podium. Then Sun Pan opened his hand and made a blocking gesture. He shouted, "I'll count to three, and we'll jump up together!"

Everyone agreed.

So he bent down, squatted down and began to shout: "One, two, two point five!"

Everyone thought he was going to count to three, but a two point five came out... Some people wanted to jump...

Sun Pan laughed smugly when he saw that he had successfully teased everyone.

But just as he was smug, Zhou Yi suddenly shouted: "Three!"

This time, everyone jumped onto the championship podium in unison, except for Sun Pan...

He was stunned for a moment before realizing that he had been tricked by Zhou Yi, so he jumped up in a panic, then glared at Zhou Yi: "This doesn't count, do it again!"

"Damn it! Are you going to let us get the award or not!" Guo Nu said.

"That's right, don't mess around!" He Ying also stood on the opposite side of Sun Pan.

The others didn't listen to Sun Pan anymore, and Zhou Yi said with a smile: "Panpan, this is called 'the virtuous receive more help, the unvirtuous receive little help'."

Sun Pan was about to refute Zhou Yi, but Zhou Yi took out the authority of the captain: "Okay, stop messing around, be serious, this is the award ceremony! Do you still want the gold medal?"

Faced with such a shameless and black-bellied Zhou Yi, Sun Pan had no choice but to roll his eyes...

The most exciting moment for the players finally arrived, and one gold medal after another was hung around the players' necks.

All of them were the writers of this legend, and their names would be recorded in history forever.

Zhou Yi, as the captain, was the last to receive the gold medal.

After the gold medal was hung, all the players stood solemnly, facing the flagpole.

The last item of the award ceremony was about to begin, and it was also the most solemn and meaningful item.

Raise the national flag and play the national anthem!

At the award ceremony of the Olympic Men's Football Final, the March of the Volunteers was played for the first time.

The Chinese Olympic team players, who had been laughing and joking before, all looked serious at this moment, faced the national flag, and sang along with the music of the national anthem.

Zhou Yi was also among them. His hand was on his chest, feeling the strong and clear beating there.