Chapter 98 Assistant Professor Cai’s Advice
After finishing the afternoon training, Chi Zhen returned to the locker room.

At the end of the training, head coach Josep Gil announced the game roster, and Chi Zhen was among them.

In the evening, he would go to the hotel with other teammates who were selected for the big list, and take a bus directly from the hotel to the stadium for the game the next day.

Chi Zhen was not worried about being included in the competition roster, because it was a basic operation.

Let alone making the big roster, he wouldn’t be surprised even if he made the starting roster – he would be surprised if he didn’t make the big roster or the starting roster.

As soon as he entered the locker room, Chi Zhen heard exclamations from his teammates:

“Oh my God! Tyne actually beat Xiusiluo 4:1 away from home!”

“They have moved up one more place and are now ranked sixth…”

“Can they really get fourth place in the league?”

“I still feel like it’s unreal…”

The hot topic in the entire locker room was the match between Tyne and Xiusro.

It turns out I’m not the only one who cares about Wang Ge’s game…

Chi Zhen understands his teammates very well.

After all, after they lost to Tyne in an away game, someone in the locker room said angrily that Wang Ge’s good form at that time was just a flash in the pan and it was impossible for it to last too long, so even if they beat them, it doesn’t mean that Wang Ge will still perform like this in the future…

Since then, everyone has paid more attention to Tyne’s games.

I want to see when Brother Wang’s condition declines.

As a result, they witnessed how Wang Ge’s hot state continued to be maintained until now…

In addition, in the 3th round of the league, their opponent Xiusiluo won 1: at home against their Scouse team!
The same opponent, the same away game, Tyne won 4:1, while Scots lost 1:3…

The contrast is so stark, even glaring.

The Scouse players had a sense of déjà vu as if they were being slapped in the face by Xiusiluo and Taien in turn.

“Hey, Chi.” Victor Delmora sat down next to Chi Zhen and asked in a low voice, “Does your Chinese national team have any great physiotherapists or coaches?”

Chi Zhen was a little surprised: “Why do you ask that, Victor?”

“I just feel that Wang has been in very good physical condition since returning from the national team competition…”

Chi Zhen laughed. He was another person who wanted to figure out why Brother Wang was so popular.

But he didn’t know why…

So he pointed at himself and asked, “So what do you think of my recent condition?”

Delmora nodded seriously and gave Chi Zhen an affirmative answer: “You are in good condition recently!”

Chi Zhen opened his mouth, speechless.

“That’s why I’m curious. You and Wang returned to the national team and performed even better. Is it because your national team’s training level is higher?”

Chi Zhen didn’t know whether to laugh or cry: “There is no such thing, Victor. The level of the Chinese team’s coaching staff is the same as before, not bad, but it hasn’t suddenly improved…”

Victor Delmora still found it hard to believe: “Then why did your conditions all get better at the same time?”

“Maybe it’s because we are competing with each other?” Chi Zhen briefly told his teammates about his and Wang Lie’s experience in the national team.

“…Brother Wang told me that the competition between him and me should be done through football. Whoever performs better will be the core. I think it may be because of this that Brother Wang worked very hard after returning to the club, using goals and assists to speak for him. And I am the same.”

Delmora found it even more incredible after hearing this: “I don’t understand. No matter who is the core, as long as the team can win, isn’t that enough? Can you fight for that position to this extent?”

Chi Zhen whispered, “Although Brother Wang didn’t say it explicitly, I can feel that he thinks that if I am the core, I will not be able to lead the Chinese team to create history in the World Cup…”

“China’s history in the World Cup?”

“Eighth quarterfinals. That was our best result in the World Cup, and it was achieved by Brother Wang.”

As the main striker of the Spanish national team, Delmora won the World Cup with the Spanish national team at the 2030 Spain-Portugal World Cup seven years ago, although he was only years old at the time and was not the main player of the team.

As players from a football powerhouse, their goal for the World Cup has always been to win the championship.

But he also knows that reaching the World Cup quarterfinals is also a remarkable achievement.

You should know that just three years ago at the 2034 Saudi World Cup, the Spanish national team, as the defending champion, finally stopped in the round of and was eliminated before even reaching the quarterfinals.

As a country where football is not well developed, the fact that the Chinese team was able to reach the quarterfinals of the World Cup is indeed a glorious history that deserves to be written about.

What Delmora didn’t know was that reaching the quarterfinals was actually the best result for an Asian team in the World Cup.

Originally, the best result should have been “semi-finals” – achieved by the South Korean team as the host in the 2002 World Cup.

However, after that World Cup, Korean football was exposed to have taken advantage of its status as a host country to bribe referees. There were very serious and obvious problems in one group match and two knockout matches, which caused huge debate and protests after the games.

Under joint pressure from CONMEBOL and UEFA, FIFA launched a third-party investigation into the three controversial matches of the South Korean team in that World Cup.

The investigators eventually found evidence of financial transactions between the Korean Football Association and the referees of three controversial matches, two of which pleaded guilty under pressure.

FIFA subsequently cancelled the South Korean team’s results in that World Cup based on irrefutable evidence. The chairman of the South Korean Football Association, who led the referee bribery incident, was permanently banned worldwide, and other relevant personnel were also punished to varying degrees. (Note 1)

Currently, the best historical result of “quarterfinals” is shared by two Asian teams, namely North Korea in 1966 and China in 2022.

However, when North Korea reached the quarterfinals, there were only a few teams participating in the World Cup, with a total of only sixteen teams. They only needed to qualify from the group stage to enter the quarterfinals.

The Chinese team achieved the top eight in the 32-team era, and they had to win one more game than North Korea in the knockout stage, which is more valuable. Of course, when the Chinese team created this historical record, it was in the World Cup held in its own country, so it had the normal home advantage.

When Delmora heard Chi Zhen mention the Chinese team’s best performance in the World Cup, he finally understood why the two of them were fighting so hard.

It seems that Wang Lie still wants to do what he once did, which is to lead the Chinese team back to the quarterfinals.

This does require more effort and better performance.

After figuring out the reasons behind the fierce competition between Wang Lie and Chi Zhen, Delmora was not surprised that Tyne wanted to enter the Champions League next season.

Because he thinks it is easier to lead a Premier League relegation team to participate in the Champions League next season than to lead the Chinese team to the quarterfinals of the World Cup…

He patted Chi Zhen on the shoulder: “Come on, Chi, I hope you can beat Wang… The whole team hopes so. I will help you in the club.”

Chi Zhen has a good personality, is handsome, and never gets angry with anyone. Many people in the Scout team like this “China Boy”.

Although Delmora is five years older than Chi Zhen, he also regards him as his good friend.

During the game, Chi Zhen made many passes to Delmora…the two of them always had a tacit understanding.

“Thank you, Victor. Let’s start by defeating the Hackney Knight tomorrow.” Chi Zhen said with a smile.

“Ha! Well said, let’s take down the league leader first!”

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“The game is over! The Scouse team defeated the Hackney Knights 3:2 at home! After this round of the league, the Knights, who were originally ranked first, have given up the top spot in the league after two consecutive defeats!”

The cheers at Liverpool Stadium were deafening. Scottish coach Gill was the first to walk to the visiting team’s coaching booth and extended his hand to Hackney Knights coach Paul Neves, who was standing there. He kept a polite smile on his face and shook Neves’ hand while saying, “You played well…”

Neves responded with a wry smile. If we had played really well, we would have won the game now!
However, he also knew that this was a routine post-match etiquette of the opposing coach, and it was definitely not sarcastic.

Despite his bad mood, he still congratulated Jill: “Congratulations, you played a wonderful game, especially your No. 7, Chi. He is not limited to the wing…”

Hearing the opponent praising specific players on his side, Gill couldn’t help but laugh out loud, because it was he who told Chi Zhen before the game not to limit himself to the wing, but to move more to the middle.

When the opponent’s head coach Neves praised Chi Zhen, he was actually praising him for his good arrangements as a head coach.

“Yes, he did play very well today!”

The two head coaches then separated, with Gill going to celebrate with his players and Neves to comfort them.

After Jill ran onto the court, she found Chi Zhen, hugged him, rubbed his hair hard, and praised him in his ear: “Well done, Chi! You really didn’t let me down!”

The TV broadcast camera was focused on Chi Zhen who was hugged by the head coach. The commentator Connor Cowley said: “Chi was the biggest contributor to the Scouse team’s victory over the Hackney Knights at home today. He scored a goal and made two assists in the game… It can be said that all three goals of the Scouse team were related to him… He deserved the man of the match in this game!”

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“Within two days, two Chinese players became the dominant players in the Premier League. The 38-year-old Wang Lie performed like he was 28, and Chi Zhen also played his best season since joining the Scouse team… I think for Chinese fans, the excellent form of these two players is a blessing for Chinese football. But this also puts higher demands on the Chinese team’s head coach He Zhenyong…

“Wang Lie? Or Chi Zhen? Who controls the ball in the Chinese team? Who has the right to fire? Who serves whom? Although it is no longer a suspense that the Chinese team will enter the World Cup in England next year, if the priorities are not clear, then even though the national team is doing well now, it is actually just a time bomb that has not exploded. By the time of next year’s World Cup, this bomb will definitely explode!”

He Zhenyong is listening to the news read by the AI ​​on his mobile phone.

Today’s AI technology is very mature, and the intonation of AI readings can be comparable to that of real people.

When he said “This bomb will definitely explode”, his tone was rapid and intense, as if he was really anxious.

Even AI knows that he is so handsome…

He Zhenyong complained in his heart, and then he heard a knock on the door.

“Please come in.”

After saying this, He Zhenyong put down his phone, took off his reading glasses, and looked up at assistant coach Cai Bokang who pushed the door open.

“Mr. He, did you watch the two matches between Wang Lie and Chi Zhen?”

Cai Bokang asked him straight to the point.

He Zhenyong nodded: “I have seen it.”

“I watched it too!” Cai Bokang seemed very excited. “These two games helped me perfect my previous ideas…”

He walked over to the tactical board in the head coach’s office and started fiddling with the magnetic chess pieces.

“Look, this is Wang Lie, this is Chi Zhen, and this is Fu Xiaofeng.”

He placed three round chess pieces in front of his opponent’s penalty area.

Among them, Wang Lie and Chi Zhen were in the front, and Fu Xiaofeng was in the back.

After he finished, he turned around and asked He Zhenyong: “If we play 442, it will be like this in the front, right?”

He Zhenyong nodded: “Yes.”

When Wang Lie gradually lost his main position in the national team, the Chinese team mostly played 442, but the two starting forwards were Chi Zhen and center Tan Xingchang.

This lineup is running relatively smoothly, as evidenced by the World Cup qualifiers.

But now that Wang Lie is back, if we continue with this 442, a problem will arise.

Because Wang Lie is not a true center forward, his ability to pass the ball in the penalty area is not as good as Tan Xingchang. And if Wang Lie is allowed to pass the ball, it will waste his recent good scoring state.

So changes must be made.

“Before, we always thought about ‘center’, but why must we have a center? Look, Lao He, Chi Zhen is a ball-playing player, Wang Lie can play with or without the ball, and Fu Xiaofeng is an offensive forward who can both score and organize… The three of them have one thing in common, that is, they can all get the ball. This is also the fundamental reason why we had a headache before about how to arrange Wang Lie and Chi Zhen, because their styles are similar…”

Cai Bokang explained.

He Zhenyong had already stood up from behind his desk and walked to the tactical board.

“But on the other hand, since any of our front three can get the ball, doesn’t that make it more difficult for the opponent to defend? And no matter who gets the ball, the other two can cooperate with the run to create threats. In this case, there is no need for us to be obsessed with the position on the field.”

As Cai Bokang spoke, he pulled the number nine chess piece representing Wang Lie out of the penalty area, placed the football chess piece next to Wang Lie’s chess piece, and pushed the number seven chess piece representing Chi Zhen to the left.

This leaves the penalty area empty.

Then Cai Bokang pushed the number 10 chess piece representing Fu Xiaofeng forward into the penalty area.

“Fu Xiaofeng is 1.84 meters tall. He has both physical strength and skills, and has a certain ability to fight. He is also physically fit. When Wang Lie and Chi Zhen are not in the penalty area, he can move forward to the penalty area and act as a pseudo center forward…”

As he spoke, Cai Bokang placed two chess pieces representing full-backs on the tactical board and asked them to push into the offensive third zone.

“Wang Lie and Chi Zhen pulled the opponent’s defender away, and Fu Xiaofeng then moved forward to the empty space in the middle. Then, no matter if Wang Lie, Chi Zhen, or the two wingers got the ball, they could all hit the ball into the empty space, and then Fu Xiaofeng could finish the shot. Alternatively, Fu Xiaofeng could also pass the ball to Wang Lie or Chi Zhen…”

As he spoke, he moved the chess pieces under his control, allowing them to interpret the Chinese team’s offensive tactics on the tactical board.

“The positions of the three of them are not fixed. They can rotate at any time according to the situation and needs on the field. Wang Lie can go to the right or the left. If he goes to the left, Chi Zhen will go to the middle, or retreat to the midfield, and then Fu Xiaofeng will go up…”

After placing the chess pieces, Cai Bokang turned to He Zhenyong and said:
“Wang Lie’s position and playing style in Tyne are now very clear. McNeill gives him the greatest freedom and no longer restricts him to the penalty area as in the beginning. So Wang Lie often retreats to get the ball for transition or organization, and then he inserts himself from behind and uses his long shots to score.

“In the game where the Scouse beat the Hackney Knights, Gill also gave Chi Zhen more room to play and did not restrict him to the left. In return, Chi Zhen scored a goal and had two assists. I think after this game, Gill might consider not restricting Chi Zhen to the left… If this is the case, we will have two offensive players who can play on the wing or in the middle. It would be a waste of their abilities to restrict them to a certain position. If their positions are not restricted, their respective abilities in scoring and passing can be maximized.”

After patiently listening to Cai Bokang’s words, He Zhenyong asked: “‘No striker formation’ sounds good, but who will be the core? There must be a priority, right? It’s impossible to really divide the ball possession equally into three parts…”

Cai Bokang had long expected He Zhenyong to ask this question, and he was naturally prepared. After He Zhenyong finished asking, he immediately answered:
“If Wang Lie can continue this form, I think he should be the core player. He is more comprehensive and experienced than Chi Zhen and Fu Xiaofeng. In this tactic that requires giving players more freedom, no one is more suitable to be the core player than him.”

He Zhenyong stared at the tactical board and fell into deep thought.

Cai Bokang didn’t urge him. He just stood beside him and looked at the tactical board with him.

After pondering for an unknown amount of time, He Zhenyong finally spoke:
“I agree with you. If Wang Lie can really maintain this state… No, his current state is actually frighteningly good, so we can’t expect him to be so strong all the time. Even if he’s not that strong, it’s okay. As long as his body can still be as flexible, powerful and fast as it is now… then he can be the core, because he has a wider range of activities, instead of just staying in the penalty area and waiting for others to feed him the ball… The only problem is, who can guarantee that Wang Lie’s state will always be so good? Is his physical condition always so good?”

Cai Bokang shook his head: “We were worried about this problem a month ago. At that time, we all thought that Wang Lie was just a flash in the pan. But he has been outputting so steadily for two months… If we are always worried about Wang Lie’s decline and dare not make changes, it will be more trouble than gain, Lao He. Moreover, even if Wang Lie’s condition declines in the future, don’t we still have a backup plan? That is, the tactics with Chi Zhen as the core that have been practiced and matured, and we can switch back when the time comes. But if Wang Lie can really maintain his condition, then what we get is a super powerful combat force!”

He Zhenyong asked again: “What are you going to say to Chi Zhen?”

“We don’t need to tell him. Didn’t he make an appointment with Wang Lie? Let’s talk about it with football. So you can see that Chi Zhen is in good shape recently. But if Wang Lie performs better than him, then we let Wang Lie play as the core, and he won’t have anything to say.”

He Zhenyong was convinced: “Okay, then we will redesign the tactics with Wang Lie as the core…”

Then he sighed: “Oh! My head hurts…”

Cai Bokang laughed and joked: “If we can really succeed, then it will be just like what Wang Lie said. At the World Cup next year, it will be our opponents’ turn to have a headache!”

“Let’s hope so. I don’t even dare to think about the World Cup next year. I just hope Wang Lie can lead Tyne into the top four of the league. This will at least give us more confidence…”

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Note 1: This is purely the author’s personal imagination, don’t take it too seriously. If you take it too seriously, the author is right. Because the author has the final right to interpret his or her work, what the author says is what it is.

(End of this chapter)