World First Church started from the 02 World Cup

Chapter 31 Korean Performances

That evening.

The national football team gathered together again at the hotel where they were staying.

In addition to continuing the joy of reaching the quarterfinals, there is another activity: watching the live broadcast of the final match of the round of 16.

South Korea vs. Italy!

This is not because it has anything to do with the Chinese team's next game.

In fact, the matchups for each round of the World Cup knockout stage are determined after the group stage.

In the quarterfinals, the upper bracket features England vs. Brazil and China vs. Senegal.

The lower bracket features Germany vs. the United States, and Spain vs. the winner of that final match.

In other words, if China can overcome Senegal and advance to the semi-finals, their opponent will be either England or Brazil!

If they want to face Italy or South Korea, they'll have to wait until the final or the third-place match.

People watch this match mainly to see how their neighbor and old rival, South Korea, performs.

In addition, Serie A matches are broadcast for the longest time in China, and Chinese national team players are the most familiar with the Italian team, and can even be said to have the most favorable feelings towards it. Many Chinese players are also fans of the Italian team.

Just treat it like a regular fan, watching the game and relaxing!

"This match shouldn't be too suspenseful, right? Italy is much stronger than South Korea," Ma Mingyu said.

He had played in Serie A, and although he didn't get much playing time, he was very familiar with the intensity of Serie A teams.

This Italian national team is indeed the strongest in recent years, with world-class stars in every position, making them a favorite to win this World Cup.

Everyone nodded in agreement.

The vast majority of people agree with Ma Mingyu's view.

This Italian team is really strong.

The goalkeepers are Buffon and Toldo.

The defense consists of Maldini, Cannavaro, and Nesta.

The midfield consists of Gattuso, Totti, and Zambrotta.

The forwards include Del Piero, Vieri, Inzaghi...

At that time, the South Korean team only had two players playing in Europe, and neither of them were key players.

How can the South Korean team possibly compete?

But one person disagreed.

Ye Xian.

As a time traveler, he naturally knew what would happen in this match.

He smiled and said, "Don't forget, South Korea is the host country. They might do some less-than-ideal things to win. So the outcome of this match is still uncertain."

"Japan is also the host country," Li Weifeng retorted. "But in that match just now, apart from that kid Hidetoshi Nakata arguing with me, he didn't seem to do anything particularly bad. Collina didn't show any favoritism towards them either, did he?"

"You've got it wrong," Fan Zhiyi shook his head. "The Japanese may be annoying, but they still have sportsmanship on the field. The Koreans, however, might not be. Have you forgotten the Seoul Asian Games and the Seoul Olympics?"

Everyone pretended to recall something, and then nodded in agreement.

indeed.

At the 86 Seoul Asian Games, South Koreans began to systematically manipulate refereeing decisions on a large scale, with the goal of surpassing China and taking the top spot in the gold medal standings.

Badminton, basketball, table tennis, shooting...

In these events where China and South Korea directly compete for gold medals, there is blatant "protection" of South Korean athletes.

During the men's singles badminton final, Chinese player Yang Yang's shots were repeatedly ruled out of bounds, and he was also frequently called for service violations and stepping on the line.

This caused Yang Yang to lose control of his emotions on the spot and almost smash his racket. After the match, he bluntly said, "It wasn't playing ball, it was playing against the referee."

Of course, they weren't targeting the Chinese team alone.

Throughout the event, a double standard was evident in the judging: the host country was lenient while foreign athletes were judged more strictly.

The 1988 Seoul Olympics is widely regarded as the darkest in the history of the modern Olympics.

Various underhanded tactics have emerged one after another. There have even been bizarre cases in boxing matches where the opponent landed 86 valid hits while the South Korean fighter only landed 32, yet the referee still declared the South Korean fighter the winner.

Even setting aside these multi-sport events.

During the matches between the Chinese national football team and the South Korean national football team, as experienced by the Chinese players, the South Korean team did indeed engage in numerous dirty tricks and retaliatory fouls.

This is completely different from the relatively civilized style of play of the Japanese team...

"But this is the World Cup, do you really think the South Koreans would do something like this?" Li Tie still expressed disbelief.

At this time, Tiezi was still quite naive!

"If you don't believe me, we'll see when we watch the game." Ye Xian smiled again and turned to look at the TV screen.

At this moment, both sides have set up their formations, and the match is about to begin!

"You guys are watching the game?" A voice came from the doorway.

Everyone looked in the direction of the voice and saw Zhang Jilong.

"Brother Long is here."

"Brother Long."

Everyone greeted Zhang Jilong.

The Chinese team was able to qualify for this World Cup not only because the national team played well, but also because of another important reason.

That is, by avoiding the strongest teams, Saudi Arabia and Iran, in the draw, the Chinese team was placed in a relatively easier group.

The person who helped the Chinese team draw this favorable draw was Zhang Jilong, who is in charge of football foreign affairs and also serves as the vice president of the Asian Football Confederation!

It is known as "the hand of God".

Therefore, everyone still respects Zhang Jilong.

"Xiao Ye, come out here for a moment, I have something to tell you." Zhang Jilong beckoned to Ye Xian.

"Looking for me?" Ye Xian walked towards the door.

Zhang Jilong closed the door and pulled Ye Xian outside.

Without any pleasantries, he went straight to the point: "Xiao Ye, I just received a formal invitation from Everton Football Club in the English Premier League. They hope you can join the team in the new season as an assistant coach."

Ye Xian was slightly taken aback.

He sometimes wondered if his performance in this World Cup might attract the attention of some teams.

And of course he also wants to coach on his own, especially a club team, so that he can truly unleash his talents!

After all, the national team plays very few matches, and it's completely different from the formation and development of a club.

But what I didn't expect was that we would start with the Premier League?

Isn't this starting point a bit too high?

And why Everton?

However, after carefully "reviewing" it, Ye Xian understood why.

During this period, Everton was most eager to improve relations with China.

Since they want to buy Chinese players, it's not incomprehensible that they would also hire a Chinese coach.

But isn't Moyes still around? And I don't have a coaching license either.

What does Brother Long mean by "a teaching assistant in name only"?

And these questions were soon answered.

Zhang Jilong looked at Ye Xian and relayed the other party's arrangement truthfully: "The other party also knows that you do not currently have a European coaching certificate and do not meet the registration qualifications for a Premier League head coach. So they offered a compromise: Moyes will continue to serve as Everton's nominal head coach, and you will serve as the chief assistant coach and tactical analyst, but will actually be in charge of the team's tactics and training arrangements."

After listening quietly, Ye Xian felt a surge of emotions.

The fact that the other party was willing to use this workaround to bypass the certificate restrictions shows that they were very sincere and respectful.

More importantly, as a newly appointed coach, he can directly step onto the Premier League stage, compete with a host of renowned European coaches, and hone his tactics and gain experience in the highest level of league. This is an irresistible temptation for any young coach.

Ferguson, Wenger, Ranieri, Robson...

These world-renowned coaches, whom we used to only see on TV, are about to become our rivals!

However, although Ye Xian's heart was in turmoil, he remained calm and composed.

He slowly spoke to Zhang Jilong, "Brother Long, please convey my gratitude to Everton Football Club. Thank you for their appreciation and sincerity; I will seriously consider this invitation."

"Right now, the national football team is still on its World Cup journey, with the quarterfinals just around the corner. All my thoughts will be focused on the team, and I won't be distracted by thinking about my personal future."

"Once this World Cup is completely over, I am willing to formally contact Everton to discuss the details further."

Zhang Jilong nodded in understanding: "I will reply to them as you said. You can focus on leading the team in the competition. We'll maintain the official channels to keep things in check, and then we'll officially move forward after the World Cup!"

……

After saying goodbye to Zhang Jilong, Ye Xian composed himself and returned to his room.

Upon seeing Ye Xian, the national football players all waved.

"Coach Ye, come quick, come quick! This is absolutely outrageous! You're right, the Koreans are truly shameless!"

The current progress of the South Korea-Italy match has made the players forget about gossiping about why Zhang Jilong sought out Ye Xian.

Li Tie pointed at the TV screen: "Can you believe it? Just three minutes into the game, the South Korean team got a penalty! Seol Ki-hyeon made normal physical contact with Panucci, then exaggeratedly fell to the ground, and the referee actually awarded a penalty without hesitation! I don't believe he didn't take a bribe."

"Luckily, Buffon saved Ahn Jung-hwan's penalty, otherwise Italy would be behind now," Shao Jiayi said thankfully.

Not long after, the Italian team got a corner kick.

Totti delivered the ball, and Vieri powerfully headed it into the net despite being pulled by multiple defenders, giving Italy a 1-0 lead!

The Chinese national football players immediately burst into enthusiastic applause.

"Haha, come on Italy! Beat the Koreans!" Everyone was very happy.

But Ye Xian smiled without saying a word.

Just wait, the real show for the South Korean team is about to begin...