Chapter 689: Future Leaders
The World Cup is about to come, and the Chinese team is not idle. They have received invitations from several countries to play friendly matches. This is a great opportunity to train young players, but Wang Feng naturally did not receive the call-up.
He planned to go to Switzerland with his family for a summer vacation and also take the opportunity to organize the group's business. "Really, you're not going to Brazil to take a look?" Lu Yao joked while packing her luggage.
Wang Feng rolled his eyes. "Forget it, I don't really want to get involved with anything related to the World Cup right now."
This was his true inner thought. A person who always strives for victory but cannot participate in the competition, he really couldn't muster any interest.
However, the Chinese superstar had already set his sights on the 2018 World Cup. Although he would be 35 years old by then, with a reasonable lineup of all foreign players and his own efforts, he would still be competitive.
That's why he changed his mindset and decided not to go to Ligue 1 to make money after his contract with Real Madrid ended, but to go to the Premier League to sharpen his skills. Only there could he maintain his level without declining too much.
As for whether he could adapt? Wang Feng was quite confident in himself. After all, he had experienced the peak era of Serie A in the past, and his physique was very strong.
The only thing to consider was which Premier League team to choose and how to operate it. It could be imagined that his move would cause a seismic shift in the football world.
In fact, his delay in renewing his contract with the Galaxy Warship had long aroused suspicion among outsiders. Some people thought that Real Madrid was waiting and watching because they were not sure how long the Chinese superstar's peak could last and needed to carefully evaluate the contract terms.
Others believed that Wang Feng wanted a higher salary and a lifetime contract, all of which he deserved because he had elevated Real Madrid from a traditional powerhouse to a dominant mythological status, and any conditions were worth it.
Neither the player nor the club responded to the speculations from the outside world. Only a small number of savvy people noticed that they seemed to be slowly drifting apart. Could it be that the Chinese superstar would leave Real Madrid?
At this time, neither side wanted to break the window paper, and all actions were carried out in private, with team morale being the main consideration.
The club is one ecosystem, and the national team is another.
Currently, there are two voices within the Chinese team about future leaders. Naturally, everyone looks up to Wang Feng when he is present, but who can take on this great responsibility when he is not there?
The team captain is undoubtedly the veteran Zheng Zhi, and Dong Fangzhuo's prestige and strength also surpass many. However, both of them are not young anymore, and they definitely need younger players to take on the big responsibility.
One voice is firmly in favor of Huang Hu, who has secured a place as a regular starter for Werder Bremen. He receives the support of most of the regular players because they both came from Wang Feng's youth training program, naturally having an affinity.
The other voice is for Wu Lei, who is a regular starter for Toulouse in Ligue 1. He comes from the domestic youth training system, so he represents the interests of the majority of traditional powers.
Wang Feng didn't think there was a problem with this kind of competition. In competitive sports, strength is king, and in the end, it depends on who can be universally recognized as the leader.
And the principle that national team players must come from European club starters is very restrictive, blocking most ill-intentioned eyes. Those who want to benefit must send excellent talents to Europe for training.
And they cannot be sent too late. They have to learn from Wang Feng, who started training from the age of ten, otherwise, they simply cannot adapt to the environment of European football.
It is worth mentioning that they cannot get anything from players like Huang Hu. All the income generated from tickets, endorsements, peripherals, etc., has to be shared out, and they even have to spend money to entertain.
From mid-June to mid-July, this period of time belongs to the World Cup for football fans worldwide.
Brazil is hosting this international event for the second time since 1950, and the whole country is eager to win the championship on home soil.
The match between Spain and the Netherlands in the group stage can be said to have shocked everyone. The newly-crowned European champions took the lead in the first half with a strong posture, and the returning Alonso even scored the first goal for the team.
Then, Diego Costa seemed to be affected by injuries, repeatedly wasting opportunities to widen the lead, but at this moment, everyone was very optimistic.
The BBC commentator even said, "The game is not suspenseful anymore. Spain can score goals even while walking."
Before his words fell, the Netherlands scored a fantastic goal through a counterattack, with Van Persie leaping to head in the equalizer.
Then the Orange Legion completely exploded in the second half, scoring four more goals in a row, completely tearing through the Bullfighters, and the score was fixed at 5:1!
This defeat almost knocked the European champions from the clouds into the mud. The head coach, players, and Spanish fans were all baffled, not understanding why it turned out like this.
Only Martino, who was idle at home, felt extremely comfortable in his heart. Who dared to say that they led an invincible army but were completely defeated by Real Madrid and Atletico?
Spain's problem is Barcelona's problem, with their tactical core being the same. The fact proves that as the main players age and their competitive level declines, their dominance inevitably declines rapidly.
Everyone had not yet recovered from the defeat, and the Bullfighters were 0:2 defeated by Chile, eliminating them from the World Cup prematurely, becoming the biggest upset of this tournament.
Another team that made people sigh with regret was Italy. They were no longer as strong as they were when they won three World Cups last century. After being eliminated in the group stage ten years ago, they continued to be eliminated in the group stage this time.
The match between the Blue Army and Uruguay attracted everyone's attention because forward Suarez once again demonstrated his biting characteristics, biting Italy's defender Chiellini.
After this widely condemned action, Uruguay took advantage of a corner kick to break through Italy's defense, and ultimately managed to advance to the knockout stage ahead of them.
Although the South American powerhouse won the match, criticism of Suarez continued unabated. Many still remembered that four years ago, he benefited from a handball, and for a while, he was pushed to the forefront and became the most unpopular player.
FIFA also handed him the heaviest punishment in history, banning him from international matches for up to 9 games, which means the Uruguayan forward bid farewell to this World Cup prematurely.
The overwhelming negative public opinion made Barcelona Club quite a headache, and it even affected their commercial value. After discussing with their think tank, they felt that they couldn't just let it go.
So they spared no effort to publicize Suarez's image as someone who puts the country above all else, starting from the perspective of national honor, and all his actions could be rationalized.
It is worth mentioning that the team that finished first in this group was Costa Rica, while the team that finished last was England. They joined Italy in being eliminated, surprising many European fans.
Argentina, led by Messi, smoothly advanced to the knockout stage, but Portugal led by Cristiano Ronaldo unexpectedly did not compete against the United States and failed to make it to the round of 16.
What followed was worthy of praise was Germany's 7:1 slaughter of Brazil in the semi-finals, showing their championship demeanor, and ultimately defeating Argentina to lift the World Cup.
The Argentine star scored four goals in the group stage, performing very brightly, and at one point, it seemed very likely that he would rise to fame in this tournament.
But after entering the knockout stage, Messi completely disappeared, with 0 goals and 0 assists, and even missed a penalty in the final, missing a great opportunity to take the lead, ultimately leading to Gotze's 1:0 overtime victory over Argentina.
Although he won the consolation World Cup Golden Ball award, everyone understood that he was already out of contention for the FIFA Ballon d'Or at the end of the year. The team's runner-up result contrasted sharply with his poor performance.
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