As Lin Feng left the locker room and entered the players' tunnel, he happened to see Messi coming out of the locker room opposite him.
Their eyes met. Messi glared at him, then quickly looked away.
Lin Feng fell into thought. This guy still hadn't recovered from the nightmare of the first half. Could he really be left with psychological trauma?
Just as he was distracted, Chen Tao bumped into him from behind.
"What?"
Lin Feng turned back and shot Chen Tao an annoyed look.
"Ahem, you know the coach might leave after the Youth World Cup, right?"
Lin Feng shook his head. Of course he knew about it, but he wasn't clear on the details. So he deliberately pretended not to know, hoping to get some information from Chen Tao.
Chen Tao didn't suspect anything. Seeing that Lin Feng was unaware, he quickly explained the situation.
It turned out that Klopp hadn't been a coach the China Youth Team had actively hired. He had been recommended by the German Football Association.
Because they needed to use the other side's Training Base, the Football Association found it difficult to refuse. And since Klopp did have an impressive coaching record, they had reluctantly hired him.
However, their contract would expire after this Youth World Cup.
If he wanted to stay on, either the Football Association had to propose a renewal.
Or the German Football Association had to honor the agreement the two sides had signed.
In recent years, Sino-German Relations had developed well, and the football associations of both countries had taken the opportunity to launch quite a few cooperative projects.
One of them was the 08 Stars project for the 2008 Olympics, and Klopp had come in as the Head Coach candidate for 08 Stars.
Both football associations had their own calculations. China hoped to draw on Germany's deep foundations and advanced ideas to develop its football.
The Germans, meanwhile, had their eyes on China's vast market!
As long as the National Football Team qualified for the World Cup, China's sheer scale and enormous domestic market would bring the German Football Association substantial sponsorship and broadcasting revenue.
And the attention brought by more than a billion fans would greatly increase the Germany World Cup's influence around the world.
Both sides had been very satisfied with this mutually beneficial relationship.
But, unsurprisingly, the unexpected still happened!
The National Football Team had choked at the critical moment and failed to qualify for the World Cup!
The moment the Germans saw that the National Football Team wouldn't be coming, they immediately became unhappy.
The only reason they had been willing to help was because of the generous returns from China.
But now that the returns were gone, they naturally had no interest in continuing to be suckers. They withheld the sponsorship money they had promised the China Youth Team and canceled many cooperative projects.
And once the German Football Association refused to continue honoring their previous agreement, the Chinese Football Association was naturally displeased as well.
What happened to honoring contracts?
What happened to the promised 2 million euros in sponsorship?
You won't even pay the money, yet you still want us to keep using your man, pay his salary, and use precious foreign currency to do it!
Keep dreaming!
It was precisely after Germany refused to honor the agreement that the Football Association's attitude toward Klopp changed dramatically.
Under those circumstances, Klopp leaving after the Youth World Cup was practically a foregone conclusion.
"Although it'll be difficult to keep the coach, it's not impossible."
Chen Tao glanced back at Team Leader Li, who was chatting and laughing with several Chinese coaches, then lowered his voice.
"As long as us players stand with the coach, the Football Association leaders will have to consider our feelings. Maybe they won't take things too far, especially if we ask them to keep him as Youth World Cup champions."
"But if the players can't reach a consensus internally, then we won't be able to jointly petition the higher-ups!"
Lin Feng turned to look at Chen Tao.
"You're worried Team Leader Li has bought me over?"
Chen Tao nodded slightly.
"Get lost. Do I look like someone who's greedy for money?"
Lin Feng pretended to be angry and jabbed him with an elbow.
"Haha, I'm joking. I know you're not that kind of person. I don't know your family background, but I can tell from the way you normally act that your family isn't short on money."
"But I can't say the same for everyone else!"
Chen Tao's expression turned serious. Quite a few of their teammates came from poor families.
He was worried that Team Leader Li's Financial Offensive would win them over, causing them to abandon the mentor who had led them toward glory.
Lin Feng pondered for a moment.
"This is easy. After this match, find a chance to gather everyone together and lay out the pros and cons for them.
You should know that our coach not only has deep connections in the German Football World, but also a solid network throughout Europe. If everyone wants to play abroad, he really can help.
I believe no one would abandon a far broader future for a little petty profit right now."
Chen Tao's eyes lit up, and he gave Lin Feng a thumbs-up.
"I think that could work. I didn't expect you to have such a sharp brain beneath that handsome face!"
"Get out of here. Are you praising me or mocking me?"
Although he had given Chen Tao an idea, Lin Feng didn't place all his hopes on the players pressuring the Football Association.
He thought of the 2 million euros in sponsorship. He just didn't know whether it was 2 million yuan, 2 million US dollars, or 2 million euros.
The fifteen-minute break ended, and the players from both sides returned to the pitch.
Compared to a little over ten minutes ago, Messi's complexion had recovered considerably.
It seemed the halftime break had allowed him to catch his breath.
Youth really was wonderful!
Even recovery from physical exhaustion was much faster than for older players.
Just as Klopp had expected, Argentina assigned someone to mark Lin Feng once the second half began.
That player didn't need to do anything else. He only had to keep an eye on Lin Feng.
Wherever Lin Feng went, he followed.
Like a roadblock, he stood firmly in Lin Feng's path, leaving him no room to accelerate forward and attack. Lin Feng couldn't build up speed or create threats the way he had before.
Without his speed, Lin Feng's threat to Argentina's goal dropped sharply.
On the sidelines, Argentina's Head Coach finally let out a long breath when he saw the opponent being contained by their tactics.
They had paid a considerable price, but the result was good.
They were still ahead on the scoreboard. As long as they held on, they had a chance!
Yet to his surprise, after Lin Feng was contained, the China Youth Team's attacking threat not only failed to decline, but actually increased.
Less than ten minutes into the second half, the China Youth Team had already completed three shots.
None of those three shots produced a goal, but they sounded an alarm for the Argentinians.
As the saying went, a team that defended for too long was bound to concede. If they continued playing so passively, they definitely wouldn't be able to protect their goal.
What was going on?
Argentina's Head Coach furrowed his brow and began observing closely.
In the 58th minute, the China Youth Team launched an attack down the left flank.
Chen Tao's pass found Zheng Tao on the wing with pinpoint accuracy. Zheng Tao aimed for the penalty area and sent in a cross.
Dong Fangzhuo, who had come on as a substitute, overpowered the defender and leaped high for a Header Goal.
The header carried tremendous power, and the goalkeeper had no time to react.
But unfortunately, the ball drifted just over the crossbar, and Argentina narrowly escaped disaster.
Although they had luckily survived that China Youth Team attack, the Argentinians could no longer smile.
Without anyone noticing, the battle lines had been pushed entirely into Argentina's half. This stretch of the match had practically become the China Youth Team laying siege to Argentina's goal.
Why had it turned out like this?
The same question could not help but arise in everyone's mind.
Before you continue