Championship Impact

After the match, the entire stadium descended into madness.

The 15,000 Chinese fans who had come to the stadium rejoiced, singing and dancing as they celebrated this Historic Moment.

Fifty years of hard work had finally borne fruit!

The Nigerian fans next door were equally crazed.

They pulled out coins, phones, and water bottles, hurling them wildly onto the pitch.

Some even started tearing apart the seats. Apparently, throwing coins was not satisfying enough—they wanted to toss those big things in and smash those damned referees to death.

This was not Nigeria's first time reaching the Youth World Cup final. As early as the 1989 Saudi Youth World Cup, Nigeria had made it to the final.

But they had suffered a crushing 0–2 defeat to Portugal in the final, failing to fulfill their dream of winning the title.

This time, facing the supposedly weak Chinese team from Asia, all of Nigeria had been jubilant. Everyone believed this was their best chance to reach the summit.

Yet cruel reality dealt them a painful blow. The Chinese team they had looked down upon left them utterly disoriented on the final stage!

The 1–4 scoreline was the second-largest margin in Youth World Cup final history, surpassed only by Spain's 4–0 win over the Japan team six years earlier.

African teams had reached the final four times, and fallen short four times.

Their first Youth World Cup Trophy remained a distant dream.

During the post-match awards ceremony, Lin Feng claimed both the Best Player and Top Scorer awards, thanks to his six goals in this Youth World Cup and his outstanding performance in the final.

Those two honors had originally seemed destined for Messi, but unfortunately, Messi's team had been defeated by the China Youth Team in the semifinals and failed to reach the final. Naturally, the two awards slipped away from him as well.

Still, Messi had not come away empty-handed. His team crushed Morocco 2–0 in the Third Place Play-off, and Messi scored once to help them claim Youth World Cup Third Place.

That goal also allowed him to edge out Mikel for the Youth World Cup Silver Boot, while Mikel had to settle for third and the Bronze Boot.

When the three received their awards, Messi and Mikel stood reluctantly on either side of Lin Feng, holding their Silver Boot and Bronze Boot trophies.

The two forced faint smiles for the cameras, but their smiles looked worse than crying.

If they had been given a choice, they truly would not have wanted to come up and accept those awards.

The guy in the middle was not only tall, but damn handsome too. Compared to him, Messi was short and Mikel was dark, and both were utterly crushed in terms of appearance.

Most infuriating of all, that tall, handsome bastard was also the winner. That made it even harder to bear!

The photographer did not care about any of that. He had the three move closer together, clicked the shutter, and took a Group Photo of the Youth World Cup's gold, silver, and bronze scorers.

After the photos were taken and the awards collected, the other two fled in embarrassment.

Lin Feng, meanwhile, returned to the newly erected podium and raised the Silver Trophy symbolizing the championship with his teammates!

The stadium lights flashed as countless reporters pressed their shutters, recording this Historic Moment.

This was the first time an Asian Team—and the Chinese team—had lifted the Youth World Cup title!

News of the China Youth Team's championship was like a massive bomb dropped into the Football World, creating tremendous shock and impact.

Major European media outlets rushed to report it immediately.

France's AFP: The Chinese Youth Team became the biggest dark horse of this Youth World Cup. They defeated powerhouses such as Germany, Brazil, Argentina, and Nigeria on their way to the final laugh!

Lin Feng was undoubtedly the Biggest Winner. He scored one goal and won a Penalty Kick in the final, helping the Chinese team win the championship while also claiming the Top Scorer award and the Ballon d'Or, making him the most dazzling player of this Youth World Cup.

Perhaps it was time to put him on this year's Golden Boy Award Nomination List. His performances had been no worse than those of top favorite Messi—perhaps even better!

The United Kingdom's Daily Mail: The Chinese came out on top. Although Nigeria performed better in terms of overall play, the Chinese team secured the victory.

Germany's Bild: Lin Feng became the hero of the Chinese team. This young Greuther Fürth player delivered a near-perfect performance in this Youth World Cup.

Germany's Kicker: Six goals in four matches—the German 2. Bundesliga's rising superstar shone on the Youth World Cup stage. Bayern Munich may make a move to sign him!

The United States' AP: A total of 25,000 fans attended the match, including FIFA President Blatter. Yet the two teams focused more on defending, while frequent fouls and ugly officiating ruined the game...

The Americans' report carried a rather sour tone. They had participated alongside the Chinese team, yet they had fallen in the Round of 16 while the Chinese team won the championship.

The shockwave caused by the China Youth Team's title did not merely shake Europe—it swept across the entire world at tremendous speed.

The first to feel its impact was the losing side in the final, the Nigerian Youth Team.

During the post-match interviews, Nigerian Head Coach Siasia said that he bore full responsibility for the defeat. He would submit his Resignation Letter to the Nigerian Football Association and step down as Head Coach.

The reporters had actually expected this outcome. After all, Nigeria had lost far too badly in the final and let down the expectations of the entire nation.

In such circumstances, someone had to step forward and take responsibility for the defeat.

In truth, Nigeria's players had already worked very hard on the pitch, but unfortunately, luck had not been on their side.

This team still had a solid foundation and plenty of Room for Growth in the future.

Team Core Mikel, however, was deeply dissatisfied with losing to the Chinese team:

"Our strength is no worse than theirs, but luck was not on our side!"

What he meant was that the China Youth Team had won through luck, and the remark carried more than a hint of being unable to accept defeat.

To prove his point, he openly challenged the Chinese team in front of numerous reporters, demanding that they settle the matter at the Olympic Games three years later.

With their strength, reaching the Olympic Games Main Tournament would be as easy as pie.

If luck favored them, perhaps they really would meet the Chinese team on the Olympic stage in the future.

Compared to Nigeria's Head Coach, who resigned with regret, China Youth Team Head Coach Klopp was all smiles:

"First, I want to thank the players for their hard work. I am very satisfied with their performance today.

Our opponents were a strong team. They played with great intensity and created plenty of good scoring opportunities, but we were the final winners because our players were better than theirs!"

His words were clearly a response to Mikel's absurd claim that the China Youth Team had won through luck.

The old man rarely praised his players so bluntly, but he was fiercely protective of them and would not allow anyone to slander his disciples.

At what should have been a joyous occasion, someone suddenly raised a very unwelcome question:

"Mr. Klopp, your contract with the Football Association will expire next month. Will you renew it?"

After hearing the reporter's question, Klopp fell silent for a moment before slowly speaking.

"I would be very willing to continue coaching these players, but the decision is not mine."

The moment he said that, the venue erupted.

The reporters were all shrewd people. How could they fail to understand what Klopp meant? The Football Association had not renewed Klopp's contract, nor had it even sent him an offer to renew.

This left every reporter shocked and confused. Klopp had achieved such outstanding results with the team, so what exactly was the Football Association doing? Were they going to discard him once he had done the job?

Did they not fear being condemned and cursed by fans across the country for treating a hero like this?

Or was there some hidden story behind it?

At that thought, the reporters became as excited as sharks smelling blood, each of them eager to break the news immediately.

Their professional instincts told them that once this news was reported, it would certainly cause a huge uproar across the country.

Sure enough, after the news was published, the Football Association was roasted over the coals.

Furious fans cursed everyone in the Football Association from top to bottom, kindly extending their greetings to their ancestors for eighteen generations.

But the Football Association, experienced as it was at being cursed, chose to play dead as usual.

Yet playing dead did not work every time.

While they were playing dead, the China Youth Team's young players spoke out collectively to urge Klopp to stay and continue coaching the team.

The young China Youth Team players' betrayal was like pulling the firewood from beneath the cauldron, making it impossible for the Football Association to keep playing dead.

In the end, the Football Association had no choice but to offer Klopp a renewal. The two sides extended the contract for three years, until after the 2008 Olympics!