Facing the Brazil Team!

After the Football Association issued the Salary Cap Order in 2005, the maximum annual salary for a Chinese Super League player was capped at 1 million.

Even before the salary cap was implemented, Li Jinyu, who held the highest salary in the Chinese Super League in 2004, only earned 3.2 million RMB per year.

And who was Li Jinyu?

He was the top scorer of the Chinese Super League and the league's number one player!

Compared to Li Jinyu, Dong Fangzhuo had a massive gap in both individual ability and seniority.

Yet, his annual salary was actually higher than Li Jinyu's!

Is there no justice?

Is there no law?

It was no wonder that everyone's eyes turned red upon hearing about Dong Fangzhuo's annual salary.

Let alone the others, even Chen Tao felt his heart race, and his desire to study abroad became significantly more firm.

"By the way, isn't Lin Feng also playing in Germany? Why don't you ask him about his annual salary!"

Dong Fangzhuo turned his head to look at Lin Feng, who was standing to the side, and the other teammates also cast their gazes toward him.

Lin Feng could hardly resist giving Dong Fangzhuo a mental thumbs-up; it was truly a case of someone handing him a pillow just as he was getting sleepy!

Just as Dong Fangzhuo was introducing his own salary earlier, Lin Feng had already observed the shift in everyone's emotions.

With Dong Fangzhuo's example already set, all he had to do now was further deepen the impression in their minds that "playing abroad pays well."

Therefore, he decided to go with the flow and add fuel to the fire.

"My team isn't a powerhouse; it's just an ordinary German 2. Bundesliga team, so my annual salary isn't as high as Brother Dong's."

Hearing this, everyone calmed down quite a bit. That's right, the team Dong Fangzhuo played for was Manchester United, which couldn't be judged by ordinary standards.

But Lin Feng's next words made their breathing turn ragged.

"My annual salary is only about 300,000 euros!"

300,000 euros!

Only?

Are you trying to humble-brag here?

At the current Euro Exchange Rate, 300,000 euros converted to RMB was nearly 2.9 million!

This was nearly three times higher than the annual salary of the Chinese Super League's top player after the salary cap!

And this was just the salary from an ordinary German 2. Bundesliga team!

Thinking of this, everyone's breathing became rapid.

They couldn't go to a powerhouse like Manchester United, but for a team at the level of the German 2. Bundesliga, there might be a way if they worked hard enough.

Even if they couldn't get an annual salary as high as Lin Feng's, if they cut it in half, it would still be several times better than playing domestically, right?

What's more, there were the Big Five Leagues in Europe, where the professional development ceiling was much higher.

If they performed well in the lower-tier leagues and caught the eye of a team in the Big Five Leagues, they could truly soar to new heights.

Currently, the number one player in Chinese football was Sun Jihai, who played in the Premier League. It was said his weekly salary was 12,500 Pound Sterling, which, when converted, amounted to an annual salary of nearly 10 million RMB.

This annual salary was basically ten times the top salary for domestic players!

Playing for one year was equivalent to a domestic player playing for ten; it was clear at a glance where it was more promising to play!

Once they thought of this, regardless of whether they had considered studying abroad before, everyone now wished they could immediately transfer to a European team and start their career abroad.

"Brother Dong, Brother Lin, I want to study abroad. Do you have any connections?"

Hao Junmin, whose family background was relatively poor, was the first to lose his composure, impatiently making a request to Dong Fangzhuo and Lin Feng, the two veterans who had ventured into European leagues.

If possible, he even wanted to finalize the transfer this summer.

"No problem. I'll talk to my agent later and have him help you see if there are any suitable teams."

Dong Fangzhuo's agent, Gao Qi, had some influence in the circle.

His initial transfer to Manchester United had been orchestrated by him.

So, upon hearing Dong Fangzhuo's promise, Hao Junmin felt a sense of relief.

Seeing that Hao Junmin had received a promise, the others spoke up one after another, asking Dong Fangzhuo for help.

Everyone calling him "Brother Dong" made Dong Fangzhuo feel incredibly satisfied, so he took on the responsibility and agreed to everything.

Chen Tao frowned on the side, seemingly wanting to say something, but in the end, he didn't speak.

He was the rising star of this Youth World Cup, and with his strength and fame, he naturally didn't need to rely on Dong Fangzhuo's connections to find a team.

In fact, before heading to the Netherlands for the Youth World Cup, he had already received olive branches from quite a few European teams.

It was just that, due to contract issues at the beginning of the year, his relationship with Shenyang Ginde had become quite unpleasant, which led to significant obstacles in his path to studying abroad—perhaps the greatest among all of them.

They say that once a person has a clear goal, their entire spirit and energy undergo a transformation.

This was profoundly reflected in the Youth National Team players!

When everyone made playing abroad their goal, they realized something deeply.

It is not easy to play abroad; otherwise, the number of domestic players playing overseas would not be so small.

Limited by the level of the Chinese Super League, scouts in Europe rarely pay attention to the Chinese Super League.

If they want to attract the attention of European teams, they must seize the opportunity of this 2005 Youth World Cup.

Playing one good game on an international stage in Europe is far more important than playing ten good games in their own domestic league.

Therefore, almost everyone was fired up, wanting to perform well in the upcoming matches to prove their strength and value, hoping to impress their future employers.

The Youth National Team players' adrenaline-fueled training attitude left the coaches feeling very puzzled:

"Could Old man Klopp's day off really be that magical? How did the players change so much after just one day out?"

Several Chinese coaches gathered together, whispering to each other.

It wasn't just them who couldn't figure it out; even Klopp himself was a bit bewildered:

How did these guys become so diligent, hardworking, and full of energy?

If he couldn't figure it out, he wouldn't dwell on it—at least this change in the players was a good thing, wasn't it?

Four days passed in a flash.

Soon, the day of the match between the Youth National Team and the Brazil Team arrived.

Compared to the previous match against the German team, the number of Chinese fans who came to the stadium to watch this game was even greater.

The entire stands were almost completely covered in red, and the Five-star red flag could be seen waving everywhere.

Back home, although the match time was approaching Three o'clock in the morning.

Countless fans were still staying up in front of their televisions with dark circles under their eyes, yawning and fighting off sleep, waiting to watch this crucial match.

Although everyone knew very well that the chances of the Youth National Team defeating the powerful Brazil Team were slim.

But they still chose to stand firmly by the Youth National Team, accompanying them to the end.

"Chinese team!"

"Go!"

"Chinese team!"

"Go!"

Seeing the Youth National Team players enter the field, the fans in the stands, led by a big man with a sturdy build, let out a uniform cheer.

This majestic sound immediately caught the attention of the players on both sides.

"Damn! So many people came?"

"This treatment is almost on par with the National team!"

The Youth National Team players were all shocked and excited.

They had never enjoyed such treatment before.

"I wonder if they'll yell even louder when we lose later!"

"Shut your mouth!"

Someone made a snide remark, and the comment made everyone laugh.

After the laughter died down, everyone's eyes became determined.

Even if it was just for these fans who supported them, they had to go all out in this match and fight the Samba players!

The Brazil Team on the sidelines was also surprised by the commotion in the stands, but this only provoked their disdain.

What level are they?

They dare to dream of defeating our powerful Samba football?

A football desert should act like a football desert!

As the absolute kings of the football world in this era, the Brazil Team possessed great deterrent power just by their name.

If it were in the past, these young players from the Youth National Team would probably have been three parts afraid before the match even started.

But this time it was clearly different; the adrenaline-fueled group looked at the Brazilian players with no fear, only intense fighting spirit.

Even if the King of Heaven himself came today, they would go all out to break a few of his molars!

At 20:30, the referee blew the whistle to start the match.

The 2005 Youth World Cup quarter-final, Youth National Team vs. Brazil Team, officially kicked off.