Hong Kong Team The players walked to the locker room with a 4:0 lead, the expressions on their faces were a mixture of excitement and restraint. Fan Chun-yip patted Zhang Kuang on the back and kept laughing.
Troussier stood at the entrance of the players' tunnel, high-fiving every player who came in. France's expression remained calm, but the curve of the corner of his mouth gave him away.
China national football team's players walked quickly into the tunnel with their heads lowered, and no one spoke.
Camacho walked at the back, his steps were very slow, his hands were in his trouser pockets, and his face looked particularly pale under the light.
He glanced at 4:0 on the scoreboard, then turned away and disappeared into the shadows of the tunnel.
The China national football team fan area in the North Stand fell into silence.
Some people are holding their heads, some are looking down at their phones, and some are still shouting in vain, "China National Team, come on", but the momentum in their voices has been lost from the opening.
The Hong Kong Team fans in the South Stand were completely released.
Singing, shouting, and drumming were intertwined, and the banner 'Zhang Kuang Dominates the Arena' was raised higher, fluttering in the wind under the lights, like a victory flag.
In Chairman He's box, Hong Kong's top football-loving executives were having a great time gathering together, but when he heard his assistant tell him that the head of the national team, Wei Di, was going to meet him alone, he seemed to have a bad premonition.
After that, he did not let Wei Di come to his box, but he took the initiative to go to Wei Di's box.
Wei Di was very happy and shook hands with Chairman He warmly.
"Chairman He, Hong Kong Team's reform has been very successful, and it is an example for us China national football team to learn from. Now China national football team is also in a period of turmoil and change. We will study your successful experience carefully."
Chairman He: "The leadership deserves praise. We just follow the rules on the football field and play pragmatic football. Moreover, Hong Kong Team has relatively few constraints and is easy to reform. We can easily naturalize players and introduce the most advanced training and tactical ideas."
Wei Di: "Oh, Chairman He, you are so right. Hong Kong Team has fewer constraints and is easy to change, unlike the mainland... Hey, let's not talk about this."
Wei Di thought for a moment, "Chairman He, Hong Kong Team's changes are visible to the naked eye. I didn't expect China national football team to lose four goals in the half. It seems that China national football team can't turn the tables.
Chairman He and Zhang Kuang have also scored three goals. Hong Kong Team must have won too. Look, let Zhang Kuang rest in the second half, otherwise China national football team's confidence will collapse if he loses the ball again, which will not be good for rebuilding. Camacho loses a big score for the first time he leads the team. It doesn't look good."
He Hui immediately understood and smiled bitterly. Sure enough, he knew that there would be nothing good to do with him.
Chairman He: "I understand what the leader means. Let me convey your opinion. However, I can't vouch for whether you listen or not. This depends not only on the head coach's intention, but also on Zhang Kuang's personal wishes.
You also know that the administrative orders of our association are not as strong as those in the Mainland and cannot interfere with many of the team's decisions."
Wei Di smiled and nodded, "Okay, if Zhang Kuang doesn't want to, don't force it. As a young man, it's not impossible to let him vent some grievances, but he has to have a certain limit, right? Just ask him."
Chairman He: "Okay, then I'll ask you now."
Zhang Kuang and Troussier were called out of the locker room together. Chairman He would not go to the locker room and Guangming would talk about these things openly.
Originally he wanted to make a call, but later he felt that calling would be disrespectful to Zhang Kuang, so he came down specifically.
When Zhang Kuang heard the information conveyed by Chairman He, he looked at He Qigang next to him who looked shocked. It was obvious that He Qigang had just learned this information.
He Qigang: "Dad, how could they do this? Intervene if they can't win?"
Chairman He waved his hand to interrupt He Qigang and just stared at Zhang Kuang.
Chairman He: "Zhang Kuang, do you think the national team can make a comeback in the second half if you are off the field? I'm afraid it will be difficult, even if all Hong Kong Team defends, they can't score four goals, right? It will create a tragedy for the national team, make the domestic leaders look bad, make the peers look bad, and even make the domestic fans look bad. You just scored a few more goals."
Of course, I am not speaking for the mainland, but I am thinking about you. I don't want you to be ruined by the endless public opinion and the hostility of the mainland. In order to score a few more goals, there is no need."
He Qigang heard this, his angry expression was stunned for a moment, and then he started thinking.
Zhang Kuang also frowned and thought for a moment, and finally nodded towards Chairman He.
Zhang Kuang: "Okay, I can end it, but... forget it, I understand what the president means, and he is also thinking about me to some extent. I am not a pedantic person, nor am I someone who has to do things to perfection."
Chairman He nodded happily. "Okay, Zhang Kuang, sometimes what I hate the most when I'm young is things like 'humanity' and 'moderation'.
But as everyone grows older and has more social experience, you will know that no one in this society can escape the "sophistication of the world" and "the golden mean". Only those who learn to grasp the scale are the real masters.
I'm very pleased that you can figure this out, it shows that you are not just a person driven by passion and emotion, but also a rational person who can assess the situation."
Zhang Kuang smiled knowingly and spread his hands.
"President, I used to think that many injustices were only like this in China. When I went to the West, I discovered that they were worse off than us. So, the world is as black as crows, and I didn't lose anything anyway."
Chairman He nodded. "Yes, that's right."
Next, Chairman He spoke to Troussier in English. Troussier was speechless to the extreme, but Zhang Kuang explained it to him in French, and finally Troussier nodded.
--
During the midfield analysis, CCTV was in Hong Kong Stadium's live broadcast room, and He Wei's voice was obviously heavy. "At the end of the first half, China Hong Kong Team temporarily led China National Team 4:0 with Zhang Kuang's three shots and one pass.
This is Camacho's first official international competition after coaching China national football team. We fell behind by four goals at halftime. I'm afraid no one could have predicted this situation before the game."
Xu Yang also frowned tightly. "China national football team's problem is very obvious, the defensive interception in the midfield is completely ineffective. The double midfielder combination of Zheng Zhi and Huang Bowen is theoretically balanced, but the actual performance is not satisfactory.
But Hong Kong Team's counterattack efficiency is too high. After stealing the ball, they can hit behind China national football team's defense with three passes and two passes. Zhang Kuang's speed and impact put China national football team's defense in a completely passive position.
Adjustments must be made in the second half, otherwise the score may continue to expand. If the national team loses 0:7, then... Well, I didn't expect Hong Kong Team to be so strong."
He Wei: "Yes, then, Director Xu will help you analyze the offensive and defensive problems of both sides in the first half and see what went wrong with China national football team's four goals..."
Not only CCTV was analyzing, but TVB's live sports events were also analyzing. Soon, the 15-minute halftime ended.
There were a lot of discussions among netizens on the Internet, and the national team's dressing room was even more sullen, having conceded four goals. Camacho criticized the defensive players in the middle, but the defensive players had a lot to say, it's not that they don't want to defend, it's that they really can't defend. Who would have thought that Zhang Kuang would be that strong?
The second half of the game is about to begin, everyone has turned their attention to the court, and the players have returned to the court.
He Wei: "Okay, audience friends, welcome back to the 2014 World Cup Asian Qualifiers focus game of the top 20 Group A in the third stage of the 2014 China Hong Kong Team home game against China National Team... Ah, change, change?
Audience friends, China Hong Kong Team made a substitution at the beginning of the second half. They replaced No. 33, Zhang Kuang, with No. 9 Chan Siu-ki! This..."
He Wei's last sentence was raised by an octave. Obviously, this substitution shocked him.
Not only was he shocked, but Xu Yang and TVB commentators Chung Chi-kwong and Wong Hing-kwai were also shocked.
Chung Chi-kwong: "What's going on? What happened in the midfield? Why did Hong Kong Team make such a strange substitution?"
Wong Hing-kwai: "Could it be that midfielder Zhang Kuang had something unpleasant with the head coach or a player, so he was replaced..."
Chung Chi-kwong: "Unlike, Zhang Kuang is quite relaxed with everyone on the bench..."
Wong Hing-kwai: "Then, why? Does anyone want to Zhang Kuang..."
Chung Chi-kwong: "Perhaps Troussier feels that victory is guaranteed, so Zhang Kuang can rest and prepare better for the match against Jordan four days later."
Chung Chi-kwong quickly interrupted Wong Hing-kwai, saying there were some things he couldn't say.
Xu Yang on the other side obviously thought of something.
Xu Yang: "It seems that the head coach of Hong Kong Team is accumulating strength for the next game. Now that Zhang Kuang is off the field, the pressure on the national team will be much less. I hope to produce some content."
He Wei: "Ahem, yes, Hong Kong Team is accumulating energy to make plans for qualifying for the entire group stage..."
The commentators' cover-up can't cover up the fans' eyes. Not to mention the online fans exploded, the fans at the scene also exploded.
"Fuck, replace Zhang Kuang? Shady, refund the money!"
"Shady story, refund the money!"
"Shady story, refund the money!"
"Shady story, refund the money!"
"..."
A uniform voice rang out in the stadium, but everyone at the scene pretended not to hear it. The China National Team players all had complicated eyes on their faces, and finally gained some fighting spirit.
The comments online are even crazy.
"What's the situation? If the problem cannot be solved, the person who created the problem will be solved? So? Zhang Kuang was solved?"
"Ahem, people upstairs, please pay attention to your wording. What do you mean Zhang Kuang has been solved? Can't it be to prepare for the game with Jordan?"
"Fuck you, do you think all fans are fools? Are you blind?"
"I'm not blind, but I don't think there's any problem with this? Hong Kong Team has scored enough goals and doesn't want to score any more. What's the problem?"
"This is letting go, this is shady, this is..."
"..."
In nearly 49 minutes of the game, China National Team failed to score a goal after Zhang Kuang came off the field, and Hong Kong Team almost scored a goal.
In these 49 minutes, China National Team shot 8 times and 4 times on target, while Hong Kong Team shot 6 times and 3 times on target. Neither side scored a goal.
However, judging from the information and competition content, Hong Kong Team, without Zhang Kuang, fought back and forth with China National Team, not falling behind at all.
This completely paralyzed the players of China National Team. They used to think that Hong Kong Team was stronger because of Zhang Kuang. Now Zhang Kuang gave up half time. They still couldn't do anything against Hong Kong Team, and almost got a goal by Hong Kong Team.
When the 94th minute passed, China National Team finished its last attack, and after Gao Lin kicked the ball out with the last kick, the whistle sounded!
"Beep--beep--beep--"
Al Jassim blew the whistle to end the game.
Hong Kong Stadium fell into a complete carnival at that moment.
Red flags surged in the stands, and singing, shouting, and drumming converged into a huge wave of sound whose specific melody could not be distinguished.
The voices of 40,000 people were suppressed like a moving wall, making people's eardrums buzz.
The scoreboard is marked with: China Hong Kong Team 4:0 China National Team.
He Wei's voice came from the CCTV live broadcast room, with an extremely restrained and heavy tone. "The referee Al Jassim from Qatar blew the whistle to end the game, 2014 Brazil World Cup Asia District Qualifiers Top 20 Group A, China Hong Kong Team defeated China National Team with a score of 4:0 with Zhang Kuang's hat trick and an assist.
This was a game that surprised everyone, a game that made China football think again. Because all four goals came in the first half, Hong Kong Team replaced Zhang Kuang at the beginning of the second half.
In the second half, the national team fought fiercely with Hong Kong Team for 48 minutes and handed in a 0:0 answer. This was a very surprising result.
I have always thought that many domestic fans think Hong Kong Team is a weak team. If Zhang Kuang were not in the team, they would not even be able to enter the top 20. But reality shows that Hong Kong Team without Zhang Kuang is not worse than the national team. This is what is surprising.
It's time for our national team to rebuild. We have failed to reach the top 10 for three consecutive years, and now even Hong Kong Team is better than us."
Xu Yang was silent for a few seconds before speaking, "Zhang Kuang is indeed too strong, with three goals and one assist, all of them are wonderful. But the problem with China national football team... is not just the problem of not being able to guard against Zhang Kuang."
Our midfielder completely lost control of the game under high pressure, our defense looked cumbersome and slow when facing speedy forwards, and our offensive organization lacked layering and change.
These problems are deep-seated and cannot be solved by changing one or two players. Camacho I am afraid it will take longer than we think.
And in the half-time after Zhang Kuang came off the field, our offensive problem was even more serious. There was only thunder but no rain. None of our offensive players had even one-tenth of Zhang Kuang's ability to shoot.
8 shots and 4 shots on target. With Zhang Kuang's conversion rate, he must score at least 2 goals. In Premier League, he sometimes didn't have 8 shots in a game, but he averaged more than 2 goals per game.
Therefore, the current national team is not only having problems in the midfield and backcourt, but also in the frontcourt. The midfielder and backcourt have no ability to resist a superstar like Zhang Kuang, and the frontcourt shot eight times without even scoring a goal. This is the biggest problem."
He Wei: "Yes, the national team should take this opportunity to reform. Not to mention, Hong Kong Team has given us a good example. They only reformed for less than a year, but the changes are significant."
Xu Yang: "Before, the national team may have been under pressure to reform. They were afraid of carrying too many fans' expectations, so they could only reform cautiously. Now, the fans' enthusiasm is shouldered by Hong Kong Team, and the national team can take off the burden and carry out reforms..."
He Wei: "Well, immediately after the game, we saw Zhang Kuang celebrating with his teammates on the field. But at the same time, he also walked to the north stand, which direction is the stand for China national football team fans. He stood there and bowed, and he was also full of enthusiasm for the domestic fans..."
The Hong Kong Team players rushed to the center of the field, hugging each other and laughing like a group of children.
Troussier walked out of the technical area, high-fiving and hugging the players one by one. France finally showed that undisguised smile of satisfaction on his face.
On the other side, the China national football team players stood there, no one spoke.
Zheng Zhi stood with his hands on his hips and his head lowered for a long time. Then he turned around, walked toward the goal, and hugged Yang Zhi.
The two veterans patted each other on the back without saying a word.
Li Weifeng untied his hair tie, scratched his soaked hair, and then walked towards the China national football team fan stand, where there were still hundreds of fans who had not left.
He bowed.
Then he turned and walked toward the tunnel, his steps slow and heavy.
Camacho stood on the sidelines with his hands in his trouser pockets, looking at the disciples on the court. There was no expression on his face.
Spain didn't go to the players' tunnel. He stood there, as if waiting for something.
The remaining China national football team fans in the North Stand were still applauding sparsely, as if they were saying goodbye.
After Zhang Kuang thanked the fans, he walked towards Zheng Zhi.
Captain China national football team was chatting quietly with his teammates at the tunnel. When he saw Zhang Kuang walking over, he stopped.
The two stood facing each other.
Zheng Zhi stretched out his hand first, which was a standard handshake gesture between players. But Zhang Kuang shook hands with Zheng Zhi, then he took off his jersey and handed it over.
Zheng Zhi was stunned for a moment, and then took off his jersey.
The two exchanged jerseys.
When Zheng Zhi took over the red No. 33 jersey, he lowered his head and glanced at the 'ZHANG' on the back, then raised his head and nodded towards Zhang Kuang.
He stretched out his palm, and Zhang Kuang gave him a knowing high-five.
The two of them didn't say anything, but the high-five said it all.
"Zhang Kuang and Zheng Zhi exchanged jerseys," He Wei's voice carried some complicated emotions, "This is mutual respect between professional players.
Everyone has their own rights on the court, but they can still shake hands and make peace off the court. I hope Zhang Kuang will have a chance in the future... and I also hope China national football team can get over this defeat as soon as possible."
Xu Yang: "The game is a competition, and friendship is friendship. Moreover, this is still an internal competition within China. It doesn't matter who loses or wins. What is important is that they all represent China football. Although there are some twists and turns and controversies, in the end, the honors they win belong to China people..."
Zhang Kuang got the match ball because he scored a hat trick.
Of course, this is not the focus. The focus is on the subsequent interviews and post-match press conference.
Everyone wants to know why Hong Kong Team was replaced by Zhang Kuang in midfield.