Chapter 679 - 604: Goal Difference

Chapter 679: Chapter 604: Goal Difference

The purchase of Sun Hei Group still needed to be discussed, and Chen Yu hadn’t made a decision yet.

Tang Hemin, who had been a director for many years, was used to making grand promises. He boasted that he could sell Sun Hei Group to Chen Yu for just one million and even get Zhongyi Pharmaceutical to pull its title sponsorship.

Chen Yu took these words with a grain of salt, not quite believing them.

With the China League Two season over and Sun Hei Group having performed well, Chen Yu took a moment to step out and had his assistant contact a familiar reporter to inquire about the team’s spending this season.

The information he received was that Sun Hei Group had signed several foreign players this season, publicly announcing a total investment of twenty-five million.

’Maybe the owner bought seventy percent of the shares for a single yuan, but that twenty-five million investment was cold, hard cash.’

’So what if you’re Director Tang Hemin? You think you can make Sun Hei Group willingly sell its shares for a pittance with just a word?’

’Still, even if it cost over twenty million to buy Sun Hei Group, it wasn’t that expensive. That’s only a little over three million US dollars.’

’But again, it all came down to whether it was necessary.’

There was no rush. The Chinese Super League and China League Two seasons were over, and Sun Hei Group was on break. Even if he bought the team to compete in next year’s Chinese Super League, he still had several months to think about it.

Besides evaluating the market environment in Guang City, Chen Yu had come to Yuehai for another reason.

To watch the men’s National Team play.

On the 17th, the men’s National Team had a crucial match.

The second round of the 2006 World Cup qualifiers for the Asia region had begun. China’s National Team had been lucky during the draw, getting a very favorable grouping. They avoided the tougher opponents like Qatar, Iraq, and Oman, and were instead in a group with Kuwait, a team they had historically performed well against.

The other teams in the group, Hong Kong and Malaysia, were no match for the National Team at all.

Under these circumstances, the National Team advancing as the group winner seemed like a foregone conclusion.

But things didn’t develop as the Football Association had anticipated.

Last month, in an away game, the National Team unexpectedly lost to Kuwait.

That loss was devastating.

Now, the National Team and Kuwait were tied on points. To advance, it would all come down to goal difference.

For the matches on the 17th—the National Team versus Hong Kong, and Kuwait versus Malaysia—winning wasn’t the issue. The key was the goal difference they could rack up.

The two matches would start at almost the same time, though Kuwait’s would kick off a few minutes earlier. For the National Team, this was effectively an open-book test. Calculating the required number of goals and winning the match shouldn’t be a problem.

Before that, the National Team had already arrived in Guang City to play two friendly matches against Sun Hei Group’s reserve team.

Sun Hei Group’s reserve team played in the Hong Kong league, so their style of play was very similar to that of Hong Kong teams, which was why the National Team had chosen them for the friendlies.

The National Team had already gathered in Guang City, and the first friendly match had already been played.

The National Team won.

That was to be expected. Given the skill level of Sun Hei Group’s reserve team, if the National Team couldn’t even manage a win, they might as well pack their bags and go home.

Furthermore, due to a packed schedule, the reserve team hadn’t even fielded its starters, instead sending out a group of young players around eighteen years old.

The second match was tomorrow, on the 14th.

It was another closed-door match, not open to the public.

However, it was no problem for Chen Yu to get in to watch the match.

And when Chen Yu and his companions arrived at Tianhe Stadium the next day, Yan Shiduo, the head of the Football Association, had also made a surprise appearance in Guang City.

Previously, another vice-chairman of the Football Association, Yang Yiming, had come to Guang City with the team.

Perhaps for this reason, the organizers decided to open the previously closed-door match to the media.

When Chen Yu saw Yan Shiduo on the sidelines, the latter had just finished an interview with reporters and greeted him with a broad smile.

Chatting about the upcoming crucial match, Yan Shiduo said with a smile, "Well, despite a few minor setbacks, I’d say there’s no problem overall. With our team’s strength, making it to the final round of eight should be a sure thing."

Chen Yu nodded slightly.

’Yan Shiduo showing up now is probably to boost morale and rally the team,’ Chen Yu thought.

After all, there was no room for failure.

Because of Yan Shiduo’s arrival, Chen Yu noticed that a large number of reporters’ cameras were now aimed in his direction.

But Chen Yu didn’t mind. Even without Yan Shiduo, he drew a crowd of reporters wherever he went these days.

The two men sat down on the sidelines. Their entourages spread out to the side, giving them space to talk.

"Mr. Chen, you were only in the Capital for two days before you left, and you spent all your time talking with Director Yuan and his people. We haven’t had a chance to sit down for a proper chat."

Yan Shiduo watched Chen Yu with a smile. Seeing no change in Chen Yu’s expression, he continued, "I know about the plan you proposed to Director Yuan—the two-pronged approach, the separate track. I’m not against it, per se. I was just wondering if it might be a bit too complicated."

"After all, if we run two separate squads, allocating training resources will be an issue. Mr. Chen, couldn’t we just rebuild based on the current squad?"

"I feel their skills are more developed. Or we could pull players from the National Olympic Team. There are plenty of good prospects there, like Du Wei, Qu Bo, and others."

Chen Yu had proposed a solution for the National Team.

To create two separate squads.

One squad would be handed over to him. He would be responsible for selecting the players, and then, just like national teams in other sports, they would undergo intensive, centralized training and not participate in any professional leagues.

All expenses would be covered by the Sports Bureau.

Meanwhile, the current men’s National Team would be maintained. After all, they still had international matches to play and the 2006 World Cup qualifiers to get through. Disbanding them on the spot was obviously not an option.

"Mr. Yan, I’ve already discussed the reasons for this with Director Yuan, and he agreed. I don’t think there’s any need to discuss it further," Chen Yu said. He didn’t know why Yan Shiduo was waffling, but he wasn’t about to indulge him.

’Yuan Weimin didn’t have any objections. What right do you have to raise them?’

The smile vanished from Yan Shiduo’s face for a split second before returning just as quickly. He nodded immediately and said, "You’re overthinking it, Mr. Chen. I’m not objecting, I just feel it’s a pity for this current group of players."

He glanced down at the group of National Team players warming up on the sideline.

Many of them were players he had personally selected and had been following closely.

Although the National Team wouldn’t be disbanded immediately under Chen Yu’s plan, he intended to complete a full changing of the guard by the 2010 World Cup, replacing this entire generation of players.

In Yan Shiduo’s eyes, they were the generation being sacrificed.

Chen Yu followed his gaze, glancing at the National Team players warming up on the sideline.

’It’s not that their skills aren’t good enough. Without a doubt, they are still the best football players in China.’

’But they don’t meet my requirements.’

Chen Yu’s plan was to select a group of young players around fifteen to sixteen years of age.

They would undergo centralized training for three years.

Three years later, this group of players, now over eighteen, would compete in the 2008 Olympics.

At the same time, a mix of old and new players would be used for the qualifiers.

After another two years of training, they would be over twenty. In the prime of their youth, they would complete the changing of the guard and compete in the 2010 World Cup.

’Three years,’ Chen Yu thought. ’Starting early to plan their diet, train their bodies, and hone their skills. That should be enough.’

’If he planned any further out, Chen Yu was afraid it would take too long. By then, his supporter, Yuan Weimin, would have already retired for real.’

’Once a new director took over, it would be a classic case of ’a new master brings new servants.’ Who knew what the situation would be then.’