Chapter 766 - 691: Group of Death

Chapter 766: Chapter 691: Group of Death

"Alright, that’s settled then."

Seeing that no one had any objections, Chen Yu made the final decision.

After he spoke, everyone in the room visibly breathed a sigh of relief.

The first step is always the hardest. Now that they had confirmed the general direction, the rest would be much easier.

Ewing even ran to get some glasses, insisting they should have a drink.

The past month or so had been quite taxing; they had certainly wracked their brains.

As everyone was chatting, Nelson suddenly asked a question. "Chen, for this World Cup draw, would you say the United States Team got a good draw or a bad one?"

Last week, the World Cup draw was held in Germany.

Chen Yu had gone with Contiguglia, and the United States Team was drawn into Group E.

Although soccer was slowly gaining popularity in the United States, the level of attention was still limited. Only a handful of media outlets reported on it, and people in the sports world didn’t pay it much mind either.

This time, the company had taken on a training consultant contract for the United States National Team’s training camp. Nelson would also be going to Germany, which was why he was paying some attention.

But he still didn’t really understand the intricacies.

Speaking of which, Chen Yu was reminded of a funny incident. He opened the laptop in front of him, went online to find a video, and projected it onto the screen opposite him, calling for everyone to watch.

"You all take a look and tell me if you think this draw was rigged."

It was a breakdown video from Sky Television of the draw ceremony.

It showed Lothar Matthaus, captain of the 1990 German National Team, acting as the representative to draw the teams from Pot 4.

First, they were determining the last team for Group A, Germany’s group.

Matthaus was seen reaching his hand into Bowl 4 and swirling it around. Then, the camera showed him grabbing a ball, but he immediately let it go, turned to grab another ball, and only then pulled it out.

The result was Costa Rica.

"He’s the former captain of the Germany Team, and drawing Costa Rica is an excellent draw for Germany. And did you notice the ball he dropped? That ball was our United States Team," Chen Yu explained.

"So? Was he deliberately avoiding us? Are we that strong?" Oakley asked, looking a bit lost.

The others had the same expression.

Chen Yu thought, ’You guys really don’t care about soccer at all, do you?’

"That’s right, we’re considered pretty strong. In the latest FIFA world power rankings, we’re ranked eighth in the world," Chen Yu said.

Ewing curled his lip and scoffed, "Only eighth in the world?"

In his mind, if you weren’t number one, you couldn’t be called strong.

"Yeah, just eighth in the world. No wonder nobody watches," Mookie Blaylock chimed in teasingly.

Chen Yu shook his head to himself.

’Eighth in the world is already very strong, okay?’

If the China Team could rank eighth in the world, Yan Shiduo would be laughing in his dreams.

By the way, in the latest rankings, the China Team was 69th, behind Kuwait.

Nelson said, "Chen, aren’t you part of FIFA? Shouldn’t you know better than anyone if there was cheating?"

Chen Yu thought, ’I’m just the chairman of the Medical Committee, not even on the Executive Committee. If there really was a conspiracy, how could I possibly have access to such a secret?’

"I’m also the head of the league’s health management department. Do you think I’d know if David and the others secretly decided the destination of the number one draft pick?" Chen Yu retorted.

At the mention of this, everyone immediately looked at Ewing.

The destination of the ’85 number one pick is still an unsolved mystery to this day.

And the number one pick was Ewing.

Ewing decisively threw his hands up in a shrug, indicating he didn’t know either.

Chen Yu pointed at the video and said, "You guys don’t follow this, so you don’t know, but this part of the draw caused quite a stir."

Of course, it was mainly Italy that was making a fuss.

Because if Matthaus had cheated, then the unluckiest team would be Italy.

This World Cup draw produced two "groups of death."

Pele’s luck with the draw was as bad as his infamous jinxes.

This time, he was in charge of drawing the teams from Pot 3.

He personally handed the Germany Team an excellent draw, pulling Poland for them.

Then he sent the Netherlands—the one unseeded team that nobody wanted to face—into Group C with Brazil’s archrival, Argentina.

When he drew the Netherlands, Cruyff, who was standing behind him, had a grim look on his face. He was probably cursing Pele to high heaven in his head.

And when German supermodel Heidi Klum drew Serbia and Montenegro from the special pot into Group C, the first group of death was officially formed.

The Netherlands had long been a thorn in Argentina’s side.

And Serbia and Montenegro was a traditional powerhouse from Eastern Europe.

Ivory Coast, moreover, was the dark horse from Africa.

Argentina would have a tough time advancing from the group stage.

The other group of death was Group E, where Italy was.

Chen Yu was there at the time, and the expression on Italian Football Association President Cararo’s face was as if he’d swallowed a fly; it was absolutely foul.

Combined with the little incident involving Matthaus, it was no surprise the Italian media went crazy with their complaints afterward.

Look at the teams in Group E: Italy, Ghana, the Czech Republic, and the United States Team.

The United States Team was the strongest team in Pot 4.

Ghana was widely considered the strongest of the five African teams.

The Czech Republic was also the strongest team in Pot 3.

And if you looked at the FIFA power rankings...

Italy was ranked 12th, while the United States was 8th, and the Czech Republic was all the way up at 2nd.

The FIFA rankings don’t tell the whole story about a team’s strength, but they do indicate something.

Therefore, Group E was the only group where two unseeded teams had higher power rankings than the seeded team.

And if they managed to get past the group stage, they might run into the Brazil Team from Group F.

In Group F, Brazil was highly likely to advance as the top team.

So, Italy had to finish first in their group. That was the only way to avoid Brazil and prevent a premature do-or-die clash.

And in a group of death like this, it’s very easy for things to go sideways unexpectedly.

That’s why the Italian media went ballistic, giving Matthaus a piece of their mind.

Everyone in the room watched the video a few more times, and then they all unhesitatingly agreed that Matthaus had cheated.

Who told you to be so fidgety, picking up one ball then putting it down to grab another?

If there was nothing shady about that, no one in their right mind would believe it.

Chen Yu smiled without saying a word. Conspiracy theories always find an audience.

"By the way, Chen, can we win the FIFA World Cup?" Ewing asked another question, putting his ignorance of soccer on full display.

Chen Yu thought for a moment and said, "The difficulty is like us not winning the championship in basketball."

Ewing’s face lit up. "So you’re saying we have a chance."

Because the Dream Team had been struggling quite a bit in recent years.

Chen Yu rolled his eyes at him. ’Did you even understand what I meant?’

Nelson seemed to have understood, as he rephrased the question. "Well then, Chen, who do you think will win this World Cup?"

Chen Yu considered this question seriously for a while.

"Brazil, I think."

Out of the 32 teams, the Brazil Team’s players had the highest combined market value in the world.

In ’02, they fell in the final.

As the saying goes, an army fighting from desperation is bound to win. They have that kind of drive.

Most importantly, Ronaldo has been preparing for this World Cup for four whole years.

His body, his technique, and his will have all been honed to their absolute peak.

Now 30 years old, he is at the very pinnacle of his career, and this is also the last dance of his peak.

Over these past four years, no one understood Ronaldo’s condition better than Chen Yu.

You could say that right now, no one in this world can stop him!

Even if the rest of the Brazil Team falters, Ronaldo can carry them to the final and lift the FIFA World Cup trophy!