Chapter 280: Football Brings Hope

Chapter 280: Chapter 273: Football Brings Hope

Chen Tao was filled with gratitude for Yang Yang.

In just one short week, his situation had changed dramatically.

Yang Yang had stepped in to support him. On top of that, Wei Zhen from National Television and Captain Zhu from the National Team had also advocated on his behalf, finally convincing his club to give the green light for his move abroad.

Based on his current valuation, his market price was around seven hundred thousand Euros. The club had promised that if any team was willing to offer seven hundred thousand Euros for him, they could sign him at any time.

This fueled a fire within Chen Tao. He needed to deliver an even more outstanding performance to convince a European team to pay his seven-hundred-thousand-Euro transfer fee. This didn’t just apply to tonight’s World Cup qualifier, but also to his upcoming move abroad and the approaching FIFA U-20 World Cup.

In this match against Japan, he was playing with extraordinary effort and focus.

When he saw Yang Yang pass the ball out wide, it felt just like the Toulon Cup last year.

That time, Yang Yang had also sent him a similar pass. He had chased it down and crossed it into the penalty area.

This time, he chased after it with even greater conviction.

The Japan Team’s left-back, Miyamura Jun’ichi, was originally a midfielder but played as a defender for the national team. This made it somewhat difficult for him to handle Chen Tao, and when he saw Chen Tao catch up to the ball just before the byline, he lunged at him with his whole body.

Unexpectedly, Chen Tao suddenly cut the ball back, shielded Miyamura Jun’ichi with his body, and charged into the penalty area from the byline. The Japan Team’s entire defensive system completely collapsed.

Yang Yang had been waiting for Chen Tao to bring the ball in. He believed his teammate had that kind of ability.

It was a matter of trust!

On a football pitch, if you can’t trust your teammates, there’s no point in even playing the game.

So, when he saw Chen Tao burst into the box from the byline, Yang Yang quickly followed up.

Chen Tao cut the ball back to the edge of the six-yard box. Yang Yang arrived at full speed and calmly slotted it home with the inside of his foot.

The Japan goalkeeper dove to make the save, but the ball still slipped under him and into the net.

Two to one!

“GOAL!!!!!”

“A brace!”

“The great Yang Yang!”

“This is just unbelievable!”

After scoring, Yang Yang turned and ran to Chen Tao, grabbing his teammate’s hand as they both sprinted off the pitch to celebrate.

“That was Chen Tao with the assist for Yang Yang. He’s a key player for the National Youth Team, and his performance in this match has been excellent.”

“Looking at the slow-motion replay, the chemistry between Yang Yang and Chen Tao is incredible. When the ball was played wide, Chen Tao instinctively made the overlapping run, and his subsequent move to beat Miyamura Jun’ichi off the byline showcased his outstanding individual skill.”

“It must be said, the combination play between these two young players has shown us the hope for the future of Chinese Football.”

“Yang Yang’s calm finish puts the Chinese Team ahead once again.”

…

…

Two to one!

This goal from the Chinese Team dealt a major blow to the Japan Team’s morale.

It was an especially heavy blow considering their three-to-zero loss in the previous Asian Cup final.

Arie Haan quickly made a substitution, bringing on Xu Yunlong for Chen Tao to strengthen the team’s right-flank defense.

The rest of the match fell completely into the rhythm of the Chinese Team’s defensive counter-attacks.

The Japan Team also pushed forward in numbers, launching a frenzied offensive. However, the Chinese Team still kept counter-attacking threats like Yang Yang and Yan Song up front, which made things very awkward for Japan, preventing them from achieving their goal.

In the end, the Chinese Team, powered by Yang Yang’s brace, defeated Japan two to one, securing a hard-fought second consecutive win in the group stage.

Having scored a brace, Yang Yang, with his three goals, became the most eye-catching star of the final round of the Asian Zone qualifiers.

When Arie Haan substituted Yang Yang in the 86th minute, every Chinese fan in the stadium rose to their feet, cheering and giving the National Team’s hero a thunderous ovation.

In a post-match interview with a reporter from National Television, Yang Yang stated that it was by no means easy for the Chinese Team to win. The victory was earned through the hard work of every single player, not his own effort alone.

“Honestly, I don’t think we’re that much weaker than our opponents. If you were to tier the teams, South Korea, Japan, and Iran are indeed a cut above. There’s a certain gap in strength between us and them, but that can be completely offset by the players’ effort and the team’s tactics. That’s why we were able to win two consecutive group matches.”

Regarding the gap in strength, Yang Yang believed it was evident in many areas. He felt that Chinese players should be more numerous and more proactive in going abroad. “The European Leagues are truly a great training ground. They are incredibly beneficial for a player’s development. I believe that if more players went abroad to play in high-level European leagues, it would be a huge help in raising the level of Chinese Football.”

Zheng Zhi shared Yang Yang’s opinion. The National Team player, who had just joined Bundesliga side Mainz during the winter break, said that although he had only played a few matches, he was still shocked by Mainz’s tactics and the overall level of football in the Bundesliga.

“Forget everyone else, just look at Klopp. He’s not considered a famous head coach in the Bundesliga, but I personally feel his level is extremely high. Many of his ideas have had a profound impact on me. After playing in the Bundesliga and then coming back to the National Team, I feel like my style of play and even my way of thinking about the game have changed.”

Although Yang Yang was modest, deflecting the credit for the win to his teammates and coach, he was still met with overwhelming praise from the domestic media and fans after the match.

In the last round against Iran, he scored the only goal. In this round against Japan, he scored a brace.

So far, the Chinese Team had only played two matches in the final qualification round, scoring three goals, all of which came from Yang Yang. This made everyone realize just how important he was to this National Team.

However, some media outlets with ill intentions claimed that the two consecutive group stage wins were just a facade and that the National Team would soon be exposed for what they really were. During an interview with an authoritative domestic media outlet, Yang Yang directly attacked these claims.

“I’ve noticed that the statements from many domestic media outlets are irresponsible.”

“Football is a sport for eleven players. Even Maradona still needed the support of a group of outstanding teammates to walk the path of a legend.”

“Arie Haan might not be a coach with an exceptionally brilliant record, but I believe he is capable. Many of his ideas are gradually gaining acceptance in European Football. He comes from Ajax, and even Rijkaard, who is currently coaching Barcelona, uses a tactical system inherited from Ajax.”

“In fact, as everyone saw, even tonight against Japan, we were able to hold our own and engage in a back-and-forth battle. This in itself proves that the tactics formulated by the coaching staff are working.”

“I feel that, often, whether it’s the National Team or the governing bodies, the attitude toward the media is too tolerant and lenient. Freedom of speech is not wrong, of course, but what you say should have substance. It shouldn’t be based on groundless accusations and rumor-mongering.”

“During the Asian Cup, an authoritative domestic sports media outlet reported that seven national players had secretly gone out for a big meal before a match, which resulted in diarrhea. I was with the National Team at the time, and I never heard of such a thing. I believe that is slander and fabrication.”

“During the AFC U-19 Championship, a well-known domestic media personality wrote a column arguing that we should lose as an apology, even saying things like ‘dragons beget dragons, phoenixes beget phoenixes, and the son of a rat will know how to dig holes,’ implying the Chinese Team was not qualified to win. At the time, a teammate asked me, ‘Should we not have made it to this final? Otherwise, how are we supposed to understand why the domestic media is insulting us like this?'”

“I don’t know the answer to that. But what I do know is that these people are disgusting!”

“Football is fair. When we don’t perform well for various reasons, it punishes us and makes us lose. It’s painful, but that’s the price we have to pay.”

“Our level of football is low, our league is a mess, our youth development isn’t widespread enough… all of these are facts, and they all deserve to be condemned and criticized. But no one can take away our right to strive for victory.”

“In my eyes, football should bring hope.”

“We’ve experienced so much pain, so much disappointment. But it’s precisely because of this that we desire victory more than anyone, and we understand better than anyone just how hard success is to achieve.”

Yang Yang had been bottling up these words for a long time.

From last year’s Asian Cup to the AFC U-19 Championship, he had always held it in and endured it. But this time, Chen Tao’s situation made him feel it was necessary to step up and speak his mind.

And this time, he aimed his spear directly at certain parts of the domestic media.

Although he didn’t name names, anyone who had been paying attention to news about the National Team and the National Youth Team over the past two years could easily figure out which media outlets and which reporters Yang Yang was referring to.

Yang Yang’s fiery criticism and accusations immediately caused a huge uproar among the domestic media and fans.

Many fans relied on the media as their channel for news and information about the National Team. If the media couldn’t even report the truth, and instead fabricated fake news, what credibility did they have left?

Yang Yang’s statements exposed the false facade of many domestic media outlets. In the immediate aftermath, other media outlets pointed out that several so-called “famous” domestic football reporters had never conducted any on-site investigations or visits. They were writing their news articles from home based entirely on speculation, and even their “exclusive interviews” with star players were completely fabricated.

While Yang Yang’s comments were causing a massive stir back home, the National Team traveled for an away match against North Korea.

As the weakest team in the group, North Korea played with great effort on their home turf, but the Chinese Team ultimately defeated them two to zero with goals from Chen Tao and Shao Jiayi.

Yang Yang didn’t score in this match, but he did provide an assist and put on several brilliant displays up front.

After returning to China from North Korea, Yang Yang went straight back to Beijing. He didn’t stay long, however, boarding a flight back to Amsterdam that very night.

Everyone knew he didn’t want to get caught up in the domestic turmoil.

But this time, Yang Yang wasn’t alone. Traveling with him was his National Team teammate, Chen Tao.