Chapter 26 The Japanese Are Also Aiming for Gold

The match between China and Mexico wasn't the first of the London Olympics, but it was certainly one of the earlier ones.

By the twenty-sixth, all of the first-round group matches had concluded.

The main theme of the first round was "upsets." Compared to other unexpected results, the Chinese Olympic team's victory over Mexico's was hardly worth mentioning.

The host team, Great Britain, making their debut in the last match of the round against South Korea, was held to a 1-1 draw, creating a minor upset.

The result wasn't the only disappointment; the team also faced off-field controversy. During the pre-match national anthem, Welsh players Giggs and Bellamy didn't sing, which drew criticism from British fans who viewed it as disrespectful and undisciplined.

Adding fuel to the fire, just the day before the match, Welsh star Gareth Bale, playing for Tottenham Hotspur in the United States, scored the only goal in a friendly. This sparked outrage in the British media because, just three weeks earlier, Bale had claimed an injury forced him to withdraw from the Olympics, causing widespread disappointment. His strong performance in a Tottenham Hotspur friendly was unacceptable to British fans and media alike.

Zhou Yi was right: the seemingly strong British Olympic team was plagued by internal strife. What kind of fighting spirit could such a team possess?

In the first round, Brazil, another powerful team, narrowly defeated Egypt. After leading by three goals in the first half, they allowed Egypt to score two in the second, almost resulting in a draw.

However, none of these were the biggest upset. That title belonged to Group D, where the seeded Spanish Olympic team lost 0-1 to Japan!

The defeat caused a significant stir in Spain. Spanish media called it "the first Olympic slap," with *Mundo Deportivo* commenting that the Spanish team was unrecognizable. They noted that if Japan had capitalized on more counter-attack opportunities, the score could have been even wider.

Everyone had high hopes for Spain to win gold, completing their World Cup, European Championship, and Olympic grand slam. But the loss to Japan complicated Spain's future.

Japan, on the other hand, was ecstatic. Japanese media outlets like *Nikkan Sports* hailed the victory as the "Glasgow Miracle," while *Sankei Sports* ran the headline "Japan Shocks the World." *Mainichi Shimbun* excitedly declared, "Otsu Yuki Sinks the Invincible Armada." The entire country was filled with a festive atmosphere.

Otsu Yuki, who scored the winning goal for Japan, told reporters, "Our goal is to win gold!"

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"Hey, Zhou Yi, look, Japan has the same goal as us!" Yang Muge said, handing Zhou Yi a newspaper he'd just bought.

The British newspaper featured a photo of Japanese players celebrating their victory.

Although China had defeated Mexico, their success was overshadowed by Japan's stunning upset of the world champions.

"Tch, those little Japanese guys want to?" Sun Pan chimed in.

"Japan definitely has the strength to do it," Zhou Yi said, stroking his chin.

"Will… will we face them?" Guo Nu asked.

"If everything goes according to plan, we'll meet them in the semi-finals," Zhou Yi replied.

"That's great! I'll teach them a lesson! I'll avenge your loss in the Asian Cup final!" Sun Pan patted Zhou Yi on the shoulder.

Zhou Yi rolled his eyes. "Winning against a bunch of Olympic players won't bring back the Asian Cup."

As they talked, they walked towards the athletes' village.

Nearing the entrance, they noticed a large crowd gathered ahead.

"Trouble?" Sun Pan asked, a hint of excitement in his voice.

"What are you hoping for!" Yang Muge couldn't help but retort.

As they got closer, they saw that the crowd was made up of Japanese people speaking Japanese, including reporters and athletes.

They were shouting someone's name, a name Zhou Yi recognized.

"Kagawa—!"

Zhou Yi was surprised—Kagawa Shinji was here?

Pushing forward, he saw his teammate from Dortmund, Kagawa Shinji, dressed casually and signing autographs for the fans who surrounded him. Most of these fans were members of the Japanese Olympic delegation. As he signed autographs, a group of young men in Japanese Olympic team tracksuits stood nearby, watching him respectfully.

Japanese reporters circled the scene, taking photos.

It was a scene befitting a superstar.

Watching this, Zhou Yi couldn't help but smile. He raised his hand and said, "It's fine to be a fan, but don't block the traffic!"

He spoke in German.

Hearing this, Kagawa Shinji turned around abruptly and spotted Zhou Yi smiling behind several reporters. He was delighted. "Zhou-san?! What are you doing here?"

"Well, I am a genuine member of the Chinese Olympic delegation," Zhou Yi said, grabbing the Chinese flag on his jacket and showing it to him. "Shouldn't I be here? What are you doing here?"

"We beat Spain yesterday, so I came to cheer everyone on," Kagawa Shinji said, pointing to the Japanese Olympic team players.

"I heard, you guys were great," Zhou Yi said to the Japanese Olympic team players, in German, of course. He wasn't worried that the Japanese Olympic team players wouldn't understand. Kagawa Shinji would translate for them.

As expected, after Kagawa Shinji translated Zhou Yi's words into Japanese, the Japanese Olympic team players looked at Zhou Yi with gratitude.

Although Zhou Yi was a Chinese player, his strength and achievements spoke for themselves. Japan was a country that admired the strong, and they naturally respected players like Zhou Yi.

Besides, Kagawa Shinji, whom they treated with such deference, was also very respectful to Zhou Yi.

After exchanging greetings, Zhou Yi decided it was time to stop stealing Kagawa Shinji's thunder. Looking at the Japanese reporters, he saw that they had turned their cameras towards him and Kagawa Shinji. Originally, Kagawa's visit to the Olympic Village to support the Japanese Olympic team was the news, but his arrival had turned it into Zhou Yi and Kagawa Shinji reminiscing in the Olympic Village.

So Zhou Yi decided to return the stage to the original star.

However, before leaving, he said to the Olympic team players, "I heard you want to win gold? You'll have to get past me first."

This time, he didn't use German, but blurted out a string of Japanese!

His words, spoken with a smile and in slightly broken Japanese, sounded rather comical. But no one laughed.

Instead, the Japanese Olympic team players were shocked, and even Kagawa Shinji's expression became serious.

After speaking, Zhou Yi turned and rejoined his teammates, leaving with ease.

"Damn, Zhou Yi, you can speak Japanese?" Sun Pan asked in surprise.

"A little, I know a little."

"But how… how do you know Japanese?" Guo Nu was also surprised.

"It makes it easier to discuss virtuous and talented teachers with Kagawa," Zhou Yi replied.

Sun Pan and Guo Nu were speechless.

Yang Muge didn't care why Zhou Yi learned Japanese. He wasn't surprised that Zhou Yi could say a few words after having a Japanese teammate. He was curious about what Zhou Yi had said in Japanese, so he asked, "What did you say to them?"

"Oh, nothing much. I just told them that if they want to win gold, they have to get my permission first," Zhou Yi said with a smile.

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"What did he just say?"

"Did he really say that?"

"It sounded like… he did say that… although the pronunciation wasn't very good, that's what he meant…"

"He said that if we want to win gold, we have to get past him first?"

"Yes."

"This…"

The Japanese Olympic team players discussed among themselves, eventually falling silent. Zhou Yi seemed fully qualified and capable of saying such things to them, but football wasn't an individual sport; it was a team sport. Did Zhou Yi have the right to say such arrogant words, and did the Chinese team have the right?

In the eyes of the Japanese Olympic team players, even though the Chinese team had many players playing abroad, the question still remained. The Japanese Olympic team also had many players playing abroad, even more than the Chinese team, totaling six.

"Zhou-san is very strong, but I'll make him realize that football is still a team sport!" Otsu Yuki, who scored the winning goal for Japan in the previous match, said confidently.

His words resonated with the other Japanese Olympic team players.

But just as the Japanese Olympic team players were fired up, Kagawa Shinji suddenly scolded, "You idiots! Do you think the other players on the Chinese team are pushovers?"

As a Dortmund player, he had faced Yang Muge before. Yang Muge's calmness and tenacity in defense had left a very deep impression on him.

Although he hadn't played against Sun Pan, the fact that he was the main goalkeeper for Atletico Madrid and had won the Europa League showed his strength.

As for the other two players playing abroad, they must have their own special skills.

Most importantly, Zhou Yi's sudden words made Kagawa Shinji think of the Asian Cup, and he had a bad feeling.

Zhou Yi must have a thorn in his side from missing that Asian Cup final. That thorn would always be in his heart, making him uncomfortable. The Asian Cup final couldn't be replayed, but if China and Japan met again at the Olympics, he might settle that old score with this Japanese Olympic team. If the Olympic team didn't take their opponents seriously, they might really lose.

Zhou Yi's words were undisguised and blatantly showed his determination to defeat Japan.

This was what worried Kagawa Shinji the most. He could even hear Zhou Yi's killing intent in those words. From his interactions with and understanding of Zhou Yi, there weren't many things that could make Zhou Yi so aggressive…

So seeing the Japanese Olympic team players so confident, he couldn't help but scold them, just to make them more vigilant and not underestimate the Chinese Olympic team.

They shouldn't be complacent just because they beat Spain in the first group match. In Kagawa Shinji's opinion, a Zhou Yi determined to take revenge was much more terrifying than Spain!