Chapter 1 In Fact

Actually, it wasn't just the Brazilian media who believed that the Chinese National Olympic team would be influenced by their domestic public opinion; the Chinese themselves thought so too. Therefore, calls for calm quickly appeared on the internet. Arguing with people at this time would only provide temporary satisfaction, but for the Chinese team, the most important thing was the semi-final against Brazil.

Everyone should strive to create a harmonious atmosphere so that the team can concentrate on preparing for the semi-final.

After all, the time left for them was very short.

This London Olympics ran from July 27th to August 12th, a total of only seventeen days.

And if a football team can make it all the way to the final, they will play six games in these seventeen days, averaging a game every two days or so. Such a dense schedule is even more terrible than the English Premier League's Christmas schedule.

The interval between two games is very short, leaving the players very little time to recover their physical strength and train for the next opponent. If they are disturbed by that nonsense, it will be even less time for the National Olympic team.

That's why everyone is worried about the semi-final. It would be fine if the Chinese team was facing their defeated opponent, Mexico, but instead, they are facing the most powerful Brazil.

Someone said on Weibo that if the Chinese team ultimately loses to the Brazilian National Olympic team, those public intellectuals will definitely be responsible. If they hadn't been quibbling, everyone would have been happy for the Chinese team's entry into the top four, and there wouldn't have been so much mess. Of course, whether those public intellectuals are willing to take responsibility is hard to say; most likely, they will play dead...

The game against the South Korean team was on the evening of August 4th, and the game against the Brazilian National Olympic team was on the evening of August 7th, with only two days in between—the 5th and the 6th.

One day was spent arguing with the media, and the 5th passed by in吵吵闹闹 (chao chao nao nao – noisy commotion). The game is on the evening of the 7th, so the Chinese team really only has one day, the 6th.

Is this one day enough for them to calm down and prepare for the game? Do they still have the time and energy to study their opponents?

Many people have this concern.

Some people are also worried about the team's physical fitness.

Having fought continuously to this stage, the team has used up almost all of its previously accumulated physical strength. Zhou Yi was not a player with great stamina to begin with, and having persisted until now, he still has to face the strong opponent, Brazil. Will his physical strength support him to continue performing at a high level?

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While the outside world had various concerns about the Chinese team, within the Chinese National Olympic team, Zhou Yi, as the team captain, was "dispelling superstitions" for his teammates.

The time was 8:30 in the evening. After finishing a day of training, all sixteen players poured into Zhou Yi and He Ying's room, which made the not-so-spacious double room seem very crowded. Because there weren't enough chairs, many people sat directly on the bed. Even so, it wasn't enough, so the others leaned against the wall, listening to Zhou Yi's words.

This meeting was proposed by Zhou Yi, and none of his teammates objected.

"Don't listen to those media outlets talking nonsense, saying that the Brazilian National Olympic team is worth 200 million," Zhou Yi said, waving his hand. He was explaining to his teammates about their upcoming semi-final opponents.

However, he didn't speak with a serious face, solemn tone, or impassioned manner like a coach. Because there were limited places to sit, he sat on the desk, his legs dangling without touching the ground, swinging them like he was chatting, with a relaxed tone, as if he were telling a joke.

"What Hulk at seventy-two million, Neymar at fifty million, Damião at forty-seven million... it all sounds scary, but Hulk's seventy-two million is the buyout clause. A buyout clause is not the same as the value, right? Damião's is even more ridiculous; it's the price tag that Internacional put on him. Can that be counted? Putting aside everything else, I reckon Chelsea now wants to put a price tag of fifty million euros on Pan Pan, but whoever actually spends fifty million to buy Pan Pan is an idiot!"

"Dude, Zhou Yi! If you're going to use examples, please use Lao Guo, don't use me!" Sun Pan protested from the crowd.

"What's it got to do with me!" Guo Nu complained.

The others all laughed.

Zhou Yi ignored the two people's opinions and continued, "So, as for how much the Brazilian team is worth, that's just media hype. Don't pay attention to it. Football games aren't decided by value. It's true that this year's Brazilian National Olympic team looks pretty strong, with dazzling stars and a gathering of stars. But football isn't about piling up stars to win. Not to mention that the Brazilian team's star-stacking isn't very technically sophisticated—most of their stars are concentrated on the attacking players in the frontcourt. Those 200 million are four people: Hulk, Neymar, Damião, and Pato. These four people alone are 190 million. But so what? The biggest problem with this team is that their defense is not good."

"But they also have stars like Thiago Silva and Marcelo in their defense," Zhang Linpeng said, raising his hand.

"Those two aren't Superman, and Marcelo is a defender who is stronger in attack than defense. Brazil's attacking firepower in this Olympics is quite fierce; they score three goals against their opponents in every game, no more, no less, just three goals. It's like that in every game." Zhou Yi held up three fingers. "For an attacking lineup worth 200 million, this performance is passable, right? But what about their defense? So far, they've played four games, and they only didn't concede a goal in one game, which was the 3-0 win against New Zealand. Apart from that, they conceded two goals in the first game against Egypt, almost being overturned. They also conceded a goal in the last round of the group stage against Belarus. In the quarter-finals, they conceded two goals against Honduras. Such a defensive performance really doesn't live up to the 'top favorite' rating."

Zhou Yi really knows a lot about Brazil. Even if the average National Olympic team player pays attention to their opponents, they couldn't possibly remember the data in such detail.

"Thiago Silva is very strong. But I want to remind everyone that defense doesn't rely on individual ability, but on the whole. Even if a person is a world-class center-back, if he is placed in a chaotic system, he won't be able to perform to his level. AC Milan's defense was so strong back then not because they had a Maldini or a Nesta. It was because they had a complete and excellent defensive system. The Brazilian National Olympic team doesn't have this." Zhou Yi continued to talk eloquently. "This is also why the Brazilian National Olympic team often concedes goals, and they concede quite a few. Thiago Silva was a very outstanding center-back at AC Milan, but he isn't in the Brazilian National Olympic team. Don't be intimidated by his reputation."

Sun Pan said from the side, "That's right. What opponents haven't our Zhou Yi seen? He and Thiago Silva are on very familiar terms!"

The reason why everyone can listen to Zhou Yi's comments on the Chinese team's opponents is precisely because of this—Zhou Yi has played against those stars whom many National Olympic team players can only look up to in Europe. He has personally experienced how powerful those people are, so he naturally knows how much they weigh. What he says should be right.

Moreover, it's not just Zhou Yi. Sun Pan, Guo Nu, and Yang Muge have all clashed with these people in Europe. Except for He Ying, because He Ying is in the Spanish Second Division…

"So, everyone, don't look at the media hyping up Brazil as being very powerful, like a ferocious tiger. In reality, they are just 'paper cats,' not even paper tigers, but cats!" Zhou Yi said. "And what advantages do we have? I think the first is that we are more united than them, and the second is that our defense is better. We have fought our way through the group stage, conceding only two goals. Although we are not the team with the fewest goals conceded, it's still very good. Our goalkeeper, Pan Pan, is simply a防盗门 (fang dao men – anti-theft door), although he conceded two goals, and the number of goals conceded is more than that of the Japanese team..."

Originally, Sun Pan was quite happy to hear Zhou Yi praise him, but Zhou Yi added that sentence at the end, causing him to hum, "Don't compare me with the Japs! They didn't encounter any strong enemies! And one of the two goals I conceded was a penalty, and that penalty shouldn't have been awarded in the first place!"

Sun Pan has always been brooding over this point, so he was so unhappy after the game against the South Korean team, causing a stir.

"Speaking of center-backs, I don't think Lao Guo is any worse than Thiago Silva, except for being slightly shorter… But Lao Guo has a good vertical leap, which can completely make up for this slight height difference. Anyway, I think Inter Milan will regret sending Lao Guo to Cesena sooner or later, but fortunately, they still own half of Lao Guo's rights."

Guo Nu also puffed out his chest when he heard Zhou Yi praise him so much, looking very happy.

"And Lao Yang, as a defensive midfielder, is our midfield iron gate, very reassuring. And Zhang Linpeng, can go up and down, not inferior to Marcelo…"

Zhou Yi praised his teammates one by one, all of whom were defenders.

Every National Olympic team player who was named and praised by him was very happy, and their posture became upright without realizing it.

Just like Zhou Yi said just now, defense never relies on a single star player, but on the whole. Because defense is about building a wall in front of the goal. Since it is a wall, it must be made of bricks. Can one brick build a wall?

Anyone who knows a little bit about football will understand this principle. It's just that many people usually overemphasize the role of individuals and ignore this point.

Zhou Yi's words made the defensive players on the team very happy, especially those players who play in China and are not very famous. Under the light of the Five Little Dragons, they are always easily overlooked, but Zhou Yi remembers their good points, Zhou Yi understands their value, which makes them very touched.

"Compared with Brazil, our defense is more like a whole. We are more disciplined and organized, and we have more resilience than them. From any point of view, we are stronger than Brazil. This can be seen from the number of goals we and they have conceded, no objections. Although my defense is very average, I believe our defense can definitely stop Brazil's attack worth 200 million… Hey, don't you feel great when I say that? We are going to face an attack worth 200 million in the game! How awesome is that to say! Even more awesome is that we won! We can brag about it in the future—I regard 200 million as dung!"

Another burst of laughter rang out in the room. Everyone smiled and thought about it, and a very magical scene suddenly appeared in their minds—their opponents on the field were not wearing Brazilian players, but were "people" made up of piles of banknotes.

"Moreover, as a South American team, if Brazil plays smoothly, they will do whatever they want, and if they don't play smoothly, they will also do whatever they want. It's just that the effects of the two types of doing whatever they want are completely different. If we can put more pressure on them in the game and make them not play smoothly, their cooperation will be gone, and there will be more solo battles. Then there's nothing to be afraid of. No matter how strong Neymar is, it is impossible for him to succeed in dribbling past people every time in a game."

After being analyzed by Zhou Yi, everyone felt that the Brazilian team was not as powerful as they had imagined, or even…

"Why do I feel like after Zhou Yi said that, Brazil doesn't seem to be that powerful, just a show?" someone said.

"We can't say that. Actually, it's not that Brazil isn't powerful enough, but that we have become stronger." Zhou Yi said. "So, everyone, forget the past and go head-to-head with Brazil tomorrow! I'm telling you, there aren't many opportunities to defeat the Brazilian team. Cherish it!"