In the next few days, Long Tian did not go out, but did some preparations before departure, such as reading information about Japan's football league, climate, transportation and big cities provided by his father.

The mother was very afraid that her son would not get used to this snowy weather when he arrived in Japan, and was worried that he would catch a cold, so she specially prepared two thick, soft and convenient duck down-style thermal underwear for him;

He especially reminded him to wear warm clothes when not training, not to show off his strength, and to care about his body. It is really a worry for his mother to travel thousands of miles apart.

As the saying goes, "The thread in the hands of a loving mother, the clothes on the wandering son are sewn tightly before leaving, and they are afraid that they will return late. Who says that the heart of a grass can repay the spring sunshine?"

It’s a pity that parents in the world are so kind of hard-working.

On the afternoon of the 28th, after dinner, Long Tian helped his mother wash in the kitchen, and the mother and son laughed happily from time to time.

Suddenly, my father's slightly anxious voice came from the hall: "Oh my god, come out and see!"

Long Tian was holding a half-washed bowl with white foam covered with detergent on it, and ran out from it: "Dad, what's the matter? Are you so anxious?!"

After watching the TV, I realized that the group draw ceremony for the final stage of the Asian Youth Championship is being played.

The screen clearly shows that the Chinese team, as the fifth seed team, was assigned to Group B, and was in the upper half of the same group as the Japanese team in Group A and Iran team in Group C. The opponents in the same group include Vietnam, Turkmen and Iraq.

After the ceremony, the Chinese delegation at the draw was silent, and a hint of hidden gloom flashed across the head coach Lu Juren's face as usual.

It’s really a narrow road for enemies. It was the Iraqis who “send” the Chinese team home in the men’s football qualifiers at the 2004 Athens Olympics;

The Iranian team's tough and European style of playing has left many bitter memories for the Chinese team. The rising Japanese football's technical style of playing with both rigidity and softness has always been feared by the Chinese team!

Long Tian was stunned for a moment, and his father's long-term voice sounded in his ears: "Son, come on, it's no big deal. No matter what kind of road you have to go there, you will understand whether you can get through it."

On the morning of the 29th, Long Tian went to the club to handle some private affairs, said goodbye to his teammates and coach, and then drove to Nanning.

Arrived at this largest city in Guangxi at 2 pm, had a short rest, and boarded the flight to Beijing at 14:54.

When I was in Yuchai, I had to go to all parts of the country to compete, and the plane was the most common means of transportation;

After arriving at the National Youth Team, I also have to fly around in the sky and I will almost become a "flying man in the air".

Despite this, every time Long Tian boarded the plane, he always felt inexplicably excited, as if he was on a plane for the first time.

He couldn't explain the specific reason clearly. He felt that taking a plane was an expensive way to ride a transportation for most Guangxi people. If he was lucky enough to be so, he would certainly cherish and be grateful.

The conversation between the two passengers in the front row attracted Long Tian's attention. The voice was not loud, but he could clearly understand the meaning behind him: "Hey, you said you are still in decline, why are you in the same group as Iraq? That group of deceased people have lost their country, so what's the life to play when playing ball? The Chinese team will not be their opponent, and they will probably be as shameful as the Olympic qualifiers last year."

"Well, your brother is right! Even if you qualify by chance, you will definitely encounter two teams, Japan and Iran, that have not won for decades. You will definitely finish the game before the semi-finals!"

If he continued, Long Tian had no intention of listening, and a sense of anger arose in his heart: "It really makes us look so sarcastic? Iranians, little Japanese guys, come here, don't know who will live and who will die!"

The weather in the capital at the end of November was already the cold first, and the manic wind and sand always had unbearable reasons.

A middle-aged man was carrying a shoulder bag and wearing a straight suit. His eyebrows were heroic, and there was a faint sense of kingly aura.

He seemed to be aware of the situation in Beijing and did not stop at all. He quickly walked through the waiting hall and walked straight to a black Buick sedan staying at the corner outside the door.

The car door opened and someone walked out was Yi Zhong, an official from the Chinese Football Association.

He shook hands with the middle-aged man with a smile: "Damen, thank you for your hard work!"

The middle-aged man smiled and said, "Fortunately, the temperature is similar to that of Milan, but the gray complexion is really not very pleasant. After leaving for so many years, the air in Beijing is still--it can only be hehe, why, didn't Lao Lu come?"

"Oh, he just came back from Singapore and couldn't put down some work on hand, so I'll pick you up for him. How about it, Dr. Wang Da, the new top scorer, how do you feel?"

"Oh, Director Yi, please don't give me any praise. I'm a bad football player, so how can I stand up to your praise? Haha! This skin is too serious and not suitable for me. I just finished the graduation ceremony today. I was in a hurry to board the plane and I didn't have time to change my clothes. I laughed!"

Wang Peng, a famous former international player and current national teammate of the national youth team coach Lu Juren;

Five years ago, he was sent to the University of Milan by the General Administration of Sports of China, participated in the Marco Polo program, and specialized in the theory and practice of football technology and tactics. Now he has returned from his studies;

He was appointed as the technical consultant and assistant coach of the National Youth Team by the Chinese Football Association, and fully assisted Lu Juren to lead the team to the Asian Youth Championship;

The medium- and long-term goal is to serve next year's World Youth Championship and the Beijing Olympics in the year after, and to make every effort to improve the scientificity and pertinence of the national youth team's technical and tactical playing style.

"Old Lu, I haven't seen you for a few years. Your tactical literacy has improved very quickly. This style of play is in line with the reality of the Chinese team. The character "net" is vivid and innovative. It is one of the more technical and tactical cultivation in the formation used by the Chinese team in recent years. It has a tendency to be in line with the international community, haha!"

Wang Peng put down the information prepared by Lu Juren in his hand and continued excitedly, "The midfield oppressive style has appeared in top European leagues such as Serie A and Bundesliga in the 1990s. The key point is to compress the opponent's midfield survival space and cut off the opponent's pass and catch connection. But with your idea, the midfield compression will be elevated to the full-game press, and the idea is bold and unique."

After reading the main lineup of the National Youth Team and the overall performance since the qualifiers, Wang Peng calmly said, "Observation and defense on the football field are relatively two aspects, and the trend of one is rising and the other is declining. Focusing on one side, the strength investing on the other side will definitely be affected."

"Lao Lu, I know that facing the cup, a cruel rule of survival, you can't go far without a solid defense, but without sharp offense as a guarantee for the team's progress, it also binds the team to become a first-class team!"

From beginning to end, Lu Juren didn't say a word, but just looked at Wang Peng quietly. Due to the burning eyes of his old friend's concern, he only squeezed out a few words from his mouth: "I know this team better than you."

After hearing his answer, a hint of displeasure appeared on Wang Peng's face, but he quickly covered up with an awkward smile: "Old Lu, you haven't seen each other for so many years, and you still haven't changed. This bad temper is still the same."

After hearing this, Lu Juren had no intention of a positive answer, but just said coldly: "Do you still remember the painful memories of the World Cup in the United States?"

This sentence evoked Wang Peng's memory of the sad past that he didn't want to be revealed again many years ago, and that stormy journey was as clearly reflected as a movie!

At the end of 1993, in the 15th World Cup Football Championship, the Chinese team lost two key games against Saudi Arabia and the UAE in the final stage, resulting in the final defeat of Doha and missing the World Cup in the United States. The "golden generation" quietly faded!

At that time, Lu Juren and Wang Peng were at the peak of competitive state. The Chinese team was also full of talents in the three lines, and once swept across the East and West Asia and rarely met an opponent.

Helplessly, luck makes people beat people, and the kingly army, which carries the infinite hopes of the Chinese people, suffered a tragic Waterloo in the critical peripheral game. Chinese football fell to a trough in an instant, and it was not until eight years later that healed this time with unprecedented courage!

The reason for the disastrous defeat has always been a sad place in the hearts of senior fans that cannot be touched, and it is said to be a laughing stock for European and American footballers to chat after dinner: because of the confidence of attack established on a few fish belly, they dared to attack like a demon when facing a strong enemy. The long-term attack caused the morale to be disintegrated, the defeat was like a mountain of defeat, and the defeat was coming in a flash!

Wang Peng came to his senses, sighed, and said with a smile: "So many years have passed, why do you still mention it? Didn't Chinese football come out of the shadow long ago?"

Lu Juren frowned, gritted his teeth, and said hatefully: "I will not forget this great shame, nor can I forget it! Those who forget the past cannot have a future. I hope these boys can let them fulfill our last wishes back then."

Wang Peng was still thinking about his friend's words, but he couldn't find any words for a while, so he could only silently. Lu Juren looked at him and continued, "In the past ten years after retirement, I visited Yugoslavia in Europe, Italy, South Africa, Ghana in Africa, Iran, Japan in Asia, etc., and inspected their national football conditions in detail, which gave me many different ideas from the past."

"Combined with my personal experience, I have a deep understanding of the past, current situation and development trends of Chinese football. I came to a conclusion: China has always had many excellent defense talents, and can completely build a world-class defense line. If Chinese football wants to go out, it can only rely on strong defense! It has been 50 years since it has been fighting for the World Cup, and there will be a solid defense line behind several glorious performances."

While speaking, he picked up the information, notes, and formation deconstruction he had sorted out, and pointed it out to Wang Peng a little bit, "In my vision, I did not give up on offense, it just translated into a means of advancement that incorporates attack and defense."

"Looking at my frontcourt settings, three waists are open, Zhu Liye and Guan Jian can hold the ball, and they can ensure the smooth operation of the ball at critical moments. While they control the midfield, they can also provide enough shells to the frontcourt; Ma Kang's high-altitude dominance is undoubtedly, and his forward will greatly threaten the opponent's city gate."

Wang Peng nodded. He must admit that Lu Juren's "net" style play did indeed vaguely appear in his both offense and defense.
Chapter completed!