Chapter 417 The Real Holy Land of Football

[No, buddy?]

[Did Mourinho really get it? That’s awesome! This wave of Chinese national football matches is just fun to watch]

[6. I finally understand why Lippi agreed but still couldn't sign the contract. The Football Association is just raising fish. Song Kai is waiting for Mourinho to call him, right? It's so funny. Lippi was kept in the fish pond for 2 months.]

[Don't mention it, this transfer is really awesome. The Chinese national football team's midfield is too weak. Mourinho can just park the bus and forget about the midfield. OK, this is the right remedy, but 2300 million is a bit expensive.]

[You have to pay 2000 million to sign Lippi. Wouldn't it be more cost-effective to add 300 million to sign Mourinho? If you want to make a horizontal comparison, you can't use the salary comparison of Mourinho signed by the five major league clubs]

[I remember that at the end of April, the Football Association was about to sign a contract with Lippi, and the fan meeting was held. Did Xiao Jiang call the Football Association at that time? ]

[Nima, I never thought that the Chinese national football team could sign Mourinho. The show effect is really great, haha]

[I am now just curious about what Xiao Jiang said to Mourinho that could have tricked Mourinho into coming here]

[Jiang Yuan: The entire Chinese men's football team is made up of good guys who are at the same level as me. Don't worry, Jose, I will never lie to you]

5:31 p.m. Beijing time on May 2st.

The front page headline of "Germany Forward" - Dortmund decided to terminate the contract with Thomas Tuchel because the team's performance failed to meet the management's requirements. Tuchel and his team will receive a termination fee of 290 million euros (not a penalty) from Dortmund.
Romano: Chelsea will terminate Mourinho's contract before June 6. Because he led the team to win two league titles and one FA Cup, Mourinho is likely to receive a compensation of no less than 1 million pounds from the termination of the contract. The specific amount will be decided after discussion with the club.

Special Edition of The Sun - Mourinho is about to coach the Chinese men's football team and join hands with Jiang to compete in the World Cup in Russia. With an astonishing annual salary of 2350 million euros, what is the strength of the Chinese men's football team that has been rumored recently?

The Sun's front page headline: Jiang canceled his flight to Norway. According to reporters' tracking, he is likely to fly to China with Mourinho.

6:1 a.m. on June 6, Beijing time.

Chelsea FC - forever The Special One, the club has officially terminated the contract with the team coach Mourinho.

另外，2017-18赛季的切尔西主场季票将在6月6日下午4时开放出售，季票仅限Official Member（会员球迷）购买，非会员球迷请在英文官网购买当赛季的Membership（32.00）

……

Air China CA938, Jiang Yuan and Mourinho, carrying backpacks, arrived at their seats with the help of staff.

The layout is 1-2-1, with a total of 4 seats. Jiang Yuan and Mourinho sit in the middle, and the two seats on the side are reserved for Brown and Jones from Mourinho's coaching team.

Just as Tuchel brought his team to sign with Chelsea, Mourinho also brought his entire team to join the Chinese men's football team.

In the past, Jones always traveled in business class when traveling internationally and asked Mourinho to reimburse him, but this time he was traveling with Mourinho. The Portuguese must have felt embarrassed to let Jones go in business class alone, so he simply treated them all, and the airfare for Brown and Jones was charged to him.

3 first-class tickets, Mourinho worked for nothing for a day!

“Air China? This is my first time flying with this airline.”

Mourinho and Jiang Yuan's positions were connected, but there was a baffle in the middle. Jiang Yuan had to kneel on the chair and straighten his upper body to see Mourinho on his left: "I'm different now. I often do this."

"I know, every time I run between China and England, especially when it comes to national team games, every time you leave I don't know who to use."

Jiang Yuan wanted to press the middle baffle down so that it would be more convenient to talk to Mourinho, but he found that the baffle was fixed.

"I can't do anything about it. Things should be much better after the Asian qualifiers are over."

Jiang Yuan lay down on the chair: "The five major leagues only consider the European preliminaries. They don't even look at the Asian preliminaries when arranging the games. I feel very stressed every time I go back to China... I know I should give priority to the club's games, but I can't not go back, Jesus, that's it."

Mourinho always emphasized to him the idea that club is better than national team, and Jiang Yuan also listened to him.

The main problem is that this is a World Cup qualifier, and only 6 of the 2 teams in each group can directly qualify for the World Cup. If they lose qualification due to a few points, they will have to wait another 4 years.

Jiang Yuan turned on the flight mode of his phone and prepared to connect to the wifi. Mourinho leaned on the backrest without knowing when: "The club is more important than the national team? What? Who said that?"

"Isn't that what you said?"

Jiang Yuan looked up and stared at Mourinho blankly: "You always tell me this every time I participate in a national team game. You always tell me this during training. Do you remember?"

"nonono!"

Mourinho seemed to be anxious. He denied Jiang Yuan's words with three consecutive "nos": "Didn't you hear that I was lying to you? Hey, this is my problem. You are too young and didn't realize that I was lying to you."

"What? What do you mean?"

Jiang Yuan frowned, and Mourinho explained: "Don't you understand? The World Cup and the European... cough, Asian Cup are held every four years. The national team's games are definitely more important than the club's. In fact, I lied to you before. When the time comes, Thomas (Tuchel) will definitely lie to you like me, so don't be fooled by him."

Jiang Yuan: ...

"Hey, Jose, don't talk about this, download the app first, otherwise it might not be very convenient to connect to the wifi later."

"Ok, just remember what I said."

Mourinho also sat back in his chair, took out his mobile phone, connected to the onboard wifi with the help of the flight attendant, and then conducted a research on the Chinese national team's upcoming schedule on the data website.

There are 3 games left in the Asian qualifiers, and we are currently ranked third in the group...

The chances are still pretty good!
Mourinho clicked on the introduction of the players on the Syrian and Chinese men's football teams' rosters, looked at them for a long time, and finally frowned.

The two teams' match rosters totaled nearly 50 people, and Mourinho only knew Jiang Yuan.

This is a completely unfamiliar environment, which is a challenge to Mourinho's coaching level.

The most crucial point is that Mourinho only reported to the training base on June 6rd, and he had to fly to Malaysia with the team to play the game on June 3th (Syria was unable to play home games for some reasons and switched to a neutral stadium).

The total training time is probably less than 4 days!

After 8 and a half hours of flight, an announcement was made on the plane. The flight attendants woke up Jiang Yuan and Mourinho who had fallen asleep and helped them raise their seats.

"Sir, the plane is about to land."

Jiang Yuan stood up and stretched out a little, and found that Mourinho next to him had just woken up: "How is it? This flight is the best I have found in the past two years. I can sleep for 2 hours and land just in time. I can start training directly after getting off the plane."

In the past, Jiang Yuan would take the high-speed rail directly to Hebei after landing at the Capital Airport. This time was different. Jiang Yuan had to report to the Football Association headquarters in BJ with Mourinho first, sign the contract, and also attend the press conference held at the headquarters.

"We're here, um..."

Mourinho squinted his eyes, as if he had not yet woken up. He had been running back and forth between EU countries, but he had never experienced a flight that lasted for nine hours.

But after all, they are spent sleeping, so these 9 hours don’t feel long.

There should be 20-30 minutes before the plane lands completely. Jiang Yuan went to the bathroom to wash his face, and then began to pack his things: "By the way, Jose, there may be a lot of fans in the terminal after we land. If you like, we can stop there for a while and sign a few names."

"We shouldn't have disclosed this flight to anyone, right?"

Mourinho looked puzzled.

Jiang Yuan took a sip of orange juice and said, "You underestimate the fans."

"There are only two direct flights from London to BJ a day, one at 2:12 and one at 14:. We were definitely photographed when we boarded the plane at Heathrow. They only needed to do the math to know which flight we were on."

Jiang Yuan had the same confusion as Mourinho before. Every time he landed at the Capital International Airport, he would be blocked by a whole floor of fans. Later he found out that an expert from The Sun had photographed the time when he was checking in at Heathrow.

Sometimes The Sun could even get Jiang Yuan’s flight number directly, making it very easy to pick him up at the airport.

"Wow, it's ok!"

Mourinho shook his shoulders which were a little stiff from sleeping. Jiang Yuan hoped that he could interact more with Chinese fans. This was not a difficult request. "Anyway, the press conference doesn't start until 4pm. We can stay in the terminal for a while and sign autographs for all the fans who came to pick us up before leaving."

Because the itinerary was leaked rather than disclosed, there can't be too many people to meet them at the airport. For a top club like Chelsea, when they go to other EU countries to participate in the Champions League, there will be about 2 to 300 local fans to meet them at the airport. Considering that the strength of the Chinese men's football team is a little bit weaker, it is estimated that 5 to 60 people will be enough.

"Is everything signed?"

Jiang Yuan couldn't help but burst out laughing when he heard Mourinho's arrogant remarks.

"Come on, Jiang, what are you laughing at?"

"No! No! What I mean, um... you'll know after you get off the plane."

Jose, you are still as arrogant as ever, even when it comes to signing autographs!

……

boom!
With a loud thud underfoot, the plane finally landed.

"Passengers, please fasten your seat belts..."

Jiang Yuan and Mourinho unbuckled their seat belts and began to pack their luggage, stuffing their laptops and tablets into their bags.

In fact, Jiang Yuan didn't have a laptop, but he still had two Macbooks in his bag, which were all Mourinho's things. There were four people in the first-class cabin, and there were nine laptops and five tablets in eight backpacks.

"Sir, there is no landing bridge this time, so the four of you will have to take a special shuttle bus."

The flight attendant came over to help Jiang Yuan pack his luggage.

"I know, I know, it's okay, I can do it myself"

"Um, sir, can I take a photo with you?"

"Ok, of course!"

Jiang Yuan took the flight attendant's mobile phone, stretched it out, and clicked the record button after confirming that both people's heads were in the camera.

"Thank you, thank you. I wish you good luck in the competition!"

"Well, thank you"

The plane stopped steadily, and Jiang Yuan had almost finished packing his luggage, so the four of them walked out of the cabin together.

There was a shed blocking the gangway, so when you walked on it you had no idea what the situation was outside. But when they walked down the gangway and arrived in front of the shuttle bus, they finally saw the situation in the terminal.

The place was packed with people, all holding mobile phones in their hands, and some even had professional photography equipment.

Judging from their open mouths, the crowd was very noisy, but due to the soundproof glass, Mourinho outside could not hear what was saying inside.

"What, what's this? Is it popular here to lean on the window to wait for the plane?"

Mourinho pointed to the crazy fans on the second floor of the terminal.

Jiang Yuan held his forehead with his hand and smiled bitterly, pointing at the covered bridge at the far end behind Mourinho.

I don’t know how these guys did it. The entire bridge was packed with people, and they were all snapping at Jiang Yuan and Mourinho below.

Seeing this scene, Mourinho finally reacted.

After getting off the shuttle bus, we arrived at the first floor of the terminal. "Jiang Yuan! Jiang Yuan! I've watched you compete for three years! Here, look at me!"

"Jiang Yuan, I have been paying attention to you since you were born!"

"Mourinho! Mourinho!"

"Mourinho!"

Under the escort of security personnel, Jiang Yuan and Mourinho walked towards the customs department step by step.

"jesus"

On the stairs leading to the second floor, Mourinho looked at the thousands of fans packed into the terminal and exclaimed: "Why do you have so many fans? Neither Chelsea nor Real Madrid had so many fans to pick us up at the airport."

As Mourinho said, even when he was coaching Real Madrid, he did not receive this level of class treatment. It was really an exaggeration.

“China’s population is relatively large.”

"More than Britain and Spain combined?"

Jiang Yuan touched his head: "More than the European Union"

"..."

"No~"

Mourinho pursed his lips: "You know, I like this feeling. In life, you need some people to applaud you, especially in competitive sports, which can bring us a sense of accomplishment."

Jiang Yuan put the backpack in his hand on Mourinho's suitcase, successfully freeing his right hand: "I said, you can prove something here"

……

"Jiang Yuan, Jiang Yuan!"

"thanks, thanks!"

Arriving at the customs gate, Jiang Yuan signed autographs for the fans who were watching while waiting in line. Seeing more and more people watching, the customs staff felt something was wrong.

Customs does not allow taking photos, but it would be difficult to manage if there were too many people, so they decided to open an exclusive channel for Jiang Yuan, Mourinho and the other three.

"Jiang Yuan is awesome!"

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

The fans kept shouting "Awesome!", and Jiang Yuan could only wave and thank them. Under the instructions of the customs officer, Jiang Yuan took off his backpack and put it on the track. Jerome, the bodyguard who came hurriedly from behind in business class, arrived and brought two super large adidas basketball backpacks.

After putting all his things away, Jiang Yuan began to undergo a body search.

Baidu hot searches at the same time.

[1. Jiang Yuan and Mourinho arrived in China]

[2. Jiang Yuan is undergoing customs inspection]

[3. Warm-up match of the Chinese national football team in the Philippines]

[4. Jiang Yuan got off the plane]

The staff member touched Jiang Yuan's sneakers, and someone who was broadcasting live immediately moved the camera to the shoes and gave a close-up of the three adidas stripes.

These guys were not fans but staff of the brand, but they were immediately stopped by customs security personnel.

"No photos, no photos here!"

"Please turn off the camera and don't take out your mobile phone or video camera, thank you!"

Jiang Yuan and Mourinho walked out of the passage after completing the inspection, and Brown and Jones walked in behind them. However, just as the staff was about to inspect Brown, a pure black suitcase with yellow tape in the middle was transported in via tracks.

Originally, the suitcase being tied with tape was not a big deal, but soon a staff member wearing gloves came over to Jiang Yuan and said, "Whose suitcase is this? We need to open it and take a look."

"what?"

Jiang Yuan took a step forward. It was obvious that this was his box. He was completely confused as he walked towards the customs officer.

Mourinho was also a little confused. The laptop and tablet were in the backpack. Logically, the suitcase should be able to pass through security check easily.

"What happened?"

"what's the situation?"

The fans who were watching noticed something was happening and leaned forward one by one.

The staff member wearing white gloves took the suitcase from the conveyor and placed it on the ground, tore off the yellow tape on the suitcase, and then asked Jiang Yuan for the password.

Jiang Yuan said it of course, but he was also very nervous. He hadn't made any preparations for returning to China this time. What if something really happened and he was locked up in a small dark room?

"Did I bring anything illegal?"

Jiang Yuan asked in a low voice to Jerome beside him, and the latter didn't know how to answer.

I'm just a bodyguard!

The staff member finished unpacking the suitcase, unzipped the compartment inside, and pulled out a shoe.

A shoe inlaid with gold.

"Wow!"

“Awesome!”

“This is really awesome”

The fans around him started to make a noise. Jiang Yuan, who was so embarrassed that he had to pick his toes, had a red face. "Fuck, I forgot, I have something, I have something!"

Jiang Yuan ran to the conveyor belt, took out a red note from his bag, and handed it to the staff: "I have declared it."

At the request of the Football Association, he brought the Golden Boot back to his country to share it with the fans, so he had specially applied for permission to carry the metal products.

The staff member took Jiang Yuan's declaration form, looked at it carefully, put it on the suitcase, then reached into the suitcase and took out a golden object.

There is a rectangular base underneath with a long crown standing on it. Knowledgeable fans have already figured out that this is the trophy for the best player in English professional football in the 2016-17 season.

"This is not pure gold, it is plated"

Jiang Yuan was afraid that he would really be stopped, so he reminded him.

The staff member weighed the two trophies in his hands and said, "Gold and silver products weighing more than 50 grams must pay taxes. Sir, these are things you acquired before entering the country, and you want to bring them into the country, right?"

"Hahahaha!"

"I'm paying real money."

"Brother Yuan, it's time to pay the tax. You haven't paid the tax on your Golden Boot yet!"

"Fuck, I want to touch the golden boots too, let me touch it"

Jiang Yuan was overwhelmed. He took the Premier League Golden Boot from the staff and pointed at the marks on it: "This can't be considered a metal ornament, right?"

"It's gold-plated on the outside, and it's very likely silver inside. We need to confirm this further, but your weight is definitely over 50g."

It can be seen that the staff had a bit of difficulty when carrying the PFA trophy. Not only was it overweight, but it was seriously overweight.

“No, but I declared it. I did declare it.”

Jiang Yuan pointed to the red form on the suitcase, and the staff reminded him: "Yes, but if that's the case, you should take your things with you, because we can't guarantee..."

Customs has encountered too many bizarre incidents. Although the probability is low, the weight of the trophy and the boots is there, and the possibility that the silver products are gold-plated cannot be ruled out.

The staff member was halfway through his words when a fat man came out of the office, pushed aside the original staff members, helped Jiang Yuan pack his suitcase, and went through another security checkpoint for another check. Finally, Jiang Yuan was able to pass through.

Walking out of the Customs Department, the sound of camera shutters could be heard again around him. Jiang Yuan found a place that would not affect the order of the case and stopped to sign autographs for the fans.

"Brother Yuan, have you paid the tax on your Golden Boots? Do you need to pay the additional tax?"

"It was a mistake, it was a mistake"

The fans kept harping on the issue of tax payment, and Jiang Yuan could only keep emphasizing that it was a mistake. When taking off, the staff in London should have emphasized to Jiang Yuan that he should bring the trophy with him, but they seemed to have forgotten to do so, causing Jiang Yuan to directly send the item to the checked baggage.

The shipment of several kilograms of metal was successful, but it would definitely not pass customs.

"Krab! Crab! Crab, your wisdom teeth are so cute!"

Mourinho signed his name and thanked in poor Chinese.

Click, click, click!

"Mr. José, will you take us to Russia? (Portuguese)"

I don’t know which fan was so smart that he knew how to use his mother tongue to control Mourinho, who was too busy. When he heard this, Mourinho paused in signing.

"I don't know, but I'll try my best, okay? Please believe me, I'll try my best! (Portuguese)"

"Then why did you come to China to coach? (Chinese)"

Mourinho patted Jiang Yuan's arm and pointed at the fan who had just shouted loudly: "What did he say?"

"He asked you why you came to China to coach! (English)"

"well..."

Mourinho had a smile on his face: "This is my first time in China. I have never enjoyed such exaggerated airport reception when I coached any other team in Portugal, England, Spain, Italy, etc."

"I've been to Wembley, Old Trafford, Princes Park, Emirates Stadium, and of course Camp Nou, but I think these so-called football holy places are fake, because I'm standing on the real holy place now. I like it here, I like China, the football atmosphere here is very pure."

"I was a little worried about my choice, but now it seems that this is completely unnecessary."

……

(End of this chapter)