Chapter 419 Mourinho's Chinese National Football Team Debut
At Hang Jebat Stadium in Malaysia, there are still two hours left before the 8th round of the Asian qualifiers between China and Syria begins.

"Let's go out and warm up first. Leon will tell you the details of the warm-up."

Mourinho rubbed his hands, looking somewhat excited. If nothing unexpected happened, he should be looking forward to this game.

Because today is his debut for the Chinese men's football team!

The Portuguese put his hands on his shoulders and twisted his neck briefly: "There is still some time now. When you warm up, you can think about the situation in the training match and think about how we will play later. Of course, the most important thing is to relax and don't be too nervous."

When saying "Don't be too nervous", Mourinho's eyes stayed on Wu Lei for a while: "Remember, being nervous will make you lose some very good opportunities, and those opportunities should have been seized."

"Ok!"

clap clap clap!
Continuous applause rang out, and the players began to walk out little by little under Mourinho's urging. Mourinho shouted from behind: "Think carefully about our tactics, this is very important!"

Mourinho reached out and grabbed Jiang Yuan: "If there is anything wrong, please remind them. I have a press conference to attend, so I have to leave now."

"What? I'm just a striker. How would I know if something goes wrong with them?"

Mourinho pushed Brown in front of Jiang Yuan and said, "Lyon will help you. You should also watch the field and remember to ask them to pass the ball to you more. I have to go now!"

Mourinho pinched Jiang Yuan's shoulder and then ran out to the press conference room.

"Why is he in such a hurry?"

Jiang Yuan pointed at Mourinho's receding back and asked Brown who was standing beside him.

Brown chuckled and said, "He should have been in the press conference room five minutes ago, which means he is five minutes late."

“I’m really busy…”

……

Click, click, click!

The sound of camera shutters never stopped from the moment Mourinho walked in.

The AFC held this match, which was originally scheduled for Syria, in Malaysia, which also led to a problem, that is, there were basically no Syrians at the scene.

Take the reporters at the press conference for example, 90% of them were from China.

There is no way, this is Mourinho’s first appearance for the Chinese national team, it must be hot news!
"Mr. Jose, welcome to the Chinese men's football team. This is our second match against Syria in the Asian qualifiers, and also your first match in the Chinese men's football team. Do you have anything to say about this game? Can you briefly talk about the goal of today's game? What kind of result do you think would be a perfect debut?"

"Um……"

Mourinho pursed his lips. The questions that he could easily answer on weekdays seemed a little difficult today. Mourinho pinched the microphone, put it down, and then picked it up again: "I am very happy with the support of Chinese fans. To be honest, this is the first time I have encountered a situation where the away team fans are more than the home team fans. The Chinese fans really surprised me."

"Ha ha"

"Well, regarding this game, considering that the Chinese men's football team got 3 points in the first match a few months ago, I hope we can get 3 points in today's game. You just asked me what would be a perfect debut, and my answer is 3 points."

Mourinho had a smile on his face. 90% of the people at the press conference were from his side, and Chinese reporters generally did not ask any particularly tricky questions, so Mourinho was not going to use his rule of only one chance per person to ask a question in the national team.

The relationship between various football newspapers in the UK is antagonistic, but it is more strange in China. There is basically a super boss who manages all the branches below.

It's not just newspapers, it's the same with everything else.

"Ok, according to what we know, you only trained with the Chinese men's football players for less than 6 days before the game. Do you think this time is enough for our players to implement the tactics you require?"

"Football is a sport that requires a lot of patience. Six days of training is definitely not enough. I still can't tell the names of every player in the team. You know, Chinese is a bit difficult for me."

Because he had not prepared, Mourinho needed to think while answering the questions. Even so, his answers were relatively organized, which was the ability that the Portuguese had developed as a top coach.

"If we can't even tell the players apart, tactics will be even more difficult, so I'm looking for a transitional tactic. The change in tactical concepts can't be achieved overnight, we need to take it slowly, so I won't ask them to play exactly as I ask, and I won't blame them even if they make mistakes."

Mourinho suddenly remembered something and added: "Of course, if Jiang fails to fully implement my tactics, I will severely criticize him."

"Hahaha"

The audience was filled with laughter from reporters. The reporter who had asked the question just now seized the opportunity and asked his next question: "Speaking of Jiang Yuan, how does it feel to be apart from the club but reunited with the national team?"

“Haha, this is a difficult question to answer.”

Mourinho held his chin with one hand: "I came to the Chinese national team because of Jiang's recommendation. He thought I was more suitable here, so I considered it. As a result, I really came here and met Jiang again. This feeling is very strange. You know, sometimes I feel that I am in Chelsea and Cobham, but when I see the players wearing red clothes, I suddenly realize that this is not the case."

"So it is Jiang's presence that makes you feel that the Chinese men's football team has a Chelsea feel?"

"No, that's not the case"

"It's just a sense of familiarity. Actually, what I want to say is that since I can win honors in the Premier League, La Liga, Serie A and Portuguese Super League, I can also lead the national team to achieve results in international competitions. This is why I came here."

Clap clap clap!

Applause from reporters rang out in the room. Mourinho raised his right hand and signaled everyone to be quiet: "Now is not the time to applaud. We need to speak with results, OK?"

……

21:40 Beijing time.

"CCTV, CCTV, dear audience friends, this is the live broadcast of the eighth round of the 12-strong Asian qualifiers for the Russia World Cup Group A, Syria vs. China"

"Due to some special reasons, Syria did not use their home stadium for this match. The venue for today's match was the Hang Jebat Stadium in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. We can see that there are a lot of Chinese fans at the scene."

The camera turned to the stands, and there were only a little over 4 people sitting in the 3 seats, 80% of whom were Chinese fans, and another 20% were Malaysian natives.

In fact, because it was an away game, the number of tickets for away fans was limited. Originally, the AFC planned to give the Chinese national team 3000 tickets.

Later they found something wrong, because if they did so, the ticket revenue for the game could not even cover the necessary expenses for holding the event, and the Chinese football fans therefore received 1 tickets.

Originally, tickets priced at 1 yuan could have satisfied the needs of Chinese football fans, but today was Mourinho's debut, so many Chinese football fans relied on Malaysian neutral tickets to enter the stadium.

The security conditions of the stadium are average. You only need to enter from the neutral stand, and then climb over a few fences to reach the visiting team stand and meet up with the Chinese national team fans.

The camera shifted from the stands to the field, where players from both teams stood still.

“All spectators and staff in the stands please stand up and keep silence. Now, the national anthem of the Syrian Arab Republic will be played…”

The camera focused on the players one by one, and the fans in the CCTV live broadcast room just felt a little bored.

Syria doesn't have many football stars. If you don't watch Asian national team games frequently, you won't be able to recognize any of the players.

But soon, the good show for Chinese fans began.

"Now, the national anthem of the People's Republic of China... The March of the Volunteers"

hiss--

Jiang Yuan heard the sound of his teammates taking deep breaths.

I haven’t played for the national team for more than two months, so I still feel a little nervous when I hear the national anthem on the court!

It's not just Wu Lei and the others, Jiang Yuan also has sweaty palms.

"Okay, the game has begun. Now let me introduce the starting lineups of both teams. First up is the Syrian men's football team playing at home."

"..."

"Then there is our Chinese national team, wearing white jerseys and black shorts"

China (4-2-3-1)

Defenders: Wang Shenchao, Feng Xiaoting, Deng Hanwen, Zhang Linpeng
Midfielders: Liao Lisheng, Huang Bowen, Zhang Xizhe

Forwards: Jiang Yuan, Gao Lin, Wu Lei

Head coach: Jose Mourinho
"Today is Mourinho's debut, and the players he uses are somewhat different from those used by Li Yi"

"However, we can also see from Liao Lisheng's appearance in the left midfield position that Mourinho must have watched the video of the national team's first seven games."

As He Wei said, Mourinho and Brown watched the entire game video of the Chinese national team's first seven Asian qualifiers together, and even watched the knockout round of the Airport Olympics.

Mourinho has sharp eyes and he soon discovered that Liao Lisheng was the only player among the many midfielders of the Chinese national team who could communicate with Jiang Yuan.

No matter how you, Liao Lisheng, play, as long as you can cooperate with Jiang Yuan, you will definitely have a place in the starting lineup of the national football team.

"Pull it apart, pull it apart on both sides!"

Mourinho shouted in English that he had told the players the day before the game that they should use the width of the field as much as possible in today's game.

Jiang Yuan and Wu Lei both have to move to the sidelines, and in Mourinho's vision, Jiang Yuan needs to stick to the sidelines to make a deep breakthrough.

Breaking through the sideline is a relatively risky job, but this is the first official game after all, and the only person Mourinho can trust is Jiang Yuan.

Anyway, the Chinese national football team had relied on Jiang Yuan alone to make breakthroughs before, so Mourinho planned to test the waters by following Li Yi's previous style of play.

If it doesn’t work, just adjust it!

Just as Mourinho had arranged before the game, Jiang Yuan started to move to the left after finding the opportunity, while Wu Lei ran to his right.

As the attacking line in the front court becomes wider, the pressure on the Syrian defensive players will inevitably increase, because this means they have to lengthen their own defense line.

In the 11th minute, Jiang Yuan discovered that there was a problem with the ball in the backcourt, so he gestured to Gao Lin and Wu Lei, and the three of them retreated together to support.

Gao Lin also wanted to run to the left to help Jiang Yuan, but was rejected by Jiang Yuan.

"Just look at the middle, just look at the middle!"

After shouting, Jiang Yuan and Liao Lisheng came to the same horizontal line. The latter took the ball and decisively passed it to the left, and the ball successfully landed at Jiang Yuan's feet.

Jiang Yuan's choice was also very straightforward. He played a two-on-one with Gao Lin in the middle, and then Gao Lin passed the ball in front of him.

Knowing that Jiang Yuan was fast, Gao Lin gave the ball a relatively large lead time.

Now it is the racing stage for both sides. Jiang Yuan and Syrian midfielder Mawas run out together. Mawas's position is better than Jiang Yuan, so he can use his body to block the position.

In order to avoid possible offensive fouls, Jiang Yuan could only take the initiative to retreat.

Jiang Yuan was already standing very close to the sidelines, and now he stepped out of the sidelines. "Fuck, fuck him! Jiang Yuan, fuck him!"

"Speed ​​up, speed up!"

The fans in the side stands were also excited and kept shouting at Jiang Yuan to rush forward.

This is a good chance to get off the ball, and Chinese football fans don’t want to miss this rare opportunity!
"Jiang Yuan, you are so fast, hurry up!"

"Because he runs in an arc, Jiang Yuan has a natural disadvantage compared to Mavas. The good news is that Mavas himself is not a player who is particularly good at speed. I think Jiang Yuan still has some advantages in this regard..."

"Here they come. As expected, Jiang Yuan is catching up very quickly!"

"Use your shoulder to block the position. Mavas tried to knock Jiang Yuan down, but failed. Reach out and pull him!"

"Hey! Mawas lost the ball. This is a huge mistake made by the Syrian defender. Jiang Yuan can seize this opportunity and accelerate again!"

Jiang Yuan could chase the ball when he was 3 or 4 body lengths behind, but Mavas is not a fast player. Jiang Yuan directly used his backhand to pull away from Mavas by 3 body lengths, and the visual impact was terrifying.

Jiang Yuan's 40-meter sprint successfully transferred the ball from the backcourt to the frontcourt. Gao Lin and Wu Lei did not stand there in a daze. Two people ran up from the right and cooperated with Zhang Xizhe to create three good passing points for Jiang Yuan.

"here!"

Zhang Xizhe reached out for the ball, but this guy's positioning awareness was a little poor, and he was immediately blocked by the defensive player. Jiang Yuan dribbled the ball diagonally into the penalty area with the outside of his foot, glanced at Wu Lei and Zhang Xizhe, and after realizing that neither of them had any good opportunities, he decided to do it himself.

He pressed the full-back step by step and entered the penalty area, facing two defensive players, the full-back and the right center back, at the same time.

If he was playing for a club, Jiang Yuan would either look for Ibrahimovic or Hazard, but Jiang Yuan is in the national team after all.

You have to be extravagant at home!
"Jiang Yuan, well, Jiang Yuan chose to squeeze directly between the two defensive players, very strong!"

"Shoot! Hey, this is a fake move, Jiang Yuan stepped on the ball, but Midani was knocked down"

"Knock the door again!"

"The ball is in! The ball is in!"

"In the 14th minute of the game, Jiang Yuan scored a goal. Goalkeeper Alema made a save, but he couldn't reach the ball at all!"

"China 1:0 Syria!"

Cheers rang out from the audience as Jiang Yuan ran out of the penalty area and all the way to the bottom of the left stand.

The venue was not a professional football field, so Jiang Yuan needed to run a little further to get directly under the stands.

"Awesome! Jiang Yuan is awesome!"

"Damn, that's awesome!"

“Awesome!!!!!”

clap clap!

Jiang Yuan high-fived two fans on the first floor of the stands to celebrate, then turned around to greet his teammates who were running towards him.

"Awesome, Brother Yuan!"

Wu Lei hugged Jiang Yuan tightly. At this moment, he only had a feeling that "the two of us are really awesome."

Wu Lei hadn't played football with Jiang Yuan for 2 months and was deeply shocked to witness such impact again on the spot.

The camera turned to Mourinho. The new coach of the Chinese national football team had his hands in the pockets of his Nike jacket with a somewhat complicated expression.

Of course he was happy that the team he led scored a goal, but the problem was that the goal was not the result of team cooperation.

The ball was passed to Jiang Yuan in the backcourt, and then Jiang Yuan crushed the entire opponent's defense line. It was fun to play like this, but you can't keep playing like this!
“Cooperate, cooperate!”

Mourinho shouted loudly in his terribly poor Chinese, and then asked the English translator next to him to help him shout a few more sentences.

"Zhang Xizhe, think carefully about your positioning. Also Wu Lei and Gao Lin, your positions just now were problematic, pay attention."

The game continued. After the Chinese team scored, the Syrian coach Hakim gathered the players together and briefly talked about the problems in defense just now: "Man, I know it's a little difficult for you to defend Jiang, but you can foul, you know, I need you to pull him down with your hands when it's appropriate, instead of making mistakes like Mawas just now. If you find yourself out of position, then continue to foul decisively. The opponent will not give you a chance to think, and you can't defend if you think!"

"Ok!?"

clap clap clap!
The players began to adjust their form, and the second goal of the first half was scored by Syrian center forward Mubayed.

“How do you say focus in Chinese?”

Mourinho's arm focused on English translation.

"Focus!"

"Focus! Focus!"

After confirming the pronunciation, Mourinho immediately shouted twice to the court. He was the temporary manager of the national team. Now the Asian preliminaries have reached the eighth round, and the Chinese men's football team is only ranked third in the group.

Each of the remaining three games is very crucial and will directly determine which of China and South Korea will get a ticket to the Russian finals as the second in the group.

If you have the chance to enter directly, then don’t go through the arduous play-offs!

"Beep!"

Less than 3 minutes after the second ball was kicked off, the referee blew the whistle because of a defensive foul by Syria.

Slow motion showed that when Jiang Yuan ran over to receive the ball, he was knocked to the ground by Yusuf. The referee decisively showed a yellow card to the Syrian player who committed the foul.

"Fuck you!"

Mourinho, who was standing in front of the visiting team's bench, shouted. As a coach, he certainly knew who had instructed Yusuf to do this, so he was ready to rush to the home team's bench to scold Aiman ​​Hakim.

"No!"

Brown and Gao Hongbo rushed out from their chairs at the same time and grabbed Mourinho directly.

"No, don't do this, this is your first game, don't get a yellow card"

Brown tried to persuade and pull, mainly pulling, and finally controlled Mourinho.

"Beep!!!"

"Beep beep beep!!!"

"xuuuuuu!"

The Syrian players' fouls made the Chinese fans in the stands somewhat dissatisfied. False whistles and boos came one after another. However, the Syrian players on the field seemed not to hear them and just did what they were supposed to do, which made Jiang Yuan a little panicked.

Jiang Yuan was panicking, the fans were panicking too, and the coaching staff was even more panicking. Mourinho directly conveyed instructions to Jiang Yuan in English: "Be careful, observe carefully before handling, don't rush!"

Syria played a bit crazy. Mourinho meant that if this was the case, China should just play more carefully.

If the opponent goes crazy and Jiang Yuan self-destructs, the next few games of the Chinese national football team will be in trouble.

Just as Mourinho was speaking, the Chinese team found an opportunity. Wu Lei ran forward desperately and stopped the ball before the Syrian full-back. He staggered a few steps during the confrontation and finally successfully passed the ball to Zhang Xizhe in the middle, who then passed the ball to Liao Lisheng.

"Go inside!"

Liao Lisheng shouted and prepared to pass the ball to Jiang Yuan, but Jiang Yuan did not go down to the bottom line as Liao Lisheng said, but stood in place and pointed to the penalty area.

call!
Taking a deep breath, Liao Lisheng mustered up his courage and passed the ball into the penalty area. Gao Lin and Geniat confronted each other in the penalty area, and finally Geniat knocked Gao Lin down.

"Hey, referee!"

When a player falls in the penalty area, Jiang Yuan is usually the one who reacts the fastest. This time was no exception. Seeing Gao Lin lose his balance, Jiang Yuan turned around and ran towards the referee: "He pulled down our player. I saw it clearly. He definitely pulled down our player..."

Jiang Yuan had just said half of his words when the referee raised his right arm and pointed his index finger at the 12-yard position in the penalty area.

"Well done, Brother Liao"

Jiang Yuan and Liao Lisheng high-fived and then walked forward. Wu Lei hurried into the penalty area and snatched the ball from the goalkeeper's feet.

"Brother Yuan"

Wu Lei trotted over and passed the ball to Jiang Yuan. Jiang Yuan threw the ball in the air and spun it a few times. After thinking it over, he walked towards Gao Lin: "Brother Lin, come over?"

"Well, thank you."

Jiang Yuan gave up the ball, and Gao Lin certainly didn't act pretentiously. He took a step forward and took the ball.

"Jiang Yuan gave the penalty to Gao Lin who created it. We previously said that Jiang Yuan was only 18 or 9 years old and was not suitable to be the captain of the Chinese men's football team, but now it seems that this theory is not true."

"Although Jiang Yuan is the youngest player on the field, he is top-notch in terms of both strength and team awareness. He is willing to give up the penalty kick to allow the other players on the field to find their form."

"Let's see if Gao Lin can hold on to the ball now."

The camera turned to Mourinho. The Portuguese didn't look very good. He seemed a little dissatisfied with Jiang Yuan's handling of the penalty kick when the score was 1:0. However, Gao Lin had already put the ball on the penalty spot. There was really no need for Mourinho to shout anything now.

"Gao Lin, run up... and shoot!"

"The ball is in! The ball is in!"

"Gao Lin scored from the penalty spot and the Chinese team extended the lead to 2:0!"

"Gao Lin, beautiful!"

Bang bang bang bang!
After taking a 2-goal lead, the stadium suddenly became lively and fans in the stands jumped up and down.

Gao Lin scored his first goal in the national team's official competition this year. He excitedly rushed to the stands to share the joy of the goal with the fans.

14' Jiang
25' Gao (P)

SYR:CHN
0:2
……

(End of this chapter)