Chapter 32

Duan Xuan knew that with CCTV's public opinion guidance style, it was absolutely not allowed to broadcast such "recklessly over-the-top" footage, especially since the football association leaders hoped to guide Chinese football in the right direction through the interview with Qiao Wanxian. He took a deep breath and quickly changed the subject: "Mr. Qiao, do you have any plans for how long you intend to coach at Chelsea?"

Qiao Wanxian calmly replied, "Currently, my contract with the club is only for one year, but... I have a good relationship with the club, so I will stay here for at least three to five years."

Duan Xuan quickly noted down these words, planning to edit Qiao Wanxian's previous statement with this one when he returned. The gist would be that he would spend three to five years winning the Premier League, League Cup, FA Cup, and UEFA Champions League. This should meet the leaders' requirements and avoid causing young people to blindly follow such recklessness, right?

As the interview neared its end, following the Chinese media's custom, Duan Xuan also asked about domestic issues: "Mr. Qiao, what do you think of Chinese football?"

"Chinese football?" Qiao Wanxian pursed his lips and his face darkened. "I don't think much of it!"

Duan Xuan, completely unaware of Qiao Wanxian's displeasure, still smiled and asked, "Do you have any suggestions for the development of Chinese football?"

"Hmm... I do have one suggestion." Qiao Wanxian narrowed his eyes and said lightly, "Tell your leaders that the biggest obstacle to the development of Chinese football is the Chinese Football Association! Dissolve it, and I guarantee that the Chinese national team will appear in the 2010 South Africa World Cup!"

Qiao Wanxian's words immediately caused the faces of those present to change, and they looked at each other in silence. They were also part of the system, and if they dared to spread such words, they wouldn't be able to continue working.

Duan Xuan's face changed slightly but quickly returned to normal. He forced a smile, "That's great. Once Mr. Qiao's wish is fulfilled, we will certainly consult with the leaders and have you lead the Chinese national team to South Africa!"

"Are you insulting me?" Qiao Wanxian's face turned cold, and he almost stormed out.

In 2004, Chinese football had not yet completely fallen into darkness. After the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup, the Chinese national team even reached the final of the 2004 Asian Cup! In the final, due to a referee's mistake, China narrowly lost to Japan and finished as runners-up.

At this time, Chinese football fans still had great hope for the future, and Duan Xuan was no exception. He was just surprised by what had upset Qiao Wanxian so much about Chinese football. If he knew about the future gambling and match-fixing scandals, the mysterious dismissal of Gao Hongbo, the money-laundering incident involving Camacho, and the 1-5 loss to Thailand, he would certainly understand Qiao Wanxian's current pain.

The interview ended in an unpleasant manner.

In the following days, Qiao Wanxian naturally began preparing for the challenge of playing two games a week.

Due to the limited supply of Shengyuancao, Qiao Wanxian now had only 173 milliliters of Shengyuan No. 1 left. With over 50 matches in this season, he had to carefully consider and plan the use of this secret weapon. If he continued to waste it as he did in the first two league matches, the outcome would surely be tragic.

Fortunately, the satellite had been launched, and his reputation was firmly established.

Qiao Wanxian had decided that unless there was an extremely special situation, the usage of Shengyuan No. 1 in each match must be limited to 3 milliliters or less. To prevent himself from changing his mind on the spot, he even prepared a 3-milliliter vial, which he would always carry with him.

On August 25th, at 3:00 AM, Chelsea played an away match against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park. Before the game, Qiao Wanxian used Shengyuan No. 1 on Kaka and Owen, leaving 1 milliliter in the vial as a reserve for emergencies.

However, in this situation, Qiao Wanxian's team finally encountered a problem. The young player Sergio Ramos, without the help of Shengyuan No. 1, became extremely mediocre. Due to Chelsea's aggressive attacking style, the full-backs had to both attack fiercely and defend desperately, but Ramos struggled with both, becoming ineffective in attack and a liability in defense.

Crystal Palace, a newly promoted team, was relatively weak, but unexpectedly, they took the lead in the 44th minute under the guidance of their coach, Douie!

Crystal Palace's forward, Wayne Routledge, intercepted the ball from the clumsy Ramos, who was rushing back to defend, and passed it to their striker, Darius Vassell. Vassell, receiving the ball 30 meters from Chelsea's goal, took a direct shot. This shot left the traveling Chelsea fans in shock, as the Czech goalkeeper, Petr Cech, made a mistake!

Faced with a not-so-fast ball, the young and inexperienced Cech thought it would surely go wide and stood still. However, the ball suddenly dropped and went into the net! 1-0! The newly promoted team led the league leaders!

This summer, the two young players, Ramos and Cech, whom Qiao Wanxian had focused on signing, had inadvertently contributed to Crystal Palace's goal!

For Crystal Palace, this was a crucial goal. Leading the attack-minded Chelsea in the first half was something Coach Douie had never dared to imagine before the match! Even keeping the score within five goals would have been a great relief!

Fans of weaker teams are often divided, like Crystal Palace fans who might also support Manchester United or Arsenal. But Chelsea fans would never support teams that could affect Chelsea.

The atmosphere at Selhurst Park was boiling, with Crystal Palace fans celebrating wildly, not only because their team was leading the strong Chelsea, but also because if they maintained this score, Arsène Wenger's Arsenal would take the top spot!

In the last few minutes of the first half, Chelsea counterattacked like an enraged bull, but every time the ball reached Sergio Ramos, the team's rhythm became terrible. Before the match, assistant coach André Villas-Boas had said that Ramos was not in good form and suggested he play Glenn Johnson.

Qiao Wanxian believed that young players needed time to grow and develop, and sitting on the bench would be like leaving iron to rust. Many people in the future would consider Guardiola greater than Mourinho, mainly because Guardiola trusted young players and gave them enough playing time to prove themselves.

Although it was Crystal Palace's home ground, the commentator was quite friendly towards Chelsea, even showing some respect. However, after seeing this, he couldn't help but comment, "Now it seems that after the perfect performances in the last two matches, the young Ramos has taken a path of confusion. Look at his performance on the field; he's like a poison to Chelsea's attack! Given Qiao Wanxian's fiery temper, if nothing unexpected happens, Ramos will definitely be off the pitch in the second half."

The first-half substitute time seemed long, and in the consistent boos from Crystal Palace and Chelsea fans, Ramos felt every second was a torment. When he heard the referee's whistle, he felt it was like a heavenly sound!

Fifteen minutes later, the second half began.

However, to everyone's shock, Chelsea's lineup remained unchanged, and Ramos, who had been "booed" into a daze in the first half, continued to play on the right side of the team.

"Has Qiao Wanxian gone mad? Can't he see that the young Ramos has become the focus of Crystal Palace's attacks? Even if he wants to develop young players, this approach will backfire! The team is still behind!" Chelsea's commentator roared, unable to understand why Qiao Wanxian, who had shown boldness by making two substitutions in the first 10 minutes of the first match, was now so indecisive.

However, the fans were the most adorable. At the start of the second half, they sang the Chelsea anthem, showing their support for Coach Qiao Wanxian: "Blue, our dream; football, our sport. United, victory is our goal, whether in sunshine or rain, please always cheer for us. Because our name is Chelsea, Chelsea..."

Since the second-placed Arsenal would face the weak Blackburn at home the next day, a big win was inevitable, so Qiao Wanxian was under a lot of pressure in this match.

However, when the image of Qiao Wanxian sitting calmly on the bench appeared on the big screen in the center of the field, his wise eyes and confident expression made it seem as if the match was already in the bag! Despite the score being behind, this scene alone drew enthusiastic applause from many Chelsea fans, and even some Crystal Palace fans.

"Steady as a rock!" The commentator said a rather unorthodox Chinese phrase, which made Qiao Wanxian laugh heartily.

But only he knew the bitterness in his laughter. Ramos's performance today was indeed poor, but he didn't want to shift the blame onto the player. A quote from Mourinho still resonated with him: "The coach is there to take the pressure off the players."

"Ramos, grow up quickly, and I will clear all the obstacles in your path!"

Finally, when Ramos lost the ball again, almost causing another disaster, Qiao Wanxian stood up resolutely, walked to the sideline, and shouted, "Sergio, come here!"

Ramos thought Qiao Wanxian had finally lost patience and was going to substitute him. His face fell, and he came to Qiao Wanxian's side, apologetically saying, "Boss, I've let you down..."

"Cheer up, kid!" Qiao Wanxian put his right hand in his pocket, took out the Shengyuan No. 1 liquid, and patted his shoulder with his left hand, encouraging him, "I believe in you, you can do it! You made a mistake in the first half; I want you to score a goal in the second half to make up for it! Don't forget our slogan!"

"Aggressive attack!" Ramos's face lit up with joy, and a hint of determination flashed across his still somewhat immature face, reminiscent of the future iron man of the pitch, Sergio Ramos!

PS: Thank you, [Barcelona Barcelona], for the 5888 reward. "The Football Cheater" will remember this historic moment. I have already decided that when this book ends, I will review all the friends who accompanied this book and all the important events, as a beautiful memory of this book. Since the first click, the first collection, etc., were all given by the author himself, the first event is: On September 7th, [Barcelona Barcelona] rewarded 5888, becoming the first steward of this book.

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