This time, out of a friendly attitude, Longteng Club sent letters to all Chinese Super League clubs inviting them to come and watch the game.
Many clubs originally wanted to politely refuse, so as not to go to the scene to watch their opponents reach the top and be stimulated. Now they all agreed to the invitation of the Longteng Club without thinking. This time, the Longteng Team has many high-priced and core players.
Tickets can be sold quickly, and they have contributed a lot.
Among them, Guangzhou Evergrande was full of sincerity and sent a team represented by Liu Yongzhuo to Jiangcheng. He also gave a clear reason for coming: "Before coming, our Chairman Xu specially talked to me.
He was studying in Jiangcheng. Of course, not only him, I also have very deep feelings for Jiangcheng. After all, I also spent the most unforgettable time of my youth in Jiangcheng."
Like Xu Jiaying, chairman of the board of directors of Guangzhou Evergrande, Liu Yongzhuo, who once studied as a graduate student at Jiangcheng University of Science and Technology, looked reminiscing when talking to Zhang Sheng: "Although I am from Fujian, my wife is from Jiangcheng. According to the
In the sense that a son-in-law is considered a half-son, I am also half a native of Jiangcheng, and like coach Zhang Sheng, I can be called half a fellow countryman."
Hearing Liu Yongzhuo's words, Zhang Sheng just smiled and did not answer. He knew that these words were just a joke, and Liu Yongzhuo's subsequent words must be the key point.
Sure enough, Liu Yongzhuo quickly turned the conversation to football: "In recent years, Longteng Club has contributed a lot of talents to Chinese football. Chairman Xu and I are also sincerely happy for you."
"In fact, Chinese football is the same as other industries, 'the whole country is a game of chess.'" Liu Yongzhuo continued, "Maintaining the flow of talents and improving the overall league competitive level is a concept we have always adhered to."
If someone else said this, Zhang Sheng would just listen to it, but when it was Guangzhou Evergrande's turn to say this, Zhang Sheng almost believed the words of the Chinese football boss in front of him.
Historically, Guangzhou Evergrande is said to be the second most hoarding of outstanding domestic players in China. I guess no one dares to claim to be the first.
From Gao Lin to Zheng Zhi, to Huang Bowen, and later to Mei Fang, Zengcheng and others, they were the ones who did not strike first. As a result, other local tycoons later could not buy good players with their checkbooks, even slightly usable players.
They were all sold to sky-high prices.
Zhang Sheng couldn't help but reply at this time: "As a senior in Chinese football, I am the same as you. This has always been the view of me and our club."
As if Liu Yongzhuo did not hear Zhang Sheng's sarcasm, he said with an exaggerated expression: "This is an undeniable fact, and it is worth our mutual encouragement."
Zhang Sheng doesn't believe Liu Yongzhuo's words even if they are punctuation marks.
Historically, what this big man who dominated Chinese football liked most was to post "Chicken Soup for the Soul" on Weibo, showing off famous English and classical Chinese quotes from time to time.
In private, he is not such a gentle person.
His most famous quote is what he said at the celebration banquet in 2016: "The way we played today was that I deliberately let you go and then chased you! Let you have some hope and then get you back! The domestic champion, Heng
If I don’t give you the important championship, you can’t steal it!”
Perhaps it was because it became the first "Triple Crown" club in the history of Chinese football to win the league championship, Super Cup championship and FA Cup championship that Liu Yongzhuo's hidden character was revealed.
It was also the "internal declaration" at the celebration banquet after the FA Cup. Although Liu Yongzhuo's impassioned declaration was just a word used internally by Guangzhou Evergrande to inspire everyone, and was understandable in itself, it was spread by the media.
It caused quite a negative impact between the team and the fans. It was even rumored that Xu Jiaying issued a "silence order" to Liu Yongzhuo afterwards, asking him to "be careful with his words" in the future!
Now that Liu Yongzhuo has such a low profile, his plans must be big.
It's just that Zhang Sheng is also an old man, and his basic ability is to do what he likes without showing off.
"This time I heard that your club intends to let Lin Feng transfer. I wonder if the rumors are true?" Liu Yongzhuo finally made it clear.
"That's true." Since he has agreed to Lin Feng's transfer request, Zhang Sheng also feels that there is nothing to hide.
Hearing Zhang Sheng's words, Liu Yongzhuo almost jumped for joy: "I have heard about this news before, but unfortunately it was sabotaged by some people with ulterior motives, which almost cost us the opportunity."
"Lin Feng is a good player." Liu Yongzhuo's eyes shone, "You also know. We at Evergrande have also been having headaches about Zheng Zhi's successor. I am also a cheerful person. You can make a price, no matter how much, we Evergrande
We will all consider it. And we will never reveal it casually and affect the important competition in the next few days."
"I would also like to tell you a few words from the bottom of my heart." Zhang Sheng said with a sincere face, "Now that I am in the club, I have a lot of responsibility for sports, but in business, it is not convenient for me to speak. You also know that Nian
Our club has made adjustments, and I am not responsible for that part. But I can guarantee you that when it comes to Lin Feng’s transfer, Guangzhou Evergrande is definitely a partner we have always trusted, and I will not set any additional
condition."
If Zhang Sheng is believed, Liu Yongzhuo has seen a ghost. Doesn’t Zhang Sheng know who it was that suddenly made Lin Feng’s transfer rumors known to everyone last time?
In fact, what Zhang Sheng said is true. From Gao Jun to Deng Chaoqun to Shu Jun, all the captains and vice-captains of the Longteng Club have transferred to Guangzhou Evergrande.
Longteng Club has never treated Guangzhou Evergrande differently because it is the team's biggest competitor.
"That's enough." Liu Yongzhuo also took a step further, "See if you can say hello to your Mr. Shi. After all, it was you who cultivated the Longteng Club."
"Okay." Zhang Sheng agreed readily. He believed that with Shi Zhiqiang's ability, Guangzhou Evergrande would not make a big mistake this time, and Lin Feng's transfer would be even more difficult than climbing to the sky.
Liu Yongzhuo didn't expect Zhang Sheng to agree so simply. He was even stunned for a moment, and soon understood what Zhang Sheng meant - anyone who wants to buy Lin Feng can come, it just depends on who has the money.
A player's personal request will be settled by whoever negotiates it.
With Zhang Sheng's equal attitude, Liu Yongzhuo was completely relieved.
In China, when it comes to spending money to buy players, when it comes to money, and when it comes to player transfer methods, Guangzhou Evergrande has never been afraid of anyone.
As long as the Longteng Club's idea is confirmed, more than half of the tasks Xu Jiaying assigned Liu Yongzhuo to Jiangcheng will be completed.
"Haha. I hope we can have a happy cooperation again." Liu Yongzhuo's laughter this time was truly from the heart. "I will be on the court to cheer for Longteng. I also wish that Longteng Club can win in the next games."
Sweep the opponents and give our Chinese football another AFC Champions League championship. Only in this way will the future of our Chinese football be really good and our influence will be greater."
Zhang Sheng, who thought he could prepare for the AFC Champions League finals with peace of mind after receiving Liu Yongzhuo, now regrets it, because after Liu Yongzhuo, three or four clubs called him in succession to inquire about Lin Feng's transfer.
Zhang Sheng also felt that he was confused. He was just the head coach of the team and the players had been allowed to transfer. So why should he go to the club's boss or talk to the club's business person? Why did he come to him?
It's a pity that the outside world doesn't seem to believe in the job adjustment within Longteng Club at all, and it is determined that Zhang Sheng is the final say in the matter. Zhang Sheng has to explain his scope of responsibilities in Longteng Club to others again and again.
It wasn't until the day before the game that Zhang Sheng brought the team into the training base that his phone calls became silent.
On November 21, 2015, the much-anticipated second leg of the AFC Champions League final was about to begin. Zhang Sheng and his disciples seemed full of confidence, and everyone vowed to wear the Asian crown at their home court.
In fact, this is also the confidence that East Asian football has given Zhang Sheng and his players in recent years.
Judging from the past, the UAE team has been able to dominate the top Asian club competitions. It has only happened once before, that is, the Al Ain team in the 2002-03 season.
This is also a portrayal of the confrontation between East and West Asian football clubs in recent years - the "eastward tilt" trend of the AFC Champions League is very obvious. In the past 10 seasons, 8 times in the past 10 seasons, East Asian teams have had the last laugh. The only two exceptions are 2011 and last year. In 2011, the Al-Saad team from Qatar relied on penalty kicks to have the last laugh after a 2-2 draw in regular time. Last year, Saudi Arabia's Al Hilal just used the referee to snatch the championship from Guangzhou Evergrande. .
In fact, this was not the case in the early stages of the AFC Champions League restructuring.
At the beginning of the 2002-03 season, the AFC merged the Asian Club Championship and the Asian Cup Winners' Cup into one event and named it the AFC Champions League. In the first three years of the AFC Champions League, West Asian teams have performed well, winning three consecutive titles. Championship. And it was the Al Ain team of the United Arab Emirates that won the first championship after the restructuring of the AFC Champions League.
In the following years of 2004 and 2005, the star-studded Saudi Arabian Al-Ittihad even won this honor for two consecutive years, becoming the first club to win the AFC Champions League consecutively and so far, the only club to win the AFC Champions League.
At that time, Etihad paid heavily to pursue players, and even had superstars like former Inter Milan striker Caron. However, since then, clubs in West Asia have begun to languish.
Because with the increasing investment of East Asian teams, the emphasis on the AFC Champions League has gradually increased, and the East Asian teams have come from behind in the AFC Champions League.
At that time, the AFC Champions League had not yet been divided into eastern and western divisions, which resulted in the West Asian teams not even reaching the finals in 2008.
In 2009, the West Asians who took power in the AFC began to expand their teams in order to save the performance of West Asian clubs in the AFC Champions League. The number of participating teams would be increased to 32 teams, and the final format was changed to a game to determine the outcome, but this did not Change the situation where West Asian teams are at a disadvantage.
In addition to relying on penalty kicks to win the championship in 2011, after the 2013 AFC Champions League final became a home and away game again, West Asian clubs were excluded from the AFC Champions League final that season. The team turned into a civil war among East Asian clubs.
It has to be said that the West Asians treat the AFC Champions League just like the World Table Tennis Federation treats the Chinese table tennis team. In order to defeat the powerful team, they find ways to frequently change the rules of the game.
In order to ensure that at least one West Asian team can enter the AFC Champions League finals, the AFC restructured the AFC Champions League in 2014. The AFC Champions League is divided into two divisions, East Asia and East Asia. The champion will be selected from the division champions. In order to suppress the competition in East Asia
Club, they assigned the Australian clubs that joined the AFC to the East Asia region, and used referees to unjustly kill Guangzhou Evergrande this season.
In the final analysis, the fall of West Asian clubs has long been foreshadowed by me.
Early West Asian football contributed a lot to Asian football. In the 1994 World Cup in the United States, Saudi Arabia relied on Overland's solo effort to reach the top 16, allowing 4 places for Asian teams to be expanded in the 1998 France World Cup.
A large part of the credit goes to Saudi Arabia, but this is the only glory of the West Asian team in the World Cup, and it is also the last glory so far.
In the 2010 World Cup, not a single West Asian team entered the World Cup finals. The decline of West Asian football was already very obvious.
There are many reasons for this that Chinese football can learn from.
First of all, there are external objective conditions. Many countries in West Asia have been affected by war and the country is in turmoil. Of course, football is not immune.
Iraq and Syria are typical examples.
Secondly, there is the interference of political factors.
There are both political factors in the international environment and domestic political factors in West Asia.
Iran, for example, has been under sanctions, making it extremely difficult for football players to study abroad.
What is even more outrageous is the impact of domestic politics on football. From 2001 to 2009, 10 national teams received bans from FIFA, and there were 5 bans involving Asia. Which Asian teams were these bans issued to?
Where are you guys? The answer is: West Asia. All five suspension tickets were issued to West Asia teams.
Politics has repeatedly interfered with football, which has become a chronic disease of football in West Asian countries.
The King of Saudi Arabia dismissed the chairman of the Football Association in anger, the Iranian Football Association replaced the head of the Football Association on its own, the Lac government announced the dissolution of the country's Olympic Committee and various individual sports associations, the Kuwaiti government intervened in the election of the Kuwait Football Association, and the Iranian Football Association forced players to retire.
The situation is intolerable to FIFA.
Of course, violating the basic laws of football development is also a major reason for the decline of football in West Asia.
Countries in West Asia are not only too rich, money is also too easy to come by, so they have developed the characteristics of messing around, impatient, and think that money can open up all the joints. How about changing the head coach after losing the first game in the Asian Cup? What about the World Cup team?
In the first two games of the game, the head coach was forced to hand over his coaching seal. This operation, which is like a joke in the world's most powerful football countries, is commonplace in West Asian teams.
In order to pursue the team's short-term results, it has become a routine operation for West Asian teams to spend money to bring in foreign players from other countries and naturalize foreign players.
Since everyone's attention and goals are focused on the adult team, youth football training in West Asian countries has naturally been ignored. In West Asian countries, there are few football schools in society, and it is not a problem for clubs to not have regular youth teams.
Their football youth training system does not have a complete system, and the emergence of young players depends entirely on luck.
So it is not difficult to understand that Al-Ahli Dubai has asked Longteng Club to help them set up a youth football training camp.
