Chapter 43: Here They Come (National Football Team Arc)

As the international match day drew closer, headlines and news stories spread like wildfire across the internet in China.

"Li Luo Will Arrive Today."
"Numbers Confirmed! Li Luo to Wear the Number 7 Jersey and Fight for the Country."
"The Brilliant Bundesliga Midfielder, Lead Us to Victory."
"China vs. Japan, the Battle is About to Begin!"
"National Team Head Coach Alain Perrin: I have won two Ligue 1 titles, and I have coached Benzema, Drogba, and Juninho. I know how to communicate with a genius player like Li."
"Japanese Media: The Sino-Japanese Showdown! J-League and overseas elites gather. With a determination to win, the Blue Samurai battle the Dragon Team!"

The front page of a Japanese newspaper featured a striking illustration: Li Luo with his hands in his pockets and a towering, golden dragon looking down from above, overlooking cherry blossoms drifting onto the bamboo hat and drawn sword of a Blue Samurai warrior.

Finally, one more piece of news completely ignited the passion of Chinese football fans:
"People's Daily: The Golden Monkey brandishes his thousand-jun staff, clearing the dusty sky for ten thousand miles."

The number of comments, likes, and shares surged crazily.

- "Li Luo looks so handsome in the national team jersey!"
- "What kind of role will Li Luo play in the national team? I can't wait."
- "We've finally waited for this day. A Chinese player returns carrying the halo of a midfield maestro from a Bundesliga powerhouse. Am I watching an anime?"
- "They'll definitely let Li Luo play, right?"
- "We absolutely cannot lose to the Japanese on our home turf. Come on!"
- "I'll say it again: don't put too much pressure on Li Luo. Football is a team sport. Win or lose, we must be inclusive, understanding, and supportive!"
- "That headline from the People's Daily has profound meaning."

...

In 2014, Germany won the World Cup, and their national team jerseys set historic sales records in the Chinese market.

That was even truer now for Li Luo's national team jersey.
As soon as it went on sale, it sold out instantly.
No one could stop the enthusiasm of Chinese fans eager to buy, buy, buy.

The hype surrounding Li Luo's return home surpassed that of any celebrity or star entertainer.
Even all sorts of bootleg mobile games, regardless of their theme or content, forcibly added crossover events featuring a "cartoon version of Li Luo."

...

Baiyun Airport.
Li Luo walked out of the arrival gate.
He was greeted by a roaring wave of cheers.
Red flags fluttered in the wind.
A sea of red.
Countless supporters wearing the national team's jersey screamed his name at the top of their lungs:
"Li Luo!!!"
"Li Luo!!!"
"Li Luo!!!"

The passion was blazing hot.
At that very moment, Li Luo's heart surged with an indescribable, overwhelming emotion.

Looking at the scene, Tom couldn't help but gape in astonishment. "Li, this is the treatment fit for a crown prince... What was Manchester in comparison... No, no, no, I didn't mean it that way!"

His entourage was small; they hadn't brought along the Manchester United chef, fitness coach, or personal assistants.
His luggage was kept strictly simple.
The returning midfield genius carried no airs whatsoever and certainly didn't put on superstar attitudes.

...

Li Luo walked very slowly, warmly signing autographs for fans, shaking hands, and taking photos along the way.
Click!
Camera flashes flickered continuously.
Major media reporters had long since set up their long lenses and heavy artillery, pressing the shutter to capture every single moment.

"Li Luo, welcome home."

...

Not far away.
"Xiao Li..."
"Is 'Xiao Li' what you should be calling him?"
"..."

National team representatives had been waiting for a long time and trotted over enthusiastically to greet Li Luo.
There was no time for idle pleasantries.
Li Luo was busy waving goodbye to the fans.

...

CCTV-5 broadcasted the entire event live.
Danmu bullet comments flew across the screen.

- "What do you guys think Li Luo's state of mind is right now?"
- "I am Qin Shi Huang. Today, I specially invite the master to come down from the mountain to help me wipe out the six states and unify the world."
- "On this northern expedition against the Xiongnu, I am willing to honor the master as our commander-in-chief."
- "Master, that big-eared fellow has come calling for the third time, talking about the decline of the Han Dynasty and wanting to save the common people of the world..."

...

Far away in Great Britain.
Many Manchester United fans were also paying close attention to the movements of their crown prince.

Erik ten Hag—wait, Van Gaal straightened the red scarf on his chest and said seriously, "There are still six days until the match. Manchester United should also provide some technical support to China. In Li's national team debut, the Chinese team must not play too horribly."
"Let them fully unleash Li's talent."

Giggs wore a bewildered expression. "What kind of technical support can we provide? Li has only played one match in the Premier League."

Some mischievous fans even took to calling Manchester United the Premier League's Chinese National Team...

...

In China.
The commercial vehicle slowly drove away from the airport.
Puff.
Assistant Coach Li blew a strand of hair out of his eyes, turned around, and extended a hand toward the Chinese genius in the back seat. "You've had a long and tiring journey. Thank you for your hard work."
"It's no trouble at all."
The two shook hands.

Looking at the scenery outside the car window, Li Luo couldn't help but let out a yawn.
He needed to hurry back to the hotel and adjust to the jet lag.
Gradually, he drifted off to sleep.

...

Tom was naturally sociable and soon struck up a lively conversation with the national team assistant coaches.
He had graduated from Loughborough University with a degree in sports management and later joined Manchester United's technical team; he was no fool.

"We have players with good fundamental skills in China, for example... look at this."
Assistant Coach Li handed Tom a tablet.
It was playing smooth, fluid sequences of attacking plays.
"Guangzhou R&F and Yanbian Funde, these two clubs are representatives of the passing-and-control style in the Chinese Super League."
"Especially the latter; in the era of lavish spending, they are a civilian club without big-name foreign players."
"Their effective playing time is very high."
"The effective playing time of other clubs is roughly around 30 to 47 minutes."
"No matter who their opponent is, these two clubs maintain an effective playing time of over 58 minutes! When players fall to the ground, they immediately get back up instead of bickering with the referee, and they actively jump right back into the match..."

Hearing this introduction, Tom's eyes suddenly lit up. "Their close-control technique is decent, and they have a certain understanding of the passing-and-control philosophy. We could build our tactics around Li..."

Assistant Coach Li shook his head. "No, most of them haven't been called up to the national team."
"..."
"There's no shady business, listen to me explain. Selecting players for the national team is very difficult. Those players with good foot skills... struggle to maintain passing and receiving stability in high-intensity matches."
"Oh! I understand."
Tom was suddenly enlightened.

Assistant Coach Li's expression looked somewhat dejected.
This time, they could not afford to lose to the Japanese team on home soil!
But what if they did lose?

...

The interim office of the national team.
Head Coach Alain Perrin shifted the small magnetic flags on the tactical board.
It wasn't until he took over the Chinese national team that he truly understood Johan Cruyff's famous quote: "Playing football is very simple, but playing simple football is the hardest thing there is."

He didn't completely dismiss the national team players' tactical comprehension.
International player Gao Lin had once said in an interview: "We cannot understand overly profound tactics, nor can we fulfill the coaching staff's demands for complex, multi-layered combined tactics—we have to admit this. If you compare players from Europe's top five leagues to college students or graduate students, then we are only high schoolers."

Slap.
Perrin gently clapped his hands together.
He honestly couldn't figure out how to utilize this Bundesliga prodigy.
As Arsène Wenger's direct disciple, he hadn't learned the full repertoire; he was only adept at grooming forwards.

"There's no time left."
"Even a renowned manager like Van Gaal has given us advice..."
"No."
"We'd better listen to Mr. Hecking's suggestions."

...

At the same time.
The Japanese national team arrived in China.
Head Coach Javier Aguirre accepted interviews from the media.

"Football is a team sport."
"China has a young, talented star, but it will be difficult for them to pose a threat to us."
"Li is a playmaker-type central midfielder, a soul figure. He can elevate the team by a tier, but... will a China elevated by a single tier be a match for us?"