svetikya Chapter 20 International Champions Cup East Asian Derby
Chapter 20 International Champions Cup East Asian Derby
Chang Huan performed admirably as a substitute in both International Champions Cup matches.
The news fermented over a day and a night.
On Dongqiudi and Zhibo9, fans have portrayed them as the hope of Chinese football.
Renaissance Jinling Hotel.
It was a little after 1 a.m.
The Roma players boarded a dedicated bus and turned right from Lushan Road to the hotel's exclusive drop-off area, where fans waiting under the lights on both sides of the hotel entrance immediately became excited.
"RamoRamo!"
"May you always be happy!!!"
Chinese fans from the Roma fan group, simply wanting to catch a glimpse of Chang Huan, instinctively shouted.
"Hey, gentlemen and children, get up and get to work!"
Assistant coach Tome walked to the middle of the aisle, clapped his hands loudly, and called out to the players who were dozing off or playing on their phones.
They quickly adjusted themselves, stood up, or turned to look out the window, waving to the enthusiastic fans.
Chang Huan was very happy to hear the endless shouts of "Chang Huan," but he no longer felt the smugness he had a few days ago. Instead, he felt a deep sense of responsibility.
We can't let these lovely fans down!
In the future, I must become everyone's pride!
A day later, Tottenham Hotspur, Rome's International Champions Cup rivals, arrived in Nanjing.
As one of the Premier League's Big Six teams, Tottenham Hotspur enjoys great popularity in China.
With South Korea's top star Son Heung-min in the team, many South Koreans working or studying in China and South Koreans make a special trip to Nanjing.
The day before the match, the two teams' routine stadium visits also revealed that their popularity was not on the same level.
Tottenham Hotspur has tens of thousands of fans.
Rome had only a few thousand supporters.
Supporters on social media platforms and football apps, however, are quite the opposite.
Many fans have transformed into 30-year veteran Roma supporters.
Tottenham's pre-match press conference.
In an interview, Pochettino mentioned Chang Huan as one of the players Roma needs to focus on.
In the mobile internet era, news spreads extremely quickly, and fans active on social media platforms, Dongqiudi, and Zhibo9 are particularly excited, starting all sorts of exaggerated speculations.
Phrases like "solo breakthrough," "the Chinese youth Pochettino fears," and "Chang Huan will definitely carry you to Rome" quickly became trending topics.
Pre-match press conference in Rome.
The questions raised by reporters almost all revolved around Chang Huan.
Di Francesco is a typical Italian tough guy. When facing Chinese reporters, he didn't just say nice things, but bluntly stated that 17-year-old Chang Huan has outstanding football talent, but needs more time to adapt to professional football, and hopes that everyone will give him more patience.
On the day of the competition.
Tottenham and Roma fans from all over the country gathered together, making Nanjing, a new first-tier city that incorporates football elements, even more passionate.
Some fans also spotted Jiangsu's foreign players Hong Jeong-ho, Teixeira, and Ramirez at the game.
The event hasn't even started yet, but it's already generating a lot of buzz.
Tottenham and Roma players all entered the stadium to warm up.
Sports stars have the largest audience.
Chang Huan, the only Chinese player on both sides of the match, has performed well in the past two International Champions Cup matches and has received support from many Chinese fans at the scene.
The shouts were in unison and came one after another.
As Chang Huan warmed up, he felt an overwhelming wave of enthusiasm.
He looked around and responded to the enthusiastic fans with a wave.
Compared to the two International Champions Cup matches held in Singapore, this match held in Nanjing attracted a large number of Chinese journalists.
CCTV-5 reporters, PP Sports reporters, Tencent Sports reporters, etc...
When the organizers announced the starting lineups for both sides, fans and reporters were somewhat disappointed.
Chang Huan did not start.
The warm-up lasted about half an hour. As Chang Huan returned to the locker room, a male reporter from CCTV-5 reached out and stopped him in the players' tunnel: "Hello, I'm Chen Sirui, a reporter from CCTV-5. Is it convenient for me to conduct an interview?"
"live streaming?"
Chang Huan pointed to the ENG camera connected to the line.
Chen Sirui nodded slightly and asked gently, "How did you feel about your debut in Liverpool a little over two months ago?"
"It's wonderful, like a dream."
Why did you choose to join Roma?
"Most promised playing time".
"Does that mean you'll get more playing time in the new season?"
That's right.
Feeling she had laid enough groundwork, Chen Sirui changed the subject: "The 'writing a self-criticism with interlaced feet' incident has recently gone viral again. What are your thoughts on it?"
"Can I say everything?"
Chang Huan turned his head and received Ang's accurate reply. After a moment of contemplation, he said, "Football is a sport full of entertainment and imagination. I hope that managers who don't understand the game, like to control, and give bad instructions will learn more about this sport. Respecting others is also respecting yourself..."
In closing, he humorously added, "Okay, I feel like what I've said has touched the souls of those laymen in management. I won't say any more. Goodbye..."
Chen Sirui's mouth was half-open: "..."
at the same time.
Fans who watched the pre-match interviews live on CCTV-5 initially looked serious, but by the end they were all bursting into laughter.
I never expected that Chang Huan, who is so mature for his age, would like to use internet memes so much.
Weibo, Live9, and Dongqiudi have become platforms for fans to speak freely.
Yu Hongchen, the vice president of the Chinese Football Association who was implicated, was heavy-hearted and regretted his actions as he looked at the television screen in the living room.
Originally, there was nothing wrong with making the decision to ban Chang Huan from being selected for any level of national team for two years. Who knew that he could actually make a name for himself in football?
He raised an eyebrow, lost in thought.
The entry of CCTV-5 might signify something.
There has been no further news yet about his promotion to the top position in the Track and Field Administration next month, which is likely due to his competitors using this "public opinion" to stall the process.
……
The International Champions Cup China Jinling Division match between Tottenham Hotspur and Roma will start promptly at 7:35 PM.
Both sides fielded their strongest lineups.
For Tottenham, Harry Kane, Son Heung-min, Hugo Lloris, Toby Alderweireld, Jan Vertonghen, Eric Dier, Christian Eriksen, and Dele Alli all made their appearances.
For Roma, Kolarov, Alisson, De Rossi, Strootman, Nainggolan, and Dzeko started together.
The Jinling Olympic Sports Center was packed to capacity, with cheers erupting in waves.
As the offensive intensified, the shouts grew even more frenzied.
A deafening roar of cheers echoed through the sky.
Both teams' players were adept at entertaining the fans and spared no effort in their attacks.
Unfortunately, the final pass was difficult to control under pressure, and the team failed to score for a long time.
In the 12th minute, Tottenham intercepted the ball in the attacking third.
Harry Kane received the ball and delivered a through pass, which Son Heung-min anticipated, creating a one-on-one opportunity.
Alisson abandons his goal to attack!
Son Heung-min's precise low shot with his right foot struck the groin of the opponent.
Tottenham lead 1-0.
Di Francesco stormed into the command area and roared at Gerson, who had led to the loss of possession.
Before the match, I repeatedly told him to be decisive when passing the ball, but what was the result?
Being obsessed with showing off his footwork led to losing possession and conceding a successful counter-attack.
Despite leading, Tottenham did not tighten their defense after the restart. Instead, they continued to press forward with their front three, cutting off Roma's passing lanes through the middle and forcing the ball carriers to pass to the wings.
Experienced players like De Rossi, Nainggolan, and Dzeko quickly stabilized the situation, denying Tottenham any chance to intercept the ball and launch a counter-attack.
Both coaches emphasized high pressing in their defense, which made the game incredibly exciting during this period.
The fans in the stands were ecstatic, exclaiming that it was worth the ticket price.
The only regret is that the score remained unchanged.
The two teams traded blows, but the score wasn't changed until the end of the first half.
Dzeko, moving wide, crossed from the right sideline of the penalty area, and the ball struck Carter-Weicks' arm. Referee Ma Ning, with his sharp eyes, promptly awarded a penalty.
Dzeko scored the equalizer himself.
Before switching sides, both sides made several positional adjustments.
"Chang Huan! Chang Huan!!"
Amidst the fervent calls of Chinese fans, Chang Huan, who was on whom high hopes were placed, made his substitute appearance!
"The East Asian Derby is coming to the International Champions Cup!"
"Son Heung-min has not been substituted," CCTV-5 commentator Shao Shengyi exclaimed.