Chapter 149: The Confederations Cup kicks off, the provocation of the five-star Samba

Lin Quan has no time to take care of the transfer market.

Because the 2013 Confederations Cup is about to start.

Lin Quan asked Perez to help him keep an eye on the transfer market, while he himself focused on the upcoming Confederations Cup.

This Confederations Cup is held in Brazil, South America, and is a warm-up for the 2014 Brazil World Cup.

As the champion of the last World Cup, Spain is one of the most watched teams in this Confederations Cup.

In addition to them, the defending champion and host of the Confederations Cup, Brazil, has also received a lot of attention from the outside world.

For Spain, this Confederations Cup is a very important test.

As the 2010 World Cup champion lineup continues to age, Spain is facing the same problem of renewal as many teams.

In order to allow the team's lineup to achieve a smooth transition and strive to achieve good results in next year's World Cup.

Bosque is ready to improve the team's tactical system and thoroughly establish the core and main framework of the team for the next World Cup.

After making major adjustments, the team needs to test its combat effectiveness after the reform through actual combat.

Therefore, he regarded this Confederations Cup as an excellent training opportunity.

He plans to use the champion teams from various continents to test the quality of the teams, especially the strength of the young players.

Otherwise, if the problem is delayed until next year's World Cup, it will be too late to regret.

However, with Lin Quan in charge, Bosque was not very worried.

"Lin, you are finally here!"

The training camp in Spain has started for some time, and Lin Quan had just finished playing in the German Cup final, so Bosque gave him some more time to rest.

During the days when Lin Quan was away, Bosque was always a little uneasy, until he saw him appear, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

The old coach gave Lin Quan a warm hug. After the hug, he looked Lin Quan up and down and nodded approvingly: "Not bad, you have become a lot stronger!"

"The key is not to get hurt!"

Coach Tony on the side added.

"Yes, it's important not to get hurt!"

Bosque has always been worried about whether Lin Quan will get injured in the league, as he is an indispensable member of the team.

If he gets injured, Spain's offensive system in the midfield and frontcourt will have to be rebuilt from scratch!

"Let's go and say hello to our teammates!"

Coach Tony patted Lin Quan on the shoulder and took him to the training ground.

On the training ground, the Spanish internationals who had gathered long ago were already training in an orderly manner.

Among them, Lin Quan saw many new faces, such as Real Madrid star Isco who had just completed the transfer and Chelsea youngster Azpilicueta.

Lin Quan greeted his old teammates, then walked up to several young people who had just joined the team and extended his hand to them.

"I'm Lin Quan. I'm glad you can join the team and fight side by side with everyone. Here we only have one identity, that is, members of the national team. Put everything else aside, and don't bring the grudges of the club to the national team!"

Isco and Azpilicueta looked at each other. The other party was younger than them, so why did he speak like an older brother?

But neither of them is stupid. From Lin Quan's cheerful conversation with the team bosses, they can feel each other's status in the team.

"Hello Lin Quan, I'm Isco, please take care of me!"

"Hello, I'm Azpilicueta!"

Morata on the side said with a bully tone:

"I'm telling you, don't underestimate Lin Quan just because of his age. He is the best player of the post-85 generation, the tactical core of the team, the future captain, the leader of Spain, and the defender of the dynasty..."

"So, you know who to hang out with, right?"

Isco, who won the Golden Boy Award not long ago, was not very convinced of Lin Quan.

But after hearing the long list of titles that Morata announced, Isco was dumbfounded.

Is he that good? He is the future tactical core of the team?

When I think about the fact that I was recruited to the national team only after I won the Golden Boy Award, while the other party had already represented the Spanish national team before he even reached adulthood.

Isco immediately lost his temper.

"We got it. We'll follow Boss Lin from now on!"

The two of them immediately became submissive and expressed their loyalty to Lin Quan.

Hearing Morata's words, Lin Quan's mouth twitched slightly.

You are the one who is bragging. I can't say these words myself.

Spain's 23-man squad is missing several old faces.

For example, Xabi Alonso was seriously injured in a club match and was ruled out for the season, so he was unable to play in the Confederations Cup with the team.

Alonso and Martinez are the two main defenders of the Spanish backcourt. His absence has a great impact on the strength of the Spanish midfield.

But in general, the overall framework of the team is still there and there are not many changes.

Spain's 23-man squad for the 2013 Confederations Cup is as follows:

Goalkeepers: Casillas (Real Madrid), Valdes (Barcelona), De Gea (Manchester United);

Defenders: Monreal (Arsenal), Alba (Barcelona), Pique (Barcelona), Ramos (Real Madrid), Azpilicueta (Chelsea), Arbeloa (Real Madrid);

Midfielders: Andres Iniesta (Barcelona), Cazorla (Arsenal), Sergio Busquets (Barcelona), Xavi (Barcelona), Juan Mata (Chelsea), David Silva (Manchester City), Cesc Fabregas (Barcelona), Isco (Real Madrid), Carlos Martinez (Bayern Munich);

Forwards: Pedro (Barcelona), Villa (Barcelona), Torres (Chelsea), Morata (Real Madrid), Lin Quan (Barcelona).

Among them, there are 5 Real Madrid players and 10 Barcelona players.

Within the Spanish national team, it seems that the Barcelona gang still has the upper hand compared to the Real Madrid gang.

However, Lin Quan's contract with Barcelona is about to end, so it doesn't matter if he is considered a free agent.

Moreover, after Neymar joined the team, Villa completely lost his starting position and is already seeking a transfer away.

In this way, the number of members of the Barcelona gang has dropped to 8, and the advantage over Real Madrid is not that great.

…

Two days later, the Confederations Cup draw ceremony was held.

The Spanish national team had good luck in the draw as they were drawn into Group B.

The opponents in the same group include Uruguay, the defeated team in the warm-up match, African champion Nigeria, and Oceania champion Tahiti Islands.

Apart from Uruguay which can pose a threat to them, the remaining two teams are almost just easy targets for scoring, especially the Tahiti Islands in Oceania.

Many of the opponent's main players are not professional players at all, but semi-professional or even amateur players.

When playing against such an opponent, Spain does not need to send out its main players at all, and all substitutes can easily defeat the opponent.

Compared to Group B, Group A was not so lucky.

The host Brazil team was drawn with European runner-up Italy, and the same group also included Central and North American champion Mexico and Asian champion Japan.

There is no need to talk about Italy's strength, and chain defense is a headache for everyone.

The CONCACAF champions, Mexico, are not to be trifled with either, as they are ranked 17th in the world.

Even the weakest Japanese team is not a gift-giving team.

The Japanese team is a regular at the World Cup and often makes it to the knockout stage, showing its considerable strength.

If we don't give our all when playing against them, we might be upset.

After the group draw, fans began to discuss the result.

"The situation over at Group A is not good!"

"Isn't the host's luck really bad?"

"Indeed, all three opponents are not pushovers. We have to go all out against any one of them!"

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"Haha, maybe this is a good thing!"

"Indeed, if they can get into shape early in the group stage, then in the knockout stage, if they meet the slow-starting Spain, they might be able to eliminate the opponent unexpectedly!"

"Upset? How much do you despise the Brazilian team?"

"That's right. Brazil has never been weak. Isn't it natural for them to eliminate Spain?"

"I think Brazil will win this Confederations Cup!"

Five-star Brazil is the team that has won the most World Cup titles in history. In addition, Brazil is rich in football stars, which makes the Brazilian team very popular around the world.

However, Spain, which has won two consecutive European Cups and one World Cup, is also very popular in the world.

So, some fans immediately raised an opposing point of view: "Come on? What can Brazil use to fight Spain? Brazil is in a period of transition, with a large number of players in the team who have never played in the top five leagues. How strong can they be?"

In this Confederations Cup, 12 of Brazil's 23-man roster are not from the top five leagues. Of the six forwards, except for Neymar who just transferred to Barcelona, ​​the rest are not from the top five leagues.

Although the Brazilian League is at a good level in South America, there is still a big gap compared to the top five leagues.

Otherwise, why would so many top Brazilian stars choose to study abroad in Europe? Going to Europe not only offers higher-level leagues, but also allows them to play in the Champions League, a higher-level, more competitive competition.

Therefore, facing a large number of players in the Brazilian team who have never played in the top five leagues, ordinary fans don’t even know them, so how can they believe that they have the strength to go head-to-head with Spain, which dominates European and world football? "That’s right, Spain’s lineup is much more luxurious than Brazil’s, and the team’s value is more than double that of Brazil!"

"Haha, it sounds like whoever has the highest net worth will win. If that's the case, then there's no need to play the Champions League every year. Can't we just give the awards directly to Barcelona and Real Madrid?"

Neither side of the fans could convince the other, and the online quarrel quickly spread offline.

As the top star of the Brazilian team, Neymar expressed confidence during an interview with reporters: "Yes, the goal of the Brazilian team in this Confederations Cup is to win the championship. We hope to win the cup at home. No one can stop us from winning!"

Although he did not mention Spain by name, it was obvious that his words were directed at Spain.

"Haha, you are so arrogant, aren't you afraid of your tongue being blown away by the wind?"

"Who is Neymar? I only know Lin Quan!"

“I don’t know him!”

"I don't know you +1!"

"I don't know you +2!"

…

Spanish fans were very disdainful after hearing Neymar's statement.

You are a newcomer who has just transferred to the top five leagues and has not yet proved your strength in the top five leagues. What confidence do you have to say such arrogant words? You know, Lin Quan, who just broke the Bundesliga goal record, is not so arrogant. Who do you think you are? Reporters understand the heat.

The focus of public opinion is on the two young players, Neymar and Lin Quan.

After interviewing Neymar, they rushed to the training base in Spain to interview Lin Quan.

For journalists and media, how can they get big news if they don’t create conflicts and stir up disputes?

Without big news, how can they get promotion and salary increase?

Therefore, fanning the flames and causing trouble is their top priority!

However, when facing the reporter's interview, Lin Quan did not cooperate with the other party. Instead, he sang praises for the Brazilian team: "Brazil is a team full of history. They have won five World Cup titles. They are very strong. My teammates and I will never underestimate them!"

"Neymar? Neymar is a talented and gifted player. I am looking forward to playing against him on this stage."

The reporter who interviewed him and the fans around him were dumbfounded:

Why is this guy not playing by the rules? Shouldn't you show your determination to win and belittle your opponent at this time?

Why did he sing praises to his opponent? Lin Quan certainly didn't have such good intentions, and he wouldn't do anything to boost others' morale and destroy his own prestige.

After praising his opponent, he changed the subject and said:

“But Brazil and we are not in the same group, so we can only meet them in the knockout stage.

But judging from what they said, they seemed to be confident that they could advance. Do they look down on other opponents in the group? "

After Lin Quan’s interview was broadcast, the other teams in Group A were indeed enraged.

The World Cup champion Spain is not arrogant enough to say that they will definitely advance from the group stage. Why can you, Brazil?

Do you look down on us so much?

So, in the opening match, the stimulated Japanese team was in full swing and almost overturned the host.

The Japanese team follows the technical style. Their players may not be top-notch physically, but they have good footwork.

When facing the Brazilian team, the Japanese team often played smoothly and several attacks posed a huge threat to the host's goal.

Although in the end Brazil defeated Japan 2:1 thanks to goals from Neymar and Paulinho.

But they didn't win this game easily.

The Japanese team, full of energy, continued to launch a strong attack until the last minute of the game, trying to change the score.

This tenacious fighting spirit cost Brazil a great price. Not only did the team consume a lot of physical energy, but head coach Scolari's rotation plan was also completely disrupted.

But for Brazil, this is not the worst. The worst thing is that their schedule is to play against Japan first, then Mexico, and finally Italy.

If the Samba Army followed their original plan, after training against Japan and Mexico, they would go against the strongest Italy when they were in the best condition.

After making it out of the group stage, the team is in great shape and will not be afraid of anyone they meet in the knockout stage.

Then, taking advantage of this momentum, we made it to the finals and won the championship.

But now, when the other teams in Group A are full of fighting spirit and even anger.

The host's arrangement was like shooting itself in the foot.

(End of this chapter)