The semi-finals will be played on the evening of June 25 at 18:30 Seoul time, with South Korea facing Germany; and on June 26 at 18:30, with Brazil facing Turkey.

In the 4 quarter-finals, Brazil defeated England 2-1. This match is one of the few classic matches in the Korea-Japan World Cup.

In fact, England was in great form in this World Cup, defeating Argentina, the favorite to win the championship, in the group stage and eliminating Denmark 3-0 in the quarter-finals. If they hadn't met Brazil, England would have had no problem reaching the final.

Michael Owen scored the first goal for England in the quarter-finals. Ronaldinho assisted Rivaldo, who was unmarked, in the 45th minute and Rivaldo scored in the far corner of the goal to equalize the score.

In the second half, Ronaldinho faced England goalkeeper Seaman and scored an incredible direct free kick, helping Brazil to overtake and eventually advance to the semi-finals.

The protagonist of the match between Brazil and England was Ronaldinho, while the protagonist of the match between South Korea and Spain was still the referee.

In the 50th minute of the second half, Spanish player Joaquin was fouled, De Pedro took a free kick, and Korean Kim Tae-young accidentally headed the ball into his own goal.

Just as the Spanish team was about to celebrate the goal, the referee Handur indicated that the Spanish team had committed a foul first and the goal was invalid. The replay of the game showed that the Spanish team did not commit any obvious fouls.

Although the Koreans tried to score goals all the time, they were unable to do so due to the gap in strength and were forced into overtime.

In the 93rd minute, Joaquin made a cross from the bottom, and Morientes jumped high and headed the ball into the goal. Lines referee Lagunas immediately raised the flag, indicating that the ball had gone out of bounds when Joaquin passed the ball, and the goal was invalid.

Slow-motion replays of the game showed that the ball did not completely cross the sideline, and the linesman disallowed Spain's wonderful goal.

However, Spain's bad luck was not over yet. In the 111th minute, Morientes passed the ball to Enrique, who had a one-on-one chance, but the linesman blew it off again for offside. There was no doubt that the ball was not offside, and Morientes, who protested to the referee, received a yellow card.

In the 119th minute, Spain could have had a chance to attack from a corner kick, but referee Handour simply announced the end of overtime and the start of a penalty shootout.

When the game was dragged into a penalty shootout, the Spanish team's mentality was shaken after facing multiple goals being disallowed. Tens of thousands of home fans in South Korea overwhelmingly supported the South Korean team. In the end, Spain lost to South Korea 3-5 in the penalty shootout.

In the penalty shootout, Joaquin, a young player who performed particularly well in this game, lost his balance in mentality after experiencing large-scale defense and unreasonable calls from the referee throughout the game, and missed the ball.

The slow-motion video of the game showed that the South Korean goalkeeper had a very obvious scene of moving in advance and expanding his defensive action when facing Joaquin, but Handur, who was close at hand, turned a blind eye to it.

It is worth mentioning that the referee Handur kept saying that this game was the best performance in his career, and the accusations from the outside world were nothing more than "the cry of a loser, trying to use him as a scapegoat."

It is not wrong to say that Handur performed the best. After all, this should be the highest-paid match for Handur as a referee. His income from one match can exceed his refereeing income in his entire career.

In this World Cup, the national football association is facing fierce factional struggles, and the African Football Association is a strong supporter of Zhou Mengzhun. In the match between South Korea and Spain, the referee Handur and the linesman Lagunas are both from Africa.

Blatter can tolerate the South Korean team reaching the semi-finals, but he cannot tolerate the South Koreans reaching the World Cup final with the help of black whistles. If that happens, the Korea-Japan World Cup will become a complete laughing stock.

With the mediation of German football legend Beckenbauer, Blatter temporarily replaced the referee for the match between South Korea and Germany and used a Swiss referee.

Beckenbauer also met with FIFA Vice President Joo Mong-joon, and the two had a secret talk. Joo Mong-joon promised that the Korean players would not take aggressive actions against the German players. Obviously, without the help of the referee, if the Koreans adopted this tactic again, the European referees would not indulge the Korean team.

Beckenbauer was the chairman of the 2006 German World Cup Organizing Committee. His voice in FIFA was more important than Zhou Mengzhun's, so Zhou Mengzhun naturally knew when to stop.

On June 25, South Korea played against Germany. Germany defeated South Korea 1-0 with a goal from Michael Ballack. Zhou Mengzhun and the Koreans' dream of winning the World Cup came to an abrupt end. Blatter breathed a sigh of relief. The farce of the Koreans was finally over.

With Brazil also defeating Turkey 1-0 in the semi-finals, there are only two games left in this World Cup, the third and fourth place final on June 29th, between South Korea and Turkey.

At 18:00 on the evening of June 30, Germany played against Brazil. However, Ballack missed the final because he received a yellow card against South Korea, two yellow cards in the knockout stage and one red card.

Kim Hyung-soo was very sad. He felt that the South Korean team's luck had completely run out, and he no longer had the heart to watch the third and fourth place finals to be held on the 29th.

Song Yi laughed secretly in his heart. If the Koreans really made it to the finals with the help of the referee and appeared in the final venue, Yokohama International Stadium, the Japanese would probably be so angry that they would die.

He comforted Jin Hengzhu, "Okay, I'm going to the Paju training base today to visit the Korean players. Do you want to come with me?"

Kim Hyung-soo suddenly became excited. The Korean men's football team is now like a god in the hearts of Koreans. He has long wanted to get a photo and autograph from Park Ji-sung.

"Of course I'll go with you. I'll be your assistant today. Thank you, brother-in-law. By the way, do you want to call Jong Kook and Tae Hyun?" Kim Hyung Soo was a little hesitant.

During the World Cup, Kim Hyung-soo became good friends with Kim Jong-kook and Cha Tae-hyun. The three of them often went to watch the South Korean team's games together, and sometimes Chen Jae-chan also came along.

Song Yi thought about it and decided to let Jin Hengzhu call Jin Zhongguo and Cha Taixian to do him a favor. Unexpectedly, Chen Zaican got the news from somewhere and called Song Yi, asking why he was not informed of such a good thing. Song Yi had no choice but to agree.

Finally, Song Yi, Kim Hee-won, Kim Hyung-soo, Kim Jong-kook, Cha Tae-hyun, and Chen Jae-chan and his wife went to the Paju football training base. Song Yi planned to let New Asia Agency sign Park Ji-sung. If Park Ji-sung landed in the Dutch Eredivisie, he would have considerable commercial value as the No. 1 star in Asia.

Song Yi was slightly stunned when he saw Cui Shanji. He knew that Cui Shanji was not very interested in football, but he didn't expect that she would join in the fun today.

Cui Shanji saw Song Yi's expression and joked with him, "What's the matter? President Song doesn't seem to welcome me today?"

Jin Xiyuan smiled and said, "How could that be? I am not so embarrassed now that you are with me, Sister Shanji. You are dressed so beautifully today."

Cui Shanji's outfit today is simple and elegant, a black high-waisted dress that goes below the knee, and a short suit of the same color over the dress. The highlight of her outfit today is a diamond brooch. This outfit is also the standard outfit for Korean ladies and celebrities.

Unlike other female stars in the entertainment industry, Choi Sun-hee focuses on optimizing her body shape. The high-waist design makes her look taller. At the same time, she pursues low-key luxury, simplicity and elegance, and simple colors, highlighting her temperament as a wealthy lady.

Cui Shanji took Jin Xiyuan's hand affectionately, "Xiyuan is really good at talking. By the way, I heard that your agency wants to sign the entire national football team?"

Jin Xiyuan opened her mouth in surprise. "How is it possible? If we want to sign the entire national football team, how much will it cost the company? We are only interested in one or two of the players, but we are still in contact."

Song Yi was relieved. He had just had a passionate moment with Cui Shanji in the entrance of her house a few days ago. Seeing Cui Shanji again now was a little unnatural. However, Cui Shanji looked very natural and talked and laughed with everyone.

The Paju Training Base is located in the mountainous area north of Seoul, surrounded by green mountains and beautiful scenery. The Korean Football Training Base and the Korean Football Association are both located here. The Korean men's football team and the Korean Olympic team both train at this base.

When Song Yi and his group appeared at the Paju training base, Zhou Mengjun was waiting for their arrival at the base.

As soon as Song Yi saw Zhou Mengzhun, he quickly stepped forward to greet him, "Uncle Mengzhun, congratulations to the South Korean team for reaching the semi-finals and making history for Asian teams."

Zhou Mengzhun looked pleased, but he felt a little regretful in his heart. If South Korea's opponent in the semi-finals was not the strong German team, he would actually have room to manipulate the game.

"If it weren't for you enthusiastic fans who care about Korean football, the Korean team wouldn't have made it to the semi-finals." Zhou Mengzhun said modestly.

He guessed that Song Yi wanted to influence the outcome of the game through him, but he didn't know that Song Yi actually made a billion dollars in profit from the match between South Korea and Italy. He initially thought that Song Yi was making a profit through the underground World Cup lottery.

Hyundai Group is also a shareholder of Shinhan Media. After Zhou Mengzhun greeted Song Yi, he chatted with Chen Zaican for a few more words. Zhou Mengzhun had no interest in contacting artists like Cha Tae-hyun and Kim Jong-kook, so he asked Director Kim of the Competition Department of the Korean Football Association to take Song Yi and others to meet the Korean men's football team.

The reason why Song Yi wanted to sign Park Ji-sung was to prepare for the acquisition of Manchester United. In addition to the Asian market, Song Yi was also ready to fully promote inschool in the European market. Having a top European giant team could help inschool open up the European market faster.

The Glazer family started to acquire Manchester United in March 2003 and completed the acquisition in June 2005. The entire acquisition process used a total of 790 million pounds of funds, which were divided into three sources:

First, the Glazer family invested a total of 250 million pounds; second, the Glazer family borrowed 265 million pounds from JPMorgan Chase using Manchester United's Old Trafford stadium and training base as collateral.

Third, the Glazer family borrowed 275 million pounds from three US hedge funds, using high interest rates and 30% of Manchester United's shares as collateral.

In other words, the Glazer family actually only invested 250 million pounds to take over Manchester United.

After the Glazer family bought 98% of Manchester United's shares, they privatized the club and officially withdrew from the stock market.

For the Glazer family, buying Manchester United is a business. They don't care how many league titles or trophies Manchester United can win, they only care whether Manchester United can make money.

Since the Glazers took over Manchester United, they have only won one Champions League in 18 years. Of course, this is not the credit of the Glazer family, but the afterglow of the Ferguson era. Manchester United originally had the best player in the world, Cristiano Ronaldo, but Ronaldo moved to Real Madrid.

If Song Yi buys Manchester United before the Glazer family, and Manchester United then signs Park Ji-sung and Dong Fangzhuo, Manchester United's commercial development in the Asian market will naturally be worth looking forward to.

In 2004, Manchester United signed the 19-year-old Dong Fangzhuo. In 2008, Dong Fangzhuo of the National Olympic Team scored the only goal for the team.

Song Yi believes that the reason why Dong Fangzhuo failed to succeed in the European arena is actually similar to the problem of Yi Jianlian in the NBA.

Dong Fangzhuo is not very talkative and his English level is not good enough for daily communication, which makes him a little shy when facing the coaching staff and teammates and unable to express his ideas.

Later, he suffered a serious injury and his recovery time was longer than the game time, which caused Manchester United to completely lose confidence in him. Therefore, Dong Fangzhuo's personal achievements, which were highly anticipated by mainland fans, did not meet everyone's expectations.

In addition to Park Ji-sung and Dong Fangzhuo, Song Yi also targeted South Korean post-90s football star Son Heung-han for Manchester United's future signings. The reason why Song Yi came to the Paju training base in South Korea to visit was to understand and learn about South Korea's youth training system.

Song Yi is not interested in becoming the savior of Chinese football. No matter how powerful the capital is, it cannot overcome some of the chronic problems of the Chinese football team. However, with the platform of Manchester United, he can help Asian players achieve higher personal achievements in the European arena than before.

Manager Jin also introduced the situation of the Paju training base to Song Yi. The office building and the large football fields of the Korean Football Association were all built independently by the Korean Football Association, and the Korean government did not provide any funds.

As a non-governmental sports organization, the Korea Football Association is responsible for its own profits and losses and operates independently. There is no reason for the South Korean government to provide funding to the Football Association.

The Football Association's main income comes from commercial sponsorship, which is also their most important source of income. Song Yi also saw SHINA billboards around the football training ground.

Jin Xiyuan was very surprised because she noticed that these billboards were all for well-known Korean companies. When she saw the Xinya billboard, she naturally felt a sense of honor.

Song Yi smiled and said nothing. The sponsorship fee he provided to Zhou Mengzhun was enough to buy all the billboards in the training ground. But this was also Zhou Mengzhun's advantage. Others would do things for you after receiving money, unlike some people who would not do anything after receiving money.

At this time, Manager Jin ran to the Korean head coach Hiddink and introduced the purpose of Song Yi and his group's visit. Hiddink's face was obviously not very good.

In his opinion, the World Cup for South Korea has not yet ended, and he does not want to give up the third and fourth place match between South Korea and Turkey. Hiddink hopes that his coaching experience in this World Cup will help him gain the favor of European giants or coach European national teams.

Song Yi noticed Hiddink's expression, but he didn't take it seriously. He believed that Hiddink would welcome his arrival very much later. This time he came to show his warmth to the Korean team.

As the head coach of the national team, Hiddink can not give face to the head of the competition department, but he must give face to Zhou Mengzhun. As a member of the Hyundai family, Song Yi already enjoys privileges in the Korean Football Association.

Manager Jin introduced Song Yi to the members of the South Korean national team. The 23 members of the South Korean national team stood in two rows and greeted Song Yi together.

Song Yi had previously filmed a tourism promotional video for the South Korean men's football team. People like Park Ji-sung, Ahn Jung-hwan, and Lee Yun-jae have known Song Yi for a long time.

During the group stage, Song Yi announced on inschool that as long as the Chinese men's football players scored in the matches against Brazil and Turkey, Song Yi would reward them with a goal bonus of 1 million US dollars, and the assisting players would also receive 500,000 US dollars.

When the Korean men's football players saw the news, they were extremely jealous of the Chinese men's football players. Later, when they saw that the Chinese men's football team failed to score a goal, they began to gloat over their misfortune.

Now the opponent of the Korean team in the third and fourth place finals happens to be the Turkish team that the Chinese team once played against. Some Korean players are already looking forward to Song Yi rewarding the Korean team.

Song Yi praised the outstanding performances of South Korean players during the World Cup, including veteran Hwang Sun-hong who scored against the United States, Ahn Jung-hwan who scored the winning header against Italy, Park Ji-sung who scored in the group stage against Portugal, and goalkeeper Lee Woon-jae who kept a clean sheet in the quarter-finals.

The Korean players were very happy. It turned out that Song Yi had been following their games. So did Song Yi come to comfort them this time to give them bonuses? The Korean players fantasized.

After praising the players, Song Yi explained the purpose of his visit. He did not have any good feelings towards Turkey, and he hoped that the South Korean team could beat Turkey hard.

"Some people think that the third and fourth place finals are useless because no matter whether it is the third place or the fourth place, they are all the top four. Even the prize money awarded by FIFA is no different, but I don't think so."

"I hope you can continue your previous good performance in the game on the 29th, teach the Turkish team a severe lesson, and let them know who is the strongest team in Asia!" Song Yi began to encourage.

Ahn Jung-hwan questioned, "Chairman Song, Türkiye should be a European team, right?"

Song Yi said: "Geographically speaking, Turkey is indeed an Asian country, but they have been moving closer to Europe, just like Japan next door, hoping to leave Asia and join Europe."

"I won't talk nonsense! Let the money talk! In this game, as long as you can beat Turkey, you can get a $5 million match bonus! Whoever can score a goal in the game will get $1 million, and an assist will also get $500,000! As long as there is no limit to the number of goals you score, there is no limit to the bonus!" Song Yi's words made the Korean players excited.

After hearing what the translator said, Hiddink was stunned. He knew that Song Yi was a famous entrepreneur in South Korea, but he didn't expect that Song Yi attached so much importance to the third and fourth place finals. People who didn't know would think that he had a grudge against the Turks.

At this time, Park Ji-sung took the initiative to ask the question that everyone was most concerned about, "President Song, if we fail to defeat Turkey in the end, but some players still score goals, what should we do?"

"Even though Turkey has made it to the semi-finals, it has never encountered any strong teams from the beginning to the end. Its opponent in the quarter-finals is also Senegal from Africa. You have eliminated two European powerhouses, Italy and Spain, in a row. Don't you have any confidence at all?" Song Yi pretended to be displeased.

"If you can't even beat Turkey, the goal bonus and assist bonus will be halved to 500,000 US dollars for the goal bonus and 250,000 US dollars for the assist bonus," said Song Yi.

See you tomorrow. Which team do you hate more, the South Korean team or the Turkish team in 2002?

(End of this chapter)