Chapter 537 Contradiction
The World Cup in Germany is about to begin!
After the Champions League final, the praise for Real Madrid came to an immediate end, and all the media immediately shifted their attention to Germany, where the world's highest level football event - the World Cup - will be held on June 9th.
The World Cup, whose full name is the World Football Championship, is the highest level football match in the world. It is known as one of the world's three top events along with the Olympics and Formula One.
In history, the World Cup is a special prize made by FIFA for the winner in 1928. It was cast by the famous Parisian jewelry technician Freire, and its model is Nike, the goddess of victory in Greek mythology. She wears an ancient Roman-style waisted robe, with her arms stretched out and holding a large bowl in her hands. The statue is made of pure gold, 30 cm high, and stands on a marble base.
At that time, FIFA stipulated that the first World Cup was a floating prize. Whoever won the championship could keep the gold cup for four years and return it to FIFA before the next cup so that it could be awarded to the new world champion. In addition, there was an additional rule: whichever team won the world championship three times would get the cup forever.
Such regulations will definitely give the World Cup a home.
In 1970, during the 9th World Cup, Uruguay, Italy and Brazil had all won the championship twice, so they all had the chance to own the cup forever, but Brazil got there first and owned the cup.
For this reason, FIFA had to prepare a new trophy to be awarded to the next champion.
In May 1971, FIFA held a review meeting for the new cup. After reviewing 53 plans, it decided to adopt the design of Italian designer Gazzagna: two strong men holding the earth in their hands. This shape symbolizes the power and scale of sports.
The new World Cup was named the "Hercules Cup". The trophy was 36 centimeters high, weighed 5 kilograms, and was worth $20,000 at the time. In 1974, the 10th World Cup, the West German team received the new cup for the first time as the champion.
Therefore, FIFA immediately changed the system and stipulated that the new cup would be a mobile prize. No matter how many championships a team won, they could not possess the cup. Instead, the name of the champion could be engraved on the base of the World Cup. According to this process, it is expected that the new cup can be used continuously until at least 2038.
It seems that a trophy can be used for decades, and FIFA saves a lot of money.
Of course, these are irrelevant. The World Cup is the top season in the field of football. Its significance and value are much greater than a gold cup.
Looking back at the history of the World Cup, the team that has won the most times is Brazil, which has won five championships, followed by Italy and Germany with three times each, Argentina and Uruguay with two, and others include England and France with one each.
However, in recent years, due to the decline of English football, the team's competitiveness in the world has become increasingly weaker, and they seem to have lost the ability to win trophies.
This made many English fans heartbroken.
In the last few World Cups, the England team always lost in the round of 16 and quarter-finals. Except for the fourth place in the 14th World Cup, they sometimes even lost in the World Cup qualifiers. This made fans in England, the birthplace of football, feel deeply helpless and annoyed.
This time, England regrouped.
Wang Li's joining has boosted the morale of the team. Now England has the most gorgeous lineup in the world, which has greatly increased the confidence of English fans.
They desperately hope that England can do well in the World Cup to comfort their fragile hearts.
So, while the entire England team was still training at Wembley Stadium, there were already many fans outside the stadium cheering for the team that was playing in Germany. They hoped that the England team could regain its football glory and return to the top!
In the week before the World Cup, the England team cannot just train. The team needs to do a lot of work, at least for McClaren and the English Football Association.
On June 2, the England team's foreign affairs press officer announced the song "The World at My Feet" written for England by the British rock band "Embrace" in this World Cup. This team song has been reviewed by many officials of the English Football Association and the fans' opinions, and has become England's team song for this tournament.
After the press conference, Danny, the lead singer of the British rock band Embrace, was very excited. He obviously didn't expect that the song written by the band in the heat of the moment could become England's team song for the World Cup. Facing a group of media reporters, he smiled and said, "This is the first time in my life that I feel that England will win the championship. I hope this song can bring them good luck."
From then on, the singing of English fans outside Wembley Stadium became a beautiful landscape. On the first day, the singing was a little chaotic, but on the second day, the fans began to spontaneously organize rhythmic singing. They wanted to use this singing to cheer for the England players, hoping that they could train hard and stay in the best condition to welcome the World Cup.
At this time, the English Football Association also announced the team's jersey numbers. Wang Li got his No. 21 jersey. Among other commemorative jerseys, No. 7 is still captain Beckham, No. 10 is got by golden boy Michael Owen, and No. 9 becomes Rooney's jersey.
Except for Wang Li's unique No. 21, these numbers are very meaningful and are the center of the team. Unfortunately, as the Sun media commented, "the probability of No. 9 and No. 10 jerseys appearing together is very small." In other words, if Wang Li was not injured, this situation would be almost impossible.
For Wang Li, it was almost impossible to get injured.
It is worth mentioning that Harrison, who joined the England team for the first time, got the No. 23 jersey. This jersey number did not have any special meaning. Obviously, in McClaren's mind, he was an incidental player. After all, England's forward line was too gorgeous. Even if he was very strong, his chances of playing were still slim.
In short, what jersey number Harrison gets is not important in the eyes of the fans, and it is not important to him either, because he has a very accurate positioning of himself. In the forward line of a group of superstars, he is indeed just a rookie.
Media all over the world are paying close attention to this information. Among the 32 teams participating in the World Cup in Germany, the media pays the most attention to the England team.
This is mainly because the overall value of the England team is too high.
Among all 32 teams participating in the World Cup in Germany, the total value of players in four teams exceeds 300 million euros, namely England, Italy, Spain in Europe and Brazil in South America. At the same time, the total value of players in these four teams accounts for 48% of all participating teams.
The total value of Italy and Brazil, which are ranked second, is relatively close, but there is a difference of nearly 250 million euros between them and the England team, which is mainly due to the existence of Wang Li.
According to the evaluation of football professionals, Wang Li's worth is at least 300 million euros, which means that his worth alone is more than the combined worth of all the players of every team except these four teams.
If Wang Li himself is not counted, England can only be ranked third, and its overall value is slightly lower than that of Brazil. However, even so, don't underestimate England.
In the England team, there are four players from the Premier League champions Chelsea. Joe Cole is worth 13 million euros, Terry is worth 28 million euros, Lampard is worth 35 million euros, and goalkeeper Thomas is worth 38 million euros. The total value of these four players alone is already considerable and directly supports the England team.
Spain has a similar situation, with the combined value of three players from Barcelona (Puyol, Xavi and Iniesta), the league and Champions League double champions, reaching 67 million. In addition to the league champions, England's Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool, Spain's Real Madrid and Villarreal are all hotbeds for high-value international players.
However, despite their high price, the world media are not optimistic about England winning the World Cup. This is mainly because England's performance in the tournament was quite poor.
According to the odds offered by bookmakers, the team with the lowest odds of winning the championship is Italy, with odds of 1 to 5. This is not only because they are worth a lot and have a gorgeous lineup, but also because the Italian team has always performed well in world competitions, and this time they are playing at home, so it is normal for them to have a good performance.
England and Brazil are tied for second place, both with odds of 7 to 1, and such odds are mainly due to Wang Li. In the evaluation of the mass media, England's forward strength ranks first in the world.
Whether it is the combination of Rooney and Wang Li or the combination of Owen and Wang Li, they are both very powerful. Even if it is only Wang Li himself, the media do not think that any team's forward line can be more threatening than this black-haired boy.
However, the media's evaluation of the England team's other fronts was nothing surprising. Except for the goalkeeper position, which ranked second after Italy with Buffon, almost all other positions fell outside the top five.
It seems that neither the 'Double D combination (Gerrard and Lampard)' nor the team captain Beckham's strength can win the trust of the media. After all, such a combination has not been able to play much of a role in the previous England team.
Regarding the England team in this World Cup, France Football commented: "Looking back at history, as the pioneer of modern football, the England team has a very special status in international football. At the beginning of the World Cup, European Cup and other major competitions, British teams disdained to participate because they believed that the center of world football was in Great Britain. In 1950, England suffered a disastrous defeat in its first World Cup, and the proud British people lowered their heads."
"For England, winning the 1966 World Cup by defeating West Germany 4-2 is a memory that will always be treasured. This is the only significant championship that English football has ever won. In the European Championship, England's best result is only reaching the semi-finals twice. For a country with endless superstars, such results are really not worth mentioning."
"Long passes and physical confrontation are the traditions of English football. However, this year's England national team is full of technically and physically excellent superstars such as Lampard, Gerrard, Beckham, and Owen, plus superstar Alan Wong and steady goalkeeper Thomas. How this combination can play in McClaren's 4-4-2 passing tactical system still needs to be tested in this year's World Cup."
Amid the sensational reports, England's training camp did not seem to be affected at all. That morning, head coach McLaren still arrived at the stadium early to watch the team's training.
He felt that his luck was really good, at least much better than that of his predecessor Eriksson, because the players under his command were really excellent, and he had just started coaching when the World Cup came around.
Compared to Eriksson's England team, McClaren's England team is younger.
In addition to Wang Li who returned to the England team, the team's goalkeeper was also replaced by young player Thomas Clarke. With his outstanding performance at Chelsea, Thomas undoubtedly squeezed out Paul Robinson's main position and became England's number one goalkeeper.
As for the forward line, with Harrison filling the bench, plus Wang Li, Crouch, Rooney and Owen, it can be said that England's two strongest positions are forward and goalkeeper, and it is these two positions that make McClaren feel at ease.
But McClaren does not have much confidence in defense, because in the midfield and backcourt, the lineup he can use is the same as Eriksen's. Although the players of these Premier League giants are very expensive and strong, their traditional English style of football always makes the team look weak, and the game often falls into crisis because of this.
"But fortunately, we still have Alan." McLaren said with a little relief as he watched the confrontation on the training ground.
He has great trust in Wang Li.
“Maybe there really is a chance.”
McLaren thought so, of course he also longed for the championship and victory, and the task given to him by the FA in this World Cup was to at least reach the semi-finals.
Final Four!!
Or maybe this task does not seem heavy, but you have to know that the England team has been eliminated in the round of 16 several times in the World Cup, and the World Cup is held every four years, which means that the England team has not entered the top four for many years. Such a result looks really messed up.
On the other hand, this also illustrates England's weakness in the World Cup.
This time, the main reason why the English Football Association is so confident is the joining of Wang Li. Wang Li's performance in Chelsea and Real Madrid is too good. He now averages a hat trick in every game, which makes many people feel that the strength of the England team, at least in the front line, will definitely increase greatly.
The addition of another young player, Thomas Clarke, also made the English Football Association feel at ease. This young player won the Premier League's best goalkeeper for four consecutive months and was selected into the Premier League's best team. Such performance is definitely the best in the world.
The FA's confidence in having these two players join the England team is not without reason. They did not want to win the World Cup directly in one step, but only gave McLaren a task to reach the semi-finals. It can be seen from here that the FA is still very wise.
The most important thing is that Wang Li is only 20 years old, and Thomas is only 22 years old. The two can play for the England team for at least 10 years. If they can reach the semi-finals of the World Cup this time, then how can they not have the opportunity to win the supreme trophy next time and the next time?
This is an opportunity and also a test.
For McLaren, the pressure and motivation are equally great, so he is extremely serious about the training requirements for his players.
Listening to the singing of the fans in the distance and watching the players training hard in the stadium, McLaren felt that the England team had at least had a good start, and it seemed to be a perfect start. He was looking forward to this World Cup journey even more.
But in fact, what he didn't know was that the England team was not very harmonious internally. This was mainly due to the internal conflicts among the players, and this time the protagonist was Wang Li.
Yes, Wang Li.
Whether in Wolverhampton, England in 2004, Chelsea or the current Real Madrid, Wang Li has always had good interpersonal relationships. After all, his strength is there, and with his friendly face, his teammates will unconsciously develop a good impression of him.
But there was indeed a conflict within the locker room this time, and the other target was Jamie Carragher from Liverpool.
Even if everyone has forgotten it, Carragher will never forget that the black-haired boy kicked himself into the hospital in the Champions League final a year ago.
The opponent is suspended for half a year, while Carragher has to recuperate for half a year. If he had to choose, he would rather choose the former, because that is almost the same as taking a half-year vacation.
With such a criminal record, how could he possibly get along with Wang Li?
Not to mention it's good, the two of them don't talk to each other at all in the locker room, and even on the training ground, they won't pass the ball to each other. Their conflicts are really not easy to resolve.
Such an atmosphere between the two of them would of course make the locker room a little strange. The teammates soon discovered the reason and began to worry.
Wang Li is definitely an indispensable member of the England team. He is the most important person in the England team. Similarly, Jamie Carragher is also very important. At least he is the main defender of the England team.
Perhaps without Jamie Carragher, England's strength will not be greatly affected, but firing Carragher without any reason is simply unacceptable. At least even if head coach McClaren knew about it, he would never do so for the sake of his own prestige.
As the captain of the team, David Beckham felt that this matter should be resolved privately. If the conflict between the two could be reconciled, that would be great. If not, he could only go to the head coach to forcibly expel one of them.
Needless to say, compared with Wang Li's importance, Carragher is nothing, and he will definitely be fired.
This may be the last World Cup that Beckham will participate in. He will never allow England's strength to decline due to conflicts within the team. Seeing this situation, he feels it must be resolved.
Only by working together as a team can we better prepare for the World Cup.
(To be continued)