Chapter 208 201: We Are the Champions

The moment the Kuwaiti referee blew the final whistle, the entire Beijing Workers' Stadium erupted.

In the packed, sold-out stands, a sea of fans endlessly waved the bright red Five-Star Red Flags in their hands. Tens of thousands of flags danced in the air, resembling giant red dragons writhing through a human ocean.

Amidst the tsunami of cheers from sixty thousand fans, the dragons seemed to come alive, stirring up a tempestuous sea.

The live camera slowly panned across the crowd, where countless fans were crying tears of joy, their tears smudging the colorful paint on their faces.

The youngest were children no older than seven or eight, the oldest, white-haired seniors in their sixties and seventies. But at this moment, every single one of them was on their feet, celebrating and cheering with unbridled joy.

The Chinese Team had finally won a championship!

...

"We are the champions!"

"After tonight, we can finally hold our heads high and proudly tell the entire world: we are the champions!"

"Countless predecessors, countless people, have tirelessly chased this dream for decades. Tonight, that dream has finally come true!"

"The great Chinese people! The great Chinese players! The great Chinese National Team! The great Yang Yang!"

"Let us congratulate all the players of the National Team! It is your relentless effort and fighting spirit that has brought us to the pinnacle of Asia. You have realized a dream decades in the making. You are the pride of Chinese Football."

"Let us also thank Arie Haan, Dejan, and all the coaches and staff. Your hard work allowed our National Team players to compete without any other concerns. And especially Arie Haan—you have successfully proven yourself with this Asian Cup title."

"Before the Asian Cup, many of us doubted Arie Haan. But now, we must admit he was right. He is leading the Chinese Team down the correct path. We also believe he can bring the football philosophy of the Netherlands to China and leave a profound and lasting impact on Chinese Football."

"And here, we must also thank Yang Yang."

"Although you are only seventeen, you have saved the National Team again and again. You have repeatedly helped us defeat powerful foes. You are the hero of the National Team, a hero for Chinese Football, and a hero to all Chinese people. We are all so proud of you."

"We sincerely hope that you will remain humble, avoid complacency, and continue to forge ahead. We believe you can achieve even greater things and reach new heights of glory. You will be the hope and the standard-bearer for Chinese Football for the next decade and beyond."

"Finally, we want to thank all sixty thousand fans who came here tonight, as well as all the fans watching at home. You are the hope of Chinese Football, and you are its pride."

...

...

Amidst the tsunami of cheers and thunderous applause, the National Team players repeatedly tossed Arie Haan into the air.

Tonight's match will be forever remembered in the history of Chinese Football.

This was the first Asian Cup championship in the history of Chinese Football, and its first truly significant title.

After landing back on the ground, Arie Haan hugged each of the National Team players one by one.

When he got to Yang Yang, he was overcome with emotion, pulling him into a tight hug and repeatedly shouting, "Thank you."

The surrounding national players all nodded in agreement.

Whether they admitted it or not, Yang Yang had saved the team multiple times throughout the entire Asian Cup tournament.

Not only that, but by leading by example, he had also helped everyone else more clearly understand Coach Arie Haan's tactical intentions, making them realize what the football philosophy of the Netherlands truly was.

With one goal and two assists, Yang Yang had completely orchestrated this final. But more importantly, he had taught the national players another lesson.

A football match is war. Showing your enemy mercy is the cruelest thing you can do to yourself.

When the Japan Team scored with a handball, the other players, accustomed to being civil and yielding, failed to argue the point. But it was Yang Yang who stepped forward, single-handedly pressuring the referee until he was forced to overturn the call.

It could be said that this call completely changed the course of the match and, at the same time, made the national players understand much more.

A few veterans on the team had mixed feelings thinking about it. After playing for a lifetime, they still didn't understand the game as well as a seventeen-year-old. But upon further reflection, while they felt a little melancholy, they were mostly just happy.

'Each generation should be stronger than the last. That's the only way for Chinese Football to have hope, isn't it?'

And throughout this Asian Cup, everyone could clearly feel the National Team's transformation and how it was taking shape.

The team's central spine was now basically set: Zheng Zhi on the back line, Zhao Junzhe and Shao Jiayi in the midfield, and Yang Yang up front. This would be the core axis of the Chinese National Team for the next few years.

For Arie Haan, the next task was to further enrich and diversify the National Team's tactics, especially the transition to a 4-3-3 formation that he had always wanted to implement.

Whether at Ajax or for the National Team, Yang Yang was accustomed to playing on the right wing; being a pure striker wasn't his strong suit. The key to the 4-3-3 was the advanced center forward, and finding one would be Arie Haan's next priority.

Although Zhou Haibin had only played one match in the Asian Cup, Arie Haan was very optimistic about the midfielder. If they did switch to a three-man midfield, Zhou Haibin would definitely earn a spot.

As for the defensive line, the current players were at a perfect age, and there were even younger, newly-capped players like Du Wei and Feng Xiaoting waiting in the wings.

It could be said that the current age structure of the National Team was very reasonable and primed to achieve great results.

Previously, the team's anemic offense had made it difficult to improve their results. But in this Asian Cup, Yang Yang burst onto the scene, and with Shao Jiayi in surprisingly excellent form, the National Team wouldn't have to worry about a lack of attacking firepower for the next ten years.

And as for the older generation of players like them, they would probably all have to retire.

The new generation replaces the old, just as the river's next wave pushes the one before it.

This was also an inevitability.

...

...

While the Chinese Team was celebrating wildly, the AFC was already preparing the final awards ceremony.

Yang Yang was, without a doubt, named Man of the Match for the Asian Cup final. With one goal and two assists, he had orchestrated the Chinese Team's dominant 3-0 victory.

This was the second time Yang Yang had been named Man of the Match, following his performance in the semi-final against Iran.

Ever since coming on as a substitute in the first match against Bahrain, Yang Yang had consistently delivered outstanding performances, playing an increasingly pivotal role until he finally became the National Team's most important core player.

"His every touch strikes fear into the hearts of defenders. His every dribble, his every pass, can create a lethal opportunity. He is the most brilliant attacking player of this Asian Cup. And what's even more incredible is that he is only seventeen, which leaves us with no doubt about his future potential."

After a brief introduction, the stadium once again erupted in thunderous cheers and applause.

An AFC official formally announced that Yang Yang had been successfully elected the Best Player of this Asian Cup.

He was also the youngest Best Player in the history of the Asian Cup.

But looking at Yang Yang's journey throughout the entire tournament, his performance was in no way inferior to that of famous players like Nakamura Shunsuke. In the final, he completely outclassed Nakamura, making his selection as Best Player truly well-deserved.

Huber of Bahrain won the tournament's Golden Boot with five goals, while Yang Yang finished with four, which was a slight shame.

Zhao Junzhe received the Fair Play Award, adding to the Chinese Team's bountiful haul of trophies.

In the selection for the Team of the Tournament, the Chinese Team's Goalkeeper Liu Yunfei, center-back Zheng Zhi, and midfielders Zhao Junzhe, Shao Jiayi, and Yang Yang were all included. With a total of five players selected, China dominated the lineup, taking up nearly half the spots.

The runner-up, Japan, had three players selected: defenders Miyamoto Keisuke and Nakazawa Yuji, and midfielder Nakamura Shunsuke.

Iran had defender Madavi and forward Khalimi selected, while Bahrain's forward Huber also made the list.

An important reason why Yang Yang was listed as a midfielder was that he only started as a forward in the final match. In the other games, he primarily played as a right-winger, though Arie Haan had positioned him further up the field to directly threaten the opponent's defense.

Furthermore, Huber and Khalimi had indeed performed exceptionally well, so their selection as the forwards for the Team of the Tournament was well-deserved.

After the individual awards were announced, the awards for the runner-up began immediately.

The players on the field, the fans in the stands, and the viewers watching on TV all wore expressions of pride and honor as they watched the Japan Team go up on stage to receive their runner-up medals.

For so many years, Chinese Football had never felt as good as it did tonight.

They had defeated Iran, defeated Japan, and successfully ascended the Asian Cup championship podium—something that had never happened before.

The Japanese players remained stony-faced throughout, their expressions grave. They looked ashamed, guilty, and full of self-reproach.

And as they walked off the podium, the looks they gave the Chinese players were filled with jealousy and resentment.

After Japan left the stage, the players of the Chinese National Team, led by Arie Haan and captain Zhao Junzhe, ascended the championship podium in turn.

At that moment, the sixty thousand fans in the stadium once again erupted with passionate applause and thunderous cheers.

This was Chinese Football's most important international honor to date, and it would also likely be the final honor for many of the veterans on the team.

As the youngest player on the team, Yang Yang walked at the very end of the line. Along the way, he received words of encouragement from numerous domestic government dignitaries, praise from veterans of the football world, and congratulations from AFC officials.

No one doubted that for someone who could perform so brilliantly at just seventeen, given time, he would surely become one of the most sought-after stars in Asia, and even the World.

The moment captain Zhao Junzhe and veteran Hao Dong jointly lifted the championship trophy high into the air, the entire stadium erupted in a frenzy of cheers once more.

Especially when the stadium's speakers played the national anthem, all the fans in the stadium spontaneously rose from their seats and began to sing along at the top of their lungs.

The sound of more than sixty thousand people singing in unison was magnificent and overwhelming, enough to make anyone's blood boil with passion.

Tonight, China was destined for a sleepless night!

Tonight, the championship belongs to China!