Chapter 316 - 309: Destroying One’s Own Great Wall

Some say that Dutch football is prone to infighting.

But in Yang Yang’s opinion, Chinese Football was better at self-destruction.

This was true of everyone, from the Football Association officials to the domestic media.

Take this highly-anticipated National Youth Team, for example.

From winning the Toulon Cup last year to their subsequent victory in the AFC U-19 Championship, the team’s overall strength had been widely recognized.

Players like Chen Tao had no trouble securing trials with clubs in the Eredivisie and the Belgian First Division A.

But while Yang Yang was in Beijing for a training camp with the National Team, preparing for the World Cup qualifiers, a series of scandals erupted from the National Youth Team’s camp in Germany.

None of the stories were new.

First, the domestic media reported that head coach Klauen was not on good terms with the Chinese coaching staff. Many believed that while Klauen’s theoretical knowledge was adequate, his practical coaching abilities were lacking, drawing skepticism from the Chinese coaches.

This caused Klauen’s authority within the team to plummet. During several warm-up matches, some Chinese coaches even overstepped their bounds by shouting instructions to the players from the sidelines, which drew criticism from the German media.

Then, other domestic media outlets pointed out that Klauen wasn’t staying with the team, but was paying out of his own pocket to live in a nicer hotel, which reportedly caused dissatisfaction throughout the National Youth Team.

When a certain Football Association leader visited the training camp in Germany, he even declared "indignantly" that if Klauen wasn’t up to the task, he could be fired at any time and replaced by Coach Zhu from back home.

Inevitably, this statement was also leaked, causing a public uproar and further eroding Klauen’s authority. The domestic media seized on the story, extensively covering the crisis surrounding his position. It created the impression that Klauen could be dismissed at any moment, with the team facing a last-minute coaching change right before the FIFA U-20 World Cup.

Following this string of controversies, the National Youth Team’s performance in their warm-up matches grew increasingly poor, which only intensified the crisis around Klauen’s job. The situation reached a fever pitch after the team arrived at their training camp in Utrecht, Netherlands.

It was safe to say that with the internal conflict between the foreign coach and the Chinese staff, and the external media fanning the flames, the National Youth Team was besieged from all sides. The situation was on the verge of collapse.

Only then did the Football Association suddenly realize the gravity of the situation.

Yang Yang had never liked dealing with the Football Association. But this time, it concerned the National Youth Team, and he happened to be on the same flight to Amsterdam as some FA officials. So, he took the opportunity to discuss some issues with them frankly.

First, he pointed out yet again that the Football Association was far too lenient with the media—to the point of being completely permissive.

From the previous Asian Cup to the AFC U-19 Championship, and now with the FIFA U-20 World Cup, the media had not only failed to play a positive role but had repeatedly fanned the flames, thriving on chaos.

"Take Klauen staying in a hotel. When you were negotiating his contract, did you include a clause forbidding him from paying his own way to stay elsewhere? If not, then why is it not allowed? A German’s lifestyle is completely different from ours. We expect others to understand us, but why can’t we extend the same courtesy to them?"

"And another thing—we brought Klauen in to coach the team. We hired him for his professional expertise, so why are we so obsessed with his private life? Did he murder someone? Did he commit armed robbery? As long as his professional skills meet our requirements and he hasn’t broken any laws, what business is it of ours what he does in his private time?"

On the plane, Yang Yang let it all out, venting his frustrations.

"The media is supposed to act as a watchdog and disseminate information. But in recent years, many of our so-called ’professional’ media outlets just want to report sensational, ’major’ news to grab national attention and boost their sales. Does anyone actually care if it’s the truth? After being misled by the media time and time again, of course the fans aren’t going to have a good impression of the National Team."

"We lose a game simply because we’re not good enough, but as soon as the media stirs the pot with biased reporting, the story immediately becomes ’so-and-so player isn’t willing to give his all for the country,’ or ’so-and-so player is a problem.’ It instantly escalates into an ideological issue. Often, the players have to suffer in silence with no way to defend themselves. How are you supposed to prove you really gave it your all and were simply outplayed?"

"Those so-called ’star’ reporters always put on a facade of being objective and neutral, acting as if they’re the sole arbiters of truth and everyone should listen to them. They even use their platform to exaggerate and twist the facts. How is that supposed to provide positive oversight or responsible reporting?"

Yang Yang’s words came straight from the heart. He truly couldn’t stand to watch it happen any longer.

’It was the same story every single time. Whenever a major tournament was approaching, the domestic media would stir up some kind of trouble. And without fail, as soon as public opinion flared up, the Football Association would start second-guessing itself. Doesn’t anyone dare to take a shred of responsibility?’

’What’s wrong with reporting the facts, so long as they aren’t exaggerated?’

’Is it a problem that Klauen has philosophical differences with the Chinese coaching staff?’

’If there were no conflicts, wouldn’t that imply the Chinese coaches were already at a European Level?’

’Is it strange that some players have issues with Klauen?’

’Every coach has his own preferences for players. Players that Coach Tie Sheng favored might not be the ones Klauen prefers. A coaching change inevitably creates winners and losers. To exaggerate the frustrations of the ’losers’ and their supposed defiance of the head coach is just deliberate flame-stoking.’

"A lot of these issues can be resolved behind closed doors. It’s like our team’s code: every word spoken and everything done in the locker room, stays in the locker room. No one leaks a single word to the outside."

"But the problem now is that the media has dragged all these conflicts out into the open. How are Klauen and the Chinese coaches supposed to work together now? How are the players supposed to trust each other? Everyone on the team is constantly on guard, worried they’ll be targeted for the smallest mistake. How are we supposed to play a match like that?"

Yang Yang’s tirade on the plane left the accompanying Football Association officials speechless.

For many of these things, they were indeed the ones who should be held responsible.

In fact, Yang Yang was absolutely right.

With a major tournament just around the corner, publicly undermining head coach Klauen’s authority was tantamount to sabotaging their own efforts.

To put it bluntly, if Klauen was truly incompetent, why did they hire him as the head coach in the first place?

Since they had chosen him, they needed to trust their choice now!

......

......

The plane arrived at Amsterdam International Airport.

During the short, thirty-minute drive from the airport to Utrecht, the higher-ups at the Football Association conferred by phone and quickly reached a consensus.

When Yang Yang’s party arrived at the Mitland Hotel in Utrecht, the Football Association officials immediately convened a meeting with the team manager and the entire Chinese coaching staff. They reaffirmed the FA’s decision: they would fully support Klauen’s authority, and no one would be allowed to challenge it.

"Everyone—whether you’re a player, a manager, or a member of the coaching staff—must obey Klauen’s arrangements and commands. There can be no doubt, and absolutely no challenging the head coach’s authority. This will not be tolerated. Whoever is discovered doing so will be severely punished without leniency!"

"All discussion about Klauen ends now. Furthermore, no one is permitted to give private interviews to reporters!"

While the Football Association officials met with the Chinese coaching staff, Yang Yang, having arrived in Utrecht, gathered the team’s players for a meeting of their own, alongside Chen Tao, Feng Xiaoting, and Zhou Haibin.

Since he had been playing abroad for so long, Yang Yang wasn’t the team captain. In fact, several players hadn’t even participated in the Toulon Cup or the AFC U-19 Championship and weren’t familiar with him. Still, every single one of them showed up.

Yang Yang was very frank with the players, telling them that the current atmosphere within the squad was extremely detrimental to their participation in the FIFA U-20 World Cup.

The media’s instigation from the outside was aggravating the team’s internal conflicts, and it was a sign that they were on the verge of collapse.

"You don’t have to believe me, but I’m sure none of you are stupid. Just think for a moment: if we don’t play well at the FIFA U-20 World Cup, if we don’t even make it out of the group stage, what do you think the media will write about us?"

Yang Yang’s question sent many of the players into deep thought.

"If you’ve forgotten, just look back at what they wrote about us before the AFC U-19 Championship final last year. It was all about how ’dragons beget dragons, phoenixes beget phoenixes, and a rat’s son will only know how to dig holes.’"

"Are we dragons? Phoenixes? Or rats? It all depends on how we perform in this tournament."

"If we play well, they’ll praise us as paragons of virtue. If we play poorly, they’ll crush us into the mud and paint us as street rats that everyone wants to beat down."

Yang Yang’s words stirred a collective memory among the players. They all clearly remembered the incident from last September.

After Yang Yang had spoken with his teammates and they had reached an agreement, Klauen took the initiative to seek him out.

The German head coach had high hopes for Yang Yang, the team’s biggest star. He believed Yang was the team’s most powerful weapon for achieving success. So, after hearing Yang Yang had rejoined the squad, he finished his meeting with the Football Association officials and came to see him immediately.

As soon as they met, the German coach thanked Yang Yang for his staunch support at such a critical moment.

"I know many in the Chinese media don’t have a good impression of me because I’ve repeatedly refused their interviews," Klauen began, speaking frankly. "They’re clearly more interested in things outside of football, but to me, that’s my private life. Besides, I don’t want to get caught up in all these so-called ’interpersonal relationships.’"

Yang Yang immediately said he understood.

"I don’t believe my training lacks structure. Our recent performance hasn’t been ideal, but that’s partly because several players were away with the National Team. I have a very clear training plan to address this. But, as you know, I can’t just rigidly follow a plan from a textbook. I have to constantly adjust the daily training based on the team’s actual condition."

"Believe me, Yang, I have a very detailed plan for our fitness reserves and match preparation."

Yang Yang nodded firmly. "I believe you, and I’ll follow your instructions. I’ll also do everything I can to help you, because you’re this team’s head coach. As long as you’re in this position, you will have my full support!"

"Thank you!" Klauen said, very pleased.

For him, getting the support of Yang Yang—the team’s biggest star and a young prodigy who was making waves in European Football—was already half the battle won.