Chapter Sixty-Seven: The Meaning of Shamelessness

“Our group isn’t bad at all.” After leaving the meeting room in the Football Association office building, Ding Yu held a small slip of paper in his hand and spoke to Xia Liquan.

“Let me see… Guangdong, Tianjin, Henan. Yes, that’s pretty good. Your luck is much better than mine,” Xia Liquan replied with a hint of envy. Besides being the assistant head coach, he was also the coach for the U-17 team.

“Dalian Oriental Football School, Shanghai Chongming Island Football School, Shandong Taishan Football School? Hahaha, Old Xia, your luck is terrible! That’s a classic group of death!” Ding Yu laughed, clearly enjoying Xia Liquan’s misfortune.

Although the Jia A League had only been running for eight years, it had already seen several eras. The earliest was the Dalian-Shanghai rivalry, with Dalian claiming the first professional league championship, which was snatched away by Shanghai the following year. In the third year, Dalian held off both their old rivals Shanghai and the emerging powerhouse Yun Jia Tianyu to take the title. Then came the Yun Jia Tianyu era, as they won two consecutive league championships, becoming the first team to defend their title since the start of the professional league. During those two years, Yun Jia Tianyu also swept up the two highest honors in Asian football—the Asian Cup Winners’ Cup and the Asian Club Cup—dominating the scene.

But after winning the Asian Club Cup in 1999, Yun Jia Tianyu was severely shaken by a sensational match-fixing scandal. Their legendary coach Benitez left when his contract expired, and his successor Mourinho, for various reasons, failed to win the league in his first season. The next two championships went to Shandong and Liaoning, both heavily invested clubs, marking the third era of the Jia A League: the era of many contenders.

In the 2001 season, Yun Jia Tianyu’s situation looked promising, but not as dominant as before. Dalian, Shanghai, Shandong, and Liaoning all had championship potential, forming the league’s leading group, followed closely by traditional powerhouses like Beijing, Sichuan, and Chongqing.

As for the numerous football schools participating in this tournament, their strength rankings closely mirrored those of their affiliated league clubs. Outstanding results from the first team could easily attract more students to enroll. For example, among the twenty-four football schools competing this time, five came from Liaoning—two of them were Dalian Oriental’s youth training bases, two were backed by Liaoning’s investments, and the last was a youth team affiliated with Shenyang’s Jia A club. Both Shandong and Shanghai also had two schools each, and these institutions unquestionably represented the strongest teams in the tournament.

Yun Jia Tianyu’s U-17 opponents happened to come from Dalian, Shanghai, and Shandong—a true group of death. After all, this tournament wasn’t exactly formal, with no seeded teams.

By comparison, Ding Yu’s luck at the draw was exceptional. Tianjin had always hovered between Jia A and Jia B, Henan Zhongyuan Club, though considered a model for midsize clubs, was still relatively weak nationwide with only average youth teams, and Guangdong, once dubbed the Southern Tigers, had been declining since the professional league began. Nowadays, fewer young people in Guangdong seemed interested in football.

But as Ding Yu noted, for Yun Jia Tianyu’s youth teams, participating in such tournaments was more about gaining experience and evaluating key players—the results were secondary.

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“First match, we build around Dai Guangming!” On the evening they received the group assignments, Ding Yu convened a team meeting. The small room was packed with students, some standing, some sitting on beds, and those with no space simply sprawled atop others. For instance, Zhou Wei had hopped onto Li Jie’s back, looking quite comfortable. Wu Bufan and Long Bisheng tried to do the same, but wherever they went, people scattered, fearing the two would crush them if they lay down.

When Ding Yu made his announcement, all eyes turned to Dai Guangming. Most accepted it readily; Dai Guangming played attacking midfielder, and his organizational skills were strong. Making him the focal point was entirely reasonable.

“In the match, when we gain possession, get the ball to Dai Guangming immediately. He’ll coordinate the attack. Hu Gandan, you’ll protect him from behind—focus on defense, leave the attacking to Dai Guangming. The other attacking players must support him as well. Understood?” Ding Yu spoke sternly.

“Understood!” the players nodded in unison.

As young players entering their first official tournament, they might lack experience and feel nervous, but there was one thing few professional players could match: their absolute obedience to the coach’s instructions.

Two days later, Yun Jia Tianyu’s U-12 team faced their first opponent—Tianjin Binhai Football School.

Tianjin football wasn’t particularly prominent in Jia A, but they had always stayed tough. Although they had suffered relegation in the past, their club had deep roots. Tianjin’s star player Yu Genwei had once been loaned to Yun Jia Tianyu for a season, so relations between the two clubs were good. As an affiliate, Tianjin Binhai Football School had long benefited from Yun Jia Tianyu’s support in training equipment and youth coaching. The coach leading Tianjin Binhai’s U-12 squad was known to Ding Yu as well—they were classmates at the Cologne Sports Academy in Germany, sharing meals from the same pot. This coach, Lei Guangpu, returned to China a year later than Ding Yu, and only took up youth coaching in Tianjin at Yun Jia Tianyu’s recommendation. Being a Tianjin native, he was eager to contribute to youth football in his hometown.

“Old Lei, have you produced any promising youngsters at your school? If so, help out your old classmate a bit,” Ding Yu said, slinging an arm around Lei Guangpu’s shoulders at the match venue—the playground at Peking University.

“Oh, come on, Yun Jia Tianyu still wants to poach our kids? Everyone knows at least half the country’s top prospects are in your club. The few we nurture—how could I just hand them over to you? That’s outrageous,” Lei Guangpu protested.

“Then tell me about your standout players,” Ding Yu persisted. “You know my dream is to coach the national team. But since that’s out of reach, youth teams will do. Why else would I coach this bunch of youngsters? Old friend, tell me about the best talents at this age group you know—maybe I’ll lead them to the Olympic Games in 2012.”

Lei Guangpu, looking honest and a little moved by Ding Yu’s plea, nodded. “We do have a few good kids now. Our captain Liu Chen, number five, is an excellent central defender who can also cover defensive midfield. He’s physically strong, judges positions well, works hard on the field, though he’s a bit slow. Then our left winger, a left-footer with good speed and strong running, though his crossing needs work. Left-back Shi Qiang is fierce in tackles, solid defensively, but has a few too many tricks… Those three are our key prospects.”

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“Got it,” Ding Yu said gratefully. “You’re a true friend—always ready to help. After the match, let’s have a drink on me.”

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“Ding Yu, you bastard, I’m going to kill you!”

As soon as the match ended, Lei Guangpu stormed over, face flushed with rage, grabbing Ding Yu by the neck and shaking him furiously. “You tricked my pure feelings and lured out our team’s secrets. Shameless! Shameless!”

Lei Guangpu’s anger was well justified. At the start, both sides played normally. Yun Jia Tianyu, under Dai Guangming’s orchestration, launched relentless attacks, while Tianjin Binhai, led by captain Liu Chen, defended solidly. Midway through the first half, Yun Jia Tianyu still managed to score after Dai Guangming brilliantly set up Zhang Yi, who broke through and squared for striker Zhong Tao to finish—but Tianjin hardly looked outmatched.

Then the second half changed dramatically. Yun Jia Tianyu’s three attacking midfielders—Dai Guangming, Zhou Wei, and Zhang Yi—took turns assaulting the right flank, throwing Tianjin’s left-back Shi Qiang into chaos. Worse still, clearly following Ding Yu’s instructions, Yun Jia Tianyu’s players deliberately tempted Shi Qiang into fouling. Less than twenty minutes in, Shi Qiang received two yellow cards and was sent off. Tianjin Binhai’s defensive core Liu Chen was overwhelmed by Yun Jia Tianyu’s two pacey strikers, and their winger, despite many breakaways, was smothered on the flank by Yun Jia Tianyu’s defenders, forced to cross poorly, with Wu Bufan and Li Jie shutting down every attempt. Yun Jia Tianyu scored three more goals in the second half, crushing Tianjin Binhai.

Seeing the result, Lei Guangpu knew he’d been well and truly duped by Ding Yu.

“Heh, Old Lei, I did you a favor! After this match, I think those three know their weaknesses. Sometimes the lessons and experience from a defeat are far greater than those from victory,” Ding Yu declared righteously.

“Oh, damn you… Tonight, drinks are on you! I won’t stop until you’re broke!” Lei Guangpu conceded helplessly.

ps: Yes, there’ll be another chapter tonight.