Chapter 722: Retroactively Awarding the 2020 Ballon d'Or?

"Booo!!!"

"Fuck you, China!"

"Fuck you!"

The stands were filled with boos.

As the losers, the UAE fans expressed their dissatisfaction with the Chinese national team.

However, not all home fans were cursing; a significant portion of the UAE supporters seemed to have anticipated the match result beforehand.

The gap in hard strength between the UAE and China was indeed too large, a disparity that could not be directly erased simply by adjusting tactics.

Click-click!

Tang Ye accepted the MVP trophy on the pitch.

"Will you directly reserve all the MVP trophies for the entire Round of 12?" the host joked.

"Haha! I don't know; it's great if I can win them, but it's fine if I don't. The main thing is to win the matches; qualifying for the World Cup is the top priority."

To speak honestly, the Man of the Match trophy for the Asian Preliminary Round of 12 held no special significance for Tang Ye, because the thing was simply too easy to obtain.

Tang Ye didn't even need to score or assist; relying solely on his number of passes and chances created was basically enough to lock down the Man of the Match award.

"The Asian Preliminary Round of 12 will continue until March next year; before then, you need to balance duties with both the national team and your club. Is this difficult for you?"

"The Asian Preliminary Round Top 12 will continue until March next year; before then, you need to balance duties with both the national team and your club. Will this pose any difficulty for you?"

He lifted his jersey to wipe off sweat; although the stadium had air conditioning, running the entire match was definitely exhausting.

"But it's fine; everyone is in the same boat. The European qualifiers next door are the same; many players from the top five leagues have to play for their national teams. Since everyone is gone, there's actually no difference. We just need to try our best to play well."

"As for the pressure you mentioned, I actually think it's manageable."

Tang Ye wore a smile, appearing optimistic about the situation with both his club and the national team: "I trust my teammates. Although I left the club a week ago, we still defeated Wolves."

Holding up three fingers, he said: "Since the start of this season, we have already achieved three consecutive victories."

Holding up three fingers: "Since the start of this season, we have already achieved three consecutive victories."

At the same time, after the UAE head coach finished complaining, Escrivá accepted his first post-match interview with the Chinese national team.

Regarding the matter of interviewing Escrivá, reporters from Chinese newspapers were extremely enthusiastic.

The press room at Sharjah Stadium was actually not large, yet the number of reporters from China was nearly equal to that of local journalists.

"Ferran, previously you refused interviews from various newspapers. May I ask what the reason was?"

"Ferran, previously you declined interviews from various newspapers; may I ask what the reason for this was?"

Escrivá tilted his head slightly: "Having just arrived with the Chinese national team, I felt I needed some time to calm down and exclude external interference, so that I could better prepare for the upcoming matches together with the team."

He gave a bitter smile: "My pressure might have been a bit too great; for that, I feel very sorry. However, the good news is that we secured today's victory."

Thanks to the match victory; had they lost, judging by Escrivá's usual nature, the guy would probably have canceled the post-match interview outright.

"Can we talk about your reasons for coaching the Chinese team? You just led Borussia Dortmund to win the Champions League title, and without your contract ending, you switched to join the Chinese national team. This behavior seems very strange in the eyes of most fans. Could you tell the fans what you were thinking?"

"Could you discuss your reasons for coaching the Chinese national team? You just led Borussia Dortmund to the Champions League title, and with your contract not yet expired, switching to join the Chinese national team appears very strange in the eyes of most fans; could you explain your thinking to the fans?"

Escrivá exhaled: "Although I am last season's Champions League winner, as you can see, my contribution to Dortmund was actually very limited. In my first two seasons coaching Dortmund, I had already implemented all my tactical philosophies into the team, so what you saw was already my best side at Dortmund—by 'best,' I mean it could not be improved any further."

"Last season, due to some special circumstances and the temporary addition of certain players (without directly naming them here), the team saw a transformative improvement. However, this actually had little to do with me, because I had already exerted my full capabilities before those players temporarily joined."

"Last season, due to some special circumstances and the temporary addition of certain players (not directly specified here), the team saw a transformative improvement; however, this actually had little to do with me, as I had already exerted my full capabilities before those players temporarily joined."

The sound of camera shutters rang out continuously; recording the content of Escrivá's answers was the top priority of the reporters' work today.

Escrivá spoke very clearly; in other words, his abilities could no longer help Dortmund improve further. If Dortmund wanted to maintain its glory as Champions League winners as much as possible, it had to find a coach more suitable for the team.

Escrivá did not know who that coach suitable for Dortmund was, but it certainly wasn't himself.

Since that was the case, it was time for the Spaniard to leave.

Leaving Borussia Dortmund to search for a team more suitable for himself, then continuing to work hard and start a new cycle.

That team was the Chinese national team!

"Some fans believe you were only willing to coach the Chinese team because of TY. Would you like to comment on this topic..."

"Mm, I don't think there's anything shameful about that."

Escrivá appeared open and frank.

His skin was now much thicker than during his La Liga days, bearing a slight resemblance to Ten Hag.

"The core of a coach is tactics, and some players are naturally special; they possess strong individual abilities and may even come with their own tactical system. In such cases, coaches who favor that tactical system will go to coach the teams where these players are located. I think doing so is quite reasonable."

"The core of a coach lies in tactics, yet some players are inherently special, possessing strong individual abilities and perhaps even bringing their own tactical system; in such cases, coaches who favor that tactical system will go to coach the teams where these players are located, and I believe this approach is quite reasonable."

Escrivá took out his phone; although he didn't unlock the screen, the general meaning had already been conveyed: he had the habit of reading fan comments on his phone.

"Many fans like to say I rode others' coattails to victory; this is actually not quite appropriate."

Escrivá looked serious as he gazed into the camera: "To speak honestly, I believe I am very well-suited to the Chinese team's tactical system. From Villarreal to Borussia Dortmund, I have always been a follower of this system."

"You say I rode others' coattails, but you must admit that if other coaches came to the Chinese national team, they wouldn't necessarily perform as I have."

"You say I rode on others' coattails to victory, but you must admit that if other coaches had come to the Chinese national team, they would not necessarily have achieved the same results as I did."

Escrivá left the camera with a smile.

Dongqiude pinned post: Asian Preliminary Round of 12: National Football Team defeats UAE 3-1; Escrivá wins debut; Tang Ye scores two and assists one; Wu Lei in excellent form. (248,231 comments)

Escrivá accepts interview: Does not believe he rode others' coattails to victory; adapting to players who come with their own systems is also a method of coaching; will do his best to help the Chinese team reach greater heights.

2022 Qatar World Cup Asian Qualifiers Round of 12 Group B Standings (after Round 1):

2022 Qatar World Cup Asian Qualifiers Round 12 Group B Standings (End of Round 1):

2. China, 3 points.

3. Saudi Arabia, 3 points.

4. Oman, 0 points.

4. Aman, 0 points.

5. United Arab Emirates, 0 points.

6. Vietnam, 0 points.

Group B is all about determining a winner; among the three matches played by the six teams, not a single one ended in a draw.

It looks like a fierce slaughter, but judging from the match situations, the strength of these teams in Group B is actually quite close.

Japan, China, and Saudi Arabia count as the first tier; Oman, the United Arab Emirates, and Vietnam count as the second tier.

Currently, the Chinese team ranks second among the six teams.

You ask if this is good? Of course it is, because finishing second in the group means you directly qualify for the World Cup finals.

But you cannot look at the problem this way.

"In the Round of 12, every team has ten matches to play; if you start getting complacent after winning just one match, hey, then you aren't far from failure."

This was a sentence that Zhang Lu particularly emphasized during his program on CCTV5+.