Chapter 906: Who Else Has a Dream!

On July 7, Japan officially advanced to the Asian Cup final, setting up a matchup against the Chinese national team.

What follows is the highly anticipated championship stage; the importance of this match to both teams goes without saying. As Moriyama Ichiro had previously said: there can be only one strongest team in Asia.

If the Chinese team wins the Asian Cup final, they will be recognized as the “strongest national team in Asia over the past decade.”

If Japan wins, they can end the myth China has built over the past few years—and perhaps even replace China’s position entirely.

“Hei! This will be the most important match of my coaching career.”

“I’ve always believed Japanese football surpasses Chinese football. We previously formulated a World Cup winning plan, aiming to secure our first World Cup title by 2030. But the emergence of the Chinese team exceeded my expectations, so I’ve temporarily revised our plan.”

“First, we must become number one in Asia, then number one in the world.”

Moriyama Ichiro analyzed methodically: “I believe we will achieve our first goal in the final on July 12.”

“Tang Ye says you have solid strength, but he believes in his own team.”

“Hmm, hei!”

Moriyama Ichiro bowed slightly and nodded: “Tang-san is formidable, but I must say our Japanese team has been completely transformed after learning from the World Cup qualifiers and the World Cup itself.”

“Ganbarimasu!”

Moriyama Ichiro raised his right fist, as if cheering himself on.

…

AFC official announcement: Due to unresolved drainage issues at the Workers’ Stadium, the Asian Cup final on July 12 will be relocated to the National Stadium. Due to the venue change, an additional 22,000 tickets of various types will be made available; fans may purchase them via the AFC official website, the Chinese national team’s WeChat mini-program, or the Japan Football Association’s official site.

As expected, the final was ultimately moved to the Bird’s Nest, making it the 11th stadium used in this Asian Cup—and by far the largest.

The AFC’s announcement sparked widespread discontent among Japanese fans, who accused the organizers of failing to address the stadium’s drainage problems promptly.

With only five days left until the final, suddenly adding 20,000 tickets clearly amounts to handing seats directly to Chinese fans.

Although Japan is not far from Beijing, buying last-minute plane tickets during July’s peak travel season is clearly unrealistic.

The most heartbroken fans aren’t those who failed to get tickets at all—it’s those who secured tickets for the semifinals and quarterfinals but missed the final and had to leave early; their morale is collapsing.

【What is the organizer doing? I don’t understand. I watched the quarterfinal at the Workers’ Stadium—I remember there was absolutely no problem with the field. Granted, it hadn’t rained then…】

【The rain wasn’t even heavy. Is the field really unusable? Or is this just helping the Chinese team?】

【This is obviously fake. Panda construction is fast—they’ve had four days and still haven’t fixed it. It’s deliberate. They think we’re fools who can’t see through this.】

【AAAAAAHHHHH!!! I want to watch the final! I want to watch the final!】

【Shinpanisai! (Don’t worry), with a 90,000-seat stadium, the Chinese team will be under enormous pressure—they can’t afford to lose, which actually gives our samurai an advantage. Ganbade Nihon! (Go Japan)!】

Due to the sudden venue change, the final of this Asian Cup will create a bizarre phenomenon.

Of the 90,000 seats, roughly 88,000 will be occupied by Chinese team supporters; only 2,000 will be Japanese fans.

This is a true home final—right at home, surrounded by compatriots. Yet Japanese fans remain optimistic, quickly adjusting their mindset and treating the final as even more significant.

They will defeat China in the largest stadium in all of China!

…

Oriental News front-page headline: PaoPao Bond (PPBondGroup) listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, stock code: PPPB, initial share price: 500 HKD per share.

Domestic sources: PaoPao Bond’s acquisition of Evergrande Football School is nearing completion, with ownership transfer expected before the end of July.

“Considering Evergrande Football School’s inherent promotional value, PaoPao Bond plans to temporarily retain its name after acquisition. Expansion and enrollment efforts will proceed simultaneously.”

【Xinhua News Agency interviews PaoPao Bond board member Tang Ye】

“Many people comment on my Weibo asking me to buy Guangzhou FC. Honestly, I don’t know how to respond.”

“I definitely want to buy Guangzhou FC, but it’s simply too expensive.”

Tang Ye sighed: “Let’s see how things develop. If the debt burden eases later, I’d still be very willing to engage with Guangzhou FC. Until then, our plan is to spend a total of 650 million to acquire one China League Two team and two China League One teams. Due to certain special reasons, we can’t start directly in the Chinese Super League, so entering the lower divisions makes sense—and the rest of the company supports my view.”

“You’ve acquired three professional teams and signed agency deals with seven CSL clubs. Does this mean players from your partnered clubs and your acquired clubs will go to Europe for training and matches?”

“Hmm… yes, absolutely. We need to leverage their football environment.”

“I guarantee UDG will allocate substantial budgets for this, but I must clarify: not every player can go to Europe. The initial batch can all go, but later ones… well, they’ll need to be screened, because we must maximize resource utilization.”

“Tang Ball King, I want to go play in Europe too!”

Someone in the crowd suddenly shouted, drawing the attention of both Tang Ye and the reporters.

“Are you a youth academy player?”

Tang Ye wasn’t annoyed by the interruption; instead, he used the microphone to respond to the fan.

“No, but I can be your analyst—I’ve been watching football for eight years.”

“Just watching football isn’t enough. We already have excellent, professional analysts.”

Tang Ye replied: “Do you have any other skills?”

“I’m currently pursuing a master’s degree in English.”

“You speak English? That’s great.”

“Come on, brother, get up here.”

Huh?

The fan was stunned.

He’d just been joking—but Tang Ye seemed serious?

“You watch football regularly and speak English. How’s your football English? Tell me: how do you say ‘hat-trick’ in English?”

“Hat-trick.”

The fan answered quickly.

“Perfect!”

Tang Ye placed his hand on the shoulder of the English master’s student, who looked shy.

“Would you be interested in working as a translator for our UDG company?”

“I… can I?”

“Of course you can. Absolutely.”

Tang Ye shook hands and hugged the fan: “It’s settled then.”

“WOW!!!!!!”

“Tang Ball King is awesome!”

“Tang Ball King, you didn’t say the salary!”

Someone else in the crowd shouted, reminding Tang Ye.

Yes—you recruit someone, you must tell them the salary and working hours!

“Salary… uh… uh…”

“For an English master’s graduate, according to our original plan… 4,000 okay?”

“Boo!!!”

“Too little! Tang Ball King, 4,000 for a master’s? You eat shit!”

“Boo!!! PaoPao Bond has changed—you’re a greedy capitalist!”

“Hey, no, no, no!”

Tang Ye was stunned by the backlash and stepped back: “Wait, 4,000 isn’t that little—it’s 4,000 per week, so that’s 16,000 a month, which is…”

“Hey, I’ve already discussed this salary with HR. 4,000 per week really isn’t low.”

Tang Ye looked at the fan who had just come onstage: “What do you think, brother? Is 4,000 a week okay? Our company offers great benefits—and if you’re willing to be posted to our UK headquarters, there’s even a subsidy. Honestly, I’m not lying to you guys.”