Chapter 906: Who Else Has Dreams!

On July 7, Japan officially advanced to the Asian Cup final, completing a showdown with the Chinese national team.

Next comes the highly anticipated championship decider; the importance of this match for both teams goes without saying. As Hajime Moriyasu previously stated: "There can be only one strongest team in Asia."

If the Chinese team wins the Asian Cup final, they will become the universally acknowledged "strongest national team in Asia over the past decade."

But if Japan wins, they could end the mythical story the Chinese team has created over the past few years, and might even replace China's status.

"Hai! (Japanese for 'yes') This will be the most important match of my coaching career."

"I have always believed Japanese football is superior to Chinese football. In the past, we formulated a plan to win the World Cup, hoping to claim our first title in 2030, but the emergence of the Chinese team exceeded my expectations, so I have temporarily revised the plan."

"We must first become number one in Asia, and only then become number one in the world."

Hajime Moriyasu analyzed methodically: "I believe we can achieve our first goal in the final on July 12."

"Tang Ye indicated that while you possess considerable strength, he believes in his own team."

"Mm, hai! (Yes)"

Hajime Moriyasu bowed slightly and nodded: "Tang Sang is formidable, but I must say we have absorbed the lessons from the World Cup qualifiers and the World Cup itself; the current Japanese team has been completely transformed."

"Ganbarimasu! (I will do my best!)"

Hajime Moriyasu raised his right fist; the target of his cheer seemed to be himself.

Official AFC Announcement: Due to unresolved drainage issues at Workers' Stadium, the Asian Cup final on July 12 will be moved to the Beijing National Stadium. Due to the venue change, an additional 22,000 tickets of various categories will be available; fans can purchase them via the official AFC platform, the Chinese Men's Football WeChat mini-program, or the Japan Football Association website.

As expected, the final was ultimately moved to the Bird's Nest, making it the 11th stadium used in this Asian Cup, and naturally the largest one.

This announcement by the AFC sparked dissatisfaction among many Japanese fans, who accused the organizers of failing to address the stadium's drainage problems in a timely manner.

With the final only five days away, suddenly releasing 20,000 extra tickets—isn't this blatantly handing seats to Chinese fans?

Although the Japanese archipelago isn't far from Beijing, trying to buy flight tickets last minute during the peak travel season of July is clearly unrealistic.

The most distressed aren't just the Japanese fans who failed to grab tickets; those who secured tickets for the semifinals and quarter-finals but had to leave early because they couldn't get final tickets are suffering the most—their minds are about to explode.

【What are the organizers doing? I don't understand. I watched the quarter-final at Workers' Stadium, and I recall there were no issues whatsoever. Although it hadn't rained at that time...】

【The rain wasn't that heavy, was it? Does that mean it can't be used? Are you sure you're not helping the Chinese team?】

【Obviously fake. Panda infrastructure efficiency is very fast; if it's not fixed after four days, it must be intentional. They think we're fools who can't see through it.】

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

【Shinpai shinai de! (Don't worry), with a 90,000-seat stadium, the pressure on the Chinese team will be immense; they dare not lose, which actually gives us Samurai an advantage. Ganbare Nippon! (Go Japan)】

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

Among the 90,000 seats, approximately 88,000 will be occupied by Chinese team supporters, with only 2,000 for Japanese fans.

This is a home final in the truest sense: at their doorstep and surrounded entirely by compatriots. Yet Japanese fans remain relatively optimistic; they quickly adjusted their mindset and now view the final as even more critical.

They intend to defeat the Chinese team in the largest stadium in all of China!

Front-page headline of "Oriental News"—Bubble Bond (ppbondgroup) lists on the Hong Kong Jiaoyisuo, stock code 【omitted】, initial share price 500 HKD per share.

Domestic sources indicate: Bubble Bond's acquisition of Evergrande Football School is nearing completion, with property transfer expected to be finalized before the end of July.

"Considering the inherent promotional value of Evergrande Football School, Bubble Bond plans to retain the school's name temporarily after the acquisition is complete, while expansion and recruitment efforts will proceed simultaneously."

【Xinhua News Agency interviews Tang Ye, director of Bubble Bond Company】

"Many people leave comments on my Weibo urging me to buy Guangzhou FC; honestly, I really don't know how to respond."

"I certainly want to buy Guangzhou FC, but it is simply too expensive."

Tang Ye helplessly remarked: "Let's wait and see; if the debt burden can be reduced later, I would still be very willing to engage with Guangzhou FC. Until then, we plan to spend a total of 650 million to acquire one China Champions League team and two China League One teams. Due to some special reasons, it is inconvenient for us to start directly in the Chinese Super League, so I believe focusing on the secondary leagues is appropriate; other members of the company also support my idea."

"You have acquired three professional clubs, and UDG has reached agency cooperation agreements with seven Chinese Super League teams; does this mean players from clubs cooperating with you, as well as players from clubs you have acquired, will go to Europe for training and competition?"

"Mm... that is certain; we need to utilize the football environment over there."

"I guarantee that the United Development Group will inject significant budget into this aspect, but I must clarify that not all players can go to Europe. The initial batch of players can all go, but subsequent ones, mm... subsequent ones will need to be screened, as we need to maximize the utilization of resources."

"Tang Tang Qiuwang, I want to go to Europe to play football too!"

Someone suddenly shouted from the audience, immediately drawing the attention of both Tang Ye and the reporters.

"Are you a youth training player?"

Tang Ye was not unhappy about being interrupted; instead, he responded to the fan through the microphone.

"No, but I can serve as your analyst; I have eight years of experience watching football."

"If it's just experience watching matches, that won't suffice; we already have sufficiently good analysts, and they are professionals."

Tang Ye responded: "Do you have any other skills?"

"I am a master's student majoring in English."

"You know English? That's excellent."

"Come on, brother, come up on stage."

Huh?

The fan was stunned.

He was just making a joke, but Tang Ye seemed to take it seriously?

"You watch football often and know English, so how is your football English? Come on, 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 this English master's student, who felt somewhat shy.

"Are you interested in coming to work as a translator for our UDG company?"

"I... can I?"

"Of course you can, absolutely you can."

Tang Ye stepped forward to shake hands and embrace the fan: "Then it's settled."

"Wow!!!!"

"Tang Tang Qiuwang is awesome!"

"Tang Tang Qiuwang, you didn't mention the salary!"

There were still onlookers in the audience shouting, which also served as a reminder to Tang Ye.

Yes, if you want to recruit someone, you must first tell them the salary and working hours!

"The salary, well, this... this..."

"For a master's degree holder in English, according to our initial plan... is 4000 acceptable?"

"Boo!!!"

"That's too little! Tang Tang Qiuwang, offering a master's graduate 4000, go eat shit!"

"Boo!!! Ggbond, you've changed, you dog of a capitalist!"

"Hey, no, no, don't!"

Tang Ye was stunned by the scolding and quickly stepped back: "No, 4000 shouldn't be considered little. 4000 a week means 16,000 a month. If it's 16,000 a month, then a year would be..."

"Hey, anyway, I've discussed this salary with the company's HR. A weekly salary of 4000 really isn't little."

Tang Ye looked at the fan who had just come on stage beside him: "How about it, brother, what do you think of a weekly salary of 4000? Our company offers many benefits; if you're willing to be stationed at our UK headquarters, there's also a subsidy. Anyway, I think it's quite good. I'm not tricking you, brothers."