Chapter Fifty-Five: A Perfect Summer

In just over ten days, time had flown by. The second semester of the 1999-2000 academic year was drawing to a close, and the most nerve-wracking, most ruthless elimination awaited the students of Yun Jia Tianyu Football School. Those whose performance had been lacking were, naturally, filled with unease, but even those who had done well felt their hearts pounding. The standard for deciding who could stay on for the next semester was never fixed; it depended on the comprehensive evaluations of all the coaches. In previous years, even students with outstanding performances had sometimes been cut. No one knew the reason, but the student themselves always did.

When the final results were announced, two students burst into tears on the spot. One of them was already in his third year of middle school; if he had made it through this round, he would have been halfway through the door to becoming a professional player. Yet it was here, at this very threshold, that he fell.

Two students from Long Bisheng’s class were eliminated as well. One, who had entered the school alongside him, was dismissed for failing to keep up with his peers. The other had joined with Hu Gantang’s group.

Surprisingly, Long Bisheng, whose abilities were noticeably inferior to the rest, was not among the eliminated. When Ding Yu unemotionally read out the list, a student even opened his mouth as if to ask whether a name had been missed.

“Those who remain have their reasons for staying. Those who are eliminated also have their reasons,” Ding Yu said calmly after reading the names. “Let me repeat: Yun Jia Tianyu Football School has no fixed quota for elimination. Even if there were, such quotas would know no upper or lower limits. If we find a hundred suitable players for the upper-tier teams, we’ll take all a hundred. If there are none, we’d rather have not a single player move up. You don’t need to overthink—just train hard, focus on becoming stronger, and give us no reason to eliminate you. That is the only way. Of course, even if you are eliminated, it does not mean you are unfit to play football. At other schools, in other clubs, you may find your place. It simply means you are not right for Yun Jia Tianyu. The holiday is coming, and this break will last for more than a month. I warn you all: when the new semester begins, don’t let me catch you having gained weight or increased your body fat. This too is a criterion for staying.”

The students were shaken—at their age, any condition connected to that harsh word “elimination” was enough to make them all the more vigilant. After Ding Yu’s speech, it was likely none of them would dare touch greasy food that summer.

For Long Bisheng, however, this was no problem at all. He planned to go home for only a week at the beginning of August, avoiding the crowds when other universities let out; he would spend the rest of the break training at school. The other six in his dorm had the same plan.

The days that followed were simple. With his worries behind him, Long Bisheng threw himself into training with renewed vigor. Because of the heat, they usually trained in the mornings. Afternoons were for resting in the dorm or visiting Li Fang’s house. In the evenings, if there was a match, they would gather to watch. That summer, the Asian Cup was being held in China, so whenever the national team played, the students who stayed at the school would call their friends and rush to the screening hall to watch the live broadcast—after all, three yuan a ticket wasn’t expensive.

During the semester, Li Fang had already invited him over several times. Though Uncle Maimaiti and his wife had come from Xinjiang to this southern city for their son’s sake, they still treated guests with the warmth of herdsmen. Every time Long Bisheng visited, they would serve him delicious food and drink. It was only after Li Fang explained that they should go easy on the fatty foods that his parents started to pay attention.

“When you have time, come here for dinner. Your aunt and I have nothing to do anyway… You can’t get good food at school, so come here and eat something hearty. That’s how you’ll grow strong!” Uncle Maimaiti often said.

Once, Li Fang laughed and replied, “Dad, don’t slander our club’s food. I’ve eaten at their school a few times. It’s nutritious, just not as tasty!”

Uncle Maimaiti immediately grabbed a shoe to hit him, but Li Fang nimbly dodged away. “You brat, wasn’t it our food that raised you? Now you say your dad’s cooking isn’t nutritious? What nutrition? If there’s no lamb, how can there be any nutrition? If you’ve got the nerve, quit eating lamb right now!”

Li Fang just grinned and said nothing. He didn’t spend much time at home anyway. Even though his house was near the training ground, the reserve team’s schedule was full—he often traveled for away games, leaving little time for his parents. Sometimes, getting scolded by them even made him happy—it was a way to keep them entertained.

Still, the couple wasn’t lonely. Not long after arriving in Yun Jia, Uncle Maimaiti got a business license and set up a street stall selling lamb skewers. Business was booming. He often said that if he had known lamb skewers would sell so well here, he would have come long ago, instead of leaving his son alone for over a year.

Soon, the other six dorm mates followed Long Bisheng to Li Fang’s house for meals. After all, dorm food could never compare to a home-cooked meal, and they especially missed the lamb hotpot Li Fang had once brought.

The summer training brought great benefits to Long Bisheng.

He began to realize there was truth in Ding Yu’s advice. After becoming accustomed to various basic drills, he found himself mastering more complex training techniques with ease. Sometimes, when Dai Guangming and the others demonstrated a new move or skill, he could figure out how to execute it after watching just once. Before, it might have taken him three or four tries to understand.

In his duels with Li Jie, he gradually went from being completely overpowered to winning and losing in turns, learning how to use his physical strength to suppress his opponent. Li Jie struggled more and more to defend against him as Long Bisheng learned to use his own body to his advantage.

Ding Yu often visited the school. With the Asian Cup being hosted in China that summer, there were no league matches in July or August, giving him, an assistant coach, more time to spend at the school. Sometimes, he even joined the kids to watch the national team play, cheering and celebrating alongside them, never putting on airs.

Under the guidance of Yugoslav coach Milu, the Chinese national team swept past Qatar and South Korea to reach the final. In the semifinal against Korea, two former Yun Jia Tianyu players now in Europe, Nie Fei and Hao Dong, stood out. After Korea scored first, Nie Fei delivered a beautiful pass to help Ma Tian equalize, and Hao Dong earned a penalty. Though Captain General Fan’s spot-kick was saved, Hao Dong followed up to score, sending the national team to the final. After that match, the excited students nearly tore apart all the seats in the screening hall; it took the desperate efforts of the owner to calm them down and usher them out. The owner swore never to let them watch games there again—they were never this wild during regular screenings!

On the day of the final, the school opened the auditorium for free, allowing all students to watch the match, much to the relief of the screening hall owner—he no longer had to fear for his seats, though he did mourn his lost ticket sales.

That night, not only did all the students staying at the school come, but many coaches attended with their families. With their presence, no student dared get too carried away, no matter how excited.

The final was a fever dream for Chinese fans. Japan took the lead early on with an own goal by General Fan, but just five minutes later, China equalized through Nie Fei’s shot in the box. Only three minutes into the second half, Hao Dong’s shot deflected off Naoki Matsuda and into the net, putting China ahead. The moment China took the lead, the entire hall erupted, the roar threatening to lift the roof.

The rest of the match was a nail-biter. Akihiro Nishizawa drew Japan level with a follow-up, and ten minutes later, Tomokazu Myojin put Japan ahead again, plunging Chinese fans into silence. But this time, the team did not disappoint. Nie Fei, with a stroke of genius, orchestrated a free-kick routine that allowed Ma Tian to equalize once more. Then came the most thrilling moment of the tournament: as the ninety minutes ticked down, Nie Fei, with an incredible backheel in the box, scored the winning goal for China!

After this Asian Cup, Nie Fei, the star who had emerged from Yun Jia Tianyu, became a true symbol of Chinese football. In the hearts of the students at Yun Jia Tianyu, Nie Fei was the ultimate role model.

It was a perfect Asian Cup. It was a perfect summer—for every Chinese football fan.