Chapter Ninety-Four: Secret Weapon

He wanted to win.

He had not cared too much when he lost to Xu Genbao the year before, because six years earlier he had beaten Xu Genbao, and Xu Genbao had also spent time at Yunjia Tianyu Football School and knew everything about them. Losing to Xu Genbao was nothing shameful. But against Chi Shangbing, he did not want to lose again.

Yet beating Chi Shangbing and the team he led was never going to be easy. He did not have enough time to gather information. There were only two short days between the end of the last match and the next one, and in just two days trying to uncover the opponent’s weaknesses and flaws was little more than fantasy.

Fortunately, during last year’s tournament, Ding Yu had watched the match between Dalian Dongfang Football School and Shanghai Chongming Island Football School from the stands, and he had gained some understanding of several of Dalian’s standout players.

Dong Fanghong, center forward, six feet and one, the second tallest player in the country among the eighty-nine age group. Excellent leap, excellent heading, not especially slow, poor dribbling, average finishing.

Fan Pengfei, formerly of the Bayi Youth Team. After that team was disbanded, he was signed by Dalian Football School. Position: forward. Five feet five. Very fast, excellent at breaking through and dribbling, poor stamina and physical strength, but possesses a fine shot from distance and a superb feel for the ball.

Jiang Qi, from Jiangxi, defensive midfielder. Full of energy, strong runner, fierce in his challenges. Last year he had twice injured opposing players with tackles that forced them off the field, including in the final, where he injured Shanghai’s creative fulcrum Xu Shaochuan, and in the quarterfinals, where he injured Beijing’s midfield core Liu Zhan. An extremely effective machine of destruction. Note: if Dai Guangming plays, caution is required.

Zhang Han, midfielder. A player Dalian Dongfang Football School poached from Guangdong two years ago. Balanced in attack and defense, excellent stamina, and a physique unusual for a southern player. His organizing ability is weaker, but he is strong at late runs into the box, so be wary of his surging runs from deep.

Pan Jun, right winger. Accurate with medium and long passes, and with diagonal balls from the forty-five-degree angle. Very fast, average ball control, weaker stamina, and average in defense.

Chen Yongjun, left winger. After being discarded by our school this summer, he was taken by Dalian Dongfang Football School and quickly became the starting left winger. His individual ability is not the problem; the reason we let him go was something else.

Long Xing, from Qinghai, left back. Tall and strong, excellent in defense and in close physical duels, full of stamina, fairly accurate with long passes, average technique at his feet, and poor at overlapping to support the attack.

Wang Hang, right back. Not tall, but sturdy, agile in movement, likes to push forward, and has abundant stamina.

That was their starting eleven.

Coach Zhao looked over the file and said to Ding Yu, “From the previous few matches, we can basically confirm this is their main lineup. These matches are the perfect chance to temper players. Every team will only field the players they need to focus on most, because the goal of a youth team is not results, but producing good players. There is no reason for them to hide their starters. I am almost certain these eleven are the real thing.”

“Dalian really has gathered talent from all over the country in recent years,” Ding Yu said lightly as he studied the file. “Of the eleven starters, six aren’t even from Dalian. In that sense, they’re quite similar to us.”

“The whole world is becoming integrated, let alone Chinese football,” Coach Zhao said with a rare joke. “Which club today still relies only on local players? That would be a joke. As long as a player is good, everyone fights to get him. Still, we should be careful. Any out-of-town player who can become a starter in Dalian is definitely no pushover.”

“Well said,” Ding Yu laughed. “If they can start for our Yunjia youth squad, how weak could they possibly be?”

“Please, could you not be quite so optimistic?” Coach Zhao gave a wry smile. “The pressure on us this year is no small matter. We finished last among the five youth squads last year, and if we fail to win the championship this year, the future of the whole team could be affected.”

“I want to win more than you do, but I cannot let any impatience show in front of the players,” Ding Yu said calmly. Compared with six years ago, he seemed much more mature. “The players are fearless, because last year’s defeat was not due to a lack of ability. If I show impatience in front of them, they will begin to doubt whether they have the ability to beat the opponents... So I must stay optimistic. If even I do not have the confidence to win, then on what basis can the players go out there and do it?”

“What you say makes sense... but our opponents are indeed very strong. Like our players, they were carefully selected from across the country. Even if, in terms of potential, they may not match this group of ours, at least at this stage their players in every position may be on par with ours, and their understanding and cooperation will not be worse either... If that were all, there would be nothing to fear. At worst we would just go toe to toe with them; at least we would still have a sixty percent chance. In truth, our greatest enemy is their head coach, Chi Shangbing.” Coach Zhao still looked troubled.

At the mention of Chi Shangbing’s name, a flash of brilliance crossed Ding Yu’s eyes, but he did not make any grand declarations. He only said calmly, “Chi Shangbing is still human. Though his experience is unmatched by any coach in the country, he is old now, and he has been away from the front line for a long time. He will not have improved over these six years. I, on the other hand, have been improving all along. I am confident I can beat him. What I need now is your help. Help me find the main focus of their attack. There is no need to look for their defense. Their overall defense is steady and methodical from midfield onward. He always uses that same approach. Stable enough, but also rigid enough.”

“From the characteristics of their players, their midfield is not arranged in a diamond, but in a shallow arc,” Coach Zhao said without wasting words. “Their two central midfielders are stronger in defense than in attack. They are better at controlling the tempo than charging forward. Their two forwards are one tall and one fast, the classic pairing for a quick-counterattack system. That Dong Fanghong’s heading ability may not be inferior to Long Bisheng’s, but Li Jie can handle him without trouble. The troublesome one is Fan Pengfei; it may be difficult for Liu Jun to mark him.”

“That Fan Pengfei is quite capable on his own. Let Hu Gandang handle him,” Ding Yu said. “In any case, they do not have a fixed attacking midfielder. The rest of the back line should defend zone and pay attention to coverage. Most of their attacking still relies on teamwork, so there is no need for man-marking.”

“Keep an eye on Jiang Qi,” Coach Zhao reminded him. “That brat is practically a signature assassin. We need to tell Dai Guangming to be careful.”

“That kid plays slippery football. He knows how to protect himself. I trust him, though it’s true we should warn him,” Ding Yu said with a smile. “As long as he is mentally prepared, there will be no problem.”

Coach Zhao nodded. “Then on offense... Dalian’s defense has always been outstanding, and this youth squad is no exception. Their four defenders each have their own characteristics: one tall center back, one shorter sweeping defender with sharp positioning, one fullback with excellent defensive ability, and one fullback who is especially good at joining the attack... A very Dalian-style back line.”

“On the left, use Zhou Wei’s attacking pressure to pin down their attacking fullback. On the right, use Zhang Yi’s accurate long passes to draw their tall fullback out of position. Once he leaves his area, Zhang Yi will make him suffer. As for the middle...” Ding Yu closed his eyes and spoke as if dreaming, “Zhong Tao can distract the shorter sweeper. As for Long Bisheng, let him deal with the tall one.”

“Can Long Bisheng handle him? Chi Shangbing will surely notice his poor performances in last year’s matches,” Coach Zhao said.

“That is exactly what I want him to think,” Ding Yu said, a trace of a smile appearing at the corner of his mouth. “Otherwise, why would I have him use only headers in matches whenever possible? I was waiting for the day we met strong teams like Shanghai, Dalian, and Shandong... Dalian has just happened to draw us at the wrong time. If Chi Shangbing thinks Long Bisheng is still the Long Bisheng from a year ago, then he had better be prepared to suffer. That center back named Niu Ren is no worse than Hubei’s Cai Guoqing when it comes to defending high balls, and his physical attributes may even be a little better, but his turning problem is even more fatal than Cai Guoqing’s... When the rest of the players are more or less equal in strength, the sudden rise in Long Bisheng’s level will absolutely become the heaviest piece on the scale that turns the whole match!”

“So that is what you have been thinking all along. You really have been holding it in this whole time...” Coach Zhao shook his head. “But aren’t you afraid of backfiring? Long Bisheng has only just gotten used to playing the way he used to, relying on headers, and now you’re switching him back all of a sudden. He won’t have any time to adapt.”

“I’ll give him time. I’ll allow him one more half of clumsy acting,” Ding Yu said through gritted teeth. “But I believe in that big fool. He reacts slowly, and his mind is not as nimble as the others’, but he has one great strength: he carries out orders without hesitation... I believe he can do it.”

Then he suddenly laughed, laughing with genuine delight. “He is my greatest secret weapon in this match!”