Chapter 403: China's Humiliating Defeat Shocks the Nation
The mindset of the Chinese players has always been a significant issue. On the field, they carry too much psychological baggage and are too nervous, making it difficult for them to play freely. This tense state causes them to underperform, often playing at less than 70% of their true capability.
With Lin Quan scoring Spain's third goal, the Chinese players' anxiety skyrocketed. It was now 3-0, and another goal would turn this into a humiliating disaster. With over an hour left in the game, could they hold on? The answer was clearly no.
In the 29th minute, Fabregas scored from outside the penalty area, making it 4-0. By the 37th minute, Lin Quan dribbled past four defenders and the goalkeeper to score into an empty net, bringing the score to 5-0.
As Lin Quan scored his second goal, the Bird's Nest stadium fell silent. Countless Chinese fans' faces turned grim. It wasn't even halftime, and the score was already 5-0. If this continued, the final score could be embarrassingly high.
Though everyone had anticipated a significant gap between China and Spain, the actual game revealed just how vast that gap was. China's team seemed like three-year-olds, completely overpowered. They couldn't mount any attacks or defend effectively. The score kept climbing, inching towards an embarrassing tally.
"Dissolve the national team!" "Damn it, give us our money back!" Angry shouts started to fill the stadium. Initially, there were just a few isolated voices, but as the score grew more outrageous, the shouts became more frequent. The Chinese football team had long been a target for fans to vent their frustration and anger, especially when they played so poorly.
Initially, the fans targeted the national team and some players on the field. Gradually, their anger spread to the football association as well. "Damn the football association, dissolve it!" Hearing these angry shouts, the officials present looked uncomfortable. Playing such an embarrassing match at home, especially in the sacred Bird's Nest stadium that once hosted the Olympics, was already a disgrace. Now, with fans targeting them, they felt like they were being slapped in the face.
Seeing the grim look on Chairman Cai's face, an official quickly said, "Chairman, Spain is the World Cup champion. Even Germany has been badly beaten by them. Losing to Spain is nothing unusual!" Recalling how Germany had lost 4-1 to Spain in a World Cup final, Chairman Cai nodded, looking a bit relieved. Not being a professional footballer, his understanding of the game was limited. If he were more knowledgeable, he would have realized the difference.
The Spain that Germany faced was their full-strength team in peak condition. The Spain China faced was just starting their training, fielding mostly substitutes and young players. Their current strength was less than half of last year's Spanish team in the final. Moreover, Germany's defeat was the final score after a full match, whereas this was only the halftime score. Spain would certainly rotate their main players in the second half, making it even harder for China to defend against their attacks. So, the worst was yet to come.
Hearing the jeers from the Bird's Nest, Lin Quan felt a bit sympathetic towards the Chinese players. However, to wake up the football association and fans to the current state of Chinese football, he believed the score wasn't high enough yet. More effort was needed!
As the first half was about to end, fans were surprised to see Lin Quan starting to take more action. He began frequently driving the ball into the penalty area, looking for shooting opportunities. When he wasn't involved in attacks, the Chinese players didn't feel his threat. But once Lin Quan started exerting himself, the Chinese players, especially the midfielders and defenders trying to mark him, began to struggle.
This guy was too difficult to defend! His incredible footwork, ball control, quick direction changes, and deceptive moves made it a nightmare to defend against him. Most of the Chinese players had never played abroad, only participating in the Chinese Super League and occasionally the AFC Champions League. They never faced someone like Lin Quan.
In the 42nd minute, five Chinese players tried to surround Lin Quan but were left standing like statues as he dribbled past them, scoring another goal. The score was now 6-0!
Before the first half ended, Lin Quan had completed his hat trick. Witnessing Lin Quan's god-like performance, the fans in the stadium turned their support to him, as if the Chinese team wasn't even playing. They began cheering for Lin Quan!
The Chinese team, on the other hand, only received jeers. Seeing the fans' enthusiasm, Lin Quan, always appreciative of his fans, waved and greeted them. At that moment, a young fan in the front row did something unexpected. He jumped from the nearly three-meter-high stand and ran towards Lin Quan before the security could react.
Lin Quan was stunned. This guy was reckless! Jumping from such a height, wasn't he afraid of breaking his legs? Wait, this scene seemed familiar. Before Lin Quan could react, the fan hugged him tightly.
"Lin, I'm your fan! Can I get your autograph?" The fan, a young boy around seventeen or eighteen, was panting and extremely excited, mixing up his words in his excitement.
Before Lin Quan could respond, two security guards in black uniforms came running towards them.
The young man who had jumped from the stands was startled and quickly let go of Lin Quan, running towards the other side of the field. The two security guards followed him at a leisurely pace, even smiling. This kid was brave enough to jump from such a height just to get close to his idol. They felt that if they caught him too quickly, his jump would have been in vain.
Whether it was because the grass was too slippery or they weren't paying attention, one of the security guards slipped and fell on the field. The other quickly stopped to help his fallen companion up. Seeing this, the fans in the stands burst into laughter.
Encouraged by this, the young man ran excitedly towards his next target—Fabregas. In this match, the Spanish team had only three main players on the field: Lin Quan, Fabregas, and Ramos. Having succeeded with Lin Quan, his next goal was to hug Fabregas and Ramos.
Fabregas saw the young man running towards him and quickly dodged to the side, unwilling to hug an unfamiliar fan. On the other hand, Morata found it amusing and extended his hand for a high-five, even giving him a fist bump to encourage him.
At this point, more security personnel were rushing onto the field. The first half wasn't over yet, and they couldn't let this guy keep running around the field. Otherwise, how could the game continue?
As the young man ran towards Ramos, the security guards had almost surrounded him. Ramos, not as cautious, gave the fan a big hug before handing him over to the security. Four security guards, each grabbing a limb, carried the intruder off the field.
This fan might face administrative detention for his actions, but many people thought it was worth it. After all, hugging his idol, even if it meant detention, was still a win.
The match was paused for three or four minutes due to this unexpected interruption. When it resumed, there wasn't much time left in the first half. Soon, the half ended, and the players headed towards the tunnel.
As Lin Quan approached the tunnel, fans in the stands shouted his name. "Lin Emperor, look here!" "Lin Emperor, give me an autograph, please! I'm your fan!"
Some fans reached out for a handshake, while others held out jerseys and pens, asking for autographs. Being a fan-loving star, Lin Quan stopped to sign autographs for a few enthusiastic fans. However, the stands at the Bird's Nest were too high, making it inconvenient for signing. So, Lin Quan got a few footballs from the sideline, signed them, and kicked them up to the stands.
Seeing Lin Quan give signed footballs to the fans near the passage, other fans were envious and regretted not buying seats closer to the passage.
During the halftime break, Bosque didn't give any specific tactical instructions in the locker room. China's team was too weak, and Spain had a significant lead. They didn't need any special strategies for the second half—just continue playing as they had in the first half.
On the other side, the Chinese locker room was filled with gloom. Both the coach and the players were numb. They couldn't stop Spain's attacks, especially with Lin Quan participating. It was like a dimensional reduction strike—one-on-one was a giveaway, and even multiple players couldn't effectively stop him. If they focused too many players on Lin Quan, they couldn't stop Spain's other players.
Although Spain was fielding a substitute lineup, their substitutes were still very strong, easily top-level foreign players in the Chinese Super League. Thus, China found themselves in a dilemma: whether to double-team Lin Quan or not, they were in trouble.
Only by playing against Spain did they realize how far they were from being the world's best.
Just as the Chinese players were having these thoughts, they were hit with a fresh realization. Before the second half began, Spain made significant substitutions, bringing on Piqué, Cazorla, David Silva, Iniesta, Busquets, and Alba. With these players, Spain's lineup resembled their full-strength World Cup final team.
Seeing Spain bring on so many main players for the second half, the fans at the Bird's Nest became excited. A full-strength Spain! It had been a long time since they'd seen such a complete Spanish team. The fans were curious about Spain's current strength after a year and the departure of many veteran players.
However, there was a downside—the opponent was China. If they were playing a stronger team, like France or Italy, the match would be more exciting. Some Chinese fans couldn't help but worry. If Spain's mostly substitute lineup could score six goals in the first half, what would happen with the main players in the second half?
Even before the first half ended, news of China trailing 6-0 against Spain had already gone viral online. On Weibo, comments criticizing China's team had exceeded hundreds of thousands. As a result, more people started paying attention to the match. Whether they were football fans or not, everyone wanted to witness this historic event, turning on their TVs, computers, and phones to watch the live stream.
Many even secretly hoped that if China lost by a double-digit score, the backlash would be massive.
Seeing Spain field their main players, China braced themselves and put up their strongest defensive stance. However, it was futile. Spain's offensive quickly shattered China's defense. In the 51st minute, Spain scored from a corner kick with Ramos heading the ball into the net, making it 7-0. Five minutes later, a one-two between Iniesta and Lin Quan outside the penalty area resulted in another goal, with Lin Quan assisting Iniesta, making it 8-0.
In the 65th minute, Lin Quan scored directly from a free kick, completing his haul and making it 9-0. Just one more goal to reach double digits. China struggled for another ten minutes but couldn't hold on. In the 75th minute, Isco received a pass from David Silva and swept the ball into the net, making it 10-0!
Finally, the match ended with a score of 12-0. Spain handed China their most humiliating defeat in history, pinning them to the pillar of shame. This match caused a nationwide uproar, with China's dismal performance receiving unanimous condemnation. Online, jokes and criticisms about China's team flooded in, with people seemingly able to criticize the team for days on end without repeating themselves.
Due to this backlash, it seemed the authorities were finally determined to make significant reforms in Chinese football. Whether these reforms would be persistent and as effective as those in neighboring Japan remained to be seen. (End of Chapter)