Chapter 99 - Shu Guang Has Arrived (2/2)
“Hmm. And the others?”
“The others? That’s all.”
“What about Su Fei? She has always been with you the past few days.” Liang Ke looked at Zhang Jun meaningfully, causing Zhang Jun’s face to turn red.
“Ah, she is in her room. She did not come out after eating dinner. I do not know what she is doing.”
“Su Fei is a nice girl. You are very lucky.”
“Coach!”
“Haha! Do not pretend to be a gentleman in front of me. I am only thirty. I am very clear about all your playboy tricks. Alright. I won’t talk about this anymore. What about the preparation for tomorrow’s match?”
“There is no problem!”
“Haha! That is good. You are the ace scorer in the team. You better not lose confidence!”
“Relax, Coach! My objective is to win the championship. I will not give up!” Zhang Jun raised his voice.
Liang Ke looked at Zhang Jun. He then turned his head around and looked at the people coming and going from the hall. “National Championship…”
“You guys are here!” Yang Pan walked over. “I saw that the rooms were empty and came out looking. Coach.”
Liang Ke nodded and pointed to the recreation room. “Everyone is in there.”
Yang Pan looked at where Liang Ke was pointing to and then laughed. “If any of the reporters see them in the recreation room, we would surely see ourselves in the newspaper tomorrow. ‘Shu Guang’s players have given up and the entire team is partying around.’ Haha.”
It was at this moment that a reporter came over. They had guessed that they would not be able to find any more information and decided to dig into the opponents of the top seeded team.
“Hello. I am a reporter from the Shanghai Satellite Television Sports Channel.”
“Hello.” Liang Ke replied with a sense of propriety. He did not show as much excitement as the other coaches when faced with a camera.
“Shu Guang defeated Zhongyuan and will participate in the National Championship for the first time. However, they would be facing the previous year’s runners-up, Guang Ming, in the first round. As a coach, how do you feel about the battle tomorrow?”
“Our championship is the National Championship!” Liang Ke merely replied with this phrase.
The reporter was taken aback. He saw that Liang Ke would not speak more on the topic so instead he turned his attention to Yang Pan who was sitting to a side. He recognized Yang Pan as Shu Guang’s team captain. “Classmate Yang Pan. How does it feel to participate in the National Championship for the first time?”
“Our objective is to become the national champion!” Yang Pan coolly replied.
“This is…” The reporter looked as though he saw a UFO. He then turned his attention to Zhang Jun. He did not know who Zhang Jun was but saw that Zhang Jun was wearing a sports jersey with the words ‘Shu Guang’ on it.
“This classmate…”
Zhang Jun recalled the qualifying matches. Yuan Gang, Liu Peng, that team captain of Yang Guang whose name he does not know, Sima Hongxin, Ma Ni, Fan Cunjie, Ding Ding, and also the injured Li Yongle. He suddenly felt as though there were many people behind him. If he gave up, they would not forgive him.
“Luoyang does not lack good players. However, only one team is allowed to qualify. We represent those that were not able to come. They used to be our opponents but now they are backing us. Do you think we would lose so easily with so many people supporting us? So, our objective is…”
“Aha! There is a reporter interviewing us! How rare!”
Just by listening to the voice, one could tell that An Ke had returned triumphantly.
An Ke was in a good mood. Behind him was the resigned Ren Yu De and the other teammates. Seeing that the reporter was in the middle of an interview, the guy with thick skin rushed up and snatched the reporter’s microphone. This action shocked the reporter. Although he wanted to get it back, it was already too late. An Ke stuck his face in front of the camera.
“Ahem! Everyone, listen to me! All participating teams better be careful! This is because, we, Shu Guang, have arrived!”
His loud voice reverberated in the hall. Everyone turned to look at the one holding the microphone, standing tall in front of the camera with his teammates behind him.
After lunch, the team sat in the hall and then waited for a while to go to the stadium by bus. The television was broadcasting a special on the national tournament.
“Look! I’m coming up on the big screen!” An Ke smiled triumphantly at the screen. The broadcast was now showing Zhang Jun’s interview.
However, after Zhang Jun was done, the screen cut back to the studio. “Thank you for watching. We will see you again in two hours!”
The team burst into laughter.
“Eh? What happened? It’s impossible! I clearly spoke to the camera!”
Ren Yu De lightly said from the side. “You think everyone else is an idiot like you and won’t cut it out?”
Just as An Ke was about to go berserk, Su Fei appeared with a string of protective amulets in her hand.
Zhang Jun took his amulet. ‘I see. She locked herself up in the room making these yesterday! How long did she take to make all this?’
There was an amulet for each one of them. Even Liang Ke and the substitutes had one. Only Su Fei would be this considerate.
The opening ceremony and the opening match of the 15th National High School Soccer Championship would be held at Shanghai Stadium, home ground to Shanghai Shenhua of the National Soccer Jia-A League.
The opening ceremony was the same as always.
The participating teams entered and their respective representatives went on stage to give a speech which showed their determination. The representative of the referees would also need to declare their determination. The teams then left the pitch to make way for a short segment of musical and dance performances. A big shot would then give a speech and declare the opening of the 15th National High School Soccer Championship.
Fifteen minutes later, the players from Shu Guang and Guang Ming were back on the pitch, waiting for the start of the match while the other teams stayed to watch. Guang Ming was the favorite to be champions and it was natural to study their first match.
Zhang Jun and Ren Yu De stood at the center circle. Yang Pan was on the right flank but close to the half-way line.
Kaka, Wang Ning and Li Hao stood parallel to each other. This was not their coach’s request. It was their own arrangement. He thought about what Zhang Jun said to him before the match. “Since they all look down on us, let us use this goal to give them a wake up call and tell them that Shu Guang has arrived!”
“Good afternoon to the audience at home! CCTV and Shanghai Television presents the opening match of the 15th National High School Soccer Championship to you live! On one side is Guang Ming High School from Dalian, the runners-up of the championship last year and the top seeded team! On the other side is Shu Guang High School from Luoyang who are first-time qualifiers after defeating Zhongyuan High School! Now, the match is about to begin!”
The stadium quietened.
The referee put the whistle in his mouth and took a deep breath. *Beep*
Zhang Jun kicked the ball to Ren Yu De then quickly made a run forward. Ren Yu De then kicked the ball backwards to Kaka.
Kaka received the ball. He adjusted his body and then made a long pass. The ball flew towards the right side of the pitch.
“Ah! Shu Guang have already gone on the offensive with long passes. However, they seem to have been rash. No one would be able to receive that pass and it would fly pass the goal line. No! Shu Guang’s No. 7 is really quick!”
Yang Pan ran along the right flank really quickly. He reached the ball as it landed and crossed from the goal line towards the middle.
At this time, Zhang Jun had dashed forward. He used his speed to dash past the defenders and rushed towards the front of the goal. He then leapt up high and did a bicycle kick.
“Goal! Goal! It has only been eight seconds since the start of the opening match! Shu Guang have already scored a goal! This is incredible! Even the players from Guang Ming are dumbfounded!”
Everyone better watch out. Shu Guang has arrived!