69novels Chapter 1 Translation of the Chinese National Football Team
Chapter 1 Translation of the Chinese National Football Team
"Ye Xian! Ye Xian, are you alright?"
In a daze, Ye Xian felt someone shaking his shoulder.
When my vision cleared, I saw a face that looked somewhat familiar.
"Sun... Sun Jihai?" Ye Xian sat up.
He recognized him; it was Sun Jihai, a legend in Chinese football who once played for Manchester City in the English Premier League.
But how did Sun Jihai end up beside him?
More importantly, he looks so much younger!
Is this a dream?
"Haha, you really got knocked out? I don't even recognize you?" Sun Jihai laughed. "It's good that you're alright. I'm going back to training."
train?
Ye Xian looked around.
This really is a training ground.
Following Sun Jihai's running figure, Ye Xian saw more familiar figures.
Fan Zhiyi.
Li Weifeng.
Yang Chen?
Ma Mingyu? ...
They all looked to be only in their twenties or thirties, and they were wearing national football team training uniforms with the national flag printed on them.
This means that it's not something like a "Chinese national football team retro outfit".
They're all in the prime of their careers!
Where did this lead me?
More than twenty years ago?
It must be a dream!
"Hiss—" Ye Xian suddenly felt a pain in the back of his head.
He touched his head.
Then, fragments of memories that did not originally belong to him flooded into his mind.
Ye Xian.
The name is still the same, but this Ye Xian is not the same Ye Xian who obtained the UEFA A-level coaching certificate at the age of 25 in 2026.
This Ye Xian is the translator for national team head coach Bora Milutinovic, and is fluent in English and Spanish.
During the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup qualifiers, he was responsible for translating all of Milutinovic's tactical instructions and daily communications.
Because of his excellent understanding of football and his ability to accurately convey football terminology, he earned Milutinovic's deep trust.
After successfully qualifying for the World Cup finals, Ye Xian also came to the training camp in Seogwipo, South Korea – the Daepodong Football Training Ground – with the national team to begin preparations for the group stage.
So today is...
October 2002, 6!
There are less than 24 hours left until the first match of Group C in the World Cup against Costa Rica.
"My God, I've really time-traveled!" Ye Xian exclaimed, his eyes wide.
This was outrageous, but the scene before him forced him to accept the reality.
The training ground was filled with the clamor of shouts, the dull thud of the football hitting the grass, and these players—the golden generation of Chinese players—who I had only ever seen on television before…
It's all so real!
Moreover, the pain in the back of the head felt very realistic.
As we all know, we don't feel pain when we're dreaming.
Then Ye Xian remembered.
The football that just hit him so hard on the head shouldn't have been an accident.
It was intentional on the part of the team's main striker and veteran player, Herledon!
With this thought in mind, Ye Xian looked again at the player who looked very much like Zhao Benshan and was touted by Chinese media as "Asia's No. 1 striker".
At this moment, Helidon was not far away, watching Ye Xian while chatting and laughing with his teammates. There was no apology in his eyes, but rather a hint of provocation.
This stemmed from a minor conflict today.
During training, Milutinovic instructed Helidon to reduce unnecessary individual dribbling and to cooperate more with Yang Chen to control the rhythm of the attack.
When translating, Ye Xian conveyed Milutinovic's dissatisfaction precisely without any euphemism, and even added, "The coach hopes you can take the team into consideration and not waste attacking opportunities due to personal mistakes."
This remark thoroughly enraged the hot-tempered and unruly Herridon.
Helidon is the absolute core of the national team. He is used to being the center of attention and even the coaching staff usually gives him a wide berth. Now, however, a mere translator has bluntly pointed out his problems, which naturally makes him very unhappy.
Just now during training, he deliberately took a powerful shot, deflecting the ball off course and hitting Ye Xian, who was standing by the sideline, hard on the head!
This was both an outlet for anger and a warning—to make this arrogant translator realize his place.
As the pain gradually subsided, Ye Xian temporarily suppressed his anger at being deliberately harmed by He Lidong.
Because compared to other places, the shock he felt from being transported here was obviously much stronger!
After a few more minutes, it calmed down.
After calming down a bit, Ye Xian couldn't help but recall tomorrow's match between the Chinese national football team and Costa Rica.
In his previous life, he was a tactical analyst holding a UEFA A-level certificate, and he was very familiar with the tactics of various famous coaches.
In particular, when Ye Xian was taking the certification exam, he used the Chinese national football team's matches in the 2002 World Cup as an analytical sample to write his thesis.
To this end, he meticulously studied every match of the Chinese national football team in the 2002 World Cup, dissecting every detail of their defeats.
Milutinovic's conservative personnel choices, the loss of control in midfield, the loopholes in the defense, the risk of injuries to key players, and the seemingly safe but actually self-defeating 4-4-2 formation against Costa Rica.
He also clearly remembers that in tomorrow's game, Sun Jihai will suffer a serious injury and leave the field in the 26th minute, and the right flank will completely collapse;
The Chinese national football team conceded two goals in the 61st and 65th minutes, ultimately losing 0-2 and beginning a losing streak of three matches...
"But now that I've traveled through time, does that mean we can avoid making the same mistakes again?"
A bold idea arose in Ye Xian's mind.
Since he knew all the outcomes, all the tactical loopholes, and even became Milutinovic's translator who could get close to him, there was no reason for him to watch the national football team repeat the same mistakes!
We have to give it a try, no matter what, and see if we can really change history!
Ye Xian stood up and patted his bottom.
The training ground is currently being led by the national team's two assistant coaches, Jin Zhiyang and Chi Shangbin, while head coach Bora Milutinovic is likely in the conference room.
After the players finish training today, Milutinovic will hold a tactical meeting to reiterate some details of tomorrow's game to the players.
So now is the time for him to give Milutinovic "advice"!
Ye Xian walked quickly to a small building next to the training ground.
Pushing open the conference room door, Milutinovic was indeed writing something on the conference table, and the starting lineup for tomorrow was prominently displayed on the tactics board next to him.
Ye Xian took a deep breath, mustered his courage, and strode over to Milu, speaking to him in fluent Spanish:
"Mr. Milutinovic, I apologize for bothering you. I have some tactical and lineup suggestions for tomorrow's match against Costa Rica that I'd like to discuss with you."
Milu paused for a moment, turned his head, and looked Ye Xian up and down, his eyes full of surprise.
He knew that his translator not only had a solid foundation in language, but also knew a bit about football tactics.
Ye Xian usually only focuses on translation work and doesn't offer him any tactical advice.
What's going on today?
"You tell me first." Milu raised an eyebrow, then smiled. "You forgot what I asked of you? Isn't it enough to just call me by my name? No need to be so polite."
"Okay, Bora." Ye Xian smiled as well.
Milutinovic's good quality is that he's friendly to everyone, which keeps the atmosphere in the national team good and gives it a real sense of "happy football".
Even though Ye Xian was there as a translator to give him tactical advice, he was still allowed to "mess around" like this.
Now that he had Milu's approval, Ye Xian didn't waste any more words and went straight to the tactics board, picking up the chess pieces and fiddling with them.
The first step was to remove the number 10 piece representing Helidon.
"I think the starting lineup needs to be adjusted tomorrow."
"With the 4-4-2 formation you've decided on, our main striker, Hlidon, is getting old and doesn't run enough to provide Yang Chen with much support."
"My suggestion is to take away Helidon and keep only Yang Chen as the striker. This way, the formation can be adjusted to 4-2-3-1, or even 4-5-1, focusing on counter-attacks."
"Midfielder Ma Mingyu is also getting old, which has led to a decline in his form and a lack of ability to advance the ball. I think Qi Hong should be replaced as the attacking midfielder, responsible for penetrating the flanks and making through balls."
"Sun Jihai should not play as a right winger. His defensive ability is more important against Costa Rica. He should return to the right back position to avoid leaving too much space behind him when he pushes forward."
"Furthermore, pairing Li Tie and Zhao Junzhe as a double defensive midfielder is crucial to effectively counter Costa Rica's short passing combinations in midfield..."
Ye Xian spoke slowly but clearly, and every suggestion for adjustment precisely hit the fatal flaws of the national football team in his previous life.
Milutinovic's smile gradually faded, and his brows furrowed.
Actually, his asking Ye Xian to explain the tactics was somewhat of a teasing tone between "old friends," wanting to hear what kind of logic this translator could come up with.
I never expected Ye Xian to actually say it, and to say it so boldly!
It's worth noting that the 4-4-2 formation was consistently used by the Chinese team in the Asian qualifiers, and they achieved excellent results.
Ye Xian's arrival immediately brought about a change in formation, and his goal was to take down the team's star player, Helidon!
Milutinovic shook his head, his tone becoming more serious: "I've studied Costa Rica's 3-5-2 formation for a long time. I think 4-4-2 is the safest option. Qi Hong's defensive ability is insufficient, so he's not suitable for starting; Sun Jihai's attacking power is the key to creating threats on our right flank."
Ye Xian hurriedly added:
"But Bora, Costa Rica's wing-back Castro is very fast. When Sun Jihai pushes forward, Xu Yunlong's recovery speed can't keep up, and the right flank will be exposed. On the other hand, Qi Hong's off-the-ball movement and ability to penetrate the flanks can exploit the gaps in Costa Rica's three center-backs. This will be our best chance to score."
"This..." Milu pondered.
He had to admit that Ye Xian's suggestion was not without merit, and he had even considered it before deciding to use this starting lineup.
This translation is actually quite good... It even knows the name and characteristics of one of the opposing team's full-backs very well.
But the match starts tomorrow, and changing tactics at the last minute is a big no-no!
All the tactical drills we've been doing lately have been for nothing.
Not to mention they directly replaced their long-standing key players.
Just then, a third voice rang out: "Hey, here comes our professional translator! Getting started instructing our coach?"
The one speaking in a sarcastic tone was none other than Helidon.
It turned out that the training session outside had ended, and the players were gradually arriving at the meeting room to prepare for the meeting.
Although Helidon couldn't understand what Ye Xian and Milu were talking about, he could see that the two were pointing at the tactics board and talking, obviously discussing tactics-related topics, so he made a few sarcastic remarks.
Upon closer inspection, Herridon became even more unsettled.
The number 10 piece representing himself has been moved to the bench!
Damn it, is this kid trying to persuade Milutinovic to remove him from the starting lineup?
"A mere translator dares to criticize the team's lineup? What do you know about football? It's not your place to interfere with Coach Milutinovic's arrangements!"
Herlidon's tone was full of disdain.
He kicked Ye Xian with the ball just now to teach him a lesson, but he didn't expect that this kid would not only not know how to restrain himself, but also dare to directly seek "revenge" from Milutinovic.
That's incredibly overconfident!
Who am I, Helidong? I'm the number one star player in the Chinese national football team and the number one striker in Asia!
Remove him from the starting lineup? Even Milutinovic wouldn't dare to do that!
really.
Milu waved his hand and said to Ye Xian, "Ye, I understand your suggestion, but I won't adopt it for now. The meeting is about to start, so just focus on your translation work."
More and more Chinese national football team players entered the meeting room at this time, and the tactical meeting was about to begin.
Ye Xian could only nod slightly and stand next to Milu.
He was unwilling, but he also knew that it was not very realistic to ask Milutinovic to change the formation at this time.
Looking at Helidon's provocative gaze, Ye Xian gritted his teeth.
Alright, let the facts prove you wrong!