69novels Chapter 3 Milu's Trust
Chapter 3 Milu's Trust
competition is over.
China lost 0-2 to Costa Rica, suffering their first-ever World Cup group stage defeat.
Actually, considering the game as a whole, the score is quite "decent".
The Chinese national football team only had a possession rate of around 30% throughout the match, with very few shots and no clear-cut chances.
As for Costa Rica, even in the final moments of the match, striker Gomez managed to dribble past goalkeeper Jiang Jin and take a shot, but Li Tie cleared the ball off the line in time, preventing a larger defeat.
It can be said that the Chinese team lost without any resistance.
This is completely contrary to the optimistic mood across the country before the competition.
It is precisely because of this contrast that the atmosphere after the national football team's loss was particularly depressing.
This sense of oppression did not dissipate even after the national football team returned to their accommodation at the Hyatt Hotel.
This unexpected defeat weighed heavily on the hearts of the entire national football team delegation. No one was willing to say anything, and the hotel corridor was deathly silent, with even the footsteps becoming unusually soft.
As is customary, Milutinovic would hold a team meeting after the game to review the match, summarize the gains and losses, and even in the event of a defeat, he would encourage the players to adjust their mindset.
But he didn't do that today—he could see that the team members were already overwhelmed by fatigue and frustration, and that a meeting at this moment would only add to the pressure and be meaningless.
After dinner, Milutinovic changed into casual clothes, held a glass of warm water in his hand, and sat on the sofa in his private suite, his brows still furrowed.
Every scene from the daytime match replayed in his mind: Sun Jihai's injury, Fan Zhiyi's departure from the field, the two moments of conceding goals, the players' anxious expressions... and of course, Ye Xian's several reminders before the match.
Every single time, they pinpointed the hidden dangers in the game!
What secrets is this young translator hiding?
Milu picked up his phone and dialed Ye Xian's number, his tone calm but with an undeniable firmness: "Ye, come to my room, I have something to tell you."
At this moment, Ye Xian was sitting in his room, looking at the World Cup schedule on the wall, his feelings were complicated.
Although he had expected the daytime defeat, experiencing it firsthand and seeing the despair in the fans' eyes still left him feeling uneasy.
He wasn't surprised to receive Milutinovic's call—he knew that after everything that had happened in the past two days, Milutinovic would definitely contact him!
After composing himself, Ye Xian quickly went to the door of Milu's room and gently knocked.
"Come in," Milutinovic's voice came from inside.
Ye Xian pushed open the door and went in, seeing Milu sitting on the sofa.
On the table in front of him was a tactics board, on which were drawn the formations from the daytime match and the routes of the two goals conceded.
"Have a seat," Milu said, gesturing to the chair opposite him, getting straight to the point.
"You know without me saying much that we actually lost badly in today's game. I didn't call a team meeting because I didn't want to discourage them further, but a review is essential. I called you here to hear your thoughts and to tell me exactly where we went wrong."
Ye Xian sat down, took a deep breath, and focused his gaze on the tactics board.
He knew this was the key to gaining Milutinovic's complete trust.
Therefore, every word he says next must be precise, meticulous, and hit the nail on the head.
"Bora, today's defeat was not accidental, but the result of multiple problems. It can be said that we had many shortcomings, from formation and personnel arrangement to on-field adjustments and attention to detail."
Ye Xian spoke slowly and steadily, "First of all, the formation. The 4-4-2 you adopted seems balanced, but it doesn't suit the characteristics of our players, nor can it counter Costa Rica's 3-5-2."
He got up, walked to the tactics board, picked up a pen, and began to draw and explain:
"When we talk about Costa Rica, we usually only mention their star player Wanchope, but actually their 3-5-2 formation is centered on the wing-backs' back-and-forth runs down the flanks. Their two wing-backs are fast, good at both attacking and defending, while in our 4-4-2 formation, the distance between the wingers and full-backs is too great, leaving them too much space."
Milutinovic nodded slightly, without interrupting, but kept his eyes fixed on the tactics board, listening attentively.
He summoned Ye Xian to hear the truth, not to hear flattery.
Therefore, Ye Xian's frank criticism of the flaws in his formation and tactics was exactly what he wanted.
"Secondly, there's the personnel arrangement," Ye Xian continued, his tone still calm. "I already mentioned some of that yesterday."
"Up front, Yang Chen, who has played in the Bundesliga for many years, is fast and agile, making him very suitable for counter-attacks. However, he is isolated and surrounded when he gets the ball, and he can't get a comfortable pass."
"As for Helidon, he's lost his speed advantage as he's gotten older. Now he's slow with the ball, weak in physical duels, lacks the ability to create chances with his back to goal, and can't set up Yang Chen. This two-striker formation is practically useless!"
"The four midfielders were positioned too flatly, lacking any sense of hierarchy, rotation, or support. This situation became even worse after Ji Hai was substituted."
"Take Li Tie for example. He was targeted by Costa Rica's high press throughout the game. As a result, he panicked when pressed, lost the ball when closely marked, and his passing was slow, inaccurate, and had a very high error rate."
"It's not about taking him out, because his defensive coverage is still very helpful to us. It's just that we need technically skilled players around him to help him distribute the ball."
"But now, Ma Mingyu and Li Xiaopeng, including Qu Bo who came on later, although they run actively, are slow in handling the ball, their movements become distorted under pressure, and they make many mistakes in key passes, so they can't play that role at all..."
"And there are details on the defensive end." Ye Xian paused, pointing to the routes of the ball being lost on the tactics board.
"For the first goal conceded, Wanchope attracted the attention of Fan Zhiyi and Li Weifeng in the penalty area. Both of them were only looking at the ball and not at the player, completely missing Gomez who was making a run behind them. This shows a lack of awareness in defensive coordination."
"The second goal we conceded came from a Costa Rican corner kick. We hadn't practiced any defensive tactics for it before the match. All the players rushed towards Gomez, who had the ball. Wright was unmarked at the near post and easily headed the ball into the net. This was a lack of preparation before the match."
He then added details, covering aspects such as physical fitness and mental state:
"In the first half, we pressed too aggressively, unnecessarily expending too much energy. After 60 minutes in the second half, our physical condition completely collapsed, and our technical movements became distorted."
"The players' mentality in big games was too poor. After conceding a goal, they became impatient and eager to equalize, which only led to more gaps in the defense."
"Of course, underestimating the opponent before the match was also a problem..."
Ye Xian's commentary was meticulous, covering every goal, every mistake, the characteristics of every player, and even the technical habits of Costa Rican players, all analyzed in great detail.
He didn't exaggerate or deliberately belittle anyone; he simply objectively reviewed every detail and every problem, accurately pinpointing the crux of the match.
Milutinovic sat on the sofa, his expression shifting from initial seriousness to surprise, and finally to admiration.
He has coached for many years and has met countless professional tactical analysts and assistant coaches, but no one has ever been able to analyze the gains and losses of a game as meticulously and thoroughly as Ye Xian, and even accurately capture every detail that is easily overlooked.
After Ye Xian finished speaking, Milu remained silent for a moment before slowly opening his mouth, his tone carrying a hint of approval, yet also a hint of doubt:
"Ye, you're absolutely right. Every question you asked was spot-on, even more comprehensive than our coaching staff's post-match analysis. I'm just curious, why did you remind Sun Jihai to be careful about injury before the match? And how were you able to predict that Fan Zhiyi wouldn't be able to hold on?"
Ye Xian had already thought about this problem.
The secret of time travel must never be revealed, otherwise, I might be considered crazy!
He faced Milutinovic, his tone sincere and his eyes open: "Bora, I don't have any special abilities, I'm just usually quite careful."
"Before the match, I reviewed the injury reports that the team doctor gave to Sun Jihai and Fan Zhiyi. Jihai had a minor overuse injury in his left leg before, and the team doctor reminded him to take precautions."
"Fan Zhiyi had a pain-relieving injection before the game, and he already had a pre-existing knee injury. Moreover, his physical exertion was greater than that of the other players. I observed that he was clearly uncomfortable in the first half, which is why I reminded you."
These words are reasonable and logical, and at least on the surface there are no flaws.
As Milu listened, the doubt on his face gradually disappeared, replaced by deep recognition and trust.
It can be said that Ye Xian's meticulousness and professionalism even surpass those of many members of the coaching staff.
"Very good, very good." Milutinovic nodded, his tone full of praise. "Ye, I underestimated you before. You are not only an excellent translator, but also someone who understands football, tactics, and is meticulous and rigorous. Today's review has been very helpful to me."
He stood up, walked to Ye Xian's side, patted him on the shoulder, and said firmly:
"We still have two group stage matches left, against Brazil and Turkey. We can't afford to lose again. I hope you can not only do a good job as a translator, but also help me analyze the opponents, develop tactics, and monitor the players' form. I believe in you!"
Looking into Milu's sincere eyes, Ye Xian felt a surge of excitement.
He knew that he had finally gained Milutinovic's complete trust and finally had the opportunity to truly participate in the national team's tactical planning.
He finally had the opportunity to change the history that would otherwise have caused regret among the Chinese people!
"Well then..." Milu pointed to the tactics board again:
"Next up is Brazil. How do you think we should play?"