Xia Ruofei waved his hand with a smile and said, "You flatter me, Vice President Zhao. I know myself well. I'm just a so-called professional player who doesn't do much. I don't deserve such high praise."
Zhao Zhenghao said sincerely, "Mr. Xia, I'm really not flattering you! Huaxia football needs a star like you. The most direct impact of the chaos in the football world in the past few years was that a group of people were sent to prison. But in the long run, the impact was more fatal. In the past two years, it has gradually become apparent. Because of the dark side of the football world, the number of children who learned to play football decreased sharply, leading to the emergence of a talent gap. This is also an important reason why the national team's results have been declining over the years. The selection range is too small, and there are only a few people in each age group who can play football. "
Zhao Zhenghao took a sip of his drink and continued, "Although the domestic league seems to be getting more and more popular because of the entry of capital in the past two years, the strength of the national team has not improved much. The Chinese Football Association actually attaches great importance to youth training. Everyone knows that football needs to be grasped from a child. But this is a long-term work, and it is difficult to see results in the short term. This also makes some comrades who are eager for quick success and instant benefits not very interested in youth training. Some clubs also don't like youth training because it is the most convenient to spend money to buy players. "
Zhao Zhenghao and Xia Ruofei were talking about a little too much. But Zhao Zhenghao obviously knew that he could not treat Xia Ruofei as an ordinary player. Could an ordinary player make so many big players say hello to him? Obviously not!
"Our country has a large population, but the football population is smaller than many small European countries. This is the reality." Zhao Zhenghao said with a dignified expression, "So the Chinese Football Association is also working hard from many angles, such as increasing the construction of infrastructure, promoting school football, and so on. On the other hand, we have always wanted to set up an idol and use the power of example to attract more children to learn to play football."
The reason why the level of European football had always been high, in addition to the natural physical advantage of the race, was more important because of their consistent high-quality youth training. Barcelona's youth training camp, La Masia, was world-famous. In this regard, it was indeed as Zhao Zhenghao said. Huaxia was still a lot worse than others.
Zhao Zhenghao said with a smile, "We call it the 'Star Making Movement' internally. Originally, we focused our attention on Wu Lei, hoping that the only seedling of our country's first team in the five major leagues who studied abroad could support Huaxia's football. Now it seems that Boss Xia is more suitable to take on this role! "
Hearing that, Xia Ruofei said, he waved his hand and said, "Vice President Zhao, I can't do this! I can't be a role model for the children! Otherwise, they would think that all professional players are like me, who don't do proper work! "
Hearing Xia Ruofei's words, everyone couldn't help but smile.
Xia Ruofei was indeed not a qualified professional player. He did not follow the path of a professional player at all, but he had skills that made countless professional players envious. He was always a huge topic of discussion and was also a popular person on the Internet. It was no wonder that Zhao Zhenghao wanted to set Xia Ruofei as a role model.
It was a very simple reason. People who did not watch football might know the names of the world's top players, such as Messi and Lionel Messi, but they might not know first-class star players like Neymar, Suarez, and Mbappe. But in Huaxia, Xia Ruofei's fame in the non-fan circle was definitely higher than Neymar and the others.
Zhao Zhenghao said with a smile, "Mr. Xia, this matter can be discussed at length. Let's not talk about this now."
In fact, Zhao Zhenghao had not given up on his idea. He just felt that the time was not right.
According to his vision, if Xia Ruofei could join the Huaxia national team and have a wonderful performance in the World Cup qualifiers, especially if he could help the national football team reach the World Cup finals again, then Xia Ruofei would become a football hero in the eyes of the people, even without the deliberate push of the Football Association.
The scene of the national football team reaching the World Cup finals in South Korea and Japan was still vivid in Zhao Zhenghao's mind. It was really a national jubilation! After so many years, many people were very familiar with every player on the national team that year.
Zhao Zhenghao did not mention their "Star Making Operation" again. Instead, he chatted with Xia Ruofei and Zhou Leiyun. They talked about a variety of topics, from the domestic economic situation to the weather and food in Spain. Zhao Zhenghao was also a knowledgeable person. He could talk about basically any topic.
Of course, this was also the reason why Zhao Zhenghao deliberately made friends with Xia Ruofei. If it were an ordinary player, Vice President Zhao's attitude would be much more reserved.
After three rounds of drinks, Zhou Leiyun stood up with a smile and said, "Boss Xia, Vice President Zhao, I'm a little drunk. I'm going to make some tea. You guys can talk!"
The private room was quite large, and there was a special area for making tea. Of course, the tea set was not as complete as the domestic hotels. In fact, it was mainly for guests to drink coffee and chat.
Zhou Leiyun took the initiative to avoid arousing suspicion. Song Wei and Ling Qingxue exchanged glances and stood up at the same time.
Song Wei smiled and said, "Let's go and have some tea too!"
Xia Ruofei smiled and nodded. He said, "Are you all full? Then go and rest for a while! I'll talk to Vice President Zhao! "
…
Zhou Leiyun and the other two went to the tea area on the other side of the private room to drink tea. Only Xia Ruofei and Zhao Zhenghao were left at the table.
Zhao Zhenghao said seriously, "Mr. Xia, I'm sure you know very well why I'm here this time. Here, on behalf of the Huaxia Football Association, I'd like to say that the Huaxia national team urgently needs a player like Mr. Xia. We are very grateful for your enthusiasm to serve the country, and we will do our best to provide you with all the convenience we can! "
Xia Ruofei nodded with a smile and said, "Thank you! I do feel the sincerity of the Football Association. "
"So, Mr. Xia has officially agreed to join the national team?" Zhao Zhenghao asked happily.
Xia Ruofei nodded and said, "When I posted on Weibo, I was already clear about this point. Now, my thoughts have not changed. I always think that it is my duty to serve the country. It is my duty!"
Zhao Zhenghao couldn't help but praise, "Mr. Xia is so righteous. I admire you! To be honest, even if Mr. Xia and I were in each other's shoes, I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to make such a decision. "
Xia Ruofei smiled faintly and said, "Vice President Zhao, I like to say the ugly words upfront. I do have some special circumstances that require the assistance of the Football Association and the national team."
Xia Ruofei was not a three-year-old child. Naturally, he would not be complacent and forget himself just because of a few compliments.
Zhao Zhenghao said, "Of course! Of course! The reason why I came to Spain in person this time is that I hope to talk things out with Mr. Xia. After all, I can make most of the decisions. This also saves me the trouble of reporting back and forth! So, Mr. Xia, if you have any requests, just say it! "
Xia Ruofei nodded and said, "I think Vice President Zhao is also a straightforward person. Then I won't beat around the bush and say it directly."
"Say it directly! Say it directly! " Zhao Zhenghao said with a smile. "It's only right to give special treatment to special talents. As long as it's within my authority, I can promise you on the spot. Even if I can't make the decision, I will do my best to coordinate. In short, I will try my best to meet your requests!"
Xia Ruofei nodded and said, "Then I'll thank Vice President Zhao first. In fact, I don't have many requests. First of all, I may not be able to participate in the national football team's training, but I will try my best to participate in a few joint training sessions before the game. "
In fact, with Xia Ruofei's ability, he did not need to train with the national football team. He could also cooperate well with others, but since he had promised this, he wanted to do his best. Therefore, it was better to understand the characteristics of the players in advance so that he could play better in the game.
"That's no problem!" Zhao Zhenghao nodded and said without thinking.
This was also within Zhao Zhenghao's expectations. After all, Xia Ruofei was not a professional player at all, and he had such a big career. The outside world estimated his net worth to be in the billions, and this was only on the surface.
The national football team's training sessions were at least half a month. How could Xia Ruofei, such a big boss, be locked in the training base for half a month and participate in the full training session like those professional players?
Moreover, Zhao Zhenghao also understood the situation before coming. Xia Ruofei was the same with the RCD Espanyol team. He usually did not train with the team at all. Last time, he played directly. This time, for the game against Barça, he came a few days in advance to train with the team several times.
Zhao Zhenghao chose to come to Barcelona to talk to Xia Ruofei face to face and specially watched the game between RCD Espanyol and Barça yesterday. In fact, he also wanted to see Xia Ruofei's quality.
Xia Ruofei's performance in the game made Zhao Zhenghao have no more concerns.
The ability that Xia Ruofei showed was much better than the RCD Espanyol players, and even most of the Barça players. If such a player joined the national football team, it would simply be a super killing machine! What was the big deal about giving him some special treatment?
Moreover, he had already felt the strength of Xia Ruofei's background. Even if he was reluctant, he had to agree to Xia Ruofei's request, which was not excessive.
Xia Ruofei said with a smile, "Thank you! As for the second point, I hope that I can choose whether to participate in the game or not. I also hope that Vice President Zhao can understand. I am usually too busy and may not be able to participate in every game of the national football team … "
"This …" Zhao Zhenghao could not help but hesitate when he heard this.
To put it bluntly, the national football team recruited Xia Ruofei to play in the World Cup qualifiers. If Xia Ruofei was not willing to participate, wouldn't it be a waste of effort?
Xia Ruofei said with a smile, "Of course, I also know the importance of the next few games of the national football team, especially a few games that require a lot of hard work. I will try my best to participate in these games. What I mean is … some of the less important friendly games, as well as the second half of the qualifiers, if the national football team has already advanced in advance, or if the situation is good and the opponent is weak, I hope that the Chinese Football Association and the national football team can understand and support me if I really can't spare the time. "
Zhao Zhenghao could not help but secretly breathe a sigh of relief. He said, "If that's the case, it should be no problem! But … Mr. Xia, although the situation of our group in the top 40 is good and the opponent seems to be weak, it is actually not easy to play. So, in the top 40 stage, I still hope that you can participate as much as possible … "
Xia Ruofei raised his eyebrows and said with some surprise, "That's not necessary, is it? Has the strength of the national football team degenerated to the point that they can't even beat teams like Guam and the Maldives? If that's the case, even if I'm one more person, it won't help! After all, football is a team sport, and the strength of an individual is always limited. "
Zhao Zhenghao quickly said, "That's not necessarily the case, but the Philippines and Syria in the group are not easy to play against. Although our national team has an absolute advantage in the history of the games against these two teams, they have improved very quickly in the past few years, and our national team … "
Zhao Zhenghao did not continue. Xia Ruofei said with a smile, "I understand … Then it's settled for the time being! The Philippines and Syria teams have four home and away games, and I will try my best to participate in all of them. As for the home games against Guam and the Maldives, if I am in China, I will try my best to participate! As for the away games … "
"If Mr. Xia really can't spare the time, then forget about the away games!" Zhao Zhenghao quickly said.
Xia Ruofei had already given him a lot of face. If he couldn't even fulfill such a small request, then he really didn't know what to do. Moreover, no matter how much the national football team's strength had declined, it was not to the point where they couldn't even take down weak teams like Guam and the Maldives. Although the national football team's forwards were not very good at attacking, they were still quite good at defeating weak teams.
According to the technical team's analysis, the only games that could be changed were the games against the Philippines and Syria. As for Guam and the Maldives, the team's general assessment was that the national football team would be able to win the games by a large margin.
Xia Ruofei had agreed to play in the Philippines and Syria, and Zhao Zhenghao was actually very satisfied.
Xia Ruofei nodded and said: "It's mainly about these two needs. The other problems are just some small ones, such as not being able to stay with the national team before the game … "
"That's not a problem!" Zhao Zhenghao said without hesitation.
"Yeah! In short, as long as I agree to play in the games, then I'll give a little special management! But I promise it won't affect the games, "Xia Ruofei said with a smile.
Then, Xia Ruofei asked, "Oh right, Vice President Zhao, if you agree to all of my conditions, will there be any problems with the national football team's coaching team?"
Xia Ruofei knew that the current coaching team of the national football team was from Italy, and the head coach was the world-class coach Lippi. These big-name coaches all had high demands for autonomy. They didn't like the federation interfering with their work, and they didn't like the existence of special players on the team.
After all, special players were very likely to be unstable factors in the locker room.
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