338: Chapter 338 Foolish and Rich

This was a friendly match, and also a commercial one.

I heard a certain tycoon spent a fortune to invite Real Madrid. There had been massive online promotion for days, even hitting the top of the trending lists at one point.

Qin Chuan's seat was very good, a proper VIP ticket.

Zhu Qingxi rarely came out with her pregnant belly to accompany Qin Chuan to watch the game.

The entire stadium was packed because it was said that all of Real Madrid's top stars had come. The fans were all here for them; otherwise, did they really think people wanted to watch the Mens National Football Team's match? That was wishful thinking.

The match soon began, and the players from both sides took the field.

Even Zhu Qingxi soon noticed something was off. "Husband, why are there so many people sitting on the bench?"

Qin Chuan said, "Those are basically Real Madrid's main players. The ones on the field are second-stringers, or maybe not even from the second team."

It was basically the second team playing, plus a few substitutes, yet they were crushing the Mens National Football Team. By the end of the first half, the score was 4-0; the Mens National Football Team had swallowed four goals.

Half-time.

The stands were noisy. Many fans were shouting for Real Madrid's stars to come on, as they had mostly come to see them. But even more people were cursing the Mens National Football Team.

The opponents weren't even a proper second team, yet they had scored four goals in the first half. Curses filled the stands, and many were even shouting for the Mens National Football Team's head coach to be fired.

Qin Chuan also shook his head. The Mens National Football Team showed no fighting spirit throughout; some were even too lazy to run, let alone fight for the ball.

At the same time, he knew the root cause wasn't the head coach, but that these players had no drive or spirit. No matter who the head coach was, it would be useless.

While the fans were cursing in the stands, the Real Madrid head coach was also criticizing his players in the locker room.

"Are you all stupid pigs? I told you beforehand that winning by one or two goals is enough, and even a draw is acceptable. But look at you, you scored four goals in the first half!"

"They paid a huge price to invite us here. If they lose too badly, they won't invite us again, and we won't be able to make this money next time!"

"You there, you don't need to go on in the second half. Who told you to score two goals? Stay on the bench for the second half!"

Because it was a commercial match, both sides had agreed that there would be no limit on substitutions. The head coach could change as many players as he wanted, whenever he wanted.

Criticized by the coach, the young Black man looked innocent. "Coach, I just took a casual shot and it went in. You can't blame me for that."

The Real Madrid coach ignored the kid and continued criticizing another. "You're a midfielder, why are you being so active? The China Team can't even get the ball. Go easy on them, do you understand?"

After a round of criticism, the Real Madrid coach swapped several players. Everyone who had been active or scored in the first half was taken off.

As soon as the second half began, everyone noticed it. Real Madrid's lineup had changed significantly, with many unfamiliar faces appearing—quite a few who had never played for the first team were now on the field.

Despite this, they still practically dominated the Mens National Football Team in the second half. They accidentally scored another three goals, making the total score 7-0.

In the stands, the fans were extremely dissatisfied, throwing mineral water bottles, lighters, and other items down.

Qin Chuan also shook his head.

Damn it, this was so infuriating to watch. At least run, fight for the ball, and try to dribble past someone!

An even more infuriating scene occurred in the second half. Finally getting a breakaway chance, our forward actually tripped and fell inside the penalty area.

There was no one around him. The nearest Real Madrid defender was seven or eight meters away. He fell on his own—can you believe it?

Qin Chuan rarely cursed, but he let out an expletive.

I'm not watching anymore. Let's go!

Qin Chuan left with Zhu Qingxi grumbling before stoppage time was even over. He felt a bit of regret; he shouldn't have come to watch this match. It was so infuriating he felt like going down and giving them a few kicks.

The match was a disastrous loss, and Chairman Liu also felt he had lost face.

He made a special call to apologize to Qin Chuan, talking at length. The next morning, he even came to Qin Chuan's office in person.

"Director Qin, I am truly sorry. I didn't expect it to turn out like this..."

Another round of apologies.

Qin Chuan waved his hand to interrupt. "Comrade Liu Hong, there's no need to apologize repeatedly. You bear some responsibility for such a crushing defeat, but not much. The main issue is a series of problems within the Mens National Football Team; a three-foot layer of ice does not form in a single day."

Chairman Liu said, "Director Qin, do you have any suggestions for the future development of the Mens National Football Team?"

Qin Chuan didn't give his suggestion but asked instead, "What about you? As the acting chairman of the Football Association, what are your thoughts and plans?"

Chairman Liu thought for a moment, organized his thoughts, and replied, "Director Qin, to improve the level of the Mens National Football Team and achieve good results in future competitions, we could first bring in famous, high-level international coaches. Secondly, we could naturalize some high-level football players..."

He went on about his ideas and plans.

Qin Chuan listened seriously without interrupting, only speaking after he had finished.

"Comrade Liu Hong, I don't agree with that. All of that costs a fortune; it's a classic case of having more money than sense, and it might not even be effective."

Being rejected, Chairman Liu didn't show any dissatisfaction but instead looked very humble. "Director Qin, what are your suggestions?"

Qin Chuan said, "The head coach of the Mens National Football Team doesn't necessarily have to be a world-famous coach. Our local coaches are very good and fully capable."

"The logic is simple: you have a group of primary school underachievers; there's no need to spend a fortune hiring a renowned professor from a famous university."

Chairman Liu nodded; it did seem to make sense. Hiring a world-famous coach would cost a lot of money and might not yield results.

Qin Chuan continued, "There's also no need to naturalize high-level players. Using that money to train our local athletes would likely be more effective."

"Actually, I think the most important thing is to establish a good football environment and enhance the players' sense of collective honor, so they are willing to fight with their lives on the field..."

Drawing from everything he had seen in his past life, Qin Chuan chatted with Chairman Liu for over an hour.

Chairman Liu remained humble throughout, even taking out a notebook to record these points one by one.

After finishing his suggestions, Qin Chuan said, "It seems the Mens National Football Team hasn't left the capital yet?"

"Not yet. They will be training at XX Stadium for the next few days to prepare for the upcoming Asian Cup."

The China Mens National Football Team had made it into the top 16 of the Asian Cup, which would be held in Australia in January 2015. There wasn't much time left, so intensified training was necessary to achieve a good result.

Hearing that the Mens National Football Team was training at XX Stadium, Qin Chuan suddenly had an idea.