Chapter 1538 1537

The match hasn't officially started yet, but the Yun City Team lineup has already become a joke. Besides an unknown assistant coach, there's a wet-behind-the-ears high school student playing forward. Both online and offline, everyone is having a laugh.

"I thought having the assistant coach act as the interim head coach was funny enough, but this Wu Lei, is he here just to make us laugh?"

"I heard that Coach Wu Da is still in a coma. Whose idea was this?"

"This is ridiculous. If I had known, I wouldn't have bought the tickets. Such a waste of money!"

"This lineup is garbage!"

The fans present also started complaining.

Fans of the Yun City Team were a bit disappointed with their team's lineup. Many of them were fans of Li Yi, who gained quite a fanbase with his performance in the three friendly matches. These fans originally came to support Li Yi on the spot, and now since Li Yi is not playing, they support the Yun City Team.

But seeing Li Yi replaced by a high school student was a huge letdown for them.

Faced with everyone's complaints and Lu Dong's leading mockery, the host attempted to ease the tension: "I've seen everyone's complaints, but I think the Yun City Team is quite brave. At this moment, they've sent out a complete newcomer. There might be other reasons why Wu Lei is chosen besides the lack of players on Yun City Team. Let's wait and see!"

Lu Dong bluntly said, "Come on, no need for pretty pleasantries. I'll just say it outright; I think the Yun City Team is disrespecting the sport of football. Football matches are not child's play; this is a professional matter! Sending an amateur hobbyist to play is just messing around!"

The host said, "But Wu Lei is an officially signed player of the Yun City Team. There is nothing wrong with him playing; it's reasonable and compliant. As for Wu Lei's abilities, we'll have to see."

Lu Dong scoffed, shook his head, and clearly did not agree with the host.

At the venue, the stands.

Jin Jiufu also sneered: "Mr. Lin, I admit, after you acquired the Yun City Football Club, the Yun City Team has indeed turned a new leaf and proved themselves in the friendly matches. But Mr. Lin, after all, you're too young. As a senior, I must advise you to focus on talent acquisition. Look at me; I've spent quite a bit on attracting foreign players. The importance of foreign players for a team, I won't say much about that. Essentially, when you need players, there should be people available. Now, your Yun City Team has no one, Li Yi can't come, and you're sending even the substitute players. This shows how short in supply your Yun City Team is."

Lin Fan said, "I know that generally, club team players are not restricted by nationality, whether it's La Liga, Premier League, or Ligue 1. Their teams have players from all over the world, regardless of nationality. They only look at ability. The reason why Real Madrid and Barça are strong is that they've gathered the world's best players. Globally acclaimed top stars are in their service. Our Huaxia footballers all have a dream, which is to play for these strong teams, viewing it as further training. Mr. Jin, have you ever thought about why our Huaxia Super League cannot attract top stars?"

Jin Jiufu said, "The question Mr. Lin asked is simple. To be honest, the Huaxia Super League cannot be compared with La Liga or Premier League; the strength gap is too big."

Lin Fan said, "That's right; the strength gap is indeed too big. Premier League players come from all over the world, gathering strong talents, while the Huaxia Super League is mostly Huaxia People themselves playing. Because of universally lacking strength, to enhance capabilities, they spend heavily to invite foreign players. The term 'foreign players' frequently appears in the Huaxia Super League, whereas in La Liga and Premier League, barely anyone mentions it. This simple reason is, the more important it becomes, the more pronounced it is. For Huaxia Super League teams, foreign players are too important. Whether or not there are foreign players has a crucial impact on a team's strength. This also shows that the domestic players' ability is simply unacceptable."

Jin Jiufu nodded; although he didn't like Lin Fan, he agreed with Lin Fan's words.

Indeed, foreign players often play a decisive role in Huaxia Super League teams.

Lin Fan said, "Another point is, the foreign players we spend heavily on, when compared to those in La Liga or Premier League, aren't considered top stars. Top players don't want to come here, further highlighting the inadequacy of domestic players."

Jin Jiufu said, "Mr. Lin has said a lot, what do you intend to convey?"

Lin Fan said, "This is why I don't bring in foreign players because the domestic players aren't good enough. If you can only rely on heavy investment in foreign players to improve team strength, then the level of domestic players will never improve. I want to build a team purely of local players, to cultivate talent for Huaxia football. You say my Yun City Team is lacking in players now; I must tell you, yes, indeed it is lacking! We're very short of talents. But difficulties are temporary; I believe that in the future we will discover more talented local players and develop them into outstanding and strong athletes."

Jin Jiufu laughed, "Mr. Lin is truly ambitious; Old Jin expresses admiration. However, in my view, Mr. Lin is just striving for what gains nothing. We are all businessmen; business is about input and output. I can assure you, Mr. Lin, your investment won't be small, but the return, well, won't be optimistic. It's more practical to obediently spend some money on foreign players."

Lin Fan smiled, "No, I will stick to my ideas and continuously excavate Huaxia's football talents. We have 1.4 billion people, yet often mocked for not finding 11 soccer players, which hurts little but insults greatly. Because I believe among our 1.4 billion, there must be many exceptional talents, they are just buried. They need to be discovered. As a club owner, I have this ability, as part of fulfilling a mission."

Jin Jiufu shook his head; Lin Fan is too idealistic and, in the end, too young. Lin Fan, just like that fool Wu Da, is overly idealistic yet cannot see reality clearly. No wonder Lin Fan appointed Wu Da as head coach; truly, what goes on, goes together.

Lin Fan said, "Now my Yun City Team is virtually composed of talented players. They have great potential. Today's match can also be seen as a showdown between a local team and a foreign-player team, to see which approach is the right path."

Jin Jiufu said, "Mr. Lin seems very confident, so Mr. Lin, be ready to face the reality! My forward is a foreign player who has played in La Liga; although they are not top stars, they come from La Liga. I want to see how your wet-behind-the-ears high school domestic forward counters my foreign forward!"

As they were speaking, with the sound of a whistle, the match officially started.