Nesta: “No one can compare to He Tianqi’s sensitivity to football tactics; he possesses an absolute talent for formations and arrangements.”
Gattuso: “If I wanted to become a technical midfielder, I might be out of a job right now.
Six years ago, He said something like this to me and helped me transition into a defensive midfielder.”
“The result, you all see it.”
“So I am not surprised at all about what happened to Di Donato; this is exactly the capability He possesses!”
Buffon: “I never want to face a penalty kicked by He Tianqi, because I never know how he’ll kick it.
He understands every position on the pitch, including the goalkeeper.”
“He showed me another form of a goalkeeper, which he called a sweeper-keeper.
This idea is very interesting and is very likely to bring an unprecedented revolution to the goalkeeper position.”
The vocal support of numerous Italian superstars already brought enough shock to the fans.
But the most shocking part was that former Juventus and current Real Madrid superstar, the world’s best midfielder, and the soul of the French national team, Zinedine Zidane, also mentioned He Tianqi when asked by reporters about his position changes in the team this season.
Zidane: “Positions on the pitch are actually multi-dimensional and variable.
Changes in formations, tactics, and players’ own abilities all affect positions.”
“What’s more important than the position is that we must understand what we need to do on the pitch.”
“A player fixed by a position might be a good player, but it is hard for them to become a truly top-tier player.”
“These words were spoken to me by my young teammate He Tianqi when I was at Juventus, and they still influence me to this day.”
“It’s really a pity he didn’t continue playing football; it’s a loss for world football.”
“I heard he is now a coach and his results are quite good.
This makes my own future plans much clearer; if I retire, I will probably also go become a football coach.”
With Zidane’s statement, all of Europe once again focused on this young man named He Tianqi.
So he is actually this overpowered?
People couldn’t tell whether these stars were speaking from the heart or just being polite.
But at least, people were willing to give He Tianqi a chance to prove all of this.
Palermo fans immediately unfurled banners demanding the team give He Tianqi an official head coach contract.
Zamparini cursed inwardly.
You guys were the ones saying He Tianqi is too young and unreliable, and you guys are the ones saying we must keep him.
So I’m the only one playing the bad guy, huh?
Soon, Zamparini offered He Tianqi a very ordinary head coach contract.
The salary wasn’t high, and the duration was only one year.
Clearly, this was an “economical” contract.
He Tianqi wasn’t coy either; he signed it briskly.
Whether it was a lot of money or not wasn’t important; what he needed most at this stage was the opportunity.
Of course, he also remembered Barbara’s helping hand.
They were now considered “friends who lend a hand”—or in short, “hand job”…
ahem.
If AC Milan ever needed anything in the future, he would lend a hand too.
At the very least, he wouldn’t let the Rossoneri sink into obscurity for decades, where even qualifying for the Champions League became an extravagant hope.
…
La Gazzetta dello Sport: “The youngest official head coach in the Italian professional leagues emerges, Palermo announces entry into the era of Pope He Tianqi!”
Tuttosport: “Juve’s Judas officially takes power; Palermo’s superstition in He Tianqi’s luck may backfire!”
Corriere dello Sport: “Is He Tianqi uniquely gifted or just media hype?
After the winter break, the answer will be revealed!”
Diario AS: “Enlightening Pirlo, influencing Zidane; a monstrous young coach makes his debut?”
France Football: “From accurate predictions in the 2002 World Cup to coaching Palermo, He Tianqi has been succeeding non-stop!”
For a time, He Tianqi achieved great fame.
He and Porto’s head coach Jose Mourinho were referred to by everyone as the twin stars of the head coaching industry.
They were both rookies in the head coaching industry, and their results so far this season had far exceeded everyone’s expectations.
However, Mourinho was forty years old.
He Tianqi was twenty-two years old.
This is probably the twin star duo with the widest age gap in history.
It’s not that Mourinho is too old; at his age, he is called a young coach.
It can only be said that the new wave pushing the old wave came too fast this time!
While becoming popular in Europe, He Tianqi’s name also began to appear in domestic media in China.
But compared to the highly controversial discussions in Europe, domestic evaluations of He Tianqi were remarkably consistent.
“He Tianqi?
That’s the one who got kicked out by Juventus, right?”
“I remember him.
He was hyped up as some genius player, a prospective Italian international.
He said he wanted to join our Chinese national team, but was rejected by the national team.”
“It’s funny when you think about it; if he really was an Italian youth genius, why would he want to join our national team?
And saying he could cooperate with the national team to change his nationality back to Chinese—does he know what he’s talking about?”
“Yeah, smells like a scam.
Rich people are all changing their nationalities to foreign ones; how could anyone change it back!
If I had money, I’d change mine too, even to Japanese would do!”
“Hanging out with the golden generation of Nesta, Buffon, and Pirlo to snag a few youth tournament championships, and he really thinks he has ability.”
“Later, as expected, he flopped.
He never got playing time at Juve and was forced to retire last year.
Only twenty-two!
That is hilarious!
Even if he came back to play in the China League One, no one would want him, right?”
This wasn’t forced hating, nor was it a minority case.
During this period, China was going all out to develop its productive forces, lacking the time to provide proper guidance on a spiritual level.
As the people went from having nothing to something, and living standards rose rapidly, they were subjected to excessive external shocks.
This led to the emergence of many bizarre social phenomena and social consciousnesses.
For details, refer to various Zhihu-style, Zhiyin-style, and Yilin-style articles.
Things like Japanese summer camps, German drainage pipes, ballpoint pen balls, European and American contract spirits—they were hyped up to the heavens.
As if the air over there was sweet.
There was an endless glorification and indulgence of foreigners, and an endless belittling and suppression of their own people.
Behaviors that would be universally recognized as retarded in the future—situations where if you spoke about them, the post-05s and post-10s would think you were speaking nonsense—were the norm in this era.
Therefore, when He Tianqi had his highlight moments, they thought it was impossible and said it must be fake.
When He Tianqi was at his lowest, they thought he lost face for the Chinese people and brought shame to the descendants of Yan and Huang.
It made He Tianqi’s reputation in Europe actually much better by comparison.
It could be considered a classic bizarre phenomenon of the domestic football circle at the beginning of the 21st century.
Of course, there were also a very few Chinese people who loved football, knew the truth, and held kind expectations for He Tianqi.
Especially those children who had received funding from the “He Tianqi Football Foundation.”
CCTV Sports Channel commentator Huang Jianxiang knew about this foundation, had participated in its charity events, and had been following He Tianqi in recent years.
He firmly believed that He Tianqi was truly talented and hoped He Tianqi would be recognized correctly by more domestic fans, rather than being led astray by state-oriented media.
Therefore, he submitted a request to his superiors, hoping to broadcast the Coppa Italia matches.
CCTV had a habit of broadcasting Serie A, and since the Coppa Italia was very popular this season, the higher-ups agreed.
Huang Jianxiang fought for the commentary rights to the Coppa Italia quarter-final match featuring Palermo.
This confused his peers.
Because he could have commentated on better matches.
Isn’t Juve playing Chievo great?
Isn’t Inter Milan vs.
Lazio exciting?
Don’t AC Milan’s matches thrill you?
To this, Huang Jianxiang stated: “Sorry, I am a member of the Order!”
The First Knight of the Domestic Branch of the Knights of the Apocalypse, reporting for duty!