Silence.
Absolute silence.
Guardiola, Simeone, and Southgate looked at each other, seeing the shock mirrored in one another’s eyes.
How to arrange Crystal Palace’s overall tactics, how to implement them, what to do first, what to push to the back—each and every piece was systematically and logically structured by Chen Ran, broken down into clear phases and steps.
If they had slightly underestimated Chen Ran’s assumption of the head coach role before, they now felt he was perfectly competent for the position.
“Boss, I think your arrangement is excellent.” “I agree.” “Me too.”
“Alright then.
Since none of you have objections, for the current phase, Josep and Gareth, you two will assist Diego in properly drilling the team’s defensive counter-attack first.” “No problem.” “Rest assured, Boss.”
Having unified the coaching staff’s mindset, Chen Ran felt much more relaxed.
Every day he stood on the sidelines, watching his three assistants lead the team in technical and tactical drills, rarely voicing his own opinions.
Watching the players’ coordination evolve from clumsy, error-prone, losing their positions, and failing to cover for one another, to slowly becoming proficient with decreasing mistakes, a sense of accomplishment spontaneously arose within him.
After the defensive counter-attack tactic began to take shape, Chen Ran arranged a friendly match against Queens Park Rangers (QPR), a third-tier team also based in London.
This was Chen Ran’s first match managing a professional team, and he was slightly thrilled.
Because Chen Ran had recently thrown himself entirely into the team’s training and preparations, the reporters and paparazzi who used to tail him all day couldn’t find any juicy scoops and gradually moved on to other targets.
But now, news suddenly broke that Crystal Palace was playing its first pre-season friendly.
This instantly drew the attention of many football journalists once again.
Everyone wanted to see whether this highly hyped Chinese man—the guy who dared to appoint himself as manager—was just a big talker or if he actually had real skills.
As a result, an ordinary friendly match between lower-league teams saw a surprising number of spectators gather on the sidelines.
“Oh?
You guys are here too?” “Of course.
Today is that Chinese man’s debut as manager; there’s news value here, so naturally, I had to come see.” “Didn’t expect so many people today.
Hehe, lots of colleagues.” “Probably all here to watch a joke.
I admit the Chinese guy has good public speaking skills, but regarding his coaching ability, I remain highly skeptical.” “I, on the other hand, hope Mr.
Chen delivers a surprising performance.
That way, I can keep writing articles about him and save myself the trouble of digging for material every day.” “Haha, makes sense.
Let’s all wish Mr.
Chen good luck then.”
The rare presence of so many major media reporters at a lower-league match immediately caught the attention of QPR’s coaches and players.
“Hey, lads, do you see that?
Lots of reporters on the sidelines today.
For lower-league teams like us, this is a very rare opportunity.” “Perform well out there, teach that Chinese man a lesson, and show your faces to the esteemed reporters.
Who knows, your names might appear in tomorrow’s papers.
Understand?” “Understood!” “Boss, just wait for a good show.” “Let’s crush Crystal Palace.”
In just two sentences, the QPR players were pumped up like they had been injected with chicken blood, their fighting spirit soaring.
It was unclear how good the QPR manager’s tactical abilities were, but his ability to boost morale was definitely online.
Chen Ran didn’t care about the commotion coming from the QPR side.
He was a bit nervous but suppressed it, not letting it show.
Smiling, he looked at his starting players.
“Boys, your training recently has been very serious and very tough.
I’ve seen it all.
Today is the time to test the fruits of our labor.” “My requirement is simple: just execute the tactics you’ve been practicing.
Can you do that?” “Yes!”
Chen Ran’s starting lineup wasn’t surprising; it was just the main squad from training: Target Man: Toni Attacking Midfielder: Modrić Left Midfielder: C.
Ronaldo | Defensive Midfielder: Simeone | Defensive Midfielder: Guardiola | Right Midfielder: Ribéry Left-back: Chiellini | Center-back: Southgate | Center-back: Vidić | Right-back: Maicon Goalkeeper: Cech
Tactic: Revolver Tactic, Round One – The Simeone Round.
As soon as the match started, the scene on the pitch surprised the spectators.
The QPR players, whipped into a frenzy by their coach, pressed high and attacked fiercely.
It felt like they weren’t the third-tier team, but Crystal Palace was.
“What’s going on?
Am I seeing this right?
Crystal Palace is being pinned down by a third-tier team?” “You’re seeing it right, that’s exactly what’s happening.
It seems this Chinese man is useless.” “Tsk tsk, I was always skeptical of Mr.
Chen’s coaching abilities.
It seems my guess was right.” “Don’t be hasty, the match just started.” “Exactly.
Even if Crystal Palace loses to QPR, it’s not a bad thing.
At least we’ll have something to write about today.” “True.
A strong team beating a weak team isn’t news; a weak team upsetting a strong team is.” “Makes sense.
Go QPR!”
Standing on the touchline, Chen Ran wasn’t deceived by the situation on the pitch.
The lads had their defensive lines tightly organized; no major issues had appeared.
QPR’s attacks were like waves crashing against a dam—returning fruitlessly one after another.
Soon, twenty minutes passed.
The QPR players began to decline in both stamina and mental state; the effect of the “chicken blood” was limited.
As the ancient Chinese saying goes: A drum rouses the spirit on the first strike; on the second, it weakens; by the third, it is exhausted.
After yet another fruitless attack, the ball fell to Guardiola’s feet.
He looked up and saw that the wingers, C.
Ronaldo and Ribéry, had already started sprinting forward at top speed according to the tactical requirements, and Toni, positioned furthest up the pitch, was waving for the ball.
No one is coming to press or disrupt my pass?
Guardiola curled his lip in disdain.
A lower-league team is still a lower-league team; their tactical discipline was just poor.
Without hesitation, he booted a long pass forward.
The ball flew accurately toward the 1.93-meter-tall Toni.
Only then did the QPR defender try to interfere with Toni receiving the ball.
Unfortunately, with Toni’s height and weight, a simple lean and bump kept the defender firmly behind him.
Then, with a flick of his head, Toni headed the ball left into the path of the sprinting C.
Ronaldo.
Ronaldo controlled the ball beautifully.
Without slowing down in the slightest, he drove straight into the opponent’s penalty area from the inside channel.
One defender.
A second defender.
The goalkeeper.
In ancient times, Guan Yu slew Hua Xiong while the wine was still warm.
Today, while the wine was still warm, C.
Ronaldo passed three men and slotted the ball into an empty net.
Crystal Palace 1:0 Queens Park Rangers.