Chapter 97: Aftermath

WhenZhangJunopenedhiseyes,hesawawhiteceiling.Hethenturnedhisheadtooneside.Hesawthewindowandnoticedthattheskyoutsidehadnotyetturnfullybright.Hecouldonlyseealittlebitofbrightnessatacornerintheeast.Lighttickingsoundscontinuedfromthesmallalarmclockonthetable.

Everythingwasthesameasusual.

ZhangJunstraightenedhisbackandsatonthebedinadaze.

Wewonthechampionship,theLuoyangchampionship.Wedefeatedthekingsofthis championship,KeDa.Couldallthisjustbeadream?

Hethenlookeddownandsawthegoldmedalonthepillow.Hetookthegoldmedalandexamineditcarefully.Hetouchedthemedalrepeatedlyandlookedatbothsidesofit.Healsoputthecoldgoldmedalonhisfaceandclosedhiseyesinenjoyment.

Champions!Wearethechampions!Awesome

However,ZhangJun'sextremecomplacencylastedforonlyashortperiodoftime.Hesuddenlyshoutedandjumpedfromhisbedbeforehurryingtowearhisclothes.

ItwasMondayandhestillneededtogotoschool.

ZhangJunpantedheavilyasherushedtoschoolonlytofindthatitwasafalsealarm.There bwasstilltenminutesbeforethefirstbell.

Heexhaledandwasabouttowalkthroughtheschoolgateswhenhesuddenlystoppedand blookedupattheredbannerhangingovertheschoolgate.

AbannercelebratingtheShuGuang'sfootballteamforwinningthequalifiersforthenationaltournament.

HehadtalkedaboutthistoKakaaweekago.Now,thosewordshadbecomeareality.

"Howaboutgoingontowinthenationaltournament?"

"Ifwelose,we'rewon'tbefriendsanymore!"

ZhangJunloweredhishead.Heputbothpalmstogetherandlaughed.

ZhangJunsatdowninhisseat.Theseatbesidehimwasempty.ThiswasAnKe'sseatandhewouldbeabsentthatday.ZhangJundidnotknowhowlongitwouldbebeforehecouldhearAnKe'senergeticvoiceagain.Theshorterthebetter.

YangPansatathisseatleisurelyasheflippedthroughhisEnglishbook.RenYu DeandKakawerechattingtoeachotherinarelaxedmanner.SuFeiwascompletinglastweek'sMathematicshomework.Theotherstudentswerealsobusywiththeirowntasks.ItwasaverynormalMondaymorning.

Arewereallychampions?Didwereallywin?

ZhangJunwasstillskeptical.

Thebellthenrangandeveryonestartedtowalkout.Theflag-raisingceremony wasabout tobegin. ZhangJunwalkedwiththecrowdandsawSuFeistandingatthehallway, smiling at him.

Ayearago,inthesamecorridor,SuFeihadalsosmiledathimandsaid,"It'sbecauseIlikesoccer!"

Thiswasthesentencethathadchangedhishighschoollife.

Shehadthesamesmileinthesportscenterthepreviousday,justwithtwoadditionaldropsoftears.

Thatnoisysceneandthatjoyofvictorywasnotadream!

Wewon!Wetrulyarethechampions!

Attheflag-raisingceremony,allofthesoccerteammemberswereinvitedupontothe stage.Theteam captain, YangPanmadeastatementtotheteachersandotherstudents presenton behalf of the team."Wewilldefinitelystriveforthebestresultsatthe National Championship!Wewill notbring shametoourschoolandLuoyang!"

Prolongedshouts,cheersandapplausecamefromtheaudience.

Duringwinterin1999,ShuGuangwontheirfirstregionalchampionshipandbecamequalifiedtoparticipateintheNational Championship heldinShanghaiduringthenextwinterholidays.

Afterbeingexamined,AnKewasdiagnosedwithamildconcussionandneededtorestathomefor 10 days.LiYonglesufferedasofttissuebruiseonhis leftkneeandneededto usecrutchesuntilnextspring.Fortunately,hecouldstillplaysoccerafterhe recovering. Thedoctor did notlietohimwhenwarninghimthathemightnotbeableplaysocceranymore.

Aweeklater,alltheawardsforthecurrenttournamentwereannounced.

Champions,theShuGuangHighSchoolsoccerteam.

Runner-up,theKeDa High Schoolsoccerteam.

Atthirdplace,DingdingHighSchoolsoccerteam.

TheGoldenBootawardwasgiventoZhangJun.Hewasthetopscorerwith 15 goalsand wasthebestshooter.

TheGoldenBallawardwasgiventoLi Yonglewithhissteadyperformance, andequallyimpressive offensiveanddefensiveskills.Hemadeadeepimpression forobstructing Zhang Juninthefinalsdespitehisinjury.ZhangJunwontheSilverBallforhiscontinuousscoringinhelpinghisteamprogressandYangPanwontheBronzeBallforhisextraordinaryplays.

ThebestgoalkeeperwenttoZhangLintaofromKeDa.Heplayedsteadilyandonlyconcededafewgoals.Inthefinals,YangPan'sshotswererepeatedlysaved.OneofthehighlightswaswhereheleaptattheballandsavedYangPan'spenaltykick,thenshoutingandpumpinghisfistintheair.

ThebestdefenderwasLiYonglefromKeDa.Heoncewonthetitleofthebestdefensivemidfielderinthe NationalChampionship. Inmatches, he managed to neutralize theopponent's coreplayers repeatedly. Hisperformanceinthefinals,successfullydefending against Zhang Juninthelastdozenminutesdespitecarryinginjuries,wasoneofhisbest.Ifhewasnotinjured,thefinaloutcomemayhavebeendifferent.Hisonlyweaknesswasbeingpoorwithheaders,butsmalldefectswoulddolittletoobscurehisimmensetalent.Hisfuturewasoneworthlookingforwardto.

ItisworthmentioningthatLiuPengmayhaveonlyplayedonematchbuthisperformancehadleftadeepimpressionontheexpertjudgesandfans.HewastheonlyonewhocoulddefendagainstYangPanone-on-oneandhisfuturewasalsobright.

ThebestmidfielderwasawardedtoKakafromShuGuang.HailingfromBrazil,hehadslickskillsandoutstandingfootwork.HispasseswerethesourceofShuGuang'spowerfuloffense.Withouthispasses,ShuGuangwouldfailtoshine.Thiscouldeasilybeunderstoodbyobservingthebeginningofthefinals.HisunderstandingwithZhangJun,YangPanandRenYu DewasalsoanimportantfactorthatmadetheiroffensivecombinationrankfirstinLuoyang.Healsohadseveralwonderfulperformanceswithfreekicks.However,ZhangLintaoandthegoalpostsstoppedhimfromscoring.Asanattackingmidfielder,healsoparticipatedinShuGuang'sdefensemanytimesandeventrackedbacktohisownpenaltyarea.This wasveryrare for high schoolstudents.

ZhangJunwaselectedbeststrikerwithoverwhelmingsuperiority.Hescored 15 goalswhichwasfarmorethantherest.Manyofhisgoalswerealsoatcriticalmomentsandwerescoredspectacularly.Hisown Rising Dragon wastechnicallyexceptionalandamazing.HewasindispensableforShuGuang.Withouthim,ShuGuangwouldbelikeabladelessknife.Eventhejudgessaid,"Thisisadecisionwithnootheroptions."

ThebestteamawardwasgiventoShuGuang,thewinnersofthechampionship.Thepreviousyear,theydidnotevenmanagetoenterthesecondroundbutnow,theuglyducklinghadbecomeaswan.Aftertwoyearsofgreateffortandhardwork,theyhavefinallybeenelevatedtothethroneinLuoyang.Theytransformedfromunderdogtodarkhorseinjusttwoyears.Itcouldbesaidthattheydeservedthehonorof "bestteam".Theyhad alwaysemphasizedattacking soccerinthis championship.Inasoccerworldthathasgradually shiftedtowardsutilitarianism, doingthisrequiresgreatcourageandquality.ShuGuanghad boththecourage and the quality. Ontopofthat,theycontinuedtopersevereregardlessof the situationtheyfaced. In the end,theysucceeded.

ThefastestimprovementawardwasalsogiventoShuGuang.

ThebestnewcomerawardwasgiventoLinXiaofangfromShuGuang.Beingafirst-yearwhobecametheteam'smaincentraldefender,heconstantlyprovedhisworthinthe championship. HealsoprovedthatthecoachLiangKedidnotmisjudgehim.Hemademany closesaves infront ofthegoalduringthe championship.Moreimportantly, hehad been learning andimproving.Thiswasthekeytohisselectionasbestnewcomer. Hispresence brought aglimmer ofhopetoShuGuang'sfragiledefense.

ThebestcoachwasawardedtoLiangKefromShuGuang.Hewasverygoodattrainingyoungandfreshplayers.Thereasonforthispickcouldclearlybeseenbylookingatthechangeintherearlineofdefenseandthechangesonthetournamenttable.

Thebestgoalwasthehardesttodecide.Thiswasbecausemanyofthegoalsscoredinthematchesthatyearwereveryexciting.Thisgavethejudgesaheadache.Intheend,thegoalscoredinthefinalfromaseriesofmidairpasseswaschosenasthebest.ThiswasbecauseitshowedShuGuang'sfightingspiritandtheirexcellentteamwork. Ontopofthat, itwasthefirst goldenballanditallowedShuGuangtowinthe championship. Itwasthegoal thatbroke KeDa's monopolyonthe championship.The DoubleDragon byYangPaninthe finals waschosenas thesecondbestgoal.ItwastheperfectcombinationofZhangJun's Rising Dragon andYang Pan'spowerfulshot.ZhangJun'ssecondgoalscoredagainst Yingcaiwaschosenasthird best. Theappearanceof Rising Dragon wasshocking.ItwasZhangJun'simagination and skill that showedothersthatsoccercouldbeplayedthisway.

Thelastawardwasforbestline-up.

Thebestlineupwasinthe4-4-2formation.

Goalkeeper:ZhangLintao(KeDa).Reasonforselection:AtenaciousgoalkeeperthatcouldprotectthegoalfromYangPan'spowerfulshotsseveraltimes.AstrongshieldforKeDa, he had acomprehensiveskillset.TheonlydownsidewasthathewasnotaspassionateasAnKe.

Leftback:ZhangYang(KeDa).Reasonforselection:ThefactthatanewplayercouldbeafirmstartingplayerinKeDasaysitall.Hisfiercetacklesintimidated opponentsandboosted morale.

Rightback:LiuChao(KeDa).Reasonforselection.Adefensiveexpertinone-on-one situations. EvenFanCunjiewould be somewhatafraid ofhim.Although hewasata disadvantage duringthelastphaseofthefinals againstRenYu De, it did not affect his position as the top right back.

Centerback:LuoBin(KeDa).Reasonforselection:HewasverysuccessfulinmarkingZhangJunintheearlystagesofthefinal.Later,aftertransitioning into adefensivemidfielder, hewasstilltenaciousenoughtoputpressureonKaka.Hewasacenterbackskilled in marking.

Centerback:LiuPeng(KaiTa).Reasonforselection:KaiTa wasnotastrongteam. However, hispresencecausedShuGuangsomedistress.Itwaswell deservedthathewas recognized asthestabilizingforceinKaiTa.Hewasgoodatboth markingaplayerandzonaldefense. Even Yang Pan couldnotdealwithhim.

Leftmidfielder:RenYu De (ShuGuang).Reasonforselection:He wassecond onlytothemaster of dribbling,FanCunjie.However,inhindsight, he hasalreadyreplaced Fan Cunjie'sposition. His abilitytoalwaysturnthetideinamatchwithdazzlingindividualskills thrilledsoccerfans andgiftedShuGuangnumerousscoringchances.

Rightmidfielder:YangPan(ShuGuang).Reasonforselection:Hispowerfulshotswereextremelythreatening:thespeedof 10 meterspersecondcomingfromanattackerontheflankwas verydeadly.Thespeedofhimbreakingthroughalongwiththe threatheposed inthepenaltyboxweredefinitelyanightmaretodefenders.Hiscooperations withZhangJunwerealsohardtodefendagainst.

Defensivemidfielder:LiYongle(KeDa).Reasonforselection:Ablazingfireonthepitch.Hisinjurydidnotdousetheflames.HesuccessfullydefendedagainstZhangJun.Hecouldnotbeblamedforlosingthatlastball.Hewasakeyfigureinoffenseanddefense.

Attackingmidfielder:Kaka(ShuGuang).Reasonforselection:HewasakeyfigureinlinkingShuGuang'soffense.Hispasseswerecreativeandlethal.Hemakesitlookeasywhenhedestroystheopponent'sdefensivelinewithanenchantingsmileonhishandsomeface.

Striker:ZhangJun(ShuGuang).Reasonforselection:He wasacoach'sidealstriker; ruthlesstoweakteamsandtheterminatorofstrongteams.Hisindividualskills were comprehensive, beingparticularlyoutstandingwithheadersandhisuseofbothfeet.Ifhe couldmature evenmore, hewouldbecomeinvincible.

Striker:MaNi(Yingcai).Reasonforselection:Rankedsecondonthestrikergoaltally.Hisindividualskillscouldnotbeoverlooked.Inanotparticularlyoutstandingteamthatlackedsupportfromthemidfielders,hisgoalswereparticularlyvaluableandweremostlyMaradonesque.