Chapter Twenty-Six: The Momo Faction

Behind every successful man, there is always the support of a beautiful woman.

Well, perhaps not always a beautiful one.

However, behind every successful football star, there are always a few good bros—that much simply cannot be denied!

The simplest examples are Lionel Messi with his Xavi and Andrés Iniesta, or back in the day, Ronaldinho and his Brazilian contingent.

And now, Mo Mo has sown his own seeds. Mo Mo is merely a forward, perhaps currently the biggest-name player in China, but a player is all he is after all. Words spoken carry no weight, especially within the future faction-ridden Chinese national team, among those pampered senior national players.

One must either be a lone wolf like Hao Haidong, or cultivate a group of capable players of one's own, gathering them around oneself to carve out a territory and become an absolute authority in the locker room.

To have a voice, one must possess strength.

Mo Mo’s credentials are more than sufficient: a member of the 2002 generation, a World Cup participant who scored two goals, China's most expensive player, China's youngest player to participate in a World Cup, and both nationally and globally, the youngest player ever to score a goal in the World Cup.

The Chinese player with the most goals in World Cup history—through all of this, Mo Mo shattered numerous records in the span of just a single year. After Hao Haidong and the others age out, whose credentials in the national team could possibly compare to Mo Mo's?

Zhang Meng is already beginning to show his edge, while Rong Guang and Wang Qidong are absorbing nutrients and growing. One can easily imagine how formidable a voice they will command when they too have matured and united around Mo Mo.

This time, Arie Haan did not only call up Mo Mo; he also summoned several young players, such as 18-year-old Zhou Haibin and Zhao Xuri. Having suffered a crushing defeat at the World Cup, the national team was once again burdened with the high hopes of the fans.

Of course, since the Chinese team originally struggled to even assemble a full 30-man roster, under these circumstances, Zhang Meng's selection upon Mo Mo's recommendation was quite understandable.

It was just that his chances of getting playing time were extremely slim. Although Arie Haan had heard of Zhang Meng's stint at Chelsea, Zhang Meng couldn't even break into the regular starting lineup, so how could he showcase his abilities? Besides, José Mourinho wasn't having an easy time at Chelsea either!

Roman Abramovich splashing vast sums of money to buy a multitude of excellent players was a good thing in theory!

Yet he completely failed to consider whether the manager actually needed those players, leading to the awkward situation where most players' roles overlapped and there was no proper place for them within the tactical system.

But Mo Mo paid no mind to these matters for now; his focus was firmly set on the opening match of the East Asian Cup against Japan.

Why the future Chinese national team would develop lingering complexes known as "fear of Japan" or "fear of Korea" actually began with the shadows cast during this very period. But would that happen this time? It would be more like making South Korea and Japan develop a "fear of China."

In this match, Hao Haidong would naturally not be absent from the forward line, and Yang Chen would undoubtedly be present as well. Alongside them, players like Li Yi, Li Weifeng, and Liu Yunfei would all take the pitch. Yet, if one had to point out a single difference, it was that Mo Mo had become the owner of the number 10 jersey.

This was neither Mo Mo's active demand nor Arie Haan's coercive measure, but rather something Hao Haidong proposed, saying that the future ultimately belongs to the younger generation! With that, he voluntarily switched to wearing the number 11 jersey.

In truth, this gesture moved Mo Mo deeply! He had never expected Hao Haidong to make such a choice! It instilled in Mo Mo an even heavier sense of responsibility.

It also cemented Mo Mo's resolve to carry out another matter.

Through sparring with Zhang Meng in the player training system, Mo Mo had already sensed that Zhang Meng was now a fully qualified defensive midfielder. Under these circumstances, Mo Mo repeatedly urged Arie Haan to deploy Zhang Meng as the starting defensive midfielder.

In fact, during the training camp, Arie Haan had also perceived Zhang Meng's strength—possessing a tactical vision and awareness rarely found among Chinese players. However, in a national team governed by seniority and hierarchy, convincing the public was no easy task.

Yet once again, it was Hao Haidong who stepped forward to fiercely back Mo Mo.

Of course, that was just on the surface. In private, Hao Haidong warned Mo Mo, "Kid, if this Zhang Meng lacks the skills on the pitch, or if I find out you've picked up the bad habit of taking kickbacks, I'm taking the number 10 jersey right back."

Faced with the staunch backing of both the old and new kings, the other players naturally had no choice but to submit. Arie Haan, being the head manager after all, merely remarked that if Zhang Meng's performance proved inadequate, he would be substituted immediately and never selected again—a stern-sounding reprimand handled with ultimate leniency.

Zhang Meng was immensely grateful to Mo Mo for this; he had initially thought he was merely coming along to make up the numbers.

Mo Mo would always remember the humiliation of that East Asian Cup. Though officially recorded as a third-place or fourth-position finish, Mo Mo knew it was nothing short of naked disgrace!

The Chinese national team, which had once thrashed Japan 2-0, fell at the feet of the Japanese.

In the match against South Korea, amidst mutual brawling between the players and with South Korea reduced to ten men after a sending-off, they somehow managed to lose 11 against 10, getting defeated outright by the South Korean squad.

If not for a narrow victory against the Hong Kong team in the end,

A vast and populous nation would have fallen into the embarrassing predicament of failing to even rank in such an East Asian tournament.

The Chinese women's national team missed out on the East Asian Cup entirely, and the fans—who held boundless expectations for the national team under Arie Haan's stewardship—received yet another fatal blow!

Having traveled back through time from the distant future to the present, if he couldn't even defeat the second-string or under-strength teams of Japan and South Korea, what would be the point of Mo Mo living his life over again?

Some might accuse Mo Mo of nepotism, acting like a diva, and building his own faction. To those people, Mo Mo only wanted to say: I am terribly sorry, but in the future, you have already broken their hearts entirely.

So now, let me raise the banner high and drive Chinese football up to a standing worthy of our great and vast China!

If history ever deigns to judge the national team of this era, this shall be another golden age, succeeding the generation of 2002.

If one insists on using political factions to describe it, then this shall be the Mo Mo faction!

Do not remain silent; roar aloud! When the great dragon takes flight, it begins right here in East Asia.

Let us see if Australia will still be eager to join Asia in the future, and whether they will still wish to secure their World Cup qualification spots through the Asian qualifiers!

With a single Chinese team standing tall here, all evil spirits shall retreat!

"Zhang Meng! Give it your all, don't disgrace me. I'll go out there and conquer enemy territories, you just guard our goal and ensure it remains unbreached!"

Just like Hao Haidong and Fan Zhiyi of the past, Mo Mo and Zhang Meng would now form a brand-new partnership.

Right at this moment, fresh news arrived: Japan and South Korea were loudly boasting that they would snatch the championship, and the majority of their players were members of their Olympic squads!

Mo Mo felt a surge of surreal fury! His palm was already raised high! Little Japan, big sticks—come right over here!