A brief calm passed.
Then the Chinese U18 players, fueled by anger, rushed over and shoved Park Gyu-hyun away from the trophy.
Shouting and pushing quickly became the theme of the post-match chaos.
Players from both sides crowded together, and it was not until the staff and security personnel intervened that the conflict was finally brought under control.
In the locker room, the Chinese U18 players stood in a row with their heads lowered.
"Why were you so impulsive? Their behavior was unacceptable, but the organizers would definitely have held them accountable after the match, and they would have received the punishment they deserved!"
"How are we supposed to handle this now?"
"You turned their mistake into ours. Did none of you think about the consequences before rushing in?"
The team leader was so angry his fingers trembled. "Tell me, were you wrong?"
The young player with a bruise at the corner of his mouth stubbornly kept his head down and said nothing.
He did not think he had done anything wrong.
Back when Manchester United faced Atlético Madrid in the UEFA Super Cup, Ling had been racially insulted by Filipe Luís and immediately retaliated.
The punishment afterward had been one thing, but at least the whole world knew he had not swallowed the insult quietly.
What kind of punishment did Park Gyu-hyun deserve?
An apology letter? A fine? A suspension?
Maybe he would laugh about it afterward.
Because those punishments did not really hurt.
The team leader was about to say more when the locker room door was pushed open.
When he saw the person behind the staff member, the curse words on the tip of his tongue were swallowed back.
The staff member cleared his throat and said, "Ling wants to talk to the young players. It shouldn't take up too much of your time."
The Chinese U18 players leaning against the wall instantly raised their heads, looking at the face they had seen countless times on screen, and they could not help growing excited.
Ask any child in China who played football: who did not see Jeremy Ling as their role model?
"About the conflict after the match," Ling said as he walked to the center of the locker room.
"I think you were right to be angry."
The young players looked up.
Ling continued, "If someone tramples on your dignity, staying completely silent doesn't make you mature. Sometimes it just means you've gotten used to being stepped on."
The room fell quiet.
"But if all you know is how to solve things with your fists, then your anger doesn't mean much either."
Ling looked at them one by one.
"When I played in England, people called me a yellow monkey. Opponents insulted my family and friends. Tens of thousands of fans booed me and gave me the middle finger. Can you beat every single one of them?"
No one spoke.
"You can't," Ling said. "And even if you could, it wouldn't be the real answer."
He paused for a moment before continuing.
"So remember this humiliating match. Remember that feeling when someone stepped on the trophy in front of you. Remember how angry you were, how helpless you felt, and how much you wanted to rush over."
His voice grew heavier.
"Then take that anger back to training."
"The road for Chinese football is still long, and there is far too much we need to do. If we want to return this humiliation properly, we have to suffer more, train harder, and close the gap with our own feet."
He looked toward the young player with the bruise at the corner of his mouth.
"Next time, don't just push him away from the trophy. Beat him on the pitch so badly that he won't even have the courage to look at it."
Several players clenched their fists.
"Move past this defeat," Ling said. "Let it become the reason you keep growing. Otherwise, this anger will only make you noisy for one night and useless for the rest of your career."
He looked each young player in the eye.
"Don't let the fans down."
"More importantly, don't let yourselves down."
After saying that, Ling quietly spoke a few words to the team leader and head coach before leaving the locker room to the young players.
Hearing the sounds of emotional release coming from inside, Ling paused briefly in the corridor.
He had chosen England's shirt, but standing here, hearing these boys cry after being humiliated, he knew very clearly that he had never stopped caring about this side of the road.
...
Thousands of miles away in England.
"Manchester City can offer you a higher salary and better benefits than Manchester United. I guarantee it!"
The Manchester City transfer department manager spoke sincerely.
Although Manchester City already had Sterling and Leroy Sané on the left wing, neither of them had particularly strong defensive attributes.
A "shield forward" like Jack Grealish was still quite useful to them.
"Also, by joining Manchester City, you'll be able to sign with Puma, and we guarantee you'll get a satisfactory endorsement deal."
The manager wanted to continue persuading him, but Grealish shook his head.
"Sorry, I think Manchester United is more suitable for me."
A few days ago, Manchester United's transfer department had approached him and immediately dropped a question that shocked Grealish into complete clarity.
"Would you rather join a Seven-Title-Winning team, or go to a Five-Runner-Up team?"
Who was the last Five-Runner-Up?
Probably no one.
But broadly speaking, if clubs that finished as runners-up in their domestic league, domestic cup, and Champions League in the same season were called Three-Runner-Up teams, then Bayer Leverkusen in the 2001–02 season had created that awkward title by finishing second in the Bundesliga, DFB-Pokal, and Champions League.
Coincidentally, Bayern Munich suffered the same fate in the 2011–12 season.
At that time, Bayern were strong and had a complete tactical system, and they should have won trophies, but various factors prevented them from lifting even one, making them the second Three-Runner-Up in history.
Unfortunately, Guardiola went to Bayern a year later. Otherwise, he might have become football's only coach to experience two consecutive Three-Runner-Up seasons.
Five-Runner-Up...
Grealish made his decision instantly.
He did not want that label following him for the rest of his life.
"By the way, Manchester United's training is very demanding, and Mourinho is very strict. Perhaps you'll find it difficult to adapt to that environment."
The manager racked his brains for another reason.
Since Grealish enjoyed nightclubs, bars, and similar places, he would surely prefer a more relaxed environment.
Sure enough, Grealish hesitated for a moment upon hearing this, but he still could not resist the lure of championships.
"Thank you for your appreciation of me, but I still prefer Manchester United. My childhood dream has always been to play for Manchester United."
The manager was speechless.
This sounded so familiar, just like a certain big dreamer.
But Grealish was not lying.
A quick look through his old social media posts would reveal the following content:
February 2012: Love falling asleep listening to Drake's songs, sleep a bit, then wake up to watch tonight's Manchester United match.
May 2012: Please let Manchester United win and Manchester City lose. I can't bear to see Manchester City win the league title!
September 2014: I hope one day I can join the world's best team — Manchester United.
In the original trajectory, Manchester United chose Sancho, Grealish joined Manchester City, and he later deleted these posts!
...
Soon, news of Grealish's move to Manchester United leaked to the media.
This was also Manchester United's first signing of the new season.
Meanwhile, Ling was traveling across China, handling commercial events with Mendes.
There was no other choice.
He had to make money!
Not only for a better future, but also because the initial investment into his youth academy was substantial.
Facilities, utilities, staff salaries, travel expenses for matches, accommodation, nutrition, education support, medical care... each expense looked manageable on its own, but added together, the total was enough to make Ling's heart ache.
But since he had decided to do it, he had to do it well.
He was not the type to give up halfway.
Fortunately, Ling's popularity in China was still enormous.
Although his decision to represent England had caused controversy, many major companies were still willing to offer high-value endorsements and invest in his "Chasing the Wind" youth academy.
Some sponsors cared about the anger online, but others cared more about what Ling represented: discipline, success, professionalism, and a real path for young players.
Huawei provided the electronic equipment needed for training.
Wanda helped build dormitories for the young players. Anta prepared training gear for them.
As for Lao Gan Ma... that would not work.
Its oil content was too high, and it could not become a regular part of a young athlete's diet.
Xiaodao Electric Bicycle, which had partnered with Ling early on, recently developed a new model named "Chasing the Wind."
Of course, the focus was not on speed this time, but on safety.
For an entire month, Ling barely stopped working until early July, when he finally had some free time.
When he checked his assets, even after giving up part of the profits, his net worth had still skyrocketed.
Thanks to Ling's commercial value and influence, domestic football was no longer as stagnant as before.
At the very least, some promising signs had begun to take root.
He did not shortchange himself either as he bought a private jet outright.
After all, with national-team matches, club commitments, commercial events, and youth academy work, he would inevitably have to travel all over the world, sometimes crossing half the globe in a few days.
If he still relied on commercial flights, he would struggle to rest properly and waste too much time.
Most importantly, the Chasing the Wind Youth Academy was officially established!
What is Chinese speed?
"Get into the habit of keeping your head up while playing! Observation is the foundation of all tactical execution!"
"Good, good, just like that!"
On the green pitch ahead, a group of six-year-old children were training under the guidance of their coaches.
At this stage, there was no need to deliberately explain or practice any complex tactics.
The main goal was to cultivate interest.
If a child did not even like football, how could he play well in the future?
Ling walked farther ahead.
"For children aged eight to ten, interest is still the top priority. At this age, their nervous systems are entering a sensitive period, making it a crucial stage for developing ball control, coordination, and flexibility."
"So strength and static stability training aren't necessary at this stage. At the same time, we begin to introduce basic tactical concepts and integrate simple tactical principles into daily practice."
The youth academy coach was explaining things to the parents.
There was no choice.
Chinese parents cared a lot about their children, sometimes so much that they became anxious about every detail, so it was necessary to make everything clear to them.
To the coach's surprise, however, the parents all said similar things.
"We trust Ling."
"We feel at ease leaving our children here."
"Since he built it, it must be professional."
Hearing this, Ling could not help smiling.
His youth academy had only just been established, yet people already trusted him so much.
To be honest, he was deeply moved.
But he also felt the weight of responsibility.
Now he was no longer alone.
He carried many people's expectations, and that was exactly why he had to do this properly.
When he arrived at the Chasing the Wind U14 training ground, the children were playing a seven-a-side match.
They were beginning to formally learn overall formation positioning, the basic principles of pressing, and the logic behind high-intensity counter-pressing.
Over the following few days, Jeremy Ling also served as a temporary coach and shared some of his own experience.
The young players were so excited that they could barely stand still.
Putting aside the fact that Ling was their idol, private coaching from a Ballon d'Or-level player should probably have been charged by the second.
By the time he left, Ling had already made his next decision.
"Let's hire another batch of coaches from Germany. We don't have time to experiment from scratch, so first we'll adopt their youth training system, then adjust it based on actual conditions here."
At present, domestic youth training was still too rudimentary, often relying on individual experience rather than a complete system.
But football needed a scientific approach.
On July 13, 2019, Ling returned to Manchester to prepare for the new season.
----
Slight spoiler why he focusing on chinese academy, Ling will become the coach of chinese national team after he retires from proffesional football... there's too many chinese mention here that changing it all feels impossibe and gonna be too weird... so for now i will reduce the chinese twitter guy that always mention china endlessly i guess...