Soon, the trial session came to an end.
Among the five young players Sun Jihai had brought over, only one—the boy named Wang Xiaoke, whom Mourinho had commented on—earned the prestigious opportunity to sign schoolboy terms with the Manchester United youth academy.
"Although young players can't officially receive financial compensation from the club before the age of 16, all your living and educational expenses will be fully covered by the youth development program," Ling said with a warm smile, looking at Wang Xiaoke, who was covered in grass stains and mud.
"So you don't need to worry about those issues. Just focus on your football and your studies."
Ling deliberately didn't tell Wang Xiaoke how emotionally tough it was to leave home behind at such a young age.
Because during the match earlier, this kid had truly given his all—relentlessly pressing, making runs, and attacking.
Whether it was to change his own fate or to chase his pure football dreams, Ling believed the boy had the mental fortitude to handle the pressure.
Hadn't Ling walked the exact same grueling path himself?
"Can I become someone like you?" Wang Xiaoke looked down at the Manchester United badge on his training shirt and spoke in a barely audible, awe-struck voice.
"Maybe," Ling shook his head gently. "But there's one very important prerequisite: you have to learn to be absolutely confident, both on and off the green pitch."
In today's cutthroat professional football world, you really couldn't make it without a bit of ruthless grit, especially since the competition was just too fierce.
This fierceness had to be directed both at pushing oneself and challenging others.
"Keep pushing. If you ever have any problems, you can always come to me," Ling said, patting Wang Xiaoke affectionately on the head.
In the end, he could only offer so much help and guidance.
How far Wang Xiaoke could go ultimately depended entirely on the boy himself.
...
A few days later, a promotional short video for the program was released and quickly climbed to the top of trending searches on Chinese social media.
"People often ask me if there's still hope for Chinese football..." Ling said in the video. "What I fear isn't that Chinese football is doomed, but that mockery and abuse have become a culture."
A storm of debate erupted across the Chinese internet.
In recent years, Chinese football had gone from a source of national pride to a beaten dog that everyone felt entitled to kick.
The national team's performance had indeed been incredibly poor—there was no denying that fact.
But the children who loved football shouldn't have to grow up in such a toxic environment.
That would only make Chinese football worse.
Moreover, the baseless, constant criticism from fans was actively contributing to the decline of the sport's grassroots appeal.
...
@CFA_Realist: A great nation of 1.3 billion people can't even find 11 guys who can play football properly. It just shows our genetics aren't suited for the sport.
@SinaSportsFan: Don't forget the massive corruption scandals that just broke out!
@TacticsGuru: If you don't want to fundamentally change the soil and environment of Chinese football, what's the point of just selecting a tiny group of talented players to send abroad?
@JeremyLingStan: Ling should just focus on playing football for United. Why get involved in this domestic mess? It'll only ruin his reputation.
@VoiceOfReason: Then what should we do? Just let Chinese football rot forever? If you cynical people aren't planning to do anything to help, at least don't stand in the way of those who are trying!
@YouthCoachWang: We've been doing grassroots youth training for nearly eight years, basically losing money every year. Now? We finally have national attention and traffic. I'm really grateful to Ling and Sun Jihai.
@FootballHopeful: Actually, I think this open selection might be hugely useful. Even if we can't produce another generational superstar like Ling, if we can get a few solid players who can establish themselves in mid-table European teams, they can help the national team achieve better results. That success might work backward to change the whole environment of Chinese football!
@RedDevilsCN: Others are investing their own money, time, and reputation into this. If you don't want to support it, fine, but at least don't mock them.
...
Although online public opinion remained somewhat cynical, it was much better than a few years ago.
After all, with Ling's shining example in the Premier League, many people's views on the potential of Chinese players had improved.
Moreover, the country had recently begun to ruthlessly clean up the football association.
Corrupt officials like Li Tie and Chen Xuyuan were now sitting behind bars.
The government was gradually removing the restrictive frameworks imposed by the old association, giving the national team manager, Marcello Lippi, sufficient authority and time to rebuild.
But a three-foot-thick layer of ice doesn't freeze in a single day.
Over a decade of gross mismanagement had led to this state, and it would ultimately require a much longer time to completely resolve.
...
Back in Manchester, Ling was chatting with his teammates in the Carrington locker room.
"Jeremy, I swear, the moment you play for England, we'll actually won the World Cup," Marcus Rashford said.
He had noticed the online discussions regarding the Chinese national team and wanted to speak up to support his captain.
"Come on, Marcus! As long as Harry Kane is around, you guys can forget about winning any actual championships," Jeremy shrugged, laughing.
Even with his system, he seriously doubted he could overcome the sheer, unyielding force of the "Kane Curse."
"Listen to you! By the next World Cup, we'll show them what we're made of," Jesse Lingard said, playfully flexing his muscles in the mirror.
"You guys really need to stop saying things like that!" Valencia sternly reprimanded them, his voice cutting through the banter.
The locker room immediately quieted down.
"Understood, skip," Rashford nodded respectfully to the veteran, then quickly changed the subject to ease the tension. "We're playing Chelsea tomorrow in the League Cup. Do you guys really think we can overturn the deficit?"
Manchester United trailed 2-0 from the first leg at Stamford Bridge, meaning they needed to score at least three goals at Old Trafford to advance outright.
That was no easy task against a top-six side.
"Of course we can," Ling said with absolute, unwavering confidence.
It wasn't blind optimism on his part.
Manchester United's current squad was perfectly balanced from front to back, especially with Kante now shielding the defense.
And Chelsea? Sarri was stubbornly using their best dribbler, Eden Hazard, as an isolated target man, and relying on Jorginho—someone not suited for dynamic Premier League playmaking—as the absolute core.
Furthermore, the Chelsea locker room was in total turmoil, reportedly split into two warring factions.
One was the "conservative faction" led by Cesar Azpilicueta, while the other was naturally the "reformist faction" led by Sarri himself.
The two sides were currently locked in a fierce dispute, and there might even be major news breaking tomorrow.
"I think so too," Paul Pogba said nonchalantly, adjusting his half-blue, half-white hairstyle in his locker mirror.
"Last time, we didn't field our main players, so Chelsea got lucky. This time, we're going all out. I don't believe for a second they can win against our best."
"Paul, you absolutely cannot have that arrogant mindset. Do you really think scoring three goals against Chelsea's defense is going to be easy?" Valencia's tone instantly turned sharp and serious again.
It was important to remember that in Mourinho's tactical system, Pogba played a crucial role as the lone attacking midfielder.
He was responsible not only for orchestrating attacks but also for shouldering heavy defensive pressing duties.
If Pogba carelessly lost possession due to arrogance, Manchester United's attack would suffer, and their defense would instantly become passive.
Moreover, Valencia intimately understood Pogba's temperament—the Frenchman tended to become complacent with even a little success and occasionally had severe lapses in concentration during big matches.
Previously, certain sections of Manchester United fans often claimed the club's revival depended solely on Pogba.
But disciplined veterans like Valencia and Ashley Young strongly disagreed.
They believed someone with his fluctuating focus lacked the consistent charisma and discipline required to truly lead the Red Devils.
Pogba bristled and initially wanted to retort, but he swallowed his words upon seeing the deadly serious look on Valencia's face.
After all, he had to show respect to the former captain and club legend.
Ling didn't say anything more, simply observing the interaction.
Some hard truths needed to be delivered by a seasoned veteran like Valencia.
Although Ling was mentally mature and wore the armband, he still appeared too young in the eyes of others.
If Ling had used such a harsh, lecturing tone to reprimand Pogba, no matter how close their relationship had been, Pogba's massive ego would have likely exploded on the spot.
There had been a similar incident before when Matic had subtly complained in the media about certain teammates frequently arriving late for training.
As a result, Pogba and Lingard had immediately posted several passive-aggressive tweets.
Fortunately, Zlatan Ibrahimovic was still at Manchester United at the time to squash the beef, or the locker room would have imploded.
"Pack up your things and head out quickly, lads! Today's adaptation training on the pitch is about to start!" Assistant coach Rui Faria yelled, knocking briskly on the tactics board.
...
Meanwhile, down south at the Cobham training base in London.
Eden Hazard sneaked away from the green training pitch, slipped back into the empty locker room, pulled a hidden burger out of his locker, and began devouring it.
Although most professional players were incredibly disciplined with their diets, there were always exceptions.
During the recent European Championship qualifiers, after being substituted off, Hazard had famously sneaked out of the stadium to eat a burger with his family, resulting in an internal fine from the Belgian national team.
Moreover, the head chef of the Belgian team once revealed to the press that Hazard possessed the biggest appetite in the entire squad, even surpassing heavyweights like Lukaku and Kevin De Bruyne.
Back on the pitch, Maurizio Sarri was just about to passionately discuss the tactical shape for tomorrow's match.
But after looking around his squad, he couldn't find his star player anywhere.
His face flushed bright red with anger, chewing furiously on his unlit cigarette, but in the end, there was nothing he could really do.
He couldn't drop Hazard.
"Tomorrow, we'll stick to the exact same approach as the first leg," Sarri barked at the remaining players, waving his hands frantically.
"We will mainly advance the ball from Kovacic's side!"
...
The day passed quickly, and the tension reached a boiling point as the second leg of the English League Cup semifinal was finally about to kick off.
Peter Drury: "Welcome to the Theatre of Dreams! Old Trafford sits under the floodlights, breathing in the cold January air, waiting for a miracle! Manchester United trail by two goals to Maurizio Sarri's Chelsea."
Jim Beglin: "It is a massive mountain to climb, Peter. Chelsea have the advantage, but United have deployed their absolute strongest arsenal tonight. Kante starts against his former club, and Jeremy Ling leads the line."
Peter Drury: "The stage is set. The actors are in place. Can Mourinho conjure a comeback against his old employers, or will the Blues march on to Wembley? We are about to find out!"