Chapter 218: Xia Qi's World Cup Begins
In China many fans—beer in hand and snacks at the ready—sat early in front of their TVs to watch CCTV-5's "World Football" program.
Tonight the show aired a World Cup special, and after the special came Xia Qi's first match. Chinese fans were excited to finally see an element of China on the world stage.
This World Cup's ratings were second only to 2002.
At 2:00 AM, after the program's background music, the screen's upper-right corner displayed the word "Special," and to the tune of "Kikujiro's Summer" a large Boeing airliner descended slowly at the airport.
The shot changed to many crazed fans, each wearing their favorite player's shirt, waving national flags and waiting at the arrivals gate.
The screen cycled through many superstars—hot names like Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, and some South American players less familiar to Chinese audiences.
The camera showed Chinese fans waving the five-star red flag, a dense pack of reporters, and English fans. Players emerged one by one. Xia Qi appeared pushing a luggage trolley.
The shot shook as if the cameraman was running—one could imagine that the instant Xia Qi appeared,
the entire arrivals hall surged toward him.
"My goodness—this is even more crowded than students outside the college entrance exam hall..."
"That's because Xia Qi is a top-tier star today."
"This proves Chinese football isn't about race..."
"China never lacks talent, only an eye to spot it and an uncorrupted love for the game."
"Stay true to your original aspiration..."
At that moment the broadcast displayed Xia Qi's basic info and list of football honors.
It said roughly 150,000 Chinese fans had come here.
Of the three group-stage matches Xia Qi will play, about 28,000 tickets were sold to Chinese fans—averaging nearly 10,000 Chinese supporters at each game.
It was estimated that during the twenty-plus days of the World Cup Chinese fans would bring hundreds of millions of yuan of economic benefit to Brazil.
In the crowd, Duan Xuan held CCTV-5's microphone and squeezed among many journalists but couldn't reach Xia Qi.
"Xia Qi's popularity is terrifying."
"Chinese reporters are only a small portion—this is true international flavor."
The scene changed.
The next morning, Xia Qi, Theo Walcott, and Luke Shaw were out for a morning run.
Voiceover: Morning runs aren't mandated by the England coaching staff—they're a habit Xia Qi has kept since childhood.
When you see Xia Qi running tirelessly on the pitch, do you realize those ten years of daily morning runs?
Extra training is common among many stars—only sweat yields the flowers of success.
"That's right—no one succeeds by chance."
I wonder if Xia Qi would blush after watching the replay—he really did work hard, but his current success seems less about sweat and more about fate.
The footage then showed Xia Qi filming breakfast in the England camp and interviewing the head chef.
"Is the head chef also a top-level sports nutritionist?"
"Does our national team have this level of professionalism?"
"Our national team's diet is simpler—sea cucumber will do."
"Oh my! Look at this on a foreign table—beef ramen? xiaolongbao?"
After breakfast came dressing-room interviews with Luke Shaw, Theo Walcott, Joe Hart, Steven Gerrard... and then a full day of England training.
"Now that's training; our national team's training looks like dancing..."
Finally the special aired Xia Qi's solo interview, conducted in Mandarin.
"In one of the eight groups you're in the so-called 'group of death.' What do you think?"
"England's target is not mere qualification but the title. For a team aiming to win, it doesn't matter who the opponents are—we'll just crush them. To borrow a line from a war film: I take the best and beat the best!"
"Heh heh!"
"After dropping into midfield, do you still have hopes for the Golden Boot at the World Cup?"
"Of course. A soldier who doesn't want to be a general isn't a good soldier. If I can get both the Golden Boot and the assist crown, that'd be even better."
"..."
"Can you predict the World Cup winner? Give us two answers."
"England, England!"
"Last question: have you ever thought of coming to play in China?"
"Of course—our Yellow River and Yangtze have always been in my dreams."
When Xia Qi's interview ended, match time was approaching. The cameras cut to the outside of the Arena da Amazônia.
It was 4:00 PM local time, the sun high in the sky.
Crowds thronged outside the stadium, mostly in blue and white. Duan Xuan stopped and randomly interviewed passersby; many said they were Xia Qi fans, and quite a few were Italians.
At 2:30 PM local time, Xia Qi's team took the team bus from the training base to the Arena da Amazônia.
Along the route, English fans escorted them, calling Xia Qi's name from time to time and reminding him of the promise he made.
At the entrance a group of fans in Italy's blue shirts held up a whiteboard that read in Chinese characters "Xia Qi," with an arrow pointing to a heart symbol that meant "I love you."
Below it in English it said:
"Juventus fans love you 365 days; today is the 366th day we love you, so today we support your opponents!"
Juventus had formally submitted a transfer offer to Arsenal in the summer window, hence the scene.
The World Cup is a national competition; Juventus fans were being clear-minded.
Xia Qi smiled and made a heart gesture through the bus window.
He didn't know that this heart gesture would be interpreted as "he's leaving," and other clubs monitoring the summer market joined the bidding—thus the transfer war began prematurely.
Pre-match press conference:
England coach Roy Hodgson: "Italy are absolutely a strong team—no one wants to face them so early. When we learned we were in the same group, we prepared early. I can't say we're fully ready—you can never be completely ready—but we are confident..."
Italy coach Cesare Prandelli: "England are ranked higher and their squad value is greater; they even have a Ballon d'Or-caliber player. The pressure is on us. But we're not without chances. Containing Xia Qi is the key..."
Xia Qi and the others returned from warm-ups and Hodgson gave final motivation.
...
In the players' tunnel, the two No. 9s bumped fists and exchanged victory declarations.
The referee's whistle cut short the two No. 9s' boast-off.
Led by the officiating team, the players marched out in formation.
Xia Qi's World Cup had begun.
(END CHAPTER)
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