Chapter 93

"Your dad has a lot of face, to actually invite him here." Cai Jin smiled, of course he recognized the person in front of him, the chairman of the Football Association, not the chairman of Beining City, but the chairman of the Chinese Football Association. This guy had moved from a table tennis leader to a football leader; as long as you liked sports, who didn't know him?

"Even if my dad has a lot of face, he's not as impressive as your dad. We're both surnamed Cai, I don't believe there's no connection between us. We're getting married today, so just come clean, what's the relationship between him and your family?" Cai Jin's wife rebutted.

"Your dads are both very powerful, otherwise he wouldn't be here." Liu Hao interjected.

For a Chinese Football League match, to be able to invite the chairman of the Football Association, how much face does that take? Even for the opening of the Chinese Football League, it would probably be impossible to invite him; he would only attend the opening of the Chinese Super League...

Qiao Weiguang and Cai Zhuo stood on either side, followed by Li Tie and Li Xiaopeng, and the national team assistant coach Ma Mingyu. It was like a leadership inspection.

Was he here for the wedding or to watch the match? Maybe both.

The chairman first shook hands warmly with Cai Jin, congratulated him, and then turned to look at Liu Hao.

"Liu Hao!"

This startled Liu Hao. How did he even know him? He was flabbergasted.

"Hello, Chairman."

"Play well, Chinese football needs talents like you." The chairman smiled and gently patted Liu Hao's shoulder. "Xiao Ma, in the future, you should pay more attention to Liu Hao's performance. If China had a few more talents like Liu Hao, we wouldn't have to worry about breaking out of Asia. Japan used to have a player named Hidetoshi Nakata, but I think Liu Hao's tactical level is much higher. China isn't short of talents, it's just that they haven't been discovered yet."

Discovered my ass? It's clearly a systemic issue, and he's still putting on a show... Liu Hao was a bit depressed.

Ma Mingyu's eyes were squinted into slits, he understood the chairman's meaning.

"I knew about Liu Hao at the beginning of the year, and I've been paying attention to him. I was thinking about how to talk to Pelle about whether Liu Hao should be recruited into the national team."

It was unclear whether Ma Mingyu was telling the truth or not. The burn mark on his left cheek from when Liu Hao shot him in the face was still clearly visible. From what Ma Mingyu said, it seemed the national team was interested in recruiting him?

"Sure, Pelle might not be familiar with the national conditions. You should give more suggestions. China is so big, finding 11 people to play football is quite simple. Just like table tennis, do we have fewer people playing football than those playing table tennis?" The chairman linked football with table tennis, making a comparison, showing that he was quite confident.

However, table tennis and football are completely different things...

"That's right, that's right, we can't be like before..." Ma Mingyu, being surnamed Ma, lived up to his name, his flattery skills were top-notch.

Li Tie and Li Xiaopeng remained silent behind them, listening to their conversation. Not being in a position to meddle, they had no chance to flatter.

"There's a friendly match in early May, I think we should just recruit Liu Hao and let him get used to the national team's atmosphere." The chairman's words were quite clear, he wanted Liu Hao to participate in the May friendly match.

What good luck! Li Tie's expression didn't change, but he was extremely envious inside. Although he had once been a member of the Chinese national team, wasn't this way of joining the team too showy? The chairman directly naming Liu Hao to join the national team, this had never happened before.

When did joining the national team become so easy? Back then, to participate in the World Cup, he had to pull a lot of strings. Didn't many national team teammates have to pay 200,000 to participate in the World Cup? Although Li Tie didn't pay, thinking about the high threshold of the national team made him a bit depressed.

Now, with just a word from the leadership, one could join the national team, without even giving a gift...

Li Xiaopeng, however, secretly smiled. This way, Qingdao Zhongneng now had two national team members. Mao Jianqing was selected based on his outstanding performance, and although Liu Hao was named by the leadership, his talent was undeniable. It would be hard for Qingdao Zhongneng not to rise in the future.

Actually, having more national team players in a club has its benefits, especially in China. Just look at the Evergrande club, they definitely receive all kinds of preferential treatment, of course, achieving results is also necessary, otherwise no one would be convinced, right?

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Under the watchful eyes of 40,000 fans, Cai Jin completed his wedding. This could be considered the most special wedding, not just in China, but in the world.

As the best man, Liu Hao also had to give a speech on stage.

"Although I'm already married, it's my first time, so I don't have much experience. I don't have much to say to them, we're all feeling our way forward in the river. All I can say is to wish the newlyweds a long and happy life..."

Liu Hao's realistic words made people feel a bit uncomfortable...

"Returning to the Xiguang Super team's home ground makes me exceptionally excited. Being able to play with my former teammates is what I've always dreamed of. I hope one day I can represent Xiguang Super again..."

There were a few players in the Super team he was quite familiar with, such as Ling Zhenbang, who had just been selected for the national team, and his sidekick Huang Rongzheng. These two were the ones he knew best back then.

Although Ling Zhenbang was selected for the national team, his move to Guangzhou Evergrande ultimately fell through. Logically, he should have been quite depressed, but it didn't affect his performance. His top position on the Chinese Football League's goal-scoring chart said it all, with Mao Jianqing in second place.

After Liu Hao expressed his feelings, Ling Zhenbang also gave a speech on behalf of the Super team. However, this guy seemed to lack eloquence, saying only one sentence.

"Friendship first, competition second..."

Then he didn't know what else to say.

However, his words set the tone for the match.

This was an absolutely open game.

As the home team, the Xiguang Super team naturally wanted to take the lead.

The first goal was scored by Ling Zhenbang, and it was a very beautiful goal, a side-footed volley. If it were a regular game, it wouldn't have been so easy to score, probably because everyone was under no pressure...

Of course, the home team showed off, and the away team naturally had to give a big gift.

Mao Jianqing's diving header pushed the match to a new climax.

Liu Hao was still in his suit on the sidelines, whether he played or not didn't matter...

It seemed to be going according to plan...

However, as a star player, he still had to make an appearance in the final moments.