Chapter 166: That's the Taste
The Premier League is the only one of the big five leagues that has no winter break.
On the first day of 2014, the first match after Xia Qi's suspension was a London derby: Chelsea at home against Arsenal.
The clash between the two teams began with a war of words between José Mourinho and Arsène Wenger.
Two top active managers, one defiant and arrogant, the other gentle and urbane — naturally opposed from birth!
Since Mourinho's first spell in 2005, even after he left the Premier League to manage Real Madrid, the verbal sparring between the two never really stopped.
This time the fuse was that Mourinho sold the forward Juan Mata to Manchester United after Chelsea's match with United.
Wenger said: "Mr. Mourinho could have sold Mata to Manchester United last week, but he deliberately waited until after the two sides' meeting to sell him. That's not fair to the other clubs…"
This was much like last season when Ferguson knew Roberto Mancini sold Xia Qi to Arsenal…
Mourinho said: "Wenger is the kind of peeping Tom you Brits talk about, isn't he? He's holding a telescope in Colney spying on his neighbors…"
Wenger responded: "What he said is far from the facts and shows disrespect…"
Mourinho: "Respect? Respect for a kung fu coach? When I saw that on TV, I couldn't believe it. That cannot be tolerated, yet it comes from a big club, from the hand of a genteel godfather…"
Mourinho was mocking Xia Qi's flying kick, and the player was Wenger's inviolable taboo.
Wenger's protection of young players has always been an industry benchmark, whether it was Cesc Fàbregas, Robin van Persie, or Xia Qi…
Wenger: "In terms of professional ethics, Mourinho can check the discipline committee's red and yellow card records; Xia Qi is absolutely worth learning from for every Chelsea player. Terry, Frank Lampard… which of them doesn't have more cards than Xia Qi?
Mourinho faltered!
He's afraid of a kid—yes, he's afraid of Xia Qi!! I can tell you for sure, Xia Qi will definitely be on the starting lineup this weekend. Tremble, Old Four!!"
Chelsea sat fourth in the winter table.
Mourinho: "Of all the thousand matches Wenger has coached, the only thing he can't forget is the 6-0 I led Chelsea to beat him."
The war of words between the two was mockingly labeled by the British media: still the same taste!
Indeed, the pre-match trash talk wasn't just about the managers' love-hate duel; there were also two No. 9s' lucky-fish myths (Xia Qi and Torres), Kevin De Bruyne and Oscar as midfield hearts, Terry and Vermaelen's captain spirit… a battle of attributes.
Only De Bruyne was Arsenal's trump card; Wenger, Xia Qi, and Vermaelen all lost out to the opponents.
Don't look down on Xia Qi's "championship attribute," but Torres is even more impressive — especially in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa: he didn't score a single goal yet lifted the coveted World Cup trophy that countless players dream of.
Xia Qi's lucky charm pales in comparison to a life winner!!!
Cobham training ground.
Mourinho studied the Manchester City 6-3 demolition of Arsenal frame by frame.
In that match Xia Qi was suspended, but Mourinho still found it full of research value.
Throughout Mourinho's coaching career, his focus on and insights into the holding midfield role are among the most authoritative of current managers.
Although Arsenal strengthened with Gustavo before the season, it was still a soft spot for Arsenal.
What pained Mourinho in that match was the De Bruyne he had yet to fully appreciate — the boy from a season ago had become a man now…
Mourinho pressed a hand to his chest and sighed: Wenger is the real lucky fish!
…
…
Stamford Bridge.
Media hype and narrative had already stoked the opposing emotions of both sets of fans…
When Xia Qi came out, more than fifty thousand Chelsea fans greeted him with loud boos, and many of them threw black dog plush toys at him.
Don't misunderstand!!! This wasn't giving gifts to Xia Qi,
but a twisted form of Chinese cultural export.
The media had been hyping Xia Qi's "lucky-fish" attribute, so they used a black dog to ward off evil.
Xia Qi wanted to tell them: it's black dog's blood that wards off evil, not the plush black dog itself!
And anyway, what use is your stuffed dog????
Pah!
Your whole family is the "evil"!
…
…
"Penguin Sports!"
"Penguin Sports!"
"Penguin Sports!"
"Dear viewers, welcome to our live broadcast on Penguin of the 2013-2014 English Premier League Round 20 match, Chelsea at home to Arsenal."
"I'm your old friend Zhan Jun."
"Hello, viewers, I'm Zhang Lu."
"With stirring opening music, the players are coming onto the pitch…"
"This is Mourinho's second match back in the Premier League against Wenger. Their first meeting after Mourinho's return was in Round 17, when Arsenal drew Chelsea 0-0 at home.
In that match Xia Qi was suspended, Mourinho's tactics were conservative, and it was a dull game. Tonight, we hope both No. 9s will perform well."
"Arsenal top the Premier League with 50 points; Chelsea have 40 points and are fourth. Don't be fooled by Chelsea being ten points behind — on paper Mourinho's Chelsea are stronger than Arsenal.
Tonight the match is evenly matched; the result is hard to predict."
"This season Arsenal have only lost to Manchester City; it's a pity they couldn't maintain the invincible record of 2004-05."
"The referee is checking his watch, the match is about to begin. Let's announce the starting lineups.
Wearing blue and attacking from left to right on screen is the home team Chelsea. Tonight's starting lineup is their usual 4-5-1:
Goalkeeper: Petr Čech
Defenders: Branislav Ivanović, John Terry, David Luiz, César Azpilicueta
Midfield: Frank Lampard, Michael Essien, Oscar, Eden Hazard, Willian
Forward: Fernando Torres."
"This is Essien's last London derby, right? The Sun reports Essien will join AC Milan at the end of the month."
"Essien won two Premier Leagues, a Champions League, four FA Cups and a League Cup in eight and a half years at Chelsea…"
"Mourinho starting the veteran is a recognition of his eight years with the Blues…"
On the other side, in red, Arsenal attack from right to left on screen, playing a 4-2-3-1.
Goalkeeper: Wojciech Szczęsny (or Martinez in the text; the text lists Martiṅes)
Left back: Luke Shaw
Center backs: Per Mertesacker, Samuel Umtiti
Right back: Serge Aurier
Defensive defensive midfielder: Gustavo
Deep-lying playmaker: Santi Cazorla
Attacking midfielder: Kevin De Bruyne
Left winger: Xia Qi
Right winger: Serge Gnabry
Striker: Mario Balotelli
This match was Xia Qi and Balotelli's first game back from suspension… In the month they were out, Arsenal played four, winning two, drawing one, losing one — a respectable run, the only pity being the end of their unbeaten record."
…
…
At Stamford Bridge,
Xia Qi stood on the pitch feeling his legs tremble a little — this was his first match playing on his own terms, and his first London derby.
The intense atmosphere of a London derby made the rookie nervous,
but to the opponents it looked like swaggering and not taking them seriously.
Would the Premier League Golden Boot be nervous? Who would believe it???
Eden Hazard, Fernando Torres, Frank Lampard… all serious and angry-faced…
Beep!
The match started with a fast tempo and fierce challenges; without looking at the club badges it was hard to imagine this was a Mourinho team.
Chelsea were so proactive because:
Derbies are always explosive!
And Chelsea desperately needed a win to chase the far-ahead Arsenal. The gap could be big or small — with half the season to go everything was possible.
Besides, Mourinho's pride had brought him back to Stamford Bridge thinking he could crush gods and demons alike. Half a season in, and this is it?
Not only the "Birds" fans were discontented,
Mourinho himself was not reconciled!
At least, if you can't win the title, secure a Champions League spot!
In any case, Chelsea had to win!
On Arsenal's side, with Xia Qi and Balotelli both returned, the whole team was pumped up and hoping for a resounding victory…
From the whistle, both teams skipped the testing phase and went straight into confrontation.
Arsenal won the toss before the match and got kickoff.
After the whistle they launched an attack straight at Chelsea.
Xia Qi passed the ball to Balotelli; after releasing it, his nervousness suddenly disappeared.
Like an exam candidate who's a bit tense before the exam, but the moment they receive the paper the tension vanishes and they immerse themselves in the questions.
Xia Qi was the same: he only thought about making a forward run into the space behind Oscar to receive the ball back.
Xia Qi received the ball behind Oscar, then played it on — no flashy play, but no mistakes either.
Proper and steady!
De Bruyne received Xia Qi's pass, dribbled through the center and, facing Oscar's pressure, played a forward through ball. Balotelli, with his back to goal, flicked it with his heel,
and the ball came back to Xia Qi's feet.
Xia Qi cushioned it, changed direction, pulled the ball, turned — all in one fluid motion — beating Frank Lampard.
The roughly ten thousand Arsenal fans made a loud cheer.
That dribble also injected confidence into Xia Qi.
Unlike pre-match self-pep talks, this silky dribble made him truly feel the lower bound of his 95 ability value,
in an instant his confidence soared,
and it was then he saw veteran Michael Essien charging at him.
Seeing Essien come in hard, Xia Qi recalled Al's tactic for dealing with a pouncing tiger:
he clipped the ball slightly forward, planning to force his way through with the ball,
but,
the man got past him,
but the ball…
Slow-motion replay:
Essien's challenge was decisive.
When Xia Qi nudged the ball forward, Essien's body shot out like an arrow from a bow and wedged between the ball and Xia Qi,
severing the connection between Xia Qi and the ball.
Xia Qi stumbled past Essien; the man continued his run, but the ball was left behind by Essien.
In an instant,
Stamford Bridge burst into thunderous applause and cheers that echoed through the sky,
mixed with boos and a smattering of the word "black dog."
Those boos and the black dog were, of course, from Chelsea fans — mocking Xia Qi's awkwardness when he was dispossessed.
For someone once described as a "complete run from box to box," being "eaten alive" like that was slightly embarrassing.
As the saying goes: theoretical knowledge is shallow; true understanding comes from practice.
Watching Al eat people alive, every time he ate someone it was precise, but doing it yourself isn't that simple.
After being dispossessed, Xia Qi had no time to lament; ability fell short and effort had to make up for it.
He immediately turned and lunged at Essien, returning a sliding tackle!
Essien had just easily won the ball and felt a surge of pride — "Am I still capable in my old age?"
Just then, he felt someone flying in from the side.
The sliding tackle came like lightning, too sudden to be covered up…
Essien's attempt to dodge with the ball became a luxury.
The ball was knocked out for a throw-in, and Essien himself was knocked down; the huge impact sent him rolling on the ground like a gourd…
How proud he had been moments ago; now how embarrassed!
"Oh! Good tackle!"
"Xia Qi's slide was very Essien-like!"
Indeed!
Xia Qi's tackle was so resolute it looked like desperate valor, much like Essien's style.
"Bastard!"
"Fuck!"
Essien scrambled up and charged at Xia Qi. He actually knew Xia Qi's slide had been a good challenge, but you've still got to put on a posture.
This is the same logic as a coach pressuring the fourth official:
It's useless, but you must make the gesture!!!
"What are you trying to do?"
Xia Qi met him unafraid, glared at him — likewise a kind of attitude.
Players are sometimes actors.
In the blink of an eye their heads were about to collide when the referee's whistle blew and separated the two "angry bulls."
Players from both sides crowded around.
"Derbies are fiery, we've already got a clash this quick…"
"Ref, that Chinese kid fouled with a tackle…"
"Tsk tsk… Essien, why don't you go play ping-pong."
"What do you mean? That was a dangerous play!!"
"Don't go to Milan, go to Berlin." (Germany's WTT ping-pong league is the best in Europe.)
The veteran's brittle heart shattered.
Already unhappy about being washed out by Chelsea…
Essien shoved Xia Qi;
Xia Qi didn't pretend to fall and went down at once.
"Take your hand off, or I'll fall…"
Essien seemed to hear: "You're coming at me — work injury, medical fees…"
He hurriedly pulled his arm back, awkwardly not knowing where to put it…
The referee couldn't help but laugh out loud; he knew it was not very serious, but it was really funny.
A ten-year veteran being flustered and not knowing what to do with his hands by a "newcomer" — anyone seeing that would smirk…
Such a small scuffle obviously didn't merit cards; the referee gave both a verbal warning.
The referee had clearly seen that Xia Qi's slide was clean and went for the ball, only Essien — big and proud — had rolled on the ground a few times, losing face a little.
Seeing one a hot-tempered old man, the other a spirited youngster…and the positions being direct opposites,
the referee felt he didn't want to be the center of attention tonight, but it was hard to avoid.
When the referee didn't book Xia Qi, boos erupted around Stamford Bridge…
Mourinho stormed to the fourth official to protest; Wenger, worried about a "home bias," also came over.
Before Wenger got close, Mourinho couldn't wait to sneer: "Your kung fu panda is showing Chinese kung fu."
"If this sliding tackle counts as Chinese kung fu, Mr. Mourinho, you can ask the FA to change the rules so that from now on in the Premier League players are not allowed any physical contact, because Chelsea's players are all expensive porcelain and must not be touched…"
(END CHAPTER)
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