Chapter 614: Building Momentum
"Boss, why are you here?" Li Qing looked at Klopp with a puzzled look on his face. At this time, shouldn't Klopp be in the room analyzing his opponents and preparing tactics?
"I came here specifically to see you." Klopp's words surprised Li Qing again, and Klopp then said: "Our opponent in the final has already come out, and it is not River Plate."
"Not the river bed?" Li Qing was even more surprised when he heard this, and a name suddenly popped into his mind, "Al Ain?"
After seeing Klopp's affirmative nod, Li Qing almost blurted out: "How is it possible? It's just them!"
What Li Qing said makes sense. The Club World Cup was originally derived from the Toyota Cup. The previous Toyota Cup was a contest between European champions and South American champion clubs.
Because of this, today's Club World Cup takes into account that the strength of European and South American teams is significantly higher than that of teams from other continents. Therefore, the Champions League champion team and the South American Copa Libertadores winner team will directly advance to the semi-finals. Decide.
Before coming here, Li Qing thought that this year's opponent in the Club World Cup must be River Plate, but now he suddenly heard that the opponent in the final will be the host team, which made Li Qing a little hard to accept.
"River Plate underestimated the opponent. We tied with the opponent 2:2 in the game. In the final penalty kick, our mentality was unbalanced. It is reasonable to lose the game." Klopp's expression was indifferent, but his words were sonorous and powerful.
"Because of this upset, many media have become excited. I just saw a news article about us and our next semi-final opponents. Do you want to take a look."
Although Klopp's tone was inquiring, his cell phone was already stretched out in front of Li Qing. There were some news headlines on the phone interface. When Li Qing saw clearly what the headlines meant, he couldn't help but get furious.
"Preview of the East Asian Derby, the Chinese shooter will face the loss of antlers, and the two major Asian teams will compete in the finals! 》
"Exclusive Interview with Kashima Defender: I will freeze Li Qing during the game to let the new World Footballer know how good we are!" 》
"Head coach Kashima: Liverpool have performed well recently, but they only rely on one person to win, while we rely on the team to play. In the semi-finals, we will rely on the team to defeat them!" 》
"Pre-match prediction: Liverpool may repeat the mistakes of River Plate. The winner of the Club World Cup will set a record and become an Asian team."
…
"Shameless!" Li Qing grabbed the phone and wanted to smash it on the ground.
"My cell phone!" Klopp shouted suddenly, finally saving his cell phone.
"It's just psychological tactics before the game." Klopp put his phone back into his pocket with lingering fear, and his expression returned to calmness. "You don't need me to tell you what to do in the next game, right?"
"Understood!" Li Qing had calmed down, with a playful smile on his lips, "Didn't they say they wanted to set a record? Then satisfy them, I like the beauty of adulthood the most!"
Li Qing's words stunned Klopp for a moment, but he soon understood. He shook his head and smiled. Since his forward said so, the next game will definitely be very interesting.
Soon, the entire Liverpool team knew what happened at River Plate, as well as the newspaper media’s speculation about the semi-final between Liverpool and Kashima Antlers, and the TV was full of reporters interviewing Kashima Antlers players.
"I think tomorrow's game will be very interesting!" Kashima Antlers' defender smiled confidently in front of the camera. "I'm looking forward to playing against Li Qing on the court. I'm very confident about tomorrow's game."
"Li Qing is the new World Player of the Year and recently won the Ballon d'Or trophy. Are you confident in freezing Li Qing in the game?" asked a reporter from an island country.
The Kashima Antlers player smiled proudly and said: "Li Qing is a very tough opponent, but football is round and anything can happen!"
"Can you predict the result of tomorrow's game?"
"Liverpool is very capable, but our goal is to win the championship. Of course we will win tomorrow's game..."
Henderson turned off the TV and looked back at his teammates. Everyone's eyes showed blazing anger. The words of Kashima Antlers made every Liverpool player very angry.
"Let's go, get ready to get familiar with the venue. The car is already waiting for us outside." Henderson originally wanted to say a few words to boost morale, but looking at everyone's eyes, he suddenly felt that it was a bit unnecessary.
The Liverpool players filed out of the hotel door. The reporters waiting outside the hotel immediately took aim at all the Liverpool players. The sound of the flashlights sounded almost simultaneously with the reporters' questions.
"Henderson, you are the captain, tell me what you think about tomorrow's game. Will Liverpool make the same mistake as River Plate?"
"Li Qing, what are your expectations for tomorrow's showdown with Asian players?"
…
Neither Li Qing nor Henderson answered the reporter's questions. They went straight onto the bus under the escort of hotel security personnel and Liverpool staff.
This is Klopp's decision. No Liverpool players are allowed to be interviewed by the media until the end of the game to avoid extraneous matters.
However, Klopp's decision caused Liverpool to suffer unanimous criticism from the Asian media.
"Liverpool discriminates against Asian media and does not bother to answer any questions from Asian reporters"
"Captain Henderson and Li Qing looked down on Kashima Antlers and were arrogant! 》
…
Titles like this quickly appeared on the front pages of major media newspapers in Asia. Both Klopp and the Liverpool players underestimated their opponents' efforts to win.
Outside the hotel where Liverpool stayed, radical fans from the island gathered together, holding up banners, shouting slogans and making noises. The hotel security and local police had expelled them many times, but the effect was very general.
"Are they crazy?" Henderson stood by the bed, looking at the crowd gathered downstairs through the glass, his eyes gloomy, "Do they think they can win the game like this?"
"Captain, go to bed early." Li Qing yawned and huddled in the quilt. In the hotel room equipped with soundproofing facilities, no sound from outside could be heard at all.
"You are so carefree!" Henderson looked back at Li Qing, "Don't you really care about tomorrow's game?"
"You also said, it's tomorrow's game." Li Qing yawned again, "If I don't sleep well today, how can I be energetic in the game tomorrow?"
Henderson keenly caught the hidden meaning in Li Qing's words, "How do you plan to play tomorrow's game?"
"You should ask the coach about this question." Li Qing turned over and ignored Henderson. Seeing this, Henderson could only wash and rest with suspicion, but he didn't see the cold light in Li Qing's eyes under the quilt looking out the window.