As Chen Yu walked over, the crowd of reporters immediately thrust their recorders in his face.
Pires’s solo heroics couldn’t cover up the chaos and disorder in the France Team’s midfield. It was safe to say that without Pires, the France Team would have been the first major upset of this World Cup.
Therefore, any media outlet concerned about the France Team was now focused on one thing: when would Zidane be able to return?
And everyone knew that Zidane was receiving treatment from Chen Yu.
Over in Miyazaki, security was tight, and Chen Yu was tight-lipped, so no one knew the specifics of the situation.
Now that Chen Yu had appeared, a large number of reporters still stationed in Niigata were scrambling to cover the story.
The French reporters in the crowd were the most agitated.
Yesterday, the other Group A match had taken place: Uruguay versus Denmark.
Lemerre and his assistant coach, Yakai, had watched the entire match from the stands. They were left speechless, and their hearts sank.
Based on the strength displayed by Uruguay and Denmark, if Zidane didn’t play, France’s chances were truly slim.
So now, it wasn’t just Lemerre who was anxious; the French media was in a panic too.
After a draw in the first match, if they didn’t win the next two, even advancing from the group stage was questionable.
They were the defending champions! If they failed to get out of the group stage and had to return home in disgrace, it would be a complete humiliation.
"Quiet." Chen Yu waved his hand, signaling for everyone to calm down. Then, as usual, he said, "I have no comment on Zidane’s condition. You don’t need to ask again."
Chen Yu could have told the reporters that under his treatment, Zidane was guaranteed to play in the second match, which would have put all of France at ease.
’But why should I say anything?’
Not disclosing a patient’s condition to the public was a basic principle of a team doctor’s professional ethics.
Besides, Lemerre hadn’t said anything, so it certainly wasn’t his place to speak up.
’The old man is clearly playing weak to lull the opponents into a false sense of security. If I say something, wouldn’t I be undermining him?’
Chen Yu looked toward the reporter who had just asked the question.
He glanced at the man’s press badge: New York Daily.
It wasn’t that nobody cared about the United States Team. At the very least, a mainstream general news outlet like the New York Daily was paying attention and had a reporter following the team.
But it was obvious these guys were more concerned with basketball.
"You just said Kobe and O’Neal are having issues. What do you mean?" Chen Yu asked.
This reporter’s name was Montero. He was originally assigned to cover the United States Team, but he had received a last-minute directive from his headquarters to ask Chen Yu a few questions, which led to the current scene.
He didn’t beat around the bush and quickly explained the situation.
"Kobe really just walked out of the post-game press conference?" Chen Yu was shocked.
An official post-game press conference! To just push back his chair and walk out, leaving a room full of reporters... it could only mean that Kobe was furious to the point of losing all emotional control.
O’Neal’s comments were pretty vicious, though.
Especially mentioning the two championships. That was clearly twisting the knife in Kobe’s gut.
Montero stretched his arm out and continued asking, "Chen, many media outlets have analyzed that after your departure, the Suns’ performance has been greatly affected. What are your thoughts on this?"
Everyone knew how important Chen Yu was to the Suns.
In the first two rounds, Olajuwon had played like he was on steroids, full of energy for the entire game. Anyone who wasn’t blind could see it was thanks to Chen Yu.
Now that Chen Yu was with the national team in Japan, Olajuwon’s stamina issues had actually started to surface.
Take the last game, for example. When O’Neal went off in the third quarter, Olajuwon’s stamina clearly couldn’t keep up, which was a major reason he fouled out early.
Chen Yu snapped back to reality, a sense of joy rising within him.
Chen Yu never expected the conflict between O’Neal and Kobe to explode so quickly and so publicly.
What Kobe did was basically a public declaration of war.
With Game 7 just around the corner, even a miracle worker like Jackson probably had no solution for this.
"I don’t think it has had much of an impact. As you saw, we came back to win three straight games. That just shows we have the strength to win. It doesn’t have much to do with whether I’m with the team or not."
After answering, Chen Yu turned to leave.
Montero quickly asked another question, "Chen, who are you planning to select with the first-round pick? Has management made a decision?"
Meanwhile, the other reporters grew anxious.
They didn’t care about Kobe or O’Neal; they were more concerned about Zidane.
"I don’t know about that," Chen Yu answered bluntly. ’Brian doesn’t even talk about it, and you’re asking me?’
Waving his hand dismissively, Chen Yu turned and walked away.
’If this is true, then the Suns really have a chance in Game 7.’
’Could I actually get a Championship Ring with the team this year?’
Arriving at the edge of the field, the team was already warming up.
"Come on, everyone, follow my lead." Chen Yu took a position at the front.
’First, I’ll farm some experience.’
Because of Zidane and the others, Chen Yu had used up a lot of his recovery effects. He had no choice but to seize every opportunity to farm experience; otherwise, he simply wouldn’t have enough.
Seeing Chen Yu stand before them, the players’ expressions changed. Donovan, his face flushed with embarrassment, weakly protested, "Chen, there are reporters here."
It wasn’t that they were resistant to the Five Animals Qigong. When they followed Chen Yu’s movements, they could really feel it was effective.
But that was always in private, during closed training sessions with no reporters.
Behind closed doors, it didn’t matter how ridiculous they looked.
But now, in an open training session with reporters watching, doing those moves felt a little embarrassing.
Chen Yu glanced at Donovan but pretended not to see him.
’So young, so thin-skinned.’
’Look at Olajuwon, how he practices the Five Animals Qigong before a game without a care in the world.’
"We’re starting. Anyone who doesn’t take this seriously gets extra training later."
Chen Yu ignored them and began to lead the exercises.
With pained expressions, the players had no choice but to follow along.
Alina stood to the side, silently amused.
But he saw no problem with it; in fact, he thought it was a good thing.
It wasn’t about whether the Five Animals Qigong was effective, but that Chen Yu was able to command the respect of these players.
The United States Team was generally young, and Alina wasn’t particularly good at connecting with the players on a personal level.
But Chen Yu, with his special status, was able to win their trust.
After all, he was a top-tier orthopedic doctor. They were all professional athletes; who could guarantee they’d never get injured in their career?
So, in many situations where the coaching staff wanted something done, Chen Yu was instrumental in making it happen.
Ignoring the reporters, Chen Yu farmed enough experience before letting the players go off to their regular training.
After training, he returned to the hotel and first went to find the team’s chef to discuss the menu.
The weather was hot and dry, so their diet needed to be a bit lighter.
But their required energy intake still had to be guaranteed.
The United States Team didn’t really have many complex tactics. If you had to describe their strategy, it was mainly defensive counter-attacks and long balls. They relied mostly on hustle and a lot of running.
Therefore, stamina was crucial.
After the discussion, Chen Yu went out to purchase some medicinal herbs.
So, at dinner, not only was there Physical Fitness No.1 on everyone’s table, but also a cup of herbal tea.
"Chen, what’s this now?" McBride looked at the dark liquid in front of him, worried. It definitely wasn’t cola.
Chen Yu clapped his hands. "Don’t ask. Just drink."
While McBride was still hesitating, Donovan, next to him, had already obediently started drinking.
"It’s sweet," he said, his eyes lighting up.
And after the first sip, he felt a cooling sensation rush straight to his head.
Chen Yu smiled and turned away.
The next morning, the team had a light fitness training session scheduled, which took place in the hotel’s gym.
Chen Yu personally supervised, ensuring that everyone, especially the 11 starters, was healthy and had plenty of stamina.
Chen Yu couldn’t decide how the match would be played, but as long as he was around, the players’ physical condition would not be an issue.
After all that was done, Chen Yu hurried back to his room.
"Has it started yet?" Chen Yu asked.
Contiguglia and the team manager, August Martin, were there.
How the match was to be played was Alina’s concern. They couldn’t help much, and with nothing else to do, they decided to watch the game with Chen Yu.
"Almost," Contiguglia said, handing him a bottle of beer.
Chen Yu sat down. On the TV, two Japanese commentators were analyzing the game, chattering away in a language Chen Yu couldn’t understand.
As the three of them chatted, the conversation eventually turned back to soccer.
They talked about Germany’s 8-0 thrashing of Saudi Arabia, and how Klose, in his World Cup debut, had put on a stunning performance by scoring four goals.
"Chen, Wolle really has to thank you," Contiguglia said to Chen Yu with a chuckle as they spoke.
Originally, with Ballack out due to injury, the German media didn’t think they would lose to Saudi Arabia, but they never expected such a resounding victory.
This was because before the World Cup, the German media had envisioned a midfield lineup with Ballack in the center, flanked by Desler and Scholl.
They had even started calling them the "Three-Horse Chariot."
Who would have thought that Ballack would get injured unexpectedly?
But in this match, Wolle made a last-minute change to the formation, moving Desler to the center to replace Ballack.
Desler had originally played in a central role, so moving back to the middle was no problem for him.
And compared to Ballack, Desler’s playmaking, individual attacking ability, creativity, and skill at assisting from set pieces were clearly superior.
In this match alone, he racked up two assists just by creating threats with his free-kick deliveries into the box.
"Yeah, he doesn’t look at all like someone who tore his ACL," Martin, who was sitting nearby, remarked with emotion.
But then he reconsidered. ’Desler’s recovery is nothing. Ronaldo is the real monster. He ruptured his patellar tendon and still managed to return to his peak form.’
Chen Yu waved his hand humbly.
Chen Yu hadn’t watched the Germany match; he never believed they would lose anyway.
He had, however, watched Argentina’s game.
Chen Yu still had a soft spot for Batty and Redondo.
Yesterday, Argentina had played against Nigeria.
They won.
But it was only a narrow 1-0 victory.
The only goal came from a header by Batty.
As for Redondo...
In any case, Chen Yu was just a casual fan, so he couldn’t really tell if Redondo’s performance was good or bad. However, the attack that led to the corner kick for Batty’s goal was created by Redondo, who had made a long run and then a pass.
Chen Yu just felt that as one of the top favorites to win the title, Argentina shouldn’t have only won 1-0. It should have been something like 3-0.
It’s not like Nigeria was a powerhouse team.
It was probably just as Andy Dunbar had said: the biggest favorites are doomed to fail.
’Looking at the France Team’s performance, it’s really scary.’
As they were chatting, the broadcast cut to the game, and the camera immediately focused on Kobe.
He had a serious expression on his face as he adjusted his jersey, lost in thought.

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