Good evening, PPTV fans, I'm James Jun."
"The second half of this 2016-2017 Premier League Round 31 match between Manchester United and Sunderland is about to begin, and both teams' players and Coaches are walking out of the tunnel."
"In the first half, Manchester United took a 2-0 lead with goals from Rooney and Martial, which is very unfavorable for Sunderland. Coach Zhao must come up with a solution."
This Premier League match was scheduled for 8:30 PM Beijing time, which was truly prime time.
And today's opposing teams were, on one side, the traditional powerhouse Manchester United, led by the charismatic Coach Mourinho, ensuring maximum viewership;
On the other side, Sunderland, although not having many fans globally, had an interim Coach from China!
This led to extremely high attention for this match within China.
And at this point in 2017, PPTV was one of the main broadcasters of the Premier League in China.
As a pillar of PPTV, James Jun, known as the "Premier League walking encyclopedia," was naturally assigned to commentate on this highly anticipated match.
"I believe many Chinese fans today are here for Zhao Zhao, because he is the first Chinese person ever to Coach a Premier League team!"
"But unfortunately, his coaching tenure has not been smooth. After two consecutive losses, he and his Sunderland have reached the brink."
"There are reports that the Sunderland Chairman, also their boss, American Ellis Short, has informed Zhao Zhao that they cannot lose this match; another loss will result in his dismissal!"
"And for Sunderland, with only 20 points from 30 rounds, they truly cannot afford to lose."
"Based on previous years' experience, Premier League teams usually need around 40 points to confidently say they have avoided relegation, but now there are only 8 rounds left…"
"To get 20 points in 8 matches is not an easy task even for strong teams like Manchester City or Chelsea, let alone this bottom-placed Sunderland."
"And if they lose today, it will become 20 points needed from 7 matches, which means they would have to win every single game!"
"I can only say that Sunderland's relegation is almost a certainty. But we still hope that Zhao Zhao can lead the team to a good performance and remain at Sunderland to continue coaching!"
"With Chinese players almost nonexistent in European leagues, Zhao Zhao is now a source of hope for many of our Chinese fans!"
As he spoke, all the players from both teams had run out of the Old Trafford tunnel and onto the field.
Both coaching staffs followed closely behind.
However, after Zhao Zhao walked out, he did not follow Breswell to the away team's dugout. Instead, he walked directly towards Mourinho!
This caught the attention of the on-site cameras, and James Jun naturally saw it immediately.
"Oh, Zhao Zhao seems to want to communicate something with Mourinho…"
"This kind of action is quite rare, because most interactions between Coaches usually happen before or after the match."
"During halftime, time is quite tight, and everyone is busy giving instructions to their own players. Who has time to chat with the opposing Coach?"
"Ah, I see. Perhaps Zhao Zhao is a fan of Mourinho? He might feel that if he loses, he might not see Mourinho on the field again, so he's rushing to ask for an autograph or something?"
"This… isn't quite appropriate, is it? They are still opponents after all, and the match isn't over yet… Huh? What's happening?"
"Mourinho's expression has changed. He seems angry! He even wants to rush towards Zhao Zhao! Fortunately, he was held back by his quick-witted assistant Coach."
"What happened?"
Amidst James Jun's very surprised commentary, Zhao Zhao had already returned contentedly and sat back in the away team's dugout.
Breswell, who was beside him, also looked surprised and asked, "What did you do?"
"Nothing, just chatted with him for a couple of sentences," Zhao Zhao replied calmly.
Everything was proceeding according to plan, following the progression simulated in the simulator.
In the last simulation, Zhao Zhao boldly used some unconventional "tactics" and ultimately achieved excellent results, so he was now full of confidence!
And "chatting" with Mourinho right after halftime was a crucial step in this plan.
As for what they actually talked about…
It was basically a mix of provocation and trash talk, something like:
"Do you dare to have a real contest with me in the second half?"
"You're leading such a good team like Manchester United, with so many star players, you wouldn't just be a coward, would you?"
"I've only coached three Premier League matches in total, and you're a world-class Coach. Are you really afraid of me?"
"You only know how to park the bus…"
Mourinho, of course, was furious when he heard this.
"Who are you, you young upstart, to speak so disrespectfully!"
"I've won two Champions League titles, three Premier League titles, two Serie A titles, and one La Liga title. What titles have you won?"
"Respect!"
Even after being pulled and dragged back to the home team's dugout by his assistant Coach Faria, Mourinho was still seething.
He immediately called Captain Rooney over and instructed him:
"Tell everyone, in the second half, play hard, score as many goals as possible, don't show them any mercy!"
-----------------
The second half finally began.
Everyone quickly noticed that Sunderland had quietly made a substitution during halftime.
Captain O'Shea was surprisingly replaced, with Kone from Cote d'Ivoire coming on as a substitute.
"This substitution is quite surprising."
"O'Shea has made 256 appearances for Manchester United and is a very experienced veteran, and currently the backbone of Sunderland's defense."
"Zhao Zhao directly substituted him, perhaps because he was carrying a yellow card, but this still requires considerable courage."
"And I feel that with Sunderland two goals down, Coach Zhao should be thinking more about how to score goals, rather than making a like-for-like change in the center-back position… Anyway, I can't figure it out."
"Plus, his seemingly unpleasant conversation with Mourinho just now… I always feel that Coach Zhao is a bit strange in the second half."
"Never mind, let's see what changes the match will have after such adjustments!"
On the field.
The superior Manchester United, as expected, once again dominated the play.
And under Mourinho's instruction, Manchester United's offense was even more ferocious than in the first half!
As Manchester United launched several threatening shots in a row, the emotions of the Manchester United fans at Old Trafford grew increasingly high.
As Red Devils fans, many of them actually criticized Mourinho's tactical approach for being too conservative, feeling it didn't match Manchester United's elite club status.
But today, Mourinho seemed to have made a change! This also excited the fans.
Thus, countless Manchester United fans began to stand up from their seats, singing the Manchester United team anthem loudly, cheering on their team's attack with thunderous shouts!
Only a few thousand Sunderland fans had traveled with the team to the away ground today.
Although they tried their best to sing their loudest cheer song, "sunderland 'til i die," they were still like a small boat in a storm, instantly disappearing into the red wave…
Now, everyone, whether Coaches, players, fans in the stadium, or viewers in front of their televisions, could feel one fact.
That is, if things continued like this, Sunderland would face a humiliating rout in 45 minutes, a complete collapse!
But when the on-site camera began to focus on Zhao Zhao in the away team's dugout, people noticed that this young Coach remained steadily seated in his chair, with no sign of panic on his face.
This formed a stark contrast with assistant Coach Breswell, who was already anxiously scratching his ears and cheeks beside him.
Sometimes, Zhao Zhao would even smile and chat with Breswell for a few sentences, as if the extremely passive situation on the field had nothing to do with him.
Such a scene, imprinted in Mourinho's eyes, instead made the "Special One" feel a hint of unease.
Under such circumstances, the young Chinese Coach on the opposing side had an expression of complete confidence. Had he overlooked some important information?
Recalling Zhao Zhao's provocative words before the start of the second half, the doubts in his mind deepened.
Mourinho was a master of psychological warfare, but precisely because of this, he thought much more than ordinary people and was more prone to suspicion.
"There must be something wrong, otherwise he wouldn't be so confident."
Because of this thought, Mourinho felt an inexplicable anxiety within him.
He began to stand on the sidelines, waving his hands repeatedly, urging his players to push forward as much as possible and try to score again quickly to further widen the score difference.
Only then would he feel more at ease!