Soccer: If they're using these kinds of cheats, what's the point of training?

Chapter 80: CCTV-5 Interview Shocks the Host

Chapter 80: CCTV-5 Interview Shocks the Host

The interview took place in a hotel conference room in Paris.

The interview team sent by CCTV-5 consisted of six people: host Liu Jianhong, two cameramen, one sound engineer, one lighting technician, and one producer.

When Zhang Kuang entered the conference room, Liu Jianhong was confirming camera positions with the cameraman. Seeing Zhang Kuang enter, he put down his script and stood up.

"Arrogant!" Liu Jianhong stretched out his hand, his face bearing a complex expression—admiration, curiosity, and a hint of inexplicable emotion. "Finally, I've met you."

"Hello, Teacher Liu." Zhang Kuang shook his hand. "I've heard so much about you."

"You're taller and stronger than you look on TV," he said, looking Zhang Kuang up and down. "And you are really handsome."

"Teacher Liu, please don't praise me too much, or I'll get arrogant."

"Go ahead and be arrogant, you have the right to be. Come, sit down, take a look at our interview transcript first, and mark any questions you don't want to answer."

The two exchanged a few pleasantries and then took their seats. Zhang Kuang sat on a single sofa, with Liu Jianhong opposite him, separated by a coffee table. The cameraman adjusted the camera position, the lighting technician set up the lights, and the sound engineer clipped on the microphone.

Zhang Kuang glanced at the interview transcript and smiled.

"Teacher Liu, your interviews are very conservative, mostly asking positive questions, unlike the sharp questions from European journalists."

"It's okay, I can answer any question. As long as you dare to broadcast it, I dare to say it."

"Huh? Really?" Liu Jianhong was particularly surprised.

"Of course it's true. I can answer any question."

"Okay, wait a moment, I'll reorganize the question."

Liu Jianhong was also excited. He had never encountered such an interviewee before, who dared to ignore any questions.

He and his assistants tidied up the new interview transcript, and Zhang Kuang even took a few photos under the photographer's guidance, striking various poses.

About ten minutes later, Liu Jianhong returned with a new interview transcript.

"Would you like to take a look?"

"No need, just come on, ask anything."

"Okay, let's get ready to begin." Liu Jianhong gestured to the producer.

The producer gave an "OK" sign.

Liu Jianhong faced the camera and began his opening remarks.

"Welcome to this episode of Football Night, viewers. Today we have a special guest—he is the French Ligue 1 champion, the French Ligue 1 Golden Boot winner, and the most successful Chinese player to play abroad in history."

He paused.

"He's just arrogant."

The camera cuts to Zhang Kuang.

Zhang Kuang nodded slightly at the camera: "Hello everyone, I am Zhang Kuang, a Chinese player."

Liu Jianhong opened his notebook.

"Zhang Kuang, first of all, congratulations on winning the Ligue 1 title. This is the first time a Chinese player has won a league title in one of the top five European leagues."

Is there anything you'd like to say to the fans back home?

"Thank you for your support, fans," Zhang Kuang said. "Without your attention and support, I probably wouldn't be so relaxed. This championship is also a gift to you."

"You previously stated on Weibo that you wouldn't return to the national team. Many fans were heartbroken because of this, feeling that you were unpatriotic. How do you respond to this claim?"

His arrogant expression remained unchanged; he was simply organizing his thoughts in preparation for a reply.

"If anyone says I'm unpatriotic, I strongly disagree. I am very patriotic, and I love Chinese football. I saw someone online saying that only those who lack ability need to bribe their way into the national team, implying that I only got in because I'm not good enough, meaning I'm also a loser, and that the national team is bad. I strongly disagree with this statement."

(Zhang Kuang said a lot of things that made Liu Jianhong and the producer shake their heads with wry smiles. These things couldn't be broadcast, but that didn't stop Zhang Kuang from saying they weren't true. They could just cut them out in post-production.)

Liu Jianhong nodded and continued to ask.

"You won the Ligue 1 title and the Golden Boot in just half a season at Auxerre. How did you do it? How did you establish yourself in one of the top five leagues?"

Zhang Kuang looked at the camera and said something that surprised everyone.

"The root cause of the inability to stand firm in the top five leagues is insufficient firepower. If you are strong enough, it is impossible for you not to stand firm in the top five leagues."

Liu Jianhong was stunned for a moment.

"Lack of firepower?"

"Yes," Zhang Kuang said. "It's just like on the battlefield. If you have enough firepower, you can crush the enemy. If you don't have enough firepower, you can only die in battle, cower in the enemy's shell, or become a prisoner and accept defeat."

You're not strong enough, so you can't stand firm. If you're strong enough, you can stand firm. It's that simple. Cultural differences, language barriers, tactical adaptations—these are all excuses.

If you score a goal, the coach will use you; if you don't speak the language, he'll bring a translator to help you. If you keep scoring, the coach won't dare not use you, and even the club president will invite you to dinner.

That's football for you; skill speaks for itself. If you have the skill, you can dominate any league, whether it's one of the top five or top ten.

Liu Jianhong: "So how did you acquire your skills? Talent? Training?"

"I have both," Zhang Kuang said. "I have talent, and I train. Although many people say my training volume is insufficient, the quality of my training is very high. I know what I should train and what I shouldn't train."

I won't waste time on ineffective training, but I mainly rely on talent. I'm a naturally gifted athlete, so some of my peers shouldn't follow my bad habit; if you don't have talent, then train hard.

"Your private life has always been criticized," Liu Jianhong said cautiously. "Many fans worry that women will affect your performance. You seem unconcerned about this?"

"I get this problem mentioned dozens of times a day by reporters and fans. It's a really bad habit for most players, but it's not for me."