Chapter 100: A Bad Beginning

At 5:10 pm on May 26, the Brazilian national team arrived at Ulsan Gimhae Airport on a Century Airlines flight. After avoiding the crazy Korean fans, they took a special bus to leave from the VIP channel and checked into the Ulsan Hyundai Hotel.

In the evening, the Ulsan City Government held a lively welcome party for the Selecao (Brazilian team). The Mayor of Ulsan and Luiz Felipe Scolari (Brazil's coach) took turns delivering speeches. After a commercial exchange between the two, the Brazilian team presented the mayor with a Brazilian team's yellow jersey.

From the 27th until the start of the game, the Brazilian team trained at the Meipu Stadium near the hotel. During this period, in addition to serious preparations, the most important things were various interviews and boasting. Details are omitted. Anyway, whether it was Scolari or Ronaldo, they spoke loudly when being interviewed by the media. As for Kaka, he was less prominent, and no one paid much attention to him.

On May 31, 2002, the eyes of fans from all over the world gathered at the World Cup Stadium in Seoul, South Korea.

After the brief but enthusiastic opening ceremony, the 2002 FIFA World Cup officially began.

This was the 17th World Cup. The tournament was held from May 31 to June 30, 2002, in 10 stadiums in 10 cities in South Korea and 10 stadiums in 10 cities in Japan. It was the first time it was held in Asia and the first World Cup co-hosted by two countries.

Thirty-two teams from all over the world were divided into eight groups. The four teams in each group competed in three rounds. The top two teams in each group advanced. After four rounds of competition, the final winner would win the world's highest honor in football.

The opening match featured the French team, the defending champions of the World Cup and European Cup, against the African Lions of Senegal.

The French team was the biggest favorite in this tournament, and there was no suspense in this game. Although Zinedine Zidane was absent due to injury, the Gallic Roosters had the 1998 World Cup champion and the 2000 European Cup champion as their team. Premier League Golden Boot Thierry Henry partnering with Serie A Golden Boot David Trezeguet, and Ligue 1 Golden Boot Djibril Cissé, who had not yet faced Zheng Zhi, was sitting on the bench. Youri Djorkaeff, Patrick Vieira, and Emmanuel Petit formed the new midfield triangle. With Lilian Thuram, Marcel Desailly, and Franck Leboeuf leading the defense, this French team had the confidence to fear any opponent.

Senegal was led by French coach Bruno Metsu. All 11 starting players were playing in Ligue 1. El Hadji Diouf, a two-time African Footballer of the Year, led the team. The rest of the players were also in the prime of their careers.

The game started with the anticipation of 62,561 spectators and countless fans around the world.

The French team showed the momentum of the defending champion from the beginning. After Sylvain Wiltord passed the ball, Trezeguet got the ball and volleyed sideways, but the ball missed the left goal post.

Although there was no success, the French team was not discouraged and continued to bombard Senegal's goal. However, the shots were either high or wide. On the contrary, Senegal took advantage of Djorkaeff's mistake to launch a counterattack in the 30th minute. After Diouf broke through, he hit the bottom line. Petit made a clearance, causing Desailly to block the ball and let it go. Papa Bouba Diop scored with a supplementary shot. France 0-1 Senegal.

In the second half, the French team sent Cissé to strengthen their offensive, but no matter how hard they tried, they could not find a way past Senegal's defense.

The game ended.

Henry, Trezeguet, and Cissé, the Golden Boot winners in the three major leagues, failed to score. Bouba Diop scored the only goal of the game. France lost the first game of defending their title, giving this unusual World Cup a strange start.

For the French team's defeat, the Brazilians were naturally gloating and happy, but their joy brought sorrow, and soon they became the objects of others' schadenfreude.

On June 2, the day before the match between Brazil and Turkey, the two teams were allowed to enter the competition venue for adaptive training.

The Turkish team arrived on the court at the stipulated time, but the Brazilian team still lingered on the court with no intention of leaving.

The Turkish players had angry faces and expressed their dissatisfaction with gestures, but the Brazilians pretended not to notice and still occupied the court.

Just when members of the Turkish team's coaching staff were about to ask the organizers for intervention, the incident happened.

Emerson, the captain of the Brazilian team, didn't know what was going on. A midfielder wanted to try out what it was like to be a goalkeeper. After squeezing Dida away, he stood on the goal line and let his teammates shoot. He was having a great time.

Then suddenly he fell to the ground after a save...

Everyone didn't take it seriously at first, thinking it was Emerson playing a prank. But looking at his painful expression and listening to his shrill wails, everyone had a bad feeling in their hearts.

The team doctor quickly entered the scene and carried the person out after a brief inspection.

The Brazilian team was naturally not in the mood to train and left in a hurry, leaving the venue to the extremely happy Turkish team members.

The diagnosis results came out quickly. Emerson's injury was quite serious, and he would need to stay in the hospital for at least 4 months before he could return to the game.

Kaka, who witnessed his injury on the court, was stunned throughout.

Is this the so-called God's mercy?

As the only World Cup that he has participated in, Kaka is certainly deeply impressed by this World Cup. Although many memories have gradually become blurred due to age, he still remembers some special reports.

Among these so-called special reports, apart from various historically significant controversies, the most ridiculous one is the injury of Brazilian captain Emerson.

It is said that he stepped on glass while taking a shower and injured his foot, which unfortunately forced him to miss the game. For this reason, he was also included in the list of the most bizarre injuries in football.

Kaka really couldn't imagine what it was like to step on glass in the shower, and even if he wanted to remind him in a subtle way, he didn't know how to say it. It was a bit strange to see Emerson jumping around. At one time, he thought it was because his intrusion changed his destiny and made him escape a disaster, so he was secretly relieved for a while.

But is this scene in front of him a weird situation?

So the talk about stepping on glass is nonsense. Is this actually the real cause of Emerson's injury? Or did the stepping on glass incident happen in 2006, and his memory has confused it? Can't be? We reborn people have bad memories, God, please don't fool me.

No matter how mixed feelings Kaka had in his heart, the matter was irreversible.

The captain of the team was injured mysteriously on the eve of the game. The morale of the Brazilian team was naturally hit hard. When the news spread back to Brazil, it caused an uproar.

Emerson currently played for Roma in Italy and could be considered one of the best midfielders of this era. He was both offensive and defensive and full of creativity. He was a crucial part of Scolari's plan. His absence would certainly have a major impact on all aspects of the team.

Scolari urgently summoned Kléberson to fill the personnel vacancy, while Kléberson, Juninho Pernambucano, and Kaka competed with each other for the main position vacated by Emerson.

The most important thing at hand was, of course, the re-formulation of the lineup for the next day's game against Turkey.

One was a midfielder who could attack and defend well, the other was an experienced veteran with delicate skills, and the other was an offensive kaleidoscope who could roam between the two penalty areas. Scolari said he also had a headache as to which one to choose.

If you are interested, you can search for "Emerson Stepping on Glass" online. I don't know who made it up. Anyway, I was deceived, and I didn't suspect it at all.

(end of chapter)