Red Diamonds

Changchun Yatai

The club's first official match of the year was against Changchun Yatai in Changchun, a city in northeastern China, a couple of hundred kilometers from North Korea (that very fact got the non-Asian players pretty excited). The city was actually pretty nice, though, and some of the players went out on the town to have some drinks the night before the match and found some good places to go. It wasn't Beijing or Shanghai, but the situation didn't call for them to be there. They had to make do.

Unfortunately, despite the relatively new stadium built in 2002, the pitch was in horrible condition, although that could be excused on a count of the cold weather. It was February in northeast China, after all.

The team got off the bus from the hotel into the stadium. The players hopped off the bus all feeling pretty upbeat and ready to go. It'd been a long offseason, especially after winning the Emperor's Cup, and for the foreigners, just itchiness to get back to playing. Friendlies against lower-level clubs don't cut it. Getting to play an actual opponent in an actual major competition makes it easier.

The locker room had a casual vibe to it. "I slept so good last night," Scott said to Tendulkar.

"You did?" the Indian striker asked.

"Yeah, the bed was so comfy," said Scott. "And the staff was so nice, I felt so relaxed!"

"I wish it was easy for me," said Tendulkar.

"Why, what happened?"

"A bad case of food poisoning," said Singh. "And it wasn't me."

"Isn't your roommate Yagami?" asked Scott. "It wasn't from that North Korean place we went to last night, was it?"

"Yes, it's Yagami, and no, I don't think so," said Tendulkar. "I feel sorry for him."

Speaking of Yagami, he sneezed a couple of times and looked a little pale. "Are you okay?" Matsuzaka asked, patting him on the back.

"I had a horrible case of food poisoning last night," said Kyo. "I was up for most of the night."

"Oh," said Matsuzaka. "Are you feeling fit to play?"

"I am always fit to play," Kyo replied. "Food poisoning is not going to stop me."

"That's what I wanted to hear," said Matsuzaka. "Everyone get dressed and outside for warm-ups! And stay warm!"

"I'm sorry, could you repeat that?" Chapman called back. Matsuzaka kicked himself, remembering that he'd shouted it in Japanese.

"Get dressed and get outside," he called in good English. "And stay warm!"

"Gotcha," said Scott. "Come on, gentleman, you heard the captain. Let's get movin'!"

The team took the pitch to begin warm-ups. It was cold, and they could make clouds with their breath. Yatai came out right after to the cheers of the... well... "Where the bloody hell is everyone!?" Chapman shouted.

"The only people here seem to be the ultras," said Scott. "But maybe they're not here yet because it is an hour before kick-off."

"McCarthy, the most we'll get here is a half-filled stadium," said Matsuzaka. Scott sighed in disappointment. With his enthusiasm deflated, Scott went back to warming up.

"Half-filled stadium, yeah, thanks a lot, nobody told me about this," he muttered while putting his Nike track jacket on in the changing room. The team had changed into their home kits; red shirt, white shorts, and black socks. Yes, that is their real colors.

"Gather around, everyone," Badstuber declared. The players gathered around him and a whiteboard. There, he gave a short, energetic pep talk. "It's the first game of the year, gentlemen. I don't expect the best skills, but I expect the best effort. Sure, they might not be very good, but don't fall for that! They're going to be ready, they know we're good. They're going to come out with energy and passion, and you have to meet that. I know there are players who will play like it's the end of the world. I don't want those few to be the only ones!