章節 400: Chapter 400: Lin Quan Tops Weibo's Trending List
Chapter 400: Lin Quan Tops Weibo's Trending List
When news broke that Spain would play a friendly match against the Chinese national team, it immediately drew immense attention. Spain is currently the undisputed ruler of football, while China is a weak team, struggling even to qualify for the World Cup. In recent years, with China's football performance deteriorating, there was even a disastrous 1-5 loss to Thailand two years ago. This has led the world, especially the European football community, to view China as a football desert.
Despite China's vast population, surpassing that of all of Europe combined, the number of registered players in China is likely fewer than in a small European country. Playing against such a weak team doesn't provide any training benefits and could even lower one's own level. Thus, major footballing nations are generally not keen on friendly matches with China. For world champions Spain, numerous countries line up to schedule friendlies with them. They don't need to play against a third-rate team like China.
However, the offer from China was simply too generous to refuse. Spain not only accepted the invitation but brought their full-strength squad to China. On June 12th, the Spanish team arrived in China. Many fans and journalists, having learned about Spain's itinerary in advance, crowded the airport to greet them. The entire arrival hall was packed with fans wearing various team jerseys: Spain's red, Manchester City's sky blue, Real Madrid's white, and Barcelona's red and blue.
Fans weren't necessarily there for the Spanish team but rather for certain star players like Lin Quan, Iniesta, Casillas, and Ramos. Among the colorful jerseys, a few fans wearing Werder Bremen's green shirts stood out, undoubtedly Lin Quan's fans. The journalists didn't care about the variety of jerseys; they set up their cameras, ready to capture the Spanish team from all angles. Most players got a few photos, but Lin Quan was the main focus, as he had been missing from the public eye for nearly a week. Everyone was curious if Lin Quan would show up.
To their disappointment, Lin Quan was not on the Spanish team's flight. "Is Lin Quan not coming?" "Damn, if Lin Quan isn't here, I wasted a lot of money on these scalped tickets!" Despite the match being held at the Bird's Nest Stadium, which can hold 100,000 spectators, the demand for tickets far exceeded the supply. Fans who couldn't get tickets from the official site had to resort to buying from scalpers, often at exorbitant prices. Many fans, eager to see the World Cup champions and Lin Quan up close, felt cheated upon learning that Lin Quan wasn't with the team.
"Refund our money!" "Organizers, refund us! Without Lin Quan, there's no point in watching!" The internet and real-life protests were loud and persistent, with many high-paying fans feeling deceived. Although Spain had many stars, most fans were primarily there for Lin Quan. Without him, they felt no desire to be part of this expensive spectacle. The organizers, Starshine Group, were in a tight spot and had to inquire with the Spanish team.
"Coach Toni, are you sure Lin Quan is coming?" asked Zhang Shan, the deputy general manager of Starshine Group, anxiously. Lin Quan was the main attraction, and without him, the event couldn't succeed. Coach Toni reassured him, "Of course, we've already communicated with him. He's on his way to join the team." Relieved, Zhang quickly informed the public relations team to announce that Lin Quan was en route and would definitely be at the Bird's Nest.
Upon hearing this, fans felt somewhat reassured, though skepticism remained. "Could this be a trick by the organizers? Saying Lin Quan is coming to keep us from refunding tickets, then tricking us into showing up?" "No way. Won't Spain need to train before the match? Once they start training, we'll know if Lin Quan is really here." "That makes sense, but can we still refund the tickets by then?"
Amidst the swirling rumors, Lin Quan finally broke his silence with a social media post. On both Twitter and Weibo, he posted: "The high-speed train experience is pretty good!" The post included a video of a coin standing upright on the train's window sill, remaining steady even at high speed.
On Twitter, fans quickly commented: "Whoa, Lin Quan is back!" "Finally, he posts something after almost a week!" "Guys, Lin Quan's IP shows he's in China. Looks like he's really there for the friendly match!" "So he's been in China all along, no wonder we couldn't find him!" "Is this a Chinese high-speed train? It looks so advanced!" "Look, the speed is 350 km/h, faster than most of our European trains!" "Not only faster, but more stable too. That coin didn't fall at all!" "Maybe it's glued on?"
Just as someone questioned the coin's authenticity, the video showed Lin Quan picking up the coin, showing it to the camera, and then placing it back down where it stood upright again.
"Haha, Lin Quan predicted your doubt!" "What a perfect response!"
Due to Lin Quan's immense popularity, his video gave many people a new perspective on Chinese high-speed trains. Official Chinese accounts on Twitter seized the opportunity to promote tourism, inviting visitors to explore China.
Throughout his stay, Lin Quan continued to post videos of various locations in China, offering a glimpse of the real China without the filters often seen in foreign media.
Lin Quan's new Weibo post was made from a brand new account. Initially, no one paid attention to it since new accounts on Weibo are common. Even though he claimed to be Lin Quan, people didn't believe him. In this era, there are too many people pretending to be celebrities, and this 'Lin Quan' didn't even have Weibo verification, so no one took him seriously.
However, when someone noticed that his Weibo post was identical to his post on Twitter, this Weibo account quickly gained attention. The comments and shares surged, surpassing a popular artist and rocketing to the top of Weibo's trending list. Consequently, Lin Quan's follower count increased rapidly. Within half a day of posting, his follower count exceeded 5 million. As his post gained more traction and attracted more fans, the follower count continued to rise swiftly.
Initially, Weibo also dismissed Lin Quan's account as a fake. But when they saw the account's follower count surpass 100,000, then a million, and eventually 5 million, they realized the seriousness of the situation. After confirming that the account indeed belonged to Lin Quan, Weibo quickly verified it. With this official verification, any remaining doubts from fans vanished, and the follower count skyrocketed further.
By the evening when Lin Quan and Pep Guardiola arrived in the capital, his new Weibo account had amassed over 15 million followers. While this number wasn't exceptionally high compared to some local celebrities who had even crossed the 100 million mark, the speed at which his follower count grew from zero to 15 million in a day was unprecedented. Unlike some celebrities who bought fake followers, Lin Quan's followers were mostly real, as evidenced by the high engagement rates in comments and shares. His single post had over a million comments and more than 500,000 shares, showcasing a level of fan activity far exceeding most celebrities.
In Beijing, at the offices of Xingyao Sports and Culture Company, chairman Wang Hai had just received calls from several CEOs of domestic companies. These CEOs, seeing Lin Quan's influence and appeal in China, wanted to collaborate with him. However, they had no direct connection to Lin Quan nor access to his agent's contact information. Therefore, they sought to use Xingyao's partnership with the Spanish national team to facilitate a connection.
The proposed benefits were substantial, and Wang Hai was intrigued. He summoned Zhang Shan, who was organizing the friendly match, and assigned him the task. "Mr. Wang, this might be challenging. Lin Quan's endorsement fees are high, and these companies clearly want a free ride," Zhang Shan scoffed at their intentions, considering it naive to think a foreign player would be easily manipulated.
Wang Hai chuckled and explained, "I don't expect this to succeed immediately. The goal is to establish a connection with Lin Quan. Given the vast domestic market and Lin Quan being of Chinese descent, he has greater potential here than other European players. Isn't it reasonable to consider setting up a local management team for him?"
Zhang Shan was stunned by Wang Hai's foresight. "I want to collaborate with him, helping him manage his commercial engagements in China," Wang Hai clarified. Xingyao wasn't the most established sports management company, but its CEO was known for his sharp business acumen and market insight. Wang Hai saw Lin Quan's youth and immense potential as an opportunity. Establishing a strong relationship with Lin Quan could significantly benefit their business in Europe. Deep collaboration with Lin Quan could greatly enhance their company's operations.
Admiring Wang Hai's vision, Zhang Shan eagerly took on the task and set out to meet Lin Quan. Leveraging his role as the event organizer and a devoted fan, Zhang Shan successfully met Lin Quan. "Hello, Mr. Lin. I'm Zhang Shan from Xingyao. Here's my business card," he introduced himself straightforwardly, explaining his intentions.
Lin Quan was a bit surprised by Wang Hai's quick thinking. He hadn't considered this angle before. All his business dealings, whether in Europe or Asia, were managed by his agent, Pere, whom he rarely questioned. Pere's small agency had limited reach, primarily securing local deals unless international clients approached them directly. This wasn't entirely Pere's fault; Lin Quan had a laid-back attitude towards commercial activities. He disliked frequent appearances at commercial events, preferring to focus on training and matches rather than ads and promos.
However, no one dislikes earning money. If the offers were good and the engagements weren't too taxing, Lin Quan wouldn't mind making extra income. With China's rapidly growing market and generous sponsorships, the commercial prospects were vast. Pere had no foothold in China, so having a local team handle these affairs would be beneficial. Thus, Lin Quan agreed to Zhang Shan's proposal, planning to meet Wang Hai after the friendly match to further discuss potential collaboration. But first, he needed to learn more about Xingyao's capabilities and background.
(End of Chapter)
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