After the city derby with Atletico Madrid, the next game is the Champions League, which is also the last round of the Champions League group stage, with Real Madrid facing Ajax at home.
For Ajax, this is a life-and-death battle, but for Real Madrid, which has already secured the first place in the group, it is a routine game.
However, before this game, Lu Wenbin and the media and fans around the world will first pay attention to the draw ceremony of a world competition: the 2013 Confederations Cup draw ceremony.
The Confederations Cup, also known as the Mini World Cup, is hosted by the host country of each World Cup the following year in the year before the World Cup.
Therefore, the Confederations Cup is also regarded as a precursor to the World Cup. The organizers and FIFA can also use the Confederations Cup to inspect the competition venues, transportation, coordination and other aspects of the World Cup host country.
At the same time, it is also an important stage for the world's top teams to prepare for the World Cup.
The 2014 World Cup was hosted by Brazil, so the 2013 Confederations Cup will also be hosted by Brazil. The competition will be held in six cities: Brasilia, Belo Horizonte, Fortaleza, Rio de Janeiro, Recife and Salvador.
The Confederations Cup will start on June 15, 2013, and the final will be held on June 30.
There are a total of 8 teams in the competition, namely the 2014 World Cup host Brazil, last World Cup champion Spain, Asian Cup champion China, America's Cup champion Uruguay, CONCACAF Gold Cup champion Mexico, Oceania Nations Cup champion Tahiti, European Cup runner-up Italy (the champion is Spain) and the Africa Cup champion which will be decided early next year.
According to the draw rules, host Brazil and World Cup champion Spain were seeded into Group A and Group B respectively.
Then, due to the principle of avoidance of teams from the same continent, Italy needs to avoid Spain, so Italy automatically enters Group A and is in the same group as Brazil.
The remaining five teams will draw lots again and rely on luck.
On December 1, 2012, the 2013 Confederations Cup group draw ceremony, which attracted much attention from the world football community, was held in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Superstars and famous coaches such as Ronaldo, Cafu, Scolari and Prandelli attended the ceremony.
Of course, as the head coach of the Chinese national team, Gao Hongbo was also able to attend the draw ceremony, but he did not receive much attention.
The draw ceremony officially began at 11:40 am local time in Brazil.
First, FIFA Secretary General Jerome Valcke, as the host, introduced the history of the Confederations Cup and the situation of each team in this Confederations Cup, and then former Brazilian national team captain Cafu unveiled the match ball.
Then the drawing of lots will begin.
Brazil and Spain, as seeded teams, entered the No. 1 position in Group A and B respectively. Italy was directly placed in Group A to avoid a match with Spain.
Therefore, among the remaining five teams, the first team drawn was the second team in Group B.
Group A includes Brazil and Italy, and it will be almost impossible for other teams to qualify from the group.
Therefore, the remaining five teams are looking forward to being drawn into Group B and competing for the one qualifying spot remaining outside of Spain.
As a result, the first team drawn was Uruguay, which entered Group B with Spain, successfully avoiding Brazil and Italy.
The Uruguayan national team coach and football association officials cheered.
Then, the second team will be drawn and will enter Group A.
As a result, the island they drew was Tahiti. Tahiti was drawn into the same group as Brazil and Italy, so there was definitely no hope for them.
There are three teams left: China, Mexico and the African champions who have yet to be crowned.
The African champion has not yet been decided, so naturally no one cares. Chinese and Brazilian players, fans, national team coaches, etc. are all looking forward to being drawn into Group B.
In his own villa in Madrid, Lu Wenbin and his fiancée Kate, as well as members of his personal team including assistants, doctors, lawyers, and even the nanny, were all sitting in the living room, watching the lottery ceremony nervously.
At home, countless officials, coaches, reporters and fans were nervously watching the draw ceremony, waiting for the decision of fate.
The fat lottery guest Ronaldo took out the note from the box, slowly opened it, and then faced the audience and the camera and slowly said: "A."
"Yeah!" Lu Wenbin raised his arms and shouted, then hugged Kate next to him, and everyone in the living room also cheered.
Across China, countless fans screamed with excitement.
The Chinese team avoided Brazil and Italy in Group A and it is entirely possible that they will qualify from the group and reach the semi-finals.
Of course, it’s just that the possibility of qualifying from the group is greater than that of Group A.
Whether it is Uruguay, the fourth African champion that has not yet been produced, or Mexico, they will not be worse than the Chinese team, even if the Chinese team has Lu Wenbin.
Subsequently, the fifth team drawn was Mexico, which was unlucky enough to be assigned to Group A with Brazil and Italy.
Of course, relatively speaking, their strength is still much higher than that of Tahiti, and there is also a possibility of qualifying unexpectedly.
There is no suspense about the last team. The African champion, which will be determined at the beginning of next year, will be placed in Group B where Spain, Uruguay and China are located.
The group draw ceremony for the 2013 Confederations Cup has concluded.
Obviously, as the two countries that have won the World Cup the most times (5 and 4 times respectively), the match between Brazil and Italy in Group A will be the most eye-catching duel.
In Group B, Spain is the only dominant team, while Uruguay, China, and the African champion to be born next year are competing for the other qualifying spot.
Therefore, for Uruguay, China and the African champions, Group B can be called the group of death.
Of course, it's better than being in Group A like Tahiti, with no hope at all.
In addition, what the media and fans are most interested in is whether Lu Wenbin can continue his record of winning the championship as long as he participates in the competition.
Before that, Lu Wenbin won every championship he participated in, including the domestic high school league in China, including the Asian Cup championship for the national team and the Olympic championship for the national Olympic team.
But the Confederations Cup is different. There is no such thing as an Asian weak team or a U23 youth team. It is almost certain that even if the Chinese team qualifies, they will face Brazil or Italy in Group A, and will definitely face one of Brazil, Italy or Spain in the final.
In the semi-finals and finals, can Lu Wenbin still lead the weak Chinese team to victory
Perhaps, this Confederations Cup is the time when Lu Wenbin’s rule of "you can win the championship by participating" is shattered.
Although many Chinese fans and Lu Wenbin's die-hard fans still hope that Lu Wenbin can lead the Chinese team to win the championship, this is really too difficult.
Even Lu Wenbin himself, with his cheats, had no confidence at all.
In an interview with reporters, Lu Wenbin declared modestly:
"Both Spain and Uruguay are world champions. African football is more developed than Asian football, and African champions are also very strong. As the Chinese team participating in the Confederations Cup for the first time, our goal is simple, which is to play well in every game, gain experience in world competitions, and then strive to qualify from the group stage."