44: The glory of the town

Sigurdsson's assist was deadly! Vardy's speed and composure are admirable!

This is football! This is the charm of cup competitions!

On the sidelines, Mourinho, seeing this goal conceded, first roared furiously at the air, then slumped helplessly onto the bench. He knew that the goddess of luck was not on his side tonight.

In the final moments of the match, Chelsea launched a frantic counterattack. But Hartlepool United's players were united in their efforts, stubbornly holding onto their one-nil lead until the final whistle.

The final whistle blew.

Hartlepool United eliminated Chelsea one-nil.

They successfully advanced to the League Cup semi-finals.

Victoria Park became a sea of joy, with some excited fans rushing onto the pitch and tossing the players into the air.

Lin Feng slowly stood up in the VIP box, calmly gazing at the jubilant crowd outside the window.

He smiled inadvertently.

In the subsequent FA Cup second-round match, the team faced Chesterfield, a League One side, away from home.

Perhaps the astonishing comeback in the League Cup had exhausted all of their opponent's courage, or perhaps Hartlepool United's current momentum was too overwhelming.

The entire match was uneventful.

Jamie Vardy and Robert Snodgrass each scored a goal in the first and second halves respectively, and the team easily advanced to the FA Cup third round with a clean two-nil victory.

But the real storm had already swept across Europe.

The next day, from London to Madrid, from Paris to Milan, the front pages of almost all sports media were dominated by a name from England's fourth-tier League.

The headline in The Times was calm yet shocking.

"The Victoria Park Miracle: League Two Underdogs Topple the Blue Dynasty."

Spain's Marca was even more dramatic.

"Mourinho's Waterloo! The Special One Ambushed by League Two!"

France's L'Équipe's commentary was incisive.

"Hartlepool United, a team with an iron will and mysterious tactics."

Italy's Gazzetta dello Sport even focused on the players.

"When Northern Storm Shines: Schmeichel and Vardy, two names to watch."

At the post-match press conference, flashbulbs were as dense as a rainstorm.

The usually arrogant José Mourinho, facing the sharp questions from reporters, while his face was filled with reluctance over the defeat, uncharacteristically did not get angry.

He adjusted the microphone, his voice calm.

"We lost, that's all. In a football match, any result is possible."

"Hartlepool United deserved this victory, their defensive organization was excellent, and their willpower... was impressive."

He paused, his gaze sweeping over the reporters below the stage.

"Their goalkeeper, that young man named Schmeichel, he reminds me of his father, he has the potential to become world-class."

"And that number nine, Vardy."

Mourinho even showed a complex smile at the corner of his mouth.

"His speed, his impact, his primal desire for goals... He is a very promising young man, a real troublemaker."

A keen reporter immediately followed up.

"Mr. Mourinho, Hartlepool United's tactical deployment was so precise, do you think this was solely the credit of their head coach, John McDonald?"

Mourinho's eyes became deep.

He did not answer directly, only leaving a thought-provoking statement.

"The temperament of a team is often determined by its true controller. Clearly, they have a 'Special One' behind the scenes."

This direct dialogue with a world-class football star, this historic victory, acted like the most potent catalyst.

The names of Jamie Vardy, Kasper Schmeichel, and Gylfi Sigurðsson, overnight, leaped from the corners of League Two to the scout reports of major Premier League clubs.

No longer "preliminary interest."

But "key observation targets."

The club's commercial value also rapidly increased.

The old telephone in John Stone's office had not stopped ringing since the next morning.

The phone rang sharply and urgently.

Previously hesitant national brands, and even some internationally renowned sports goods companies, expressed strong interest in sponsorship and cooperation through various channels.

Mr. Stone's forehead was covered in sweat, and his hand, holding a pen, trembled slightly as he recorded one seemingly fantastical offer after another.

Facing a flurry of commercial contracts and interview requests, Lin Feng's response was very simple.

He instructed John Stone to temporarily decline all new commercial contracts.

"Mr. Stone, our value is far from just this."

"Signing now would be a depreciation of the club's future value."

"We need to wait for a better time to maximize our profits."

As for personal interviews, Lin Feng rejected them all.

He only issued a brief statement through the club's official website, attributing all the credit to the players' efforts, the coaching staff's hard work, and the unparalleled support of the Hartlepool fans.

The more discreet he was, the more curious and reverent the outside world became about his identity as the "mysterious behind-the-scenes controller."

Sophie Green's in-depth report, "Northern Storm: A Rhapsody of Victoria Park – How a League Two Town Toppled the Blue Dynasty," was quickly translated into multiple languages and caused a huge sensation worldwide.

She instantly became the hottest rising star in British sports journalism, with several major newspapers offering her positions.

But she declined them all.

Amidst her excitement, she developed a deeper desire to investigate Lin Feng's funding sources, his incredibly precise eye for players, and his almost uncanny tactical foresight.

She felt that Lin Feng must be hiding a bigger secret.

And Old John Mcdonald, in an exclusive interview with Sky Sports, perfectly played the role of Lin Feng's "mouthpiece."

When the host asked him how he devised the suffocating defensive tactics against Chelsea, Old John adjusted his glasses and said profoundly,

"Well... this is actually a complex geometric problem."

"We view the defensive formation as a variable parallelogram, and by compressing the distance of the diagonals, we restrict the passing angles of the opponent's midfielders."

"This is like playing international chess; sometimes, you have to sacrifice one or two 'pawns' (give up possession) to ultimately 'checkmate' the opponent's 'king' (key player)."

He earnestly quoted the "profound" theories Lin Feng had taught him, leaving the host and the viewers at home confused and impressed without fully understanding.