In January 2024, Li Chunrong watched the anti-corruption feature film exposing his son Li Tie, tears couldn't stop flowing, and his cheeks covered with Sichuan moss were instantly eroded by this hot sour liquid.
The 76-year-old man looked paled in the cold white light, like a crumpled old piece of paper. Li Tie, who was once young and vigorous, now uses his position to take bribes and bribes in the Wuhan club and the national football system, and serial fraud.
Incredibly, he even openly pitched match-fixing at the club.
For a while, Li Chunrong felt that the world was spinning, his ears were buzzing, he sat down on the ground, his once proud son had become a big villain in the football circle in the dark, and the good memories of Li Tie in his heart had all changed color, and he could never go back to the happy times he once had.
Li Chunrong suddenly recalled the details of many things—such as Li Tie's hurried and ambitious departure from home, and it turned out that those obscure and secret behaviors were a sign that he had fallen into the quagmire of sin.
The blind obedience of a father led the heroic son to embark on this evil path of no return.
Li Chunrong's heart was like a knife, his hands were tightly covered with his face, and he cried silently. Originally, he thought that giving his son a stage to display his talents would allow Li Tie to show his skills in this world, but this decision made Li Tie's life fall into the abyss of no return.
Back more than ten years ago, Li Tie was known as the rising star of football at that time, and his future was immeasurable.
In 1993, 16-year-old Li Chunrong was selected for the well-known Jianlibao youth football team in China as he wished. After every game, Li Chunrong is always the first to call his son, and his words are full of pride and pride.
He saw that his son was talented and high-spirited, and he believed that he would be able to write a legend on the green field in the future.
Five years later, one summer, Li Tie ushered in a new turning point in his life. He was sent to study in the holy land of Brazil, an opportunity that all Chinese players at the time dreamed of.
On the day he was leaving, Li Chunrong straightened up his aging body, hugged his son tightly in his arms, and two lines of crystal tears rolled out of the corners of his eyes.
After graduating in 2001, he was selected for the national team with excellent results, and the following year, he represented his country in the World Cup in South Korea and Japan.
Li Chunrong in the stands was extremely excited, staring at his son who was running and sweating on the green field. He has always believed that as long as he puts in the effort, his son will shine on the green field.
As parents, their greatest pride and joy is their children's achievements.
After that, Li Tie's career gradually climbed and became a unique wonder on the court. He made his premiere in the English top flight and returned home as an assistant to top coaches such as Lippi and Perrin.
In 2017, his son was appointed as the head coach and general manager of Wuhan Zall Club, marking the pinnacle of his career.
In January 2020, Li Tie was appointed as the head coach of the national men's football team. originally thought that this was the most brilliant moment of his career, but he didn't expect that this was the starting point of his fall into the abyss.
Wang Guiqin specially prepared a sumptuous banquet for her family and invited relatives and friends to celebrate. None of them expected that this lively celebration banquet would become the last opportunity for Li Chunrong's family to receive blessings in front of everyone.
Soon, Li Chunrong discovered something unusual about his son Li Tie. Li Tie often leaves home in a hurry late at night, and a large number of transfer records often appear on his mobile phone, but whenever he is asked, he is always silent and avoids answering.
However, the old man did not suspect too much, and just thought that his son was too busy with work.
In the early morning of November 2022, Li Tie, who was training in Dalian City, was suddenly taken away for investigation, and the family was caught off guard and fell into a dire situation. Li Chunrong was at a loss when he received the bad news on the other end of the phone, and his wife Wang Guiqin burst into tears.
They were helpless, unaware that this sudden catastrophe would completely change the fate of the rest of their lives.
In order to find his son's whereabouts, Li Chunrong tried to contact everyone who might know, but to no avail. The eldest son, Li Jian, had to stop him from going bankrupt to rescue his son. In the following month, Li Chunrong's phone calls were frequent, and he suffered physical and mental torture, falling into helplessness and despair.
26 days later, the news of Li Tie finally came, but he was officially notified of the disciplinary review and supervision investigation. Li Chunrong, who was eager to see his son for the last time, rushed from Shenyang to Beijing overnight, despite the opposition of his family, just to see his son with his own eyes.
However, he only saw the frozen building outside the building of the Commission for Discipline Inspection, and could not know the details of his son, spending every day in worry, Li Chunrong could not sleep every night, and missed his son's face all day and night.
Every time he recalls the past, Li Chunrong involuntarily returns to that important fork in the road in his life many years ago. This is where he determines the trajectory of his child's life.
When Li Tie was a child, he was thin and weak, and in order to make him strong, his parents sent him to the football sports school in Dadong District, Shenyang City. There, Li Tie ran, played and competed on the green field, and his usually introverted personality burst out the most real passion in football.
Whenever Li Chunrong and Wang Guiqin see the sidelines, they are always full of pride. They stood there watching their shy son struggle the lawn, their eyes overflowing with relief.
When Li Tie graduated from junior high school, they and the coach saw that the child was a natural football genius, and they were faced with the choice of whether to continue his studies or play football wholeheartedly.
Li Chunrong finally categorically supported his son's choice of football, the road of no return, as a father, he naturally has very high expectations for his son, hoping that his son can use football as a stage to excel and play his talents.
He saw his son's extraordinary football talent with his own eyes, and he was full of infinite hope for his future, as long as the child played football with heart, this quiet and diligent northern boy would definitely be able to shine on the green field.
For Li Tie, who graduated from junior high school, everything is so vigorous and beautiful. He just wants to follow his passion, play the football he loves, and hopefully become a hero on the pitch in the future.
This boy's dream turned out to be the beginning of his depravity, pushing him into the abyss from which he will never recover. And the key decision made by his father back then also foreshadowed the tragedy of the fate of the entire family.
However, no one, not even Ding Peng or Lan Yichen, did not expect that this once simple and diligent northern boy would eventually lose himself and become a prisoner of sin in the torrential whirlpool of the football circle.
When the anti-corruption feature film pierced his family's fantasies like a sharp sword and exposed Li Tie's various corruption in the sports circle, 76-year-old Li Chunrong felt that his soul was dissipating little by little, and life seemed to have lost its meaning.
On TV, his son took bribes and made money in the Wuhan club and the national football system, which made people think that he had also publicly promoted match-fixing. All the good memories of Li Tie came to naught at this moment, and were replaced by endless pain and self-blame.
Li Chunrong hid his face and shed tears, regretting that he was not at the beginning, time is like water, holding his son's hand, in order to choose an ordinary life. If you can do it all over again, you would rather your child stay away from football and live a peaceful life.
Sadly, the father and son have been destined by fate to be unable to get rid of this road of no return and bear the spurning of the world. From the day the anti-corruption drama was broadcast, Li Chunrong lost his soul all day long and turned a deaf ear to his family's advice.
His wife, Wang Guiqin, and son, Li Jian, could only helplessly help him up and down the stairs to prepare meals for him, but there was no smile in sight on his wrinkled face.
What is even more painful is that the trial of public opinion is like a storm. The neighbors were afraid to see them, pointing fingers, friends were also estranged, and even community activities refused to invite this "father of national football".
The family could only hide and go out to shop secretly in the middle of the night, for fear of being recognized by acquaintances and being looked down upon.