In the current situation, the management naturally dared not disobey Cao Baiming's words. His status in the team had significantly improved compared to before, especially after the incident last time.
Regarding Cao Baiming's request, the management immediately began preparations and also called all the team members to the training base that morning.
They knew what Cao Baiming intended to do today; it was the "big surprise" he had mentioned, which was to be carried out today. However, the team was currently in a rather dilapidated state.
After Li Gang was expelled, the head coach position became vacant and remained unfilled. Meanwhile, the management dared not act on their own to find a successor, as it had been agreed that such matters required Cao Baiming's approval.
Thus, everyone gathered here today to hold this meeting.
Cao Baiming had attended meetings in this room before, but at that time, he sat in an inconspicuous seat among the audience. Today, however, he sat at the very front of the table, the seat reserved for the most important leader.
Since it was morning, and they had been slacking off for several days, the teammates looked listless when they sat down, appearing as if they had just woken up or were still half-asleep.
They looked at their former teammate, the one they had once treated as a god on the field, now transformed into a fearsome figure like a childhood teacher. Many of them were silently contemplating what it would be like if they were truly purged from the team by this man later.
However, while some felt guilty, others remained calm. They knew how they had reached this position and that they had put in the effort, so they had no reason to be anxious. They also knew that Cao Baiming would not wrongly dismiss anyone.
The management sat at the edge of the conference room today, unusually silent. They kept glancing at each other, unsure of their own roles.
Cao Baiming finally spoke, and his words dropped like a bombshell.
"Regarding the major purge that was discussed before, I have privately compiled a list. Several people in the team can leave today. As for the procedures, I will leave them to you, the leadership, to handle. I am only responsible for selecting the people."
Everyone was struck with fear, including the management.
Even the leadership were afraid of what actions this madman, Cao Baiming, might take, perhaps even removing them from their positions. They were also afraid of their names being called out and their past deeds being exposed in public.
However, Cao Baiming had no such intentions at this moment. Removing the leadership was an eventual matter, but not for today. He did not have the power to do so yet, and if he did, the consequences would not be good.
As everyone waited, Cao Baiming eventually only spoke three names.
These three individuals were all players of the Tang national team. Two of them had even had the opportunity to play in the World Cup. They were the first batch to be purged.
Surprise and disbelief flashed across their faces, but this surprise quickly gave way to fear and panic.
Honestly, they were not particularly surprised deep down.
As they looked at each other and at themselves, they understood the reason for their dismissal.
Without Cao Baiming needing to say much, just by looking at the flesh on their bellies, one could tell the common characteristic of these three people.
Their beer bellies were more exaggerated than one another!
Finally, Cao Baiming stated the reason for the purge, as it was necessary to give the management a legitimate and sufficient reason to write down.
The reason was that they had excessively high body fat, failing to meet the national team's selection criteria or standards.
This rule or standard was a new one personally set by Cao Baiming.
The management felt their authority challenged by the establishment of this new standard, but they still dared not say anything, as these three individuals were not particularly important.
However, Cao Baiming then directly listed five more names. These five people, everyone knew, had gotten their positions through connections with the management.
The management finally couldn't sit still and began to object.
This, however, was exactly within Cao Baiming's expectations, and he was prepared.
"You said you were going to purge a few people before. Three were already many, and now you want to add five more? Are you trying to purge everyone? We cannot agree to this."
Cao Baiming smiled.
"Don't worry, I won't purge everyone. Today is just the first wave."
Cao Baiming felt that the current extent of the purge was acceptable, as his own status was enough to offset the value of these individuals.
Based on the current situation, the management would rather lose these eight people than lose Cao Baiming. Therefore, there was no need to overthink things at this point.
As expected, after a brief argument, the management quickly fell silent.
The expressions on the faces of these five people were filled with anger. Their faces showed surprise, and they were verbally scolding the management.
These leaders were unwilling to even lift their heads. They had made promises to these individuals to play for the national team, assuring them it was a stable job and that such a situation would never occur.
They had taken a lot of money and favors from them back then. How were they going to explain this to them now? And how would they explain it to their families?
At this moment, everyone in the conference room became even more tense.
They now truly saw how real Cao Baiming's "big purge" was. Eight people had now definitively left the Tang national team!
They might never appear in such a place again, and they were effectively unemployed. The consequences that followed would be borne by them individually.