Football: Starting from the 05 World Youth Championship

Giants Napping? Real Madrid Suffers Opening Defeat!

Real Madrid suffers defeat against Deportivo La Coruña, resulting in the biggest upset of the new season!

…………

Despite boasting a formidable attacking lineup including Figo, Van Nistelrooy, and Robben, Real Madrid failed to deliver a truly threatening attack in this match.

Without Lin Feng anchoring the midfield and supplying them with shots, Real Madrid's forwards were struggling to adapt.

Real Madrid had a 60% possession advantage throughout the match, but most of their passes were useless lateral and back passes, with very few forward passes, especially crucial and dangerous ones.

Lacking excellent opportunities, shooters can only rely on their individual skills to fight alone and try to find opportunities, with predictable results.

Although Deportivo La Coruña is not as magical as it was a few years ago, it still has its foundation and maintains a very good overall defensive line. How could it possibly be breached by Real Madrid's strikers' individual efforts?
In this situation, it was already quite an achievement that Raul was able to combine with Van Nistelrooy to score a goal.

After the match, Real Madrid fans did not focus their criticism on the two forwards.

Anyone with eyes can see that they have done their best, and the most criticism is directed at Real Madrid's midfield.

Sneijder, who replaced Lin Feng as the team's midfield commander in this match, performed poorly in his role as the team's playmaker.

Although it's clear he's trying his best to fulfill his responsibilities, fans who watched Real Madrid's matches last season can easily see the huge gap between him and Lin Feng in the midfield commander position.

Lin Feng not only possesses a broad vision and superb passing skills, but he can also deliver all sorts of incredible and highly creative passes.

In addition, he has a very strong scoring ability, which means that when the opponent is defending him, they not only have to be wary of his passing, but also of his forward runs and attacks.

As a result, the opposing team found it difficult to focus their energy on dealing with Real Madrid's forwards, which indirectly relieved a lot of pressure on his teammates, allowing them to have better opportunities.

In addition, Lin Feng's assist ability, which was already superior to Sneijder's, meant that his teammates were naturally getting plenty of easy baskets.

This match exposed Real Madrid's weaknesses to many. Gutierrez, a columnist for *Mundo Deportivo*, wrote after the game that Real Madrid had developed a 'Lin Feng dependency syndrome':
"Lin Feng's arrival seems to indicate that Real Madrid has found the perfect successor to Zidane, but Lin Feng's influence on the field, or rather his ability to influence the outcome of a game, is too strong, making it impossible for Real Madrid to do without him. The consequence of relying too much on Lin Feng is that Real Madrid becomes unable to play football once he is not on the field."

"Losing to La Lucona doesn't seem like an accident. If Real Madrid can't solve this problem, they're bound to make similar mistakes again in the games Lin Feng is absent!"

……

Because Diario Sport is Barcelona's mouthpiece, Gutierrez's column was naturally met with strong criticism from Real Madrid fans.

[The Barcelona fans are hilarious, saying we rely on Lin Feng. Weren't you guys riding on Ronaldinho's coattails before?]

[Haha, when Ronaldinho was at his best, they clung to him; when he was off, they kicked him away immediately. Now they're clinging to Messi. If Barcelona is so capable, why don't they just stop bringing in big-name stars?]

I think Barcelona is just being sour grapes. If Lin Feng were a Barcelona player, do you think they would still say that?

"Of course not. With the integrity of Barcelona fans, they'd definitely exaggerate Lin Feng's achievements!"

Although they do not agree with the column in Daily Sports, Real Madrid fans share a consensus: Lin Feng needs to come back as soon as possible.

If he doesn't come back soon, the team is really in trouble!
Fortunately, there is relatively ample time. Real Madrid's opening match of the new season is on August 31, and the second round of the league will not be until September 14, which is half a month later. In between, they have a full ten days to adjust.

The only concern is that Lin Feng has hardly rested this summer, spending his time either training with the national team or participating in national team matches. This has raised serious questions among Real Madrid fans about his condition, especially his physical reserves.

On September 3, Lin Feng had just arrived in Madrid when his agent, Mendes, paid him a visit.

"Real Madrid is very satisfied with your performance over the past season and wants to renegotiate your contract and extend its term. Of course, as compensation, they are willing to increase your annual salary and bonuses."

Mendes has had a lot of dealings with Real Madrid, but he doesn't recall ever seeing Real Madrid being this proactive with any player before.

Lin Feng's contract with Real Madrid has only been in effect for a year, with four years remaining.

Logically speaking, with so much time left in the contract, Real Madrid has no need to rush to renew it.

After all, the world is experiencing a financial crisis this year, and European countries have been affected. Major corporations have not been able to escape the impact of this financial crisis, and their financial situations have been affected to varying degrees.

Against this backdrop, all the major clubs are trying to increase revenue and reduce expenditure in order to ensure that the clubs maintain a healthy financial situation.

"Hehe, you may not know how much commercial value your Olympic gold medal brought you. Right now, companies all over the world wanting to hire you for commercial endorsements could line up from here all the way to the Bernabéu. The reason Real Madrid wants to extend your contract early is partly to lock in your future core with a longer contract."

On the other hand, they want to make concessions regarding your annual salary; they're willing to offer you the world's highest annual salary in exchange for concessions on your image rights.

Lin Feng waved his hand, showing little interest in the topic.
"I'm not very interested in the title of the world's highest-paid person. A high annual salary is sometimes not a good thing, because it means taking on greater responsibilities."

Mendes gave Lin Feng an approving look and gave him a thumbs-up, praising his rationality and composure.

Few young players can resist such temptation, not even another player he highly values.

However, Lin Feng always seemed to be very rational when it came to money matters, and he wouldn't easily change his attitude because of the other party's offer.

"I've compiled a list of business sponsorship opportunities for you. Take a look and mark the ones you'd like to collaborate with. Send me their names later, and I'll discuss the follow-up collaborations."

Furthermore, Mourinhoto, I'm passing this on to you: he might bring in a backup for you, which could potentially threaten your position in the team, but this is at the behest of Real Madrid's management, and his trust in you remains unchanged!

For my substitute?
Is it that guy, or Modric?

It shouldn't be Modric, right?
Then it can only be that dead person!

"Has the transfer list been finalized? Can I see it?"

If Mourinho really has his eye on Özil, then Lin Feng will definitely try every means to sabotage the transfer.

“I’m not entirely sure. You know, Mourinho has always been very opinionated about team transfers and doesn’t like others interfering with him. I can only ask him for you later, or you could go directly to José, which might be faster.”

Lin Feng nodded. This matter was quite important to him. If the dead man really came to Real Madrid, he would be disgusted to death!
……

On September 5th, Lin Feng arrived at the team's training base early to report for duty.

Perhaps it was because of the bright sunshine and clear autumn air, or perhaps it was because he had signed more than a dozen endorsement contracts the day before, earning more than 5000 million euros.

Lin Feng was in high spirits, greeting everyone he met with a smile. "Hey, Lin, you're finally back! We were starting to wonder if you'd forgotten about us, your teammates!"

Ramos affectionately put his arm around Lin Feng's shoulder and said in a teasing tone.

"No way! You're all so talented and have such lovely voices. I love this place so much, how could I forget you?"

"Hehe, even though I've been trying to keep a low profile, you still managed to see through me?"

Okay, I'm not pretending anymore, I'm coming clean: I am the world's best left-back!

Ramos stood with his hands on his hips, head held high, looking incredibly arrogant.

"Pfft, hahaha!"

"You dare to call yourself the world's best left-back with your pathetic appearance!"

"Exactly! I wouldn't even dare to call myself the world's best right-back, and you've already declared yourself that!"

"If we're talking about who's the world's number one in each position, then our vice-captain is definitely one, and Brother Lin is definitely one too!"

Looking at his teammates 'discussing heroes over wine', Lin Feng shrugged: See? I told you my teammates are all talented!
Lin Feng's return improved the team's atmosphere. The locker room, which had been somewhat agitated, seemed to have found its backbone again and returned to its usual state of joking around, bragging, and chatting.

Real Madrid's management and head coach Mourinho have both noticed this change, but their attitudes are quite different.

Seeing this harmonious scene in the locker room, Real Madrid's management became even more satisfied with Lin Feng.

Because the other player is so young, yet he has already shown the qualities of a team leader.

Raul is currently the leader of Real Madrid, but he is getting old and was left out of the Spanish squad for this year's European Championship, which is a big blow to the "Lord of the Rings".

This has made Real Madrid's management worry that Raul may not stay at Real Madrid for much longer.

It's not that Raul himself wants to leave, but Real Madrid has already considered getting rid of him.

Real Madrid has always been very realistic when it comes to treating its star players.

Real Madrid could reserve a place for players at the club after they retire, attracting them to return to Real Madrid for a second career.

But they won't be offered a contract at the end of their careers.

Once a player's ability declines, they will either transfer away on their own or Real Madrid will bring in new players to squeeze their space and force them to leave. In short, Real Madrid will not spend a lot of money to support an old player who cannot help the team.

This approach is very pragmatic, but also very inhumane.

But very Real Madrid!

Because Real Madrid's management believes they are the best team in the world and must always maintain sufficient competitiveness to compete for various honors, maintain Real Madrid's exposure, and obtain higher commercial revenue in order to sustain the team's financial stability.

If Real Madrid were to decline for more than a decade like Manchester United, the damage to Real Madrid's image and commercial value could be fatal!

Real Madrid's management was very satisfied with Lin Feng's influence in the locker room, but Mourinho was not happy.

Mourinho is worried that Lin Feng's influence within the team is too great and will pose a threat to his own authority within the team.

The madman had never coached a superstar before, but he had already experienced the huge benefits of having a superstar on the team last season.

But Mourinho is still slowly figuring out how to properly interact with superstars.

But one thing is certain: his past approach of pursuing absolute control of the locker room and not allowing any dissenting voices within the team will not work in Real Madrid, or rather, with Lin Feng in the team.

Because whether at Porto or Chelsea, the important person was him as the manager; the players were just pawns in his game, pieces of the puzzle for winning the championship, while he was the one in charge of the team.

But at Real Madrid, the situation is completely different.

Firstly, he didn't have that much power, and secondly, Lin Feng's influence was too great; he couldn't treat him as a pawn to be manipulated at will.

He can only be considered half a helmsman at best; without Lin Feng, he couldn't steer Real Madrid like a ship!
This made Mourinho very uncomfortable, as many of his past experiences were no longer applicable.

"Boss, I heard from Mendes that you're planning to bring in a substitute for me. Can I ask about the progress?"

After the morning training session ended, Lin Feng found Mourinho eating alone in the cafeteria and asked him about what Mendes had mentioned earlier.

Mourinho frowned after hearing Lin Feng's question, looked up at Lin Feng, and asked:

"What else did Jorge reveal to you?"

Lin Feng keenly sensed the wariness in Mourinho's words and guessed that the other party probably thought he was going to interfere in the team's transfer matters.

To avoid any misunderstanding, he quickly explained:
"He just mentioned it casually in conversation and didn't reveal any details. The reason I asked about it is not to interfere with your recruitment efforts, but because I have a very suitable candidate that I'd like to recommend to you!"

Hearing Lin Feng's words, Mourinho felt a little relieved.

When Lin Feng spoke just now, Mourinho genuinely thought that he was going to interfere even in transfer matters. If that were the case, his power at Real Madrid would be further reduced, and he really wouldn't be able to stay.

"The summer transfer window is closed. We've only drafted a preliminary list. The actual signings will begin during the winter break. You'll find out the details then."

Although his tone softened somewhat, Mourinho did not reveal the detailed list of signings to Lin Feng.

Seeing this, Lin Feng wisely refrained from asking any further questions, knowing he wouldn't get any answers anyway.

Lin Feng's return brought very obvious changes to the team. In the second round of La Liga, Real Madrid defeated newly promoted Numancia 4-1 at home.

Although Lin Feng's physical condition was affected by the Olympics, he did not play the full game.

However, in his 65 minutes on the pitch, he still delivered an impressive performance with two assists and one goal.

This performance captivated all the fans in the stadium. As he was substituted, Real Madrid supporters at the Bernabéu chanted his name in unison, and the applause was thunderous and prolonged. (End of Chapter)