Football: Starting from the 05 World Youth Championship

"That goal was largely due to luck!"

"Judging from their positions, Zenit's other defender is already in front of Van Nistelrooy, so Van Nistelrooy might not be able to receive the ball!"

"But unfortunately, Upokan was unaware of what was happening behind him. In his eagerness to save the situation, he paid the price for his impulsiveness!"

The home team's own goal left the Russian fans in the stands somewhat frustrated, as Zenit had a lot of fans looking forward to this match because the team had defeated Real Madrid in the European Super Cup just over a month ago.

Only a small number of fans can attend the European Super Cup in person, but this time it's different when the game is played on home soil. Basically, anyone who can afford it can come, and they want to witness Zenit defeat the seemingly invincible Real Madrid.

The home team's performance after the start of the game ignited the fans' enthusiasm. When Arshavin hit the post, many people sighed, but at the same time, they felt that the team really had a chance to win the game.

Then we saw this own goal...

Mourinho shrugged at the camera on the sidelines, as if to say: See, even God is helping me!

However, he seems to have been too happy too soon!
The unexpected goal conceded further spurred Zenit's players on the field, prompting them to launch an even more frantic attack on Real Madrid.

In the 34th minute, Zenit's free kick from the right wing was crossed to the far post, where Arshavin headed the ball over the bar from 7 meters out.

In the 37th minute, Zhirjanov broke through on the left and shot, but Casillas made a great save. Just one minute later, Sirjanov took a left-footed shot from the edge of the penalty area on the left, but Casillas made a diving save to tip it over the far post!
The 08-09 season was definitely the peak of Casillas' career. During this period, apart from struggling a little with long-range shots and set pieces, he was practically perfect in every other aspect. He could almost be called the best goalkeeper in the league and the undisputed leader of Real Madrid's defense.

Zenit's attack wasn't lacking in intensity; Real Madrid's poor performance gave them numerous opportunities.

But they were unlucky and encountered Saint Casillas at his peak.

The opposing team made one flawless save after another, leaving Zenit's strikers questioning their very existence.

Even Arshavin himself began to doubt, "Can I really score against a guy like this?"

In fact, Zenit's goalkeeper also performed well. While Casillas put on a god-like performance, Malafeev also quietly saved several shots from Van Nistelrooy, Robben, and others.

Especially in the 35th minute, Higuain broke into the penalty area and shot from 10 meters out, but Malafeev quickly fell to the ground and blocked the ball with his body during the process of rushing out.

This save was no less difficult than Casillas's previous incredible save.

Despite Casillas's outstanding performance, he unfortunately had some terrible teammates!
In the 39th minute, Arshavin crossed from the left to the far post, where Zenit striker Dani stretched out his long leg to get in front of Real Madrid defender Heinze and, from 7 meters out, volleyed the ball with the outside of his foot into the near corner of the goal.

The score is now 1-1!

Casillas was helpless against the ball; he truly didn't expect the opponent to be able to score even past his own defender!
The moment the ball went in, the atmosphere at the stadium changed completely.

After being suppressed for several tens of minutes, Zenit fans unleashed their emotions wildly. The sheer number of over 60,000 Zenit fans created a force so great that it almost lifted the stadium roof off.

The more oppressive they were before, the more unrestrained they are now!

Seeing his own defenders' poor performance, Mourinho was so angry he wanted to curse.

What on earth is Heinz doing?
This is practically a crime!

At this point, Mourinho was already somewhat dissatisfied with the Argentines' performance.

Heinze was born in 1978 and is only 30 years old this year. He is in the prime of his career, so his form shouldn't be this bad.

But his defense in this game was full of holes, making people wonder if Real Madrid bought a big leaky sieve?

On the field, Lin Feng also felt that his teammates' performance was outrageous, playing as if they had been bet on something.

But when I thought about how he was one of the main figures in Kaká's iconic moments at Old Trafford, I felt relieved.

This guy's abilities seem to be limited; demanding too much from him is just making things difficult for him.

After all, which club's 28-year-old starting defender only costs 1200 million euros to transfer to another top club?
In the world of football, any decent full-back costs at least 30 to 40 million euros.
1200 million euros can only buy you cheap goods!

The score remained 1-1 until the end of the first half. At the start of the second half, Mourinho couldn't wait to replace the underperforming Heinze with Marcelo.

Marcelo's introduction further amplified Robben's advantage on the flanks.

In the 52nd minute of the second half, Robben made a through pass on the left wing, and Van Nistelrooy forced a sliding shot from 18 meters out, but it went high and wide.

Three minutes later, Robben broke through on the left wing again and passed the ball across.

There was chaos in Zenit's penalty area, and their defenders almost scored an own goal while clearing the ball.

Lin Feng then took a corner kick, and Ramos' header from 11 meters out was blocked by a defender on the goal line.

During this period, Real Madrid's offensive momentum gradually improved, especially their advantage on the flanks, which drew the opponent's attention to defense and made it difficult for them to launch sustained attacks on Real Madrid as before.

However, although Robben made a lot of noise on the wing, his efficiency was not high, and his crosses failed to create scoring opportunities.

Mourinho shook his head, then involuntarily turned his gaze to Lin Feng: whether they could break through the goal still depended on Lin Feng's performance.

Like his teammates, Lin Feng was not in good form in this game.

He hadn't had much rest during the summer, and after returning to Real Madrid, he faced a tight schedule with matches every three days, and he was competing on multiple fronts. His physical condition hadn't recovered to its best.

In the first few tens of minutes of the game, Lin Feng did little besides making a few decent passes.

In terms of camera time, he doesn't even have as much presence as Robben on the wing.

Zenit was also very wary of Lin Feng and had devised a complete set of tactics to target him.

But after half the game, when they realized that his performance seemed mediocre, the Zenit players gradually lost their vigilance.

And that was their biggest mistake of the entire game!

In the 61st minute, Lin Feng received a cross from his teammate. Seeing that the opposing player was not marking him closely, he made a feint to pass the ball, then suddenly cut across and changed direction. He created an angle in front of the penalty area and decisively fired a shot with his left foot.

The shot came suddenly, and with its high speed and tricky angle, Zenit's goalkeeper, Malafeev, had no chance to block it and could only watch the ball go into the net.

The score became 2-1, Real Madrid took the lead again!
"Pretty!"

Mourinho roared and excitedly clenched his fist.

He had already lost face by losing to Zenit in the Super Cup in the summer.

He couldn't even imagine how the outside world would ridicule him if he lost to his opponent again in this round of group matches!
It's well known that the Madman has made quite a few enemies in the media world over the years, and many of them are waiting for an opportunity to kick him while he's down. They just haven't had the chance yet, but once they lose to Zenit again, that opportunity will arrive!
Lin Feng's goal changed the course of the game and also affected the mentality of both teams' players.

Eager to score, Arshavin became increasingly impatient, even receiving a yellow card from the referee for a foul while trying to steal the ball.

But his anxiety did not result in a goal; instead, Real Madrid capitalized on their momentum and extended their lead.

In the 69th minute, Lin Feng controlled the ball with his chest from almost the same position as before, then lifted his left foot and unleashed another powerful shot.

However, Zenit's defenders reacted quickly this time, with the center-back immediately extending his leg to block the shot.

However, Lin Feng's shot was very powerful, and the ball bounced off his leg and landed on the left side of the penalty area.

Real Madrid's center forward Van Nistelrooy happened to be lurking in that position. When he saw the ball coming, the Dutchman activated his king of the penalty area attribute and, as if by muscle memory, volleyed the ball directly from 9 meters in front of the goal.

Zenit's goalkeeper was helpless and could only watch as the ball flew into his goal once again.

The score is now 3-1!

When Real Madrid extended their lead to two goals, the cheers from the crowd subsided considerably.

They seemed to know that it was virtually impossible for Zenit to win this game.

And that was exactly what happened. In the 72nd minute, Lin Feng made a brilliant backheel pass, but Higuain's shot from 11 meters out went high.

In the 81st minute, Robben broke through on the wing and cut inside to combine with Lin Feng in the attacking third. Lin Feng then passed the ball diagonally into the penalty area to Robben after his breakthrough.

Unfortunately, Robben failed to capitalize on his chance, shooting high from a tight angle on the right side of the penalty area.

Zenit played very passively during this period. Apart from a slight threat created by Zhirjanov's cross from the left in the 83rd minute, they couldn't even get into Real Madrid's 30-meter danger zone.

In stoppage time, Zetete once again delivered a cross from the left wing, and a follow-up header was blocked. Facing the incoming ball, Upokhan instinctively raised his arm, seemingly trying to replicate Maradona's Hand of God.

But the referee didn't tolerate him at all, directly awarding him a handball and a yellow card.

However, just when everyone thought the game was over, Lin Feng took advantage of a free kick in the attacking third to score directly, making the score 4-1!

Arshavin glanced helplessly at his own goal, then at Lin Feng, who was celebrating with his teammates.

Hands on hips, he begins to contemplate life.

This guy is really strong!

If he had been there in the Super Bowl a month ago, Zenit might not have been able to win.

The Russian Premier League platform is still too small. Arshavin suddenly felt that there was no point in dominating in this small territory.

It's time to broaden your horizons by playing in the top five leagues and compete against higher-level opponents.

As the MVP of the Europa League final, he has no shortage of suitors.

Arshavin hadn't made up his mind to go abroad to play before, but after losing this game and witnessing the strength of the full Real Madrid squad, he finally made up his mind.

……

At the post-match press conference, Mourinho once again began praising Lin Feng.

In this match, Lin Feng not only scored two goals himself, but also created one goal, making him arguably the biggest contributor to Real Madrid's victory.

Without his crucial goal in the second half, it's hard to say what the outcome of the game would have been.

Besides Mourinho, Real Madrid president Calderón has also publicly praised Lin Feng on multiple occasions and actively used Real Madrid's connections and networks to start building momentum for Lin Feng in advance.

It's the end of the year again, and this is the crucial time for the Golden Globe Awards.

Real Madrid has always been very good at creating hype for its players, and Lin Feng, as Real Madrid's star player, has a lot of accolades to his name.

At the club level, Lin Feng holds numerous team and individual honors, including the La Liga title, La Liga Golden Boot, La Liga Best Player, Champions League title, Champions League Best Player, and Champions League Golden Boot.

On the national team level, he also has many honors, including the Olympic gold medal, the Olympic best player award, and the Olympic gold boot.

Aside from missing the highly anticipated European Championship due to his nationality, in terms of individual and team honors, it's hard to find anyone better than him in the past year!
However, the existence of the European Championship makes the selection of the Ballon d'Or full of variables.

After all, the Ballon d'Or used to be called the European Ballon d'Or, and in the Ballon d'Or selection process, the European Championship definitely carries more weight than the Olympics.

Therefore, Spanish national team players who won the championship with their team will receive extra points in the selection process.

As a result, in addition to emerging superstars like Messi and Ronaldo posing a threat to Lin Feng's Ballon d'Or defense, players who performed well in the European Championship, such as Torres, Xavi, Villa, and Casillas, have also become popular candidates for this year's Ballon d'Or.

Among them, Torres's support is even higher than Messi's.

After all, Torres has won a league title in addition to the European Championship.

Messi, on the other hand, has failed to score for either club or country, and apart from having more goals than Torres, he is not superior in other aspects.

Lin Feng already had a significant advantage over these competitors.

Now that Real Madrid is using its influence to promote him, fans feel much more at ease after hearing the news.

[I can't think of any other result besides Lin Feng retaining his Ballon d'Or title!]

Unless the judges give the European Championship the same weight as the World Cup, Lin Feng is a shoo-in for this year's Ballon d'Or!

If Lin Feng successfully defends his Ballon d'Or title, it would be the first time in nearly 20 years since Marco van Basten that someone has won the Ballon d'Or back-to-back.

[That's true! I hadn't even noticed until you mentioned it, but it seems like no one has managed to defend their Ballon d'Or title in the past 20 years!]

[Let alone winning it twice, only Ronaldo, the "alien," has won the Ballon d'Or twice in the last 20 years!]

It seems that since the Bosman ruling and the Champions League restructuring, it has become increasingly difficult to defend the Champions League title and win consecutive Ballon d'Or awards. Back in the era of Van Basten, Rummenigge, Platini, Keegan, and Cruyff, winning consecutive Ballon d'Or awards was a common occurrence!

Yes, Platini's feat of winning three consecutive Ballon d'Or awards remains unbroken to this day!

[Do you think Lin Feng can break Platini's record if he can maintain his current form?] (End of Chapter)