Football: Starting from the 05 World Youth Championship

This was Raul's 57th goal for Real Madrid in the Champions League, breaking his own record for most goals in European competitions.

After scoring the goal, Raul kissed his wedding ring on his ring finger and pointed to the sky with one hand, appearing extremely excited.

The fans at the Bernabéu gave him a warm round of applause and cheers to congratulate the legendary striker in Real Madrid's history.

Lin Feng witnessed the treatment Raul received from the backcourt the entire time, and he did not feel any jealousy. On the contrary, he felt that Raul deserved it.

Despite rumors of him being a ball hog, Raul's performance on the field has shown that he has always been dedicated to helping the team and has never done anything to betray Real Madrid.

Ultimately being forced to leave Real Madrid must have been a regrettable thing for Raul and the Real Madrid fans who supported him!
It can only be said that for a powerhouse like Real Madrid, which needs to maintain its competitiveness to fight for honors, it is indeed not easy for its veterans to have a good ending. The fact that Redondo, Raul, Casillas, Ronaldo, and Modric could not retire at Real Madrid is not a coincidence, but rather an inevitability.

Werder Bremen is no pushover. Just one minute after Real Madrid's goal, in the 17th minute, Bremen launched a quick counter-attack, and Chen Tao, who had dropped deep, delivered a long diagonal pass from the left wing.

The ball went straight through Real Madrid's midfield, with an unmarked Werder Bremen striker making a run from the center.

Casillas hesitated noticeably when coming out to clear the ball, missing the best opportunity to do so. By the time the opposing striker got the ball and dribbled into the penalty area, it was too late.

Facing the onrushing Casillas, Sanoguer calmly slotted the ball into Real Madrid's goal.

The score is now tied at 1-1!
Having just finished celebrating, Mourinho, who had been sitting on the bench, sprang up as if propelled by a rocket spring, stared wide-eyed at his own goal, and began roaring at the players on the field:
"Are your eyes on your ass? How could you not see such a big forward?"

"Casillas, your movements are like those of an eighty-year-old grandmother, no, even an eighty-year-old grandmother is faster than you!"

"And Guti, why didn't you press the opponent's number 10? Why did you give them the opportunity to pass the ball?"

Mourinho was truly furious. Chen Tao had been completely outmaneuvered by Lin Feng in midfield, unable to find a single opportunity.

As soon as he escaped Lin Feng's sweeping range, he immediately delivered a deadly pass.

What does this mean?
This shows that Real Madrid's attacking players weren't putting any effort into defense. If they had put in even half the energy and attitude of Lin Feng to limit Werder Bremen's number 10, the opponent wouldn't have been able to complete that assist.

The players who were being criticized didn't dare to argue back and could only keep their grievances to themselves.

Although Mourinho's criticisms were harsh, he wasn't wrong; none of the players he criticized were innocent.

Otherwise, why didn't he scold Lin Feng?
"I told you, we're not here to give you free points!"

Having completed an assist, Chen Tao's spirits were noticeably higher, and he even started trash-talking Lin Feng.

"Heh, the competition isn't even over yet, and you're already popping champagne?"

Lin Feng didn't hold back either, throwing out a sarcastic remark at Chen Tao.

Although the two of them thought it was trash talk, to outsiders, there wasn't a single swear word in their conversation, so what kind of trash talk was that?

……

The game quickly restarted, and although Werder Bremen swiftly equalized, Real Madrid maintained control of the game.

In the 26th minute, Lin Feng spotted an opening on the right flank and delivered a long pass from the backfield, finding Gonzalo Higuain.

Higuain is a team player; even though he had a chance to shoot after cutting inside, he still chose to pass the ball to his teammates.

Unfortunately, Van Nistelrooy's close-range shot hit the side netting, and Real Madrid missed a golden opportunity to extend their lead.

During this period, Werder Bremen also tried to launch counterattacks, but Lin Feng put a lot of pressure on them in midfield.

Lin Feng's excellent physical fitness, outstanding interception awareness, and active running allow him to cover a very large area in the backfield. If Werder Bremen's midfield wants to launch an attack, they must first get past him.

Chen Tao tried to challenge Lin Feng, but failed.

Captain Bowman also tried, but he couldn't gain any advantage over Lin Feng either.

With such a defensive stalwart in his position, Real Madrid's players felt very secure playing as a team.

The two full-backs took turns dribbling forward to assist the attack, while the other defensive midfielder, Gago, couldn't suppress his desire to attack and boldly pushed forward as well.

As a result, Real Madrid's attacks came wave after wave, surging in like a tidal wave, almost overwhelming Werder Bremen's defense.

In the 32nd minute, Real Madrid launched a quick counter-attack. Raul received the ball outside the penalty area and made a through pass. Van Nistelrooy received the ball and was in a one-on-one situation, but was ruled offside.

Van Nistelrooy didn't waste time arguing with the referee; instead, he seized the opportunity to continue the attack.

One minute later, Van Nistelrooy received a pass from his teammate in the penalty area and forced a shot between Werder Bremen's two center-backs, Naldo and Mertesacker. Although the ball was deflected out of bounds by a defender's foot.

But his shot startled the Werder Bremen coach!
Van Nistelrooy is just too active; we need to keep him in check.

However, Real Madrid has too many explosive factors, and marking Van Nistelrooy alone won't be very effective.

In the 35th minute, Lin Feng, who had been staying in the backfield doing defensive work, suddenly dribbled the ball to the front, catching Werder Bremen off guard.

With Lin Feng about to enter his shooting range, Werder Bremen's captain, Baumann, had no choice but to foul him, giving Real Madrid a free kick in a very good position.

Lin Feng declined Guti's offer and took the penalty himself.

With a crisp 'whoosh', the ball traced a beautiful arc through the air, passing the goalkeeper's outstretched fingers and flying into Werder Bremen's goal once again.

The score became 2-1, with Lin Feng's goal giving Real Madrid the lead again.

Mourinho clapped excitedly and said to Villas-Boas incredulously:

"Is this the third free kick? How is this guy's free kick accuracy so good?"

Villas-Boas had clearly done his research, and upon hearing Mourinho's question, he calmly replied:

"Lin Feng scored a lot of free kicks when he was with Inter Milan. It is said that he received the true teachings of Mihajlovic. Later, when Beckham went to Inter Milan, he seemed to have learned Beckham's free kick technique as well."

In addition, he can also use Juninho's S-shaped free kicks and Ballack's powerful shots. He is proficient in a variety of free kick skills. Last season when he was with Inter Milan, he scored 10 free kicks in a single season, breaking the world record held by Juninho.

If players' free-kick abilities were graded, he would be at an S-level right now!

"That amazing?"

Mourinho was very surprised after hearing this; Lin Feng had given him so many surprises.

He possesses excellent attacking and scoring abilities as an attacking midfielder, interception and control abilities as a defensive midfielder, and now he also has a unique skill like free kicks.

It seems I don't know Lin Feng well enough; I didn't even notice all his good qualities!
"Boas, take note of this. I'm making the following adjustments!"

Villas-Boas immediately pulled out his notebook and pen, waiting with a serious expression for Mourinho's instructions. "From now on, all set pieces in the team, including free kicks and corner kicks, will be taken by Lin Feng. As long as he's on the field, he's the first-choice taker!"

Does a penalty kick count?

"Calculate!"

Mourinho's answer was unequivocal: since the other party had demonstrated this ability, he would trust them unconditionally.

Mourinho has the courage to not use those he doubts and to trust those he uses.

"When devising set-piece tactics, you should discuss it with Lin Feng in advance. Hmm, you can also consult his opinion when defending set pieces!"

Set-piece tactics are a major headache for many coaches.

The old tactics were used so often that the opponent already had the standard answer to the problem, so they were no longer effective.

New set-piece tactics are not easy to come up with. Even if you have an idea, the effect of implementing it on the field is often unsatisfactory, and may even backfire.

Therefore, apart from a few genius coaches, most head coaches are not very good at set pieces.

Mourinho is good at set pieces, but not much.

That's why he was so overjoyed to learn that Lin Feng was skilled at set pieces and entrusted him with this important task.

Villas-Boas, standing to the side, hesitated, feeling that Mourinho was being too biased towards Lin Feng.

Giving the other party such great power is tantamount to openly siding with Lin Feng.

This could dissatisfy the local players in the team, making it difficult for him to take advantage of the infighting to control the locker room.

As far as he knew, Raul and others were quite resistant to Lin Feng. If Mourinho hadn't made such a clear statement and instead acted as a referee, both sides would have needed his help, and he would have been able to better control the locker room.

"Do you think I don't understand what you're saying?"

Mourinho glanced at Villas-Boas, seemingly having read his mind.

"Then you still..."

"Raul and the others are just geniuses, but Lin Feng is a genius among geniuses. The future belongs to him. The earlier you invest, the greater the rewards!"

Seeing Villas-Boas deep in thought, Mourinho snorted coldly:
Young man, you still need to observe and practice more!
This guy has been following me for several years and is now getting a bit arrogant, thinking he's learned the essence, when in reality he's only learned the superficial aspects.

If he were to leave his team now and venture out on his own, Mourinho is certain that his future achievements will not be very high.

……

Returning our attention to the pitch, Real Madrid's momentum completely surged after Lin Feng scored.

Not only did they completely pin Werder Bremen in their own half, but they also created a series of extremely dangerous shots towards the end of the first half.

In the 41st minute, Van Nistelrooy received the ball on the edge of the penalty area and passed it back to Real Madrid's left-back Ramos, who followed up with a cross.

The young striker, who had surged into the penalty area from the other side, was poised to head the ball in front of the goal, but unfortunately, due to his short stature, he couldn't reach it, missing a golden opportunity to score.

In the 43rd minute, Guti suddenly sent a through ball forward. The pass was precise and slipped between two Werder Bremen defenders, landing at Raul's feet.

Facing the onrushing goalkeeper Visser, Raul opted to cross the ball.

Werder Bremen defender Mertesacker headed the ball away, but it fell to Gago, who was following up on the perimeter. Gago's long-range shot caused the unprepared Visser to fumble the ball.

But Van Nistelrooy's follow-up shot was a fraction too slow, and Visser reacted quickly and caught the ball first.

The first half ended with a score of 2-1, and the Real Madrid players returned to the locker room with a one-goal lead.

After Mourinho and everyone else entered the locker room, he slammed the door shut, turned on his hairdryer treatment, and began to berate each player who had made mistakes on the field in the first half.

Mourinho has a commanding presence and a very loud voice.

The team members were so disciplined that they were like quails, all with their heads down, huddled in a corner, trembling with fear.

Guti glanced up at his older brother and saw that the man was also keeping his head down, showing no intention of standing up to resist. He felt a growing anxiety.
Raul, you need to step up!
You're the ringleader; if you don't stand up and fight back, how can we support you?
What? You're letting Guti step forward and be the one to stick his neck out?

He didn't dare, he really didn't dare.

It's not just because he bears direct responsibility for the goal conceded in the first half.

Furthermore, the arrival of Lin Feng and Sneijder posed a direct threat to him.

If he dares to go against Mourinho within the team, then Mourinho can really remove him from the starting lineup.

So Guti could only sigh and accept the ridicule.

……

Neither side made any substitutions in the second half, and Werder Bremen, trailing in the score, immediately launched an attack at the start of the second half.

After being entangled by Lin Feng for half the game, Chen Tao finally figured it out.

Since Lin Feng is so difficult to deal with, I won't go looking for trouble. I'll just retreat to the defensive midfield position and stay away from him, won't I?
His choice quickly proved effective; in the 47th minute of the second half, Chen Tao's pass created another threat.

Werder Bremen striker Rosenborg backheeled the ball and skillfully dribbled past the onrushing Metzelder before unleashing a decent shot.

But Casillas was well-prepared and easily blocked his shot.

Two minutes later, Chen Tao passed the ball into the penalty area again, and Sanogo's volley went high.

After Werder Bremen missed two attacking opportunities, Real Madrid began to take over the game.

In the 51st minute, Lin Feng took a corner kick, which was headed away by a Werder Bremen defender at the far post. Guti then passed the ball directly to Van Nistelrooy, whose header went wide.

In the 55th minute, Lin Feng took another corner kick. Higuain's cross at the near post was blocked, but the ball bounced back to his feet. The little gun cleverly poked the ball through the gaps in the crowd into the penalty area.

Van Nistelrooy stretched out his long legs, controlled the ball, and then, with his back to the goal, unleashed a stylish backheel shot.

The distance was too close, and the goalkeeper was helpless, forced to watch the ball roll into his own net.

The score became 3-1, Real Madrid secured the victory, and Van Nistelrooy finally achieved his goal of opening the scoring. (End of Chapter)