Football: Starting from the 05 World Youth Championship

As we entered late October, the pace of La Liga began to pick up, with the frequency of matches changing from once a week to once every three days.

This is a significant challenge for teams like Real Madrid and Barcelona, ​​who also have to compete in the Champions League.

For Real Madrid, there is even worse news – Cannavaro, Robben, and Gago have all been injured while playing for their national teams and will need to be out of action for anywhere from two weeks to three months.

Gago suffered the most serious injury, a pulled thigh muscle, which will keep him out of action for at least three months.

This unfortunate kid has been plagued by injuries ever since he joined Real Madrid. I don't know if it's his own problem or if there's something wrong with Real Madrid's feng shui.

The new season has just begun, and the team is already plagued by injuries, which is a major concern for Mourinho.

However, the remaining players were also not in good physical condition, and most of them had not recovered from the exhaustion of national team matches and the fatigue of traveling back and forth.

In the eighth round of the league, Real Madrid suffered a shocking 1-2 defeat to Espanyol away from home.

Although Lin Feng still managed to score, continuing his streak of consecutive goals in La Liga.

But the team's performance was so poor that he was powerless to turn the tide and could only swallow the bitter pill of their first defeat of the season with his teammates.

Real Madrid's shock defeat presented Barcelona with a golden opportunity to close the gap.

However, Barcelona also faltered, suffering a humiliating 1-3 defeat to Villarreal in their away match.

Messi had a poor performance in this match and failed to score. The goal that helped Barcelona salvage some pride was scored by Bojan, a young player promoted from their own youth academy.

Bojan, who broke a series of records at La Masia, is now seen by many media outlets and Barcelona fans as the next Messi, or even someone who surpasses Messi.

His goal seems to prove that he has the ability to replace Messi.

Therefore, even though both Barcelona and Real Madrid suffered unexpected defeats, the reactions of Barcelona and Real Madrid fans were completely different.

Barcelona fans firmly believe their team has a bright future because they have the best youth academy in the world.

Real Madrid fans are deeply worried, as the team is plagued by injuries, especially in the defensive midfield position where a cluster of injuries has left them struggling to field a full starting lineup.

Losing one game is not a big deal; the real problem is that if this loophole isn't plugged, we'll keep losing.

The absence of two key defensive midfielders has indeed had a significant impact on Real Madrid.

Mourinho had to try converting players like Sneijder and Baptista into defensive midfielders to partner with Pepe.

On October 25, in the third round of the Champions League group stage, Real Madrid hosted Olympiacos, who finished second in the group.

A month ago, everyone thought the Greek team was an easy win for Group C.

However, once the competition began, they proved their worth by demonstrating their abilities and giving a resounding slap in the face to those who had looked down on them.

Greece had miraculously won the 2004 European Championship, defeating Portugal in the final.

Having witnessed Portugal's crushing defeat, Mourinho dared not underestimate the Greek team and fielded Real Madrid's strongest lineup.

Although Real Madrid's midfield and defense were incomplete, their attacking firepower in the forward line and frontcourt was not affected.

Van Nistelrooy and Raul scored early in the first half, and Lin Feng added to the tally by scoring Real Madrid's third goal before the end of the first half.

With a commanding three-goal lead, Real Madrid seemed poised for victory.

However, the second half saw a dramatic turn of events. Olympiacos capitalized on Sneijder's unfamiliarity with the defensive midfield position and his lack of chemistry with Pepe, scoring two goals in quick succession to reduce Real Madrid's lead to just one goal.

At a crucial moment, Lin Feng took the initiative to drop back and participate in the defense, helping the team to block the opponent's fierce attack. Then, in the flank area of ​​the backfield, he made a super long pass to find Higuain in the front field, assisting Higuain to score his first Champions League goal.

In the end, Real Madrid defeated their opponents 4-2 at home, securing their third consecutive victory in the Champions League group stage.

After three consecutive wins, Real Madrid has 9 points in Group C, leading the group with a significant advantage.

Despite losing to Real Madrid, Olympiacos still finished second in the group with a record of one win, one draw and one loss.

Werder Bremen, who defeated Lazio 2-1 at home in this round of matches, are currently in third place with 3 points.

Lazio, who have only managed one point in three matches, are currently at the bottom of the table and their chances of advancing are in jeopardy.

In other groups, Real Madrid's arch-rivals Barcelona continued their slump in the league, drawing 0-0 with Rangers away from home in this round. However, Barcelona still topped the group on goal difference.

Lin Feng's former club Inter Milan has shown signs of recovery. In this round of the Champions League, Inter Milan defeated CSKA Moscow 2-1 away, securing their second consecutive victory and returning to the top of the table.

Liverpool, on the other hand, are in extremely poor form. After losing to Marseille in the previous round, they lost to Besiktas in the Turkish Super League in this round.

After three rounds, Liverpool has only one point and is at the bottom of the group, making qualification a big problem. On the other hand, Marseille, where Cui Peng plays, although they failed to beat Porto at home this round, still have a record of 2 wins and 1 draw, which puts them at the top of the group and gives them a great advantage and initiative in the competition for qualification.

Liverpool's poor performance surprised everyone and raised doubts.

Liverpool made it to the Champions League semi-finals last season and even put up a good fight against Inter Milan, so how come they've regressed so much this season?
Could there be some hidden story behind this?
Really!
Shortly after Liverpool's loss, rumors began circulating in the British media:

The main reason for Liverpool's severe decline in performance this season is the discord between the players and the manager.

The conflict between head coach Benitez and key defensive midfielder Xabi Alonso has become increasingly serious, almost to the point of irreconcilable differences.

To outsiders, it seemed that one of these two would eventually be fired.

However, considering that Benitez helped Liverpool win the Champions League trophy, Liverpool will most likely choose to keep him.

Therefore, many people are speculating that Alonso may leave Liverpool this winter or next summer.

These unfounded rumors originally had nothing to do with Real Madrid, but what can we do when Real Madrid is currently plagued by injuries and desperately lacks a defensive midfielder?

Real Madrid couldn't possibly resist a top-class defensive midfielder like Xabi Alonso, who has proven himself in top leagues, clubs, and major tournaments, and is currently in the prime of his career!

Moreover, Long Ge has Spanish citizenship and an outstanding appearance and temperament. He seems like a player tailor-made for Real Madrid!

So when rumors of his impending transfer surfaced in England, everyone's attention turned to Real Madrid, as if they had already foreseen Alonso's future with the club.

……

"Alonso, why not? Real Madrid will not turn down any excellent player!"

When asked by reporters whether Real Madrid intended to sign Xabi Alonso during the winter break, Mourinho not only did not deny it, but also directly expressed Real Madrid's interest.

Although he didn't explicitly say whether Real Madrid would actually submit an offer to Liverpool during the winter break, his statement already proved that Real Madrid was interested in Alonso.

When the news reached Liverpool, Benitez was furious: "Xabi Alonso is our player, he has two and a half years left on his contract, and any attempt to contact him privately should be condemned and severely punished!"

"Mourinho is trampling on FIFA's current rules, and I call on everyone to resolutely resist this rule-breaking behavior!"

Although Benitez did have a conflict with Xabi Alonso, he could not tolerate Real Madrid's underhanded poaching tactics.

After all, compared to a truly wealthy and powerful top club like Real Madrid, Liverpool is a bit weak. If Real Madrid really tries to poach players, Liverpool, with its limited resources, might not be able to hold on.

However, this is a long-term solution that cannot address the immediate problem. Even if Real Madrid reaches an agreement with Xabi Alonso now, the deal will have to wait until the winter transfer window opens before it can proceed.

This means that before the first half of the season is over, Real Madrid will have to tap into the potential of their existing squad.

In the ninth round of the league, Mourinho continued to experiment with new defensive midfield combinations during the match.

This time, he arranged for Baptista and Pepe to be the pairing!
Although Baptista started his career in the Brazilian Serie A as a defensive midfielder, he has been playing as an attacking midfielder ever since he came to Europe.

His strong physique and excellent speed made him shine in the attacking midfield position. In his first few seasons in La Liga, he was even able to score a terrifying 20 goals in the league!
When Real Madrid signed him from Sevilla, the president even excitedly announced to the fans that he had brought in a Maradona!
However, at Real Madrid, there is an abundance of talent in the attacking midfield position. Zidane firmly occupies the starting position, and even Guti has to compete for the spot.

Baptista is very strong, but he can only obediently serve as a wingman.

His performance plummeted when he was away from the goal, greatly disappointing Real Madrid's management.

Real Madrid then opted to loan him out, but Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger was impressed by his physique and felt he could fill the void left by Vieira's departure, so he signed him to play as a defensive midfielder.

However, Baptista had long forgotten how to play as a defensive midfielder. His defensive awareness and skills on the field were very weak, and he was simply not up to the task of playing in that position.

A furious and disappointed Wenger chose to return the player, and so he went back to Real Madrid.

Mourinho didn't want to use him either, after all, even Wenger's attempt failed, which shows that this guy is indeed not cut out to play as a defensive midfielder.

But there was no other way; he really had no one else available. He couldn't possibly bring Lin Feng back to play defensive midfield, could he?

Even if Lin Feng agrees, the fans won't!

So he had no choice but to use it while holding his nose!

Baptista's performance did not disappoint Mourinho. Not long after the start of the game, he gave La Lucona an excellent counter-attack opportunity due to a mistake.

The opponent seized the opportunity and scored first in the 11th minute of the first half.

An uproar erupted at the Bernabéu Stadium, as fans were shocked that their team had conceded a goal so early.

As a result, boos began to be heard from the stands directed at manager Mourinho.

Before Mourinho joined Real Madrid, he touted himself as the best defensive coach in football.

However, Real Madrid have conceded five goals in their last three matches.

Is this the report card delivered by the best defensive coach?

Real Madrid fans don't care about your excuses like an incomplete squad or too many injuries. If they don't like watching you, they'll curse you without any discussion.

The boos from the fans made Mourinho's face turn very ugly. He just couldn't understand it. Baptista's physical condition was so good, he was a natural candidate to play as a defensive midfielder.

But why did he perform so poorly in the defensive midfield position?
Compared to him, Pepe, who was also a rookie, appeared mature and steady. Even his previous impulsiveness and penchant for fouls seemed much more agreeable to Mourinho.

Super Deportivo has declined after all. Although it still has a good reputation, it no longer has the strength it once had.

Although they took the lead thanks to Real Madrid's own mistake, La Lucoña couldn't maintain that advantage for long.

In the 22nd minute of the first half, Lin Feng found an opportunity in the middle and made a strong breakthrough. After attracting the attention of several opposing defenders at the edge of the penalty area, he pretended to shoot, but suddenly delivered a through pass.

He had just completed the pass when a white figure suddenly surged forward from the side, entered the penalty area, and easily slotted the ball into the net.

The goal was scored by Real Madrid's number 7, Raul Gonzalez!

The score became 1-1, with Real Madrid equalizing.

"Hey, that was a good pass!"

Raul was in a great mood after scoring the goal, and even looked at Lin Feng more pleasingly.

He couldn't lie to his conscience; Lin Feng's feint pass just now was indeed beautiful.

He was behind him, and logically he shouldn't have been able to see his position, but it was as if he had eyes in the back of his head, accurately delivering the ball to his feet.

This requires an extremely high football intelligence and the ability to read the game. He's probably the only one in the entire Real Madrid team who can pull off this kind of play!
Looking back at those past matches, Raul had to admit that the passing ability of his opponents was still superior to that of Guti.

Moreover, the opponent not only has outstanding passing ability, but also strong dribbling and breakthrough ability. Raul played very comfortably with him because the opponent could always create space for him and accurately pass the ball to him when he found those spaces.

Compared to Lin Feng, Guti suddenly seems less appealing.

Unfortunately, the two didn't get along very well; otherwise, I probably would have enjoyed such excellent passing skills in every game.

"Hmm, you shot pretty well too!"

Lin Feng's response was indifferent, leaving Raul feeling rebuffed.

Raul was already feeling a bit regretful. If he had known this guy was so strong, he shouldn't have been hostile to him in the first place.

Seeing that Lin Feng had firmly established himself in Real Madrid, Raul knew that continuing to be hostile towards him would only provoke his resentment and hostility. So he sought reconciliation.

They have no choice but to reconcile, as Guti has lost his starting position and his playing time has decreased significantly.

Raul suddenly realized he had no help!

Although Lin Feng would occasionally pass the ball to him, in most cases, his passes would prioritize finding Van Nistelrooy.

Thanks to Lin Feng's consistent supply of goals, Van Nistelrooy's goal tally has increased significantly this season. He has already scored 11 goals in just 8 rounds of the league.

Including his three Champions League goals, Van Nistelrooy has already scored 14 goals in less than a third of the season, which is half of his total goals from last season!

Raul's statistics, however, have declined, with his goal tally decreasing by one-third compared to the same period last year.

This back-and-forth movement widened the gap between him and Van Nistelrooy, causing Raul to feel a great sense of crisis. (End of Chapter)