Football: Starting from the 05 World Youth Championship

Under the spotlight, Barcelona launched a fierce attack on Valladolid's goal.

Messi, who was thrust into the spotlight, was very proactive, repeatedly using his dribbling and breakthroughs to try and find opportunities on the flanks.

However, his efforts did not pay off. Despite having nearly 60% possession, Barcelona lagged behind their opponents in both shots and shots on target.

Valladolid truly lives up to their reputation as giant-killers; after securing a draw against Real Madrid at home in their last match, their players are brimming with confidence.

Valladolid's players seemed to handle Barcelona's pressing style of play with ease.

They calmly seized every mistake their opponents made and launched frequent, high-quality counterattacks.

Finally, in the 32nd minute of the first half, Valladolid took the lead with a counter-attack, putting them 1-0 ahead of Barcelona.

Barcelona, ​​unexpectedly trailing, became even more anxious, especially Messi, who was almost completely immersed in the fantasy of relying on his individual strength to fight alone, and repeatedly tried to use his personal skills to equalize the score.

But the more he tried to resolve the battle through his own strength, the more difficult it became for him to gain the upper hand.

Instead, he gradually fell into the opponent's heavy encirclement and suppression, and because he played too selfishly, Barcelona's attacking system was on the verge of being paralyzed.

Both Eto'o and Henry were very dissatisfied with Messi's practice of hogging the ball and not passing it.

Messi is under immense pressure; he desperately wants to score and prove himself!
Originally, his goal tally was not far behind Lin Feng's in the league.

However, Lin Feng has still managed to score in every game so far, and in the last game he even scored a hat-trick, which immediately widened the gap in goals between the two.

Lin Feng has now scored an astonishing 14 goals in La Liga, more than double Messi's total!
Messi's intense pressure fuels his deep obsession with scoring goals.

He needs to prove himself and close the gap with his opponents by scoring goals!
However, such brute force is clearly not going to work; Messi needs to trust his teammates.

Rijkaard watched from the sidelines, shaking his head in disbelief; Messi's potential was undeniable.

But he's still too inexperienced to shoulder the responsibility for Barcelona.

Rijkaard was worried that suddenly placing such a heavy burden on Messi's shoulders might break him.

Thinking about this, he became even more curious about the young man from Real Madrid next door:
The other person is clearly a year younger than Messi, so why do I not feel any immaturity or naivety about him?

Lin Feng's playing style and mature mentality are simply not what a nineteen-year-old player should be like.

He is so mature and experienced that people subconsciously overlook his age, and many even subconsciously feel that Lin Feng is older than Messi.

However, he is actually the youngest of the four supernova football stars born in the 1980s!
It is said that two years ago, at the age of only seventeen, he had already replaced Adriano and become the absolute core of Inter Milan, shouldering the heavy responsibility of Inter Milan's attack.

The reason he can seamlessly integrate into Real Madrid's tactical system and perform well under pressure is probably related to his experience at Inter Milan over the past two years.
Thinking about this, Rijkaard suddenly developed a strong interest in Lin Feng.

I wonder what it would be like to coach such an outstanding and mature genius?
……

Messi's efforts were in vain; it was Ronaldinho, who was strategically abandoned by Barcelona, ​​who saved the team.

Ronaldinho came on as a substitute in the 65th minute of the second half.

He seized an opportunity and scored a goal in open play just five minutes after coming on.

Ultimately, thanks to Ronaldinho's goal, Barcelona managed a 1-1 draw against Valladolid away from home.

This newly promoted team from the Segunda División has managed to draw against two of La Liga's biggest clubs, earning them widespread admiration.

They also criticized Barcelona's poor form, especially Messi's terrible performance in this match.

"7 shots, 0 goals: Messi in poor form, Barcelona held to a draw by newly promoted team!"

The little flea is no match for the great task; Mr. Golden Globe comes to the rescue!

Messi is experiencing a goal drought, having gone two rounds without a goal!

Valladolid, the biggest dark horse of the season, first defeated Real Madrid, then Barcelona!

……

After the match, almost all major media outlets criticized Messi's performance.

The higher the expectations people had for him before the match, the deeper the disappointment afterward.

Not only the media see it this way, but even many Barcelona fans have changed their attitude towards Messi after watching the game.

Some Barcelona fans feel that Messi may be very powerful in the future, but he seems to be a bit lacking now.

The team still needs a superstar like Ronaldinho to anchor the team!

Ronaldinho's reputation, which had plummeted to rock bottom, actually rebounded significantly after this match.

In an interview with reporters, Rijkaard stated:

"Ronaldinho can continue to play for Barcelona for many more years. He is still a very important player for the club, and I believe he can return to his best form!"

Barcelona president Joan Laporta, who had previously hinted at selling Ronaldinho, changed his tune after the match, stating that he would not sell him.
"Barcelona trusts him completely, and Camp Nou will always be his home, as long as he wants!"

With these two leading the way, the Barcelona mouthpieces who had previously criticized Ronaldinho relentlessly, even going so far as to criticize his pet dog, have also started praising him, showering him with compliments on his performance in this match.

They praised Ronaldinho for showing a completely new spirit, being more aggressive in his tackles and runs during the game, and even showing a greater desire to attack than before.

Despite coming on as a substitute, Ronaldinho had three shots in less than 30 minutes, two of which were on target, resulting in a goal.

In terms of dribbling past opponents, Ronaldinho made four attempts, succeeding three and failing once, achieving a 75% success rate.

More importantly, Ronaldinho no longer blindly lobbed the ball from the left wing to the right wing, but instead dared to take the ball and break through, attacking the opponent's defense and penalty area, creating opportunities for himself and his teammates.

This is what Rijkaard is most satisfied with, because he believes that Ronaldinho has recovered from his slump and regained his confidence.

However, Ronaldinho's reaction to the flattery and sycophancy from the outside world was very cold.

Having been betrayed once, he would never again be as naive as before, so naive as to consider this place his home.

This experience made Ronaldinho realize that in the eyes of the Barcelona club's management, he was nothing more than a commodity.

……

"Lin Feng is an invaluable asset to the team. We must keep him, no matter what it takes!"

Unlike Barcelona, ​​who wanted to sell Ronaldinho, Real Madrid's management was very satisfied with Lin Feng's performance since joining the team. Sure enough, less than three months after signing Lin Feng, they were already thinking about renewing his contract.

Chairman Calderon now deeply regrets not extending the contract term in the original agreement.

How can a five-year contract be enough for such an excellent player as Lin Feng?
If he doesn't renew his contract with Real Madrid in five years and gets lured away by another team, wouldn't Real Madrid be at a huge loss?

Real Madrid can let go of those superstars who are past their prime, such as Figo and Ronaldo. They were all cleared out by Real Madrid when they got older, had more injuries, and their form declined.

However, Real Madrid is absolutely unwilling to let go of a superstar who is in his prime.

The biggest difference between Lin Feng and these players is that they all joined Real Madrid after they had already become famous.

However, these players were at the peak of their careers when they joined Real Madrid.

Lin Feng's peak has not yet arrived; he is still constantly growing and improving.

Five years later, he will be 24 years old. If he doesn't suffer any major injuries, he can maintain his peak performance for at least another six or seven years.

In other words, the ideal contract length for Real Madrid is ten years!
Real Madrid's sporting director, Mijatovic, wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, even though he also wanted to sign a long-term contract with the other side.

However, Lin Feng had no interest in such a contract. When they initially signed the contract, Real Madrid offered an eight-year contract, but the other party was only willing to sign a five-year contract at most.

Unless Real Madrid significantly increases Lin Feng's annual salary and other bonuses, it will be almost impossible to change his mind.

Moreover, the new contract has only been in effect for less than three months. Isn't it a bit too hasty to renew it now?

In negotiations, revealing your intentions too early makes you vulnerable to being manipulated by the other party.

But there was no other way; the chairman had already spoken, so he had no choice but to bite the bullet and contact Lin Feng's agent.

Mendes was also surprised when he learned of Real Madrid's contract extension offer.

He anticipated that Real Madrid would extend his contract early, but he didn't expect it to be this soon!
Mendes watched every single one of Lin Feng's matches after he joined Real Madrid.

After watching the video, besides marveling at having signed a monster, Mendes also realized that he had found a cash cow, so he paid more and more attention to Lin Feng, treating him as his most important player, without exception.

If the opponent were an average player, Mendes would probably have made the decision himself.

However, since the other party was Lin Feng, Mendes decided to personally visit Lin Feng to show how much he valued him and to inform him that Real Madrid wanted to extend his contract early.

When Mendes arrived, Lin Feng was moving.

Living at the training base is convenient for training, but traveling back and forth on competition days is very troublesome.

After much consideration, Lin Feng decided to buy a house in Madrid.

Upon learning that he was going to buy a house in Madrid, his former teammate Figo recommended the villa he had bought when he played for Real Madrid.

This villa is in a great location in an affluent area, with a view of the Manzanares River right outside the door, offering a very open view and a pleasant surrounding environment.

What attracts Lin Feng the most is the location advantage. It is not far from the city center, Real Madrid's training base and the Bernabéu Stadium, and it is very convenient whether you drive or take the subway.

According to Figo, Zidane's villa also seems to be nearby, and not only Zidane, but it seems that many Real Madrid players have settled in this area.

Lin Feng, led by Figo, had visited this place several times.

This villa covers an area of ​​16000 square meters and was designed by the famous European designer Joaquin. It features a private swimming pool and gym, as well as a large lawn and garden.

Lin Feng really liked this grassy area and planned to convert it into a football field for his home training.

In this way, there's no need to go out for daily training; you can manage it all by staying home and closing the door.

The security situation in Madrid is not good; there are always thieves and pickpockets to catch, and it's easy to get robbed when you go out.

Therefore, it's best to avoid going out unless absolutely necessary.

This is also the main reason why he chose to buy a house in an affluent area. Compared with areas where ordinary people live or even slums, the security situation in affluent areas is much better.

Safety is a luxury everywhere.

Lin Feng was very satisfied with the villa, and Figo, out of consideration for their friendship, gave him a fair price—800 million euros!
If it were someone else buying it, Figo would have to add at least another million to that price.

The price of eight million was slightly beyond Lin Feng's budget.

But it's not that he can't afford it. In the past few years, in addition to the nearly 10 million euros in salary and bonuses he received from Inter Milan, he has also earned more than 10 million euros through various endorsements and sponsorships.

This is even with Lin Feng taking on relatively few advertisements. If he were willing to spend more time shooting commercials, doubling his income wouldn't be a problem.

However, Lin Feng cherishes his reputation and intentionally controls the number of commercial endorsements he receives, so as to avoid the situation like Liu Xiang, who was ultimately held hostage by capital and suffered a backlash because he accepted too many commercial endorsements.

However, even without his parents' help, buying this villa wouldn't be a big problem for Lin Feng with the money he had saved over the past two years.

After thinking about it for a week, Lin Feng finally decided to buy the place.

When Lin Feng transferred 800 million euros to Figo's account, Figo was shocked:
"Dude, I was originally planning to offer you installment payments, but you paid in full right away. What's the meaning of that?"

Lin Feng said indifferently:

"It doesn't mean anything, I just happened to have this much money on hand, so I gave it to them!"

Figo shook his head, thinking the young man was too naive and didn't know how to manage money.

"With bank loan interest rates so low right now, borrowing a little money from the bank and investing it will yield a higher return."

"As someone who's been there, I have to give you some advice: don't squander the money you earn. Our industry is all about youth, and the future is unpredictable, so you have to plan ahead. It's best to invest what you earn and not let it sit in your bank account gathering dust. Making money work for you is the only true principle!"

Lin Feng never expected that Figo, besides being a great football player, was also so intelligent and knew how to invest.

So he humbly asked him for advice:

"Brother Louis, may I ask where you make your fortune?"

Figo said with a proud look:

"Of course, it's US stocks. I bought shares in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Their performance in recent years has been excellent. In just a few years, I've already earned more than 50%!"

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac?
Why do these two company names sound somewhat familiar?
Lin Feng suddenly remembered—weren't these the two companies that triggered the subprime mortgage crisis? (End of Chapter)