Football: Starting from the 05 World Youth Championship

"I never knew you were a rich kid!"

Liu Yifei looked Lin Feng up and down with the eyes of someone seeing him for the first time.

"I didn't say I wasn't!"

Lin Feng looked completely innocent. Who would go around shouting "I'm a rich kid" through a megaphone? That would be idiotic, wouldn't it?

"This gift is too valuable, I cannot accept it!"

Liu Yifei didn't know much about real estate, but she could sense that the gift was very valuable, far exceeding her expectations.

"It's nothing valuable or not, just take it if I give it to you!"

Seeing that the other party was still hesitating, Lin Feng sincerely advised:
"You'll need accommodation when you go to Beijing for further studies. This villa has a great location—quiet environment, convenient transportation, and not far from the school. It's really perfect for you!"

"Um, hey, leave me a copy of the key later!"

Why would I leave you the key?

"I'll need a place to stay when I return to China for national team training and matches. This place will be a perfect cozy little nest for the two of us. We'll buy a large double bed, not too hard, as that would be uncomfortable, and not too soft, as that would cause back pain..."

"Get lost! You wish! I'm not giving you the key!"

Liu Yifei blushed as if she had thought of something, mustered her courage, kissed Lin Feng on the cheek, and then ran away as fast as she could with her head down.

After seeing Liu Yifei off, Lin Feng also left Germany and flew to Spain to report to the team.

Real Madrid's bad luck seems to be finally coming to an end, as no one in the Real Madrid team was injured during this FIFA international break.

This is good news for the Galactic Battleship, which is already riddled with wounded soldiers!
On November 25, Real Madrid narrowly defeated Murcia 1-0 away from home.

Lin Feng did not score in this match, but he provided an assist, which was received by Raul.

Since their relationship thawed in the last match, the two have become increasingly in sync on the court.

With Lin Feng providing support from behind, Raul's goal-scoring efficiency has greatly improved. In just two games, he has scored 4 goals, and he is almost catching up with Van Nistelrooy in terms of goal count.

Because he failed to score, Lin Feng's streak of consecutive La Liga matches with goals ended at 10.
After the match, numerous sports media outlets in Spain and even Europe rushed to report on the incident.

If Lin Feng keeps scoring like this, they'll all start to question their existence.

Although Lin Feng's scoring streak was ended, he has scored a total of 16 goals and provided 12 assists in the past 10 games, which is an amazing efficiency!

At the beginning of the season, many people couldn't understand Real Madrid's decision to sign Lin Feng for a record-breaking transfer fee.

Many people are pessimistic about the transfer, believing that Real Madrid's money will go down the drain.

However, a third of the season has passed, and Lin Feng has proven his doubters wrong with his actions.

In Real Madrid's history, even a superstar like Puskás did not have a performance as explosive as Lin Feng's after joining the club.

Therefore, Real Madrid not only did not feel that the transfer fee was not worthwhile, but they also regretted not signing Lin Feng sooner.

If they had poached Lin Feng from Inter Milan the season Zidane retired, Real Madrid might have won the Champions League last season!
Of course, Lin Feng's outstanding performance after joining Real Madrid has made many teams that once had a chance to acquire him regret their decision.

For example, Sir Alex Ferguson now regrets every day why he didn't choose to match Real Madrid's offer when they raised their bid.

If I had been more assertive back then and convinced Mr. Grayson to invest more, Manchester United might have been able to sign Lin Feng.

Unfortunately, there's no going back in this world; once you've missed your chance, it's probably too late to get it back.

……

The league season has just ended, and the Champions League group stage is already underway.

On November 29, Real Madrid and Werder Bremen drew 2-2 at the Weser Stadium.

Lin Feng still failed to score in this match, but provided one assist.

On the other side, Chen Tao delivered an excellent performance with one assist and one goal, and he was named the MVP of the match afterward.

This was the first time Chen Tao had suppressed his opponent in a direct confrontation with Lin Feng, which made him extremely excited.

The media, especially the domestic media, were even more excited than Chen Tao himself.

Since Klose left, Chen Tao has become the most important player on the team.

However, many people in the Bundesliga, and even Werder Bremen's own fans, have doubts about him, believing that he is not capable of carrying the team.

Amidst such doubts, Chen Tao proved with his outstanding performance in this match that he deserves the expectations placed upon him.

Lin Feng was also very happy about his good brother's progress.

Of course, objectively speaking, Chen Tao's ability is still quite far from that of a truly top-tier midfielder.

The reason he performed so well in this game is because Real Madrid was severely short of players in the defensive midfield position, while Lin Feng played as an attacking midfielder and didn't track back much, which is why Chen Tao was able to play so easily.

If he faces targeted attacks from other teams, his performance may suffer.

However, Chen Tao has already consciously increased his training in physical confrontation. As long as he can easily control and pass the ball under the pressure of other teams' defensive midfielders in the future, even if he can't become a top midfielder, he can still become a first-class midfielder.

In fact, Chinese football has always lacked top-class midfielders, and of course, it also lacks forwards.

Good strikers raise a team's ceiling, while good midfielders raise a team's floor.

The Chinese team often suffers unexpected defeats to weaker teams, which is actually because their minimum standard is not high enough.

If a good midfielder strengthens the control of the field, the opponent won't even be able to touch the ball, so how could there be a chance for an upset?
Although they only managed a draw, the point from that draw secured Real Madrid's first place in the group with one round to spare.

After securing a point against Real Madrid, Werder Bremen only has 4 points, trailing second-placed Olympiacos by 4 points, and has been eliminated from the group stage with one round to spare.

Given Werder Bremen's current squad strength, it's unlikely we'll see them in the Champions League next season.

……

Although they only managed a draw, Real Madrid had already qualified for the knockout stage, so this result should theoretically be satisfactory.

However, the media reports after the match were somewhat puzzling.

Lin Feng's poor form leads to Real Madrid's away draw!

The 100 million-dollar player is experiencing a goal drought, possibly hitting the rookie wall.

……

After failing to score in two consecutive matches, the media started hyping up the topic of Lin Feng being in a goal drought. Lin Feng was both amused and exasperated upon hearing this; the media really thought highly of him!

Does one have to score in every game to be considered to have performed normally?
Does a lack of goals in one or two games cause a slump in form?

This standard is almost on par with the expectations placed on Messi and Ronaldo during their reign of dominance in football, when they were exchanging goals.

For a moment, Lin Feng didn't know whether to laugh or cry; the outside world was holding him to the standards of a football king.

On December 2, Real Madrid defeated Racing Santander 3-1 at home.

Lin Feng broke his goal drought in this match, scoring a goal from open play and then adding another from a free kick in the second half, responding to outside doubts and rumors with a brace.

Upon seeing Lin Feng score, the media immediately changed their attitude.

Previously, there were doubts that he had lost his touch and that his opponents had figured him out, which led to his goal drought.

Wu Feng switched to a mode of lavish praise on him, complimenting him on his mastery of all kinds of weapons and his arsenal of weapons that never lacked ways to break down doors.

The speed at which this face-changing technique is so fast that even Sichuan opera face-changing actors would be ashamed of themselves.

On December 9th, Real Madrid will visit San Mamés Stadium to face Athletic Bilbao, who are ranked 7th in the league.

Athletic Bilbao isn't exactly a strong team, but their home ground is a nightmare for many La Liga teams to visit.

The Basques are incredibly passionate about football, especially when playing at home. Their players seem to transform into warriors charging into battle, acting more like they're waging war than playing football.

Real Madrid had a particularly tough time in this match. The momentum created by the away fans and the relentless pressing and pressure from the Basque players made it difficult for Real Madrid's attacking tactics to be effective.

In the end, it was only thanks to Lin Feng's stunning long-range shot in the second half that they narrowly escaped defeat.

After defeating Athletic Bilbao 1-0 away, Real Madrid secured their fourth consecutive victory in La Liga.

With this winning streak, they have further consolidated their lead in the standings.

15轮战罢，皇马取得了12胜1平2负的战绩，积37分高居联赛榜首。

Second place goes to Real Madrid's arch-rivals, Barcelona, ​​with a record of 9 wins, 4 draws, and 2 losses, a full 6 points less than Real Madrid.

Ronaldinho's form has been inconsistent, with ups and downs, while Messi suffered an injury during last month's national team matches and is currently recovering. This has resulted in Barcelona's poor performance recently, allowing Real Madrid to further widen the gap between them.

In third place is Atlético Madrid with 9 wins, 3 draws and 3 losses. Thanks to the outstanding performances of Argentine young striker Aguero and Uruguayan striker Forlán, Atlético Madrid came from behind to overtake Villarreal.

Atletico Madrid's attacking firepower has been incredibly strong this season. Currently, they have even surpassed Barcelona in league goals, second only to Real Madrid.

Villarreal are ranked fourth. The Yellow Submarine have been having a run of bad luck lately. After a hard-fought home victory against Sevilla, they have gone three rounds without a win, and suffered two consecutive defeats in the last two rounds. They have not only relinquished their second place in the league, but have even lost their third place to Atletico Madrid.

If Villarreal's form continues to be so poor, they might be overtaken by Espanyol and lose their Champions League spot next year.

Real Madrid's match was being watched by many people even before it started.

They seemed very curious and wanted to find out if Lin Feng had really recovered.

However, seeing Lin Feng score again in the game dispelled the doubts from the outside world.

It seems that Real Madrid's star striker has really regained his form.

This is not good news for other La Liga teams, especially those that will face Real Madrid next.

After their away trip, Real Madrid received more good news – their key defensive midfielder Diarra has finally recovered from his injury and returned to the team!
Diarra's return has finally relieved Mourinho of some of the pressure in terms of team selection.

On December 12, Real Madrid hosted Lazio at home.

This is the last match of the Champions League group stage, as Real Madrid had already qualified and secured first place in the group.

Without the pressure of achieving results, Mourinho chose to field a reserve and rotated lineup in this match.

Diarra, who had just recovered from injury, was also given a chance to get used to the rhythm of the game and prepare for his starting position in the league.

Lazio, who had already been eliminated, had no interest in this match and fielded a completely reserve lineup.

After 90 minutes, Real Madrid's substitutes proved superior.

Guti, who had been completely relegated to being Lin Feng's substitute, delivered an outstanding performance with 2 assists and 1 goal in the match, helping the team defeat their opponents 3-1.

Unfortunately, Mourinho didn't pay much attention to him at all. He was keeping a close eye on Diarra's condition, afraid that the defensive midfielder who had just returned from injury might cause some trouble again.

What good is Guti's performance?

As long as Lin Feng doesn't suffer any major injuries, given his current hot streak, Guti will never have a chance in his entire life.

After all, Lin Feng knows everything Guti knows, and he does it better than Guti.

But Lin Feng knows how to do it, while Guti does not.

Starting Lin Feng would not only solve the team's offensive problems, but would also help with the defense, but Guti clearly cannot do that.

Therefore, it is obvious who Mourinho favors.

Although Lin Feng did not play in this match, the media still focused on him afterward.

With the annual Golden Globe Awards ceremony approaching, everyone is looking forward to seeing which faces will appear at this year's awards.

Since the voting ended at the end of last month, many well-informed people have already been able to roughly predict who the top three players in this year's Ballon d'Or will be.

It is widely speculated that the three most likely candidates to win the 2007 Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year awards are:
Lin Feng, Kaka, and Cristiano Ronaldo.

Although Messi's performance in recent months has been outstanding, attracting the attention of many judges.

Unfortunately, Messi's momentum couldn't be maintained. His injury at a crucial moment caused him to miss out on the top three and be overtaken by the more outstanding Ronaldo.

As for Lin Feng and Kaka, Lin Feng, as the champion of both Serie A and the Champions League last season, has also performed impressively after transferring to Real Madrid.

Therefore, he was unsurprisingly selected as one of the top three for the Ballon d'Or, and even surpassed other players by a huge margin. He is currently the player with the lowest odds among the betting companies' Ballon d'Or winners.

Kaka's performance in the Champions League last season was outstanding, and his runner-up finish also earned him a lot of credit.

Although he didn't have any outstanding performances in the Champions League this season, his performance in the league has been excellent, so the outside world estimates that he will surpass Ronaldo and rank after Lin Feng.

Although, according to information disclosed by the outside world, Lin Feng currently has a significant advantage.

But until the Golden Globe winners are announced, everything is just speculation.

This year's Golden Globe Awards ceremony will be held on December 18th at the Zurich Opera House in Switzerland. (End of Chapter)