Football: Starting from the 05 World Youth Championship

"Thank you, Captain!"

After scoring, Lin Feng hugged Raul, who actually fed him.

That open door was easy for anyone to pass, not just him, but even an eighty-year-old grandmother.

"No need to thank me. You passed me so many balls and I didn't even say thank you. We're teammates, it's only right!"

Raul feigned magnanimity and said that the reason he passed the ball to Lin Feng earlier was not only because he wanted to do Lin Feng a favor, but also because the goalkeeper was on his side. If Raul had taken the shot himself, there was a good chance that the goalkeeper would have saved it.

Since that's the case, we might as well grant Lin Feng's wish and let him complete his hat trick.

Compared to his own goal, Lin Feng's hat-trick in the first match of the national derby was obviously more significant.

Since Raul had said so, Lin Feng didn't stand on ceremony. He would remember the favor and find a chance to repay it later.

"Lin, you're amazing! You actually scored a hat trick at Camp Nou!"

"Haha, right now I think Real Madrid fans all over the world absolutely adore you!"

"Don't even mention being a fan, I love you to death!"

The teammates chattered amongst themselves, their faces beaming with excitement and joy.

Before the match, everyone was prepared for a tough battle, after all, they hadn't won here for several years.

But the process and result of the game were completely different from what they had expected. With Lin Feng's superhuman performance, Real Madrid's attack was unstoppable.

Even Barcelona, ​​playing at home, were utterly defeated by them.

This resounding victory not only allowed Real Madrid players to vent their frustrations but also instilled strong confidence in them.

With the first half of the league season coming to an end, Real Madrid has essentially secured the mid-season championship based on their current points and lead.

In La Liga, teams that win the mid-season title have a more than 70% chance of winning the final title!

Besides, Barcelona, ​​Real Madrid's biggest rival, has essentially dropped out of the title race after this match.

For Real Madrid, this is even better news than securing the mid-season title in advance!

With two pieces of good news, the Real Madrid players on the field naturally had to celebrate properly.

Seeing the opposing players celebrating wildly in their own stadium, some Barcelona fans in the stands couldn't take it anymore and began to leave.

At this point, it was clear to everyone that Barcelona's defeat was irreversible and there was no way to salvage the situation.

Rather than staying here and watching their opponents humiliate them, they'd rather leave early and suffer less.

Indeed, despite Barcelona's desperate struggle in the final stages of the match, it was all in vain.

In the 94th minute, Iniesta passed the ball to Messi, who made one last attempt to break into the penalty area, but failed. His low shot from the edge of the penalty area was saved by Casillas.

After Casillas took the kick, the referee blew the final whistle.

Barcelona ultimately lost 0-3 to Real Madrid at home, ending their 34-game unbeaten home run in the league.

After the match, Lin Feng kept his promise and had a hearty meal with Feng Xiaoting and Wu Lei at an authentic Chinese restaurant.

Feng Xiaoting remained silent after the loss, only showing off his meal.

On the contrary, Wu Lei, the younger brother, kept talking to Lin Feng, expressing his admiration for him, completely forgetting that he was a Barcelona player.

How are things going with you in the youth team? Is there any hope of making it into the first team?

Speaking of which, Wu Lei was brought to Barcelona by Lin Feng back then. Two years have passed in the blink of an eye. Time really flies!
"No, the Barcelona youth team is full of hidden talents. There are many people more capable than me. I still need to hone my skills!"

Wu Lei spoke with feigned maturity, but the little guy's unintentional expression of longing to join the first team betrayed his true feelings.

Lin Feng laughed heartily: "It's good to take time to mature. You're still too young. Joining the first team too early will only leave you sitting on the bench and not getting enough playing time, which will actually hinder your growth!"

Seeing that the other party was listening very attentively, Lin Feng patiently explained a few more words:

"What you need now is to constantly hone your skills and get appropriate match time to accumulate experience, but the intensity of the matches should not be too high, and you should especially avoid injuries."

For young players, being promoted to the first team too soon is not a good thing.

Bojan is amazing, isn't he? He was unstoppable in the youth team, breaking all sorts of records, from the impossible to the impossible.

However, even such a star young player, who was hailed as Barcelona's rising star, ended up sitting on the bench after joining the Barcelona first team.

Wu Lei is a year younger than Bojan, and his ability and talent are far inferior to his opponent's.

Furthermore, without Rijkaard's care or the attention of Barcelona's management, he would truly spend his entire career on the bench if he were to join the first team.

"Yeah, I'm not in a hurry. It's great being in the youth team right now. My teammates are all very good, and I feel like I've benefited a lot from training and playing with them."

"Moreover, the new coach is also a great person. He seems to have a lot of ideas and is really good to us young people. I feel like I can learn a lot of useful things from him. I am now living a fulfilling and happy life!"

Wu Lei wasn't lying; the current Barcelona youth team squad is indeed very strong.

Barcelona's future key winger Pedro, key defensive midfielder Busquets, and Bayern Munich's key midfielder Thiago are all in this team.

In addition, this youth team also has Wu Lei's teammate at Espanyol, Víctor Sánchez, and Iáago Falk, who has performed well in Serie A, among other young players who are not as famous but whose strength should not be underestimated.

Wu Lei started training and playing with these high-level players when he was fourteen, in addition to the scientific training methods of La Masia youth academy.

Through constant exposure and accumulation of knowledge, his own strength and vision have improved significantly, and his future prospects are definitely much better than those of his original self.

Wu Lei has a gentle personality; he's not the rebellious type.

Hearing him say that, Lin Feng felt relieved.

But when the other party mentioned the new coach of Barcelona's youth team, Lin Feng couldn't help but feel a little curious:
"What's the name of this new coach you're talking about?"

"Hosseup Guardiola!"

Wu Lei answered without hesitation, his eyes filled with admiration when he mentioned the coach's name.

……

Hat-trick! Real Madrid's rising star conquers Camp Nou!

El Clásico becomes a stage for individual performances: Lin Feng single-handedly defeats the entire Barcelona team!

Three goals to zero goals: The suspense in the battle between two superstars is finally over!

Barcelona suffers a crushing defeat, potentially ending their title hopes prematurely!

Reports suggest that Barcelona's management has reached its breaking point with Ronaldinho and may offload the Brazilian during the winter break!

Unsurprisingly, the next day, major newspapers were all vying to report on last night's match.

As the most outstanding player in this competition, Lin Feng is undoubtedly the focus of attention for major newspapers.

Before this match, some people confidently asserted that Lin Feng's stats were all achieved against weaker teams and lacked substance.

When he faces a strong team like Barcelona, ​​he will be exposed for what he truly is.

However, after this national derby ended, these people were proven wrong, and their voices disappeared completely, replaced by various praises of Lin Feng.

He's been awarded numerous accolades, including being the youngest Golden Boy and Ballon d'Or winner in history, the greatest newcomer in La Liga history, and the youngest midfield maestro in Real Madrid's history. He's also been given a whole host of other bizarre titles, such as record-breaker, Real Madrid's savior, and friend of the Merengues.

Originally, there were some doubts about Lin Feng's strength, but after this match, no one doubted it anymore.

Some busybodies have even started comparing Lin Feng to legendary figures in Real Madrid's history, such as Di Stefano and Puskás.

They even went so far as to compare who was stronger and who was weaker between him and these people.

Lin Feng responded that he loved watching it and wanted to hear more praise.

Who doesn't like to hear others flatter them?
He has just learned Spanish, and now his greatest pleasure is lurking on Spanish football forums and admiring all sorts of posts that lavish praise on himself.

No wonder Cristiano Ronaldo loves surfing the internet and searching for himself; it must feel really cool!

Of course, he won't use an alternate account to participate like Ronaldo; he'll just stay quietly in the shadows, watching without saying a word, to avoid being exposed later, which would be very embarrassing!

……

After the seventeenth round of the league, a two-week FIFA match day began.

The national football team still did not have any matches scheduled during this period, but the national Olympic team held its last gathering in 2007.

So Lin Feng immediately took a plane back to China to participate in the national Olympic team's training camp.

Coincidentally, the national Olympic team's training camp coincided with Christmas.

Back in 07, Christmas was quite popular in China. Many young people were very interested in this Western holiday, and it even gave rise to a localized gift—giving apples!
It is said that giving an apple to relatives and friends on Christmas Eve is a way of wishing them peace and safety.

Lin Feng's plane landed in China on the evening of December 24th.

As before, when his plane landed, the resourceful fans were already waiting for him outside the airport.

Unlike in the past, this time many people also brought a gift—a bright red apple.

"This is too much, I really can't eat anymore!"

"Stop stuffing! My suitcase is about to burst!"

The fans were too enthusiastic, and Lin Feng was having a hard time keeping up.

Indeed, sometimes being too famous isn't a good thing!

……

"Did you buy all the apples in the fruit market?"

Seeing Lin Feng's bags filled to the brim with apples, Liu Yifei's mouth gaped open in disbelief.

"Sigh, don't say anymore, it's all tears!"

Lin Feng rubbed his forehead, wondering which idiot had tried to squeeze in from the outside and ended up throwing an apple in, which hit him squarely on the head.

Thankfully it was an apple; if it had been a brick, Lin Feng would probably be in the hospital right now.

puff!

After hearing Lin Feng's description, Liu Yifei couldn't help but laugh.

"why are you laughing?"

"No, nothing, I just thought of something happy!"

After saying that, she stole another glance at Lin Feng, and then couldn't hold back any longer, bursting into laughter!
"What kind of monster are you, daring to be so insolent before me? Let's see how I suppress you!"

Lin Feng was furious, rolled up his sleeves, and pounced on him.

……

Due to insufficient funding, the national Olympic team's training camp this year was not held in a relatively warm place abroad.

However, they chose a place geographically located in the south, where it is not so cold even in winter – Kunming, Yunnan.

Kunming has a spring-like climate all year round, making it a great place to spend the winter.

However, for athletes, training in this place is a significant test for their bodies, especially their cardiopulmonary function.

The Haigeng base is at an altitude of nearly 2000 meters. Some people who are not used to high altitudes may experience altitude sickness at this altitude.

Fortunately, Lin Feng doesn't have this problem. This altitude isn't a big issue for an athlete with his strong physique.

"Hello, Brother Lin!"

"Brother Lin is here!"

Merry Christmas, Brother Lin!

"What's wrong with your forehead?"

Upon seeing Lin Feng arrive, the members of the national Olympic team all stepped forward to greet him.

Although some of them might be older than Lin Feng, they didn't dare to act arrogantly and all lowered themselves to call him Brother Lin.

However, there are exceptions. Former teammates like Chen Tao address Lin Feng by his full name.

"Sigh, don't even mention it, it's all tears!"

Lin Feng learned his lesson from Liu Yifei and only said that he had accidentally bumped into something, never mentioning the embarrassing incident at the airport.

He was certain that if he said it, those bastards would kick him while he was down and laugh themselves silly.

"Be careful, you're carrying the hopes of the entire nation's fans now, your body isn't just your own!"

Zheng Zhi overheard their conversation and walked over with a smile.

"Brother Zheng, what brings you here too?"

"After this training camp, we will determine the starting lineup for next year's Olympics, so some over-age players have come to the team. In addition to me, players like Li Weifeng in defense, Han Peng in attack, Shao Jiayi in midfield, and the two full-backs Sun Jihai and Sun Xiang have also come!"

Hearing these names, Lin Feng was momentarily dazed.

Is this a training camp for the Olympic team or the national team?
If all these players were put into the starting lineup, the Olympic team's lineup would be no different from the national team's.

"However, we can only select three over-age players, so there's no point in even thinking about bringing the national team's approach to the Olympic team!"

As if seeing through his thoughts, Zheng Zhi poured cold water on him.

Lin Feng nodded; of course he knew that.

If the relationship between the IOC and FIFA hadn't improved a bit, we might not even have those three over-age spots!
However, apart from the defense, the current Olympic team's lineup is not much different from the national team in other positions. Even if there is a difference, it is not far off.

But this does not include defenders. After all, the scene of the national Olympic team defenders kicking the opponent's groin in public during the Olympic Games was too shocking, which made Lin Feng completely lose trust in these people.

One Zheng Zhi is enough for the midfield, but we need to recruit more defenders.

One Li Weifeng isn't enough; Tan Chuanchuan's right-back position needs to be replaced! (End of Chapter)