Football: Starting from the 05 World Youth Championship

Chapter 471 20th Birthday and the Champions League Final
A new broom sweeps clean, and Guardiola is no exception.

Former Ballon d'Or winner and Barcelona legend Ronaldinho became his first target for a purge.

In the 37th round of La Liga, Guardiola removed Ronaldinho from the squad for his first match in charge.

Given Ronaldinho's current form, it's understandable that he's not included in the starting lineup, since Rijkaard did the same thing before.

But not even letting him into the 18-man roster is a bit too radical.

The key point is that Barcelona still lost this match.

In the 94th minute of the match, Mallorca's top scorer and third in the La Liga top scorer list, Guiza, dribbled past a defender from 10 yards out and fired a powerful shot into the net, scoring his 26th goal of the season, second only to Lin Feng and Messi.

This player has been in excellent form recently, scoring 9 goals in the last six matches. His scoring efficiency is even higher than Messi's, second only to Lin Feng, who is at the top of the Golden Boot list.

This scene stunned the more than 90,000 Barcelona fans present.

Originally, everyone came to watch because of the new coach, and they were all excited, thinking that changing coaches would be like changing knives, and that Guardiola's arrival would bring a new look to Barcelona.

After watching the match, Barcelona fans were furious.

Barcelona, ​​playing at home, were not without a chance to win; on the contrary, they initially held a very favorable position.

Barcelona scored a goal in the first half and a goal in the second half, and they were still leading by two goals until the 67th minute.

Given this favorable situation, Guardiola is poised for a winning start at Barcelona.

To everyone's surprise, Barcelona suddenly collapsed in the second half.

In the 67th and 70th minutes, within just three minutes, Barcelona conceded two goals, leading to the explosive moment when they were defeated by the opponent in stoppage time.

Journalists are the most pragmatic and adept at changing their stance according to the prevailing winds.

Before the match, they touted Guardiola's reforms as a wise and enterprising decision, arguing that promoting and giving important roles to young players from La Masia would open up a channel for youth training to feed back into the league, which is the most suitable path for Barcelona's long-term development.

After the shock defeat to Mallorca, the same group of people started criticizing Guardiola for his radical and reckless actions, saying that his haphazard reforms had caused unrest within the team. They accused him of using young players from La Masia as a form of identity politics, arguing that he only valued lineage over ability, and attacked Guardiola for engaging in nepotism.

In short, they're repeating the same praise they gave before, now they're going to criticize it exactly the same way; they're saying both sides of the story.

Under intense criticism from reporters, even those fans who originally supported Guardiola began to waver.

They began to wonder if the club had really made the right choice by selecting such an inexperienced and rather aggressive young coach.
Before Guardiola could even speak out in the face of criticism, especially from journalists, Mourinho on the other side had already spoken up:

"Managing a top club is always difficult, especially when it's a team that's at a disadvantage in the league, and the fans and club management have extremely high expectations for the results."

I have a piece of advice for my brother: if you're not good at dealing with the media, do more and talk less, because they'll always find loopholes and weaknesses in your words to attack you!

Reporter: "Then why are you so talkative when you're facing reporters?"

Mourinho shrugged: "Maybe that's a talent too. After all, as I said before, I'm a special one!"

In this timeline, Mourinho came directly to Real Madrid, never experienced betrayal from Barcelona, ​​and never led Inter Milan to stop Barcelona's three-peat in the Champions League.

At that time, the relationship between the two sides was not so bad, and Mourinho had served as an assistant coach at Barcelona for three years, so he had a bond with the club.

Therefore, his impression of Barcelona and Guardiola is not that bad. Although he was coaching Real Madrid in La Liga and there was bound to be some conflict with Barcelona, ​​Mourinho was not as extreme in his words and actions as he would be in another timeline.

However, Barcelona fans found Mourinho's words to be incredibly arrogant.

What does it mean to be at a disadvantage in a league?

Barcelona is only in a temporary slump, and Real Madrid has only been slightly stronger this season. What's there to be proud of?
However, Guardiola himself is very grateful to Mourinho for speaking up for him. After all, when he first took charge of a top club, apart from the support of the Barcelona club, he was almost entirely met with doubt and even criticism from the outside world.

The only person who truly supports and cares about him is Mourinho.

Good brother, for life, our three years of friendship as classmates were not in vain.

Although both cases involve taking over Barcelona, ​​Guardiola is now facing a completely different situation than in parallel universes.

Externally, they face formidable rivals like Real Madrid; internally, they face club executives and fans eager for results and accolades.

Guardiola's public relations situation is far worse than it would be under normal circumstances.

If his reforms don't produce immediate results, then Barcelona's management and fans will likely lose patience and replace him soon.

The time and room for error left for Guardiola are really limited.

……

Despite facing criticism for his poor start to the season, Guardiola did not stop his reform efforts.

Shortly after taking office, he promoted players like Busquets, who were still playing in the youth team, to the first team and established Messi as the core player of the team.

In Guardiola's view, Messi is a genius, but he cannot yet fully unleash his potential, and a more suitable tactical approach needs to be developed for him.

Fortunately, Guardiola has a tactic that is very suitable for Messi, even tailor-made for him – the tiki-taka possession tactic!

In the final round of the league, Guardiola began to experiment with this tactic on a small scale and finally achieved his first victory as Barcelona's coach. In this match, Messi was in superb form and almost scored four goals again.

After completing another hat-trick, Messi brought his total number of goals to 35, which is 4 more than the La Liga Golden Boot winner last season, but he still only ranks second.

In Real Madrid's final match at the Bernabéu, Lin Feng, who came on as a substitute in the second half, scored a goal, bringing his season total to 43 goals!
In 38 league matches this season, Lin Feng only played 31, including 28 starts and 3 substitute appearances, with a terrifying goal-scoring efficiency of 1.39 goals per game.

This figure allowed him to break the league record that had been held by Hugo Sánchez for 18 years.

In the 1989-1990 season, this legendary Real Madrid striker scored 38 goals in 35 games, achieving an astonishing average goal-scoring efficiency of 1.086 per game, a feat still talked about by many Real Madrid fans today.

But today, the record holder has a different name: a player who also comes from Real Madrid, but is younger and has an even more terrifying goal-scoring efficiency.

In just one season, Lin Feng, this newcomer, completely won over Real Madrid fans worldwide.

Fans who initially questioned Real Madrid's decision to spend 100 million euros to sign Lin Feng are now grateful to Calderón for his keen eye and wise decision-making.

In their view, Lin Feng's performance this season is worth more than 100 million, even if it doubles!
If Calderon hadn't been quick-witted and decisive, such a player might never have come to Real Madrid!
Given Lin Feng's age, Real Madrid fans generally feel that they have not just bought a player, but a bright future.

As long as Lin Feng stays, Real Madrid's performance is guaranteed for at least the next ten years. If they can find a few more strong helpers for Lin Feng, it's not a dream for Real Madrid to recreate the dynasty of the 1950s.

In fact, for Barcelona, ​​it was precisely Lin Feng's presence and Mourinho's early takeover of Real Madrid that made Guardiola's future at Barcelona so difficult.

Ignoring the hype from the outside world, after the league ended and while other teams were on holiday for their long summer break, the entire Real Madrid team boarded a chartered plane and embarked on a trip to Russia.

They still have one last, and most important, match – the Champions League final!
Real Madrid were determined to win this match.

The ten championships that the first Galacticos failed to achieve may be accomplished by them today.

Becoming the first team in the world to win ten Champions League trophies, and having their names written into the history of the club and UEFA, is incredibly attractive to Real Madrid players.

Professional football players play not only for money, but also for honor.

And now, the honor is right in front of them, and they are just one step away from placing it on their heads.

But lifting the championship trophy won't be easy, as Real Madrid's rival Manchester United is equally determined to win it.

Manchester United are stronger this season than last season, especially with Cristiano Ronaldo.

If last season was just the beginning of his breakout, then this season he has undoubtedly ushered in a full-blown explosion in his career.

In the Premier League, Cristiano Ronaldo scored 31 goals this season, winning the Premier League Golden Boot for the first time.

In the Champions League, Ronaldo scored 7 goals in 10 appearances, a terrifying scoring efficiency.

If it weren't for Lin Feng being a game-changer, he would have won numerous honors, including the Premier League Golden Boot, the Champions League Golden Boot, and the Champions League title, becoming one of the best players on the planet.

Facing such a strong team with its own superstars, it's highly unlikely that Real Madrid can lift the championship trophy without a hard-fought battle.

Everyone knows this is Real Madrid's tenth title in history, so whoever faces Real Madrid in this situation will do everything in their power to prevent Real Madrid from winning the title and becoming a backdrop for their tenth championship.

……

Happy birthday, son!

The day before the final, Lin Feng celebrated his twentieth birthday.

Lin's parents made a special trip from Germany to celebrate his 20th birthday with him and also went to the finals to cheer him on.

Upon opening the door and seeing familiar faces, as well as the carefully prepared birthday gifts in his parents' hands, Lin Feng felt a warmth in his heart. He opened his arms and gave his parents a big hug.

"Dad, Mom, thank you!"

"You silly child, your dad and I are family, saying thank you to each other makes us seem distant, doesn't it?"

While scolding Lin Feng, Mom unpacked the cake she had bought, placed it on the table, and lit the candles.

Lin's father then tacitly took out a lighter and lit the candles on the cake one by one.

"I know you athletes can't eat just anything, this cake is for you to make a wish, so you can't eat it!"

Upon hearing this, Lin Feng silently put down his plate and fork. He had just been preparing to break his vow of discipline, but he didn't expect his mother to have even considered this.

Lin Feng closed his eyes, silently made a wish in his heart, and blew out the candles forcefully.

"What wish did you make?"

Seeing Lin Feng blow out the candle, Lin's mother asked curiously.

"Hehe, you can't say that, or it won't work!"

Lin Feng smiled and didn't tell his parents what he wished for. Actually, his wish was very simple: he just hoped that his parents and relatives could be safe and healthy. That was enough!

The two elders, being frugal by nature, shared the cake they had brought on the spot, adhering to the principle of not wasting anything, leaving Lin Feng only able to drool over the aroma of cream.

This is such a miserable birthday, not even being able to eat a piece of cake!

The birthday gifts brought by Mr. and Mrs. Lin were clearly more than just a cake:
“Your mom and I heard from people that you like music and have even released an album, but we don’t understand these things, so we spent money to buy you a music company in China as a birthday present.”

Lin's father paused for a moment, then continued:
"You've turned 20 and are now an adult. It's time to take over part of the family business. Let's start with this music company. If you don't have time, you can hand it over to a professional manager. If it doesn't go bankrupt, that's a success."

Lin Feng was speechless. How low were their expectations for him in business?

However, Lin's father's vigilance was justified. After all, these days, it's a high-risk business for the children of wealthy families to start their own businesses, and they could easily squander the family fortune if they're not careful.

……

It was clear that Lin Feng's parents weren't the only ones who remembered his birthday. Liu Yifei, who was busy with her graduation exams and couldn't come, called him specifically to wish him a happy birthday and also to wish him a successful final tomorrow.

On this day, Lin Feng received many birthday wishes.

Besides family and friends, many of the messages came from fans and colleagues.

Lin Feng is quite popular; even though he has left the team, his former teammates have forgotten about him.

On his birthday, he received birthday wishes from his former Inter Milan teammates, including Zanetti, Figo, and Torres, some of whom were even his former teammates at Greuther Fürth when they played in the 2. Bundesliga.

Even Real Madrid's official website posted a message wishing him a happy birthday and specially ordered a large cake to bring the whole team together to celebrate Lin Feng's birthday.

And that was it. After the candles were blown out, everyone stared at each other, drooling over the cake.

While professional athletes' meals are nutritionally balanced, the taste is, to put it mildly, indescribable.

Low salt, low oil, and bland taste are the biggest characteristics of a nutritious meal.

Chicken breast may look delicious, but it tastes like eating dirt; it's not tasty at all.

Therefore, the aroma of this cake was simply divine for the players who had been suffering from nutritious meals all season, especially for Europeans and Americans who have no resistance to sweets.

The cake looks delicious, but they can't eat it!

Eating this stuff the day before a match is no different from drinking poison. If you get an upset stomach, you're doomed!
But the coaching staff didn't have that concern; they proudly showed off the cut cake.

"Eat up! Why aren't you eating? Don't you like it?"

(End of this chapter)