Football: Starting from the 05 World Youth Championship

Real Madrid fans were ecstatic to see Huntelaar score in his very first game with the team, feeling that the €2700 million they spent on him was well worth it.

On the other hand, consider that Frenchman who spent 4000 million euros on the team…

Benzema was sitting on the bench, lost in thought. He wasn't surprised that Mourinho hadn't chosen him as the team's starting striker.

Because of his mediocre performance in the team's training matches in the few days since he arrived at Real Madrid, coupled with his introverted personality and quiet nature, he has been slow to integrate into the team.

Huntelaar, on the other hand, had Dutch connections looking after him. Through their introductions, he quickly integrated into the team and far surpassed Benzema in this regard.

Moreover, through the first half of the game, Benzema discovered another frustrating fact: his shooting skills were not as refined or comprehensive as Huntelaar's.

Now that the opponent has scored again, the Dutchman is undoubtedly ahead of him in the competition. At least in the minds of the head coach and the majority of fans, Huntelaar's score is definitely higher than his.

If Benzema cannot quickly prove himself, his time at Real Madrid will likely be very difficult.

Real Madrid, having undergone a major overhaul during the winter break, is indeed quite different from the team in the first half of the season.

Just before the end of the first half, Real Madrid capitalized on the opponent's eagerness to equalize and launched a full-scale attack, executing a textbook-perfect fast counter-attack.

From Mascherano intercepting the ball in the backfield to Lin Feng's through pass to Raul, who assisted the opponent in scoring.

Real Madrid only made three passes throughout the entire match, which took a total of just 7 seconds.

This kind of forward passing, which allows the attack to develop from the edge of one's own penalty area to the opponent's penalty area in a very short time, leaves the defending side with no time to react.

When Raul scored in the penalty area, there wasn't a single defender around him.

Deportivo La Coruña's defenders tried their best to retreat, but they still couldn't keep up with the opponent's speed and could only watch helplessly as their goal was breached again.

This counterattack, which pushed efficiency to the extreme, left all the fans in the stadium speechless.

This also delighted Real Madrid's manager, Mourinho: this was exactly the tactical effect he had been hoping to achieve!

The team took an early two-goal lead in the first half, which put Real Madrid fans at ease.

In the second half, Real Madrid continued their momentum from the first half. Lin Feng scored a stunning long-range goal in the 65th minute to make it 3-0, effectively turning the rest of the game into garbage time.

Perhaps they felt the quality of the signings during the winter break was good, coupled with the team's large lead.

Mourinho substituted Raul and immediately put Benzema on the field for half an hour.

However, the Frenchman's debut for Real Madrid was quite poor. He seemed to be working hard, but he was like a headless fly, running around aimlessly and completely detached from the team's tactical system.

This scene greatly disappointed Real Madrid fans who had high hopes for him. Those who already felt that the 4000 million euros were not well spent were even more furious after seeing Benzema's performance, and they criticized him harshly, wishing they could devalue him to nothing.

After the match, Benzema was completely devastated. His confidence was severely damaged, and his mental state was on the verge of collapse.

"Take it slow. Everyone needs time to adapt when they come to a new team and a new environment."

Seeing this, Lin Feng took the initiative to step forward, patted Benzema on the shoulder, and offered a word of comfort.

Unlike Huntelaar, Benzema has the potential to transform into a playmaker striker if he can overcome this hurdle, complete the transformation, and become more versatile.

He will become the template for a future top center forward and the most suitable candidate for Real Madrid's forward line.

But if he can't take that step, then it's all over. Benzema is currently more of a pure striker, but his shooting skills are still quite different from Huntelaar and Van Nistelrooy.

If he can't compete in a different market segment, it will be difficult for him to seize opportunities from these two.

Although Real Madrid avenged their loss to Deportivo La Coruña in this round of matches, achieving a resounding victory that greatly satisfied Real Madrid fans.

However, Barcelona also defeated Numancia 4-1 at home, keeping the gap between the two teams at 11 points with no sign of narrowing.

But Real Madrid fans' mentality is different now. In the first half of the season, they didn't understand or accept the reality that Barcelona had suddenly become so strong, so they always had unrealistic fantasies about Real Madrid.

But half a season has passed, and seeing Barcelona continue their excellent momentum with a consistently stable performance, even the most stubborn Real Madrid fans have to accept the reality that Real Madrid's hope of a comeback against a Barcelona team in this form only exists in theory.

As a result, Real Madrid fans, relieved of their burdens, focused their attention on the team's performance and became less concerned about whether they could win the title.

……

The day of the match happened to be Chinese New Year's Eve. Before the match started, Lin Feng posted a blessing on social media to wish his fans in China a Happy New Year in advance.

Due to the time difference between Spain and China, while China is celebrating the New Year, he is still competing and doesn't have the chance to watch the Spring Festival Gala at home and stay up all night with everyone to say goodbye to the old year and welcome the new.

However, domestic fans have not forgotten him. Under Lin Feng's post, a large number of fans flooded in to send him their sincere blessings.

Even when major TV stations were broadcasting the Spring Festival Gala, many fans were still glued to CCTV-5 to watch La Liga matches.

Of course, this is only a minority, since even if they don't watch the Spring Festival Gala, their family members still do.

Therefore, in order to avoid affecting their families, many fans watched the Spring Festival Gala live with their families while using their mobile phones to watch the text-based live broadcast of the game with other fans in the web page.

The effect of text-based broadcasts is certainly far inferior to that of television broadcasts, but they still enjoy watching them immensely.

After the match, when the host typed out Lin Feng's two assists and one goal in the game, the fans all smiled with satisfaction. It was worth watching the match.

……

There's not much of a festive atmosphere in a foreign land, and you might even feel a sense of loneliness, like missing your family even more during holidays.

So after the competition, Lin Feng only sent blessing text messages to a few relatives and friends and called his parents to wish them a Happy New Year.

What puzzled him was that he couldn't get through to Liu Yifei on the phone, and he had no idea where she was.

When he dragged his exhausted body home, he was almost speechless with astonishment:

Is this still my home?

The house number is correct, isn't it?
Two bright red, festive lanterns hung at the entrance of the villa, and distinctive Spring Festival couplets and New Year pictures were pasted on the large iron gate.

These few simple things were enough to make Lin Feng feel the atmosphere of the Spring Festival.

As soon as he opened the door, a beautiful figure appeared before him:
"Happy New Year!"

Lin Feng smiled; it seemed he wouldn't be lonely this Spring Festival.

Lin Feng's villa is not far from the homes of several of his teammates, and Lin Feng also posted Chinese and English New Year greetings on international social media platforms such as Twitter.

Upon hearing the news, several teammates from nearby areas brought their families to visit and present New Year's gifts.

Lin Feng and Liu Yifei thoughtfully prepared return gifts for them and also treated their teammates to a sumptuous meal.

Although Liu's mother didn't think much of her daughter's cooking, after tasting it, Lin Feng's teammates all gave her a thumbs up.

"No wonder you never go clubbing, it's because you have such a beautiful wife at home!"

Liu Yifei's teammates were incredibly envious. She was not only beautiful and virtuous, but also an excellent cook. She was the perfect partner in their eyes.

I thought Lin Feng was just good at playing football, but I didn't expect him to be a winner in real life as well.

Why does God favor this kid so much?
This is so unfair!
Perhaps influenced by Lin Feng, or perhaps because the Chinese market has been increasing its share of Real Madrid's revenue over the past year and a half.

This year, Real Madrid also released a video on its official website for the first time to wish Chinese fans a happy new year.

The protagonist of this video is undoubtedly Lin Feng himself, after all, he is Chinese, so it is most appropriate to bring him up in the video.

Besides Lin Feng, other Real Madrid stars such as Raul, Casillas, and Cannavaro also appeared in the photos. Even Real Madrid coach Mourinho was forced to participate, being pulled by President Calderon to wish Chinese fans a Happy New Year.

Mourinho usually dislikes these kinds of commercial activities, believing they would interfere with his preparations.

But this time he didn't put on a sour face; instead, he was quite cooperative.

The reason for this might be that he realized his tactics were truly inseparable from Lin Feng!
……

People are in high spirits when they have good things happening. After having a good year, Lin Feng's performance on the field has also been getting better and better.

In the 21st round of the league, Real Madrid will play against Manucia away.

Real Madrid were forced to play with 10 men in the first half of the match due to Pepe's rash foul.

However, the opponent could not contain Lin Feng's performance at all. He first scored directly with a 35-meter free kick, helping the team take the lead.

In the second half, when the opponent launched a major counterattack, he stepped up again and extended the score to 2-0 with his signature long-distance run.
Ultimately, thanks to Lin Feng's brace, Real Madrid secured a hard-fought victory away from home, despite being outnumbered.

Since drawing with Barcelona in the 15th round of La Liga, Real Madrid has achieved six consecutive victories in the league.

Although some of the wins were close and lacked the overwhelming dominance of Barcelona.

However, judging from Real Madrid's performance in recent matches, the team's form is undoubtedly developing in a positive direction.

With a large number of players returning from injury, Real Madrid's bench is becoming more robust, and Mourinho no longer needs to worry about a lack of players when arranging his lineup.

But Thiago Silva still didn't get a single minute of playing time.

The Brazilians are almost in tears. Why did they buy me if they don't need me?

His compatriot David Luiz has just joined AC Milan and has become a key player for the team, while it's unclear how long he'll be able to stay at Real Madrid.

Now that the transfer window is over, they can't be loaned out even if they want to, so they can only sit on the bench.

However, Thiago Silva has one very good quality: he doesn't give up on himself.

Although he was somewhat frustrated with his current situation, he did not slack off because of it.

He arrives at the training ground early every day to start training. If there is a match that day and he does not get a chance to play, he will do extra training after he returns.

Because there were no formal competitions, he cherished the opportunity to have intra-team scrimmages and gave it his all, never holding back.

Lin Feng noticed this attitude, and so did Real Madrid's coaching staff.

The assistant coach couldn't help but say to Mourinho:

"This new defender has a great attitude in training and has performed very well in the team's training matches. Should we consider giving him some playing time and observing his performance on the field?"

Mourinho did not give a direct answer, but instead asked, "Who are we playing next?"

"Sporting Santander, they almost beat Barcelona at home in the last round!"

Barcelona remain unbeaten this season, but their form in the second half of the season seems to be worse than in the first half.

In the last round against Racing Santander, Barcelona struggled considerably and couldn't find a chance to score.

On the contrary, the opponent stole a goal from Barcelona through counter-attacks, and Barcelona has rarely experienced being behind in the score this season.

So when they were behind, the players were clearly not used to it and played very impatiently.

The referee in this match was very strict in his rulings, resulting in two Barcelona players being sent off within 20 minutes of the second half due to accumulating two yellow cards.

With the team in poor form and two players sent off in quick succession, many, including Barcelona fans, felt that Barcelona's unbeaten streak was about to be broken.

However, unexpectedly, Eto'o and Messi stepped up in the final moments, with Eto'o equalizing the score in the 87th minute.

In stoppage time, Messi, with his unstoppable dribbling skills, dribbled past multiple defenders before breaking into the penalty area and scoring the winning goal.

Although the process was thrilling and the victory was somewhat humiliating, Barcelona, ​​playing with only nine men, ultimately managed to take a win away from home.

Racing Santander, who pushed Barcelona to the brink, naturally also alerted Real Madrid's coaching staff.

"Then let's observe him further, and try him out when the Champions League knockout stage starts and the team needs to cope with multiple competitions!"

Mourinho's veto means that Thiago Silva's debut for Real Madrid is still a long way off.

However, because his market value is relatively low and he plays as a defender, he doesn't receive much attention from the media or Real Madrid fans, and there is relatively little coverage or criticism of him.

On the other hand, Benzema played again in the last match against Manusia, but his performance was still poor.

There's widespread discussion about whether Mourinho's patience will run out, and whether the Frenchman will be given another chance in this round of matches. (End of Chapter)