Football: Starting from the 05 World Youth Championship

Appropriate pressure can motivate people to improve, but excessive pressure can overwhelm them.

When all hopes of stopping Real Madrid were pinned on Barcelona, ​​the Barcelona players themselves couldn't hold on.

In the 11th round of the league, while Real Madrid easily defeated Racing Santander 2-0 at home, Barcelona faltered away and were held to a 1-1 draw by Athletic Bilbao.

Before the start of the El Clásico, the gap between the two teams widened to 6 points.

Even though Barcelona defeated Real Madrid in the first leg of El Clásico, it couldn't bring the two sides back to a level playing field.

Moreover, given Barcelona's current form, very few people believe they will beat Real Madrid at home.

"Barcelona has been plagued by bad luck lately. First, Messi got injured, and then captain Puyol and midfield maestro Xavi were also injured. The pressure of competing on multiple fronts and achieving great results in the league is plunging the team into a quagmire!"

A well-known Spanish football journalist made the above analysis in his column.

Although Guardiola, like Mourinho, also rotates the team.

However, the rotation did not seem to be very effective, and the new signing Ibrahimovic was unable to fully integrate into the team's tactical system, which resulted in Barcelona's performance not only failing to improve this season, but actually declining.

With Real Madrid gradually widening the gap in league points and Barcelona unable to catch up, it will be increasingly difficult for Barcelona to defend their La Liga title this year.

"The season has only just begun, and I won't condemn my team so easily."

When interviewed by reporters, Guardiola maintained his previous view that the final championship belonged to Barcelona.

But fewer and fewer people are willing to believe his explanation.

In the league, they were suppressed by their arch-rivals Real Madrid, and in the Champions League, they were repeatedly upset by unknown teams like Rubin Kazan.

With no hope in either the league or the Champions League, some pessimistic Barcelona fans even think the team will fail to win anything this season.

In my opinion, they shouldn't have sold Eto'o!

[What's so great about Ibrahimovic? I just don't understand. What makes him worth 6000 million?]

Indeed, with that much money, they might as well add 3000 million and buy Ronaldo. If Ronaldo were on our side, Real Madrid would be the ones being dominated right now!

Even if they couldn't buy Ronaldo, they could have bought Kaká instead, but they bought Ibrahimovic!

Barcelona fans are clearly not very welcoming of Ibrahimovic.

His playing style is incompatible with Barcelona, ​​and his chemistry with Messi and others on the field is far less than it was when Eto'o was there.

Many fans believe that the team's current poor performance is largely due to their signing of Ibrahimovic.

Therefore, some fans have shifted their dissatisfaction with the results onto Ibrahimovic.

In fact, Ibrahimovic's performance at Barcelona has been decent. This season, he has made 11 appearances in the league and Champions League, contributing 7 goals and 5 assists.

An average of one goal contribution per game is hardly a bad statistic.

But for a player of his caliber and value, the comparison isn't with ordinary strikers, but with other players of the same level.

Torres and Kaká, whose market value was similar to Ibrahimovic's, have performed even more explosively since joining the team.

Torres scored 12 goals and provided 4 assists in 14 appearances.

Kaka has had a breakout season since joining Manchester United, starting every game in the past 15 matches, scoring 9 goals and providing 7 assists.

Compared to these two, Ibrahimovic's stats are significantly worse.

Not to mention compared to Lin, Mei, and Luo!
Of these three, apart from Ronaldo having fewer assists, Lin Feng and Messi have both scored and assisted more than 25 goals combined, making them veritable human goal-scoring machines.

Cristiano Ronaldo may have fewer assists, but he scores a lot of goals!

He has scored a total of 16 goals in the league and the Champions League, making him the highest-scoring player in Europe!

Ibrahimovic is very arrogant and has always considered himself the best in the world, but compared to true superstars, he is completely outclassed.

……

In mid-November, the Copa del Rey competition entered its fourth round.

Starting from this round, La Liga teams, including giants like Real Madrid and Barcelona, ​​will gradually begin their Copa del Rey matches.

As the second most prestigious trophy in Spain after the league title, the Copa del Rey has many teams vying for it.

However, not all teams have this idea. Some teams that are competing on two fronts and don't have a deep enough bench are wiser to choose to give up this competition.

Last season, Real Madrid suffered a severe injury crisis and, after careful consideration, chose to strategically abandon the Copa del Rey and focus on competing for the Champions League and the league.

In the end, their choice turned out to be quite wise.

Although Real Madrid failed to win the league title, they eliminated Barcelona, ​​who were competing on three fronts and whose energy was greatly scattered, in the Champions League and won the title as they wished, becoming the first team to successfully defend the Champions League title since its rebranding.

However, Real Madrid, with higher ambitions this season, does not intend to give up on this competition easily.

They have already won the UEFA Super Cup and the Spanish Super Cup, and are now aiming for the remaining four trophies: the league title, the Champions League, the Club World Cup, and the Copa del Rey.

Once Real Madrid wins the remaining four titles, they will become the first team in history to achieve a sextuple!

At that time, the brilliance of the Galactic Battleship will be even more dazzling!
However, some fans are worried that competing on multiple fronts might drag the team down.

After all, players aren't robots; they don't need rest.

The schedule for competing on three fronts is too dense, especially in the second half when the intensity of the league cup and Champions League matches increases, and it's a crucial time to sprint for the championship. The density and intensity of the matches will be very high.

Such a high-intensity competition would take a toll on even the strongest body, and a single misstep could lead to a complete collapse, resulting in the tragedy of wanting everything but ending up with nothing.

Mourinho had considered this issue; in fact, he began rotating the team from the very beginning of the league season.

Even though the rotation resulted in a loss to AC Milan, it didn't stop him from continuing to do so.

To achieve breakthroughs on multiple fronts, it is essential to rationally plan and allocate players' physical energy, minimizing the strain on key players and ensuring they maintain peak performance.

In this round of the Copa del Rey, since Real Madrid's opponent was a team from the fourth division, Mourinho simply fielded a lineup with almost all substitutes.

Lin Feng and Cristiano Ronaldo, among other key players, were not even included in the 18-man squad. Only a few key players, such as Benzema and Di Maria, were brought to the away game.

But they didn't even get a chance to play. Thanks to the outstanding performances of Modric and other substitutes, Real Madrid easily secured a big victory.

With so many goals scored, the suspense of the two-legged match ended in the first leg.

But after the match, an unexpected scene unfolded on the field. Real Madrid, who won, didn't celebrate much, while the Alcoa players, who lost, were beaming with excitement, as if they had won the game themselves.

For a fourth-tier team like them, being drawn against Real Madrid in the Copa del Rey is truly an incredibly lucky occurrence.

Alcoca was originally a Spanish second division league, a semi-professional league with very low viewership, and its players were not professional players, but a group of amateur players.

Besides playing football, he also has other legitimate professions.

For them, football is more of a hobby.

So for them, this match against Real Madrid was like a meet-and-greet with the stars.

Those star players who used to only be seen on TV are now on the field, competing alongside me. I'll have something to brag about when I get back.

And after the game, you'll have the chance to ask your favorite player to exchange jerseys!

In addition, this match against Real Madrid will also help them make a lot of money.

The revenue from ticket sales, broadcasting rights, and sponsorships alone amounts to at least 100 million euros.

This amount of money is enough to cover their club's expenses for the entire year!
This treatment is worth it, even if we lost 0:4 or 0:10!

It's a pity that stars like Lin Feng and Cristiano Ronaldo didn't come; otherwise, the game would have garnered even more attention, and they would have received more money.

Although Real Madrid's key players didn't play in the Copa del Rey, they weren't idle either.

As El Clásico approaches, the atmosphere within Real Madrid has become tense.

The El Clásico against Barcelona is like a major test for this Real Madrid team.

Whether they are truly as invincible as the outside world claims depends entirely on the outcome of this match.

"Why does it feel like we've become the Barcelona of last season?"

When Barcelona started playing possession-based football last season, they were invincible from the start, which attracted widespread media attention and heated discussions among fans. They were once touted as the world's strongest team, and the storyline is almost exactly the same as Real Madrid's current script.

"You feel that way too? I was wondering the same thing!"

"These media outlets are really good at propaganda. They first flatter us, making us sound like we're invincible."

Then they set up a series of challenges and tests for us to overcome. If we passed them, it would prove that they had a unique vision and had already seen through our invincibility.

Even if we fail, it won't affect their profits; they can just take advantage of our misfortune later.

The players were somewhat unhappy, feeling that they had become tools for the media to manipulate traffic.

"The traffic may be theirs, but the championship is ours!"

Captain Raul's words brought the players' attention back to the present.

"Last time we lost to Barcelona at Camp Nou, this time I hope we can leave with a victory!"

Raul has not forgotten that Real Madrid lost to Barcelona away from home in the Super Cup a few months ago.

In La Liga, Real Madrid can lose to anyone, but they absolutely cannot lose to Barcelona!
As the player with the most goals in El Clásico, Raúl participated in dozens of El Clásico matches.

However, with the arrival of players like Benzema and Ronaldo, Raul's starting position at the club has been severely challenged.

If Mourinho hadn't made extensive rotations, his appearances and playing time this season would likely have plummeted.

Raul, who is about to turn 33, is unsure how many more El Clásico matches he can play for Real Madrid.

But he hopes to win every remaining El Clásico before he leaves!
Real Madrid hasn't won enough!
……

As November drew to a close, the entire La Liga, and indeed the whole of European football, was focused on this epic showdown between Real Madrid and Barcelona.

According to official UEFA statistics, last season, with the rise of Real Madrid and Barcelona, ​​La Liga surpassed the Premier League and Serie A to become the most popular league.

Among the younger generation of fans, the vast majority have become fans of La Liga, especially Real Madrid and Barcelona, ​​who have attracted countless fans, surpassing established giants such as Manchester United, Bayern Munich, and AC Milan to become the teams with the most fans in football today.

The key reason why La Liga is so popular is the all-star lineups of Real Madrid and Barcelona, ​​and the strong strength they have shown in the game.

The vast majority of fans are champion fans; they like and support whoever is strong and has won the most championships.

From this perspective, Real Madrid, as the biggest club in Europe, has a significant advantage.

While Barcelona may not have the same historical depth and accolades as Real Madrid, Guardiola's possession-based football is undeniably dominant.

Messi's often audacious dribbling skills on the field have also attracted many young fans.

Moreover, Barcelona's strength may not be weaker than Real Madrid's. If they hadn't been burdened by competing on multiple fronts last season, they might not have lost to Real Madrid in the Champions League semi-final.

Given Barcelona's unstoppable performance on the international stage at that time, as long as they made it to the final, Barcelona fans firmly believed that they could win the championship just like Real Madrid!
Both sides have a large number of fans, and neither side is willing to give in.

But no matter how much they talk online or offline, they can't convince each other.

There's only one way to make your opponent submit: beat them in a real fight on the field!
With two teams valued at over 13 billion, the most expensive El Clásico in history is about to kick off!

Real Madrid vs. Barcelona: Who is the true Galacticos?

Lin Feng + Ronaldo vs. Messi + Ibrahimovic: Who is the most lethal attacking combination in football?

Lin Feng: Camp Nou is my lucky place, and I'm ready to celebrate victory there!

Messi: I will win back everything we lost last season!

Mourinho: Guardiola is a good coach, but he still needs more experience!

Guardiola: Come on, José, at least my team doesn't park the bus at home!

Before the match even started, the two sides were already exchanging insults in newspapers and on social media.

Due to the immense popularity of the competition, coupled with the astonishingly large fan base of superstars like Lin Feng and Messi, their every move attracts tremendous attention.

With the combined efforts of the media, players, coaches, and even La Liga officials, the match garnered unprecedented attention.

According to third-party data analysis, this El Clásico is expected to attract broadcasts from 550 television stations and online media outlets worldwide, with broadcast revenue from this single match alone reaching at least 5000 million euros!
La Liga officials were clearly aware of the huge viewership this match would generate, not only scheduling it as the last game of the season but also choosing a compromise time to allow fans worldwide to watch the live broadcast together.

In addition, they posted numerous promotional posters for the match in countries that had purchased the broadcasting rights for La Liga, hoping to leverage the match's popularity to further promote La Liga worldwide and expand their commercial empire. (End of Chapter)