Football: Starting from the 05 World Youth Championship

Apart from Real Madrid, none of the teams that made it to the semi-finals of this Club World Cup are particularly well-known internationally.

Some of the teams' names were ones that Real Madrid players had never even heard of.

For example, Real Madrid's opponent is a team from the South Korean K-League.

Their name is Pohang Steelers, and they were the champions of last season's AFC Champions League.

Most of the Real Madrid players were hearing about this team for the first time, as they had never dealt with them before.

"Lin, is this team called Steel really that good?"

On the training field, people would frequently come up to Lin Feng to ask him about the South Korean team.

With no South Koreans in the Real Madrid squad, Lin Feng, being the only Asian player, became the one his teammates sought help from.

Foreigners generally have a poor understanding of history and geography. Some teammates with poor geography skills even thought that South Korea was a city in China, which left Lin Feng speechless.

"It's just so-so. They're considered pretty good in Asia, but in the top five leagues, they probably wouldn't be able to avoid relegation!"

I'd heard of Pohang Steelers' Lin Feng before; after all, I often heard their name when I followed the Chinese Super League in my previous life.

Like the national team, South Korean clubs are often nemesis for Chinese teams.

Chinese Super League teams suffer from a severe phobia of South Korea, having lost more often than they win against South Korean teams in the AFC Champions League.

He hasn't paid much attention to the AFC Champions League in recent years, and I don't know if this symptom has been cured.

"Oh, I see. That puts my mind at ease!"

Upon hearing that their opponents weren't even at the level to avoid relegation in the top five European leagues, the teammates all felt relieved.

These days, the Club World Cup isn't very prestigious, but if an upset happens by accident, it can easily become a laughing stock in the football world.

Don't think that Champions League teams are invincible. Liverpool in 05 and Barcelona in 06 both suffered shock defeats in the Club World Cup that year.

The Club World Cup is a deep and complex competition. Teams from Asia, Africa, and North America can be ignored as they pose little threat, but teams from South America should not be underestimated.

Over the past few years, European champions have suffered quite a bit at their hands.

Real Madrid is determined to win this Club World Cup and naturally doesn't want to suffer an upset.

So even if the opponent is not very strong, Mourinho still sent people to collect information and match videos of the opponent in advance, analyze the opponent's technical and tactical characteristics, and formulate a targeted approach to counter the opponent!
The South Koreans were as excited as if they had won the lottery to be drawn against Real Madrid in the Club World Cup.

Before the match, a large number of South Korean reporters and fans flooded into the stadium, setting up their cameras and banners, wearing South Korean flags on their faces and headbands with the Taegeukgi (South Korean flag) printed on them, and cheering loudly for their national team.

Several South Korean television stations even paid extra to buy the broadcasting rights for the match and sent commentary teams to the venue to broadcast it live.

It's just a club match, but the Koreans are making it sound like the World Cup.

In fact, the mentality of South Koreans is similar to that of a lower-league team that draws Real Madrid in the Copa del Rey. For them, the opportunity to play against Real Madrid in a competitive match is extremely valuable, as they may never encounter it in their lifetime. If they do, it's a bonus, and the outcome is irrelevant.

[It's a pity that the Chinese Super League teams didn't get the chance to participate in the Club World Cup. To be honest, I was really looking forward to seeing a domestic team play a good match against a team like Real Madrid in the Club World Cup!]

Chinese fans watching the game were both envious of the South Koreans' luck and frustrated with their own teams when they saw that Real Madrid's opponent was Pohang Steelers, a familiar opponent.

Although the Chinese Super League has recovered somewhat in recent years with the rise of the national team, it still cannot beat teams from the J-League and K-League.

Of the four teams that participated in the AFC Champions League last year, three advanced from the group stage, but all of them fell in the round of 16, none of them made it to the quarterfinals, let alone won the championship.

Since Liaoning defeated Japan to win the Asian Club Championship 20 years ago, Chinese teams have not won the title for two decades.

While the national team has risen to prominence and dominated Asia, Chinese football still has significant shortcomings in the club sector.

Forget about it. Didn't we play against them during Real Madrid's China tour last year? They were no match for Real Madrid at all!

That's different. A friendly match is still a friendly match, and it's different from a formal competition!

There's no difference. If your skill level isn't high enough, you'll get crushed whether it's a friendly match or a formal tournament!

Instead of aiming too high, we should focus on how to defeat teams in the K League and J League and catch up with the national team as soon as possible!

Amidst the debate among Chinese fans, the match between Real Madrid and Pohang Steelers began.

As expected, Real Madrid firmly grasped the initiative from the very beginning of the match.

In the 4th minute, Real Madrid intercepted the ball in the attacking third and launched a counter-attack. Lin Feng received the ball and was about to shoot when he caught a glimpse of Pohang Steelers' defensive midfielder sliding in from the side.

He leaped and lobbed the ball, easily dodging the opponent's sliding tackle, and with a gentle push of his instep, sent the ball to Ronaldo's feet inside the penalty area.

Faced with such a golden opportunity, Ronaldo naturally wouldn't waste it. Without stopping the ball, he volleyed it into the net.

The score became 1-0, and Real Madrid had already broken through the opponent's goal just four minutes into the game.

The South Korean fans who had been cheering loudly for Pohang Steelers on the sidelines were stunned and stood there dumbfounded when they saw Real Madrid break through their defense so quickly.

They actually knew there was a big gap in strength between the two teams and were prepared to lose.

But I didn't expect the gap to be so big. It's only been a few minutes, and Real Madrid has already scored!
If they keep playing like this, this match is bound to turn into a disaster!

The opponent was too weak, so Lin Feng didn't even bother to celebrate. He just clapped twice and that was it.

On his way back, he saw that Kim Tae-soo, who had tackled him earlier, looked somewhat confused, as if he was still thinking about why his tackle had gone wrong.

Kim Tae-soo was actually planning a tactical foul, but he didn't even manage to touch the opponent.

Is the gap between myself and top players really that big?

The players at Pohang Steelers will soon be able to feel how big the gap is.

After the restart, they couldn't even organize a single complete attack before Real Madrid intercepted the ball again.

Mascherano's tackling and interceptions are very effective even in the Champions League, let alone in the Club World Cup.

Under his pressing and interceptions, Pohang Steelers' midfielders were almost suffocated, unable to hold onto the ball, pass it, or even receive passes from their teammates.

So in the 6th minute, Real Madrid intercepted the ball again!
Under Benzema's pressure, Pohang Steelers' foreign striker was forced to pass the ball back, and the intention behind the pass was all too obvious.

Kim Jae-sung in midfield hadn't even gotten the ball firmly in his grasp when Mascherano tackled him so hard he lost his footing and lost possession.

After receiving the ball, Ma quickly passed it to Lin Feng, who was positioned to his left. Lin Feng then used a change of pace to easily dribble past Kim Tae-soo's challenge, and then made a smooth diagonal pass to Di Maria on the right wing.

Pohang Steelers' defenders were concentrated on the left flank where Ronaldo and Lin Feng were located, leaving the right flank almost completely undefended. Di Maria took the ball and made a long run forward, quickly reaching the penalty area.

If this were in the Champions League or a league match, the opponent's defense would have already arrived, and Di Maria would most likely choose to pass the ball out.

However, Pohang Steelers is an Asian team, and the pace of Asian matches is far slower than that of the top five European leagues.

Di Maria clearly underestimated his own speed on the breakaway and overestimated the speed at which his opponents could cover him.

When he dribbled the ball into the penalty area, there was no one defending him.

He didn't hold back and took a shot directly from the right side of the penalty area.

The quality of this ball was only average; the angle and power were not tricky enough.

If it were a European goalkeeper, they could probably take him down directly.

However, Pohang Steelers' goalkeeper Shin Hwa-young made a mistake by dropping the ball, and Ronaldo thought, "What a stroke of luck!"

He took a few steps back, then executed a stylish overhead kick, sending the ball back through the air.

His pose was cool, but his luck was bad.

Cristiano Ronaldo's shot hit the left post and bounced back into play. Benzema's follow-up shot from a tight angle went over the bar, and Real Madrid missed a golden opportunity to score.

Benzema and Ronaldo were both extremely frustrated after missing their chance, especially Ronaldo, who had such a handsome bicycle kick but failed to score!
He was absolutely furious!
On the sidelines, the South Korean coach's emotions were like a rollercoaster ride for those few seconds, until he saw the ball go out of bounds and he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Not far away, Mourinho's lips twitched, and a million question marks flashed across his head:

How can there be such an abstract competition in this world!
The opponent's performance was like a pile of shit, and Real Madrid's performance wasn't much better.

These guys missed three excellent opportunities.

Thankfully, this was the Club World Cup semi-final. If it were the Champions League semi-final, after missing so many opportunities, he would have wanted to personally go on the field and drag these guys out and kill them!

Never mind, never mind, don't be angry.

Nobody's perfect. Players should be allowed to make mistakes. At worst, we can give them a good 'lecture' during the post-match review!
……

The opponent was too weak and posed almost no threat to Real Madrid's defense.

Casillas had been inside the penalty area for so long that his body felt stiff, so he had to leave the penalty area and run outside to stretch his body.

Isn't the UAE supposed to be a tropical country?

Why does it feel colder than Spain?

January is winter in the UAE, and the nighttime temperature is only around 10 degrees Celsius. It can be quite cold if you're not active, especially since the players are dressed so lightly.

Casillas's original intention was to come out and stretch his body, but because of his forward movement, Real Madrid's formation moved even further forward, greatly increasing their pressure.

In the first 20 minutes of the first half, Pohang Steelers were almost completely dominated by Real Madrid in their own half, failing to even manage a single shot on goal.

In contrast, for Real Madrid, those 20 minutes were like a half-game attack and defense drill. Their opponents were like wooden stakes, just taking the hits without fighting back!
In the 8th minute, Lin Feng was fouled while dribbling down the left side of the attacking third, giving Real Madrid a free kick.

Lin Feng personally took charge, unleashing a powerful shot that easily breached the Pohang Steelers' goal.

The score became 2-0.
In the 10th minute, Xabi Alonso's long-range shot from outside the penalty area went just wide of the post.

In the 16th minute, Real Madrid won another free kick on the left side of the attacking third.

Lin Feng still opted for a direct shot, but this time the ball went slightly over the top right corner of the goal.

Although the ball didn't go in, it gave the South Koreans a real scare.

They realized that the opponent's shot was clearly aimed at the absolute corner of the net, and if they hadn't been so focused on finding the perfect angle, the ball would most likely have gone in.

Real Madrid's attacks continued unabated. In the 19th minute, Lin Feng combined with Ronaldo on the left wing, dribbled into the penalty area, and feigned a shot, tricking the opposing defender and goalkeeper into making blocking moves. Instead, he changed his shot to a pass, gently sending the ball into the open space in the middle of the penalty area.

Real Madrid's other striker, Benzema, arrived in time and easily tapped the ball into the empty net.

The score is now 3-0!

Less than 20 minutes into the match, Real Madrid had already killed any suspense in the game.

In the stands, at some point, the South Koreans who were shouting encouragement fell silent, their national flags stopped waving, and some even quietly removed their headbands.

It wasn't until the 29th minute that Pohang Steelers managed their first shot of the game, thanks to their foreign player Denilson.

In the first 30 minutes, the ball possession data on the field was extremely extreme, with Real Madrid having more than 80% possession and a staggering 12 shots on goal.

POSCO's figures are a paltry 19% and 1, completely overshadowed by its competitors.

This situation did not improve in the second half. Under Real Madrid's fierce attack, Pohang Steelers' defense was overwhelmed and repeatedly breached.

By the 61st minute, the score was already 5-0.

This was only because Mourinho, seeing that the game was already decided, substituted key players like Lin Feng and Ronaldo early during halftime.

Even with Real Madrid bringing on their substitutes, the opposing team couldn't stop them.

This match vividly demonstrated the difference in intensity between the Champions League and the AFC Champions League. As the AFC Champions League champions, Pohang Steelers were like toys in front of Real Madrid, and were completely overwhelmed.

Ultimately, Real Madrid secured a resounding victory and easily advanced to the Club World Cup final.

Their opponents will be decided between Atalanta and Estudiantes de La Plata, while Pohang Steelers, who suffered a crushing defeat to Real Madrid, will have to compete with the loser of the other team for third place.

When Lin Feng was substituted, the fans in the stadium stood up and applauded, giving him a warm round of applause and cheers.

The applause and cheers were so loud that it gave one the illusion that they were at Real Madrid's home stadium.

Even though it was a neutral stadium, almost all the people who came to watch the game were fans of Real Madrid or Lin Feng personally.

Real Madrid's performance in this match was worthy of the audience's expectations.

Despite facing such a weak opponent, they didn't throw the game; instead, they fielded their strongest lineup, and the players performed admirably on the field.

Cristiano Ronaldo's bicycle kick and Lin Feng's free kick—things we used to only see on TV—were enjoyed right here in our own backyard today!
Indeed, football is best watched when it's played by top teams; only high-level matches like that are truly exciting.

The conglomerates in the UAE are really starting to take an interest in football. (End of Chapter)