Football: Starting from the 05 World Youth Championship

In the fourth round of the Copa del Rey, Real Madrid easily defeated Racing Santander to advance to the quarterfinals.

However, their arch-rivals Barcelona suffered a shock defeat, losing 1-2 to Sevilla at home and being eliminated.

Barcelona's unexpected elimination has eliminated Real Madrid's biggest rival in the Copa del Rey, greatly increasing their chances of winning the title.

However, everything has two sides. Although Barcelona was eliminated from the Copa del Rey, it reduced one of their competitions, greatly conserving their energy and allowing them to compete for the league and Champions League titles in better condition.

However, the league title race this season is quite unfavorable for Barcelona.

After 25 rounds, Real Madrid remains undefeated, boasting a terrifying record of 23 wins and 2 draws.

Despite having 13 league matches remaining, Real Madrid's points total has already reached an astonishing 71!
Barcelona, ​​ranked second, has only 60 points due to dropping points against weaker teams, a full 11 points behind Real Madrid!
The same predicament Real Madrid faced last season is now facing Barcelona.

Such a large point difference, coupled with the opponent's hot form, makes it extremely difficult for them to catch up in the league.

Although Barcelona still has a theoretical chance of defending their title, that possibility is decreasing dramatically.

In the 26th round of the league, Lin Feng returned to the starting lineup after his rest period.

In red-hot form, he contributed 2 assists and 2 goals as soon as he came on the field, leading Real Madrid to a 5-1 away victory against Valladolid and a ten-game winning streak!

A week later, Real Madrid returned to their home ground and easily defeated Sporting Gijón 3-1, extending their winning streak to 11 games!
Although Lin Feng did not score in this match, he performed well and provided two assists, both of which were for Cristiano Ronaldo.

Lin Feng discovered that the president's shooting skills were indeed much better than the other forwards on the team. As long as he was in good form, he would basically not miss any easy opportunities.

On the contrary, neither Benzema nor Higuain were as efficient, often inexplicably missing what seemed like sure-fire goals, which was quite baffling.

In the 28th round of the league, Real Madrid faced their younger brother Getafe.

Getafe has had a good season and is currently ranked eighth in La Liga.

Not only are they out of danger of relegation, but they also have a chance to compete for a Europa League spot.

While the Europa League doesn't offer the same level of exposure and revenue as the Champions League, it's still quite substantial for the average team.

More games mean more tickets sold and more commercial exposure, so why not?
Therefore, Getafe, playing at home, chose to fight back against their older brother.

They were in good form, and in the first half they were tied 2-2 with Real Madrid.

But with Di Maria coming on as a substitute in the second half, his combination play with Lin Feng on the wing quickly tore apart the opponent's defense.

Within just five minutes, Real Madrid scored two goals, effectively sealing the victory.

Lin Feng did not score in this match either, but he had an astonishing 3 assists!
However, unlike the previous match where Lin Feng fed all the chances to Ronaldo, this time he distributed the ball evenly among the players.

Cristiano Ronaldo, Benzema, and Raul all benefited from the assists he provided, but unfortunately Higuain missed the opportunity due to a lack of playing time.

After defeating Getafe, Real Madrid's winning streak has reached 12 games, surpassing the 11 games they had at the start of the season. This makes them the team with the longest winning streak in the top five European leagues.

[Shocking! Lingard is on a goal drought, having gone 212 minutes without a goal!]

Lin Feng was teased by fans after failing to score in two consecutive matches.

For a midfielder, it's actually quite normal to go two games without scoring.

But this is a bit unusual for Lin Feng, because he is currently the top scorer in La Liga, and everyone knows that his attacking power and scoring ability are outstanding.

Failing to score in two consecutive matches is quite rare in Lin Feng's entire career, so it naturally attracted attention from the outside world.

For the vast majority of Chinese fans, they have truly gone to great lengths to support Lin Feng.

When Lin Feng is in good form and scoring goals like crazy, they worry that he might get injured.

When Lin Feng scores fewer goals, they worry about his form.

[I was waiting for Lingard to break the La Liga goal record, how come he suddenly went silent?]

[Perhaps his previous string of outstanding performances exhausted his form, causing his performance to decline now?]

[A decline in form? Watching the game doesn't cost electricity! Although Lingard didn't score in these two games, he provided 5 assists and had more than a dozen key passes. You're telling me that's a decline in form?]

Anyone who watched the game knows that Lingard's form hasn't declined. His lack of goals was probably due to bad luck or simply a lack of motivation.

The statement that a player doesn't want to score goals would likely be met with disdain if used to describe other players.

However, if it is used to describe Lin Feng's current state, everyone feels that this is a reasonable explanation.

Indeed, Lingard's attacking desire has been relatively low in these few matches, and his number of shots has decreased significantly compared to before!

Is it possible that he felt he had scored too many goals and overshadowed his teammates, so he reduced his shots and increased his assists to appease them?

[I ordered it! You know what, this is the most likely possibility!]

Actually, things aren't as complicated as the fans are making them out to be. It's simply that Lin Feng is preparing for the World Cup!

He was particularly aggressive in attacking and took a lot of shots, testing whether his approach as the main attacker, shouldering the responsibility of scoring for the team, was feasible.

In terms of competitive strength, teams in the top five European leagues are not much different from some ordinary teams in the World Cup, and may even be stronger.

Therefore, conducting experiments on them is of reference value.

Now, the strategy has been changed to assist teammates, which is also to test the tactic of not taking shots and feeding the forwards in the team.

However, the Chinese national team's attacking line is much weaker than Real Madrid's. This tactic might work for Real Madrid, but it might not work for the national team.

Therefore, on the World Cup stage, he needs to play more "selfishly" and try to increase his number of shots, because his scoring efficiency may be higher than that of his teammates on the front line.

It's already the end of March, and there are only two months left until the World Cup.

With the World Cup approaching, everything must prioritize the World Cup, including his playing style at the club level.

However, just as Lin Feng was busy preparing for the World Cup, a major event occurred in Europe—the Icelandic volcano erupted.

Iceland is very far from Spain, so this incident would not normally have affected Spain.

Unfortunately, the Icelandic volcano erupted with a very large volume of electricity, impacting the entire European air transport industry.

Flights to most parts of Western Europe have been cancelled due to the presence of volcanic ash, and at this critical juncture, Real Madrid is about to travel to Moscow at the end of the month to face CSKA Moscow.

I originally planned to go by plane, but now that I can't fly, I have to find another way to get there.

"Four thousand kilometers is too far. Whether by bus or train, it's completely unrealistic. It would take several days just to get there!" At the team's internal meeting, the coaching staff all looked worried and helpless in the face of this unexpected situation.

Madrid is more than 4000 kilometers away from Moscow, and there are no direct trains between the two cities. If they choose to travel by train, they will need to make multiple transfers along the way.

Even with the most meticulously planned route, this trip will still take at least two and a half days!
As for taking a bus, that's even more impractical!

Even with several drivers driving day and night, it would still take three days to arrive.

But players are human, not iron men. After sitting on a bus for three days, they'll be exhausted when they get there, and then they won't be able to play football.

"Can we report the situation to UEFA and postpone the match?"

After discussion by the coaching staff, both methods were rejected.

Then we can only hope that UEFA will adjust the schedule.

However, their submission was rejected by UEFA.

The reasons given by the other party were also quite valid:
Firstly, the volcano in Iceland is very likely to erupt a second time soon, which would make the situation even more serious, and it would still be impossible to fly. Therefore, postponing the match would not solve the problem.

Secondly, the Champions League schedule is difficult to arrange. The World Cup will start on June 11, and the Champions League matches must be completed three weeks in advance to allow national teams sufficient time to prepare.

If Real Madrid's match is postponed, then the remaining semi-finals and even the final will also have to be postponed, which will conflict with the league and even the World Cup, which is unacceptable.

Given the unpredictability of the volcanic eruption and the pressure of the schedule, UEFA is unlikely to agree to postpone the match.

"Since we can't go and can't postpone it, why not just give up on this match?"

Forfeiting the match would result in a loss, meaning they would have to play the second leg trailing 0-3.

Even though Real Madrid is very strong, it cannot guarantee that they can beat their opponent by three goals at home. If the opponent scores a goal away from home, then Real Madrid will be doomed.

This risk is too great; they can't afford it!
Some have suggested sending a reserve team, but given the fatigue of such a long journey, the already weaker reserves might suffer an even worse defeat if they are further weakened by physical and mental exhaustion. It would be better to simply forfeit the match!
"Forget about it. Forfeiting would not only result in an immediate loss, but also disqualify you from advancing. UEFA has already closed that loophole!"

Upon hearing this, everyone's expressions turned even more unpleasant.

"Let's forgo the next round of the league and send our key players off early!"

Ultimately, it was Mourinho who made the final decision.

It's March 25th now, and there are still 6 days until the competition starts.

Even if they are delayed for three days on the road, they still have three days to rest and recover their form. They may be able to defeat their opponents on the road.

If we win this match, the second leg will be much easier.

When the coaching staff announced the news to the players, the Real Madrid players looked at each other in bewilderment:

What? Taking a train to Moscow?

Did they find a script by Napoleon?
However, Napoleon went on horseback back then, which was slower than theirs.

After Mourinho made the decision, Real Madrid fully cooperated.

They used their financial resources and connections to book hotels in Berlin, Warsaw, Minsk, and Moscow in advance, and prepared shuttle buses to welcome the team on their long journey.

On the afternoon of the 25th, the entire Real Madrid team set off, heading in a grand procession towards the high-speed rail station.

Spain, France, and Germany all have high-speed rail systems, and taking the high-speed rail in these countries is definitely faster than taking a bus.

Moreover, the high-speed rail experience is more comfortable than that of a bus.

However, on the way to the high-speed rail, the Real Madrid team encountered a large number of fans and were surrounded and photographed by them along the way.

A large number of fans posted photos they took of Real Madrid players inside the train station online, causing quite a stir.

Real Madrid is having such a tough time! No planes available, so they have to move like ants, taking multiple transfers to get to Moscow!

To be honest, UEFA is too rigid. Why not agree to postpone this kind of competition? If it really comes down to it, why not just draw a new draw? Why insist on grouping teams that are geographically far apart together? Isn't that just making things difficult for everyone?

Arsenal fans wholeheartedly agree!

Manchester United fans are outraged. They finally drew a team that doesn't require them to fly in, why should they have to draw again?

Liverpool fans are also strongly opposed, saying that even playing Manchester United is better than taking the bus to Europe to play other teams!

The European side is quite far from Moscow, so no one is willing to redraw the lots and swap with Real Madrid.

The big clubs have long suffered under Real Madrid's wrath; they're already being generous by not kicking them when they're down. How could they possibly sacrifice themselves to save Real Madrid?
Amidst the discussions among fans, Real Madrid has left France and entered Germany.

There are high-speed trains all the way from Madrid to Berlin, although changing trains can be a bit of a hassle, and the high-speed trains in all three countries are generally not very punctual.

However, because the countries in Western Europe are not very large, the entire journey only took them 12 hours.

It was already past midnight when we arrived in Berlin.

The players were exhausted, so they quickly ate dinner and went to their pre-booked hotel to rest.

The next morning, after having breakfast at the hotel, the whole team took a bus to the Berlin train station, and then took the express train from Berlin to Warsaw to Poland.

Fortunately, because it was the starting station, the train was not delayed, and the team arrived in Poland in 5 hours.

It was already the afternoon of March 26th, and they had only completed half of their journey.

From Warsaw onwards, there are no more high-speed trains or express trains further east; they can only take regular trains.

Although the distance from Warsaw to Minsk is shorter than the distance from Warsaw to Berlin, it took them nearly nine hours to get there.

After resting overnight in Minsk, the team boarded a direct train from Minsk to Moscow the next morning, heading towards their destination – Moscow!

This was the longest one-way trip they had ever taken. The train journey took 11 hours, from morning till night, to reach their destination.

When they got off the train, the Real Madrid players looked utterly exhausted and pale.

From the moment they set off until they arrived at their destination, the entire journey took 2 days and 6 hours.

Apart from sleeping in a hotel for two nights, I spent almost all my time traveling by car.

This was definitely the most unforgettable trip they had ever experienced! (End of Chapter)