Chapter 611
Lin Feng's injuries have touched the hearts of thousands.
On November 10, the 35th round of La Liga kicked off.
Before the match, the most pressing question for Real Madrid fans worldwide was whether Lin Feng was on the roster and whether he would be able to play.
But the result disappointed them; Lin Feng not only didn't play, but he wasn't even on the 18-man roster.
The result of this match greatly disappointed Real Madrid fans. Having just finished their Champions League campaign, Real Madrid were severely depleted of their physical strength and without Lin Feng in the lineup, resulting in a 0-3 defeat to Valencia away from home.
Although Barcelona, who were also exhausted from the Champions League, failed to defeat their opponent in another match and were held to a 3-3 draw by Villarreal, they still managed to pull away from Real Madrid again with the point from that draw.
After missing out on the Champions League title, Barcelona's focus this season has naturally shifted to the league and cup competitions.
With three rounds left in the league, Barcelona, who already had an advantage in both goal difference and goals scored, were not easily overtaken by Real Madrid. Now, they have taken advantage of Real Madrid's loss of a key player to re-establish their lead.
This greatly increases the difficulty for Real Madrid to defend their league title, making it almost impossible.
However, after the match, no one cared about who would win the La Liga title; everyone's focus was on Lin Feng's absence and his injury.
Mourinho was already in a bad mood after losing the game, and the reporters kept asking him questions unrelated to the match.
The madman was completely enraged and berated reporters at the post-match press conference, turning the event into a farce.
Despite Real Madrid's tight security regarding Lin Feng's injury, they still couldn't stop people from making inquiries.
Especially after Lin Feng's absence from the game, all sorts of rumors and speculations have been circulating.
Some believe Lin Feng's injury is not serious; he may miss the next few league matches, but it shouldn't affect his Champions League final.
However, some people say that Lin Feng suffered a serious injury and is out for the season. He can't participate in the Champions League, and he won't be able to recover for the next five or six months.
Even worse, some people spread rumors that Lin Feng had ruptured his Achilles tendon and had become a complete cripple.
Despite various speculations and rumors from the outside world, Lin Feng himself has never made a public appearance.
On May 17, in the penultimate round of La Liga, Real Madrid, without Lin Feng, suffered another upset away from home, losing to Villarreal, who had just drawn with Barcelona.
Although the score of 2:3 looks slightly better than the previous match, it still cannot hide Real Madrid's decline.
Two consecutive defeats, coupled with Lin Feng's continued absence, have once again put Real Madrid in the spotlight.
At this moment, even the most optimistic Real Madrid fans sensed a danger.
They couldn't help but wonder if the rumors circulating outside were true.
Is Lin Feng really out for the season or even a cripple?
"Although I really don't want to see such a brilliant young genius perish, I have to admit that this is a major positive development for us!"
Inside Manchester United, manager Sir Alex Ferguson felt both regret and joy upon learning the news from La Liga.
It's a pity about Lin Feng's talent. He has always admired Lin Feng and even once considered bringing Lin Feng's talent to Old Trafford.
The good news is that without Lin Feng, Real Madrid is like a tiger with its teeth pulled out. Although it still looks majestic, its fighting power has been greatly reduced.
Such a Galácticos team is no threat to the Red Devils. If Manchester United meet them in the Champions League final, they have a good chance to lift the trophy again!
"Boss, could this be a smokescreen deliberately released by Real Madrid?"
Seeing that Sir Alex Ferguson was getting a little carried away, his assistant couldn't help but remind him.
Although he believed Lin Feng was definitely injured, judging from his performance in the semi-final where he dribbled into the penalty area and scored after a duel with Puyol, he felt that Lin Feng's injury was definitely not as serious as the rumors suggested.
Of course, it cannot be ruled out that the other party relied on strong willpower to endure the pain of injury to do all this, but that would be too exaggerated, wouldn't it?
"Hehe, no way. Real Madrid has a chance to win the league title. As long as Lin Feng can play, they definitely won't bench him. You should know that Barcelona didn't perform well in these two games either. They drew the last one and lost this one. As long as Real Madrid doesn't suffer two consecutive defeats and just wins one of them, the La Liga title this season will be theirs!"
Seeing how confident Ferguson was in his judgment, his assistant decided not to try to dissuade him any further.
Cristiano Ronaldo was deeply saddened upon learning of Lin Feng's injury.
It seems I can't push myself too hard in club matches anymore. I have to dive when necessary. Why risk my life for the club's measly money?
Well, you can't push yourself too hard in the national team. If you accidentally get injured, how will you make money in the future?
……
Mourinho is embroiled in troubles, and so is his friend Guardiola.
Guardiola received a lot of criticism after losing to Real Madrid in the semi-finals.
Some believe his tactics are flashy but impractical, only effective against weaker teams, and incapable of dealing with top teams like Real Madrid.
Some have criticized him for over-relying on young players and neglecting many strong and experienced veterans in the team, such as Yaya Touré.
Objectively speaking, Guardiola's first year in charge of the team was quite impressive.
The league title is practically in their grasp, and the Copa del Rey title is just around the corner.
Snatching two trophies from the then-dominant Real Madrid is an outstanding achievement for a new manager.
Unfortunately, the team he coached was a powerhouse, and the fans of powerhouses are always picky, wanting more and more, and you can never satisfy their appetites.
Guardiola doesn't care too much about external criticism; as long as the club's management continues to support him, everything is fine.
In his view, with a host of talented players like Messi, Xavi, and Iniesta, Barcelona's success is only a matter of time.
But the current Barcelona is not perfect and needs to be further strengthened.
Up front, he plans to let go of the aging Henry and bring in a young, powerful winger to further strengthen Barcelona's attacking power.
In the backfield, he wants to bring in a versatile player who can play as a center-back or a defensive midfielder.
He was still unclear about the rumors that Lin Feng was out for the season, but he was certain that Puyol, who was playing against him, was indeed out for the season.
Puyol's injury is serious and he will need to be sidelined for at least six months.
Given his advanced age, Barcelona needs to prepare a suitable substitute for him.
Barcelona currently has three options for the center-back position: Marquez, Pique, and Feng Xiaoting.
Marquez's ability is average, and he is not young either, so he is not within Guardiola's consideration.
Between Pique and Feng Xiaoting, he personally prefers Pique because Pique is a product of La Masia's youth academy and is more compatible with the team's tactics.
However, Feng Xiaoting's presence is also very important to the team because he possesses qualities that Guardiola greatly admires:
Calm, composed, intelligent, and possesses excellent ball-playing ability and overall game awareness.
If he were a bit stronger physically and had a bit more refined footwork, Guardiola would very much like to make him a starting defender.
Unfortunately, Feng Xiaoting does not yet meet this requirement.
If Puyol hadn't been injured, Guardiola wouldn't have cared too much about Feng Xiaoting's future, and letting him leave this summer wouldn't have been a problem. But now that Puyol is injured and Barcelona's central defender reserves are exhausted, they won't let Feng Xiaoting leave anytime soon.
Is this good news or bad news for Feng Xiaoting?
On May 24, Real Madrid will play against Mallorca at home.
Lin Feng, who had disappeared for nearly two weeks, has finally reappeared in the public eye.
However, he did not appear as a player; instead, he wore a suit and watched the match from a VIP box at the Bernabéu Stadium.
The moment Lin Feng was seen, the entire Bernabéu stadium erupted in cheers.
Hearing the deafening roar of the Bernabéu fans, Lin Feng smiled and waved to the fans and the cameras.
The eyes of tens of thousands of fans were all focused on him, a man in a suit and tie, and even the cameras on the field dropped the players and adjusted their angles to focus on him in the stands.
"Lin Feng!"
"Lin Feng!"
"Lin Feng!"
Excited Real Madrid fans chanted Lin Feng's name, as if paying tribute to him and calling for his return to the team to lead Real Madrid out of its predicament.
Lin Feng could only manage a wry smile; he wanted to play too, but the coaching staff wouldn't allow it!
"Lin Feng's presence at the game is great news for Real Madrid fans and Chinese fans who care about him!"
"That's right. The fact that he was able to get out of bed and move around so quickly proves that the rumors circulating outside are unfounded. If Lin Feng were really seriously injured, he should be lying in bed unable to move right now, and it would be impossible for him to be able to get out of bed and move around so quickly!"
When the two CCTV commentators saw Lin Feng appear, they both breathed a sigh of relief, and even their tone of voice when commentating on the match became much more relaxed.
Hearing the commentator's explanation, the Chinese fans watching the live broadcast of the game were relieved. Although they were still worried about Lin Feng's injury, they were not as anxious as before.
As long as everyone is safe, that's good. What I'm most worried about is Lin Feng disappearing for a long time without showing up again. That would be truly worrisome.
Perhaps it was Lin Feng's appearance that inspired his teammates.
Real Madrid, playing at home, reversed their previous slump and overwhelmed their opponents in the first half with goals from Raul, Sneijder, and Robben.
In the second half, after the opponent scored a goal through a counterattack, Real Madrid continued their relentless attack, and thanks to a brace from substitute Huntelaar, the score was set at 5-1.
After suffering two consecutive defeats, Real Madrid finally stabilized the situation with a resounding victory.
Unfortunately, in another match, Barcelona, playing with 10 men, came from behind to defeat Osasuna 2-1 thanks to two goals from Messi in the 88th minute and the third minute of stoppage time.
Without Messi's two goals, Real Madrid would have overtaken Barcelona by two points in the standings thanks to this victory.
But after Messi helped Barcelona turn the tide, Real Madrid missed the chance to overtake them and remain one point behind their rivals in the standings.
The suspense surrounding the La Liga title race was kept until the final round.
Both Barcelona and Real Madrid face relatively weak opponents in their next round, and both teams should be able to win if they perform normally.
However, under the pressure of winning the league title, even top teams have a high probability of underperforming or even suffering an upset.
Therefore, it remains to be seen who will emerge victorious.
This outcome was something no one could have predicted midway through the season. Looking at the top five leagues, perhaps only La Liga kept the championship suspense until the very last moment.
Real Madrid and Barcelona, these two rivals, have joined forces this season to deliver four epic clashes for La Liga fans, giving them a real treat.
This has also attracted a large number of neutral players, and in just one season, La Liga's overseas audience has increased by hundreds of millions. From a commercial expansion perspective, this season's La Liga can be described as outstanding, leading all leagues.
After the match, Real Madrid's players didn't have time to celebrate, and they even forgot about circling the field to thank the fans. Everyone was rushing to a box in the stadium as fast as they could.
Unfortunately, by the time they arrived at the private room, Lin Feng was already gone.
"Why did Brother Lin leave?"
"Is his injury alright?"
"I wonder when Brother Lin will be able to rejoin the team for the competition. Will he be able to make it to the finals next week?"
Everyone was heavy-hearted, worried about the upcoming Champions League final.
Seeing Lin Feng miss several league games and Real Madrid's recent poor form, many Manchester United fans have already started popping champagne, as if the Champions League trophy is already theirs.
This attitude made Real Madrid players very unhappy and even angry, and they wanted to teach the other side a lesson.
However, without Lin Feng as their leader, can they really defeat Manchester United, led by stars like Ronaldo and Rooney, on their own?
Although many people were not optimistic about Manchester United before, that was when Lin Feng was in Real Madrid's squad. If Lin Feng were absent, the team that was not favored would likely be Manchester United themselves.
……
"Why are you all here?"
Inside a villa in Madrid, Gao Lin, Chen Tao, and the others exchanged bewildered glances as they watched Lin Feng lounging in a deckchair, leisurely reading a newspaper, seemingly enjoying life like a retired old man.
Lin Feng put down the newspaper in his hand and asked with a mixture of surprise and delight.
"Our league has ended, and we're preparing to go back home to prepare for the World Cup qualifiers. I heard you were injured, so I came to see you. But looking at you, you don't seem injured at all; you look like you've retired!"
Chen Tao looked Lin Feng up and down, and couldn't help but ask curiously, "Has your injury healed?"
Lin Feng didn't answer directly, but instead asked him as if to tease him:
"you guess?"
Gao Lin is an impatient guy; he's not interested in playing boring games like riddles.
He immediately reached out and patted Lin Feng's injured foot with lightning speed.
"Damn it, you're injured in the explosion!" (End of Chapter)