Chapter 676
Marrying the Fairy Sister
After winning the league title, Mourinho gave the players two days off so they could relax.
Since the Champions League knockout stage began in March, Real Madrid's players have been on edge, almost bursting at the seams. Now they can finally breathe a little easier.
The season is nearing its end, with Real Madrid having only three games left to play.
Apart from the last round of the league, the remaining two matches are the Copa del Rey final and the Champions League final.
According to the schedule, the two matches are close together. The Copa del Rey final is scheduled for May 23, while the Champions League final is scheduled for May 26.
The two matches were only three days apart, which had a significant impact on Real Madrid.
Fortunately, this year's Champions League final will be held at the Bernabéu Stadium. Although it is a neutral venue, Real Madrid will not have to go through the hassle of traveling because it is right on their doorstep.
In the history of the Champions League, there have only been three instances where the final was held at the home ground of one of the teams, with Real Madrid having played one of them.
That was during the peak of Real Madrid's dynasty. Under Di Stéfano's leadership, Real Madrid defeated Fiorentina 2-0 at the Bernabéu Stadium to win the championship.
This situation has now recurred, and many Real Madrid fans see it as a symbol – Real Madrid's second dynasty is about to be born!
For some teams, winning a Champions League trophy is already considered a dynasty.
But for a long-established powerhouse like Real Madrid, even two consecutive Champions League titles don't carry the same weight in the hearts of fans as the legendary five consecutive titles of the past.
Although the Champions League has become much more difficult since its restructuring, the prestige of today's championship is incomparable to what it was back then.
But the difference in numbers is still too great. How can two championships be compared to five championships?
Furthermore, Real Madrid's current glory is entirely due to the foundation laid by players like Di Stefano who won five consecutive Champions League titles.
Therefore, in terms of sentiment and historical significance, the older generation of legends scored too high.
Even though Lin Feng is currently very popular with Real Madrid fans, if you compare his historical status and contributions to the team with Di Stéfano, Real Madrid fans would most likely still choose Di Stéfano.
But if Real Madrid can win three consecutive Champions League titles, that would be a different story!
Even the most discerning fans cannot deny that this is a new dynasty!
……
The final La Liga match kicked off on May 16.
Real Madrid made extensive rotations in this round of matches, with most of their key players not traveling to the away game.
Even so, thanks to the outstanding performance of their substitutes, Real Madrid still managed to defeat Malaga 1-0 away from home.
This has pushed the team, which was on the verge of relegation, into the abyss.
When the match ended, the Malaga players knelt on the grass and wept uncontrollably.
Having only scored 36 points this season, they are highly likely to be relegated.
However, Barcelona saved them in another match!
In the final match, Barcelona did not make extensive rotations like Real Madrid, but instead fielded a large number of their key players.
The Barcelona players, who were seething with anger, vented their frustration on another relegation-threatened team, Valladolid.
Messi scored two goals and provided two assists in this match, accounting for all of the team's goals and leading Barcelona to a 4-0 victory at home, while also sending their opponents into the abyss of relegation.
Although Valladolid had the same points as Malaga, their crushing defeat in the final match put them at a slight disadvantage in goal difference, making them one of the three La Liga teams relegated in the 2009-2010 season, along with Zarez and Tenerife.
Upon learning the result, the Malaga players, who had been weeping, began to smile again.
They were able to avoid relegation not only thanks to Barcelona's divine assistance, but also thanks to Real Madrid for sparing their lives.
If Real Madrid fields their strongest lineup like Barcelona in the final round and delivers a decisive blow, Barcelona, with a lower goal difference, will most likely be the unfortunate ones to be relegated.
The people of Malaga were happy, but the people of Valladolid were not.
After the match, Valladolid complained to La Liga officials that Real Madrid had played passively and were suspected of match-fixing.
The reason is that Real Madrid made an abnormally large number of substitutions in this game. If they had made fewer substitutions and just fielded either Lin Feng or Ronaldo, Malaga wouldn't have lost by such a small margin.
La Liga officials naturally wouldn't accept Valladolid's complaint. Real Madrid had already won the title, and they still had to participate in the Copa del Rey and the Champions League finals. It was obvious to everyone that Real Madrid would need to make extensive rotations to conserve energy.
You can't beat Barcelona, and you get thrashed, yet you blame Real Madrid. You should look for the reasons within yourself instead of blaming everything on conspiracy theories.
And even if someone has a grievance, it should be Barcelona's fault for going too far, what does it have to do with Real Madrid?
……
Lin Feng was unaware of the trivial matters surrounding the final La Liga match, because he was not in Spain at the time.
Lin Feng, born in 1988, will turn 22 in a few days.
According to domestic law, he has finally reached the legal age for marriage.
He and Liu Yifei have been engaged for two years.
The two had set a wedding date two years ago.
The wedding date was Lin Feng's birthday.
On May 20, the two brought all their documents and quietly completed their marriage registration at the Civil Affairs Bureau of Wuhan City, without alerting anyone.
Because Lin Feng's schedule was too tight, the two didn't have time to take wedding photos and hold a wedding ceremony, so they decided to get their marriage certificate first and then slowly complete the ceremony after the World Cup ended.
Because he was so low-key, most people didn't know that Lin Feng was already married.
It wasn't until he returned to the team and his teammates noticed the wedding ring on his ring finger that they realized he had gotten married without anyone knowing.
"Brother Lin, that's not fair of you! You didn't even tell us you were getting married! Didn't you say you were going to invite us to your wedding banquet?!"
"That's right, Brother Lin, we're teammates after all. It would be really unfair not to invite us to such an important event!"
"Lin, here, this is my gift money, a small token of my and your sister-in-law's appreciation."
While his teammates were still criticizing Lin Feng for being unfair, Raul quietly took out a red envelope and handed it over.
When Lin Feng mentioned getting married, he had specifically inquired about it and learned that in China, it is customary to give gifts at weddings, so he made preparations well in advance.
"Thank you, Captain, you're so kind!"
Lin Feng accepted the red envelope with a grin, not caring at all how much money was inside, since he wasn't short of money anyway.
As Raul said, it's just an attitude, a sentiment.
Lin Feng sensed the other person's intention. "Huh? I have to give a gift?"
"How much is the gift money, Brother Lin? Just tell me the amount, and I'll transfer it to you right away!"
When his teammates saw that Raul had given a monetary gift, they all followed suit. Some even took out their phones to send money to Lin Feng, leaving Lin Feng speechless.
Why does this look like a gang extorting protection money?
When it comes to gift money, a hundred or two hundred euros is fine. What's the meaning of writing so many zeros on a check?
……
On May 23, the Spanish Copa del Rey final kicked off.
Barcelona failed to reach the final as they did last year due to their focus on the league and the Champions League.
Real Madrid's opponent in the final is Sevilla, the kings of the Europa League!
While Sevilla may not be as strong as Real Madrid and Barcelona, they are still a long-established powerhouse in La Liga.
Moreover, they are very good at cup competitions; Barcelona was eliminated by them before.
Facing a peak Real Madrid, Sevilla was very well prepared and caused Real Madrid a lot of trouble during the match.
At the end of the first half, the score was still 0-0. Although Real Madrid had the advantage in terms of possession and number of shots, they were unable to convert these advantages into goals, which made the Real Madrid fans in attendance very anxious.
"Mourinho should be in for a headache now, as more and more teams across Europe are starting to learn and imitate his tactics and use them against Real Madrid."
"Yes, Sevilla used Real Madrid's counter-attacking tactics in this match. They don't pursue statistics, but instead pursue efficiency to the extreme. They use a few players in the front to complete quick, accurate and ruthless combinations, and threaten Real Madrid's goal with efficient and simple counter-attacks."
"That counter-attack in the 22nd minute of the first half—if it weren't for Casillas' decisive action, Real Madrid might be trailing now!"
Mourinho's tactics place high demands on the team's lineup.
While not as outrageous as Barcelona's possession-based football, ordinary teams with weaker squads simply cannot replicate his tactics.
However, for a powerhouse like Sevilla, whose strength is clearly superior to that of ordinary teams, it is not difficult to occasionally replicate Real Madrid's tactics in a match.
Real Madrid wanted the championship, and so did Sevilla, perhaps even more than Real Madrid.
After all, Real Madrid has many other trophies besides the Copa del Rey, but for a team like Sevilla, they have no chance of winning any other trophies and can only do their best to win the Copa del Rey.
During halftime, Mourinho made emergency adjustments to the team's lineup and tactics in the locker room.
In response to the opponent's tactic of deploying a large number of defensive forces in the penalty area, he chose to learn from Guardiola and use the width of the field to increase the number of attacks on the flanks and half-spaces as much as possible, in an attempt to pull the opponent's formation out and artificially create gaps.
So, in the second half, the fans immediately noticed that Real Madrid seemed to be learning Barcelona's possession-based football.
Wait a minute, am I seeing things? This team on the field is Real Madrid, right?
This seems like a Barcelona tactic, but I don't remember Barcelona having white jerseys.
[Haha, Mourinho's out of ideas, he's actually starting to study Guardiola's tactics!]
[Wasn't the defensive counter-attacking strategy supposed to be the best tactic? Why are they starting to copy Barcelona?]
Barcelona fans, sensing the danger, arrived and immediately began to ridicule Mourinho and Real Madrid.
In their view, other teams' attempts to imitate Barcelona's possession-based football are all futile and fail to grasp the essence of the game.
Barcelona's possession-based football is built on the consistent style and tradition of football that La Masia youth academy has upheld for many years.
A large portion of Barcelona's players come from the La Masia youth academy, something no other team can do.
Real Madrid's attempt to replicate Barcelona's style of play by relying on a group of mercenaries is seen by Barcelona fans as a complete failure!
However, to their great surprise...
The possession-based football played by Real Madrid was actually quite impressive, not a clumsy imitation, but rather it captured some of the essence of Barcelona's style.
Lin Feng truly lives up to his reputation as the world's best midfielder. He excels in attack, orchestrates play, and even manages to switch from playing as a team commander to possession-based football!
I'm a bit confused about his tactical role in Real Madrid's possession-based system. If I had to make a comparison, who would he be equivalent to at Barcelona? Xavi, Iniesta, surely not Messi?
It's hard to say. His breakthroughs are definitely not as sharp as Messi's, but he feels on par with Iniesta. As for his organization and passing abilities, he is no less than Xavi, and even stronger. Moreover, his ability to link up play and make forward runs is also better than Iniesta's.
You can think of him as a weaker version of Messi in terms of dribbling, but a combination of a stronger Xavi and Iniesta in terms of attacking prowess!
As Real Madrid's opponent in the Champions League final, Barcelona is also paying close attention to Real Madrid's match.
When Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola saw Lin Feng's performance in the possession-based football system, his eyes lit up!
Organizing, passing, dribbling, connecting, attacking, defending...
This guy has almost no weaknesses!
He had seen hexagonal warriors before, but he had never seen one this incredible.
If this guy could come to Barcelona to assist Messi, I feel like Barcelona would be invincible!
Unfortunately, he could only dream about it; such a thing could never happen in the real world.
At the same time, Xiaobai and Harvey were also astonished and their mouths dropped open after seeing Lin Feng's performance.
Both players performed exceptionally well in their respective positions, but no one expected that someone would go even further.
This guy really is a monster!
The two men were initially somewhat unconvinced by Lin Feng's title as the world's best midfielder, but after facing each other multiple times over the past few seasons, they were completely convinced of his superiority.
The opponent's midfielder is indeed top-class, possibly even the strongest midfielder of all time.
They had never witnessed the supernatural powers of those ancient gods, but they had certainly seen the terror of Lin Feng.
On the pitch, Lin Feng didn't find Barcelona's possession-based football particularly difficult.
It just felt a bit boring; he kept passing the ball, receiving it, and passing it again on the field.
But this tactic actually worked quite well. Under Real Madrid's constant probing and stretching, Sevilla's defense finally exposed its weaknesses.
In the 77th minute, Lin Feng dropped back from the edge of the penalty area to receive the ball, drawing the opposing center-back forward.
After capturing this intelligence from a god-like perspective, Cruyff made a clever turn to get rid of the ball, and then sent a through ball into the penalty area.
Cristiano Ronaldo used his long legs to poke the ball into the goal before the defender could react.
The score is now 1-0! (End of Chapter)