Estadio Vicente Calderón
Atletico Madrid fans eagerly look to De Gea, hoping the young "Door God" can pull off a miracle, while Real Madrid fans fix their eyes on Chen Zhong, anticipating that the "prodigy," who has repeatedly made contributions to the team since his debut, can create miracles once again.
In this tight spot, Chen Zhong takes a closer look than De Gea; his aim is not to shoot but to pass!
The ball slips under De Gea’s armpit; his intense gaze almost seems to want to pop his eyeballs out.
"Chen Zhong!"
"De Gea’s reaction is extrely quick."
"Pass!"
"Cristiano Ronaldo!"
Cristiano Ronaldo’s efforts are rewarded, his diligent running and grasp of the opportunity put him exactly where he’s most needed.
Faced with such an opportunity, the Portuguese player would never miss it; he pushes the ball effortlessly.
The ball, under the watchful eyes of thousands of fans, rolls into the net under De Gea’s fiery gaze.
0:1
At the Estadio Vicente Calderón, Real Madrid capitalizes on a fast counterattack to breach Atletico Madrid’s defense, gaining the lead.
Flores, standing on the sidelines, does not look pleased. He glances at Pellegrini, who is smiling leisurely on the Real Madrid coach’s bench, only to feel the irony of fate.
Once upon a ti, he also longed for the Real Madrid coaching position; after all, Real Madrid legend Di Stefano is his godfather, and he has both played for and coached Real Madrid Youth Team.
However, he was not suitable to be Real Madrid’s coach, even though he proved himself later at Valencia, leading the team to third place in the league just behind Barcelona and Real Madrid in the 05-06 season, and qualifying for the Champions League.
In the 06-07 season, Valencia reached the quarter-finals of the Champions League and finished 4th in the league, securing a spot in the Champions League qualifiers.
At that ti, Flores was a young coach in European football, just over forty, leading a mid-level La Liga team, Valencia, to the Champions League twice; yet he was still unsuitable for Real Madrid because his expertise lied in "defense," aning his team had limitations in attack.
This is a common ailnt for coaches who start with small teams.
Later, people collectively referred to it as "efficiency football," with "Mourinho" being a representative figure.
"Spread the ball more to the wings!"
"Strengthen team defense."
"Put more pressure on them," Flores shouted loudly from the sidelines. Having coached the Real Madrid Youth Team, he was able to play the traditional Spanish football of "pass control" that Spaniards prefer.
However, after sharpening his skills at small teams like Getafe, Flores had long understood the survival strategy against strong teams, which are defense, crossing, and dual-wing attacks.
Flores’s shout invigorated Simao imnsely.
Just during Cristiano Ronaldo’s celebration, this Portuguese star’s gaze at Ronaldo was practically on fire; no one knows what he was thinking, but clearly, he did not like Ronaldo, not at all.
Now he has a way to prove himself, which is to wreak havoc on the flank, to perform better than Ronaldo in this head-to-head battle, and beco the absolute star of Portugal at the upcoming 2010 World Cup!
With such conviction, Simao received the ball on the wing at the 17th minute of the match and resolutely cut towards Real Madrid’s central area, where before him stood...
Chen Zhong!
So commotion arises from the stands, even Flores’s eyes widen.
Aguero, too, shakes his head slightly, stops his running, and looks at the "reckless" Simao, as if to say, don’t act impulsively—you can’t beat him.
Simao confidently charges forward. As a mber of Portugal’s golden generation, as a veteran well-known in the football world, as a forr player for Barcelona, he has no reason to fear a Real Madrid rookie.
Chen Zhong watches Simao as he approaches, clearly sensing his confidence.
But this might be the tragedy of being born into a "small team."
He doesn’t know the kind of players Chen Zhong faces during training; even as a newcor, he had to defend one-on-one against top center forwards like Van Nistelrooy, and after his debut, he faced outstanding attacking players who could start in most teams, even as main players.
Simao?
Maybe a few years younger, Chen Zhong would feel the pressure.
Chen Zhong doesn’t even tackle Simao.
Simao’s frail body just needs contact to lose balance; this is exactly what Chen Zhong does—boosting the physical intensity, causing the Portuguese "veteran" to stagger and lose balance until he falls completely to the ground, giving away possession.
He even raises his arms high, shouting loudly: "Foul, this is a foul!"
But no one pays attention to him, and Real Madrid once again sounds the counter-attack horn, with Chen Zhong advancing with the ball in the center.
Atletico Madrid players strictly guard their zone, while in front, Fernando actively presses for steals.
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