Chapter 375: Win the Club World Cup
After a brief turmoil, Real Madrid quickly settled down internally and the whole team went to Japan to participate in the Club World Cup. This year marked the third year of the event, with seven participating teams, including the champions from six continents and an additional slot for the host team.
Wang Feng was no stranger to the Club World Cup. He had led Inter Milan to participate in several editions of the Toyota Cup, even leaving the last trophy in Yokohama.
However, compared to the Toyota Cup where the champions of Europe and South America clashed, the Club World Cup had a larger scale. With more participating teams, the competition was fiercer. Although European champions had a higher position, the Galaxy battleship still had to start from the semifinals. Their opponent was Urawa Red Diamonds from the Japanese J-League.
When the Real Madrid team appeared at Tokyo International Airport, enthusiastic fans had already gathered at the exit to welcome them. Especially when Wang Feng appeared, the cheers reached their peak.
The Chinese superstar naturally took it in stride, but others were obviously taken aback by the reception. Raúl exclaimed in surprise, "You're really popular here, it's like being at home."
"Of course, there are few Asian players who can play at this level. Unlike in Europe or South America, where there's a bunch of stars, so there's nothing particularly special about them." Guti shrugged and joked.
In addition to Wang Feng's popularity, the Galaxy battleship was also popular in Japan, thanks to Florentino's internationalization and superstar strategy. This team had become a benchmark for giants, with a huge fan base worldwide.
After interacting with some fans in the front rows, everyone boarded a bus to Yokohama, where the matches would be held at the International Stadium Yokohama.
Before the start of the match, as both teams lined up in the player tunnel preparing to enter the field, the Urawa Red Diamonds players seemed very excited. Some were whispering to each other with their heads down, occasionally glancing at the Real Madrid players with expressions of admiration and envy in their eyes.
Feeling their gaze, Wang Feng turned his head with a friendly smile, greatly encouraging the opponents. After all, he was the number one player in the world!
Tanaka Da, Urawa Red Diamonds' starting forward, was one year older than Wang Feng, but at the moment he saw the Chinese superstar, he felt like he was a senior, silently determined to perform well.
Once the match started, Tanaka Da realized how naive his thoughts were. He couldn't even get the ball! The Galaxy battleship's pressure on Urawa Red Diamonds was comprehensive, with the Japanese team's midfield and forward lines completely disconnected.
In the 17th minute, Wang Feng received Sneijder's through pass on the left, forcefully dribbled past two defenders, entered the penalty area, and curved a shot with the outside of his right foot.
The ball spun rapidly in the air, drawing a perfect arc, heading straight for the far corner of the goal, hitting the post and bouncing into the net, putting Real Madrid 1-0 ahead!
Just five minutes later, the Chinese superstar showed his dominance again. Reyes chipped a ball from the right into the penalty area, Wang Feng leaned against the defender and lifted his right foot to volley, the ball hitting the ground hard inside the penalty area, then bouncing high into the net, leaving the Urawa Red Diamonds goalkeeper with no time to react.
Tanaka Da watched these two goals from close range with an incredulous expression on his face. Could football be played like this? Under Wang Feng's pressure, their defense seemed non-existent.
With a two-goal lead, Real Madrid gradually slowed down the pace of the game. After all, this was the opponent's home ground, but they still firmly controlled the situation, giving Urawa Red Diamonds no chance.
At the end of the first half, the Chinese superstar was substituted off. In the second half, Raúl and Sneijder scored two more goals, leading the Galaxy battleship to a 4-0 victory and smoothly advancing to the final. Their opponent would be the Copa Libertadores champions, Boca Juniors.
After all the twists and turns, it was still the champions of Europe and South America competing for the final trophy, representing the dominance of the two continents in football.
Both sides fielded their full-strength lineups. Real Madrid lined up in a 4-4-2 formation, with only Robben and Heinze missing due to injury, while Boca Juniors also played a 4-4-2, with goalkeeper Caranta.
The defense consisted of Ibarra, Maidana, Palanta, and Morel.
The midfield comprised Banega, Gonzalez, Battaglia, and Cardozo.
The forwards were Palermo and Palacios.
In the early stages of the match, both sides seemed evenly matched in attack and defense. In the 4th minute, Palermo attempted a long-range shot from outside the penalty area that went over the crossbar, and two minutes later, Real Madrid responded with a long pass from Guti, with Wang Feng's subsequent shot narrowly missing the post.
In the 21st minute, Wang Feng dribbled through the center and entered the penalty area. Suddenly, he took a shot, which was blocked by the defender Maidana. The Chinese superstar quickly followed up and regained control of the ball.
This time, he feigned a shot, pretending to shoot before flicking the ball to his left foot and then chipping it, catching the Boca defenders off guard. The ball sailed into the top left corner of the net. "goooooooooooooooal! Goal! Wang Feng opens the scoring for Real Madrid!"
"His positive attitude led to this goal. After the first shot was blocked, Wang Feng quickly reacted and regained possession, leading to a second attack."
"It's this indomitable character on the field that allows Wang Feng to repeatedly contribute brilliant goals, bringing countless honors to himself and the team."
Ten minutes later, Boca Juniors took advantage of a lapse in concentration in Real Madrid's defense to equalize. It was a corner kick opportunity, and the South American champions chose to take it quickly. Real Madrid's marking was flawed, and Palacios headed the ball into the net from six meters out to level the score.
The score remained unchanged until the end of the first half. After the break, when Real Madrid had a free-kick opportunity in the opponent's half, everyone knew what was coming next.
Wang Feng slowly backed away from the penalty spot, took a deep breath, sprinted to take the shot. The ball curved around the wall, suddenly changing direction after passing the wall, leaving Caranta helpless as it fell into the net, making it 2-1!
Immediately after, Sneijder sent a deadly through pass to the Boca Juniors' defense. In the penalty area, Wang Feng faced Maidana and Palanta, but he still forcefully pushed past them, successfully beating the offside trap and forming a one-on-one situation.
Then he directly chipped the ball, hitting Caranta's gloves as he came out. Before the Argentine could rejoice, he was horrified to find that the ball's momentum was too strong, slipping out of his hands and rolling into the net behind him, making it 3-1! Wang Feng scored a hat-trick!
This goal completely shattered Boca Juniors' players' mental defenses. They began to grow restless, and even in the 79th minute, Ibarra crudely fouled Wang Feng, receiving his second yellow card of the match and being sent off.
Seeing Wang Feng fall, Schuster's heart skipped a beat. Even though there was no serious injury, he dared not leave the Chinese superstar on the field any longer, so he replaced him with Soldado.
Even so, with one less player, the South American champions couldn't reverse the score. Real Madrid won the final victory, lifting the Club World Cup trophy!
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