Chapter 382: Replace in advance
According to internal sources of the World Soccer magazine, when Wang Feng scored 19 goals in the first half of the league, everyone was very excited. The European Golden Boot Award, which had been dominated by Chinese superstars for many years, finally had some suspense.
But when the news of his 12 goals in four rounds reached England, the atmosphere inside the magazine turned pessimistic. Some even thought about making a trophy with Wang Feng's name on it in advance, believing that no other player would have a chance to threaten him.
It is worth mentioning that the favorable competitor from China is Cristiano Ronaldo from Manchester United, who has currently scored 21 goals in the Premier League.
Wang Feng was having breakfast while browsing through related reports in the British "Sun" on his phone. He usually liked these kinds of "storytime" reports, absurd yet containing some truth.
But the other protagonist in the story seemed less composed. Since the morning, Cristiano Ronaldo had been running in the gym at the training base, as if trying to shake off all his frustration.
2008 should be his year! The Portuguese had a clear goal in mind: first, win the European Golden Boot Award, then help the team win both the league and Champions League titles. He also wanted to lead his country to victory in the European Championship, securing the title of Mr. Double at the end of the year.
Especially when his league goals were once ahead of Wang Feng's, he felt that everything was going according to plan. But why the hell did that guy not play by the rules? Four rounds of hat-tricks, is he even human?
With this in mind, Cristiano Ronaldo increased the speed of the treadmill again, gritting his teeth and running with all his might, as if competing with an invisible opponent.
Not far away, his personal trainer Thomason and nutritionist Sanchez looked worriedly at their employer. "This could lead to an injury if it continues," Thomason said anxiously. "We should contact Coach Ferguson quickly and ask him to persuade Ronaldo."
Sanchez nodded. If the Portuguese player got fixated, hardly anyone could persuade him except for his mentor Ferguson.
As the closest partners, both of them understood his inner struggles. At 23, Ronaldo was still young for an average player, but for someone like Cristiano Ronaldo, a prodigy, time was pressing. He wanted to achieve results as soon as possible.
Sir Alex Ferguson soon arrived at the gym, scolding Ronaldo sternly, "Ronnie, what are you doing? Stop it right away!" Ronaldo woke up abruptly and quickly turned off the treadmill.
"I know you're feeling urgent, but this overexertion won't help at all, and could even lead to injury!" Ferguson lectured sternly, then softened his tone, "Ronnie, you have to trust the team, and more importantly, trust yourself. Wang Feng is older than you and has been around longer, but it won't be long before you surpass him. We'll do everything we can to help you."
Cristiano Ronaldo felt slightly reassured by Ferguson's words. The club had been very good to him this season, not only providing various resources but also gradually establishing his position as the core of the team, gaining an advantage over Rooney in the internal competition.
This was partly due to frequent injuries to the English forward this season, and partly because Rooney wasn't as disciplined as Ronaldo, often unable to control his diet and lifestyle.
Therefore, after weighing their options, the club's higher-ups decided to prioritize Ronaldo. Coupled with his good performance, he managed to secure a place in the top three of the Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year awards.
"Boss, I understand what you mean. I'll calm down. There are still plenty of opportunities ahead, it all depends on the upcoming matches!"
On the last day of January, the Galaxy battleship welcomed Getafe at the Bernabéu. This was the second leg of the Spanish King's Cup quarterfinals, with the first leg ending 2-1 in favor of the Galaxy battleship.
According to the planning of the club's higher-ups and coaching staff, the King's Cup had never been a high priority tournament. Their main goals were still the league and the Champions League, so key players like Wang Feng sat on the bench.
After a hard-fought 90 minutes, Getafe's center-back Granero scored the only goal of the game. They defeated the Galaxy battleship 1-0. However, due to the away goal disadvantage, it was a regrettable elimination. Real Madrid made it into the semifinals with difficulty!
Three days later, in the 22nd round of La Liga, the Galaxy battleship faced Almería away. Wang Feng continued his outstanding performance.
In the 7th minute of the game, Robben dribbled the ball into the opponent's half and then passed it to Wang Feng with his back to the goal. He then moved laterally to shake off the defense, while Wang Feng immediately passed it back to the Dutchman and ran forward.
Robben didn't hesitate after receiving the ball again and sent a straight pass back to Wang Feng. The two formed a wall pass and successfully broke through the home team's midfield blockade.
At this point, Wang Feng found three defensive players in front of the penalty area, making it difficult to break through directly. So, with a light touch, he passed the ball to the nearby Raúl.
As an experienced forward, the Spaniard immediately understood Wang Feng's intention and sent a lob pass to the back of Almería's defense.
The ball flew over the heads of the defending players, and Wang Feng, who was without the ball, successfully pushed ahead of his opponent to reach the ball's landing point in the penalty area.
Just as he stopped the ball at his feet, goalkeeper Diego also came out to face him. In a critical moment, the Chinese superstar used the tip of his foot to chip the ball towards the goal, while jumping to avoid the goalkeeper's slide tackle.
The ball soared over Diego and into the goal, despite the efforts of the approaching defender Pulido to clear it off the line. With that, "goooooooooooooal! The ball's in! Once again, Wang Feng opens the scoring for the Galaxy battleship!"
"The away team completed a very splendid offensive combination in the opponent's half. Let's take a look again at the continuous passes between Robben and Wang Feng, which fooled several Almería players."
"Raúl's lob pass was also perfectly timed, followed by Wang Feng's control and shot. The whole sequence was seamless. If it had been any later, the goalkeeper might have disrupted it."
"His recent form has been incredibly impressive. Could the legend of consecutive hat-tricks in the league continue? Let's wait and see!"
In the 31st minute, Diarra intercepted the ball at the back and sent a through pass to the front. A figure, like lightning, started from the halfway line towards the ball's landing point, with home defender Ortiz grabbing onto Wang Feng's jersey, trying to stop him, but was still shaken off by the powerful force.
Nearby, Bruno rushed to defend, and both players almost reached the ball's landing point at the same time. Seeing that he couldn't gain an advantage, the Spanish defender directly fell to the ground to slide tackle. As long as he could touch the ball first and kick it out of bounds, it wouldn't be considered a foul but rather good defending.
The Chinese superstar came up with a clever idea, using the back of his right foot to hook the ball, bringing it to his left side. Then, in one smooth motion, he sidestepped Bruno's attempted block with his legs.
After that, no one could stop him anymore. Wang Feng caught up with the ball and shot with his left foot, once again piercing Almería's goal, scoring his second goal of the match!
With nearly 60 minutes left in the game, no one doubted that Wang Feng would continue his streak of consecutive hat-tricks, but unexpectedly, head coach Schuster replaced him early in the second half.
This chapter is updated by freew(e)bnovel.(c)om