Chapter 402: La Liga finale and Champions League preparations
When Wang Feng returned to Madrid, the team was already gearing up for the final challenge of the season. As usual, they split into two groups, with the assistant coach leading a team to Levante for the final round of the league. Schuster then took the main players to Moscow to adjust to the pitch and conduct the final pre-match training.
Like Manchester United, Real Madrid had arrived early at the final venue to prepare for defending their league title. Moscow in May was still somewhat chilly, so the players needed to take precautions to avoid falling ill before the game.
The treatment of players by the Galacticos was always top-notch. They stayed in one of the few five-star hotels in the city center and even had Spanish ingredients flown in to prepare their preferred meals.
At the same time, the team rented Spartak Moscow's training facilities for their daily practice sessions. Although the environment was undoubtedly less comfortable than Madrid, all the necessary facilities were available.
In the last few days of training sessions, Schuster focused on drilling the team's defensive system. In his view, apart from Wang Feng, Cristiano Ronaldo was the most potent offensive player this year, and they had to find a way to limit his impact.
Provocations and other "crooked ways" would definitely not work anymore. The Portuguese had matured a lot, so they had to resort to direct containment. He had the Chinese superstar simulate Ronaldo's attacks, repeatedly challenging the main defensive line, hoping to inspire and gain experience for the players.
It must be said that Wang Feng performed very well. He was more like Ronaldo than Ronaldo himself, or rather, more like the Portuguese at the peak of his form, leaving the Galacticos' defenders in distress.
"Come on, Cristiano isn't that strong!" After another breakthrough in the defense, Pepe finally couldn't help but speak out. He was quite familiar with Ronaldo from their time together in the Portuguese national team, so he had some understanding of his abilities.
"You can't be sure about that. In my estimation, at his peak, he's truly unstoppable. Speed, dribbling, shooting, heading, he's top-notch in all aspects."
"Alright, stop complaining. Wang is doing the right thing." Schuster clapped his hands to attract everyone's attention, then continued, "Cristiano is currently the most powerful player among the younger generation. He could erupt with energy surpassing himself at any moment, and we must consider that."
With the endorsement of the head coach, Wang Feng played even more confidently. He even subconsciously incorporated some of Messi's techniques, surprisingly finding himself more at ease. If there were a player in the world who could possess the technical skills and physical qualities of both of them, then they could definitely rival Wang Feng.
In the final match of La Liga, Real Madrid drew 0-0 away to Levante. With a record of 23 wins, 10 draws, and 5 losses, accumulating 79 points, they clinched the league title. Following closely behind was Villarreal, while Barcelona, surprisingly, only ranked third in the league. The last Champions League spot was secured by Sevilla.
The three teams relegated were Zaragoza, Murcia, and Levante. The battle for survival in the relegation zone was exceptionally fierce, with only a 3-point difference between 15th-placed Real Valladolid and Zaragoza.
The three teams promoted from Segunda Division to La Liga were Numancia from Soria, Xerez from Jerez, and Malaga from Malaga.
Wang Feng contributed 50 goals and 10 assists this season, once again winning the La Liga Golden Boot without suspense and also receiving his seventh European Golden Boot. As soon as the season ended, the staff of "World Soccer" magazine rushed to Russia to present him with the award, taking photos and conducting interviews in one go.
It's no wonder that although there were no exaggerated rumors about making trophies for Wang Feng at the beginning of the season, seeing the Chinese superstar's data, they did start preparing for his awards one or two months in advance.
Some people had proposed additional clauses to limit Wang Feng's awards, such as gradually decreasing points after winning consecutive awards, but most of the top executives of European sports magazine groups opposed it.
"If we do that, the European Golden Boot Award will completely lose its authority. Just imagine Wang Feng leading the goal-scoring chart, but the Golden Boot goes to someone else. No fan would accept it, and even the winners would feel ashamed."
"As long as the Chinese superstar continues to score madly, we dare to continue awarding him. By then, the European Golden Boot Award will also become like him, creating an immortal legendary story."
On the morning before the Champions League final, the Real Madrid players, as usual, had breakfast with the top management, then proceeded to the meeting room to receive the final tactical lineup arrangements from the coaching staff.
It was not surprising that the team primarily focused on defensive counterattacks. However, there were still two unexpected points. First, Heinze was once again replaced by Marcelo, indicating that the Argentine defender had completely lost the trust of the head coach.
The other surprise was that Raúl was put on the bench. The Real Madrid captain looked somewhat surprised, and Schuster explained, "Raúl, Manchester United's front line is too fierce in attack. We must strengthen the midfield and cut off their interaction in the middle and front."
"If we still can't break the deadlock in the second half, sending you in with ample physical strength can also make an impact."
Raúl nodded. Although he still had some doubts in his heart, the head coach was the most authoritative figure in the team. Being able to explain personally already made sense.
But now, there was a problem: who would be the captain on the field? Usually, it was Raúl when the main lineup was present and Salgado in the substitute lineup.
Although Florentino intended for Wang Feng to take over the captaincy in the future, his experience was still too shallow at the moment. In the end, Raúl handed the armband to Guti.
Real Madrid's starting lineup was in a 4-2-3-1 formation, with Casillas in goal.
The defenders were Pepe, Ramos, Ashley Cole, and Marcelo.
The double pivot in midfield comprised of Diarra and Reyes, with Guti, Sneijder, and Robben in the advanced midfield positions.
Wang Feng played at the forward position.
In the afternoon, the team drove to the Luzhniki Stadium for adaptation training. It was the largest stadium in Russia, with a capacity of eighty-five thousand seats.
Since FIFA allowed the use of artificial turf in 2002, this stadium was one of the few places in Europe to use such material. When Wang Feng stepped onto the field, he immediately felt the subtle difference.
The ground felt somewhat hard to tread on, relatively flat, and with less friction, which meant the ball would roll faster, and players were more prone to slipping.
Although the other teammates didn't have as profound a realization as Wang Feng, they still vaguely felt that the pitch was different from usual. So they worked hard to adapt to this change, which was one of the purposes of training at the venue in advance.
Robben ran up to Wang Feng, stomping on the turf beneath his feet and complained, "This ground is too hard. My studs feel like they can't dig in properly. I'm sure it'll be slippery when we run during the game."
Wang Feng nodded, "Yeah, during the game, we need to pay attention to the strength of our passes and avoid running too aggressively to prevent slipping. How about we practice passing and receiving together?"
So the two of them began to pass the ball to each other. After a few mistakes, Wang Feng found his rhythm, while Robben obviously hadn't fully adapted yet. He could only continue to practice while gradually getting used to the field during the game, but this disadvantageous situation was probably the same for Manchester United.
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