Chapter 436: Win the Club World Cup again
Real Madrid's opponent in the Club World Cup semifinals is the same as last year's, also from the J League. This time it's Gamba Osaka instead of Urawa Red Diamonds, a football club established by the famous Japanese company Panasonic in Osaka Prefecture.
Although they have performed well in the J League, there is still a significant gap between them and the world-class club Galacticos. Head coach Schuster took the opportunity to rest the main lineup.
On the field, Real Madrid had absolute dominance, but the opponent's fighting spirit was indeed touching. In the first half, Cassano broke Gamba Osaka's goal first, but soon forward Matsuno Sei seized a mistake by substitute goalkeeper Codina to equalize the score.
The Nissan Stadium erupted with joy. It was such an honorable thing to breach the gates of Real Madrid! The biggest contributor, Matsuno Sei, even ran around the field, receiving praise and applause from his fellow countrymen.
On the sidelines, Schuster shook his head helplessly. It seemed that Codina was still not up to the task. They would need to recruit a more valuable substitute goalkeeper in the transfer market in the future.
This goal also momentarily made Gamba Osaka believe that they could defeat the Galacticos and advance to the final. However, Guti's long shot from the edge of the penalty area shattered their hopes. In the second half, Saviola scored another goal, making it 3-1, and Real Madrid completely secured the victory!
As the match entered garbage time, neither side seemed intent on continuing seriously, but the Japanese fans in the stands were very enthusiastic, continuously chanting Wang Feng's name.
In the 75th minute, the Chinese superstar finally took to the field amidst the fervent calls. After a brief warm-up, he performed a series of consecutive dribbles in the frontcourt, dribbling past two defenders and then suddenly shooting from outside the penalty area, once again piercing Gamba Osaka's goal.
The final score settled at 4-1, and the Galacticos smoothly advanced to the Club World Cup final. Their opponents would be from the Ecuadorian Serie A, Universidad Catolica.
Universidad Catolica is Ecuador's most successful football club, having won the domestic league title nine times. Last season, they won the Copa Libertadores for the first time, becoming the first team in Ecuadorian history to achieve South America's highest honor.
In the semifinals, they defeated the North American champions Pachuca 2-0 to advance to the final, marking the fourth consecutive year that the UEFA Champions League winners and the Copa Libertadores winners met in the Club World Cup final.
In this match, coach Schuster led Wang Feng, Sneijder, and Ramos to lead the substitute players. With the trio leading, the Galacticos dominated in all areas of the field.
After all, not all the main players were deployed, so Universidad Catolica did not lose their ability to fight back. While maintaining a stable defense, they also planned many high-quality counterattack opportunities.
In the 17th minute, Real Madrid midfielder Sneijder diagonally passed to Wang Feng on the flank. The latter forcefully dribbled to the baseline, evaded defensive blocks, and lifted the ball into the penalty area. Cassano turned and scored past goalkeeper Cevallos's fingertips.
Seven minutes later, Sneijder sent a direct pass to Universidad Catolica's defensive line, and Wang Feng, like lightning, quickly started. He sneaked to the ball before the defending players, then dribbled into the penalty area, and calmly shot from 8 meters in front of the goal.
The first half ended with a score of 2-0. In the second half, in the 59th minute, Real Madrid defender García took a powerful long shot from outside the penalty area. Although Cevallos barely saved the ball, he failed to keep it out of the danger zone.
The Chinese superstar seized the opportunity to rush out and score into the empty net, making it 3-0! The Galacticos completely secured the victory, with Wang Feng scoring twice.
After this goal, Universidad Catolica lost their will to counterattack, and the clean and neat finish made them concede defeat. Real Madrid successfully defended their Club World Cup title!
At the end of the match, during the awards ceremony, Wang Feng was once again selected as the best player of the tournament. In an interview, a reporter asked about the January FIFA annual awards ceremony, especially the most anticipated selection of the FIFA Best Men's Player.
The Chinese superstar happily replied, "FIFA has officially invited me, and of course, I will attend. In the past year, many outstanding players have emerged in the world of football, which puts pressure on me, but it also motivates me. I am not afraid of any challenges."
Basically, no one thinks this major award will go to anyone else, especially seeing Wang Feng's dominance against Barcelona. "No player can replace his position now," as stated by the French "L'Equipe."
Back in Madrid, after the exhausting journey, the Galacticos faced their 16th round match in La Liga, also the last match before the New Year.
Although they fielded their main lineup in this match, the players were generally in poor form, including Wang Feng. In the 17th minute, Valencia forward Morentes opened the scoring for the away team.
Later, Real Madrid's forward line got several good chances, but they couldn't capitalize on them. It wasn't until the 67th minute of the second half when Robben and Wang Feng engaged in a series of wall-pass combinations on the wing. The Chinese superstar made a quick run into the penalty area and shot into the far corner from a tight angle.
The ball went straight under goalkeeper Hildebrand's body and into the net, making it 1-1, and the home team leveled the score.
Unfortunately, this result did not hold until the final whistle. In the 85th minute, Viera took advantage of a lax moment in Real Madrid's defense, stole the ball, and then scored with a one-on-one, successfully breaking the Galacticos' undefeated record this season.
At the final whistle, the Real Madrid players were extremely disappointed. They had fought hard to grab the top position in the league, but unexpectedly, they would return to Barcelona's hands in just two weeks.
Unexpectedly, Barcelona also lost their match. They were reversed tragically by Villarreal with a score of 1-2, with the main turning point being defender Pique's expulsion after receiving two yellow cards.
After the decisive battle with Real Madrid, they felt somewhat physically and mentally exhausted. The subsequent loss was a heavy blow, so much so that they were completely out of sorts in this round of matches, making frequent mistakes, and losing their sharpness in attack compared to before.
After the match, Guardiola admitted that the team was in a difficult situation, but fortunately, the winter break was coming up. They had enough time to adjust and restart. "I believe in my players. They are not the kind of fragile people. We have endured the most difficult times together, and the next season should be a season of harvest!"
Thanks to this "accident," Real Madrid still won the first half championship in the league. This undoubtedly boosted the players' morale, and in recent years, the team that won the first half championship ultimately had the last laugh.
After the match ended that night, the club had a dinner gathering and then disbanded. Everyone could go home and enjoy the Christmas and New Year holidays without the stress of preparing for the Christmas Eve battle like last year.
Since Lu Yao gave birth, Wang Feng's family and Lu Yao's mother had come to live in Madrid for a long time. The spacious villa was filled with laughter and the atmosphere of home. Lu Yao's father would also come over for the New Year.
Little Si Yao was about six months old now, able to crawl on the floor by herself, making babbling sounds with her grape-like eyes and chubby round face, appearing very cute.
"Our little baby will definitely grow up to be a beauty." Wang Feng held the little one and refused to let go. Usually, he was busy running around and didn't have a chance to spend quality time with his daughter, but fortunately, she was very well-behaved, not crying or fussing often. Looking at Wang Feng, she would even show a healing smile, as if she knew that the man in front of her was her father.
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