Chapter 508: Real knowledge comes from practice
Barcelona 3:2 Real Madrid, Locking in the League Championship Ahead of Time?
After the match, Wang Feng was rarely seen in a state of impatience and anger, smashing mineral water bottles!
A quarrel erupted in the Real Madrid locker room, with the generals' discord likely becoming a settled matter, and the four-time champions' dynasty collapsing with a bang!
Immediately after the end of the derby of the century, the overwhelming news swept across Europe. This is the first time since Wang Feng joined that Real Madrid has lost to Barcelona in the league, and the result holds significant meaning.
The most obvious outcome is the further widening of the gap on the points table between the two sides. In the past, the Galacticos relied on the century derby to close the gap or even overtake, ultimately winning the league championship.
After 13 rounds this year, Real Madrid has 9 wins, 2 draws, 2 losses, accumulating 29 points, while Barcelona has 11 wins, 1 draw, 1 loss, accumulating 34 points. Although the league still has a long way to go, a 5-point difference may seem small, but it's extremely difficult for the opponent to make consecutive mistakes. It's very likely that even until the end of the league, there may be no way to narrow the gap between the two sides.
No wonder some media outlets are calling for Barcelona to clinch the title early. The "Abesai Report" commented that it's still too early to lock in the league championship, but the Catalonia team indeed has taken the initiative.
"The entire game saw Barcelona's comprehensive suppression of Real Madrid's performance, with a front line led by Messi and Villa, a midfield led by Iniesta and Xavi, and a defense led by Puyol and Piqué, all of world-class caliber."
"With European Cup champions and World Cup third-place finishers as the backbone, plus the blessing of Argentine superstar, this Barcelona team should have the strength to compete for the league championship."
However, the "Abesai Report" also admitted that Real Madrid has not completely lost the chance to defend their title. In fact, Wang Feng's performance in the last 20 minutes of the game made all Catalan fans sweat, and if he had erupted earlier, the result might still be uncertain.
The Chinese superstar has repeatedly targeted Barcelona, making all Catalan fans tremble with fear, and his performance next will also be a crucial factor in determining the championship.
The "World Sports News" focuses on describing the disputes within the Real Madrid team, even escalating into a locker room brawl. Led by Wang Feng, the high-profile team clashed with the Benitez coaching staff, using exaggerated words to further incite emotions and disrupt harmony within Real Madrid, thus reducing the pressure on Barcelona's title contention.
The "Daily Sports News" follows the same pattern, continuously adding fuel to the fire to the few angry photos of Wang Feng after the game, making uninformed masses feel as if the Galacticos are on the verge of collapse at first sight.
Naturally, Real Madrid cannot sit idly by. Media outlets such as "Marca" and "As" have come out to defend, claiming that differences of opinion and even arguments within the team are normal, but there has never been discord.
At one point, there were rumors flying around, and the world's attention was focused on the Galacticos, eager to see how they would handle the situation next.
Florentino is very troubled; he leans towards supporting Wang Feng, but he also has to consider the authority of the head coach. After an emergency meeting of the top management, it was unanimously decided to let the two communicate again, with the club mediating.
So the next day after returning to Madrid, everyone gathered in the conference room. Benitez still looked unwelcoming. Wang Feng took the initiative to speak first: "Mr. Benitez, I have no intention of challenging your authority, and I am willing to accept tactical arrangements. It's just that the situation on the field is constantly changing. I hope to play more flexibly."
Benitez also expressed his thoughts. The team's tactical system is determined based on the characteristics of each opponent discussed by the coaching staff, and it will continue to evolve during the game according to the situation, but he doesn't like behaviors beyond his control.
The debate then revolved around how to define behaviors beyond control and whether Wang Feng's autonomous expansion of activity area was beyond the scope of tactics. At this moment, Balzano came out to ease the situation: "From what I see, there's no personal grudge between you. It's all for the good of the team's performance. Why get angry to this extent?"
"In my opinion, we might as well try Wang Feng's method. After all, we have had successful experiences in the past few seasons, plus practice makes perfect." Other high-level officials nodded one after another, almost everyone supported Wang Feng, and even some radicals suggested letting Benitez step down.
But Florentino didn't want to make a big fuss about changing coaches in the middle of the season, so the matter was dropped. After everyone's persuasion, Benitez finally agreed to give Wang Feng more autonomy and decided to let him play two games first to see the effect.
On December 4th, the 14th round of La Liga, Real Madrid welcomed Valencia at home. This was another strong opponent, so reporters from all walks of life flocked to the scene. They wanted to wait for big news, preferably the open confrontation between Wang Feng and Benitez, which would surely become a global sensation.
Reality was destined to disappoint them because there was no abnormality when the Galacticos came out. Wang Feng even shook hands with the head coach and then actively encouraged his teammates.
After the game started, Wang Feng, like a fish in water, ran freely, releasing his recent frustration. This also made Valencia's coach Emery quite uncomfortable. The defensive formation he had arranged couldn't be used anymore. He couldn't let a few marking players follow Wang Feng all over the field.
In the 11th minute, the Chinese superstar dribbled to the left, attracted defensive attention, and suddenly passed back. Sneijder made a clever through pass to tear open Valencia's defense.
Alonso rushed into the penalty area, shot before the opponents reacted, and scored with a single shot, 1-0! The Galacticos took the lead!
Seven minutes later, Di Maria broke through on the right and crossed. Higuain's header was saved by the goalkeeper, but in the center of the penalty area, Wang Feng suddenly rushed out to follow up and scored, 2-0!
Valencia was not without the ability to fight back. In the 31st minute, they pulled one back through striker Aduriz.
After the break, in the 56th minute, Diarra dribbled into the frontcourt and lofted a pass to the edge of the penalty area. The Chinese superstar deftly controlled the ball with his chest and lifted it over the defense behind him.
Immediately, he accelerated to catch up and volleyed with his left foot, once again piercing Valencia's goal, 3-1!
In the 78th minute, Wang Feng again assisted from the flank, turned and accelerated to the bottom line, and Ramos, who had joined the backline, easily extended the Galacticos' lead.
In the final moments of the game, Valencia scored a goal through Fernandes assisting Soldado, with the final score locked at 4-2.
Real Madrid proved to the outside world with a big victory that there were no problems with the team, and Wang Feng contributed two goals and one assist, showing exceptional activity throughout the game.
A week later, in the 15th round of La Liga, Real Madrid played away against Zaragoza. The Chinese superstar continued his agile performance, scoring two goals again to help the team win 3-0.
Even Benitez had to admit that with Wang Feng's running and connection in the frontcourt, Real Madrid's attacking ability was smoother than before and not easily thwarted by opponents. This should also be why for so many years, no opponent has found a way to restrict him.
He had fallen into a vicious circle himself, thinking that the head coach must play a role, and couldn't win games like before when outsiders said he could even win with a tied dog on the coach's bench, only to end up dragging the team down.
"You're right to support Wang Feng, Mr. Florentino. All the rumors about you not understanding football are just hearsay." Benitez said to the Real Madrid president in private conversation, "I even think you could coach a team."
"Haha, of course not, but I understand one thing. When our paper strength is far inferior to Barcelona's, we have repeatedly defeated them. There must be a key secret among them—Wang Feng's performance on the field."
"So the club adjusted its transfer strategy very early on. We have the absolute strength to build a stronger lineup than ever before, but that's unnecessary."
"What suits us is the most important thing. As long as we maximize and utilize Wang Feng's abilities and keep other players firmly united around him, we can achieve results."
"Have you ever thought that once Wang Feng leaves or his strength declines with age, Real Madrid will immediately lose competitiveness?"
Florentino smiled and said, "Of course, that's inevitable. At that time, the club will immediately enter a rebuilding phase, and we are prepared for that."
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