Chapter 542: Are you really going to play football ?
While enjoying his vacation, Wang Feng kept an eye on the drama between Cristiano Ronaldo and Manchester United, which had become the hottest news of the moment, overshadowing all other news.
Various analyses and comments emerged incessantly. According to the media, the Portuguese had transferred clubs dozens of times, with different clubs as potential destinations. There were even reports suggesting that Florentino Perez was interested in bringing him in to partner with Wang Feng.
The Chinese superstar couldn't help but laugh at this, as it was fundamentally impossible. There was no way he, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Lionel Messi could ever be on the same team.
Amidst the joy, there was something that made Wang Feng feel less comfortable, and that was the situation of the Chinese national team in the 2014 World Cup qualifiers.
The preliminary round had started in early September, with many "millionaire teams" contributing to a series of funny scenes, ultimately resulting in a narrow 2-1 win over Singapore and a 1-2 loss to Jordan.
The world champions lost to Jordan.
The situation exploded instantly, and the relentless questioning and actions from fans put immense pressure on them. Responsible figures tried to contact Wang Feng multiple times, with the level of contact getting higher each time, but he rejected them all.
Let them stew in their own juice for a while; Wang Feng knew that if one was already in a trough, falling further wouldn't hurt much, but climbing to the top and then suddenly falling to the bottom was something no one could bear responsibility for.
This time, they had to be caught in one fell swoop!
It was also on this day that China lost 0-1 to Iraq.
During the break, Wang Feng received a message from Rafael Nadal, accompanied by a photo of him wearing the No. 10 jersey of Manacor International Club. Since they met at the Lawrence Awards last year, they had exchanged contact information.
"So, the rumors are true? Are you really joining a football club and planning to start playing?" the Chinese superstar curiously asked.
"It's not that exaggerated. You know, I've always loved football, and the team from my hometown supports me, so they allow me to join on a casual basis, just to play matches whenever I can," Nadal replied.
Manacor International Club was only a second-tier team in the Spanish regional league, and it couldn't even be considered professional, with many players having part-time jobs.
At the just-concluded Shanghai Masters, Nadal was unexpectedly defeated by the relatively unknown Florian, so there were rumors that he wanted to withdraw from tennis and even retire to play football.
"That's fake news. I'm just a little tired. Participating in various intensive schedules frequently can really drive people crazy. So, I'm very curious, how do you overcome this mentality and maintain your best form?" Nadal inquired.
"Of course, it's because when I'm in poor form, you can't tell," Wang Feng joked with a smile. "But actually, the main thing is always maintaining the desire for victory and honor."
"Alright, I prefer to believe your previous statement. Maybe even when you're not in top form, you can still outperform all the other players."
The conversation then turned to football investments. It was well known that Nadal was a fan of Real Madrid and Mallorca, and he even bought a portion of Mallorca Club's shares.
"I disagree with Coach Michel resigning at this time, but unfortunately, I have little say. Mallorca has not been performing well this season. Do you think they will be relegated?" Nadal asked.
"It's hard to say, but there are a few bankrupt-protected teams at the bottom, so Mallorca shouldn't be in the relegation zone," Wang Feng replied.
Nadal then suggested that Wang Feng could also buy a club to play with, given his immense wealth as a Chinese superstar.
This idea intrigued Wang Feng quite a bit. After retirement, he didn't want to work as a coach, nor did he want to leave the football world. Perhaps becoming a boss and managing a team would be very interesting.
On October 15th, La Liga resumed fully, with Real Madrid facing Real Betis away in the 7th round.
Coach Ancelotti made adjustments to the lineup, rotating some key players who had been shuttling between the national team and the club, with Wang Feng leading the charge.
Although Betis had been hyped as a dark horse, other La Liga teams would inherently feel a bit timid when facing the two giants, especially when conceding early goals.
In the 6th minute of the match, Wang Feng received a diagonal pass from Granero on the right, turned after controlling the ball, and suddenly shot with his right foot, sending the ball bouncing towards the goal.
The Betis goalkeeper misjudged, and his save inadvertently let the ball slip past, watching in despair as it entered the net, 1-0!
After that, the Galacticos played more and more smoothly. In the 19th minute, Granero made another diagonal pass into the penalty area, and Wang Feng rushed forward to snatch the ball at high speed. As he dribbled towards the baseline, he stretched out his left hand to block the opponent's defender who was pressing him.
As the goal line approached, the Chinese superstar suddenly sent a low shot with the tip of his foot, and the ball just passed between the legs of defender Amaya and goalkeeper Goitia, rolling into the goal from a close angle.
Two goals in one go! The home fans in the stands were all stunned. Even under such tight defense, Wang Feng could still shoot and score, who could stop the Chinese superstar?
However, the players of Real Betis did not choose to give up. Their efforts paid off when Santa Cruz headed the ball into the net inside the penalty area just before halftime, helping the home team pull one back.
At the beginning of the second half, in the 64th minute, Sahin made a long pass into the penalty area from the front court. Wang Feng raised his left leg at the near post and used the outside of his foot to cushion the ball, which flew over the charging Goitia from a distance and fell into the net of Real Betis, 3-1!
The Chinese superstar scored a hat-trick in two consecutive matches, and he was on fire!
Before the end of the game, Wang Feng also assisted substitute Iglesias in scoring a goal. On the home side, Hona San broke through Casillas's ten fingers. So, the final score was set at 4-2.
On another battlefield, Messi labored to score twice, helping Barcelona beat Santander Athletic 3-0. "So now his goal tally is getting closer and closer to Wang Feng's, right?" the Argentinean thought silently.
But when he learned that the Chinese superstar had scored another hat-trick, he was stunned. "Is he a devil? How can he score so easily?" Iniesta couldn't help but comment.
Others no longer felt the joy of victory, but Neymar remained oblivious, still humming and thinking about which nightclub to celebrate in tonight. It must be said that Barcelona was truly a dazzling metropolis, far more prosperous than Brazil by countless times.
This round also featured a very interesting match, namely "the poorest in La Liga" Levante against "the richest in La Liga" Malaga. The former had no star players and had the lowest team value in the league, while the latter was known for its lavish spending.
The two teams were originally brothers in the struggle for survival, but since the start of this season, they had been in excellent form, ranking high on the points table, with Levante even winning against Real Madrid.
The highly anticipated showdown ended with Levante defeating Malaga 3-0. Their stable defense successfully thwarted Malaga's all-star attack.
After this match, Levante secured their fifth consecutive victory, tied with Barcelona with five wins and two draws, totaling 17 points. However, due to an inferior goal difference, they were third on the points table. At the top of the table was Real Madrid, with 6 wins, 1 loss, and 18 points.
New novel 𝓬hapters are published on fre ew𝒆bnovel.com