Chapter 611: Reunion
During the stable period of the Galaxy Battleship, which was in a period of steady matches, holidays naturally increased. Wang Feng intentionally reduced high-intensity training. At his age, physical decline was inevitable, so as long as basic training ensured optimal vitality and condition, it was enough.
During other times, he could wholeheartedly take care of his family, take his children to play at the amusement park in Madrid, accompany his mother and Lu Yao to go shopping, and he began to look forward to a leisurely life after retirement.
In March, on the national team match day, Wang Feng was invited to a reunion of old friends. The initiator was Raúl, who had returned to Madrid. Apart from the two of them, there were also Guti, Figo, Hierro, and Morientes.
As the Chinese superstar just entered the restaurant, Guti's eye-catching golden hair caught his attention. Raúl warmly hugged Wang Feng and invited him to sit down.
"This restaurant feels the same. We used to love coming here to eat," the former captain of Real Madrid asked. This Spanish traditional restaurant, located in the suburbs of Madrid, had a very quiet atmosphere, with faint melodious melodies playing inside, and a strong sense of privacy.
"It's very classy. Speaking of which, did you guys really like this style back then? I thought it must have been all about nightclubs, wine, and women."
Morientes smiled and said, "That's Ronaldo's style. Except for Guti, everyone else here is a top-notch guy." The Golden Wolf immediately retorted, "I'm a good guy too. I just want to give every girl I meet a warm hug."
At this remark, everyone burst into laughter. Nowadays, among this group of people, only Wang Feng and Raúl were still playing football. Raúl had also long left the top five leagues to go to Qatar for sports investment.
"Time flies. The days when we fought side by side seem like yesterday. Speaking of which, I always felt like I was in the same era as Wang. I didn't expect that you would still be at the top of the world until now," Guti sighed.
"Don't flatter yourself. You're seven years older than him," Morientes rolled his eyes. Figo spoke fairly, "Mainly because you fought side by side for more than four years and achieved unprecedented success."
"To be honest, the first time I saw Wang at the FIFA Awards Ceremony years ago, he seemed a bit green to me. But the next year, he won a major award. At that time, I began to see him as a competitor of the same generation."
"Don't, don't, don't. Messi and I are the competitors of the same generation, thank you," Wang Feng waved his hand repeatedly, causing everyone to laugh heartily.
Then they talked about interesting things from the past. What surprised Wang Feng was that Guti and Raúl had a very tense relationship in the past. The main reason was that Raúl came from Atlético Madrid's youth training system, which made the traditionally Real Madrid-born Golden Wolf somewhat unacceptable.
"Go back to Atlético Madrid! Is this what you angrily said to me back then?" Raúl said, Guti stuck out his tongue. He used to be a staunch supporter of local players and couldn't accept players trained by the city rivals.
As time went by, the Golden Wolf discovered that Raúl possessed superb football skills and a spirit of wholehearted dedication to the club. Gradually, he was impressed by him, and the two became friends.
"Actually, there was a time when I couldn't even accept Florentino's superstar strategy, but the continuous trophies hitting me hard made me compromise," Guti shrugged.
"I guess by now the president of Real Madrid must be overjoyed. Just by choosing the right person, he can rival the club's best managers in history and put his own name in the Bernabéu Stadium. This is too easy."
Talking about this, Figo and Hierro were both very regretful, blaming Wang Feng for not coming to La Liga earlier, and the Chinese superstar also sighed. If it weren't for the "Phonegate" scandal, he might not have left Serie A.
Talking about the mystery of Guti's blonde hair - it turned out to be dyed - Wang Feng almost spit out the drink in his mouth. After so many years, he was completely unaware of this and never deliberately sought to know.
"Haha, it's normal that you don't know. This kid has been keeping his hair golden since a very young age," Morientes said. "He was indeed somewhat golden-haired when he was young, but as he grew older, his hair gradually became dark brown. He wanted to keep it that way to look cool."
"So his hair only showed its true color for a very short time, and the media may not even have any information about it. I have some precious photos here, do you want to take a look?"
Curious, Wang Feng leaned over to look at Morientes' phone. He saw a slender teenager dribbling a soccer ball facing the camera. The handsome features of his face as he grew older were faintly visible, but indeed, his dark-colored hair didn't leave much of an impression.
"You rascal, didn't you say you deleted it?" Guti shook his head helplessly. After retiring, he gradually stopped caring so much about hair management. If it were five years ago, he would definitely have asked Morientes to delete it.
Nowadays, Hierro is an assistant coach at Real Madrid, Morientes is the coach of Real Madrid's B team, Figo is inclined to join FIFA, and Guti is a savvy businessman. He not only dabbles in real estate but also has industries such as wineries, restaurants, and music companies.
They all knew that Wang Feng was also a businessman, and he was one of the most successful football businessmen in history. Leveraging the influence of the Fortune 500 company Keiretsu Group, his celebrity brand effect, and multiple successful investments, Feng Yao Group has become one of the famous companies in the financial investment industry.
The Chinese superstar and the Golden Wolf immediately reached a cooperation intention for several businesses on the spot, making Figo couldn't help but quip, "It seems like we've entered a complex business field," but this was just a diversion from the main theme of the gathering.
There are too few players as shrewd as Wang Feng and Guti. Recently, "The Sun" revealed that West Bromwich Albion defender Ritchieville used a stack of ￡20 notes as toilet paper, causing a sensation. Extravagant behavior like this during the playing years and eventual bankruptcy after retirement is not uncommon among athletes, but no one can stop this group of people from continuing to be crazy.
On March 30th, the 29th round of La Liga, Real Madrid welcomed Zaragoza at home. Facing this team from Aragon, the Galaxy Battleship had an absolute advantage in the past decade. Combined with the midweek Champions League fight, head coach Ancelotti used a partially rotated lineup.
However, the opponent's stubbornness still caught everyone off guard. In front of more than 90,000 home fans roaring like the sea, they remained steadfast in defense.
Throughout the game, Real Madrid's ball possession rate was as high as 74.1%, and they completed 24 shots, with 15 on target. However, they only broke the deadlock in the 38th minute. Wang Feng's straight pass penetrated three defending players, and Dennis scored with a shot from the edge of the penalty area.
Zaragoza only had 3 shots, 2 of which were on target. But in the 77th minute, Albior lost the ball in the backcourt, and upon a direct pass from Aponio, the offside trap was successfully broken by Rodrigo, who scored with a one-on-one shot inside the penalty area.
In the end, the two sides shook hands with a 1-1 draw. This result obviously did not satisfy the club. Unexpectedly, a day later, Barcelona also unexpectedly drew 2-2 with the relegation team Celta Vigo.
"It seems that they were too dazzling in the early stage, and finally, they are a bit lacking in stamina. Now is the perfect time for us to seize the opportunity to surpass them. Everyone, fate is on our side, and we must not allow a situation where opponents that should be defeated cannot be defeated to occur again!" Ancelotti encouraged everyone.
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