Chapter 637: Rising Stars
After the match against Villarreal, during the post-match press conference, Wang Feng and coach Ancelotti were interviewed together by the media. When asked about scoring with unconventional shots in two consecutive matches, the Chinese superstar expressed his satisfaction, saying, "Yes, it was intentional. Actually, I've always wanted to develop more attacking methods."
"Football is constantly evolving. The defensive situations today are completely different from those ten years ago. Sometimes, habitual moves can betray you, making attacking difficult," he elaborated.
"What if you fail to score in the end and waste a scoring opportunity, handing the ball over to the opponent?" a reporter asked.
"That's not a problem at all. Who can guarantee that every shot will hit the target? I only make the most appropriate choice in that scenario. As for possession, we can always fight for it back next time," Wang Feng replied confidently.
Ancelotti also supported his protege, saying, "Wang's attacking efficiency is currently at the top in the world. No one can surpass him. He averages one goal every three shots, with a shooting accuracy of 33.3%."
"He has unlimited shooting rights within the team. I believe that when it comes to shooting, Wang is more professional than anyone else. He will never let us down."
Regarding Bale's injury, the Italian explained, "He just has a minor issue. The club's professional medical team conducted detailed examinations and evaluations."
"Yes, he will miss the next Champions League away game. This is also a precautionary measure. The team will never let players play with injuries. Only when their bodies and mentality are adjusted to the best condition will they be ready to appear on the field."
The Welsh star himself is also eager to return to the field, so he voluntarily stayed at the Valdebebas training base, accepting the special program formulated by the coaching staff for him.
Training continued for three hours every day, starting with interval sprinting to maintain a high heart rate, followed by exercises for horizontal and vertical jumps to enhance explosive power, and strength and tension release exercises in the gym to train core strength.
After the basic training, there were ball training sessions, including dribbling around poles, accelerating with the ball, turning, and shooting. On rest days between matches, Wang Feng occasionally went to the base to exercise with Bale, giving him encouragement and support.
The Welsh star deeply admired the team leader from the bottom of his heart. In the dressing rooms he had been in before, some relied on authority, some relied on bribery to pull the team together, but there had never been anyone like the Chinese superstar, with such charisma and warmth like the sun.
In today's European football, where more and more attention is paid to young players, talented youngsters emerge endlessly, and major clubs' pursuit and competition for them have intensified.
Some of them may still look immature, but their performance on the field is very experienced, sometimes even comparable to seasoned veterans. In order to provide better training opportunities, UEFA started organizing the UEFA Youth League (UEFA U19) from this season onwards.
This event originated from the "NextGen Series" founded by a French television broadcasting company, and under official operation, it has become more professional. It consists of 32 youth teams from participating UEFA Champions League clubs, with plans to expand to 64 teams in the future, adding 32 youth teams from UEFA member associations.
With such arrangements, young players have more opportunities for training and exposure. The Roma Sports newspaper compiled a list of the top 40 hopeful stars in European football, all of whom are under 20 years old but possess skills and match experience beyond their age.
Among them, Real Madrid's Heras and Varane successfully made the list. Although they are not regular members of the first team, they have performed well when playing for the youth team in Europe.
This year's hot candidates for the European Golden Boy Award include Pogba, who is the most dazzling figure on the list. He was born in France and grew up in the youth academies of French clubs Torcy and Le Havre.
After joining Manchester United's youth academy, he gradually emerged, winning the FA Youth Cup and making his debut for the first team. However, due to Manchester United's reluctance to provide Pogba with salary and playing time guarantees, he chose to join Juventus on a free transfer after his contract expired, gradually establishing himself as a key player.
Apart from these players, there are also Markinios worth 35 million euros, Kondogbia worth 20 million euros, Manchester United's new little Beckham Januzaj, and Schalke 04's rising star Draxler, among others.
Players like Huang Hu and Wu Lei from China have performed well enough to deserve a place, but due to their relatively older age, they were not included. The new batch of young talents from the Genk training camp did not produce any particularly outstanding new stars.
However, Wang Feng is very optimistic. As long as he can establish himself in the third-tier European league, he can become one of the top players domestically.
On September 17th, the first round of Group B of the UEFA Champions League kicked off at the Türk Telekom Stadium in Istanbul, Turkey, with the two sides being Real Madrid and Galatasaray.
Last season, the Turkish Super League powerhouse had a back-and-forth match with the Galacticos at home, but now, with a full squad and all the main players playing, Real Madrid made Turkish fans understand what a truly dominant team is.
Just 103 seconds after the referee's whistle, Di María made a diagonal long pass from the right side of the midfield, Wang Feng received the ball 13 meters in front of the goal, and without waiting for it to touch the ground, he volleyed it into the net after hitting the left post, making it 1-0!
Then, there was a defensive error in Galatasaray's clearance, and the Chinese superstar intercepted it and lofted it to Iguaín. The Argentine calmly broke into the right side of the penalty area and scored from 14 meters away from the goal.
In the 29th minute, Di María reached near the bottom line and chipped a pass. Modri? headed it back, and Wang Feng volleyed it from close range in the center, making it 3-0!
Less than a third of the match had passed, and the opponent was already completely overwhelmed. As the second half progressed, the situation became even more brutal. First, the Chinese superstar took a free kick from the right, and Ramos headed it in from the far post.
Then, Isco made a direct pass, and Wang Feng broke through the offside trap on the left side of the penalty area. Immediately, he used the outside of his foot to curl the ball past the goalkeeper's dive into the far corner of the net, making it 5-0!
Finally, Modri? counterattacked and dribbled past two defenders, passing to substitute Morata, who easily scored into the empty net, further extending the lead.
By now, Real Madrid had gone completely rampant. Wang Feng, who contributed a hat-trick and two assists, had already been substituted, while coach Ancelotti stood on the sidelines reminding the players to be more conservative, after all, this was the opponent's home ground.
So, for the remaining 20 minutes, the away team completely gave up attacking and allowed Ambate to assist Bulut in scoring a goal, pulling one back, with the final score settled at 6-1.
Sneijder looked somewhat painful as he touched his head. He couldn't blame Wang Feng, who gave his all. Having been teammates with the Chinese superstar for so many years, he understood better than anyone else that Wang's attitude towards any game was always like this.
After forcefully embracing his old teammates, the Dutchman walked into the player tunnel with a somewhat desolate expression. Perhaps leaving the top five leagues for money back then was really a wrong decision. Now, he could no longer feel the passion and joy that football once brought him.
Drogba, who was substituted in the 46th minute, also looked somewhat disappointed. At the age of 35, he could no longer gallop on the field like the Beast. Trying to extend his professional career as much as possible seemed particularly difficult.
Maybe he should go back and see. Mourinho had sincerely invited his beloved disciple to return to Stamford Bridge. Thinking of the past, the Beast silently made up his mind.
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