Chapter 640: The Role of Team Leaders
"The ball wasn't in yet he celebrated in advance, Wang Feng's hat-trick helps Real Madrid win the city derby!"
"The Chinese superstar, full of anger, shattered Atletico Madrid's goal net, and the Galacticos triumphed at the Calderon!"
The entire Europe was discussing this highly anticipated and exciting match, with the fierce battle between Atletico and Wang Feng naturally being the biggest talking point. After this match, Real Madrid led the La Liga with seven consecutive wins.
A day later, Barcelona also achieved a 7-game winning streak by defeating Almeria 2-0, but what worried the Catalan fans was that Messi, despite scoring a goal, was injured and had to leave the field in the 61st minute of the second half.
After the match, the head coach Martino gave everyone a reassurance, stating that the injury to the Argentine superstar was not serious and he would be able to return to play within two weeks at the latest.
"From last season to now, Messi has been plagued by minor injuries, which is almost unheard of in the past. What exactly is the reason? Has the club taken sufficient measures to protect the players?" asked a reporter from "Daily Sports".
Martino responded that the recovery services provided by Barcelona were indeed professional and comprehensive, and Messi's injuries were more due to consecutive days of fatigue and mental pressure. "He sets very high standards for himself, and the team really relies on him."
What troubled the Argentine superstar was not only the years of poor performance and the difficulty in improving his personal status and honors but also the gradual decline in his commercial value.
It was well known that the most influential football star in the world was Wang Feng, but he had his own investment group. Apart from top endorsements, he rarely took on small commercial endorsement activities, which gave other players many opportunities.
When Messi rose to prominence, his influence briefly surpassed Ronaldo's, becoming the number one player in European football below the Chinese superstar. Commercial cooperation naturally poured in, far surpassing everyone else.
However, with the rise of the internet, the Portuguese star's expertise in packaging himself became evident, and businesses certainly needed higher exposure. Thus, Ronaldo gradually encroached on Messi's commercial territory step by step.
For example, the recent loss of the Burger King endorsement in Mexico, the sponsor even directly used the same script to have Ronaldo reshoot the TV commercial.
And KFC recently announced that the Portuguese star would become the new football spokesperson, a position previously held by the Argentine star for several years.
Thinking of this, Messi's desire to return as soon as possible grew stronger. He couldn't help but want to speed up his recovery training progress.
In the Real Madrid team, Wang Feng was already one of the oldest players in terms of tenure. He always played the role of leader and big brother, watching his teammates grow gradually, some leaving and others joining.
The most obvious example was Ramos. Although he joined the Galacticos a year earlier than the Chinese superstar, their status was worlds apart. When Wang Feng joined the Bernabeu as the absolute core, he was just a substitute youngster.
In recent years, the Spanish defender had performed well both in the club and national team. Coupled with his outgoing personality, he quickly grew into a leader in the locker room. Both Wang Feng and the club's senior management favored him to succeed as the team captain in the future.
But Ramos's fiery temper made people very headache. After the match against Atletico Madrid, Wang Feng criticized his irrational behavior. The Spaniard looked very ashamed, admitting that he realized his impulsiveness had caused difficulties for his teammates at that time, and decided to invite everyone to dinner to apologize.
Although the club argued reasonably, the La Liga still decided to give him a 3-match ban for deliberately hitting someone. Fortunately, the current Galacticos had sufficient reserves in the backline, so it should not affect the overall situation.
Being a team leader not only required attention to active teammates but also to the quiet ones, like Illarramendi, who seemed quite disheartened recently. So the Chinese superstar took the initiative to talk to him.
"I'm fine," the German midfielder forced a smile. "Just feeling a bit anxious about gradually losing my starting position." Since experiencing the entire season with injuries, to be honest, his form was very poor, to the extent that many media and fans joked that once the ball was passed to his feet, the opponent could give up pressing because Illarramendi would give it away by himself.
Although this was obviously contemptuous, it was not far from reality. The German had made many mistakes recently, to the point that even the home fans would complain and feel dissatisfied.
"Your body hasn't fully adapted to high-intensity matches yet, which is a very normal phenomenon. What you should do now is to keep a calm mindset, gradually recover while training, and not be too obsessed with your performance on the field," Wang Feng comforted.
At the same time, he personally intervened to have the club formulate a more detailed training recovery plan for Illarramendi. Originally, this was a normal requirement, but with so many players in the team, the management would inevitably have biases and omissions.
For example, for newly signed players like Bale, without even asking, they would provide him with super detailed arrangements, precise to every aspect of training, leisure, eating, and accommodation.
If it were a more outgoing player, he would have definitely made his presence felt already, attracting attention from all sides. But Illarramendi was not like this. He always chose to silently endure, making him almost transparent in the locker room.
Moreover, after more than three years in Madrid, Illarramendi surprisingly still couldn't speak fluent Spanish, undoubtedly increasing the difficulty of communication with his teammates. Wang Feng and he had always communicated in English.
"Maybe you can participate more in team activities. Ramos really likes to organize them, and going out with them might change your mood," Wang Feng suggested. "Of course, it's all up to you. In the end, playing football is just a job."
"Thank you, Wang. I feel much better after talking with you," the German midfielder said. "The help and advice you've given me are very important, and I'll seriously consider them."
On October 2nd, in the second round of the Champions League group stage, Real Madrid hosted Copenhagen at the Bernabeu.
This was the first-ever meeting between the two teams, and there was a very obvious gap in strength between them. Therefore, Ancelotti rotated some key players, and even Wang Feng sat on the bench.
In the 21st minute of the match, after a breakthrough from Nacho on the flank, he crossed, and the visiting goalkeeper recklessly came out, allowing Illarramendi to head the ball into the empty net from the right side of the penalty area, opening the scoring for the Galacticos.
After scoring, the German midfielder ran wild, enjoying the long-lost cheers, and Wang Feng also stood up to congratulate him, encouraging him with his eyes.
Just before halftime, Carvajal's long diagonal pass found Hesse in the frontcourt. The latter formed a wall pass with Morata, then broke into the penalty area and left-footed shot into the net, making it 2-0.
In the 65th minute of the second half, Wang Feng was substituted on for warming up. Just six minutes later, Isco slotted a through ball into the penalty area, and Casemiro deliberately left the ball for Wang Feng, who unleashed a powerful shot from the edge of the penalty area, sealing the victory for Real Madrid!
And in injury time, Morata successfully blocked the opponent's short pass in the frontcourt. Casemiro quickly rushed forward, taking the ball ahead of everyone else, then dribbled past two defenders in quick succession in the area and fired a world-class shot from the top of the arc into Copenhagen's goal.
The final score was locked at 4-0, and the Galacticos secured a resounding victory.
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