Chapter 644: Battle Commences
Barcelona is a port city in Catalonia, renowned worldwide as a Mediterranean coastal tourist destination and a world-famous historical and cultural city, known as the "Pearl of the Iberian Peninsula."
Here, the urban area is planned in a grid-like structure, with hundreds of streets and avenues connected to each other at specific distances, creating many "superblocks" of 400 meters by 400 meters.
These are filled with residential areas, commercial buildings, and central gardens, and this design project was completed and implemented over a hundred years ago, greatly improving the quality of life for residents.
On the evening of October 26, 2013, at 8 o'clock, two hours before the start of the El Clásico, fans took to the streets, heading towards the Camp Nou stadium in the city center.
If seen from above, the crowds and traffic on the roads converged like torrents into the red temple, solemn and spectacular.
Upon closer observation, it could be noticed that most of the fans wearing Barcelona jerseys had serious expressions on their faces, shouting impassioned slogans, showing that they weren't going for entertainment but for battle.
Seven years, Catalonia had been suppressed by Real Madrid for a full seven years! This was the darkest period in the history of both the team and the region! Pain, anger, and unwillingness lingered in the hearts of every Barcelona citizen. Some chose to leave, but most stayed, wanting to continue supporting their beloved team with their love and belief.
When a bus emblazoned with the Real Madrid logo slowly entered the road leading to the Camp Nou stadium, many Barcelona fans surrounded it, blocking its path. Some extremists even pounded on the windows and doors of the bus.
Despite the good soundproofing inside the bus, the zombie-like howls could still be heard to some extent, causing some of the players like Bale and Isco, who were witnessing this scene for the first time, to be quite frightened. "They won't break in and attack us, will they?" Ramos shrugged. "Don't worry about it. Wait for the staff to come over. It's like this every year, nothing new."
Sure enough, after a while, the security personnel of the Camp Nou stadium arrived to disperse the extremist fans and clear a passage for the Real Madrid bus, which was also a show of dominance by the home team.
A few years ago, Wang Feng had been indignant about this, but now he seemed to have some understanding. These people were pitiful. Even through the bus window, he could feel their despair.
Unable to see any hope of victory, they came so close to the trophy every year, yet fell short each time, the gap seemingly insurmountable.
The Chinese superstar, well-respected in the world of football, was probably considered an unforgivable demon by Barcelona fans.
"Poor things," Wang Feng couldn't help but sigh. "What did you say?" Ramos asked. "Nothing, let's take three points from the Camp Nou and add another loss to Barcelona's account!" "Alright!" Everyone responded in unison.
In this match, Ancelotti didn't make major adjustments to the lineup, sticking with the previous three defensive midfielders formation, and Casillas remained the starting goalkeeper.
Ramos was suspended, so Carvajal took his place in the backline, with Marcelo, Pepe, and Arbeloa completing the defense.
In midfield, Alonso, Modric, and Di Maria.
Up front, it was Wang Feng, Higuain, and Bale.
On the Barcelona side, Martino also used a 4-3-3 formation, with Ter Stegen in goal.
The back four consisted of Alves, Pique, Bartra, and Mascherano.
In midfield, it was Xavi, Iniesta, and Busquets.
And up front, Neymar, Messi, and Suarez.
Barcelona kicked off the first half, with Neymar breaking into the frontcourt and sending a straight pass to the penalty area, where Messi received the ball but faced tight defense and couldn't turn around.
So he retreated from the danger zone and suddenly turned around to take a powerful shot from outside the arc. The ball hit Arbeloa and deflected, but Casillas came out in time to collect it.
The home team's first shot came so quickly! Amidst the cheers of the hundred thousand fans at the scene, Barcelona didn't probe but launched a continuous attack right from the start of the game.
It wasn't until the 7th minute that Real Madrid got their first counterattack opportunity, with Bale dribbling on the flank and being fouled by Xavi, resulting in the first yellow card of the game for the Spanish midfielder.
Then Wang Feng attempted a direct shot from a tight angle with a free kick, the ball crossed the defensive line but slightly missed the goalpost, failing to hit the frame.
The Chinese superstar rubbed his head, ignoring the deafening boos, and ran back to participate actively in the defense.
By the 19th minute, Barcelona continued to organize their attack, with Iniesta passing the ball to Messi on the right, who then cut inside and carried the ball towards the middle.
Alonso rushed to intercept, but Messi didn't tangle with him. Instead, he passed the ball back to Iniesta.
Taking the ball, the Spaniard turned and opened up space, then charged into the penalty area, drawing Carvajal over to block him, which gave Neymar the chance on the wing. Iniesta didn't hesitate to send a diagonal pass.
The Brazilian star quickly dribbled to the bottom line and crossed the ball, the landing point very close to the goalkeeper's position, but Casillas surprisingly chose not to catch the ball but punched it out with clenched fists.
However, his strike was too low, and while the ball flew high, it didn't go far. Suarez, anticipating the second landing spot, leaped high and headed it into the visitors' net.
"Goal! The ball's in! Barcelona's siege pays off, opening the gates of the Galacticos within 20 minutes!"
"Suarez scores with a header, a very splendid attack!"
"It must be said that Barcelona's combination of short passes and long crosses is very natural and smooth, showing a hierarchical attack."
"We can see that Messi's lateral movement and Iniesta's breakthroughs distracted Alonso and Carvajal, opening up space for Neymar on the flank."
"In fact, Carvajal reacted very quickly, immediately returning to his own penalty area to block when the Brazilian went to the bottom, resulting in an ineffective cross from Neymar."
"Overall, Real Madrid's defense doesn't have any obvious loopholes, but the goalkeeper's decision to come out raises some questions. Why didn't Casillas control the ball? Even if he wanted to clear it out, why not kick it further? Oh, perhaps his judgment on where to strike the ball was off, it seems that Saint Iker is indeed getting old."
"But I believe that the Galacticos can still remain calm at this moment. Being one goal down is not doomsday for them, and their greatest reliance, King, hasn't started exerting his force yet."
"With over 70 minutes left in the game, anything is possible."
When Suarez scored the opening goal, the entire Camp Nou erupted in cheers for him, countless people chanting his name, as if calling for a new savior.
All Barcelona players were celebrating wildly, with Messi being the first to catch up to the Uruguayan star and hug him tightly.
Coach Martino stood up excitedly from the coaching bench, this was the football he wanted, let those old fogeys open their eyes and see, Barcelona's possession game is outdated, now it's their own team's turn!
The Real Madrid players stood somewhat despondently on the field, the match not going as the commentators predicted. Although they were frustrated, they didn't feel hopeless.
As for head coach Ancelotti, he patted his forehead helplessly and said to Zidane beside him, "Mr. Florentino was right, by next summer, we must find Casillas's successor."
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