Chapter 727: There's Nothing You Can't Go Back To
Apart from the European Best Player award, the UEFA Champions League group stage draw was also a topic of great interest.
The eight teams in the first pot were Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Chelsea, Benfica, Paris Saint-Germain, Juventus, Zenit Saint Petersburg, and PSV Eindhoven.
The Galactic team was drawn into Group A first. All club representatives present held their breath. Whether they were willing to admit it or not, Real Madrid was the team no one wanted to face in the Champions League.
In the second pot, Barcelona was undoubtedly the strongest, along with Atlético Madrid, Porto, Arsenal, Manchester United, Valencia, Bayer Leverkusen, and Manchester City.
The draw began with the selection of teams, followed by the allocation of groups. Real Madrid had good luck and did not face the strong teams from the Premier League. Instead, they were grouped with Bayer Leverkusen from the Bundesliga.
Barcelona, on the other hand, was drawn against Paris Saint-Germain in Group E. The club representatives of Paris Saint-Germain present at the scene visibly darkened their faces, even glaring angrily at the newly appointed UEFA president, Ceferin.
It was well known that the Financial Fair Play regulations were not only aimed at the elite clubs but also targeted clubs like Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain, owned by Middle Eastern tycoons. UEFA had been striving to suppress them, and often, they didn't get favorable draws, which could affect their quest for the top.
Atlético Madrid was grouped with Benfica in Group C, while Valencia was placed in Group H with Zenit Saint Petersburg.
In the third pot, there were teams like Shakhtar Donetsk, Sevilla, Lyon, Dynamo Kyiv, Olympiacos, CSKA Moscow, Galatasaray, and Roma.
Ultimately, Shakhtar Donetsk joined Real Madrid in Group A, Roma joined Barcelona in Group E, Galatasaray joined Atlético Madrid in Group C, and Lyon joined Valencia in Group H.
Sevilla, unfortunate to be drawn into Group D with Manchester City and Juventus, had already made up their minds. If they couldn't qualify, they would aim for third place and try to win the Europa League again.
The fourth pot included teams like BATE Borisov, Borussia M?nchengladbach, Werder Bremen, Dinamo Zagreb, Inter Milan, Genk, Malm?, and Astana.
With the constant reforms in the Champions League format, more and more teams from smaller European leagues had the opportunity to participate in the group stage, but most of the time, they were just making up the numbers.
Real Madrid's final opponent in Group A was Malm?, Barcelona's was BATE in Group E, Atlético Madrid's was Astana in Group C, Valencia's was Genk in Group H, and Sevilla's was Borussia M?nchengladbach in Group D.
It's worth mentioning that Werder Bremen managed to keep both Huang Hu and Kevin De Bruyne, their absolute core players, this summer. Their goal was set on the Champions League, and they were drawn into the same group as PSV Eindhoven, Manchester United, and CSKA Moscow.
For the Galactic team, this draw was quite favorable. The only team that could give them some trouble might be Bayer Leverkusen, but Real Madrid never feared Bundesliga teams, whether it was Schalke 04 or the dominant Bayern Munich, they had experience winning against them many times.
After returning from Monaco, Real Madrid played their first home game at the Bernabéu against Real Betis in the second round.
In this game, the Galactic team did not continue their ineffective attacking performance from the first game, achieving a resounding 5-0 victory.
Wang Feng contributed with one goal and one assist, while Iguaín scored twice. In addition, substitute Kova?i? scored his first league goal since joining the team.
After the game, just like in previous years, the world of football welcomed two weeks of national team matches in September.
In European countries, teams were competing for qualification spots for the 2016 European Championship group stage. In Asia, the Chinese team also had two matches in the second round, against Hong Kong and the Maldives.
Facing relatively weak opponents, as usual, the Chinese team did not call up Wang Feng, allowing him to stay in Europe and enjoy his life.
In the morning, he spent time with his family at home, and in the afternoon, the restless Wang Feng drove to the training base to keep himself physically active.
Valdebebas was noticeably quieter than usual. As the strongest club in the world, many key players had become national team players as expected.
When he arrived at the training ground, Wang Feng found someone already there before him, sweating profusely and giving it their all. It was the young talent, He Saí.
Seeing Wang Feng's arrival, He Saí was both surprised and a little awkward. The Chinese superstar had guided and helped him many times before, and the young Spanish player had quickly become a rising star, living up to everyone's expectations.
However, a recent injury had severely affected his form, causing him to gradually lose his position in the team. Since then, He Saí had intentionally distanced himself from Wang Feng, feeling that he wasn't worthy of the captain's guidance given his current status and ability.
After greeting Wang Feng with a slight bow, the Spanish youngster picked up the football and prepared to leave. However, the Chinese superstar firmly stopped him. "Hey, kid, come here!"
Confused, He Saí approached. Wang Feng grabbed his head and ruffled his hair firmly. "I've been wanting to talk to you for a while now. Why, feeling a bit down because of a little injury?!"
Seeing the captain's attitude and tone mirroring those from their previous training sessions, He Saí felt a lump in his throat. He wanted to say something but couldn't find the words.
"Stop moping around like a child. You're already 22 years old; it's time to learn to take responsibility." Wang Feng's tone remained stern as he continued, "Why are you isolating yourself from the team but practicing alone here?"
It seemed that He Saí was somewhat encouraged by the hidden concern in the Chinese superstar's words. The Spanish youngster finally spoke with a tearful face, "I can't find my form from before on the field. Everything feels like it's gone."
Wang Feng stared into his eyes, sensing a mixture of sadness, despair, reluctance, and even a hint of longing. Various emotions mingled together, making the Spanish youngster appear incredibly fragile.
With a slightly softer tone, Wang Feng said, "The fact that you're here today means that deep down, you don't believe that everything is gone. There's nothing you can't go back to."
After saying this, Wang Feng walked up to He Saí. "Come on, just like before, I'll train with you."
Gritting his teeth, He Saí placed the football on the ground and approached the Chinese superstar, ready to attack. However, in the ensuing exchanges, Wang Feng noticed some issues. He Saí had lost his agility and speed and was hesitant to make moves, instinctively dodging when Wang Feng went for the ball.
Although his injury had healed, the pain and despair from that time still lingered over the Spanish youngster like a shadow.
Wang Feng furrowed his brows. Overcoming this would probably take some effort. After a moment of thought, he walked to the sidelines and changed into special spiked shoes, usually used for specific recovery training sessions.
He Saí was puzzled. He looked nervously at Wang Feng. Had his performance just now disappointed the captain completely? He didn't want to let down his respected senior, but reality could be so cruel.
This 𝓬ontent is taken from f(r)eeweb(n)ovel.𝒄𝒐𝙢