Chapter 461: Consecutive defeats and good draws
As time entered July, the transfer work was in full swing, and the various teams in La Liga began to gather and prepare.
The opening match of the new season for Real Madrid is scheduled for the first day of September, against Deportivo La Coru?a. But before that, they need to complete two matches of the Spanish Super Cup against their old rivals Barcelona, as well as compete for the European Super Cup against last season's UEFA Champions League winners, Shakhtar Donetsk.
Due to the upcoming World Cup in South Africa next summer, the schedule for the upcoming season is very tight, which is also a huge test for Real Madrid, who are eager to continue their glory.
When the players first met the new coach Benitez, they felt uneasy. Benitez, with his serious demeanor, gave the impression from head to toe that he was not someone to be trifled with.
After the holidays, many players were not in good physical condition. So on the first day, Benitez showed his authority by subjecting everyone to high-intensity recovery training and additional sessions, causing everyone to groan in complaint. "If you don't meet my standards, no one will get a starting position!"
Although the Chinese superstar was in good physical condition, he still meticulously followed the arrangements of the new coach. He was somewhat fortunate that he had such a strict coach, which happened to help remedy the lax atmosphere within the team.
During the training camp, in addition to playing two friendly matches in Europe, Real Madrid also specially flew to China for training and commercial activities, attracting widespread attention from the public.
Other top teams like Inter Milan and Bayern Munich also chose to visit China, so they didn't lack opponents. Benitez continuously tried out new lineup combinations, and Wang Feng and Dong Fangzhuo even had a showdown in their hometown, attracting numerous domestic fans to watch.
This event not only allowed the players to get exercise but also earned the club a lot of money. European teams couldn't help but feel envious, expressing their admiration, "Are there still Chinese players with excellent skills and a huge market? We need to get them quickly."
On August 17th, the Galacticos faced their first official test, the first leg of the Spanish Super Cup, challenging Barcelona away. Benitez deployed his familiar 4-2-3-1 formation, with Casillas in goal, Albiol, Pepe, Ramos, and Ashley Cole in defense, Diarra and Alonso as defensive midfielders, Sneijder, Robben, and Wang Feng as attacking midfielders, and Higuain as the lone striker.
The game didn't go smoothly for the Galacticos; everyone seemed off their game, while Barcelona, eager for revenge, was very active. They pressed them into their own half and quickly scored twice through Messi and new signing Kaka. In the final moments, the Chinese superstar managed a long-range shot from outside the penalty area, skimming past the right post and into the net, but the final score remained 3-1.
On August 24th, in the second leg, Benitez replaced Pepe with Arbeloa and Sneijder with Guti, but the result didn't improve. Henry opened the scoring for Barcelona, and to make matters worse, Robben collided with Milan's defender Milito and fell injured.
The Dutchman grimaced in pain, which made Wang Feng's heart skip a beat. It was the first time he had seen Robben in such agony, so he quickly called for the team doctor. After a brief assessment, the doctor immediately signaled to Benitez to make a substitution. The Spaniard replaced him with Granero, and Robben was swiftly taken to the hospital for treatment.
This injury cast a shadow over the hearts of the Real Madrid players. With Iniesta adding another goal, Barcelona secured victory, sweeping aside the Galacticos 5-1 on aggregate in the Spanish Super Cup.
After the game, everyone returned to the locker room to inquire about Robben's condition, only to be informed that he had a broken leg and would be out for the entire season. Everyone showed expressions of shock and disappointment.
Suffering two consecutive defeats, the European media began to doubt the prospects of the new season for the Galacticos. Spain's "As" newspaper wrote that Real Madrid had "lost resilience." The article pointed out that they showed almost no desire to win in the game, with everyone except Wang Feng performing below par, committing a total of 42 mistakes throughout the match.
The Chinese superstar, compared to the previous season, was also clearly out of form, failing to score from six attempts.
"The decline after the peak is often very fatal. Let's hope the Galacticos can adjust their mentality quickly; otherwise, they won't be able to achieve more brilliant results."
Catalan media didn't mince words in mocking Real Madrid. "Marca" believed that the Galacticos' failure to spend big money in the summer was arrogant. "Barcelona spent over 200 million euros strengthening their squad, while Real Madrid spent less than a quarter of that amount, which is clearly insufficient to ensure the competitiveness of the club."
They also believed that the signings of Kaka and Ibrahimovic had greatly improved the team's strength, fully compensating for Eto'o's departure. "The Brazilian was completely underestimated; in fact, he absolutely has the ability to become the World Footballer!"
"Sport" commented that Benitez was no match for Schuster. The "tactical master" was just a joke; during the game, he failed to fully unleash Wang Feng's abilities and instead caused the Chinese superstar to perform poorly due to his stubborn tactics.
In contrast, Guardiola easily balanced the relationships between the various frontline players, bringing out the best in Messi, Kaka, Henry, and Ibrahimovic.
This opinion undoubtedly struck a nerve with the Spaniard, who least liked being compared to his predecessor, especially in a situation where he had no advantage. Although he was mentally prepared before taking over Real Madrid, he didn't expect the criticism to come so quickly and fiercely.
So Benitez chose to continue focusing on studying tactics. During this period, Wang Feng took the initiative to communicate with him, but unfortunately, the conversation didn't go smoothly. Benitez was not good at communicating, so the match strategy was often his unilateral decision.
At the end of August, the UEFA annual awards ceremony and the draw for the Champions League group stage were held as scheduled. Wang Feng, with his record-breaking hundred goals, unquestionably won the UEFA Club Footballer of the Year for the 2008-2009 season.
This was his sixth time winning the award. Many people believed that the dual awards at the end of the year were already predictable, and the only suspense was what score Wang Feng would win with. After all, his historic achievements were too explosive.
In the subsequent Champions League draw, the defending champions Real Madrid unexpectedly drew a very favorable situation. They were placed in the same group as AC Milan, Marseille, and Zurich.
The Rossoneri were no longer as formidable as before, with even their top star Kaka being forced to leave. Marseille couldn't dominate Ligue 1, and Zurich from the Swiss Super League had little Champions League experience, barely making it through several qualifying rounds.
"Even after winning three consecutive championships, the luck of the Galacticos seems to be far from exhausted. Can they achieve a breakthrough?" So questioned the British "Sky Sports."
Barcelona, compared to Real Madrid, had slightly worse luck in the draw but still fairly decent. They were grouped with Inter Milan, Russia's Rubin Kazan, and Ukraine's Dynamo Kyiv.
The other two Spanish teams, Sevilla and Stuttgart, along with Romania's Unirea Urziceni and Scotland's Glasgow Rangers, formed another group.
Atletico Madrid was grouped with Chelsea, Porto, and Greece's AEK Athens.
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