Chapter 142 Old Friends of Real Madrid

From September 12 to September 26, Real Madrid played five matches in just two weeks, including four La Liga matches and an away Champions League group stage match against Zurich.

Real Madrid won all five of their matches and remain undefeated this season.

However, the ever-increasing points tally has not stopped the doubts from the outside world, because so far, Real Madrid's opponents have all been weak teams, and no team can compete with Real Madrid on paper.

In matches where the teams on paper are too mismatched, even if a team wins, it's hard to believe the victory is convincing.

Pellegrini's tactical ability remains a point of criticism. In the past six official matches, Pellegrini has experimented with formations such as 4222, 442, 4231, and 424. Regardless of the formation, Real Madrid's attack and defense lacked fluidity, appearing more like individual performances by their stars.

Mundo Deportivo confidently asserted that Real Madrid's second-generation Galácticos were all show and no substance, and would be sunk if they encountered a tough opponent.

AS and Marca, on the other hand, focused their reports on Fino and Ronaldo.

In these matches, Real Madrid's penalty kicks have been taken alternately by Fino and Ronaldo, and the "dispute" over penalty kick rights that occurred in the first round of the league has not happened again, and they seem to have reached a tacit understanding.

AS unearthed the match between Fino and Ronaldo over penalty kick rights, while Marca published an in-depth analysis, extending from penalty kick rights to the core rivalry between Fino and Ronaldo, and why another superstar, Kaká, withdrew from the core rivalry.

Mundo Deportivo, citing reports from AS and Marca, concluded that: Real Madrid's two attacking stars have clashed, Kaká's form has plummeted, and Real Madrid's season is over!

Fino casually closed the webpage; what a piece of trash reporting.

He then remarked that compared to the airtight Milan dressing room under Maldini, the Real Madrid dressing room was like a sieve, where any news could leak out, and leak out quickly and accurately.

...

On September 30, Real Madrid played their second Champions League group stage match at home against Marseille from Ligue 1.

In this match, two former Real Madrid players returned to the Bernabéu: Morientes and Heinze.

Morientes was a victim of Florentino Pérez's superstar policy. From the 1997/98 season to the 2002/03 season, Morientes spent six seasons at Real Madrid. He and Raúl had excellent chemistry and were a dazzling duo in Real Madrid's attacking line.

With the arrival of many superstars in the first Galácticos era, especially after Ronaldo "The Phenomenon" landed at the Bernabéu, Morientes gradually became a substitute and was loaned to Monaco in Ligue 1 by Real Madrid in the summer of 2003.

In the 2003/04 Champions League quarter-finals, Morientes' Monaco faced off against Real Madrid. With Morientes's outstanding performance, Monaco drew 5-5 on aggregate with Real Madrid and advanced to the semi-finals (and later the final) on away goals. Morientes also won the Champions League Golden Boot that season with 9 goals.

This painful match for Real Madrid directly led to the creation of a clause – the Morientes Clause. When many talented Real Madrid players are loaned out, their contracts explicitly state that the loaned players must avoid playing against their parent club, Real Madrid.

In the 2004/05 season, Morientes returned to Real Madrid after his loan spell ended. Even though he taught Real Madrid a lesson in the Champions League, Morientes failed to secure consistent playing time because Real Madrid brought in Michael Owen that summer.

Completely disappointed, Morientes transferred to Liverpool in the winter transfer window, turning the once-happy partnership into a separate affair.

After many twists and turns, Morientes arrived in Marseille this summer and returned to the Bernabéu in the Champions League group stage.

Seeing Morientes surrounded by Raul, Guti, Casillas and others, Fino turned and exchanged a glance with Kaka, giving each other a smile.

Real Madrid's next two Champions League group stage matches are back-to-back home and away games against AC Milan, and Fino and Kaká are already looking forward to returning to the San Siro.

On the other side, Heinze and Ronaldo embraced tightly.

Heinze and Ronaldo's connection began with Sporting CP.

After arriving in Europe, Heinze was loaned from Valladolid to Sporting CP. Although he only played 5 league games for Sporting CP in the 1998/99 season, Cristiano Ronaldo, who was only 12 years old at the time, happened to be his ball boy.

They later met at Manchester United, and Heinze became Ronaldo's best friend at the club.

Following the "Rooney's red card and Ronaldo's wink" incident at the 2006 World Cup, Ronaldo became public enemy number one in England, with extreme fans even burning down his home in Manchester. It was at this time that Heinze stepped forward, inviting Ronaldo to stay at his home and driving him to and from work every day.

After Heinze's falling out with Manchester United and his transfer to Real Madrid, Ferguson even accused Real Madrid of using Heinze to lure Ronaldo into a transfer, which shows how good the relationship between Ronaldo and Heinze was.

However, when Ronaldo finally transferred to Real Madrid this summer, Heinze was sold to Marseille during the summer overhaul. The two close friends only reunited for a few days during Real Madrid's summer training before parting ways again.

Getting back to the main point, Pellegrini deployed a 4-2-3-1 formation for this match, with Casillas guarding the goal, Pepe and Albiol partnering in central defense, and Marcelo and Ramos playing as left and right full-backs.

Gago replaced Lass Diarra, who had a right shoulder injury, and formed a double pivot with Alonso. Guti played as the attacking midfielder, Kaká and Ronaldo played as the left and right wingers, and Fino played as the center forward.

This match didn't garner much attention, as Marseille isn't considered a strong opponent.

Marseille, though a long-established powerhouse in Ligue 1, has been in decline for a long time.

Marseille's most glorious period was around the 1990s. From the 1988/89 season to the 1991/92 season, Marseille won four consecutive Ligue 1 titles. After that, they fell into a slump until the last two years when they began to show signs of recovery.

The only thing with any hype value is Morientes' return to Real Madrid. Ever since Morientes helped Monaco eliminate Real Madrid in the Champions League, the media has been keen to portray him as a love-hate relationship with Real Madrid, constantly hyping up the melodramatic story of a former star returning to seek revenge.

Marseille's performance at Real Madrid's home ground was not timid like that of a typical weak team. From the very first minute of the game, Marseille showed great fighting spirit. The players did not back down in the face of Real Madrid's superstars. They were bold and aggressive, and their actions were very unrestrained.

In the first half, the two sides had a total of 15 shots, with Real Madrid having 9 and Marseille having 6, averaging one shot every 3 minutes.

Although neither team managed to change the score, the back-and-forth play was very entertaining and not at all the one-sided affair that fans had expected.

A draw is not what any team wants. After the start of the second half, both sides increased their attacking intensity and their movements became more aggressive.

Fino's role in this match was clear: to act as a pivot in attack and finish the attack in the middle, and to put pressure on Marseille's center-backs and disrupt their attacks from the back when defending.

Fino did a great job in the first half. Whether it was receiving the ball with his back to goal, shooting from close range, tearing apart the defense to create space for his teammates, or pressing high up the pitch, Fino put tremendous pressure on Marseille's defense.

So, during halftime, the Marseille coach specially assigned Diawara a little tail to him, sticking close to him wherever he went.

In the 48th minute, Alonso launched an attack from the backfield, delivering a short pass that accurately found Guti. Guti then passed the ball from the center to Ronaldo on the right wing, who broke through from the sideline.

Cristiano Ronaldo used two consecutive stepovers to get past Sherou and Taivo, and then cut inside to the outside of Marseille's penalty area.

Before his good friend Heinze could intercept, Ronaldo unexpectedly passed the ball back to Fino, who was near the penalty arc.

Diawara, who was closely following Fino, was vying with Fino for the ball's landing point.

Diawara was tall and strong, but far less agile than Fino. So he tried to use his strength to overpower Fino, who was six or seven centimeters shorter than him.

However, he underestimated Fino's strength. Fino lowered his center of gravity, used his shoulder to brace against Diawara, stretched out his long leg, and nimbly hooked the ball with his foot. With a light turn, he left Diawara behind.

Diawara was getting anxious as Fino was about to dribble into the penalty area and create distance between them, allowing Fino to easily take a shot.

He grabbed Fino's jersey and reached behind him to deflect the ball from Fino's feet. Caught off guard, Fino was tripped and fell to the ground.

With such a daring move, it was impossible for the referee not to see it. The referee immediately came over, showed Diawara a yellow card, and awarded a free kick.

Cristiano Ronaldo walked over and helped Fino up, then together they put pressure on the referee.

"Sir, the opponent ruined a very good scoring opportunity for us, and I was already in the penalty area when the foul was committed. That should have been a red card and a penalty."

Fino unconsciously clenched his little chicken hand, then let it go; muscle memory is truly terrifying.

Cristiano Ronaldo nodded vigorously beside him: "That's right, it was horrible. Fino is so much thinner than Diawara, and such a vicious foul almost injured Fino! He deserves a red card and a penalty!"

Strictly speaking, if a player manages to disrupt a sure goal by making a tackle from behind inside the penalty area, it could indeed be a penalty and a red card. However, referees are very cautious when making decisions and generally do not issue red cards easily.

Both Fino and Ronaldo understand this; what they really want is a penalty.

The referee gave Ronaldo a half-smile, thinking to himself, "You're really lying through your teeth. I saw it clearly just now. Diawara is such a big guy, but if Fino had made even a slightly bigger move when he was trying to get the ball, he could have knocked Diawara flying."

Diawara immediately argued with the referee: "Sir, your decision is absolutely correct. Cabrini hadn't even entered the penalty area when I fouled him!"

"You're lying through your teeth! He was clearly already in the penalty area!" Ronaldo retorted.

At this moment, Heinze walked over, put his arm around Ronaldo's shoulder, and signaled to Ronaldo that it was enough.

Upon seeing this, Real Madrid players gathered around. Guti, wearing the captain's armband, approached the referee to discuss the matter, while Kaká and Alonso came over to inquire whether Fino was injured.

Fino shook her head; the other party indeed had no intention of harming anyone.

The referee was exasperated by the argument between the two teams, but he stuck to his decision and ordered both teams to step back. Real Madrid quickly took the free kick and resumed the game.

Seeing that the referee was getting impatient, the Real Madrid players had no choice but to stop protesting, since getting a yellow card for angering the referee would be a greater loss than gain.

Fino and Ronaldo exchanged a knowing glance, then Fino grabbed the ball and headed to the penalty spot.

By this time, the human wall in Marseille had already been formed.

Fino looked at Kaká, who understood and moved to the left side of the goal, alerting the Marseille players. Some quick-thinking players turned to inform the Marseille goalkeeper.

When no one was watching, Cristiano Ronaldo quietly walked to the other side of the goal.

Fino took a deep breath and, under the anxious gaze of the Marseille wall, kicked the ball to the right side of the goal. As the wall jumped, and with Marseille goalkeeper Mandanda caught off guard, Ronaldo headed the ball into the net.

A cheer erupted at the Bernabéu as Real Madrid finally changed the score in the second half.

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Author's note: Thank you everyone for your support! [cheering emoji]