Chapter 137 Hala Madri...
On the evening of August 12, the Bernabéu Stadium was brightly lit, with more than 60,000 fans waving Real Madrid flags and some welcome banners, witnessing Fino's first appearance at the Bernabéu.
Accompanied by Real Madrid president Florentino Pérez, Fino, wearing the new season's pure white home jersey, came to the center of the pitch.
His jersey number was blank.
Fino was Real Madrid's last major signing this summer. By the time his transfer was finalized, the entire Real Madrid team was already in the United States for pre-season training.
At this time, Real Madrid did not have many available jersey numbers for their key players.
Fino's preferred number is still 14, the number Maldini chose for him, but Real Madrid's number 14 belongs to the vice-captain Guti, who has dedicated his life to Real Madrid, so Fino cannot ask for it.
Aside from number 14, the rest of the numbers are fine with Fino. He prefers numbers 13 and 21, one belonging to Nesta and the other to Pirlo, both of whom are his good friends.
At that moment, Metzelder was wearing number 21, and Fino felt there was no need for his teammate to give up his number, so he chose number 13.
This was met with strong opposition from Real Madrid. How could the team that would be the main seller of jerseys in the future wear number 13?
The most suitable number for Fino was actually 9, which is the number of the main center forward. However, Ronaldo debuted much earlier than Fino, and the number 9 was already taken by the unwilling Ronaldo - Ronaldo's preferred number 7 was being worn by captain Raul.
The club hopes that Fino can choose between number 10 and number 11. In Real Madrid's history, number 10 was worn by Puskás and number 11 was worn by Gento. The new superstar wearing the number left by the team's legends can play on the story and heritage, which is more conducive to increasing jersey sales.
The number 10 jersey is currently owned by Sneijder, and the number 11 jersey is currently owned by Robben. The transfers of the two Dutchmen are already under negotiation, and they will both leave Real Madrid this summer.
However, the transfer is not yet complete. Both Dutchmen are currently training with the team in the United States, so their jersey numbers were temporarily empty when Fino made his debut.
Fino waved to the stands in all directions, then, as usual, showed off a few fancy footwork moves, demonstrating his skills and winning rounds of applause and cheers from the fans.
Immediately afterwards, Fino took the microphone and gave a brief speech.
"Ladies and gentlemen, good evening! Thank you all for coming to my unveiling ceremony on such a beautiful evening. Thank you, Mr. Florentino, for your trust and support in giving me the opportunity to come to the Bernabéu this summer. I will repay this trust and support with my actions, and together with my teammates and the coaching staff, bring more victories to the president, the club, and every fan, decorating Real Madrid's already gleaming trophy room with more championship trophies, and creating more glorious and brilliant history for the already splendid and great Real Madrid."
He paused for a moment, then shouted, "Hala Madrid!"
"Hala Madrid!" the fans chanted, bringing the atmosphere to a fever pitch.
Fino's speech returned to its usual dignified and composed manner; his calmness at this moment was completely different from his agitation after the South Stand incident.
Florentino smiled beside him, pleased with Fino's remarks. Not only was Fino subtly flattering him, but Fino also displayed the elegance befitting a white knight. He was truly impressed by Fino's choice of Real Madrid players; he had excellent judgment.
He noticed that Fino didn't kiss the Real Madrid crest like Kaká and Ronaldo did. But that wasn't a problem; being sensible enough to bring money and wins to the team is more useful than so-called loyalty.
If loyalty were important, he wouldn't have wanted to purge Raul and Guti.
The attitudes of the Meringers toward Fino are actually somewhat complex.
The fans are naturally in favor of the club bringing in such a talented star player. Good players should wear white and fight for Real Madrid!
Cristiano Ronaldo belongs to Real Madrid, Kaká belongs to Real Madrid, and Fino should of course belong to Real Madrid as well.
But everyone knows that Fino initially preferred Chelsea to Real Madrid, which is why the transfer was delayed until mid-August.
This is a bit unsettling. It's one thing to be inferior to our parent club, but Real Madrid isn't even our first choice for transfers. Why should we be?
LOL, you've never actually beaten our Real Madrid in the Champions League. Without being tested, how could you possibly conquer our noble Merengues?
On the other hand, although they didn't deliver a crushing blow to Real Madrid, they did win the Champions League by stepping over Barcelona's corpse, which is enough to make the Merseyside fans look at them with more respect.
No, I'm still a little annoyed. Why don't you kiss the Real Madrid crest? Why don't you dream of playing for Real Madrid?
...
Fino was unaware of the internal struggle between the left and right hemispheres of the Meringers' brains, and even if he had, he wouldn't have cared. Players are judged by their abilities, and as long as he performs well in the game, he won't have to worry about winning over the fans.
With Fino's transfer completed, Real Madrid's second-generation Galácticos are finally assembled and ready to set sail.
A few days later, Fino met his teammates who had returned from the United States at Real Madrid's training ground.
Captain Raul and Vice-Captain Guti were the first to come over and greet him.
Fino's arrival will inevitably reduce Raul's playing time, but Raul is still happy with the transfer. In recent years, with the rise of Barcelona, Real Madrid's brilliance has been largely overshadowed, so the addition of strong reinforcements is a good thing for Real Madrid.
Raul is nearing the end of his career and has become accustomed to the abundance of star players on the bench. He has become indifferent to many things and is content as long as it is good for Real Madrid.
After the club showed great interest in Fino, Raul made a point of learning about Fino's character and then felt reassured.
Despite the storm that Fino stirred up for half a summer at the post-match press conference after Maldini's farewell game, he is usually very well-behaved.
Raul did not think Fino was wrong in his post-match press conference. Which player wouldn't envy his defense of Maldini?
Especially for a meritorious player like Raul, who faces the same predicament as Maldini, his hard work and prestige are immense, and he has some disagreements with the management. His current situation at Real Madrid is not even as good as Maldini's!
Milan really knows how to raise kids. Look at Fino, and then look at Kaká. They're both so easy to manage.
He doesn't admit that he meant to belittle Ronaldo. Okay, maybe a little bit, just a tiny bit. After all, Ronaldo is after his number 7 jersey!
Meanwhile, the well-behaved kid in his eyes was eyeing Guti's number 14 jersey with longing... He really wanted it!
After exchanging greetings, Raul and Guti began introducing Fino to the other teammates.
Who doesn't recognize last season's Champions League Golden Boot winner? Everyone greeted Fino with friendly smiles, including the two Dutchmen who were about to leave the team.
It's normal for football to have its ups and downs. You never know when you might meet the same team again. What's wrong with forming a good relationship with a star player who has real talent?
Those Dutch people are all incredibly intelligent!
Sneijder even openly advised Fino: "Wear a size 10!"
This drew a disapproving glance from Lass Diarra.
Yes, the players knew that Fino was wearing a blank jersey when he appeared, and that it was part of the club's arrangements, even though they were training in the United States at the time; information travels very quickly in the internet age.
Lass Diarra really wants to switch to number 10 after Sneijder leaves. In his opinion, it's only natural for Fino, as a striker, to wear number 11!
But Sneijder didn't think so. What kind of nobody deserved to wear the number 10 he left behind? He would rather wear the striker Fino.
Fino smiled and nodded, indicating that he would carefully consider Sneijder's suggestion.
When Raul introduced Alonso, Fino and Alonso high-fived and then hugged, everything understood without words.
After this round of socializing was finally over, Fino was just about to talk to Alonso when Kaká, who was sitting with Ronaldo, waved wildly at him like a Samoyed wagging its tail happily.
Fino laughed, turned and nodded to Alonso, then walked towards Kaká.
Alonso thought about it for a moment and then followed.
“Finnie, have you found a place yet? If you haven’t settled in yet, you can come and stay at my place!” Kakara took Finnie’s hand.
Fino's transfer was a huge surprise for Kaká.
He arrived at Real Madrid with trepidation. Despite his Ballon d'Or honor, despite having a Brazilian like Marcelo in the team, and despite the friendliness of another superstar, Cristiano Ronaldo, who had joined in the summer transfer window, Real Madrid was still a completely unfamiliar place to him.
Now that his good friend Fino has arrived, he suddenly has someone to rely on.
“Everything’s settled in. My management team is great, so don’t worry.” Fino ruffled Kaka’s hair with her other hand.
After thinking for a moment, Fino put his hand into his pocket, then clenched his fist and held it out in front of Kaka.
Under the puzzled gazes of Ronaldo and Alonso, Kaká excitedly blew a breath.
He opened his fist, and a candy appeared in Fino's palm.
"Yo-ho~" Kaka cheered happily, unwrapped the candy, and stuffed it into his mouth.
Ronaldo was a little stunned. What kind of move was that?
He glanced at Kaka, then turned to look at Fino, then glanced at Kaka again, then turned back to look at Fino...
Seeing this, Fino reached into his pocket again, clenched his fist, and held it out in front of Ronaldo.
Cristiano Ronaldo's face immediately turned red.
That's not what I meant!
But he was just trying to comfort me!
He's so handsome!
Would it be inappropriate for me not to cooperate?
Cristiano Ronaldo blushed, imitated Kaká by blowing a breath, and then received a candy reward.
"Um, thank you... thank you!"
So cute!
Fino originally wanted to touch Ronaldo's hair, but since Ronaldo had applied hair gel all over his head, Fino patted Ronaldo's shoulder instead.
Alonso also found it unbelievable. What kind of dog training was this? Kaká was one thing, since he and Fino were good teammates, but Ronaldo was easily won over by a single candy!
He recalled his encounter with Fino, who had merely nodded at him, yet he had gone over to strike up a conversation with her, without even receiving a single piece of candy...
Cristiano Ronaldo doesn't eat candy, but after receiving the candy, he thought for a moment and then gave it to Kaká next to him, which earned him a bright smile from Kaká.
Cristiano Ronaldo: Hehe!
At this moment, Kaka said to Fino, "I'm so happy you came to Real Madrid, we can be roommates again!"
Cristiano Ronaldo: No, not at all!
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Author's note: Thank you everyone for your support! [hugs]
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