Chapter 112 Pilgrimage
There is a passage from the Presidential Stand of the Bernabéu Stadium that leads down to the players' locker room.
During the game, this passage is closed and guarded by someone before and after the game.
At this moment, Su Dong and others followed Garcia and came to the player tunnel from this passage.
The faces of the young guys from Sporting Lisbon all had a kind of nervousness and excitement of pilgrimage. To them, from the stands to the player tunnel, every inch of place, even the most inconspicuous corner, was extremely fresh, and even had an indescribable sacredness, as if it was filled with legends.
Receiving them in the player tunnel was Real Madrid's deputy sports manager, former Real Madrid legend, one of the Five Eagles, the Vulture, Butragueno, who is now the right-hand man of general manager Valdano.
"Welcome to the Bernabeu, kids!"
Seeing Su Dong and others appear, Butragueno greeted them with a smile.
Su Dong and others were excited again. This was another legendary figure.
Especially when he shook Butragueno's hand, Su Dong wanted to slap himself twice to calm himself down.
Why are you so excited?
It was like this when I met the vulture Butragueno, what would it be like when I meet Ronaldo later?
Real Madrid is really a very special team. From the chairman to the management, from the coaching staff to the players, it is full of legendary stars.
It is said that the wish of Real Madrid president Florentino is to build a team composed entirely of superstars from top to bottom.
The whole world was stunned by this magnificent blueprint! …
Real Madrid actually welcomes young players like Sudon and Ronaldo to visit the Bernabeu.
For them, this is definitely an excellent opportunity to enhance Real Madrid's status in the eyes of the players, especially this group of young players with unlimited potential, so when Butragueno received Garcia's call, he arranged it without hesitation.
From game tickets to post-match visits, they even invited Su Dong and others to have dinner together, providing a one-stop service.
Butragueno brought Sudong and others to the home team locker room. Assistant coach Tony Grande was standing at the door. He nodded to Butragueno from a distance and smiled at Sudong and others.
"Sorry, there is a meeting going on inside. Please wait a moment."
Everyone understood.
After the game, the locker room often summarizes the game and reflects on the problems exposed.
After waiting for nearly ten minutes, the locker room door was finally opened from the inside.
Then, Real Madrid head coach Bosque, who looked a bit like Coach Anzai in Slam Dunk and was affectionately called "Dad" by Real Madrid players and the media, walked out.
"Hey, Emilio." Bosque saw Butragueno.
Vulture walked forward and said a few words to his father, while pointing at Su Dong and others.
Bosque looked at Su Dong and others with some surprise and walked over.
"Welcome to visit the Bernabeu." Bosque extended his hand towards Su Dong.
"Thank you, it's nice to meet you, Mr. Bosque." Su Dong stretched out his hands and shook hands with the Real Madrid coach.
Having won the Champions League twice in three years, Bosque is one of the leading coaches in world football today and his coaching ability is beyond doubt.
"I just watched the game, it was really great and the timing of the substitutions was so clever." Su Dong praised.
Bosque chuckled, "That's because we substituted Ronaldo."
This is true, but it is a bit too modest.
Many people say that Bosque's on-the-spot command is a weakness, but judging from the substitutions just now, both substitutions played a key role. Ronaldo scored twice, not to mention, and McManaman also contributed an assist after coming on as a substitute.
Bosque gave people a very kind feeling and his tone of voice was very comfortable. He did not have the aura of a big-name coach at all. Instead, he seemed like a kind and amiable old neighbor grandfather. Even when he was about to leave, he specifically explained to Su Dong and others that he had to rush to attend the post-match press conference.
In short, Bosque is a good man, a very good man.
…
Real Madrid's home team locker room is very spacious.
This was the first impression of Su Dong, Ronnie and others.
The players inside had obviously packed up long ago. Some had already changed their clothes, but Roberto Carlos was shirtless, wearing only a pair of underwear. His iconic thick thighs were particularly conspicuous.
Only with thighs this thick can you make such a powerful long shot.
Real Madrid's locker room must be visited frequently, so the players have long been used to it.
After seeing Su Dong and others coming in, many players took the initiative to wave to them.
Su Dong and Ronnie originally thought that no one would recognize them, but they were wrong.
Not only had Bosque, who was at the door just now, heard of them, but many players in the Real Madrid locker room also recognized them.
Figo even stood up and walked towards them.
"Hey, Sue, Ronnie, welcome to our locker room."
"Ha, Luis." Ronnie was very happy that Figo still knew him.
As a former Sporting Lisbon player, Figo would occasionally return to Sporting Lisbon and met Ronaldo once or twice.
More importantly, as a Portuguese, he will also pay attention to the news of the Portuguese Super League, and naturally he will not be unfamiliar with Su Dong and Ronaldo.
"Ronaldo, my little brother is also called Ronaldo." Figo joked to Ronaldo.
"I know, I heard before that Sporting Lisbon also has a Ronaldo." He didn't seem to care.
Ronaldo is his name, but there are thousands of people named Ronaldo in the world.
"Are you Su Dong?" Ronaldo seemed more interested in Su Dong.
"Yes, Ronnie." Su Dong was a little surprised, his voice trembling a little, he finally met his idol in person, "I... I am your die-hard fan, I have liked you for many, many years."
"Thank you." Ronaldo smiled and revealed his iconic front teeth, which made him look particularly friendly.
"Luis Suarez flew from Portugal to Milan, Italy last time and asked me for a signed jersey. Is it for you?"
"Well, thank you very much for your gift from you and Louis. I will treasure it."
Ronaldo laughed, "Luis is very optimistic about you. He said your nickname is the Little God of War, but many people say you look like Kluivert..."
Su Dong smiled awkwardly. In front of Ronaldo, all his false reputation seemed insignificant.
"Believe me, Su, don't chase stars, work hard to become the brightest star." Ronaldo encouraged.
Su Dong was a little flattered, "Can I?"
Ronaldo smiled playfully, "Who knows?"
"I never think about whether I can do it or whether I can succeed, because there is no point in thinking about it. Since I have chosen a direction, I don't care about other things. I will just keep going regardless of the wind and rain!"
Su Dong nodded vigorously. He could feel that Ronaldo's words came from his true heart and were meaningful.
"I'll give you another gift."
After saying that, Ronaldo turned and walked towards his closet, took out the jersey and shorts he had just changed out of, put them in the laundry bag in the locker room, then turned around and handed them to Su Dong.
Su Dong was stunned.
This is the jersey that Ronaldo just wore in his Real Madrid debut and scored twice. It's still wet and full of commemorative value. And he gave it to me?
"Hey, Ronnie, I have a question." Carlos, shirtless, came over with a smile, "You gave this wet jersey to someone as a gift, so will he wash it when he gets home or not?"
Everyone in the locker room burst into laughter when they heard this.
Yes, should I wash or not?
If you wash it, it won't taste the same as it originally did. If you don't wash it... the taste will be too strong, right? ...
I met my idol Ronaldo and talked to him for a while.
Then Su Dong ran towards Zidane again.
He was full of praise for Zidane's opening goal, and since he himself often moved around in front of the penalty area, Batistuta was very threatening in this area, so Su Dong took the initiative to ask this question.
Zidane didn't say much, but he told Su Dong that as long as every action was well connected, there was no need to consider the defensive players at all.
"It's like driving and waiting to pass the traffic light, and there is a car next to you trying to squeeze in. In fact, as long as you keep a close enough distance from the car in front of you, the car next to you can't squeeze in at all."
"Your movements are like cars, and the defensive players' movements are like cars that cut in. As long as the connection between your movements is tight and delicate enough, they have no choice but to foul. Do you understand me like this?"
This was said in a simple and easy-to-understand way, and Su Dong understood it.
But it is not easy to do so.
“Take it slow, gain experience, and keep polishing.”
Su Dong had just bought a Real Madrid player's jersey in Real Madrid's Hall of Fame. Of course, he took it out and asked them to sign it. Then he took the signed jersey and took photos with Real Madrid's superstars one by one. Even veteran center back Hierro and goalkeeper Casillas were not spared.
At the end of the visit, Raul and Morientes also came to the locker room.
Su Dong also admires the twin stars of Real Madrid very much and of course will not miss the opportunity.
Finally, several young players of Sporting Lisbon took a group photo with the players of Real Madrid in the locker room.
…
As they had to fly back to Lisbon overnight, Su Dong and others did not accept Butragueno's dinner invitation.
But Figo offered to take them to the airport because he was also catching a late flight back to report to the Portuguese national team.
Along the way, Sudong and Ronnie kept asking Figo about Real Madrid and some issues about football.
As one of the most successful football players in the world, Figo's understanding of football cannot be taught by any coach, unless he is a coach transformed from a famous star like Cruyff, Ancelotti or Valdano.
But these people's status is too high now.
Figo was born in Sporting Lisbon. He loves Su Dong and others and treats them as his junior brothers. Naturally, he tells them everything he knows.
From the Bernabéu to the airport, from Madrid to Lisbon.
Along the way, Su Dong, Ronaldo and others learned a lot from Figo and Real Madrid stars.
Especially Su Dong.
Idol Ronaldo's ill-fated experience made his words more convincing and had a greater impact on Su Dong.
(End of this chapter)
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