Chapter 413: Chapter 413
The coaches from both teams followed their players onto the field.
Capello smiled, extending his hand as he spoke, "We meet again."
"Have we met before?"
Flores asked with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes.
When Capello had just arrived at Real Madrid, Flores was informed to report to the second team and had to move to Zaragoza during the summer window to have a chance to play.
At Zaragoza, he encountered a severe injury, played only nine matches in one season, and chose to retire at 32.
While Flores was grateful to both his former teams, Real Madrid and Valencia, he held no fondness for Capello.
He had never imagined that ten years later, he would meet Capello in La Liga again, with the latter still being the coach of Real Madrid.
Flores snorted coldly and returned to the bench.
Unperturbed, Capello said, "We have met, haven’t we? Forget it, good luck to you."
Capello wasn’t someone who apologized.
Nor did he want to apologize to Flores.
Watching Huang Kaiwen standing at center circle, Capello adjusted his glasses with his index finger, his eyes gleaming behind them.
In his coaching career, Fabio Capello had offended many.
What was Flores compared to them?
Revenge, too, had its prerequisites.
At 6 pm, the referee blew the whistle to start the match.
Valencia kicked off first; Villa passed to Joaquin, and Huang Kaiwen rushed up to challenge him. Joaquin’s left foot skimmed over the ball as he attempted a trick, accidentally colliding with Huang Kaiwen.
Huang Kaiwen, who had unexpectedly gained possession of the ball, quickly passed it back to organize the play.
Today, Valencia’s wings were manned by David Silva and Joaquin; neither was easy to handle.
Joaquin might be the better one to deal with.
Real Madrid organized from the back, with Carlos driving the ball towards the front field.
Joaquin, letting go of Huang Kaiwen, rushed up to defend. Carlos suddenly nudged the ball diagonally with his left foot, then sped up again, sending Joaquin tumbling and retrieving the ball to make a diagonal pass to the left wing.
The pass was a bit rushed; harassed by Baraja, Huang Kaiwen didn’t control it well and touched it out of bounds.
The hot topic on the forums was Joaquin.
Currently, the most famous players at Valencia were him and Vicente, who was on the bench. "Carlos’s leg is as thick as my waist, and Joaquin still dares to defend against him."
"Don’t look at Carlos’s height, but in physical confrontations, ordinary people really can’t get past him."
"Since the start of the game, Joaquin has been pretty visible, getting dispossessed by Huang Kaiwen and now defending against Carlos, looking a bit flustered. Ah, I’ve liked Joaquin since the 2002 World Cup; didn’t expect he couldn’t even get past Huang Kaiwen."
"Huang Kaiwen’s pressing defense is decent, I remember him defending against Ronaldo in the UEFA Champions League, Joaquin isn’t much more."
"I feel like Joaquin’s peak was in that match against the South Koreans in 2002, really unfair, his assist to Morientes was ruled out for crossing the goal line before."
"Morientes is on the bench; maybe he’ll get to pair up with Joaquin later and make up for what was lost."
"It’s difficult, with Huang Kaiwen around, Valencia doesn’t stand a chance."
"You can’t say that, Valencia is the hot favorite to win the championship, they haven’t lost a match yet, Real Madrid has already lost two. Their lineup really isn’t much weaker than Real Madrid’s, with impressive players like Vicente and Morientes on the bench, and Villa is currently the best striker in Spain."
"Torres is stronger, right? I feel like Torres could burst through the screen if he pushed hard enough, his speed is damn fast."
"Fuck, you say all these people together still aren’t as good as one Huang Kaiwen, even Torres has lost to him."
"Moderator, Huan is back again, it’s a ten-day cycle!"
Valencia threw in from the sidelines, Joaquin again seeking out Huang Kaiwen with the ball.
Huang Kaiwen spread his legs to adjust his stance, preventing Joaquin from bursting forward suddenly.
Joaquin poked with his right foot, placing the ball beside Huang Kaiwen, himself treading the line as he bypassed him.
Huang Kaiwen chased back with a dark expression.
The football world really is degenerating, everyone takes pride in getting past the Yellow Ball King.
Can’t you run towards the center and coordinate with your teammates?
Carlos rushed towards Joaquin quickly, learning from his mistake, Joaquin passed it to Villa.
Villa often pulled back to organize for Valencia.
After receiving the ball, Villa immediately moved to the flank and twisted to deliver a cross.
The ball flew rapidly, heading straight for the left post of the goal.
Ramos, who was judging the landing spot, was heavily tackled by Baraja who had charged into the box.
Cannavaro got to the ball before Angulo and kicked it out of bounds, the referee’s whistle only then sounding.
"First offensive move of the match, and an intense conflict has already erupted on both sides."
"Huang Kaiwen ran back to block Ramos, Ramos looked like he was really about to start a fight."
"Baraja has strong attacking abilities and fierce defending, and although he doesn’t play the same position as Ramos, their styles are very similar."
"Huang Kaiwen’s mediation was effective, Ramos, although reluctant, was pulled away. It’s better for defenders to avoid cards early in the game, especially aggressive ones like Ramos."
Casillas booted a long ball from the back field.
Guti and Miguel Palacios both rushed for the fall.
Guti, physically weaker, saw Palacios head the ball forward.
Emerson quickly took control and twisted to shift play to the left wing.
Huang Kaiwen flicked with his right foot, the ball rebounding off his outer foot towards Joaquin’s back.
As Joaquin turned to pull on Huang Kaiwen, Huang Kaiwen shrugged him off and got away.
Joaquin, who hadn’t steadied his center of gravity, staggered a few steps and nearly fell.
Huang Kaiwen carried the ball along the left wing, and Baraja, having rapidly approached, went in for a fierce tackle on Huang Kaiwen.