The Champions League group stage has officially concluded.
Real Madrid, with five consecutive wins in the group stage, secured their spot in the knockout phase as group leaders with a game to spare.
Of course, this is not a big deal for Real Madrid, as they are a strong Champions League contender and rarely miss the knockout stages.
Across Europe, this did not cause much of a stir.
However, the match itself conveyed a lot of information, such as the offensive impact Real Madrid displayed in this game.
Real Madrid during Mourinho's era primarily focused on counter-attacks, so even though they were a consistently winning team, their overall oppressive presence wasn't as strong.
Unlike Ancelotti's Real Madrid, they are truly playing an active attacking game!
Moreover, this offensive surge can come from all directions; you never know which area Real Madrid will launch an attack from, or who will make the first pass, because everyone is capable of doing so.
Secondly, there's Suker's performance!
Previously, there was a lot of public discourse about Suker, with many people feeling that his form was declining.
Even for a brief moment, they were eager to spread such news.
But soon, Suker responded!
This was true in the League, and it was true in the Champions League!
Two brilliant performances once again made Europe take notice.
Even the rigorous German media were forced to comment on Suker's outstanding play.
"This is the best of times! It is also the worst of times!"
"Suker makes football more exciting and richer in content, but at the same time, he is suppressing all other players. I have reason to believe that in the future, this period will be called the 'Suker Era'!"
"He is the most distinct flag of this era!"
The German media's comments resonated with many colleagues and even fans.
For the fans themselves, they are fortunate because they are watching a historically top-tier player battle on the field, repeatedly breaking records and creating new history.
But for professional players, especially those who aim to be like Suker, this is tragic!
He joined Milan in 2005 and officially broke out in 2006!
Suker's settling period was very short, but his peak period has been incredibly long.
Those players waiting for Suker to decline, hoping to take his place, have been waiting so long that their hopes have grown cold.
Suker's contemporary competitors include Zlatan Ibrahimović, Torres, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Messi.
Currently, only Cristiano Ronaldo and Messi are still closely following Suker's pace; other players can no longer keep up.
As for the new generation of players, challengers come one after another, but only a few can pose a threat to Suker, let alone defeat him directly.
Many times, their short peak periods ended before they could fully shake Suker's position, and their form was gone.
Therefore, they believe that Suker's most terrifying aspect, in addition to his physical talent, is his ability to maintain his peak form for a long time.
Furthermore, Suker is also undergoing a successful transformation.
He can even switch back to his old playing style if necessary.
When not necessary, Suker will keep his punches retracted, conserving energy.
But when he encounters a strong opponent, he will definitely unleash heavy blows!
Chelsea is a clear example!
Is Chelsea weak?
No!
Mourinho's Chelsea has always been an iron-blooded strong army; although their lineup hasn't fully exerted its power yet, they shouldn't have played like that.
The problem was that Suker's various performances in the match directly disrupted Chelsea's defensive arrangements and even broke their mental defenses!
Therefore, Suker can definitely be called a generational player.
Inside Suker's villa, Ramos was playing FIFA on a controller.
Controlling his own team to compete against others was very interesting.
Of course, it was even more interesting to look at the in-game stats.
However, Ramos's own stats in the game weren't very high; although balanced, he just didn't want to use himself.
Every defender has the heart of a striker!
Ramos's favorite thing to do was to control 'Suker' and dominate in the game.
Suker's stats are all very high, especially his blazing red speed and agility attributes; once he gets the ball, it's a one-man show.
"Goal!"
After scoring, Ramos shouted loudly, looking very excited.
Suker, who was beside him, couldn't help but look up and say, "What's so fun about a broken game!"
Ramos put down the controller and stood up, leaning on his knees.
"You don't understand! When you become a defender, you'll know how satisfying it is to score as a striker!"
Suker shrugged. When he first entered the Big Five Leagues, he would indeed feel excited and thrilled by it.
But now, it's more of a formulaic process!
How to kick to score!
How to choose the shot!
In front of the goal, compared to emotional excitement, Suker is more about calm judgment.
Moreover, Suker believes that many of the in-game stats are a bit low.
His true peak was in 2012, when almost all his stats reached their maximum.
This is much higher than the attributes given in the game!
Of course, it has fallen back a bit now, but not by much; otherwise, he wouldn't dare to play like this.
Ramos walked to the refrigerator, took out a bottle of juice, poured himself a glass, and returned to the sofa with the cup, looking at Suker and saying,
"Next up is Barcelona. These guys are tough to deal with again this season."
Suker: "When has Barcelona ever been easy to play against?"
Ramos also nodded.
This season, Barcelona has undergone many changes.
The most crucial one is the team's youthfulness.
Neymar is playing an important role!
He thought Neymar would need at least a season to adapt to La Liga, but his adaptation speed was very fast, even too fast.
So far, Ramos had only seen one guy who, after joining La Liga, immediately dominated.
That person was Suker!
And now, there's an additional Neymar!
A genius is not called a genius for nothing, and the last samba dancer is not to be trifled with.
Neymar's unique nimble dribbling has become a headache for many teams; his vertical breakthrough ability is very strong, even comparable to Messi's.
From a certain perspective, after Messi's transformation, he rarely does that anymore.
But Neymar has taken over that job, becoming Barcelona's new breakthrough player.
Sometimes, Ramos even wonders what their squad would look like if Real Madrid had signed Neymar back then?
But there is no such thing as perfection in the world, and due to various reasons and events, Neymar and Real Madrid ultimately missed each other.
Suker got up and checked the time.
"We should go!"
Today, they had another task: to attend an event at the Real Madrid Football School.
It was nothing more than an opening ceremony for some youth training matches.
However, Real Madrid now places great importance on youth training, and Florentino has also started investing more funds into the youth academy system.
Suker, as the top star, and Ramos, as the captain, naturally needed to attend these events.
Of course, they didn't dress too formally, as it was a youth training event, and even with their participation, the attention wouldn't be particularly high.
They took the club-arranged car and drove towards the football school.
Inside the car, Ramos turned his head and asked, "Is your son also participating in this match?"
Suker nodded: "I heard that based on their performance in this match, they can ultimately get a chance to enter the youth academy."
Football school is football school, and youth training is youth training.
These are two different systems!
Football school is more like an elementary education.
It teaches more basic things, and like other schools, it also has cultural courses.
But entering youth training means a platform for development with the goal of becoming a professional player.
Therefore, many age-appropriate children go through this.
"Your son is a famous genius at Real Madrid!"
Ramos said with a smile.
Suker grinned: "Don't listen to that, it's useless!"
The entire Real Madrid youth academy system has so many youth players, coming and going, a huge number.
How much can be seen from Sukic, who is so young?
Perhaps there is some so-called talent, but it hasn't reached such an amazing level.
At least Suker believes that some things are worth affirming, but there are also many shortcomings.
Of course, he wouldn't generalize these things.
In fact, Suker has somewhat neglected his attention to Sukic.
There's no help for it; he has a lot of matches that demand his attention, and being able to spend time with Sukic is already quite good.
Therefore, when he said 'useless,' it was more of a polite remark; if the little guy truly performs well, he would also feel proud.
After all, his father is Real Madrid's top player!
My son can't be too bad, can he?
Real Madrid's football school is located next to the youth academy, and compared to a professional youth academy, it's more of a school.
The 'football' school naturally focuses on football, and it has not only young boys but also some young girls.
Suker saw some young lads, couples of them, huddled together, cooing at each other.
They say children are precocious, but this is way too precocious.
"Does your son also have a girlfriend?" Ramos asked curiously.
He is very curious about topics related to children now, and the reason is simple: his wife is pregnant.
He will be a father next year!
Therefore, he likes and is very curious about little ones.
Suker turned his head and said faintly, "He's only five years old!"
What does a five-year-old know?
At the school gate, a staff member had been waiting for a long time and quickly led the way when he saw the two of them.
An arch was installed at the school gate, with '2013 Youth Football Tournament' written on it.
After entering the school, flags were also placed one by one on both sides of the internal roads, giving it the feel of a major competition.
The closer they got to the field, the more people there were.
In addition to the children, there were many parents.
The children, wearing various jerseys, stood in different positions under the coaches' arrangements, waiting to enter the field.
Most parents stood outside the barrier or in the stands, waiting to watch their children's exciting matches.
And the moment Suker and Ramos appeared, they became the focus of the entire venue.
Click! Click! Click!
Flashlights flickered non-stop, and the surrounding young players gasped in hushed tones.
The parents also excitedly took out their phones to take pictures!
The appearance of Suker and Ramos was definitely a surprise, as there had been no prior announcement of this event.
And in a white square formation at the entrance.
Enzo, Marcelo's son, whispered, "Your dad is here!"
Sukic subconsciously straightened his back.
Suker also turned his head and glanced at him but did not greet him; instead, he walked directly onto the training ground.
These old veterans of the Real Madrid Football School, their eyes gleaming, looked at Suker with longing.
Suker, he is the idol and goal of all the young players on the field!
"Good afternoon!"
Leidup, who had been promoted to Real Madrid's Youth Academy Director, walked over with a smile.
Suker and Ramos also greeted him warmly.
Having been the interim coach twice, Leidup was extremely familiar with them.
Although Leidup was the Youth Academy Director, he was not very clear about the schedule arrangements, as this was a competition hosted by the football school.
Although he was the Youth Academy Director, he wouldn't know every single detail.
Another staff member came over to tell them the procedures to follow.
Suker and Leidup were both there to watch the game, to lend their presence to the event.
As Real Madrid's captain, Ramos also had a speech to give.
Finally, the opening ceremony officially began.
Teams from various football schools within Spain entered the field to the cheers of the 'fans' in the stands.
After circling once, they stood in square formations on the field, with over 20 teams in total.
Ramos, as Real Madrid's representative, began his speech, holding a pre-written manuscript.
It wasn't particularly passionate, but it was decent enough.
As soon as Suker sat down, Leidup beside him said, "After this, let's talk about Sukic's youth academy contract."
Suker was stunned for a moment, "Youth academy contract?"
Leidup nodded, "Didn't he tell you? The youth academy has already prepared a contract for him, but the child is very stubborn; he wants to be selected normally through competition."
Leidup continued, "Actually, he already meets these conditions, but the child is also under a lot of pressure and still wants to go through the normal selection process."
Suker blinked; he understood that the pressure came from himself.
After all, 'Suker's child' is already a source of much pressure.
If the youth academy directly gave Sukic a contract, he could easily be labeled as having 'pulled strings'.
So, being a second-generation player is not easy!
Especially for those who are serious about developing in football, these privileges and advantages can sometimes become a burden for them.
"Signing a contract is fine, but don't give him special treatment," Suker said bluntly.
It's no problem for Sukic to play football, and Suker can create that environment for him.
But he can't give him more than that!
If he truly wants to be a professional player, then his choice is not a problem.
"Have you followed Sukic's matches?" Leidup asked.
Suker shook his head, "I don't have time to watch!"
Sukic has many matches, but Zorancic represents Suker at these events, as his time is too tight.
Hearing this, Leidup smiled, "Then you should pay attention; your child, his talent is not bad, and unlike your talent shown as a forward, he has a unique understanding of the rhythm and overall picture of the game. The youth academy has been following him for a long time, but because of his special circumstances, they haven't made a move, and he himself wants to go through the normal process."
"This time, I came to this event more to get Sukic's youth academy contract from you."
Looking at Leidup, Suker couldn't help but be a little surprised.
It seems Sukic's talent is indeed good, and Leidup seemed very invested.
At this moment, the match on the field had already begun.
Youth matches do not last a full 90 minutes; instead, they are based on 60 minutes, with 30 minutes for each half.
At the same time, there are not too many restrictions on substitutions; even full team changes are allowed.
Compared to the match itself, this is also a form of assessment, an assessment for entering the youth academy.
Suker had heard of both teams in the first match; they should be private football training institutions.
Their overall performance was commendable; at this age group, participating in such matches means their ability and talent are not far off.
However, there was no performance that particularly impressed him.
European youth training has now largely become standardized.
Especially in the midfield, mass-produced defensive midfielders have become mainstream, being both effective and inexpensive.
But in this situation, those midfielders with creativity become even more precious.
The so-called defensive midfielders are those who follow established routines, rarely making long passes, but instead connecting the team with simple short passes.
It's like a line-drawing game, with an established rule, not deviating from the framework, just playing within this framework.
It's hard to mess up, but it also loses expression and creativity.
Soon, the second match began, featuring the host team, which was Sukic's team.
Sukic actually came out wearing the No. 10 jersey.
Suker turned his head to look at Leidup.
"It has nothing to do with us," Leidup shook his head. "He earned this himself; this kid is already the boss of the football school."
Suker didn't react, but Ramos grinned, truly a chip off the old block!
The match quickly began.
Suker immediately looked over; Leidup's description had piqued Suker's interest.
And Sukic's first touch of the ball immediately made his eyes light up.
It wasn't a stable stop of the ball, but rather turning his body to stop the ball in the direction of the upcoming attack.
Among this age group, there are truly not many who can perform this set of movements so smoothly.
But the main event was yet to come.
Through Sukic's orchestration and passing, the Real Madrid Football School team actually began to press forward across the entire field, with their overall press being very high.
They were particularly good at utilizing their own strengths.
For example, they had a slightly taller center forward, so they started making frequent crosses.
Pressure was also being applied from the outside!
Sukic's command was also very good.
But the most crucial thing was his control over the game, advancing and retreating in an orderly manner, with a reasonable pace.
Watching Sukic play, Suker couldn't help but cock his head.
"Why does this feel so familiar?"
Soon, Suker understood.
It would be strange if it wasn't familiar!
Isn't this how Modrić plays?
He was actually learning to play like Modrić, and he was doing it remarkably well.
Starting, escaping, passing, positioning—all were just right.
And he could initiate attacks using various methods such as long passes, short passes, and chips.
Most critically, in the 19th minute, Sukic actually scored a goal with Modrić's signature outside-of-the-foot shot.
As soon as Sukic scored, Suker saw some little girls in the stands collectively screaming.
Leidup: "He's very popular!"