"Suker!!! That was a brilliant play!"
The entire stadium was shaking!
In Real Madrid's recently scored goal, Suker executed a back-heel pass, a move that was elegant and fluid, precisely delivering the ball to Bale's feet.
He not only successfully drew defensive attention, allowing defenders to close in on him.
At the same time, he made a stylish assist in the process.
Although this type of pass lacked the visual impact of a fierce breakthrough, the satisfaction of tearing open the final defensive line, like a sharp knife piercing through the opponent's defense, was also extremely wonderful.
Of course, for Valencia's fans, none of this was good.
They had already performed poorly in the early part of this season, and now being heavily beaten by Real Madrid, they naturally felt frustrated.
But there was no other way!
Playing badly meant receiving a lesson!
As for Real Madrid, they had scored early in the first half, and Suker had even completed a goal and an assist within 40 minutes!
At halftime, Real Madrid led Valencia 2-0.
During the halftime break, in Real Madrid's locker room, Ancelotti was making tactical adjustments.
"Pato will substitute in for the second half," Ancelotti said, looking at Suker. "You rest!"
Suker nodded in understanding.
He knew very well that after the winter break, the real battles would begin, and that would be the moment for Suker to fully explode.
For now, it was just about finding his form and ensuring his health!
The last match before the winter break.
The duration of the winter break varies across Leagues, with La Liga being slightly longer, offering about three weeks of rest.
However, at this stage, almost no one had thoughts of vacation.
The League aside, the upcoming 2014 World Cup also required them to prepare well.
Especially in a top club like Real Madrid, almost every player is a National Team regular. Apart from players like Bale whose National Team failed to qualify for the World Cup, most others had to return for training.
Suker was naturally no exception!
The second half began, and Suker was substituted off in the 55th minute.
Pato came on as a substitute, taking over from Suker.
After Suker left the field, Valencia visibly relaxed, feeling that the match would be relatively easier.
But they soon discovered that it wasn't as they had imagined.
After Pato came on, he played particularly actively, especially with his frequent attacks down the left wing, which Valencia found somewhat difficult to handle.
Adding to that, Kroos was also in good form, full of attacking desire, constantly supplying ammunition to the front, which made Valencia feel even more pressured.
Although Pato and Bale were not like Suker, who could score directly with just a small mistake.
Compared to Suker, their efficiency was still lower.
However, these two had even greater attacking desire, charging relentlessly, which also made Valencia feel more pressured.
"Are they going crazy?"
Suker sat on the bench, unable to help but curl his lips and shake his head.
"How could he not be going crazy!" Kaka shook his head. "The former Milan core, after coming to Real Madrid, had to accept adjustments, mainly playing as a substitute or in rotation. It must be very frustrating."
Suker: "Who told him to come to Real Madrid!"
He still believed that Pato coming to Real Madrid was not a good thing. Purely from Real Madrid's perspective, it could deepen the bench.
But for Pato, he came too late!
If he had come earlier, he might have been able to compete for a starting position.
But now, with the tactics and lineup established, he would need to spend more time and effort to compete.
Of course, that's not to say he wouldn't play.
At Real Madrid, even as a substitute, he wouldn't be reduced to not playing at all.
After all, Real Madrid fighting on multiple fronts was already the norm!
The starters almost always focused on major competitions, namely the League and Champions League, while other competitions such as the Copa del Rey and some smaller cup tournaments were good opportunities for substitutes to play.
Therefore, there would be no problem of not getting playing time.
However, the intensity of the matches was not enough, which was not particularly beneficial for their own growth.
On the field, Valencia's match form was indeed very poor.
This season, perhaps due to selling too many key players, or perhaps for psychological reasons, their overall performance was truly not very good.
A La Liga powerhouse, playing so poorly.
Lack of attacking desire, unable to defend, playing without much spirit, which caused the home fans to feel frustrated.
Looking at the current situation of the match, the outcome could already be predicted.
Without any surprises, the match ended cleanly with a 3-0 score.
Real Madrid scored another goal in the 76th minute, with Benzema finding the net and the substitute Pato getting an assist.
Real Madrid concluded their last match before the winter break, and also secured a victory, which allowed Real Madrid's fans to have a happy Christmas.
As for Real Madrid's players, they immediately dispersed after the match ended.
After all, the National Team call-up had been issued, and they had to report back to their National Team.
Suker and Srna also left by plane that day, heading to Italy for training.
Why not to Croatia? There was nothing they could do; Eastern Europe was covered in heavy snow, the fields were covered, and the training environment was not good enough.
Originally, they planned to train in Asia and organize a few commercial matches, but the Italian Football Association extended an invitation, hoping to hold some friendly matches during the winter break, and offering to cover all their training facilities, accommodation, and other expenses. They naturally agreed.
After all, given Croatia's current capabilities, they indeed needed a relatively strong opponent to stimulate themselves.
They arrived in Roma, the Capital of Italy, just before Christmas.
To celebrate Christmas, the team even gave the players a day off to enjoy the holiday.
Suker hadn't even landed yet when he was already invited out.
In the evening, Suker appeared at a villa in Roma.
As soon as he reached the door, a voice emerged.
"Hey! King of Madrid!"
Suker turned his head and saw Inzaghi leaning against his brand-new sports car, wearing sunglasses despite it being nighttime, waving at him.
Next to him was a beautiful woman he hadn't seen before, probably his new girlfriend.
Suker walked over with a smile, and Inzaghi happily embraced Suker.
"Long time no see!"
Inzaghi patted Suker's shoulder with emotion, and couldn't help but say, "You, if you went back to the Milan era, you would definitely force me to hand over the number 9 jersey!"
Suker: "How could I? I still respect you guys very much!"
"Bullshit!" Inzaghi cursed with a laugh. "In those few years when you were the core, if I didn't pass the ball, you'd glare me to death!"
Suker: "That's because if you passed me the ball, I had a better chance of scoring!"
Inzaghi rolled his eyes, then patted Suker's back and said, "Come in, everyone here today is an old acquaintance!"
Following Inzaghi into the villa, he found that everyone inside were old acquaintances.
Milan legends, led by Maldini.
Nesta, Ambrosini, Pirlo, Totti, De Rossi, and other retired and active Italian National Team players were all there.
These were all old acquaintances of Suker, so there was no particular awkwardness.
Suker said with a smile, "An Italian internal gathering, am I an outsider suitable?"
"Aren't you Italian?" Nesta laughed. "If you hadn't played for the Croatia National Team first, Italy would definitely have tried to snatch you."
Suker has dual Croatian and Italian citizenship. He acquired Italian citizenship originally to avoid foreign player quotas.
As for the National Team issue, it was just talk, as Suker had already joined the Croatia National Team back in 2006.
The Italian National Team hadn't shown much interest at the time.
After all, Suker's full explosion dated back to 2007, a year later.
"What have you all been up to recently?" Suker was very curious about the retired lives of these old teammates.
"What else can we do?" Nesta shrugged. "I've taken on some commentary work, sometimes acting as a guest commentator."
Ambrosini: "I've joined Milan's youth academy."
Before Inzaghi could speak, Suker immediately said, "You're chasing girls. I saw you just got a new girlfriend."
Hearing this, everyone around couldn't help but burst into laughter.
Inzaghi also curled his lips.
Suker pressed on, pointing at Inzaghi's sunglasses and saying, "Take them off, we're all old men here, why are you showing off? There's no one here for you to pick up!"
Pirlo immediately chimed in, "It's so dark you can't even see it. It's just for showing off."
Suker and Pirlo went back and forth, one after another, forcing Inzaghi to reluctantly take off his sunglasses.
"You two guys..."
Once known as the 'Milan's Ghostly Scourge,' his power remains undiminished.
"I miss Ivan a bit!" Suker suddenly exclaimed.
Pirlo nodded, "Me too!"
Gattuso didn't attend this gathering, or rather, he didn't make it back to Italy, and at times like this, they always missed him especially.
Everyone laughed even louder, clearly, they were thinking of fun times from the past.
It was indeed a very happy time back then; not only could they win matches, but every day was also very joyful, and smiles always remained on their faces.
It wasn't until Suker left that everything slowly started to change.
Today's Milan no longer shows any trace of its former self.
Taking out an old photo of Milan's main players, among the active ones, besides Suker and Kaka, only Gattuso was still struggling in the lower League.
Ding ding ding!
Maldini tapped his cup with a small spoon, attracting everyone's attention.
Seeing Maldini about to speak, everyone immediately quieted down.
"Today is just an internal gathering. Some of these old friends here haven't seen each other in a long time. It's not easy to come back to Italy and reconnect."
Maldini smiled and raised his cup, "Cheers! To everyone!"
Everyone exchanged glances, laughing loudly as they shouted, "To the boss!"
After a gulp of wine, people began to form small groups to chat.
Suker, Pirlo, and De Rossi, the three active players, gathered together.
"I watched your European qualifiers. What's going on?" Suker asked the two.
Italy, in this European qualifier, barely made it into the play-offs as group runner-up and successfully advanced.
However, the process was a bit difficult.
In the regular League, they were also outshone by Switzerland, which shouldn't be Italy's performance.
In response, Pirlo and De Rossi exchanged glances, sighing helplessly, "Our counter-attack has problems."
"Four wins and four draws, and even the victories were by small margins. There were more draws, so you could say we were just dragging down the game with defense, but once the defense couldn't hold, the frontline became even more useless." De Rossi complained, "That idiot always kicks some inexplicable balls. They're clearly good opportunities, but he always messes them up!"
Suker raised an eyebrow, "Balotelli?"
Pirlo also said indignantly, "Who else but him!"
Suker looked at Pirlo. He knew this guy rarely made enemies. For Pirlo to be so blunt, it meant Balotelli really didn't know how to conduct himself.
"What did he do?"
"He did a lot! Many things were suppressed internally and not released to the public. If those were exposed, that guy would be in trouble!"
De Rossi shook his head, "This is all in preparation for the World Cup, but whenever I think that we'll have to rely on this guy for goals in the World Cup, I feel uneasy."
At this point, he turned to Suker, "If you had chosen the National Team a little later, after obtaining Italian citizenship, it would have been great if you had joined us."
Suker grinned, but didn't respond.
He wouldn't join Italy, nor did he have any such intention.
Italy had many problems, and this was not something Suker alone could decide.
Moreover, compared to Croatia, Italy was larger in scale, with more complex relationships, and people's hearts weren't united, so their strength couldn't be concentrated.
"The reason we invited you guys for this friendly match is to stimulate the frontline, to let them see what world-class offense looks like, especially to make that self-important idiot understand that he's nothing!"
De Rossi's tone was heavy; he clearly genuinely disliked Balotelli.
Suker didn't respond to this, as it was their internal matter, and he didn't want to interfere.
"What are you talking about?"
Totti walked over, holding a wine glass. After retiring, Totti had clearly gained weight.
The once handsome and dashing Wolf King now showed characteristics of a middle-aged man.
Totti sat directly beside Suker, putting an arm around Suker's shoulder, and said with emotion, "Every time I look at this guy, I remember the 2006/2007 season. Shevchenko left, and Milan put you forward to challenge for the top scorer title. I was thinking at the time that Milan had gone crazy, letting a kid challenge me."
Everyone looked at Totti with smiles, as they all knew what happened next.
Totti shook his head and sighed, "But in that season, I scored goals desperately, yet I just couldn't catch up to him, no matter what."
De Rossi chuckled, "At that time, we had an internal rule: to help the boss catch up to Suker, all penalties were given to him, and if the set-piece position was good, that was also given to him. All goal-scoring opportunities were given to the boss. In one season, he got almost double the usual number of penalties, and he still couldn't catch up!"
Pirlo turned his head, "I remember that season, you won the Golden Boot without any penalties, right?"
Suker cleared his throat, "I had three penalties! Don't praise me. That season, I was also annoyed by him chasing me. What kind of person is he! He just wouldn't shake off! Over 20 goals in Serie A would have been enough for the Golden Boot, but I scored 30 that season, and only then did I narrowly win!"
Hahahahahahaha!!!
Everyone couldn't help but burst into laughter.
Looking back now, these were all very interesting things.
"Thinking about it now, those few seasons, although Serie A was somewhat in decline, the offense and counter-attacks were indeed very exciting. Some media even said at the time that the intensity of Serie A matches was comparable to the Premier League," De Rossi said with a smile.
Totti looked at Suker and smiled, "All because of whom?"
Suker shrugged, "Not me!"
He wasn't going to be that kind of overachiever!
"But that's not even your limit. 50 goals in a single season in La Liga..." Totti grinned, "How did you do that?"
Suker waved his hand, "The League circumstances are different. If you play in La Liga and adapt to the tactics, your goal count can also increase significantly. Back then, every forward who came out of Serie A was a great scorer."
"After all, those old defensive foxes, each one of them is dirtier than the last, and the key is they're experienced at being dirty. You can't complain even if you get screwed over!"
De Rossi laughed, "Back then, your Milan defense was the hardest to deal with."
Pirlo, "Juventus was also tough to deal with, but they were relegated back then. In the years Suker was the core, Juventus hadn't recovered yet!"
"Why do I hear someone talking about me?" Maldini walked over, and Suker and the others quickly shut up.
Maldini smiled, then nodded towards Suker, signaling him to come over.
Suker also stood up and walked over.
The two came to a corner. Maldini looked at Suker, "You know about Kaka's situation?"
Suker nodded, "You're bringing him back to Milan, I know."
Maldini nodded, "Do you think I'm doing the right thing?"
Suker, "There's no right or wrong. It all depends on Kaka's thoughts. That guy really wants to come back, and he's indeed having trouble keeping up with the pace at Real Madrid."
"Sigh~~~" Maldini sighed, "Ever since his injury, Kaka's form has indeed declined quite a bit."
"He can't play like he used to; he can't make those runs anymore." Suker shook his head, "But as a defensive midfielder, he's still very good. Going back is also a good option."
Maldini nodded, then looked at Suker and said, "Do you have any thoughts of coming back?"
Suker smiled, but didn't speak.
Maldini also grinned, "Milan can't afford the price!"
It wasn't just a matter of price; Suker's transfer involved too many relationships and interests.
Unless there was a major internal problem, or Suker's form plummeted, it would be almost impossible to achieve.
After all, within Spain, there were many who wanted to keep Suker firmly in La Liga.
The two chatted for a while longer. Suker suddenly asked, "Boss, I have a question for you."
Maldini looked up, "What?"
"What does it feel like to win the World Cup?"
Maldini paused, then shook his head, "I don't know. I never won it either, as I had already retired from the National Team in the year they won. But I felt that atmosphere in the locker room, and it was truly amazing. You should experience it."
Suker looked up and smiled, "I think so too!"