Cristiano Ronaldo's triumph in the 2013 Ballon d'Or made him the most prominent public figure in football.
His hard work earned him absolute honor, which was also a form of recognition.
Manchester United fans also sent their blessings to their 'Little Ronaldo'.
The only regret they had was that Cristiano Ronaldo did not win this honor while at Manchester United.
If he had won the Ballon d'Or at Manchester United, it would have been the greatest achievement.
But they also understood the current predicament Manchester United faced; since Sir Alex Ferguson's retirement, Manchester United's competitiveness had indeed declined significantly.
Despite having Modrić supporting the midfield, one Modrić could not carry the entire team, and they needed more excellent players.
For this reason, they set their sights on Real Madrid, hoping to bring in the Argentine star Di Maria.
This transfer plan was brought up and discussed during the winter transfer window.
The entire process went surprisingly smoothly.
Perhaps Di Maria also had the idea of leaving, and Real Madrid was willing to sell if someone offered enough money.
Real Madrid indeed would not spend too much effort on Di Maria, as from Real Madrid's starting lineup perspective, Di Maria's presence was not that indispensable.
Therefore, following Srna and Kaka, Di Maria's transfer plan was also finalized.
After this season ends, and after the 2014 World Cup, these three players will transfer to other teams.
Of course, their departure will inevitably cause some issues with Real Madrid's squad, which will require Real Madrid to continue strengthening.
For this reason, during the summer transfer window and the World Cup, many people predicted that Real Madrid would spend heavily on acquisitions in this summer window.
In the villa's yard, Suker stretched.
Today, he didn't go for his morning run; instead, after breakfast, he sat alone in the yard for a while.
Although the weather was a bit cool, it didn't feel cold.
After sitting for a while, basking in the sun, his body felt warm and cozy.
When Suker walked into the house, a gentle warmth enveloped him.
Thanks to the wood heating system, Suker's home always maintained this comfortable temperature.
Compared to other Spaniards who were already accustomed to such temperatures, Suker was a player from Eastern Europe, and they were naturally somewhat afraid of the cold.
If it can be warm, it must not be cold!
It's not that people from cold regions are particularly resistant to freezing; on the contrary, they often fear the cold even more.
"Aren't you supposed to go to training camp?"
Suker watched Sukic lying barefoot on the floor, holding a tablet and scrolling through videos, and he couldn't help but find it increasingly irritating.
Sukic didn't even lift his head, just wiggled his feet: "It's a holiday today. I'm playing on the computer all day, and I've even arranged to play games this afternoon."
Suker: "Not going to train?"
Sukic: "I've already practiced. I understood all the tactics the coach taught me at a glance."
Suker didn't say anything more.
He admitted that Sukic's talent was excellent, even much better than his own.
Especially his sensitivity to tactics and his cleverness, it was almost as if he inherited it from himself.
Perhaps because he relied on his talent, he didn't train very hard.
However, Suker also didn't mind; this guy was lucky, and it wouldn't matter if he didn't make it as a player.
Suker still had the same thoughts as before.
He held a glimmer of hope, but the hope wasn't particularly strong.
If he could make it, he would naturally be happy for him.
But if he couldn't, it wouldn't matter.
After packing his bags, Suker was ready to leave.
The little guy resting didn't mean he could rest too.
After entering the second half of the season, the training load wasn't heavy, but the adjustment time was limited, so every second counted.
In the second half of the season, Real Madrid was still fighting on three fronts: the League, the Champions League, and the Copa del Rey!
In the League, Real Madrid had already played two rounds before the Ballon d'Or ceremony.
They were the 18th round, Real Madrid 3:0 Celta.
And the 19th round, Espanyol 1:4 Real Madrid.
Having secured two consecutive victories, Real Madrid continued to maintain an extremely high competitive state.
As for the Champions League, the first leg of the round of 16 knockout stage would begin on February 18th.
Real Madrid's match was on February 26th, and they would face Arsenal!
Arsenal was truly miserable; they really did face Real Madrid and Barcelona in the round of sixteen every year and were repeatedly ravaged.
The Gunners of today no longer had their former glory.
Under immense pressure, the professor also looked a few years older; even though he had made many compromises, even fielding a defensive counter-attacking lineup in a certain Premier League match.
But still, they couldn't secure a victory!
Because of this, the Gunners fans' emotions were also very intense, and Wenger's pressure, naturally, could be imagined.
And at this critical juncture, they were again facing Real Madrid; the pressure was truly immense.
Wenger probably had no solutions left for the Champions League now; the gap was simply too wide.
He and Arsenal had come infinitely close to this trophy but had missed out, failing to win the award.
Since then, Arsenal began a bit of a decline.
Especially after the 'Four Gentlemen', Arsenal found it very difficult to unearth excellent talented players again; Wenger, who once had a keen eye for talent, was now referred to as 'Wenger's Near Misses' by the media.
As for the Copa del Rey, Real Madrid didn't pay much attention to it.
Or rather, Real Madrid wouldn't pay special attention to this competition until they reached the Copa del Rey semifinals.
However, this time, Atletico Madrid appeared extremely strong in the Copa del Rey.
Of course, not just in the Copa del Rey, they also played exceptionally well in the Champions League.
In fact, compared to their domestic La Liga matches, Atletico Madrid, when playing at the European level, was like a pack of wolves, baring their teeth, showing their chilling fangs, waiting to tear at the throats of their prey.
Atletico Madrid also showed that they were not a weak team; it was just that within La Liga, they were constantly suppressed by Real Madrid and Barcelona, which created that impression.
And after six group stage matches, Atletico Madrid had 5 wins and 1 draw, with no losses, becoming another La Liga team to be feared in Europe, after Real Madrid and Barcelona.
Their Head Coach, Simeone, known as the 'Bandit Coach', also became an instant sensation.
His rugged appearance and passionate celebrations perfectly matched the team's overall tone.
Marca commented.
"What kind of person trains what kind of team! Simeone's team was meant to be wild, and he tamed that wildness, making it Atletico Madrid's sharpest fangs!"
It was rare for Marca to give such a positive evaluation of Atletico Madrid.
After all, they were Real Madrid's mouthpiece, and Atletico Madrid was Real Madrid's city rival, so they wouldn't give many positive reviews.
But this time, Atletico Madrid earned a positive review with their excellent performance.
Of course, Atletico Madrid also had some problems.
For example, 'Suker-phobia'.
Not just Atletico Madrid, in fact, the entire La Liga, including Barcelona, had some of this problem.
Since Suker joined Real Madrid, this guy had practically swept across the entire La Liga, giving countless teams psychological trauma.
No matter how you set up tactics, or how you tried to target him, you just couldn't limit him, couldn't stop Suker from scoring; this was the reason for the formation of psychological trauma.
Nowadays, when Suker faced La Liga teams, he almost had a Buff on him, which made it much easier for Real Madrid to play against these La Liga teams.
Especially Atletico Madrid, a tiger outside, but only able to lie down in La Liga; Suker truly beat them up!
Of course, there was also a team that threatened Real Madrid, and that was the Southern King, Bayern Munich.
As the face of the Bundesliga, and also a super giant club.
Bayern Munich's operating model was different from most European teams; their investment wasn't much, but they always managed to 'suck blood' internally to form a formidable fighting force.
Their Champions League final last season was also directly against Borussia Dortmund; Borussia Dortmund ended Bayern's dominance in the League, but they still couldn't directly contend in the Champions League.
In fact, under this disparity, two of Borussia Dortmund's formidable players, Robert Lewandowski and Götze, both changed clubs, begging to join Bayern Munich, hoping to win another Champions League.
Now, with Bayern Munich retaining their original squad and also strengthening significantly, they were indeed the most difficult opponent to deal with this season.
However, for Real Madrid, they still really wanted to face Bayern Munich again, and the reason was simple: revenge!
"Among the top ten Ballon d'Or candidates, Bayern Munich accounted for almost half the spots; it's going to be tough playing against them this season!"
Benzema couldn't help but exclaim.
His performance last season was also very good, but he didn't make it into the top ten for the Ballon d'Or.
Nor was he honored with a spot in the Best XI!
There was nothing he could do. In an era where Suker, Messi, and Cristiano Ronaldo were active, it was incredibly difficult for any forward to secure a spot in the Best XI.
"It doesn't matter. They won so many honors last season; it's not surprising they had many spots. When we won the Champions League back-to-back, didn't you also make it into the top ten?" Srna said.
He didn't have a Ballon d'Or, but he didn't care much about those things.
Compared to most defenders, he truly achieved a near-ceiling level.
He won quite a few Champions League titles, which others only dream of.
He is even the only player to have won three consecutive Champions League titles.
Srna himself was incredibly strong, and it also highlighted the importance of choice.
However, the current Srna truly had no fighting spirit left.
His honors had basically reached their peak; it was hard to go any further.
For this reason, he focused more on the World Cup, which was his current goal.
Otherwise, he would have long since returned to Croatia, to his wife and children in their warm home!
"Guys, today's training ends here. Tomorrow morning, we will travel to Sevilla for match preparations. Go home and get some good rest today."
Ancelotti finished speaking simply and immediately announced dismissal.
Tomorrow's match will see Real Madrid face Real Betis away from home.
Currently, Real Betis is at the bottom of the La Liga standings, with a terrible performance throughout the season.
However, this team is also one of the nine La Liga champion teams, and historically, they should not be underestimated.
Moreover, Real Betis is known for its ambition. In 1998, they invited Brazilian international Denilson to join the team for a world-record transfer fee, but his performance didn't meet expectations, causing Real Betis to spend a lot of money in vain.
Despite this lesson, Real Betis still didn't learn.
They always hold back their energy, and then drop a big bomb in the transfer market!
Of course, in today's commercialized market, Real Betis's limited funds cannot make any waves at all.
Even if they saved for several years, they couldn't accumulate enough to buy a 'winter window king,' let alone a 'summer window king.'
In this era of prevalent capital, this has a huge impact on small and medium-sized teams.
Their funds are limited and haven't grown much.
But looking around, transfer market prices are soaring, and with the little money they have, they can't even compete.
What to do?
They can only cultivate young players. If they succeed, it's a gamble that paid off; if not, they continue to cultivate.
And when they do cultivate them, the young players have ambition and want a bigger stage.
They also desperately need money!
The end result is that wealthy teams wave their checks and directly buy their finished products.
This has made the vast majority of lower-to-mid-tier teams targets for these wealthy teams, gradually becoming a 'military factory' or even a 'contract factory.'
This is also the reason why the European Football Association issued the "Financial Fair Play" regulations.
This regulation, to put it plainly, is not to shackle wealthy teams and capital, but to give these lower-to-mid-tier teams a sliver of space to survive.
Otherwise, these teams would all go bankrupt one after another.
At that point, football would either be a 'manipulated game' for capital, or it would cease to exist.
And Real Betis is facing this situation: all the players who could be sold have been sold, even the core players have left.
They can only promote a batch of new players to compete in the League, but the effect is very poor, and the overall performance is even worse, causing the team to constantly hit walls in La Liga.
As for the money they received, it was all used to pay salaries, daily maintenance, and other expenses. In the end, they had no money left, let alone enough to buy any useful players.
They don't even dare to look at the prices in the transfer market now; it just makes them lose all hope.
In this situation, the club as a whole appears extremely sluggish, and the situation is dire.
Of course, other lower-to-mid-tier teams aren't doing much better, but they can barely hold on. If an unexpected situation arises one day, they will also have to sell players. This is why, after capital entered, the entire football market was damaged, leading to a fundamental decline in competitiveness!
The football world of the past was a blossoming of a hundred flowers!
Super Depor, the Porto miracle, and so on, were not far from the fans' memories.
But in this era, miracles have become even more remote, and those lower-to-mid-tier players are practically dead. Hoping for them to perform miracles truly relies on immense luck.
For example, the future Leicester City miracle!
They acquired key players like Vardy, Mahrez, and Kante all at once.
At the same time, it also had to coincide with the Premier League's BIG6 being in a slump, which led to the miracle.
But like in the past, a common team, single-handedly disrupting the Champions League, pulling powerhouses off their thrones, and nailing them to the pillar of shame, is almost non-existent now.
Football is not a sport where the strong always stay strong and the weak always stay weak!
But... modern football is already developing in this direction.
The next day, Real Madrid flew to Sevilla.
In the 20th round of the 2013/2014 La Liga season, Real Betis hosted Real Madrid at home.
Real Betis, facing Real Madrid in such a predicament, was under immense pressure.
But they had no choice but to push through!
Suker looked at the Real Betis players; some were very young, and some were very old.
This was a typical lineup system combining old and young.
However, the age span was too wide.
Moreover, Suker had watched their games, and honestly, it was hard to describe.
Ajax also changes players every year, but they have a massive youth academy to support them; they don't lack talent.
They even change players every year and still play in European competitions every year.
Of course, Ajax is also a traditional powerhouse, though they have declined now. Looking at these teams, both promote new players; Ajax is thriving, while Real Betis is like a stagnant pool.
Comparing them like this, Ajax's value becomes apparent!
In this match, Suker started, which was also Ancelotti's arrangement.
He wanted a quick victory, and the second half of the season was precisely the time for Suker to exert himself.
After entering the second half of the season, Ancelotti no longer let Suker rest but instead let him go full throttle.
On one hand, it was to adjust his form, and on the other, it was to improve the team's adaptability.
In rounds 18 and 19, Suker scored five goals in two matches.
His entire burst of performance was incredibly hot, and he even started a comeback trend in the La Liga top scorer list.
Suker was originally four goals behind Messi, but after these two matches, Suker had closed a lot of the gap, and now there was only a two-goal difference.
This was also a signal from Suker: he was going to challenge for the La Liga Golden Boot this season as well.
Of course, he wouldn't let go of other honors either!
A clean sweep! He wanted a clean sweep!
The frustration from last season was completely unleashed this season!
Thinking about these issues, Suker didn't hesitate at all. Less than 5 minutes after the start, he scored from Real Madrid's first corner kick attempt.
In the terrified eyes of the young, fresh-faced center-back at Real Betis, Suker, with a powerful header, like Mount Tai pressing down, slammed a goal into the net over his head.
It was an undeniable, violent header, the kind that couldn't be stopped even by pulling.
At this moment, Suker perfectly demonstrated violent aesthetics.
The ball, like a cannonball, smashed into the goal, and the entire stadium, along with the goal, suddenly fell silent.
The Real Betis fans looked bewildered.
They knew they couldn't beat Real Madrid, but wasn't this goal too easy?
Their first offensive attempt resulted in a corner kick!
Their first corner kick resulted in a goal!
Looking at the figure celebrating wildly in their own stadium, the Real Betis fans looked dejected.
Losing this goal was frustrating!
Playing this match was even more frustrating!
However, they were also very helpless.
They were still doing relatively well. Look at 'Super Depor,' once popular, performing excellently in the Champions League and League, even once suppressing Real Madrid and Barcelona.
But now?
Can you still see them in La Liga? They've already been relegated!
For them, avoiding relegation was already the best outcome.
But looking at the current situation, it seems even avoiding relegation won't be successful!