November 6th, La Liga Round 11.
Real Madrid hosted Zaragoza.
Ronaldo, back from a minor injury, came on in the 76th minute and scored the match's only goal, giving Madrid their third straight win.
Thanks to Su Hang's professional team, Ronaldo's minutes had been carefully managed.
Starting him showed respect,
but bringing him off the bench minimized injury risk.
Scarred by injuries, Ronaldo no longer pushed to start.
He just wanted to play a few good games.
At this rate, he wasn't sure how many years he had left.
As for his status in the team—he didn't care.
Past, present, or future, Ronaldo would always be the most dangerous man in the squad.
He'd never be sidelined.
So for now, he had to apologize to Luxemburgo.
Ronaldo's decision became the final blow to the South American clique.
With their leader gone, the clique completely fell apart.
Roberto Carlos's dream of leadership shattered. His spirit was broken.
Baptista lost his starting spot, but Su Hang gave him an important rotation role and even left the door open for starts in certain matches.
Given their good relationship, Baptista came to terms with his new role.
Robinho's minutes were heavily reduced, but his performances and experience only merited a bench role anyway.
If he insisted on being a starter, he'd be miserable.
But if he let it go, he'd still get chances as a sub almost every game.
Both flanks at Real Madrid offered him opportunities.
If he stayed patient for two years, he could become a regular starter on the wing.
It was all up to him.
Still, some media outlets dismissed the 1–0 win as a sign of weakness.
Sport wrote: "Without Ronaldo, Real Madrid would have lost! They're not to be feared!"
Mundo Deportivo went further: "Su Hang has gone five straight games without a goal or assist! The captain may have won the locker room battle, but he's failing on the pitch!"
"A 450-minute drought proves Su Hang has lost his scoring touch!"
"He's invisible out there and doesn't deserve a starting spot! By his own logic, he should be benched for the next game!"
Why were Barcelona-aligned outlets so giddy?
Because... the next match was the season's first El Clásico!
Real Madrid vs Barcelona.
Looking at past clashes, Barça hoped Su Hang would stay benched.
In the last two seasons, Barça and Madrid had met four times in La Liga.
Two wins each, dead even.
But in both games Barça won, Su Hang didn't play.
In both games Madrid won, Su Hang played—and dominated.
It's no exaggeration to say Su Hang had beaten Barça twice almost singlehandedly.
So don't be fooled by their hype about his "goal drought."
If Barça could bench one Madrid player, every fan, every player, the entire club would pick Su Hang without hesitation.
...
November 9th, France Football announced the first ten names from the 50-man Ballon d'Or shortlist.
The rest would be revealed over the next five days.
From those 50, voters would choose five players.
1st choice: 6 points.
2nd choice: 4 points.
3rd choice: 3 points.
4th choice: 2 points.
5th choice: 1 point.
Total points decided the ranking.
Ties were broken by number of first-choice votes, then second-choice votes, and so on.
On his day off, Su Hang invited all his teammates to his house for dinner.
Afterward, some went home, while others grouped up and hit nightclubs.
Zidane, Raúl, Figo, and Beckham stayed until the end.
The talk turned to Su Hang's training reforms. Everyone praised his system, calling it highly scientific.
Su Hang shook his head: "Of course you think that—you're the ones benefiting."
In truth, a possession-based model has big flaws.
It relies heavily on chemistry and passing ability.
Older players generally pass well.
And their chemistry is unmatched.
So any team using this as the basis for selection would inevitably see veterans dominate.
It wasn't necessarily the best players being picked—it was just the oldest.
Likewise, if the model was based on speed and physicality, the lineup would lean young.
Because youth brings pace, strength, and hunger.
There's no absolute good or bad.
Teams need fighters who can run, dribble, and drive forward.
But they also need veterans who can control the game.
It's not black and white—it's about balance.
Different teams need different mixes.
Take Barcelona, for example.
Right now, they need more youth. Their young talents are obvious, while their veterans are clearly declining.
If they used Su Hang's method, the youngsters would never rise, and the old guard would cling to the starting spots.
Their results would inevitably suffer.
That's exactly what happened to Barça in the past two or three seasons.
But Real Madrid is different.
Their veterans are still at their peak.
Their new signings may have talent, but none look like the next Messi or Iniesta.
So Madrid needed to lean on experience.
This training plan just amplified veterans' strengths and exposed youngsters' weaknesses.
The real brilliance lay not in the plan itself, but in the clear judgment of the team's situation.
In the following days, Madrid studied Barcelona in detail.
The coming El Clásico would be at Camp Nou.
And Madrid hadn't won there in a long time.
Their last two wins over Barça both came at the Bernabéu.
...
(35 Chapters Ahead)
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