Chapter 98 Conquering Europe Begins with Conquering the Land of Ice and Snow

Bielsa stared, and in the last two or three minutes of the game, he just looked at Li Ang blankly.

It wasn't until the referee blew the whistle to end the game that Mourinho, who had regained his composure, walked quickly to him.

“Marcelo”

"Jose, you've got a great guy and he's really good."

When Bielsa came back to his senses, he looked at Mourinho in front of him, held the hand that the other party extended, and praised Li Ang with two "excellent" words in a row.

In this game, Athletic Bilbao cannot be said to have lost to Li Ang at the last moment.

But there is no doubt that without Li Ang gritting his teeth and forcing the ball forward at the last moment, Real Madrid would not have had the chance to win.

What makes Bielsa even more emotional is the "stubbornness" in Li Ang that will never give up trying until the last moment.

He likes players like this, very much.

But it is a pity that with the advancement and improvement of modern football tactics, fewer and fewer young players have such character qualities.

"You will have a good season, Jose, enjoy it, but I can't congratulate you now. Let's have a good drink after the second round of the Copa del Rey."

Bielsa and Mourinho joked after hugging each other.

Mourinho, who was in a good mood now, also responded with a smile.

On the court, Li Ang, who had once again celebrated with his teammates, was caught by Martinez who was waiting aside.

"Can I exchange jerseys?"

Javi Martinez pointed to the jersey on Li Ang. This would no longer be his opponent on the court. His tone was very kind and enthusiastic.

Li Ang also readily took off his clothes, hugged Martinez and exchanged jerseys.

"You played great, Li Ang. See you in the next game. I will wait for you at the San Mames Stadium."

"Okay, see you in the next game."

After shaking hands, the two quickly separated.

Li Ang's eyes were full of joy after victory and confidence in winning again in the next game.

In Martinez's eyes, there was a hint of pity and regret.

He knows very well that after Athletic Bilbao rejected Real Madrid's trade request this time, it will be difficult for him to have another chance to transfer to Real Madrid.

Before the fight with Li Ang, he actually didn't have much thought about it.

If he can't go to a super-rich club in his country like Real Madrid and Barcelona, ​​he still has the opportunity to go to several other major league giants.

But after seeing with his own eyes the performance of Li Ang's desperate assist just now, Martinez really felt a trace of regret in his heart.

What would it be like if he could form a new midfield combination with Alonso and Li Ang?

Can his partnership with Li Ang become the most successful defensive combination in La Liga history?

At this stage, Martinez is obviously qualified to make these assumptions.

It's a pity that he doesn't know the answers to these hypotheticals, and perhaps he won't be able to know them for the rest of his career.

※※※

It’s another morning when the Real Madrid news is massacred.

Early in the morning on January 23, various sports newspapers and periodicals published news about Real Madrid's 2-1 victory over Athletic Bilbao as their cover.

Since the end of the thrilling game last night, the entire Spanish football world has become more and more heated about Real Madrid.

After the fermentation, with "Marca" and "AS" as the main force, the Western media were full of praise for the tenacity shown by Real Madrid in the game.

As the absolute protagonist in the final moments of last night's game, Li Ang once again appeared on the pages of sports newspapers across Spain.

This time, it wasn’t his handsome face and sunny temperament that attracted media reporters’ attention.

It's about his outstanding performance on the court.

His embarrassed but stubborn figure on the page, gritting his teeth and moving forward, can really touch the hearts of fans.

For Real Madrid fans, Li Ang is their big treasure.

However, Li Ang, who will be the center of public opinion discussion among fans, is not in a good mood.

He was receiving physical therapy massage in the training base.

He was joined by a group of Real Madrid stars.

Mourinho and Karanka will have a real headache after receiving the latest physical examination reports of all players in the Real Madrid first team.

It's okay to say that the other stars have rotated properly before, and they were still able to play in the second round of the Copa del Rey against Athletic Bilbao.

But they never expected that Li Ang would become the one most prone to injuries in the eyes of the team doctor.

Looking at the dark red warning word under Li Ang's physical fitness assessment, Mourinho could only make a decision to exclude Li Ang from the starting lineup for the next round of the King's Cup.

Li Ang was also helpless at this moment.

The intensive schedule after La Liga's short winter break has made him suffer.

The physical recovery potion only takes ten days to be recharged, and he has been playing two-line matches continuously.

With the intensity of the last game, he had to fight Martinez to help Ronaldo, and resist the counterattack of Athletic Bilbao players in the future.

Plus the full fight in the last twenty minutes of the second half.

No matter how good his physical fitness is, he really can't stand it even if he turns to this job.

Although the intermediate physical potion in the system will become usable again in two days, if he insists, he can still catch up with the game.

However, the team doctor had already given a red light to his physical fitness. He did not want to attract attention because of his sudden accelerated recovery of physical fitness two days later.

It's a Copa del Rey match. Without him, Real Madrid will advance to the next round as long as they don't get beaten badly by Bilbao in the second round, even though they have a big advantage in the first round.

So, just take a good rest this time.

Li Ang thought that he had been a beast for half a season, and it was time to enjoy himself.

On January 24, at the pre-match press conference, Real Madrid released the list of players for the Copa del Rey.

Mourinho also announced that Li Ang needed to rest for a round.

This news made the reporters at the scene curious and asked.

Looking at their posture, it seemed that they were eager to hear the news that Li Ang was injured from Mourinho.

And when Real Madrid fans saw the follow-up reports, they became nervous instantly, fearing that Li Ang was really injured.

Many fans immediately left messages on the official website to inquire. As the number of people came up, Real Madrid officials had to quickly clarify the rumors.

Li Ang received a call from Mendes not long after, and cooperated to shoot a video of himself and Nacho doing recovery training in the base.

As soon as this video was posted on his personal social media, Real Madrid fans were truly relieved.

The next day, the second leg of the King's Cup between Real Madrid and Athletic Bilbao started on time at 9 pm.

The intensity of this game was incomparable to the league make-up match between the two teams.

After all, while the Real Madrid players were physically exhausted, the Athletic Bilbao players were not much better either.

The physical condition of both sides can only be said to be average, and the offensive and defensive rhythm naturally cannot be pulled up.

Bielsa has done his best in tactical arrangements.

In the second half, the formation of three forwards was changed to rush for a while, and Real Madrid almost led again.

Fortunately, Mourinho made substitutions in time. Essien replaced Khedira in the 62nd minute of the second half, and Real Madrid immediately stabilized.

In the last 20 minutes, both teams were a little unable to rush, and Mourinho simply replaced Ronaldo and Benzema to rest, and strengthened the defense by the way.

In the end, the two teams shook hands and made peace at San Mamés Stadium with a 0-0 draw.

Real Madrid also successfully advanced to the semi-finals of this season's King's Cup with a perfect score of 3-0 in the first leg.

So far, three teams have been determined in the final four of the King's Cup.

Real Madrid, Espanyol in the same half of the zone as Real Madrid, and Barcelona in the other half.

Barcelona's semi-final opponents will be decided between Valencia and Levante.

The two semi-finals of the King's Cup will also start on January 31 and February 1.

This schedule is really a hell.

Li Ang has never figured it out. The King's Cup final will be held in April and May. Why is it so urgent to finish the semi-finals in early February?

Looking at the La Liga schedule during this period, it is actually okay, but with a few games in the King's Cup, teams without a deep bench will really be exhausted at this stage.

Real Madrid now has the thickest bench in La Liga, and decisively used rotation before the King's Cup semi-finals.

After a few days of rest, Li Ang also recovered. Without using the physical recovery potion, he and his teammates from "Team B" embarked on the league journey.

On the evening of January 28, Real Madrid played against Zaragoza in the 21st round of the league at home.

Playing against the relegation team, the players in the Real Madrid rotation lineup were ready to fight hard.

Throughout the first half, Real Madrid was suppressing Zaragoza. Morata's finishing efficiency was a little low, but Callejon was not soft.

In the 36th minute of the first half, Callejon received the forward pass from Brother Lian and broke into the penalty area of ​​Zaragoza, and then successfully broke the deadlock with a crisp far-angle push.

Brother Lian usually has a general effect against strong teams, but against relegation teams, his forward threat is very large.

After this goal, Real Madrid was not panicked at all.

First, they defended the first half of the game, then at the beginning of the second half, they hooked out Zaragoza's midfield army, and then used a sharp side counterattack to expand the lead again.

Li Ang's straight pass after dribbling forward almost fed the cake to Morata's throat. Fortunately, Morata played well this time and did not disappoint Li Ang's multiple passes to him throughout the game.

After a 2-0 league victory, the main players of Real Madrid, who had rested well, set off for the away game to prepare for the first leg of the Copa del Rey semi-final with Espanyol.

But this game was not actually paid attention to by the media.

Everyone knows that Real Madrid and Barcelona will meet in this year's Copa del Rey final.

So compared to the two Copa del Rey games in this round, where there is no suspense about the results, the Spanish media are more concerned about the upcoming Champions League knockout rounds.

Real Madrid's road to conquering Europe is about to start from the ice and snow in Moscow.

I was really defeated by the Internet on the highway today.

I took the manuscript to the car early in the morning to pick up my brother who had an injured foot.

I was thinking about typing on my phone on the highway, but the internet taught me a lesson.

I lost the manuscript because of no internet when I was halfway through typing! It was over a thousand words!

I was vomiting blood.

I am still shaking in the car now, I will post it first, I won’t type anymore, I don’t want to type on the highway anymore, damn!