Chapter 75: Spain's Messi
Bosque had previously coached Real Madrid, so he was acquainted with the club's president.
Once the game began, Bosque didn't sit in the coaching area but instead sat in the stands catching up with Florentino.
"Morata's speed is impressive; if utilized well, he could be a sharp weapon. However, his technical skills are not exceptional, and his physical condition is not robust enough to carry the team," Bosque remarked.
Both Bosque and Florentino were more concerned about the players' performances on the field than the game's outcome.
Morata was a substitute within Real Madrid but was entirely overshadowed by Benzema in competition. Unless Benzema was injured and there were no other options upfront, Morata hardly got any playing time.
Bosque recruiting Morata into the national team puzzled Florentino.
As the club president, he knew the strength of his own players very well.
It seemed the rumors were true; the national team was truly desperate.
How dire was Spain's national team's shortage of forwards?
Among the seven forwards Bosque recruited, apart from young talents like Lin Quan and Morata, there was even the 35-year-old Raul.
This marked Raul's return to the national team after six years.
After the 2010 World Cup, Raul had thought he had no chance of being called up to the national team.
So, this season, at the age of 35, he left the Bundesliga and went to the Middle East League to seek new opportunities.
Unexpectedly, shortly after his move to the Qatar league, he received a call-up to the national team.
Was the Qatar league more prestigious than the Bundesliga?
Spain was a world and European champion, yet they were fielding a 35-year-old player who had departed from the top five leagues and was on the brink of retirement. Wouldn't this invite ridicule?
Upon hearing Florentino's words, Bosque nodded with a smile.
Recruiting Morata and Raul was not about their individual skills but merely to provide cover for Lin Quan.
Both Morata and Lin Quan were young players, one from Real Madrid and the other from Barcelona. Recruiting one from each side would avoid any controversies.
Although Raul's combat effectiveness had declined significantly, his experience remained, and Bosque knew his disciple's excellent character.
Recruiting Raul into the team was to have him lead and mentor these young players, imparting his experience to them and helping them grow quickly.
Despite Real Madrid Castilla's strength, the gap between them and the Spanish national team was evident.
Even though the national team fielded mostly substitutes, with forwards like Lin Quan and Morata being newcomers, they received numerous opportunities upfront due to the national team's powerful midfield.
Before halftime, the Spanish national team was already leading 4-0.
In the second half, there were extensive substitutions by the national team, with only Lin Quan remaining upfront while most of the midfield and defense were replaced by starters.
Xavi, Iniesta, Busquets, Ramos, Pedro, Silva, and others came on.
With the further strengthening of the national team's midfield, their formation and style of play increasingly resembled that of Barcelona.
Seeing the head coach once again adopting Barcelona's tactical approach, the Real Madrid players within the national team felt a bit displeased.
They had tried this tactical approach before, and it didn't yield good results.
The strength of Spain's national team midfield was on par with, if not stronger than, Barcelona's. However, lacking a focal point upfront like Messi in Barcelona meant that this style of play didn't quite fit the national team.
Seeing the coach only assigning a 16-year-old newcomer upfront, these players became even more puzzled.
Did Bosque expect him to replace Messi and spearhead the national team's attacking system?
Not only the Real Madrid players but also the Barcelona players felt somewhat perplexed.
As Messi's teammates, they knew firsthand how great Messi was.
Many people claimed Messi was a product of the system, but many didn't realize that Messi was the system.
Only with Messi on the team could Barcelona play their style of football. Without Messi, they couldn't achieve the same results, just like the Spanish national team.
Letting a newcomer replace Messi, wasn't this too radical?
"Can this kid handle it?"
Busquets approached Xavi and Iniesta, asking them.
"I don't know, but his playing style is quite similar to Leo's!" remarked Iniesta.
Iniesta didn't pay much attention to Lin Quan, but he vaguely remembered watching videos of his games before and felt that his style seemed quite similar to Messi's.
"Well, I can vouch for that. I've watched his highlights from the Bundesliga this season. Despite his young age, his skills are truly remarkable!" added Xavi.
Xavi showed more interest in Lin Quan, as he was once considered his heir apparent.
Although he didn't watch every game like Messi's, he occasionally watched highlights from some Werder Bremen matches, many of which featured Lin Quan's impressive moments.
"Alright, then shall we stick to the club's playing style?" Busquets shrugged, reluctantly accepting their views.
After all, it was just a friendly match, they were leading by a large margin, and there was no psychological burden. If the head coach wanted to experiment, they could let him.
"Okay, let's pass the ball to him more and support him!" exclaimed Iniesta, eager to start cooperating with Lin Quan.
He had collaborated with Messi a lot, but he had never played alongside another 'Messi,' so he was very excited.
The second half of the match began quickly.
After the national team's first-choice midfielders came on, the players from Real Madrid Castilla could hardly get the ball in midfield.
Barcelona's possession-based system was already formidable, and with the addition of Spain's national team's luxurious midfield lineup, it would be challenging for even the first-team players from Real Madrid to win the ball.
As a result, the game turned into a half-field attack and defense drill for the national team around the goal of Real Madrid Castilla!
Lin Quan didn't expect Bosque to assign him such a role, let alone have the world's most luxurious midfielders sending him bullets.
This allowed him to enjoy even more comfortable treatment than Messi in the Barcelona team. So this was what Messi's days at Barcelona were like!
How envious!
Having only enjoyed half of the top treatment, Lin Quan did not disappoint the masterminds behind him.
In the second half, he single-handedly took 11 shots, 9 of which were on target, scoring five goals within the frame.
This result pleasantly surprised Bosque on the sidelines; he hadn't misjudged the kid after all. Indeed, this lad possessed the potential of a top-class forward.
Florentino, the president of Real Madrid, was left dumbfounded:
What kind of incredible luck did Barcelona have to unearth such a player? Just the thought of Barcelona having both Lin Quan and Messi made Florentino's head spin; he nearly fainted.
If it was already challenging to deal with one Messi, what would happen if there were two? How would Real Madrid cope?
No, they absolutely couldn't let him stay at Barcelona; they had to figure out a way to lure him over like they did with Figo!
...
After the match, the national team players' attitude towards Lin Quan completely changed.
"Well done, young man, you're very talented!" Puyol enthusiastically hugged Lin Quan, thinking he had come to experience the atmosphere of the national team, but he didn't expect him to possess such talent.
With this talent, he could easily secure a place as a substitute or rotation player, if not a starter.
"Heh, it's all thanks to the excellent passes from the elder brothers. With our midfield lineup, looking at the entire football world, it's probably unique. Even without me upfront, we can still dominate the field!" Lin Quan replied modestly.
This statement pleased the midfielders, with Fabregas chiming in, "Midfielders' shooting accuracy is not as precise as forwards', you know. In our last game against Georgia, we had dozens of shots but only scored one goal."
Busquets added, "And that goal was scored by a defender!"
David Silva, who had previously played as a forward in that game, felt a bit embarrassed, "Our opponents were parking the bus, and our shooting accuracy wasn't that good, nor were our timing of shots... "
Xavi interjected, "We encountered intense defenses at Barcelona as well, but Messi always found a way to score. Lin Quan's playing style is quite similar to Messi's. If anyone dares to use such tactics against us in the future, they will suffer!"
Iniesta, who had watched Lin Quan's game highlights, felt that Lin Quan seemed to have held back during the match and asked curiously, "Lin, did you use all your strength in the game just now?"
This question immediately attracted everyone's attention:
This guy didn't use his full strength just now? Then how strong is he really?
(End of this chapter)
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