Chapter 86: Real Madrid Starts Moving!
On the sidelines, both Bosque and Tony were prepared to celebrate when Lin Quan made a pass, just like the fans at the stadium.
But Pedro missed the chance!
They clutched their heads in frustration.
Then the ball came to Fabregas.
They put their hands down from their heads again, preparing to celebrate once more.
Then Fabregas's shot was blocked again...
They felt like they were being toyed with, each one of them getting angry!
"These guys, what are they doing?"
"They can't score even with such good opportunities? This is outrageous!"
"Yeah, it's outrageous! If Lin Quan were here, he would have definitely scored!"
Tony nodded repeatedly like a pecking chicken, feeling speechless about the unreliable shooting skills of his team's forwards.
While the Spaniards felt frustrated, the French fans felt like their hearts were about to jump out!
The opponent kept shooting, and each chance was so good that if it weren't for the superhuman performance of the goalkeeper, they would have surely conceded by now.
Being one goal down, they still had hope of equalizing, but being two goals down...
With Spain's solid defensive ability, they were basically doomed!
France's goalkeeper, Lloris, who made continuous brilliant saves, stood up dissatisfied and shouted angrily at his teammates:
"Stay focused, stop daydreaming, mark your defensive targets properly, and don't leave any gaps!"
His performance just now was indeed brilliant, but if faced with the same situation again, Lloris wasn't sure he could save the opponent's shots twice in a row.
Moreover, the player shooting this time wasn't the most threatening one.
If it had been the opponent's number 30, Lloris felt like he would have had to retrieve the ball from the net for the third time.
Although Lloris reminded his teammates, the French team's defense did not improve because of his reminder.
After the restart, the Spanish team launched wave after wave of attacks, continuing to besiege the French team.
As a result, the French goalkeeper, Lloris, became the busiest player on the field during this period.
He made high catches and saves on the goal line, repeatedly denying six or seven threatening shots from Spain within the frame of the goal.
If it weren't for his outstanding performance, the French team would have been beaten by Spain long ago.
The French team's defense deserved credit for giving the opponent so many chances.
In the final stages of the match, the French team strengthened their defense and finally didn't concede any more goals.
But their counterattacks were also ineffective, with several attempts ending without success.
Neither side could change the score, and ultimately, after ninety minutes of fierce battle, Spain won against France with a score of 2:1 at their home stadium.
Spain currently has three wins, 9 points, and a goal difference of 8, leading the group.
After defeating their biggest rivals in the group, France, the situation for the Spanish national team's advancement is very promising.
In the same group, France, with two wins and one loss, has 6 points, temporarily ranking second.
Georgia, with one win, one draw, and two losses, has 4 points, temporarily ranking third, having played one more match than Spain and France.
Similarly, Belarus, with one win and three losses, has 3 points, ranking fourth, having played one more match than Spain and France.
Finland, with one draw and two losses, has 1 point, ranking last.
Spain's next match will be held on March 22 next year against Finland, currently ranked last in Group I.
After winning, under the leadership of captain Casillas, the players ran to the sidelines, thanking the fans who supported them by circling the field.
Spanish fans are happy. Their team has been sitting on top of the world since 2008.
In the past four years, they have not only won the European Championship twice but also won the World Cup once.
Such achievements are rare in the history of football.
At the league level, La Liga has been catching up with the Premier League in terms of influence, attendance, and overseas market development since 2010.
With the strongest Messi and Ronaldo in today's football, La Liga is undoubtedly the most eye-catching league.
However, none of these is what makes Spanish fans happiest. What makes Spanish fans suffocate with happiness is that they now have a newly emerged superstar—Lin Quan!
Lin Quan is so young, and La Liga is thriving, providing a steady stream of excellent talents for the national team.
This makes them full of expectations for future matches!
At the post-match press conference, nine out of ten questions were about Lin Quan.
"Yes, it was me who insisted on recruiting Lin Quan into the national team!"
Facing the questions from the reporters, Bosque talked proudly, boasting about his keen eye for talent.
"Players like him, ordinary coaches might not dare to use them."
"But after watching his game tapes, I knew he was the kind of player my team needed the most!"
"So, I ignored the external pressure, ignored his age, and recruited him. As it turns out, my choice was right!"
After Bosque finished speaking, he looked proudly at the reporters, as if asking them to praise him.
Spanish journalists were very supportive, leading the applause for the old coach.
In their view, Bosque indeed deserved such praise.
Lin Quan is definitely the biggest discovery of the Spanish national team this year. His appearance may mean the resolution of the problems that have plagued Spain for many years.
And with no flaws in the Spanish national team, just the thought of it makes people unable to help but look forward to it.
Journalists are no longer interested in the World Cup qualifiers now. They can't wait for the 2013 Confederations Cup.
In that case, Spain can compete with the top teams from various continents, allowing them to directly feel the current strength of the Spanish national team!
Journalists were very interested in Lin Quan's topic, and after the applause, they began to compete to ask questions:
"Mr. Bosque, as far as I know, Lin Quan was loaned out to play because he couldn't find a place and playing time in Barcelona's team. He had to play on loan. For the development of Spanish football and better results for the Spanish national team, do you support Barcelona terminating the loan contract early, recalling Lin Quan, and preparing a starting position for him?"
Bosque heard the reporter's question, and the smile on his face disappeared.
He glanced at the reporter who asked the question and found that he was from the Real Madrid mouthpiece, AS.
This question seemed harmless, but it actually concealed a big trap.
Lin Quan is so strong that he couldn't find a place and playing time in Barcelona. Why is that? Because Barcelona has a stronger Messi!
So now, if Lin Quan is recalled, what about Messi? Do you want Messi to give up his starting position to Lin Quan? Regardless of whether Messi is willing or not, even if Messi agrees, can Lin Quan really perfectly replace Messi's position and role in Barcelona?
It's worth mentioning that Messi and his Barcelona teammates have been playing together for nearly ten years!
Lin Quan hasn't played a single game for Barcelona yet. Even if the two players' abilities are exactly the same, there is still a huge gap in their understanding of each other.
Therefore, once any fluctuations occur in the performance of the Barcelona team led by Lin Quan, fans will compare and criticize him against Messi.
This is a huge pressure for a young player who is not yet 17 years old and is very detrimental to his growth.
This question must be a headache for Barcelona, but if no one points it out directly, they can temporarily suppress it.
But now, with Lin Quan's outstanding performance in the national team, the brilliance of this new superstar has become unstoppable. At this point, the mouthpiece of Real Madrid has stepped forward to expose this issue.
What's the purpose?
Bosque could even guess that this must be the intention of the Real Madrid club.
He could even guess that this came from the instructions of Real Madrid president Florentino.
It seems that Real Madrid has already set its sights on Lin Quan and wants to bring him to the Bernabeu to play!
"Cough, the club's issues are not within the scope of discussion at this press conference. I will only answer questions about the national team!"
Bosque didn't want to answer directly because no matter how he answered, it wouldn't be appropriate.
As the head coach of the national team, he couldn't easily criticize the club's actions.
But the journalist from AS was unwilling to let him off:
"La Liga's level is higher than that of the Bundesliga. If Lin Quan returns to play in La Liga, it can better improve his strength and enhance his understanding with his national team teammates, thereby improving the overall strength of the Spanish national team. So how can this be the club's matter?"
(End of this chapter)