Chapter 243: Wearing the National Team Captain's Armband and Getting a Hat-Trick, Not Too Much to Ask?
"Feels like Italy's chain defense is nothing special!"
On the bench, Negredo, after celebrating with a few substitutes, rubbed his chin and made a serious comment.
Such arrogant words would usually draw criticism from others. However, today, after seeing their teammates effortlessly pass the ball into the opponent's goal, the Spanish players on the bench all felt Negredo was right.
Such a goal rarely appeared even in their intra-team scrimmages, making Italy seem less formidable than their substitute squad.
Buffon climbed up from the ground and couldn't help but kick the nearby post. Conceding this goal was too humiliating, but looking at his teammates, they had already given their all but still couldn't stop the opponent's attack. This made Buffon even more frustrated!
On the sidelines, the reactions of the two coaches were calm after seeing this goal.
Del Bosque merely clapped symbolically. This kind of goal for Spain at this point was just a display of their inherent strength, nothing to be proud of.
Italy was an old rival, and beating such an opponent in a friendly didn't seem particularly joyous.
Next door, Prandelli, although outwardly calm, was inwardly very anxious. He felt Spain had become stronger than last summer when they met in the Confederations Cup. Their teamwork was more seamless, and their tiki-taka tactics were more potent.
However, the lineup was the same, and some players were even a year older, so Spain's strength should theoretically be declining. But why did it feel like Spain was continuously evolving and getting stronger?
Last summer, Spain couldn't score such goals! Their small-range coordination in the front was brilliant but built on Lin Quan's outstanding individual skills.
But today, even before Lin Quan had a chance to shine, they had completed such an awe-inspiring goal through team coordination.
This left Prandelli feeling powerless: How could they possibly beat this Spain?
Italy couldn't find an answer, so their situation on the field became entirely passive. In the first half, except for the opening ten minutes, Italy was almost completely pinned in their own half by Spain.
Constant defense inevitably leads to conceding. In the 38th minute, Spain executed another brilliant team play, eventually leading to Lin Quan assisting Iniesta for a goal.
In the 44th minute, surrounded by three Italian defenders, Lin Quan, like a football elf, twisted and turned in a tiny space, creating an opening to score.
His excellent ball control, combined with his rapid pace and adjustment abilities, stunned the Italian defenders. They had already tried their best but still couldn't stop him!
The opponent was simply too strong!
Italy conceded three goals in the first half alone. This left many Italian fans who came to support their team at the scene feeling cold.
With their current form, how could they compete against top teams in the World Cup? And being in the group of death, would Italy face another group-stage exit?
Italian fans fell into despair and hopelessness, while Spanish fans celebrated joyfully, as if it were a festive season.
They loved their team's dominating performance! Crushing a rival like Italy, the former World Cup champions, only proved Spain's invincibility.
Del Bosque shook his head, feeling disappointed in Prandelli's Italy. It hadn't served as a useful training match.
Maybe they should arrange a match with the Netherlands?
But the Netherlands were their World Cup group opponents, so they might not agree. If not the Netherlands, perhaps Germany and Belgium could be good options?
Both teams were strong, especially Germany, one of the top five favorites to win the World Cup.
After the World Cup draw, major European betting companies also released odds for each team's chances of winning.
Defending champions Spain were the top favorites with odds of 1:2.73. Considering the World Cup group stage hadn't started yet, these odds were quite impressive.
The second favorite was Argentina, led by Messi, with odds of 1:6.
Third was the host Brazil with odds of 1:6.5. Initially higher, their crushing defeat to Spain in last year's Confederations Cup final had lowered expectations.
Germany followed in fourth with odds of 1:7, closely trailing Brazil.
Fifth was Belgium, the European Red Devils, with odds of 1:10.
Next were Italy and the Netherlands with odds of 1:18, and France at 1:22.
The remaining teams had odds exceeding 30, indicating very slim chances of winning.
Of course, these were European odds, likely showing some bias. For instance, England had higher odds than Uruguay despite not necessarily being stronger.
Del Bosque didn't want to arrange friendlies with weak teams, fearing that it would make his team weaker. Germany and Belgium were in Europe, making it convenient for arranging friendlies.
In the second half, both teams made adjustments. Del Bosque brought on Valdés, Martínez, and Alonso, replacing Casillas, Fàbregas, and Busquets.
After Casillas was substituted, Ramos took over the captain's armband. However, only 15 minutes into the second half, Ramos sprained his foot.
Del Bosque had to substitute him as well. With Ramos injured and unable to move freely, he handed the captain's armband to the nearest player.
And Lin Quan happened to be standing next to him!
"Lin, take this!"
Ramos hastily handed the captain's armband to Lin Quan before being helped off the field by the medical staff.
Since Xavi was still on the field, Lin Quan intended to give the armband to him. But Xavi shook his head, "Lin, you're the captain now, wear it!"
Xavi had already decided to retire from the national team after the World Cup, so he had no interest in the captaincy. Instead, as a veteran of the team, he had noticed Del Bosque's intention to establish Lin Quan as the core of the team.
So, when the older players gradually retired from the national team, the captain's armband would inevitably go to Lin Quan.
Given this, it was better to let him experience being a captain now!
Since Xavi insisted, Lin Quan didn't refuse. On this day, at 18 years and 15 days old, Lin Quan wore the national team captain's armband for the first time, becoming the captain of the Spanish national team.
Although it was only temporary, it was still a historic moment for the Spanish national team.
Seeing Lin Quan with the captain's armband, Spanish fans at the Calderón Stadium gave him a round of applause.
In the 77th minute, Silva and Iniesta completed a wall pass in the front. Iniesta made a brilliant back-heel pass at the edge of the box.
Lin Quan received the ball and sent a through ball to the advancing Silva, who easily pushed it into the net.
With this goal, Spain led by four!
However, they seemed unsatisfied, and the fans started clamoring for Lin Quan to get a hat-trick!
Lin Quan initially thought he could take it easy, but hearing the fans' applause, he got excited.
When he got excited, the Italians suffered.
Facing the increasingly active Lin Quan, the Italian defenders were in misery.
Come on, it's just a friendly match, do you have to go all out?
Lin Quan felt that wearing the captain's armband and not scoring would disappoint the fans.
Italy, already enraged after conceding four goals, saw Lin Quan still aiming for goals and immediately resorted to more aggressive actions.
Seeing their movements, Lin Quan guessed they didn't want him to get a hat-trick. Italy had been on the defensive all game, and their penalty area was crowded with players.
If Lin Quan really tried to break through, he might not be sure of success. But if the opponent commits a foul, then it becomes simple!
He just needs to find a good position to draw a foul!
So, after receiving the pass from his teammate, Lin Quan deliberately moved towards the center, as if he was going to break through all the defenses and head straight for the goal.
The Italian players didn't know he was bluffing and thought he really intended to do it.
After all, Lin Quan indeed had such skills; he and Messi were considered the most difficult players to defend against due to their excellent dribbling.
Given that he had succeeded once before, the Italian players believed him and were on high alert.
Marchisio was the first to rush up, and in the blink of an eye, Lin Quan cleanly dribbled past him.
Marchisio was shocked. He knew Lin Quan's dribbling was strong but didn't expect it to be this strong.
No wonder experts said that after Messi's injury affected his dribbling, Lin Quan became the best dribbler in football!
Marchisio didn't dare to be careless and immediately tried to pull Lin Quan back from behind.
However, Lin Quan's strength exceeded his expectations, and his first attempt didn't bring him down.
Marchisio hesitated for a moment, then pulled harder. This time he succeeded and easily brought Lin Quan down.
But something seemed off?
Looking at the location of the foul, Marchisio's expression froze!
Seeing the foul location, Italian goalkeeper Buffon's expression also froze!
Damn it!
This free kick position is too dangerous!
After the referee blew the whistle for the foul, Lin Quan quickly got up, placed the ball in position, and stepped back to prepare for the kick.
Chiellini, with his experience, argued with the referee about the foul location and pretended to accidentally kick the ball, causing it to roll a bit.
Lin Quan helplessly had to reposition the ball, only to find that the grass at the original spot was damaged. If he placed the ball there, it would slightly dip, making it uncomfortable to kick.
Lin Quan glanced at Chiellini, who acted innocent as if nothing had happened.
After fixing the grass, Lin Quan placed the ball back and stepped back about eight steps to prepare for the kick.
Since he saw the free kick master Juninho's free kick, Lin Quan had been practicing free kicks diligently.
He originally knew how to do knuckleball and dip shots, but after watching many of Juninho's videos, he learned the S-curve free kick.
He had never used this move before and now wanted to test it on Buffon!
Buffon was watching Lin Quan, and their eyes met. Lin Quan gave him a meaningful smile.
Buffon felt uneasy.
What does this kid's look mean?
As Lin Quan prepared to kick, Buffon focused intently, watching Lin Quan's every move.
For players like Lin Quan, who can use both feet well, it's hard to predict which foot he will use for the kick.
But this wasn't difficult for Buffon, as an excellent goalkeeper, he could judge the opponent's shot based on their steps and calculate the direction.
In terms of prediction, Buffon was one of the best, if not the best!
One step, two steps, three steps...
Lin Quan ran faster and faster, while Buffon became calmer.
He had determined that Lin Quan would use his right foot.
With the power of the right foot, the ball would go to Buffon's right side, the left side of the goal.
Thinking of this, Buffon pushed off the ground and dived to the side as Lin Quan struck the ball.
The ball indeed flew towards his right side!
Buffon felt relieved!
Lin, I admit your dribbling and shooting are excellent, but in free kicks, you're not in the top tier.
In his 18-year career, Buffon had faced countless free-kick masters.
Mihajlovic, Roberto Baggio, Roberto Carlos, Ronaldinho, Juninho, and his teammate Pirlo.
Each had unique styles, some powerful, some tricky.
Through his encounters with them, Buffon gained rich experience.
He believed Lin Quan's free kicks were good but still not at the level of the top free-kick masters.
Given Lin Quan's age, perhaps one day he could join those ranks, but not today!
Confident, Buffon dived towards the ball, but as he thought he had it, the ball suddenly swerved and flew to his left.
An S-curve free kick?
Buffon was shocked and immediately thought of Juninho's signature move.
He quickly reached out with his left hand to intercept.
But he was already mid-dive to the right, and his left hand couldn't reach the ball.
Swish!
The ball hit the net.
Buffon was stunned!
Lin Quan was stunned too!
The fans were stunned!
When they realized what happened, the Calderon Stadium erupted in cheers.
A hat-trick!
Their player scored a hat-trick!
Lin Quan also realized and ran to the sidelines, standing behind the advertising boards, spreading his arms, and closing his eyes to listen to the cheers of over 50,000 fans.
Seeing Lin Quan's gesture, the fans cheered even louder.
As Lin Quan enjoyed the fans' cheers, Buffon retrieved the ball from the net and reconsidered his opinion of Lin Quan.
Maybe, his free kicks were closer to mastery than Buffon had thought?
In the end, the match concluded, and with Lin Quan's hat-trick, Spain won 5-0 against Italy at home.
After this match, Spain's morale soared, while Italy regretted agreeing to this friendly match.
Why did they decide to play against Spain?
(This chapter ends)
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