Chapter 358: Manchester City Wins Seven Trophies!
"Hello, viewers of CCTV. Welcome to our live broadcast of the 2014 Club World Cup final between Manchester City and San Lorenzo."
"The team in sky-blue jerseys is the current Champions League winner, Manchester City. The team in red and blue striped jerseys is the Copa Libertadores champion, San Lorenzo."
"Hehe, at first glance, it looks like Manchester City is playing against Barcelona!"
"Yes, indeed. San Lorenzo's jerseys do look a bit like Barcelona's. Coincidentally, this team hails from Messi's homeland, Argentina."
After quickly introducing the starting lineups of both teams, the two commentators began chatting.
"Before this match, Manchester City has already won the Community Shield, FA Cup, Premier League, Champions League, and UEFA Super Cup, making it a total of six trophies. If they win the Club World Cup today, they will become the second team after Barcelona to achieve the sextuple."
"Coincidentally, the person who led Barcelona to that achievement is now sitting on Manchester City's bench—Pep Guardiola!"
The commentators' tones were full of respect when talking about Guardiola. Despite his young age, he has achieved worldwide recognition. The possession-based football style he pioneered has led an era, becoming a model for many teams to learn and emulate. If he can replicate his success with Barcelona at Manchester City, he might claim the title of the best football manager in the world.
Guardiola sat calmly on the bench, seriously watching the match. He did not underestimate the opponent despite their perceived weaker strength. In single-elimination matches, upsets can easily occur. If the opponent has a solid game plan and a bit of luck, they could defeat them in a surprise upset.
Therefore, Manchester City played very patiently in this match. They didn't rush their attacks but first solidified their defense, steadying themselves before probing the opponent's weaknesses for a lethal strike. As a result, the first ten minutes of the match seemed very calm.
However, after those ten minutes, Manchester City's attacks began to intensify. In the 12th minute, a series of passes from Manchester City exposed a slight flaw in San Lorenzo's defense. The City players quickly capitalized on it, with Lin Quan making a run towards the gap. De Bruyne, following closely, passed the ball to him. Their coordination was seamless, giving the opponent no time to react. Lin Quan, after two quick dribbles, entered the penalty area and took a shot. Unfortunately, aiming for a corner, the ball narrowly missed, grazing the post and going out, causing Manchester City fans to sigh in disappointment.
San Lorenzo's players were startled. The first ten minutes of Manchester City's slow pace had given them a false sense of security. They thought the European champions weren't that formidable. But when Manchester City suddenly increased their tempo with quick passes and sharp movements, San Lorenzo struggled to keep up.
"Stay focused and alert, don't let your guard down!" San Lorenzo's coach shouted from the sidelines, unhappy with his team's defense. If their luck had been worse, they would have already been trailing.
Unlike San Lorenzo's coach, Guardiola remained composed. Was this all it took to rattle them? They were just starting to speed up; the main act was yet to come.
Guardiola deployed a false nine formation today, clearly making Lin Quan the focal point of their attack. Since leaving Barcelona, Guardiola hadn't coached a player similar to peak Messi. Now, with someone arguably even more formidable, he was thrilled. Guardiola knew well how to utilize such a player.
Starting from the 10th minute, Lin Quan became increasingly active upfront. His involvement saw Manchester City's attacks surge, putting immense pressure on San Lorenzo. In the 15th minute, Lin Quan's turn and shot from the edge of the box struck the crossbar, sending chills down San Lorenzo's spine. This guy was just too lively to contain. Seeing regular methods fail, San Lorenzo resorted to more fouls to try and stop Lin Quan.
The match referee, Walter Lopez from Guatemala, maintained a strict officiating standard. After the first foul on Lin Quan, he immediately gave a verbal warning to San Lorenzo's players about their actions. When Lin Quan was fouled again, Lopez did not hesitate to show a yellow card. San Lorenzo's number 20 midfielder, Ortigoza, received the match's first yellow card in the 17th minute. Burdened with heavy defensive duties, Ortigoza became hesitant after the booking, affecting his defending. Noticing this, Manchester City exploited his weakness.
Ortigoza soon found himself overwhelmed as the waves of Manchester City's attacks left him flustered, causing multiple errors. His teammates had to help cover, leading to overall defensive instability.
A breakthrough was imminent. In the 22nd minute, Lin Quan dribbled past Ortigoza, who dared not tackle him, and charged into the penalty area. Drawing the defenders and goalkeeper's attention, he passed the ball across the goal. De Bruyne, following up, easily slotted the ball into the empty net. The score was 1-0, and Manchester City took the lead.
De Bruyne's goal seemed effortless. Lin Quan's single breakthrough had dismantled San Lorenzo's entire defense, leaving De Bruyne to simply tap the ball in. Even an eighty-year-old granny could have scored that goal in such a situation. Celebrating the goal, De Bruyne gestured to Lin Quan to join him. Lin Quan, laughing, ran over, hugging De Bruyne and asking, "How was my pass?"
De Bruyne, with a serious face, replied, "It was alright. It would've been perfect if you had passed to my right foot."
De Bruyne's preferred foot was his right, but who could consider such details when passing? Amid the intense pressing and marking, just delivering the pass was already impressive enough. Lin Quan, hearing De Bruyne's words, rolled his eyes, "Try passing me such a ball yourself!"
De Bruyne nodded, "Sure, let's see!"
...
Beautiful!"
"What a beautiful pass!"
"To pass the ball surrounded by three players, Lin Quan's vision and passing ability are amazing!"
In the CCTV studio, the two commentators couldn't help but praise this play. The credit mainly went to Lin Quan, who managed to pass the ball out, completely collapsing the opponent's defense. De Bruyne's shot was almost effortless; anyone else could have scored too.
"Some worry that as Lin Quan ages and injuries accumulate, his explosiveness and speed will decline, making it hard for him to make such sharp breakthroughs and thus losing his threat. But in this game, Lin Quan showed with his excellent passing that even without his breakthrough ability, he could still secure a place in the team with his outstanding passing skills."
"In fact, since Suárez joined Barcelona, Messi has also started to transform. His number of breakthroughs has decreased, and his passing has increased. At Barcelona, Messi's share of goals has decreased, but Suárez and Neymar's goal numbers have skyrocketed. This hasn't weakened Barcelona; it has actually improved their overall strength. This year's Champions League is likely to be even more intense than last year. With Real Madrid's BBC, Barcelona's MSN, and the strong defending champion Manchester City, these three teams are considered the favorites to win this year's Champions League!"
...
After conceding a goal, San Lorenzo strengthened their defense against Lin Quan while launching their own attacks. They clearly realized that if they couldn't limit Lin Quan's performance, they had no chance of winning this match. However, while Guardiola heavily utilized Lin Quan, he didn't place all the attacking tasks on him alone. When Lin Quan was tightly marked, other Manchester City players stepped up. In the 42nd minute, Navas scored again from a great pass by De Bruyne, making it 2-0.
With this goal, Manchester City had one hand on the trophy. They were getting closer to their first Club World Cup title and achieving the sextuple. In the second half, San Lorenzo made a substitution, taking off the yellow-carded Ortigoza. However, they brought on an attacking player instead of a defensive one, further weakening their midfield defense.
With fewer players in midfield, San Lorenzo couldn't maintain possession despite having more players upfront. Manchester City completely controlled the midfield. Having secured the midfield, Manchester City played their signature Guardiola-style possession football. From then on, Manchester City's possession rate skyrocketed. They almost always had the ball, and San Lorenzo barely touched it. Even if San Lorenzo occasionally won the ball back, Manchester City quickly pressured and regained possession.
At this point, all Manchester City players, except the goalkeeper, were pressing upfield. They kept passing and attacking outside the opponent's penalty area, leaving San Lorenzo's players to chase the ball helplessly. Manchester City's attacks were relentless, like waves crashing in. San Lorenzo's players were under immense physical and mental pressure, feeling extremely stifled. They had no solution as Manchester City's ball control was too strong to break.
San Lorenzo's coach watched in terror, his body trembling. This Manchester City team was far superior to any opponent they had faced in their league or the Copa Libertadores. Before this, they had never encountered such a formidable opponent. This was Guardiola's possession football. Although he had heard of it before, this was his first close-up experience of its oppressive power. He looked fearfully at the bald man on the sidelines, wondering what kind of genius could devise such a revolutionary and creative tactic.
On the pitch, San Lorenzo's players were visibly fatigued and mentally strained. Despite only being 60 minutes into the game, some players were panting heavily, and a few even started cramping. The massive physical and mental strain led to more fouls and yellow cards. In the 61st minute, Navas was fouled while breaking through, resulting in a yellow card for San Lorenzo's number 11 player. In the 65th minute, Lin Quan was brought down by their winger, and San Lorenzo's number 7 received a yellow card.
Compared to their opponents, Manchester City, controlling the game, consumed less energy. As San Lorenzo's players tired, they could no longer resist Manchester City's attacks. In the 72nd minute, Lin Quan half-turned and shot from the edge of the box, scoring again to make it 3-0. This goal completely killed the game. San Lorenzo, already weaker than Manchester City, had no hope of a comeback given the score and the game's flow.
With the game decided, Guardiola began making substitutions to conserve his players' energy for their pursuit in the Premier League. Before being substituted, De Bruyne delivered a perfect pass to Lin Quan in the 77th minute. In open play, he calculated the timing and distance accurately, placing the ball right in front of Lin Quan's right foot.
The precision of this pass made Guardiola jump up from the bench, eyes wide open. Lin Quan was also surprised. He had only joked with De Bruyne earlier, not expecting him to actually do it. Faced with such a perfect pass, Lin Quan did not waste the assist. Without needing to adjust, he swung his leg and sent the ball into the top corner of the net, making it 4-0. Lin Quan scored his second goal of the final, completing his brace.
After Lin Quan's goal, Guardiola eagerly used two substitutions to replace both him and De Bruyne. As they walked off, the fans stood up and applauded them. This match left a lasting impression of both Lin Quan and De Bruyne on the fans. Especially De Bruyne's final pass, which stunned the entire stadium. Since leaving Chelsea, De Bruyne had improved rapidly. Though not as renowned as other world-class midfielders, his skills were just as formidable.
Shortly after their substitution, the referee blew the final whistle. With four splendid goals, Manchester City triumphed, not only defending Europe's honor but also claiming their first Club World Cup title. This was their seventh trophy of the season, crowning them the first team in Premier League and football history to achieve a septuple.