Chapter 22

Gathering a team of boundlessly powerful golden-bodied arhats, and finding eleven young arhats with limitless potential to rotate in, while he himself would be the leisurely Amitabha Buddha, occasionally even acting as a "people trafficker"—this was the coaching blueprint Lin Sen had planned for himself. He had no grand ambitions or dreams of dominating the universe; Lin Sen's ideal team was only one: Barcelona in a few years' time. Not because Barcelona was known for playing the most splendid football in the universe, nor because Barcelona was irresistibly charming, but simply because of a joke: whoever became the head coach of Barcelona could win the championship.

Lin Sen had no chance of becoming the head coach of Barcelona, as he knew all too well that it was a club that was extremely picky from head to toe. Even if he were to be reborn as a ball boy for Barcelona, the probability of him becoming a coach would be higher than it was now. However, not being able to coach Barcelona did not mean he could not create one. Lin Sen always believed that with his "cheat," achieving this goal would be more reliable than for others.

However, Lin Sen now had some doubts about this idea: Was it really true that as long as the team was good enough, it didn't matter who the coach was? Weren't Atletico Madrid's current players as good as Villarreal's? Why was the game so tough? If he didn't know Pellegrini's history, Lin Sen would almost doubt himself.

The post-match press conference was lively. Lin Sen, who was ignored, did not envy the busy Pellegrini at all. These damn journalists asked one damn question after another, each one aimed at the sore spots, like the hopelessness of winning the title, the improper substitutions, and even the question about ending Atletico Madrid's six-game losing streak. Watching Pellegrini, whose face remained calm despite the changing colors of the lights, Lin Sen felt he was truly just an amateur coach, a pure amateur.

"Hello, Coach, we all know that Atletico Madrid's performance this season has been poor, and Lin, who is sitting next to you, is just starting his coaching career. How do you evaluate Lin's performance in this match?"

Lin Sen was a bit depressed when he heard this voice. Turning his head, he saw Moreno, the journalist from the Daily Sports, who had been harboring a grudge since the last time Lin Sen had outmaneuvered him.

"I know you want to say that Lin was once a team doctor," Pellegrini, who had been provoked and was a bit agitated, glanced at Moreno and said bluntly, "Although I don't think it's polite to evaluate Lin in front of him, I believe Lin can understand what I'm about to say. Before the age of 35, I was a civil engineer. Now, as the season is about to end, Villarreal is one of the best-performing teams in the league. So, I don't think Lin's previous career is a problem. As for this match, I've already answered too many questions, and I don't want to repeat myself..."

In his memory, the engineer should have been a kind and gentle old man. Lin Sen was a bit flattered by Pellegrini's solidarity and almost wanted to applaud the Chilean old man. While he was elated, he also wondered: "Is this guy eyeing someone in the Atletico Madrid team?"

Despite his inner musings, he still needed to repay the favor. For Pellegrini's righteous words, Lin Sen turned the rest of the press conference into a Pellegrini praise session.

Was he satisfied with Atletico Madrid's performance? Of course, he was satisfied. Being able to take a point from Pellegrini's team, how could he not be satisfied? He was a hundred thousand percent satisfied.

What did he think of the 3-3 score? If it weren't for Pellegrini, they might have completed a great comeback.

How did he evaluate the best player of the match, Pires? Pellegrini has rejuvenated the Frenchman!

...

When Lin Sen finished answering all the questions, not only was Pellegrini speechless, but all the journalists present were also puzzled. Even as they left after the press conference, they were still wondering: "Was it us who asked the wrong questions, or did we ask the wrong person? It seemed like the entire content of the press conference was about Pellegrini."

---

Atletico Madrid drew 3-3 away to Villarreal.

Whether in terms of the result or the score, under normal circumstances, it would not be good news for any team. But for the current Atletico Madrid, it was a timely rain, ending the disastrous six-game losing streak. More importantly, the club's management was satisfied with the process. From 0-3 to 3-3, this alone was enough for Atletico Madrid's official website to write positive articles for a week about perseverance and never giving up until the last moment. Recently, Atletico Madrid's publicity department had almost resorted to posting inappropriate images to divert the attention of Atletico Madrid fans.

For Lin Sen, the significance of this match was even greater. Not only had he completed three bets with the team and gained initial control, but more importantly, his perception of the coaching profession had changed. Perhaps Maradona was right; Lin Sen would slowly fall in love with football. At least, when Forlan scored the equalizing goal for Atletico Madrid in the final moments, Lin Sen never thought he would make such a celebratory gesture.

The gesture seemed to be a pure instinctive reaction, without any thought, as if a surge of passion had directly rushed to his brain, and the action came naturally. Lin Sen still clearly remembered the feeling at that moment: happiness? Excitement? Thrill? Or a more straightforward spring fever? Maybe all of them, maybe none of them. For Lin Sen, at that moment, he must have had an exceptionally dazzling light shining above his head.

Lin Sen was indeed dazzling.

His celebratory gesture made the front page of countless newspapers the next day. The Marca, which had never taken Atletico Madrid seriously, even gave Lin Sen's gesture nearly a third of its front page, from head to toe.

"The young Chinese coach Lin can finally return home in peace. His residence was previously attacked by Atletico Madrid fans, but in this match, he led Atletico Madrid to play one of the most exhilarating games of the season, despite trailing 0-3. After the match, Atletico Madrid captain Maxi Rodriguez highlighted Lin's tactical arrangements..."

"Pellegrini defended Lin after the match, and Lin highly praised Pellegrini, believing he is a coach capable of leading Real Madrid. I'm sure Schuster won't like Lin's comments..."

"The headquarters of Atletico Madrid has finally become a bit quieter. In recent weeks, fans' protests have almost become a regular feature in front of the Atletico Madrid headquarters..."

...

This was the news, the news people liked.

Lin Sen flipped through all the newspapers. Only the Independent mentioned the three young players Lin Sen promoted in this match, one of whom even got playing time. The other newspapers focused on him and Pellegrini, even the shining Pires and Forlan couldn't draw much attention away from them.

This was not bad. At least, Lin Sen didn't have to worry about the three young players being exposed to the media too early. It was said that some agents were already eyeing Camacho, and Lin Sen was considering whether to remind the sports director, Pintac, about it. The reason he only considered it was that it was not within his "scope of business."

No one wants to be given a bunch of burgers when they say they are thirsty, and then be told that water is too expensive or that water is not good enough. Therefore, a Premier League-style manager who can manage from the first team to the youth team, be the boss of big-name stars, and occasionally scold the club's management, is the dream of many coaches. However, La Liga is not the Premier League. In La Liga, the biggest star of the club is always the president, especially a president with real power. In this sense, Cerezo can only be considered half, as his shares are even less than those of Hill. But this did not prevent Cerezo and Hill from reaching a consensus. This consensus was the sports director, a position that, in plain terms, was the person who spent the president's money. Therefore, for the head coach in La Liga, the sports director was the breadwinner. You could say what you needed, but you couldn't demand what you wanted. In other words, when he really gave you burgers to quench your thirst, you had better find a way to quench your thirst with burgers, or you would have to go hungry.

For Pintac, it was not that Lin Sen had no thoughts of seizing power, but rather that he did not have the qualifications to do so. The transfer market in La Liga was always the domain of the sports director. In Lin Sen's limited memory, the only coach who could seize power from the sports director was the famous Mourinho. Therefore, seizing power always required strength. Clearly, Lin Sen was not a threat to Pintac.

After thinking for a long time, Lin Sen finally decided to let it go. Whether it was Camacho or De Gea, they would all become famous at Atletico Madrid, which at least proved that the contract issues with the club were not the reason for their eventual departure. Why should he worry about it now?

Of course, if Lin Sen still had any thoughts of developing at Atletico Madrid, Pintac would be an obstacle he could not avoid. Lin Sen could not explain to Pintac the reasons for every target he wanted to buy, let alone the fact that he did not want to work for others. In this regard, perhaps only the Premier League could be an exception among the major European leagues.