Chapter 63

The date was July 11th, and the location was the Las Rozas Football City in Madrid.

Xiaosans's face was relaxed with a smile, not just him, but also the president of Sporting Gijón, Manuel Vélez de Berredo, and the president of Numancia, Francisco Rubio Calzada, who sat to his right, were all chatting and laughing. The presidents of the three teams that had fought fiercely for promotion in the Segunda División last season seemed to be on the same side at this moment.

As previously discussed by Lin Sen and Tapia, the draw for the new season's schedule was merely a formality for the newly promoted teams. The scheduling of the league matches was similar across the entire European football community. It involved sending out questionnaires to the clubs and the police in their respective cities to understand their needs, avoiding certain specific dates, and scheduling some major matches, such as the Spanish Clásico, which were the focus of public attention and required special attention. Additionally, teams participating in continental competitions needed to have their schedules adjusted accordingly. This was why Tapia said the schedule had little to do with Málaga. As a newly promoted team, Málaga had almost no special avoidance points in the schedule, so there was nothing much to consider. The scheduling of the La Liga matches was done by random draw to ensure fairness, meaning the matches were drawn first, and then adjustments were made based on various needs.

At this point, the press conference had not yet reached the drawing stage. An official from the football association was summarizing the previous season and looking forward to the new one, emphasizing fairness, transparency, and the need for clubs to abide by the rules. During this time, the president of Numancia, Calzada, told Xiaosans an "interesting" story: Lin Sen, who was currently coaching Málaga, had actually recommended himself to coach Numancia a little over a month ago, but at that time, Numancia had already secured the experienced current coach, the Croatian Krešić.

Since it was an interesting story, Xiaosans naturally just smiled, and Arango, sitting beside him, also smiled, but with a playful look in his eyes.

In the Segunda División last season, Málaga had been defeated by Numancia both home and away. Now that both teams had been promoted to La Liga, although at the level of the presidents, there were only absolute interests and no absolute enemies, it was unlikely that Xiaosans was completely indifferent. After all, just two years ago, Xiaosans was still the captain of Málaga.

Málaga's performance was suppressed by Numancia, and the club's situation was also worse than that of Numancia. As the president of a famous Spanish construction company, Calzada, though not as wealthy as the former Real Madrid president Florentino Pérez, was still a man of considerable wealth. As a newly promoted team, Numancia was much better off financially than Málaga.

So, in terms of performance, Numancia won, and in terms of wealth, Numancia still won. Now, Calzada's joke might just be a joke, but in Arango's view, his words reflected a fact: in terms of coaching, Numancia still had the upper hand.

Because the person Numancia didn't want had become the head coach of Málaga.

Arango glanced at Xiaosans, the youngest president in the room. Xiaosans's reaction was good; he still had a smile on his face.

That was right. Last season, they were opponents for promotion. This season, they were still opponents, but for survival.

At this point, after the official finished speaking and briefly introduced the drawing rules, the press conference entered the drawing stage.

To ensure fairness, the drawing order was not based on the previous season's rankings but on the first letter of the club names.

The first to step up was Almería's president, Alfonso García, followed by Atlético Madrid's president, Cerezo...

After all the teams had drawn, the schedule was clearly displayed on the large screen at the front of the hall. Looking at the newly released La Liga schedule, the previously smiling Calzada's face turned green. Numancia's first-round opponent was none other than Barcelona. However, Xiaosans was no longer in the mood to mock Calzada because he saw Málaga's first-round opponent:

Atlético Madrid!

---

Cerezo had never imagined that things would be so dramatic.

After Málaga announced Lin Sen as the head coach, Cerezo knew that the new season's Atlético Madrid would have two slightly special matches in addition to the Madrid Derby. But he never thought that one of these matches would come so quickly.

La Liga Round 1: Atlético Madrid vs. Málaga.

The schedule on the screen was so prominent, as if mocking Cerezo's self-assurance.

Cerezo glanced at the date of the Madrid Derby but found himself thinking more about Atlético Madrid's first-round match against Málaga, which felt a bit strange. Clearly, compared to Real Madrid, Málaga was not worth mentioning. The only reason Cerezo was so concerned was one person: Lin Sen.

"Truly, it's a narrow path for enemies."

Cerezo subconsciously sighed.

But as soon as the words came out, he felt even more strange: enemies? Why did he think of the word "enemies"?

Lin Sen was indeed the former head coach of Atlético Madrid, but their parting was ultimately peaceful, with no disputes. It was simply the end of the contract, and Lin Sen left on his own. Cerezo had even tried to retain him at the time. No matter how you looked at it, it didn't reach the level of enemies. Yet, when the word "enemies" came to mind, he subconsciously felt it was natural.

Naturally emotional, strangely rational.

The conflicting feelings made Cerezo smile bitterly.

It seems we lost too much last season.

---

That evening, the Spanish Football Federation's official website officially announced the schedule for the 08-09 La Liga season.

While millions of eyes were focused on the Spanish Clásico, some people noticed a different flavor in the first-round matches, such as Atlético Madrid fan Val, independent journalist Rod, and Atlético Madrid's chief fitness coach, Dina...

When Atlético Madrid was scheduled to face Málaga in the first round, Rod's first reaction was to jump up, literally jump up, with excitement clearly visible on his face. The editor-in-chief of the Independent, Cap, thought he had won the lottery and almost invited him to treat the entire newspaper.

"Can you smell the taste of revenge?"

In the bar, as soon as Rod saw Val, he said, then called to the bartender, "A beer."

"When did revenge become so cheap?" Val glanced at Rod and sneered, "Do you really think Málaga can win?"

"Why not?" Rod laughed, then added a subtle jab, "As if Atlético Madrid never lost to a relegation team."

"Of course, last season's Atlético Madrid was a pile of shit." Val sneered, "But don't forget, even the shittiest Atlético Madrid isn't something Málaga can easily take revenge on."

"Easily?" Rod took a sip of the beer the bartender pushed over, "I didn't say easily. But you can't deny that the first-round match between Atlético Madrid and Málaga will be very interesting."

Val snorted and finally fell silent. Rod didn't press the issue and asked, "How's Jimmy?"

"He's out of the hospital." Mentioning his old friend, Val's sour face finally softened.

---

"Meeting your former club in the first round, you sure have good luck." On the other end of the phone, Dina's voice had a hint of pity.

"Don't be too quick to gloat." Lin Sen said helplessly, "We were bound to meet eventually, whether in the first round or the last round, it doesn't make much difference."

To be honest, Lin Sen hadn't expected to face Atlético Madrid in the first round. He and Tapia had joked about betting on the first-round opponent, and Tapia was probably secretly glad he didn't bet. It was too dramatic. However, since the schedule was set, Lin Sen didn't plan to waste time marveling at the twists of fate.

"Are you so optimistic? Do you think you can beat Resino?"

"Ha ha." Lin Sen laughed but didn't answer Dina's question. Instead, he asked, "Have you met Resino? What do you think?"

"To put it simply, he's very rigid. Boring, it was more interesting when you were the head coach."

"Thank you for the compliment."

"You're welcome." Lin Sen could almost see Dina waving her hand, then she said, "So, you better do a good job. I'll come to join you next year."

"You're already thinking of betraying Resino after just a few days?" Lin Sen laughed, "Did he offend you?"

"Not really. Hey, are you trying to get information from me?" Dina said slyly.

"Hey, you're the one who called me, right?" Lin Sen was both amused and exasperated.

"Hmph. Actually, it's no big deal. You'll find out eventually anyway. Don't be fooled by the team's new defensive players; Resino actually places more emphasis on attack. It's hard to believe he was a goalkeeper before."

More emphasis on attack? That's great.

Hearing Dina's words, Lin Sen's mind raced.

Atlético Madrid's front line was indeed much stronger than their defense. Lin Sen had thought Resino would notice this obvious issue after joining Atlético Madrid, but it seemed he was focusing on the midfield and attack. Spaniards, it seemed, were inherently artistic, even a goalkeeper like Resino.

After hanging up, Dina stretched and continued to help the team with the preseason fitness plan. On the other side, Lin Sen called Luis Martínez, who was responsible for match analysis.

Dina was right. Even if she hadn't said it, Lin Sen would have known Resino's coaching style because the team Resino had previously coached was one of Málaga's main opponents in the promotion last season—the team that finished fifth, Castellón.