Chapter 8

Isn't this just a joke?

The team had just equalized the score, and Lin Sen should have been happy. However, when he carelessly scanned the field again, he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his teeth: On the Atletico Madrid side, after scoring a goal, the number of players with green auras finally increased by one, Luis Garcia. In contrast, Valladolid's team suddenly saw nearly half of its players change from light green to dark green.

Shouldn't they have been affected by the equalizer? Why did it seem like they were pumped up instead? Could it be that relegation teams all have an M attribute? The more they are beaten, the more excited they get? Thus, Lin Sen subconsciously shook his head. This left the commentator, who had just been mocking his action, thoroughly confused. Shaking his head when a goal was conceded, and shaking his head again when a goal was scored, what was he up to?

José Luis Mendilibar, who had been in charge of Valladolid since 2006, looked calmly at the changes on the field with a gaze that others found profound and wise, leaving Lin Sen, who was also on the sidelines, secretly impressed. Although he had no particular fondness for anyone named José, he couldn't help but admire this man. Despite the glaring green aura above his head, his face remained calm, as if he could take the sky falling on him and use it as a blanket. This was the true demeanor of a coach, unlike himself, who, no matter how he tried to appear calm, always looked helpless in others' eyes.

Truly a relegation expert. Lin Sen could only admire him.

Valladolid, with nine wins, eight draws, and fourteen losses, had accumulated thirty-five points, and their league ranking was not much lower than Atletico Madrid's. Atletico Madrid ranked eleventh, while Valladolid ranked fifteenth. However, these few positions meant that Valladolid had to fight for survival, as their points were only two more than the relegation zone. But Mendilibar didn't seem to take it seriously. Since being promoted to the top division, Valladolid had always fought for the glorious goal of avoiding relegation. Once you get used to it, it becomes natural, and you become indifferent.

The score at halftime was one to one.

Entering the locker room, Lin Sen didn't say anything about tactics to the players. He only announced one thing: he had won the first bet.

Just before the match, during the pre-game interview, Frank Rijkaard officially announced that he would leave Barcelona at the end of the season. Rijkaard's move not only made the recent denial on Barcelona's official website meaningless but also declared the end of his honeymoon with Barcelona, or more precisely, the irreconcilable conflict with Ronaldinho.

Knowing all this, Lin Sen understood the significance of Rijkaard's announcement. It was not a resignation in anger, as some rumors suggested. The Dutch coach simply wanted to stop the internal strife of Barcelona, who had only a slim chance of winning the league this season. To make a team abandon all distractions in a short time, a change in the head coach was a drastic measure.

Rijkaard could have agreed with the official website's statement and said he would definitely stay, which would have calmed his supporters, but it would have made those already dissatisfied with him even more complacent. If he resigned, the effect would be different: his supporters would play their best for him, and those who were dissatisfied would try to prove themselves.

Lin Sen was very satisfied with the players' reactions. The colors above their heads were no longer lifeless and transparent. He had won the first bet, convincing seven people, including Aguero.

This was a good start.

A shift in mood does not necessarily mean a shift in the situation. In the second half, Atletico Madrid's three lines remained severely disconnected. Valladolid easily intercepted the ball at the junction of the lines and quickly launched attacks, pummeling Atletico Madrid relentlessly. Although this pummeling had not yet caused significant damage, the more areas they hit, the more likely they were to hit a vital spot.

People often refer to things they don't like as "accidents," as if all accidents are unreasonable. This is especially true in football. When a big club loses to a mediocre team, they often label the match as an "accident," as if this makes the loss more acceptable. However, even if a team has a 99% chance of winning, as long as it's not 100%, losing is not an accident. From a certain perspective, there are no accidents in football. Any seemingly random event has a traceable cause, such as mindset, physical condition, or the playing field.

So, if you lose a match, you can be不服气 (unconvinced) and unwilling to admit defeat, but you must acknowledge that you were inferior to your opponent in some aspect. Accidents happen because of this.

Lorente's shot was not powerful or well-angled, and Pereira's block was not a mistake, as it was his duty to prevent the shot. However, the ball stubbornly lingered on Pereira's leg for a moment, then decisively changed direction, leaving Abbiati helpless.

The commentator exclaimed that it was an accident, and even Mendilibar probably thought so. Perhaps only Lin Sen was not surprised. A group of people who could exert 70% of their ability was more likely to win than a group with 100% ability but only exerted 50%. Valladolid's players ran more, were more positive, and even spat with more force than Atletico Madrid's players. Therefore, their lead was not surprising.

Of course, if such an "accident" happened in the first minute, it might not be significant, but in the last minute, it was just bad luck. Lin Sen didn't know how many people were paying attention to his first match, but for him, it was a historic moment.

With the referee's whistle, the match ended, and Lin Sen's first match as a coach predictably ended in defeat. After the match, Lin Sen did not attend the post-match press conference, following the precedent set by Enrique Cerezo.

Atletico Madrid suffered their fifth consecutive defeat! Their league ranking remained unchanged at eleventh.

Atletico Madrid's fans began protesting at the club's entrance, criticizing the team for losing shamelessly and even their dignity, criticizing Enrique Cerezo for appointing an amateur as the coach, and criticizing Enrique Cerezo for his incompetence. As for Lin Sen, he was lucky to escape the curses, as the fans saw him as a mere scapegoat, not even worthy of a banner.

Lin Sen found these fans unexpectedly adorable.

The grass was lush and green.

A group of boys with various skin tones were happily running on the field, chasing the black and white ball, occasionally shouting and clapping. Despite the loud voice of the coach on the sidelines giving instructions, the youthful energy in the air was unmistakable. A routine internal training match had turned into a playful game.

Lin Sen enviously watched the boys run freely on the field, feeling suddenly old. He felt so old that if anyone on the field called him "uncle," he would accept it without hesitation. Some things are destined to be unchangeable. He had returned to ten years ago, but his mindset could never go back.

"Sadiq Adams, with excellent physical conditions and good shooting skills, is currently the team's top scorer and one of the best forwards in the youth league. He has already signed a professional contract with the club and was originally scheduled to join the first team next season. Nacho, or Ignacio, is a genius we poached from Real Madrid. In my opinion, he is capable of playing for the first team..."

Juanes, the head coach of Atletico Madrid's youth team, was introducing his talented young players to Lin Sen. The former head coach, Aguirre, was a stubborn man who saw little difference between having and not having a youth team. He rarely visited, which is why Juanes was particularly enthusiastic about Lin Sen's visit. However, this enthusiasm did not mean recognition.

Lin Sen listened attentively, nodding occasionally but not interrupting, even as Juanes spoke until he was hoarse.

It wasn't that Lin Sen had any prejudice against Juanes. He was happy to see more talent in the youth team. After all, it was easier to manage young players than the veterans in the first team, which was crucial for him now. The three players Juanes introduced were indeed good, especially the tall black player, who was like a human tank. However, Lin Sen was not optimistic about him because, in the youth team, you can bully the smaller players, but in the first team, there are many taller players, and professional players have many ways to deal with such big, clumsy players. As for the other two, one was one of Lin Sen's targets.

Ignacio Camacho, a young player who, in his memory, was less famous than the well-known Spanish coach, was currently at the peak of his fame. This was because both Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid had invited him, and he chose Atletico Madrid. If the former head coach, Aguirre, knew only one youth team player, it would definitely be Camacho. The young Camacho was indeed promising and, if he remembered correctly, was promoted to the first team by Aguirre this season. However, with Lin Sen as the new head coach, whether Camacho would get the chance to play professionally at a young age depended on Lin Sen's mood.

Of course, Camacho was just one of the targets. Lin Sen had two other, more important targets.

Jorge Resurrección Merodio, whose name was so long that even the Spanish, who liked long names, found it impractical for a jersey, had a more familiar name: Keko. The other was the future Manchester United's starting goalkeeper, David de Gea.