Chapter 88

A little over a week ago, there were two people whose moods were not much different from Rois's current state. These two people were Bonucci and Ranocchia.

After decades of hard preparation, they felt as if they had been thrown back to the pre-liberation era. This was their current feeling.

Before the Copa del Rey match against Mallorca, the Italian duo still maintained a very positive attitude, believing they would eventually get their chance. And their patience did indeed pay off. However, a single Copa del Rey match almost turned everything into a bubble. They still clearly remember that the day after the match, the local Malaga newspapers described their performance as a "disaster" because the two goals conceded against Mallorca were directly related to their mistakes.

In professional teams, young players receive the greatest tolerance, but this tolerance is often built on a fragile foundation. When you get your chance, if you can't seize it, no amount of tolerance can change the fact that you will lose your opportunity. Compared to Ranocchia, Bonucci felt this more deeply because he came from Inter Milan.

For a top club, being a young player is like a beautiful dream, but a beautiful dream is easily broken.

Just as the two thought they would have to start waiting again, in recent days, Lin Sen unexpectedly made a change in training: he had the two wear the yellow vests that symbolized the starting lineup. At first, the two thought it was just an occasional adjustment in training, but after several days, when the yellow vests were still on them during the last training session before the match against Valencia, they couldn't help but start to ponder the implications.

It's important to note that according to Lin Sen's habits, he usually keeps his starting lineup a secret until the last moment. However, this doesn't mean that there are no signs of his selection. The most obvious sign is that the players wearing the yellow vests during the last training session before the match are often the starters for the next game.

Since the start of the season, although Lin Sen has deliberately maintained a mysterious air about his starting lineup, the actual starting lineup hasn't changed much. The reason is easy to understand: on one hand, Malaga's schedule isn't too long, so there's no need to worry much about physical fitness. On the other hand, it's necessary to quickly build team chemistry. Of course, this doesn't mean that Lin Sen doesn't like rotation; it's just that rotation is a means, not an end.

Since it's a means, it needs to be used appropriately.

"Do you plan to have them start?" After training, Tapia walked up to Lin Sen and asked. The players know Lin Sen's habits, and as an assistant coach, Tapia naturally knows them as well.

"I have this idea," Lin Sen said to Tapia without any pretense, nodding.

"… Isn't it a bit too hasty?" Tapia hesitated after a moment of silence.

"I've already approved Rosario's leave; he will have three days off," Lin Sen said, not directly answering Tapia's question but mentioning another matter.

As Malaga's starting center-back this season, Rosario has always performed excellently, but his recent training has been subpar. At first, Lin Sen thought it might be due to the extra day off, but unexpectedly, he received Rosario's "leave request" yesterday, citing the need to return to Portugal to handle personal matters.

At that moment, Lin Sen was a bit irritated. Personal matters? What kind of personal matters? When he asked Tapia, he couldn't explain, and in the end, it was Livermore who gave him the answer: Rosario wanted a raise, but the club rejected his request, saying they would discuss it after the season. Clearly, Rosario didn't want to wait until after the season, so this situation arose.

Lin Sen couldn't interfere with the players' contract issues, but training was something he couldn't avoid. So, he signed off: approved.

This wasn't Lin Sen supporting players in putting pressure on the club over contract issues. In fact, Rosario's annual salary, though not the highest in Malaga, was at least above average, higher than Lin Sen's own. However, Lin Sen could understand Rosario's thoughts. The team had been performing well recently, and so had Rosario. Wanting a better contract wasn't unreasonable. But when it came to training, Lin Sen's principles were always very clear: training couldn't be delayed. After all, players are human, and football isn't everything. The idea that football is more important than life and death seemed more like an obsession. But training must be focused. If not, it's better not to train at all.

Moreover, Rosario's reason, regardless of whether it was his agent's instigation, was not within Lin Sen's acceptable range for delaying training.

Hearing Lin Sen's words, Tapia couldn't help but smile bitterly. He knew that Rosario had miscalculated, and it wouldn't be easy for him to return to the starting lineup.

"I didn't know you were so pessimistic about the Bonucci and Ranocchia partnership," Lin Sen said, seeing Tapia's expression. "Do you think they should be held responsible for the match against Mallorca?"

"Of course not, you should be," Tapia said, shaking his head in annoyance.

"Is it because the opponent is Valencia?"

It turns out you know the next opponent is Valencia, Tapia thought to himself. But before he could respond, Lin Sen said something that made him roll his eyes.

"Don't worry, Valencia is just an ordinary opponent."

"Y-You, a-are s-sure?!" Tapia looked at Lin Sen, emphasizing each word.

"Of course," Lin Sen said, seemingly completely unconcerned, laughing heartily.

His expression was relaxed.

Seeing Lin Sen's genuine ease, Tapia, who had been gritting his teeth, shook his head helplessly but couldn't help but admire him.

In the past week, due to the action at Camp Nou that many saw as self-torture, Malaga's head coach had endured a barrage of criticism and ridicule from the Catalan media. However, after returning from Barcelona, Lin Sen seemed to have forgotten what he had done. Apart from giving an extra day off, his expression showed no difference from when the team was on a seven-game winning streak.

Does Lin Sen really not care about the outside world's evaluation of him? Not necessarily. But the purpose of Lin Sen's actions was clear to Tapia.

After Malaga's first league defeat of the season, surprisingly few media outlets focused on the match itself. Even the Catalan media and others chose to gloss over the match, focusing instead on Lin Sen's "provocation" of Barcelona. Terms like "Mourinho disciple" and "anti-football pioneer" were thrown around.

Sensationalism is no longer the exclusive domain of gossip.

One side willing to provoke, the other willing to be provoked. Tapia didn't believe the media couldn't see why Lin Sen acted that way, but they were still willing to fall into the trap.

Is this a mutual manipulation? A strange thought suddenly popped into Tapia's mind.

Manipulation is not a positive term. But such manipulation is clearly not something just anyone can pull off. At least, Tapia didn't have the courage to make such a move at Camp Nou, let alone remain as relaxed as Lin Sen afterward.

---

Habits are called habits because they can easily bypass the thinking process and lead to actions. Without training, Lin Sen had planned to sleep in, but when the time came, he still opened his eyes on schedule.

Lying in bed is not a good habit. So, as usual, Lin Sen got up, washed up, and put on his sports clothes to go for a morning run. His morning run route was simple: run to the beach, circle around, and run back. The total distance was less than five kilometers, not long but valuable in its consistency. On his way back, Lin Sen saw his neighbor, Mr. Cruz, sitting in a rocking chair, smoking a pipe and basking in the sun. He smiled and greeted him.

Mr. Cruz took the pipe out of his mouth and smiled, replying, "Is there a match today?"

"Yes," Lin Sen said, walking to his house and unlocking the door, "Valencia."

"Good luck. Your Aunt Belinda has been nagging about wanting to watch your match. I plan to watch it with her tonight, of course, just at home."

"Thanks," Lin Sen said, opening the door and smiling, "I hope I won't disappoint you. And if you ever want to come to a match, just let me know."

Mr. Cruz nodded and smiled in agreement.

Back at his place, Lin Sen took a shower and started making breakfast. His breakfast menu wasn't fixed; if he had time, he would cook some millet porridge and a few side dishes. If not, it would be milk and bread. Today, he clearly had plenty of time for breakfast.

Half an hour later, Lin Sen was sitting at the table, watching TV while enjoying his breakfast.

On weekends, football becomes the main focus of Spanish TV. Lin Sen randomly chose a channel and quickly learned the results of the three matches that had been played the night before.

Barcelona, who had just defeated the team that beat them last week, crushed Valladolid 6-0 at home, with Messi scoring a hat-trick. Clearly, it would be very difficult for other teams to challenge Barcelona's position, even with Lin Sen's team. Lin Sen could be confident in his own team, but he couldn't help other teams. Hoping for Barcelona to make a mistake? His butterfly wings weren't big enough for that yet.

In the other two matches, Real Madrid won 3-0 away against Getafe, temporarily returning to the top four, but it was still far from resolving Schuster's trust crisis. Meanwhile, Atletico Madrid continued their poor form, drawing away against Osasuna, and despite playing one more match, they remained in 11th place. If Schuster's backside was just smoking, then at this point, Reixach was already feeling the heat.

Lin Sen continued to drink his porridge leisurely.

Tapia had always been puzzled by how Lin Sen could remain so relaxed, even against a powerful opponent like Barcelona or a team that had humiliated him like Valencia. The reason was right there on the TV screen.

Why should Lin Sen be nervous?

His "promotion team" had won the matches they should have won and even some they shouldn't have. Now, they were high in second place in the league. What reason did he have to be nervous?

There's a famous saying: "After I die, let the floods come."

Lin Sen wasn't that irresponsible. He just felt: so many people are in hot water, why should I join the crowd?