Chapter Thirty-Eight: The Fallen Kaka

After most of the main players have endured continuous battles and rebuttals to and from the national team, their mental state is a little sluggish, which gives Fan Bizhuang a chance, plus Fan Bizhuang's competitive state during this period can be described as hot and abnormal, and he has scored goals in both club and national team, so Pellegrini also complied with public opinion and put Fan Bizhuang in the starting lineup in the home game against Tenerife.

Not only Fan Bizhuang, but also some substitutes were given the opportunity to start. Because in midweek, the first leg of the Champions League quarterfinals will kick off, Real Madrid will welcome the challenge of the French hegemon Lyon at home, in order to preserve the strength, but also to give time for the main players to get enough rest and adjustment, so in this round of the league, Pellegrini is very resolute to rotate the lineup.

Fan Bizhuang's return to the starting line-up was a matter of course, and after his resurgence in form, his goals continued to flow and the fans kept cheering for him.

And Kaka, who has been in a gradual decline due to a groin injury and has long lost his main position, was also able to get the starting opportunity this time.

This is the first time that Real Madrid's three superstars have appeared together at the Bernabeu, so despite the team rotating most of the main players, Real Madrid fans are still looking forward to this game, and Tenerife, who are currently deep in the relegation zone, and Real Madrid, who are at the top of the table, are completely incomparable in terms of strength, so fans believe that this will be a grand event where the three superstars shine together.

The game went very smoothly as the fans expected, and Cristiano Ronaldo's header in the 28th minute of the first half drew thunderous cheers from the audience.

Before the end of the first half, Fan Bizhuang did not live up to the expectations of the fans, cruising on the side, after receiving a pass from Granero, he suddenly changed to the middle of the road, shook off the defender on the penalty line and pulled out the shot, and a curved ball with an obvious trajectory helped Real Madrid penetrate the door of the visiting team for the second time.

Two of the three superstars have already scored, and the home fans are cheering at the same time, they will also bet more enthusiasm and hope on Kaka, three superstars, if all three have excellent performances, that is called real perfection.

But disappointingly, Kaka's performance was only mediocre, and although he ran aggressively, he almost always did useless work, let alone score goals, and even made very few dangerous passes, and he tried to break through a few times, but after a few failures, he gave up, and more of a catch-and-pass and ran away - such a performance was quite intimidating to rush forward with the ball.

At Kaka's peak, the most praised by fans was not only his sunny and handsome face, but also his stride with his head held high and advancing like a meteor, his dribbling was very rhythmic and beautiful, and countless defenders were thrown away by his big stride, and could only watch him complete the shot.

But now, such a striding meteor-like dribble can rarely be seen on the field again. After suffering a serious injury, Kaka was not only injured by his body, but also seemed to have a problem with his mentality.

He began to fear the recurrence of his groin in the middle of the run, he feared that his speed would no longer be able to shake off his opponent, he was afraid of confrontation, he was afraid of pain...... Many times, he clearly has the opportunity to break through, but he gives up on his own.

His confidence is gradually decreasing, decreasing.

Kaka worked hard in the run, but in fact he didn't show much, even if Fan Bizhuang and C. Ronaldo "took care" of this teammate, passing him from time to time, trying to awaken his confidence and fighting spirit, but in the end it was in vain.

On the contrary, Fan Bizhuang picked up a leak in front of the goal in the thirteenth minute of the second half and scored another goal.

After scoring a brace, Van Bizhuang was replaced by Manuel Pellegrini with Guti. Also leaving the field with him was Cristiano Ronaldo.

With the big picture set, Manuel Pellegrini is clearly holding back for the Champions League in midweek.

The three superstars have gone, leaving only Kaka, who is supposed to be the core of the field and get more possession and opportunities. But in fact, Kaka's performance still did not improve much, and his teammates frequently passed the ball to him, but he was never able to take his chances.

In the end, amid the disappointed sighs of the fans, in the 76th minute, Kaka was finally substituted.

No assists, no goals, very few passes that even threatened the ball.

In the sparse applause of the audience, Kaka hung his head gloomily and slowly walked back to the bench. This is a stark contrast to the high-spirited sunny boy in the past, Kaka used to always have a sunny smile on his handsome face, but now, it is more decadent and dazed.

A shining star is already slowly falling.

"It's hard to imagine that Kaka, who was at the top of the Rossoneri last season, has become like this, and the speed of his fall is staggering!"

"The teenager who single-handedly helped AC Milan to the top of Europe, seems to have lost his original brilliance due to injuries and time!"

"I hope Kaka can get back to form and confidence as soon as possible, after all, he has brought us countless good memories! He's still young and he still has a chance to get back to the top. Just like Fan, after experiencing setbacks, he was able to stand up again! ”

The voices of the commentators were either sighing or blessing on the live radio, and Kaka sat quietly on the bench with a blank face.

C. Luo patted his friend on the shoulder, trying to comfort him and say something, but he didn't say anything, just sighed slightly.

"Have you lost faith in yourself? Or have you lost faith in football? ”

Fan Bizhuang sat next to Kaka, his eyes looking at the court, but his mouth suddenly made a sound.

Kaka didn't look back, still looking fixedly ahead.

Fan Bizhuang said to himself: "Actually, you don't have to worry too much about your body at all, just like you do in training, run as hard as you can...... I know you can run faster and do better, but you can't get past that hurdle in your heart......"

Kaka's eyes moved, but he still didn't speak.

Fan Bizhuang smiled self-deprecatingly: "It's like me before...... We all know that we have no problem, but we can't pull out the thorn in our hearts. There's no one to help you, and you're on your own, if you don't want to lose. ”

Kaka finally reacted, and he turned his head to look at Fan Bizhuang, who had closed his eyes and leaned his head slightly on the chair, as if he had fallen into a false sleep.

Kaka's eyes were fixed on Fan Bizhuang for half a minute, then he withdrew his gaze and looked back at the court.

Just a long sigh sounded in his heart: "I...... Can we go back to the way things were? ”

……

In the end, Real Madrid defeated promoted Mateirife 3-0 at home to continue to lead La Liga by one point in the standings. After a period of crazy pursuit, Fan Bizhuang's league goals have reached 17, still ranking third in the scorer list, but with the first and second places, further narrowing the gap.

C. Ronaldo was a little unhappy, he failed to score in the last round of the league and took the lead in dropping the chain from the "three-legged stand", and although he scored in this round, he was one less than the "rival" Fan Bizhuang, so even if he still leads the La Liga scorer list with 19 league goals, he still has a relationship.

What makes Fan Bizhuang and C. Ronaldo unhappy is that Barcelona still won this round of the league, Messi still scored, and the Argentine, who scored a goal, continued to share the honor of "La Liga's top scorer" with C. Ronaldo.

"I really don't know when that little man will stop, biting so hard, it's really irritating!"

Van Bizhuang and C. Ronaldo both felt this way after the game, but they didn't know that in Barcelona, Messi was also making a similar sigh.

The news of Real Madrid's big victory over Tenerife did not cause much turmoil after the game, because this is a very common thing, one is the top giants in world football, and the other is a "dirt bun" who has just risen from the second division, the two teams have no comparison in all aspects, Real Madrid wins as a matter of course, and it is abnormal not to win.

However, Kaka's continued slump has aroused the interest of many media, who have questioned and criticized it in the newspapers, once again proving a realistic truth - a player who performs well is a darling, and a player who performs poorly is "an outcast that everyone shouts about".

Of course, Real Madrid's main focus now is not on the big win that has already ended, and for the Blancos, the first leg of the upcoming Champions League quarter-finals is the most important thing.

And the opponent of the Champions League quarterfinals, Leon, can be described as Real Madrid's "old enemy".

Don't look at Lyon is not a top giant in today's world football, and even in terms of fame and influence, it is not as good as some ordinary strong teams in the Premier League, La Liga, and the Bundesliga, but in fact, this is an extremely strong and sharp attacking team, they can be described as a single-handed cover in the French league, and the great cause of "seven consecutive French championships" can be called unprecedented - it is estimated that there is probably no one who will be hungry in the future.

Dominating the league and in Europe, Lyon has been doing well, reaching the knockout stage almost every season, and reaching the quarterfinals is commonplace.

This is a world of difference from Real Madrid, in the process of the gradual decline and disintegration of the first phase of the Galaxy Battleship, Real Madrid has failed to break through the curse of the "Top 16" for many years, and even has an indecent nickname of "Champions League Sixteen".

In the history of the confrontation between the two teams, Real Madrid is currently three draws and three losses, which can be called difficult to find a win. Lyon deservedly is Real Madrid's "biggest sufferer".

So even if Real Madrid's stars are shining and they are in the limelight in the league, they still dare not take Lyon lightly.