August 4th, Real Madrid entered the third week of training camp.
This also marked the official start of combined team training after completing a series of individual training sessions.
From this point on, Mourinho would gradually build his tactical system.
On the training field, Mourinho looked at everyone and loudly announced:
"From today, we officially start combined team training!"
"Also, the indicators recorded earlier will be used to officially decide the starting lineup after this week's training ends."
Hearing this, everyone's heart sank.
A trace of pressure began to rise in their minds.
Every player's expression became very serious.
In the new season, whether they could fight for a starting position would be decided from here.
"Today we will have two internal matches — one in the morning, one in the afternoon!"
"The team will split into two sides, midfield will be shuffled, some will join the defense group, others join the forward group!"
"Now, I will announce the lineups!"
Red Team (4-3-3):Goalkeeper: Casillas.
Defenders: Srna, Ramos, Pepe, Marcelo.
Midfielders: Khedira, Diarra, Alonso.
Forwards: Higuaín, Adebayor, León.
Blue Team (4-3-3):Goalkeeper: Dudek.
Defenders: Arbeloa, Mateos, Carvalho, Moreno.
Midfielders: Di María, Gago, Granero.
Forwards: Kaká, Suker, Benzema.
Both sides put on their respective training vests and walked onto the pitch. At this moment, everyone's expressions were serious.
Although their previous training had some bonus points, nothing compared to the impact of a competitive match.
Even if their previous training data was not excellent, if they performed well in the match, they could secure a starting spot.
Therefore, everyone, including substitutes, was full of fighting spirit.
"Keep an eye on each other's positions. Suker cannot be defended by just one person. When attacking, communicate promptly."
Hearing Srna's reminder, Ramos nodded firmly.
It must be said that Srna really improved a lot at Inter Milan.
Now, he was not the defensive core of Real Madrid, but under Mourinho's support, he had a certain voice in the team.
The only thing that annoyed Srna was:
Damn it!
He had already joined Real Madrid, so why was he still playing as an 'opponent' against Suker?!
Both teams lined up on the field; the match was about to begin.
Suker was warming up with his usual bouncing jumps.
This scene made Ramos and others thirsty just watching.
Pepe shouted loudly:
"Don't be afraid! We've gone through harsh training recently; our abilities have greatly improved!"
Pepe raised his arm and shouted:
"Shut down Suker!"
Everyone turned to look.
"What nonsense are you talking about!"
Pepe blinked. Just as he awkwardly wanted to lower his hand, Ramos, Srna and others shouted excitedly:
"Shut down Suker!"
"Make him embarrassed!"
"Destroy our best striker!"
"Oh oh oh~~~!! Guys, let's get fired up!"
Everyone shouted loudly with high morale.
Suker was unhappy inside. He pointed forward and shouted:
"See that bald guy? Mark him hard! I'll mess him up!"
Pepe widened his eyes.
Suker! Damn you!
Mourinho watched from the sidelines and couldn't help but smile.
"Good atmosphere!" assistant coach Faria also smiled.
Mourinho nodded:
"The reason I split the starting lineup like this is to let them discover their problems through competition, and also to use our forwards to sharpen the defense."
"Our problem is the defense, so the construction of the backline for the new season is very important. If they can withstand the forwards' attacks, they won't fear any forward line in the world!"
Faria grinned:
"That's really tough!"
He was in charge of forward training, so he knew how difficult it was.
Stopping Suker was already very hard.
Stopping both Suker and Kaká was even harder.
Mourinho was looking at the data, not actual performance.
During the second week, Mourinho mainly focused on the defense line, while the forwards were left free to roam and were less attended to.
Therefore, Faria thought Mourinho did not fully understand how terrifying this forward combination was.
Mourinho had confidence in Ramos and the defensive line.
"Shall we make a bet?" Mourinho proposed.
"A bet on what?"
"Just bet—"
Before he could finish speaking, the match started on the training field.
The internal match began.
Suker suddenly sprinted forward straight to the defense line next to Pepe.
At the same time, Granero received the ball and launched a long kick forward.
The ball formed an arc in the air, flying toward Suker's front.
Suker turned his back and tightly held Pepe, while raising his head to look for a forward.
Kaká was already rushing here.
Suker glanced sideways; Kaká almost simultaneously adjusted with small quick steps.
Snap!
Suker stretched out his left foot, using the instep to move the ball to the right.
This move was very steady, with almost no bounce.
Kaká rushed up and fiercely shot.
Ding!
The ball struck the crossbar and flew out of bounds.
"Ah~~~~~~!!!"
Kaká knelt on the ground, lamenting and holding his head.
Suker sprayed curses beside him:
"During training you score ten out of ten, but you suck in the match?"
Kaká turned his head:
"I didn't adjust my state."
"Then hurry up and adjust!"
"The next one will definitely go in! That shot of yours—"
"What's wrong?"
"—No problem!"
The two teased each other while retreating.
On the red team's defense line, Pepe, Ramos and others were under great pressure.
Just now, Suker and Kaká's coordination was very stable and very fast.
Almost immediately after Suker played the ball, Kaká shot.
Such cooperation was rare; the speed and rhythm were perfect.
So perfect that they barely had time to react.
From Suker's eyes shifting off the ball to Kaká's shot was nearly instant.
Mourinho's eyes widened.
"Did they plan this before the match?"
"No!" Faria shook his head.
"This is 'coordination'!"
So it was a spontaneous decision.
Before touching the ball, Suker raised his head.
At that moment, Suker and Kaká exchanged a glance, then the perfect one-two wall pass shot appeared.
To explain more clearly:
Suker plays the ball, Kaká shoots.
Bang! Bang!
The two sounds came less than a second apart.
That meant Kaká was already prepared to shoot and had locked the ball's landing spot before Suker even touched it.
"Interesting!"
A light flashed in Mourinho's eyes. He finally understood why Faria was so confident.
Faria turned to him:
"Still want to bet?"
Mourinho turned confused:
"What are you talking about?"
Faria:
"Nothing!"
This guy was pretending to be dumb again!
The blue team's first attack startled Ramos and the others.
Mainly because the coordination and shooting were so decisive.
Goal kick.
Casillas pressed the ball down with both hands.
"Stay steady! Stay steady!"
Then Casillas passed to Srna.
Suker immediately charged.
Srna passed sideways to Ramos while retreating to open a gap.
Ramos immediately passed back to Srna.
"Got it!"
Suker suddenly twisted and rushed.
Srna didn't actively meet the ball but calmly waited.
When Suker got close, Srna shifted his shoulder outward.
Suker immediately stretched out his foot to block.
"Don't think about passing!"
Srna smiled slightly and stopped the ball with his right foot, pulling his body back.
Suker used his strong physique to pull his center of gravity back and fiercely pounced again.
He immediately poked forward with his foot.
But Srna lightly flicked the ball through Suker's legs.
"Hahaha~~~~!!!"
"Pfft!!!"
Suker was nutmegged.
Ramos, Pepe and others laughed hard.
Srna passed the ball to Alonso after breaking free.
He turned to Suker, winking:
"Nobody told you not to stretch your foot when defending?"
Suker took the loss and quietly turned away.
Others laughed at him.
Only Kaká shook his head with a smile.
He had seen this before!
When Suker was in Milan, he had been nutmegged and then chased down to nutmeg others in return.
Indeed, three minutes later, Suker carried the ball and charged at Srna.
Srna was very alert.
Suker's dribbling was extremely graceful.
Every touch was just right.
No longer the high-frequency nervous feeling.
No excessive dribbling losing control.
It was like measured by a ruler, perfectly precise.
Srna nervously watched Suker's feet.
Suddenly, Suker flicked the ball inside.
Srna tried to step forward and block Suker behind.
But Suker stretched out his left foot, stepped forward to block Srna, back facing, stepped the ball back toward Srna's legs, and used his right foot as a pivot to spin his body, pushing off to accelerate and chase the ball.
He whipped a cross into the middle.
Benzema rushed in, but Casillas saved it.
Suker passed Srna with a teasing expression:
"Even without stretching your foot, I can still nutmeg you!"
Srna smiled.
Nothing wrong with himself, why bother with this guy!
Cool but petty Suker!
"Focus on training quality!"
After playing around for a while, Mourinho's warning came immediately.
Everyone quickly became serious.
This week's goal was overall training.
So they started moving according to previous training patterns.
Red team's defense was unstable.
But that instability was because of Suker and Kaká's attack.
Blue team's midfield passing was a bit clumsy, only running smoothly when the ball was at Kaká or Suker's feet.
After 10 minutes, Suker and Kaká's coordination gradually intensified.
They constantly bombarded the red team's defense.
Ramos and Pepe held out for only 15 minutes before they became chaotic.
"What kind of impact is this?"
Ramos complained, sweating heavily.
Even after physical training from Pletus, the intense attack made him constantly observe and make decisions.
Even a small error could turn into a goal by Suker or Kaká.
Most importantly,
Before, they only needed to mark Suker.
But now, besides Suker, Kaká was also deadly.
Bang!
Di María took advantage of a counterattack, passing a very comfortable ground ball.
His body positioned sideways, right foot forward, left foot back, forming a 7-shape.
He pushed the ball slightly to the right with his back foot and accelerated forward.
Kaká sped up on the right side, controlled the ball with his right foot, naturally rotating his body.
A Marseille turn, directly bypassing Marcelo, who was dizzy.
After the dribble, Kaká immediately gave a curled pass.
The ball flew in a half-high arc, bypassing the entire defense toward the center.
Pepe rushed back and tried hard to stretch his foot to block but failed.
When he turned,
Swish!!
Suker leapt forward with a diving header, hitting the ball with his forehead and flicking it hard.
The ball flew to the right post, hit the post with a ding, and went into the goal.
The crowd erupted.
Even Ramos and others from the red team couldn't help but shake their heads and applaud.
"What a smooth counterattack!"
Faria blinked:
"A total of four touches, Suker and Di María each with one pass, Kaká with a Marseille turn, then a curled cross, Suker finished with a diving header!"
"As long as the midfield can reliably pass the ball out, our forwards' counterattack is extremely powerful!"
Mourinho smiled.
This was exactly the scene he wanted!
Simplify the complex!
Previously, Real Madrid's attack pace was too slow!
Sure, Suker's dribbling was entertaining, but it lacked smoothness and sharpness.
This counterattack was much better!
Utilizing overall advantage, mixing in individual abilities, perfectly integrating everyone's characteristics into a collective attack.
Although it took 30 minutes to complete, it had taken shape.
"Great pass!"
Suker and Kaká hugged tightly.
"What about me? What about me?" Di María ran over.
"My pass was also very important!"
Kaká smiled and gave a thumbs-up:
"Nice pass."
Di María just started smiling when Suker teased:
"Only one pass in 30 minutes? Your efficiency is too low."
Di María:
"..."
"But..."
Suker changed tone:
"The pass was really good, keep it up, pass me more of those balls!"
Hearing this, Di María was happy again.
"Substitution!"
On the sidelines, Mourinho ordered changes.
"Granero and Alonso swap, Kaká and Di María swap positions!"
Thus, the red team's lineup changed.
Midfield: Kaká, Gago, Alonso.
Forwards: Di María, Suker, Benzema.
Seeing Alonso subbed off, the red team almost exploded.
They already had little attack, focusing all on defense.
Now losing Alonso, they could only defend passively.
But that was expected.
Blue team's attack and counterattack became even smoother with Alonso joining.
Midfield had Alonso and Kaká as outlets, making transitions extremely fast.
Mourinho even ordered Kaká not to stay in place but to try attacking forward more.
From then on, blue team's attack was unstoppable.
In total, 90 minutes of match.
Blue team beat red team 4-2.
Suker scored a hat-trick, Kaká had two assists and one goal!
After 90 minutes, red team was nearly exhausted.
Not physically tired, but mentally.
Anyone who was pressed for nearly 80 minutes would feel the same.
But credit where it's due: their forward line was truly amazing!
"Did Suker and Kaká cooperate this well before?"
Pepe turned and asked.
He was nearly mentally crushed by the two.
One Suker was bad enough.
Add Kaká!
Mark Suker, Kaká creates trouble.
Mark Kaká, Suker flies off!
Such a dual attack was unbearable.
Not just for them, even last season's Inter Milan couldn't stop it!
Ramos asked:
"Was it this troublesome when they played at Milan?"
Srna shook his head:
"No! Absolutely not!"
Back then, Suker and Kaká had a brief dual core.
But that style was rough and awkward, lacking today's explosive power.
Now they maximized their abilities in limited resources.
"Really made it!"
Kaká exclaimed.
Godlike Suker + God-slaying Kaká, that was a beautiful concept.
Kaká didn't expect to develop this under limited resources.
But the match showed it clearly.
Four goals: Suker hat-trick, Kaká two assists and one goal.
And this was without fully unleashing themselves in the competitive match.
Suker's eyes burned with passion.
"This bonus is finally here!"
He had been waiting since 2007!
Three years, finally the payoff, not easy at all.
Clap clap!
Faria clapped, attracting attention.
"The head coach has something to attend to, so I will lead the afternoon training. Take a break now, and we'll play another match in the afternoon!"
"Dismissed!"
Faria looked toward the office building.
After the match, Mourinho rushed to the office.
Obviously, Suker and Kaká's combination gave him great surprise.
Now, Mourinho was in an inspired period.
If he used this combination well, he could greatly increase Real Madrid's attacking power on the original foundation.
Mourinho believed he was about to create a team that would shock the football world.
A truly legendary Galáctico!
Now, the question was how to utilize this combination well.
How to make this team's attacking power unstoppable!
But first, defense must be improved.
Phew~
Mourinho exhaled slowly.
He was too excited!
Almost forgot the fundamentals.
Any counterattack must be built on defense.
He took a deep breath and lightly slapped his cheeks, calming his fiery heart.
"Calm down, José! You can do it!"
Mourinho encouraged himself silently.