Real Madrid issued a call-up notice on December 30.
The next day, Real Madrid would begin their first training session.
Di María wore brand-new white shirt and black training pants—the official Real Madrid training kit.
"Darling, I'm off to training," Di María called towards the kitchen, where Jorgelina came out to see him off.
Facing the morning sun, Di María stood at the door and took a deep breath.
This was his first day at Real Madrid. Training at a big club like this would naturally come with pressure and some feeling of oppression.
But he was prepared for all of it.
"Come on!"Di María gave himself a quiet pep talk.
Just as he was about to take the bus to the training ground, a solemn black Rolls-Royce stopped at the street corner.
The window slowly rolled down, and Suker appeared.
"Get in!"Suker shook his head.
Inside the car, both Suker and Di María sat in the back seat.
Di María looked at Suker and asked, "Did you come to pick me up?"
Suker turned his head with a strange look: "I just saw you come out, so I told the driver to stop."
Di María scratched his head awkwardly.
He had misunderstood.
Suker lightly shook his sleeve, revealing his brand-new Rolex watch.
"I have watched your matches," he said.
Di María was surprised: "You follow the Portuguese league?"
Suker nodded, shaking his wrist.
"The Primeira Liga has some excellent teams, like Porto, Benfica, Sporting , and so on."
"Yes! These are strong teams in Portugal, but if they face Real Madrid, they will have a hard time," Di María replied.
Suker rolled up his sleeves and rested his wrist on his leg.
In the sunlight, the watch gleamed brightly.
Di María glanced down.
"Is your wrist uncomfortable? Is it injured?" he asked.
Suker said nothing.
Indeed, not everyone was like Pato, that mangy dog.
So, what could motivate Di María?
Suker was a little troubled.
To make Di María grow quickly and work for him, there needed to be motivation.
At first, Suker used his watch to motivate Pato.
But Di María seemed unaffected by that.
"This car is really amazing!"
Seeing Suker remain silent, Di María felt a bit nervous, worried he said something wrong. To ease the awkwardness, he complimented Suker's car.
Suddenly, Suker turned his head to look at Di María, his gaze burning.
"You want it?" he asked.
Di María blinked in surprise.
He felt Suker was strange, a bit awkward in personality.
Suker cared about him deeply, asking about everything—even career data and habits in great detail.
At first, Di María thought Suker just wanted to understand him, but soon he realized something was off.
Suker was showing off his watch, his car, everything he owned.
Di María wasn't stupid—he understood Suker's intention.
"Actually, you don't need to do this. I'm not so materialistic. Of course, I like money, but it's not everything. For me, the most important task now is to integrate into the team quickly. I want to play in the league, I want to play in the Copa del Rey. Of course, not this season, but next season, I want to play in the Champions League," Di María said.
He shyly added, "If you want to help me, you can train with me more. That way, our cooperation will be better."
Suker looked at Di María.
He hadn't seen such a look for a long time.
Whether at Dinamo Zagreb or AC Milan, whenever Suker was mentioned, he was absolutely the core.
No one dared challenge his position, whether sincerely or by acting.
That gave Suker a comfortable confidence.
But Di María was different.
This guy had ambition—and didn't hide it.
Suker could feel Di María's thirst for goals and victory.
In this slightly slender body, hid a greedy desire to score.
"Keep up the fighting spirit!" Suker suddenly said, "If you give up, I'll be very disappointed."
Di María was a little confused.
But Suker understood that Di María was fundamentally different from Pato.
Pato had only stage goals in football.
For example: living in a big house, wearing branded watches, making a lot of money.
But Di María was different—this guy wanted to achieve more, had bigger dreams.
But those dreams were not easy to realize.
On the first day of training, Pellegrini took everyone straight to the medical center for exams.
He needed to make sure the players didn't slack off during the holiday.
Especially since Pepe was injured, Pellegrini had become more cautious.
"Van der Vaart!"
Suker's eyes moved.
A man with a beard walked in.
Van der Vaart was a bit alone in the locker room.
After the Dutch faction was cleaned out, he was one of the few left.
Even though he wasn't in Pellegrini's tactics, he chose to stay.
Van der Vaart spent most of the first half of the season recovering from injury, only recently returning to training.
After a series of medical exams, Van der Vaart left quietly.
Except for Raúl, almost no one greeted him—a complete outsider.
"Suker!"
A voice came from inside. Suker immediately took off his shirt and went in.
Whoa!!!
Seeing Suker's bare muscles, everyone gasped.
What muscle lines!
Almost no fat, clear muscle contours, full of explosive power but also extremely flexible.
Many muscles look stiff, but Suker's were different.
Probably this kind of abnormal muscle created a monster like Suker.
Di María also stared wide-eyed at Suker.
You can't tell when he's clothed, but once undressed, the impact is huge.
Suker didn't look very strong, but in duels, he was definitely not weak.
When Suker came out, these strong Real Madrid players didn't dare to take off their shirts.
Especially Di María, compared to Suker, his small frame was a bit pathetic.
After the medical exams came the physical fitness test.
Pellegrini valued fitness highly, so he specially arranged a fitness test.
Sprint back and forth.
This was the fitness test best suited for football.
Two by two, which encouraged competition and added fun.
Di María was again paired with Suker.
Muscle-wise, he wouldn't compare.
But he was confident in his speed.
"Run!"
At the command, Di María sprinted forward.
But someone was faster.
At the very start, the gap slowly widened.
"How can he be so fast!"
Di María was a bit flustered.
Speed was supposed to be his strength.
But Suker's speed was ridiculous.
Higuaín watched Di María looking lost and was a bit gleeful.
When Suker first joined Real Madrid, Higuaín was paired with him and was overwhelmed.
Suker combined explosive power and speed.
He was absolutely one of the fastest supercars on the football field.
After two defeats, Di María had a clearer understanding of the gap between himself and top stars.
But then came Di María's specialty.
"Next, a confrontation match!"
Di María clenched his fists.
Though physically inferior to Suker, he was confident in his unparalleled talent with the ball.
He could impress the coach in the confrontation and earn playing time.
But before the match, he thought everything would be perfect.
Only after it started, when he faced Suker, did he realize why Suker was a top star.
Bang!Swish!Suker struck a powerful shot and scored.
No flashy skills, only extremely skillful and simple evasion.
As a striker, he sent the ball into the net in the shortest time and simplest way.
Suker's movements were plain.
Maybe because it was a training match without pressure, he didn't show extra fancy moves.
That kind of Suker was even more terrifying.
"Four goals!"
Di María was dazed.
His chest felt extreme pressure; his lungs seemed to be burning.
Under the double pressure of stress and fatigue, Di María felt like he couldn't hold on.
So what exactly was this guy's deal?
Benzema, Marcelo, Higuaín, and others stood on the sidelines.
Seeing Di María's confused look, they shook their heads.
He and Di María were national teammates but not very close.
Besides, as a competitor for forward positions, he didn't like Di María much.
But he hadn't expected Di María to follow him to Real Madrid.
Competition in the national team was one thing.
Now, club competition too!
It annoyed him.
Suker already squeezed him hard.
If Di María also eyed the bench spots, he wouldn't feel comfortable.
"Don't you want to?" Benzema suddenly asked.
Higuaín stayed silent.
Intimidated by Suker's fame and ability, he couldn't bring himself to resist.
Players like him probably wouldn't come to Real Madrid.
This was Real Madrid—the stage where anything was possible.
Outwardly, they were a team.
But inside, it was a competitive environment.
Whether they showed it or not, everyone was watching Suker like a hawk.
If Suker showed any slack or form drop, they would do everything to pull him off the throne.
Bang!
On the field, Guti's pass was a bit too long.
As he prepared to raise his hand to apologize, Suker suddenly jumped.
He jumped so high, like flying.
He smashed the ball with force.
The ball hit the net.
Whoosh!!
Everyone gasped.
With this terrifying physique, no one knew when Suker would decline.
Surely, everyone's peak period had limits.
By experience and data, a player's peak usually lasts 5-6 years.
Suker was 24 this year.
At most, by 27 or 28, Suker would enter decline.
Then, their chance would come.
They didn't believe that with Pellegrini's usage and intensity, Suker's peak wouldn't go even faster—and their chance would come even sooner.
Now, they just needed to wait.
First day's training was over.
Di María returned to his small villa.
Training had shocked him, but more than that, it invigorated him mentally.
Big clubs were indeed big clubs, producing incredibly strong players.
Suker was one thing!
Others on the forward line were also tough.
Benzema, Higuaín, Raúl, and so on.
Midfielders like Xabi Alonso, Guti, Diarra had great passing.
Ramos was strong—impossible to knock down.
Di María tried a few times, but it was a training match, so Ramos held back.
In a real game, Di María felt he'd either have to risk injury to get past him or just be honest.
Overall, the first day was very fruitful.
"Darling, Real Madrid is amazing. I've met many great players here, lots of peers who are unbelievably strong, especially Suker—I can hardly believe it."
Di María excitedly talked about his first training day.
His heart was filled with joy and fighting spirit.
He was already looking forward to real matches.
At the same time, Suker returned to his villa.
The annoying gazes had never disappeared throughout the training day.
Suker clearly knew these guys were hungry wolves lying in wait for his decline.
Decline?
He didn't have such a thing.
Cristiano Ronaldo and Messi were the unbeatable duo.
During their prime, many tried to challenge them, tried to pull them off the throne.
But in terms of maintaining their peak, those challengers weren't qualified.
Occasional bursts of one or two seasons don't count.
A true peak spans a decade, a whole career.
Benzema watched him.
Higuaín watched him.
Di María too.
More challengers would come.
But Suker would show everyone what an abnormal peak really meant.
Hmph!
He wouldn't let any of them outlast him!
"Tomorrow is the first match after the winter break. We will face Osasuna away. Now, I will announce the squad!"
Upon hearing this, the locker room immediately tensed.
Players looked at Pellegrini, who felt very satisfied.
Only then did he feel like a head coach with real power.
One name after another was called.
Strong players like Suker were called first.
Some adjustments were made for the bench.
Newcomers like Van der Vaart and Di María also made the squad.
"Ángel, congratulations!" Suker smiled and congratulated him.
Di María was thrilled—making the squad for the first match meant the coach was satisfied with his training.
It was very difficult to get playing time at a big club like Real Madrid.
Di María had just joined, so making the squad was exciting enough.
Suker wasn't surprised.
Di María performed well, though he hadn't scored many goals.
Every training aspect was done well and excellently.
If that still didn't earn a squad spot, Suker would question Pellegrini's professionalism.
After the squad announcement, everyone began packing to head to Pamplona, capital of the Navarre region.
Osasuna was a mid-to-lower table La Liga team, though in 2005/06 they once reached 4th place.
Still, the usual fate of smaller teams: standout players got poached, and they fell back to the lower ranks.
Osasuna's situation was stable.
They usually just barely escaped relegation.
More importantly, each season they could successfully stay up.
In the latter half, they showed strong form, climbing out of the relegation zone.
Once they reached a relatively safe position, they suddenly lost momentum, sliding down again.
At their peak, they even managed a home draw with Barcelona.
Therefore, Real Madrid had to be cautious.
After all, Osasuna was now like a small dog on adrenaline, trying to escape relegation.
"Pamplona's 'Running of the Bulls' is famous," Ramos introduced on the bus.
Suker smiled wryly—why was Spain always so obsessed with bulls?
"On the day of the Running of the Bulls, many bulls are released in the streets, chasing people in a bull-and-man chase!"
Di María opened his mouth wide: "Won't there be casualties?"
He had witnessed bullfighting bulls—each one fierce, and many bullfighters had been killed by sharp horns.
"Because the bulls are raised in captivity, their horns are cut to be less sharp, making it safer," Ramos explained.
"And the people who participate have to be selected carefully. Only courageous, physically fit young men can join."
"Raúl participated once, and I remember he was chased around happily."
Suker was speechless.
What's fun about that?
Pamplona was a small city.
Although it was a capital, its permanent population wasn't large.
European countries mostly had this pattern.
Besides big famous cities like London, Paris, Milan, most others were small rural towns.
Pamplona's economy was mainly agricultural.
Before entering the city, they saw broad flat farmland enclosed by fences.
The temperature in January was about 13 degrees Celsius—comfortable climate.
By February, temperatures would rise again.
At this time, many people were already working hard in the fields, preparing for spring planting.
The bus entered the city, where large buildings were rare, malls were few, and the streets were sparsely populated.
The whole city gave a feeling of peace and tranquility.