Soccer: I have the attributes of Messi in his Prime

Chapter 504: Atlético 1-6, Torres Contemplating Retirement

Silence. A deathly silence.

Lin Quan's goal at the Calderón Stadium completely shattered Atlético Madrid's dreams. Some Atlético fans, dressed in red and white striped jerseys, couldn't help but start crying.

Atlético isn't like a giant club such as Barcelona or Real Madrid. They don't have the same deep history or financial power, so their opportunities to win the Champions League are few and far between.

To miss out on this chance for the second time could very well be the last opportunity for some of these fans in their lifetime.

But standing in front of them like a towering mountain was Manchester City, and their dream had just been destroyed. How could anyone not feel heartbroken?

In one of the VIP boxes, Atlético's president, who was accompanying some important guests to watch the match, couldn't help but pause mid-sentence as Lin Quan's goal went in. He blankly stared at the scoreboard. After confirming that Atlético was now trailing, he let out a low sigh.

"Victory and defeat are common in war, Mr. President. There's no need to be disheartened. Even if we don't make the Champions League final this year, it won't shake my confidence in Atlético's future," said the guest next to him.

These words brought some comfort to the president, especially hearing that the guest still had faith in Atlético's future. A great weight seemed to lift from his shoulders.

Atlético's biggest issue right now was funding. The coach was talented, and the players on the field were not bad either, but they simply didn't have the money.

If they could secure more sponsorship from this important guest, it would undoubtedly be a good thing for Atlético.

"You're right, Mr. Wang. We shouldn't be too upset over one loss. Our team is still young, and our coach is full of potential. As long as we can keep our key players, we'll definitely have another chance to reach the final and lift that Champions League trophy."

The president was painting a picture of hope, and even though Mr. Wang knew this was a bit of flattery, he still played along.

In recent years, Mr. Wang's company had been investing heavily overseas. Last year, he had spent 300 million euros to purchase the iconic Edificio España in Madrid and 45 million euros for a 20% stake in Atlético Madrid.

With the growing trend of Chinese football players heading to Europe, and his own love for the sport, Mr. Wang had decided to increase his investment in football.

This trip to Spain wasn't just about watching the big match between Manchester City and Atlético; he was also planning to expand his stake in Atlético Madrid.

Mr. Wang was ready to invest 200 million euros to acquire more than 50% of Atlético's shares, making him the majority shareholder, with the eventual goal of fully privatizing the club and bringing it under his company's ownership.

Middle Eastern investors had already perfected this model in Europe, and Russian oligarchs had bought many clubs as well. Now, having seen that this approach was successful, Mr. Wang wanted to try it too.

In the past, he had invested in Dalian Wanda, which was a dominant team during China's old Jia-A league days. However, Chinese football had too many problems, from match-fixing to gambling scandals.

Although Mr. Wang was currently working with the Chinese Football Association on initiatives such as overseas development programs and sponsoring the national team, he wasn't keen to re-enter the Chinese Super League anytime soon.

Especially with Guangzhou Evergrande still dominating, it would be tough to compete with them, even now.

Besides, the Chinese Super League had reached a level of financial insanity. The transfer fees for national team-level players were in the tens of millions of yuan, and foreign players were going for tens of millions of euros!

These days, if you wanted to build a title-contending team in the Chinese Super League, it would cost at least 700-800 million, or even over 1 billion yuan a year.

That kind of money is equivalent to what many top European clubs spend!

So why not invest directly in one of the top five European leagues?

The level of competition in Europe is higher, the market is better, and the overall environment is far superior to that in China. Investing in European football could also increase Mr. Wang's and his company's international influence, which would be highly beneficial for their global strategy.

Even though Atlético was losing this match, Mr. Wang wasn't put off. In fact, he saw even greater potential in the club. He wanted to buy in before they truly started achieving success. If he waited too long, the price would only go up!

Atlético welcomed Mr. Wang's investment with open arms. Despite achieving decent results in both La Liga and the Champions League under Simeone's leadership, the team lacked depth in their squad, which became apparent in the final stages of the season, especially during title runs in La Liga and the Champions League.

That's why Atlético was eager for more funding to strengthen their squad and fix this weakness. If they could reinforce their roster, they'd have a real shot at challenging for the Champions League trophy, which symbolizes the highest glory for a club.

With both parties in agreement, the conversation flowed smoothly.

But back on the field, things weren't looking as good for Atlético.

After falling behind, Simeone made tactical adjustments, focusing on defending wherever Lin Quan went. He realized that once De Bruyne moved to the wing, Lin Quan had become the brain of Manchester City, completely orchestrating their attack.

If that was the case, there was no point targeting other players. They had to shut down Lin Quan, City's playmaker, if they wanted any chance of success.

Simeone's decision was, of course, the right one, but such a simple strategy was something Guardiola had already anticipated.

Seeing Atlético's reaction, Guardiola made another adjustment. He pushed one of City's holding midfielders up to just in front of the halfway line.

"Is this a high-press?" Simeone wondered, feeling a strange sense of excitement.

He wasn't afraid of City pushing forward. What he feared was City sitting back and defending their lead, as that would mean the end for Atlético.

But his hopes were quickly dashed. Only one midfielder, Kroos, was pushing forward. Kante, City's defensive wall, wasn't advancing too far up and stayed close to Kroos, supporting and protecting him.

As for City's full-backs, whenever Kroos pushed forward, one would tuck inside while the other pressed ahead. This maintained City's attacking pressure without leaving their defense too exposed.

With Kroos pushed higher, City's primary playmaker changed once again!

Lin Quan shifted from attacking midfielder to a second striker. Without the burden of orchestrating attacks, he played closer to Atlético's goal, with more scoring opportunities now that Agüero was occupying the defenders.

After the 30th minute of the first half, City began a wave of sustained attacks.

Agüero, Lin Quan, David Silva, and De Bruyne all took turns getting shots on goal, and even Kroos tried a long-range effort.

Though they didn't manage to score, this period of pressure had Atlético on the ropes, with their players under immense mental strain.

Simeone sighed. Today, he had really seen it all. Football could actually be played like this?

"Are they just bullying us because we don't have a player like Lin Quan?" he thought bitterly.

Simeone wasn't the only one frustrated. Fans in the stadium and watching on TV couldn't help but comment on how Lin Quan had once again changed positions and style.

"Lin is incredible!"

"Is there anything this guy can't do?"

"Guardiola really is a genius. He's always coming up with new ideas!"

"Absolutely. His tactical versatility is amazing. Without making any substitutions, he's changed Lin's role and completely altered the game, leaving Atlético with no way to respond."

"Kroos is the key for City now. Atlético should focus on him!"

"The problem is, if they ease off on Lin, he'll just become the playmaker again. All of Atlético's efforts would be in vain."

"It's too tough. Facing City is pure despair!"

"Guardiola is so lucky. He had Messi early in his career, and just as he hit a rough patch, Lin Quan showed up to save him!"

"Imagine if Mourinho had this kind of luck—he'd be even more insufferable!"

Defending non-stop inevitably leads to a breakdown at some point.

In the 43rd minute, just before halftime, City produced a brilliant attacking play.

Kroos spotted an opportunity and launched a long pass to De Bruyne on the wing. De Bruyne crossed the ball into the box, where Agüero laid it off to Lin Quan, who had made a run into the penalty area.

Lin Quan dribbled horizontally, evading three defenders before breaking into the box. With a stunning outside-foot shot, he scored another spectacular goal.

The score was now 2-0, and the aggregate score was 6-1. Atlético would now need to score six goals to overturn the result—an almost impossible task.

The Atlético fans at the Calderón were stunned.

It wasn't just the scoreline that shocked them, but Lin Quan's brilliant outside-foot shot.

The swerve and curve on that shot was demoralizing just to watch, let alone try to save.

No one blamed Oblak for missing it. Even if Gianluigi Buffon, the world's best goalkeeper, had been in goal, he likely wouldn't have been able to stop that shot either.

Lin Quan's strike reminded many of a Portuguese player, Ricardo Quaresma, who was famous for his outside-foot shots.

But unlike Quaresma, who had been rejected by both Inter Milan and Barcelona, Lin Quan was a complete player. Apart from headers, he had mastered nearly every aspect of the game!

A player like him, paired with a technique as extraordinary as the outside-foot shot, who could stop him?

It was pure despair!

What had Atlético done to deserve encountering such a monster in the semifinals?

Simeone had given up hope. The dream of progressing was gone.

They probably wouldn't even win this match, so they might as well play the second half without any pressure.

Oddly enough, this shift in mindset improved Atlético's performance. With the weight lifted off their shoulders, they started playing better.

In the 54th minute, they executed one of their trademark quick counterattacks, with Torres assisting Griezmann to score.

Then in the 64th minute, Atlético got another chance. Torres was brought down by Kompany in the box, and the referee pointed to the spot.

Suddenly, the match took a dramatic turn!

However, Torres couldn't handle the pressure and missed the penalty in front of tens of thousands of fans.

After missing the spot-kick, Torres cradled his head in his hands, sinking to his knees and burying his face in the grass.

He couldn't bring himself to face Atlético's fans or his teammates.

How could he have missed such an important penalty?

At that moment, Torres, who was not yet 32, even considered retiring.

After being sold by Chelsea and dropped from the national team, he had started to doubt his abilities.

Was he even cut out for professional football anymore?

While Torres was lost in his self-doubt, a hand rested on his shoulder.

"Fernando, missing a penalty isn't the end of the world," a voice said.

Torres turned and saw it was none other than Lin Quan comforting him.

"Lin, I…"

"It's just a penalty, no big deal. We're still leading by four goals anyway!"

"Besides, with me on the team, do you really think Atlético has a chance to turn this around?"

The way Lin said this was definitely cocky, but why did it feel like Torres couldn't argue with him?

Atlético's improved performance in the second half had been partly due to the team letting go of the pressure after falling behind by such a large margin, allowing them to play more freely.

It also had to do with City letting their guard down.

In the second half, City's players weren't pushing themselves as hard as they had in the first. They weren't fighting for every 50-50 ball, and they were being more cautious in physical challenges, likely because they didn't want to risk getting injured before the final.

Of course. With such a big lead, Atlético's chances of a comeback were slim to none.

City's players were obviously trying to preserve their energy for the Champions League final.

That was why Atlético had managed to find some opportunities.

But City's advantage was still too great. With five goals and two away goals in hand, Atlético would need at least six more goals to turn the tide.

Even if Torres had converted the penalty, they'd still need four more goals in the remaining 30 minutes, an almost impossible task.

Moreover, it wasn't as if City would continue to sit back and take the pressure. With their attacking power, if they got serious, Atlético's defense wouldn't stand a chance.

So, in the grand scheme of things, the missed penalty wasn't that important.

(End of Chapter)

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