Oh~~~~~~~~~~

Whoosh!!!!!!!!!

Clap clap clap clap clap clap!!!

From initial boos to cheers after Suker's fancy move, the entire stadium erupted in applause, everyone cheering for Suker.

Even Miguel clutched his head, eyes wide with disbelief.

'WTF!'

At that moment, Suker placed the ball from his belly onto the ground and lightly flicked it with his toe.

As number 7 charged at him again, Suker turned, met the dropping ball, stepped over it, and nutmegged him once more.

Whoosh!!!!!!!!!——

The cheers grew even louder.

Suker charged into the penalty area, cycling through step-overs with large body swings.

A pendulum feint!

As the defender stretched out a leg, Suker nudged the ball past him and gently tapped it in with his toe.

Wow!!!!!!!!!!——

The stadium erupted!

Suker raised his arms in celebration, rushed to the crowd, and nodded repeatedly with his arms crossed.

Looking like he owned the place.

The blogger team players ran over.

"Hey! You really can play!"

"That was so cool!"

Suker turned and high-fived his teammates, winking at Miguel. "I told you I'd get you the prize money!"

What followed was essentially Suker's solo show.

Scorpion kick trap!

Marseille turn!

V-pull and push!

Matthews feint!

Double scissor!

Cruyff turn!

Rainbow flick!

Elastico!

One classic move after another kept the crowd's cheers rising.

At the same time, Suker displayed exquisite shooting skills, scoring almost every time he shot.

Despite being two goals down, Suker scored three goals in just five minutes.

The entire stadium was electric.

Even the football blogger team was thrilled.

They thought they had a liability, but it turned out to be a master.

"He's a pro!"

Miguel stared at Suker's movements.

Although there were many feints and tricks, the shooting motion didn't lie.

Simple and powerful, combined with exquisite finishing!

He had played in a youth academy before. Though he was cut and didn't make it to the professional league, transitioning to a football blogger, he knew how pros played.

And compared to the pros he'd seen, Suker's movements were even more concise.

"Hey! Did you used to play professionally?" Miguel couldn't help but ask.

Suker turned and blinked. "Why 'used to'? Can't I play professionally now?"

"Your physique..."

Before he could finish, the ball was passed to Suker.

Suker, positioned in midfield, nudged the ball to create a tight shooting angle but didn't hesitate to shoot.

The ball weaved through the crowd and drilled into the left corner of the goal.

Boom!!!!!!!!!——

The stadium was cheering once more.

The match was nearing its end.

Suker knocked on his back, pretending to have back pain.

"I can't go on!"

The crowd laughed.

Yeah, right!

By now, they were sure this guy was a football master.

Peep peep peep!

The whistle blew.

In the end, the blogger team won 5-2 against the amateur expert team.

Sisé took the microphone from the host and walked out.

"Thank you all for coming to this football event. Our goal is to promote football further in Madrid, to get more young people to love the sport. Of course, you must be curious about the person beside me..."

Sisé paused.

The crowd had doubled since before the match.

Seeing the curious looks, Sisé smiled. "Alright, time for the reveal..."

Suker smiled and began removing his disguise under the crowd's curious gaze.

He took off the beard and wig.

The silicone neckpiece came off too.

When Suker's face was revealed, the entire crowd erupted.

"Oh my God! It's Suker!!"

"God, it's actually Suker!"

"No ordinary player could pull off those moves. So it was Suker."

Miguel's brain short-circuited.

He was completely stunned!

Oh my God!

He had just played a match with Suker and hadn't recognized his idol.

Suker turned to Miguel. "You played great. Your technical moves were beautiful."

Miguel was too excited to speak.

Suker took the microphone and said loudly: "Folks, the event is over. I hope I brought you joy. Football should be like this—enjoying the fun the sport brings. It was a pleasure meeting you tonight. Here are two signed footballs, one for each team. It was a fantastic match!"

After giving the footballs to both teams, Suker left the field under security escort.

Fans followed Suker, taking photos with their phones.

Suker smiled and waved until he got into the business vehicle.

"Whew~~~~~"

Suker relaxed and asked, "The filming is done, right?"

Sisé smiled and nodded. "You did great."

"The video will be edited tonight and uploaded to Real Madrid's YouTube channel tomorrow. You can watch it if you're curious!"

Suker nodded in understanding.

He took the business vehicle back to his villa.

As soon as he opened the door, he smelled grilled steak.

Sure enough, Kaká, Srna, and Bale were eating at his dining table.

"You're back. There's another steak in the kitchen."

Srna pointed toward the kitchen.

Suker raised an eyebrow. "Who cooked the steak?"

Bale raised his hand. "I did!"

Suker nodded. "But why eat at my place? Is my house a restaurant?"

Srna waved it off. "Habit. Eating elsewhere doesn't feel the same. Gotta say, Gareth's skills are good. You should try it!"

Suker shook his head and went upstairs to shower quickly.

When he came down, a heated steak was already on a plate.

"They said you like it well-done, so I cooked it a bit longer."

Bale sprinkled pepper and salt on the steak.

Suker: "You can cook?"

Bale: "I don't know much, but I like cooking for myself."

Suker gave a thumbs-up. "Good habit. Unlike some guys who just open their mouths and yell they're hungry!"

Srna protested, "Hey! What's that supposed to mean?"

"Exactly!" Kaká also objected. "We did work too. Srna walked the dog, and I'll wash the dishes later!"

Suker sighed. "That's about all you're good for."

While Suker ate his steak, Srna asked, "What activity did you do today?"

"Showing off!" Suker said succinctly.

Srna: "...What kind of activity specifically?"

Suker explained in more detail.

Srna asked curiously, "So they disguised you to play with an amateur team?"

Kaká blinked. "You played against amateurs. Could they keep up?"

"So I held back. Besides, for the sake of the show, I couldn't go all out."

"What's 'for the show'?"

"It's about building up before showing off!"

Suker finished his steak bite by bite, then sighed. "But it's finally over. Next up is preparing for the Spanish Super Cup."

"Barça will probably go all out against us this season, right?" Kaká said.

After being suppressed for two consecutive seasons, even two seasons without a trophy, Guardiola was already facing doubts.

Some media even reported that this season was Guardiola's last chance.

Suker had previously thought they might force Guardiola out, and it might actually happen.

Of course, it would depend on this season's performance.

But even without Suker and the others, Guardiola would leave Barça after this season.

After losing Guardiola, Barça would enter a period of decline, to the extent that the once-invincible 'Galácticos' would even be slaughtered by Guardiola's Bayern Munich.

It wasn't until the MSN era that Barça would rise again.

With the Spanish Super Cup approaching, it naturally became the biggest pre-season topic again.

This season's Spanish Super Cup would still feature Real Madrid and Barcelona, Suker and Messi.

Could Barcelona defeat Real Madrid?

Could Messi break free from Suker's suppression?

Additionally, Fàbregas, who had faced huge controversy in the transfer market, also gained significant attention.

Many were watching to see if this guy, who betrayed Arsenal and even paid to join Barcelona, would receive enough importance from Barcelona.

Undoubtedly, Barcelona's purchase of Fàbregas was not only for the board but also to prepare for the future.

Specifically, to prevent Barça's midfield from stiffening as Xavi aged.

In other words, Fàbregas was brought in as Xavi's successor.

Fàbregas himself agreed with this:

In a recent interview, Fàbregas stated:

"That's what I think, after all, my career started in the number 4 position too. Later, for various reasons, my position kept moving forward."

"Like everyone, I also believe there won't be another Xavi. If one day I play his position, there will still be differences between us because Xavi is unique."

"But from now on, I am Xavi's successor. During the World Cup, when Xavi had a knee injury, I also played his position, and I've played it in the Champions League and Euros. Until around age 22, I played as a number 4. I even played double pivot with Vieira, and I really enjoyed that period—I got a lot of the ball and had freedom."

Fàbregas had confirmed he was Xavi's successor, both at Barcelona and for the Spanish national team, aiming to play the number 4 role.

At Suker's villa, Suker, Srna, Kaká, and others watched the interview.

Seeing Fàbregas speak confidently, Srna frowned. "Is Xavi's form declining?"

Last season, Xavi's injury frequency was indeed high. He couldn't play in the second leg of the Champions League semi-final due to injury.

Moreover, Xavi was already 31, and his physical abilities were indeed declining.

Plus, Barcelona's transfer move for Fàbregas was really imaginative.

If Xavi's form wasn't declining, why was Barcelona in such a hurry to buy Fàbregas?

There were plenty of examples of players declining due to injuries.

The most famous recent case was Spain's 'El Niño' Fernando Torres.

The once-unstoppable T9 at Liverpool saw his form plummet after joining Chelsea, even losing confidence as a striker.

Abramovich liked Torres and wanted to revive him.

But so far, nothing had worked.

And all of this was due to injuries.

"Xavi's form isn't declining. Don't overthink it," Suker waved it off.

Srna turned. "How can you be sure? Otherwise, what's with Barça's transfer move?"

Pure mischief!

Suker rolled his eyes!

This was the board wanting result; it had nothing to do with Xavi's form.

Maybe they were also wary of Xavi's potential decline, but in the original timeline, Xavi actually outlasted Fàbregas.

Fàbregas probably thought Xavi couldn't play much longer and that he could successfully replace him once Xavi declined.

But during his seasons at Barcelona, Fàbregas didn't get the position he wanted.

Instead of being a midfield core, he was more of a utility player.

Wherever there was a gap, he was plugged in.

In short, Fàbregas wasn't Guardiola's chosen transfer but a board-imposed player. So while Xavi was in good form, Guardiola wouldn't consider Fàbregas.

After Guardiola left, his assistant Tito Vilanova took over as Barça's coach and continued Guardiola's tactics, never giving Fàbregas a proper chance. Eventually, Fàbregas left disillusioned.

From 2011 onward, this was the era of 'midfield supremacy.'

Xavi, Iniesta, Modrić, Pirlo, Schweinsteiger, etc... Later, players like Pogba, Kroos, De Bruyne Kanté, Casemiro would gradually become the focus of football.

In this era, strikers also had their moments, but midfielders were erupting onto the scene.

This was also why teams started paying more attention to midfielders.

In such a midfield-focused era, Fàbregas, a pioneer, drifted further from honors—a result of repeated wrong choices.

Of course, it was hard to predict Fàbregas's future.

But at the very least, if he had stayed at Arsenal, he would have earned respect.

Before the format change in 2018, the Spanish Super Cup was still a two-legged home-and-away fixture.

Real Madrid and Barcelona would play two legs to decide the winner.

Both teams were actively preparing for this match.

For Barcelona, this season was full of challenges.

They had gone two seasons without a trophy.

Even with Guardiola's immediate success, the board couldn't tolerate two trophy-less seasons.

For many players, being league runners-up, Champions League semi-finalists, or Copa del Rey runners-up were acceptable results.

But this was Barcelona—a La Liga giant.

They couldn't be suppressed by Real Madrid like this.

So they had to fight back and seek revenge.

Especially for Guardiola—if this season went poorly, he could really face dismissal.

For Real Madrid, this was about chasing a fourth trophy after the treble.

Then there was the fifth trophy—the UEFA Super Cup.

In the new season, they would also compete in the Club World Cup as Champions League winners.

Before December, Real Madrid had a chance to match Barcelona's legendary sextuple!

These were all the trophies they could win.

Thus, Real Madrid wouldn't relax.

The Spanish Super Cup must be won!

The UEFA Super Cup must also be won!

So, even before the league started, Real Madrid's pre-season was busy.

August 14: Spanish Super Cup first leg.

August 17: Spanish Super Cup second leg.

August 26: UEFA Super Cup final.

After these three matches, they would immediately dive into the league.

"Feels like the season hasn't started, but the tension is already building!" Bale said nervously.

Suker: "You'll get used to it. We're here for trophies. Without trophies, what's the point?"

Everyone's expressions showed agreement. Bale took a deep breath.

After joining Real Madrid, he had tried his best to adapt, but he still seemed sluggish in many ways.

It was like a country boy entering a big city.

He had to keep up with the pace and mindset here to secure his place at Real Madrid.

It started with winning his first trophy!

At the thought of trophies, Bale's eyes burned with passion.

This was something unimaginable at Tottenham!

But here, it was within reach.

The next day, the video of Suker disguised playing an amateur match went viral online.

In this era lacking creativity, such videos were indeed very attractive.

Especially when fans knew it was Suker, but the people in the video didn't, creating a sense of satisfaction.

As a result, the video's views and likes skyrocketed.

This video once again made Suker a European hotspot and brought attention to Real Madrid.

Florentino was very satisfied with this successful promotional case.

Moreover, since he had proposed and pushed for it, the success reflected well on him.

Florentino wanted to promote more similar activities, but the season was about to start.

Suker simply didn't have time for activities.

Besides, Suker also stated that he would focus on matches from now on.

Suker still remembered his military order: if they didn't win the Champions League this season, he would face a salary cut.

So, they had to defend the Champions League!

He didn't want his income to shrink!