After completing their schedule, they returned to the hotel.

Suker and the others also discussed the earlier match. A few of the youngsters had left some impression on them, but most played in a very mechanical, formulaic way.

Europe also produced "workhorse" type players in youth academies, which made those with creativity even more precious.

In fact, European youth academies didn't focus on so-called basic skills.

Or rather, they assumed basic skills weren't something to be learned in youth training.

Youth training was a higher-level stage. Basic skills were to be practiced on your own; if you couldn't master them, you were eliminated. It was cruel.

From the youth academy stage, players had to think about their role within the team and constantly adjust.

Suker had grown up in this process and naturally adapted to changes in various teams.

In the four rotating matches, they had scored over 20 goals, with Srna alone scoring 15.

"Bullying kids, you're really something!"

Suker said irritably.

Srna looked embarrassed. "I haven't shaken off the mindset from playing Barcelona yet. I did play a bit seriously, but I held back later."

"Besides, as a defender, when else do I get a chance to shoot except in situations like this?"

He had transitioned from a winger to a full-back. Although he was now one of the world's top full-backs, he still harbored a striker's heart.

After all, scoring goals was the most eye-catching way!

Of course, excellent full-backs were rare and hard to find.

But the competition among strikers was also fierce.

For example, the rivalry between Suker and Messi—nearly 30 goals in 16 rounds was simply insane.

Suker, Messi, Ronaldo—these crazy scorers were all clustered together.

Srna mourned for the strikers of this era.

When they entered the hotel, they ran into Ramos coming out of his room.

"You're back! How was the event? Fun?" Ramos asked.

Suker waved his hand. "Just playing games with kids!"

The others nodded in agreement.

Such matches were just games to them.

Ramos smiled. "The Club World Cup match is the day after tomorrow. You should all get some rest early."

Suker and the others nodded.

Tomorrow's semifinal would be between Santos FC and Al-Sadd SC.

Santos was the South American champion team, also home to Brazilian prodigy Neymar.

Barring any surprises, Real Madrid and Santos would meet in the final.

December 14th, 5:30 PM.

Tokyo National Stadium. The first semifinal of the 2011 Club World Cup commenced as scheduled.

The South American representative team Santos faced the Asian representative team Al-Sadd!

This was a clash between two football continents, but compared to the traditionally stronger South America, Al-Sadd was clearly outmatched.

However, the match still attracted many scouts and clubs.

The reason was simple: Brazilian prodigy Neymar's performance drew much attention.

Neymar was called Brazil's last samba dancer.

At his peak, he was considered the world's third-best player, a star who could threaten Messi and Ronaldo.

However, consecutive poor choices and various issues held him back.

Coupled with the lack of discipline common among Brazilian players, Neymar quickly lost his halo.

But now, Neymar still had enough passion for football. He wanted more fame and dreamed big, as evident in his playing style.

"So flashy!"

Watching Neymar's performance on TV, Srna frowned.

"Makes me want to tackle him!"

"He could easily get past the defender. Why does he have to show off?"

"Is this really necessary?"

Srna, Ramos, Pepe, Carvalho, and other defenders held a strong grudge against Neymar.

As defenders, they knew well how such actions could bring shame.

Many of Neymar's moves felt like he was humiliating them.

Unlike Ronaldinho's elegant style, which felt natural and was appreciated more than scorned.

Neymar was different; many of his moves seemed deliberately done.

"If that brat does that in front of me, I'll break his leg!" Pepe said fiercely.

Suker looked speechlessly at Ramos and the others.

But he could understand. As defenders, they must have felt a sense of empathy.

Many of Neymar's skills were provocative.

To be honest, moves like the rainbow flick were more about spectacle. Essentially, it was just lifting the ball and using speed to overtake. Suker didn't understand why he liked using it so much.

But Neymar's technique was undeniable. Aside from his love for tricks, his dribbling was excellent.

In the 12th minute, Neymar helped Santos score the first goal.

In the 39th minute, he assisted a teammate for the second goal.

In the 78th minute of the second half, Santos striker Borges headed in a goal, making it 3-0.

The match ended 3-1 in favor of Santos, who became the first team to advance to the Club World Cup final.

After watching the match, the Real Madrid players dispersed. They needed to sleep and prepare for the next day's match.

Most importantly, they had to adjust to the time difference.

The next day, Suker had adjusted to the time difference.

But others, like Ramos and Srna, hadn't adapted at all. They had suffered from insomnia the night before.

Seeing them looking dazed, Mourinho helplessly let them go back to sleep. He couldn't let them play in a groggy state, could he?

The others had adapted relatively well. Mourinho was glad he had brought enough substitutes to handle such unexpected situations.

After breakfast, the Real Madrid players went for a pitch inspection.

Wherever they went, it was jam-packed.

Even the Real Madrid players had underestimated their popularity in Japan.

They arrived at the Tokyo National Stadium for the pitch inspection.

During warm-ups, Suker yawned.

"Didn't sleep enough either?"

Mourinho suddenly asked.

Suker turned his head. "I slept well, but my body feels heavy."

Mourinho nodded.

They had just finished playing Barcelona, taken a long flight to Japan for the Club World Cup, and upon arrival, Suker hadn't even fully adjusted to the time difference before diving into various activities. It was no wonder their condition wasn't optimal.

However, even if their condition was slightly off, it would be enough to handle these matches.

Moreover, after the Club World Cup, Real Madrid would enter the winter break. They could use the holiday to readjust and rest properly.

Around 3 PM, Suker ran into Ramos and Srna's room. The two were still dead asleep.

The room was pitch black.

"Time to wake up! We have a match to play!"

Suker shook them awake irritably.

"Huh? Already?"

Srna woke up drowsily, rubbing his eyes and yawning.

As Srna yawned, the dazed Ramos beside him also yawned.

Both looked like they had just woken up.

Suker couldn't help but shake his head with a wry smile.

These two were hopeless. Probably couldn't start the match.

In the end, the two took quick showers, and the Real Madrid players boarded the bus to the Tokyo National Stadium.

It was a stadium capable of holding 60,000 people, and it was packed to the brim.

Aside from some Real Madrid and Kashiwa Reysol fans, most were local Tokyo fans.

However, many of these fans wore Real Madrid jerseys, making it seem like there were a lot of Madrid supporters.

Among them, Suker's jersey was the best-selling. At a glance, eight out of ten people wore Suker's number 9 jersey.

This showed Suker's popularity in Japan.

The atmosphere was electric. Even before the match started, during the warm-up, fans had already started doing the Mexican wave.

Suker turned his head. "The atmosphere is great, but what is that commentator shouting about?"

The Japanese commentator's voice boomed from the speakers, hyping up the crowd. Suker didn't understand Japanese, but based on his knowledge of Chinese, he could vaguely grasp some words.

"You didn't know?" Srna said, doing stretching exercises. "We all have titles in Japan!"

"Titles?" Suker grinned.

"Playing well is what matters most. Titles are..."

"Your title is 'World's Number One'."

Suker: "..."

The warm-up session ended, and both teams prepared to enter the pitch from the tunnel.

The stands were filled with spectators.

In the south stands, Kaoru Mitoma and Ao Tanaka had also come to the stadium.

They had begged, acted up, cried, and thrown tantrums to get their parents to buy them tickets for seats in the middle of the stands.

There was no other way!

Tickets for Real Madrid matches were scalped at exorbitant prices by ticket touts. They wanted front-row seats but couldn't afford them.

They wanted to witness Suker and the others playing seriously, as against them, Suker had basically been playing around.

Kaoru Mitoma looked at the player information in his hand.

He focused on the defenders.

"Hiroki Sakai. Sakai is the best defender in the J League and was selected for the Best XI of the Year. At only 21, he's already a solidified starter. He's playing right-back in this match, directly facing Suker on the wing!"

"Sakai is fast and has first-class technique. But even so, he'll be passive against Suker, right?"

Ao Tanaka watched Suker entering the pitch.

This was a top-tier star who had dominated world-class full-backs in Europe!

Although Hiroki Sakai was strong, it was only relative.

His strength in the J League seemed inadequate at the European level.

"But I'm curious about how Suker will handle facing these strong full-backs." Kaoru Mitoma pursed his lips.

He played the same position as Suker—left winger—so he wanted to learn from Suker's style.

The best way to learn was to watch live.

After all, TV directors only captured the highlights, but often, attacks weren't just about that one moment. They involved constant movement and passing to open up opportunities.

Kaoru Mitoma was very curious about what kind of game the world's best left winger, Suker, would play.

Meanwhile, Suker, wearing Real Madrid's white kit, had already appeared on the pitch.

The starting lineups were as follows:

Kashiwa Reysol (4-3-3):

Goalkeeper: Takaten Kanno.

Defenders: Hiroki Sakai, Kazune Kubota, Naoya Kondo, Tatsuya Masushima.

Midfielders: Akimi Barada, Hidekazu Otani, Masato Fujita.

Forwards: Junya Tanaka, Hideaki Kitajima, Leandro Domingues.

Real Madrid (4-3-3):

Goalkeeper: Iker Casillas.

Defenders: Álvaro Arbeloa, Ricardo Carvalho, Pepe, Marcelo.

Midfielders: Sami Khedira, Xabi Alonso, Ángel Di María.

Forwards: Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema, Suker.

"Everyone, pay attention!" Kashiwa Reysol captain Kazune Kubota shouted. "We're facing Champions League winners Real Madrid. We must show fighting spirit! Don't let the opponent look down on us! Play our game!"

"Leandro, we'll support you. The advancement relies on you!"

Brazilian player Leandro Domingues inwardly winced.

Relying on him alone? Was that enough?

They weren't facing a local Japanese team. He wasn't Messi; how was he supposed to break through Real Madrid's defense?

At that moment, Kazune Kubota shouted, "Let's go!!—"

Suker, standing on the ball, glanced at the opposition and smirked.

Beep!

The whistle blew. Suker immediately passed back and ran toward the left flank.

As he approached the wing, the young right-back named Hiroki Sakai closed in on him.

He looked very serious, occasionally licking his dry lips, his eyes constantly scanning Suker.

Suker tentatively feinted a forward burst.

Hiroki Sakai panicked, turned, and fell to the ground.

Suker raised an eyebrow.

This guy was way too nervous!

"Sakai was fooled by Suker! He's too nervous. After all, he's facing Suker, hailed as the 'World's Number One'! We can cut him some slack, but he needs to calm down quickly!"

At that moment, Di María passed the ball to Suker.

Suker controlled it gently.

As he did, the crowd erupted in cheers.

However, Suker didn't attempt to dribble past anyone. Instead, he passed horizontally to Di María and continued moving forward.

Hiroki Sakai naturally followed Suker.

Then, Di María passed back to Suker.

"Good chance!"

Hiroki Sakai immediately moved forward. From this position, he could intercept or disrupt.

Just as he was about to move, he saw someone faster out of the corner of his eye.

Suker had anticipated him and reached the ball first.

"Oh no!" Hiroki Sakai quickly closed in. At the very least, he couldn't let Suker turn!

As he hurried after Suker, Suker suddenly stopped.

The ball at Suker's feet had disappeared.

"He let the ball through!! Suker let it go! Sakai didn't even notice!"

Hiroki Sakai turned to look toward the wing and saw Marcelo chasing the ball that had been let through.

Hiroki Sakai quickly turned to chase Marcelo.

But as he approached Marcelo, Marcelo played a low cross back into the box.

Suker received the ball again at a sharp angle near the penalty area. At this position, Suker had no defenders near him and was within his shooting range.

Suker took a touch and looked up toward the goal.

"Shooting from this angle?" Kaoru Mitoma exclaimed in surprise. "There's no angle..."

Before he could finish, Suker's right foot fiercely struck the ball. It shot like lightning through a gap in the crowd, dipped, bounced past the goalkeeper's leg, and flew into the net.

The Tokyo National Stadium instantly erupted in massive cheers.

Whoa!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!—

"Suker!! Shoot!! Just 4 minutes into the match, Suker has shown his exquisite shooting skill!"

"He scored a brilliant goal through a crowd of players!"

"I'm reminded of a saying popular in Europe: the moment Suker shoots, the goal is already decided! This is a testament to Suker's superb shooting technique!"

The entire stadium was in a frenzy.

In the stands, Kaoru Mitoma's mouth hung open.

He had thought there was no chance, no angle, but Suker still found shooting space in a crowded area.

This demonstrated Suker's terrifying shooting skill and confidence!

In front of the TV, Junya Ito was also deeply shaken.

When Suker had said his shooting was terrible, he had been somewhat unconvinced.

But after seeing Suker's shot, he finally understood the gap.

If compared to Suker!

His shooting couldn't even be considered "bad."

In the hotel where Santos was staying.

The Santos players had also gathered to watch the match.

When they saw Suker's shot, they couldn't help but gasp in amazement.

The shot was so decisive and so accurate.

It was practically point-and-shoot. The ball flew straight into the side netting of the far corner.

Faced with such terrifying shooting skill, they finally understood the significance of 30 goals in 16 rounds.

"There's no stopping that, right?"

"How do you defend against that?"

"Defending is hopeless. We can only attack!"

"We have Neymar too!"

"Just watching gives me pressure!"

"They haven't even given their all. The Japanese players can't make Real Madrid take this seriously!"

As they spoke, the conversation shifted:

"God, I really want to join Real Madrid!"

"Playing with these superstars must be amazing!"

"If we had a striker like Suker on the team, I wouldn't worry about conceding because he'd score more than I let in!"

"Neymar has a chance, right? I remember Real Madrid made an offer for him!"

Hearing this, everyone turned to look at Neymar.

Neymar pursed his lips.

Real Madrid had indeed made an offer for him.

But at the time, he had been more inclined toward Barcelona, and Real Madrid's offer wasn't very high.

Real Madrid didn't like young players; or rather, Real Madrid only liked stars.

The current Neymar was still far from being a star.

Therefore, he felt he wouldn't get good opportunities to grow at Real Madrid.

But recently, there had been no news from Barcelona. They seemed busy with other matters, while Real Madrid kept increasing their offer.

Perhaps playing for Real Madrid wasn't a bad choice?

At Real Madrid, he could rely on Suker to win honors. And when Suker's peak passed, he would just enter his prime and smoothly take over.

Most importantly—

Suker's peak was terrifying!

Messi was so strong and performed so well, yet he was still suppressed by Suker.