Chapter 626: Ribéry Again

Loud booing erupted in the Bernabéu stadium stands, surging forth from the towering stands to the field, which put a huge strain on the fans of the visiting team.

The Bernabéu fans were gentle compared to the Camp Nou fans. Hissing at visitors did not happen much, except for a few of Real Madrid’s arch-rivals. Though not an archrival, Nottingham Forest received loud booing, mainly due to George Wood.

He had just pushed down Robinho dribbling the ball in a high-speed dash.

The Brazilian BMX Boy was nimble and dribbled the ball past Wood’s side. Stuck behind him, Wood wanted to stop the opponent’s attack but could not achieve it through conventional means. Between a shovel to the ball from behind or a push, he chose the latter.

Robinho rolled several times, which looked pretty scary, but he did not actually get hurt at all. The home fans were extremely unhappy with the seemingly scary foul and were even more disgruntled that the referee only gave a verbal warning and did not pull out a card.

The Brazilian, Robinho, was much stronger than he had been when he first joined Real Madrid and had the upper hand in most physical confrontations. It was not easy for the average defensive player to push him down easily, but he lost his balance with a push from George Wood. The gap in the physical strength between the two men was apparent.

Defending against Robinho was to momentarily fill in a gap. George Wood’s target for the game was not the Brazilian kid, but Guti.

After Zidane retired, Real Madrid’s offense descended into a chaos, completely without a routine or goal. They were completely reliant on a few players’ abilities and performances to be able to win. If they played badly, they would lose to any team. The situation only gradually improved after one season because last season’s newly appointed manager, Schuster, trusted Guti enough and promoted him to become Real Madrid’s midfield engine.

For more than a season, almost all of Real Madrid’s attacks had been launched and organized by Guti, who was in a good shape. Real Madrid was not only winning, but also winning beautifully. But if Guti did not play nimbly, then Real Madrid would be crushed terribly.

Even though Wesley Sneijder was in good form and highly praised at the start of the season, Robinho, wearing Real Madrid number 10, was known as “Pelé’s successor,” and Real Madrid’s front line was filled with brilliant star players and appeared to be good and powerful, if Guti was not at the back to launch the attacks and control the rhythm, the team was no different than a handful of loose sand.

Therefore, Twain laid out a strategy to contain Guti.

George Wood was the key figure, but the other teammates would help as well — not to help defend, but to assist in fouls.

Guti was a talented, but bad-tempered, player with a reckless character. He was never placed in important positions in the early days of his career, which had a lot to do with his character. It was not until Zidane’s departure that he slowly made his mark and became the core of Real Madrid’s midfield. However, he was still short-tempered and could easily lose control of his mood. Once his mood was out of control, his level of play would greatly decline, he would increasingly make mistakes, and become more irritable, and the quality of Real Madrid’s offense would plummet.

As a result, the Forest team’s tactics for the game were very simple: defensive counterattack for the offense and mainly anger and bar Guti in terms of defense. To be able to infuriate him would be the best. If they could not provoke him, then they would use the advantages of their overall defense to trap him, so that he could not easily take the ball and organize attacks.

Guti’s strength was finding holes in his opponents’ defenses and making unexpected straight passes. His penetrating straight passes repeatedly assisted his team in breaking through and scoring goals. But his weaknesses were also clear — his body was thin and weak. His ability to fight was not good. Once the opponent closed in and pressed hard, and then added some physical impact to interfere, he would have a greater chance of dropping the ball under his feet.

The incident with Robinho was purely accidental. Wood was originally going to defend against Guti, but Guti poked the football to Robinho. Wood had to change the target to the BMX Boy. He did not have the time to use footwork to fight with Robinho. After he was squeezed to the side, he immediately pushed Robinho to the ground and ended the attack from Real Madrid.

He carried on with his usual detestable style. He did not go up and reach out with his hand to pull up Robinho as a sign of friendliness. Instead, he turned and walked away.

Robinho lay on the ground in a daze for a moment. The referee came up to ask him if he was fine or if he needed a stretcher or something. He dilly-dallied to stand up but was not really hurt. The tumble looked scary, but the impact lessened during the tumble.

The boos in the Bernabéu stands continued until Real Madrid was ready to start with a free kick in the front field.

Real Madrid’s number 23, Sneijder, drove the free kick into the penalty area and Pepe responded with a header. The football fell in the front of the penalty area and caused a sudden bout of looting.

Eventually van der Vaart brought the football out amidst the chaos and handed it to David Beckham who received it diagonally in front.

There was a round of applause in the stands when Beckham received the football. The applause did not come from the visiting team, Nottingham Forest’s fan stands, but from the home fans.

The fans thanked him for his efforts to retake the league title for Real Madrid in the final season.

The scene really touched the bystanders. But for Beckham, it had nothing to do with him. He wanted to appreciate the love that the Real Madrid fans had shown him, but he had to wait until after the game. He was wearing a Nottingham Forest jersey with the ball at his feet. His teammates were actively running forward, ready to fight back. It was not the time to show mercy!

He did a long pass!

Van Nistelrooy went to the flank to receive the ball. Ribéry plugged in at a high speed. His sudden assault attracted the attention of the Real Madrid defenders. Diarra followed him to retreat and Cannavaro also focused on him. Van Nistelrooy passed the ball to his frontline partner, Eastwood.

Eastwood was outside the penalty area and close to the middle while he was temporarily unmarked. Because the defensive forces were curbed by Ribéry. He kicked a long shot without hesitation!

The quality of the shot was quite high! Fully preoccupied with defense, Casillas sprang up and caught the football with a single palm. Although the shot did not go in, it made the Bernabéu stadium gasp.

Eastwood launched the shot on the spot. He did not run up to it, relying entirely on leaning back and using his abdominal strength to drive the shot. The shot was sudden. If not for Casillas’ excellent form, perhaps he would have gotten the shot in.

Real Madrid’s defense was pathetic compared to its glittering offensive lineup. In the game, Schuster used Cannavaro and Heinze as center-back partners. The left-back was Marcelo and the right-back was Ramos. Of the four players, the two full-backs liked to attack. The center back-partners lacked height and it was strenuous trying to defend against high-altitude balls. Heinze was not a genuine center-back. He only occasionally played as one. He was best at playing in the left-back position. Consequently, it was not hard to imagine the level he played at in the position.

Real Madrid’s defensive problems were still not better, and they basically relied on Cannavaro alone. When the former FIFA World Player of the Year was in a good shape, Real Madrid’s defensive line looked decent. If his condition was not good, no matter how remarkable Casillas was, he could only accept the humiliation of picking up the ball from the inside of the net.

Real Madrid employed offensive tactics at home for the game. Their defensive line pressed forward and left many gaps behind. The Forest team’s offensive tactic was very simple: find a way to hit the opponent’s back. They would make use of Beckham’s long passes, or van der Vaart to divert the ball, as well as the high-speed insertions from the two flanks to create and seek a void. It was not impossible to overcome Bernabéu as long as they were able to take advantage of their chances.

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Nottingham Forest’s corner kick was fired, and it was a mess in front of the goal, but no one got to the ball which allowed Casillas to come out and confiscate it. Casillas threw it to launch a quick attack, wanting to counterattack against Nottingham Forest.

He threw the ball to Higuaín in front of him. Higuaín had intended to catch the ball and turn around, but the football was kicked out by George Wood, who circled to the front to defend.

Higuaín turned away and managed to shake off Wood, but there was no ball at his feet. Nottingham Forest took advantage of the momentum to start another attack. Meanwhile, Pepe and Piqué ran back to the rear defensive line. Real Madrid’s quick attack did not happen but it pressed the Forest team within its half.

Real Madrid’s defense was relatively passive, but passivity did not mean that they did not need to exert themselves. But while they were defending, they were used to retreating to the penalty area and setting up a defensive array. As a result, their defense lacked depth and could be easily penetrated. It was a common problem in most La Liga teams. The style of playing and national characteristics determined that they advocated offense more and ignored defense.

The result of their defense was that Nottingham Forest could pass the ball and position themselves as they wished outside of the thirty-meter zone to look for opportunities without pressure. If Real Madrid was unable to withstand and press out to make a grab for the ball, they would pass the ball back to gradually pull the compressed formation backward. After they pulled it off, Real Madrid would be lured out. As long as their formation was cracked open, there would be plenty of gaps to seize hold of in the eyes of the Forest team. It just depended on whether they could grasp it.

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Given the height and aerial defense capabilities of the Real Madrid rear defensive line, Twain instructed the Forest team to focus their offense mainly on high balls and scramble for the second point of fall.

Through his research on Real Madrid, he believed that the Real Madrid players were not too concerned with the second point of fall in defense. Van Nistelrooy did not have to be the spearhead in the attack. He mainly acted as the bridgehead stronghold and tactical center forward.

Van Nistelrooy had an ability that was quite valuable, an ability that was slowly decreasing for many strikers.

To be a true center forward, van Nistelrooy not only could score his own shots, his body and skills guaranteed that he could control the football within an encirclement to wait for his teammates to come support. Then he would pass the football to his teammates who had the chance. When needed, he could head up to suppress the opponent’s entire line of defense, or pull out to rip apart the opponent’s defense to create opportunities for his teammates. A center forward like van Nistelrooy would turn around to take the ball, and currently many strikers could do little once they turned their backs on the offensive.

It was the difference between a striker and a center forward. Eastwood was a striker, and van Nistelrooy was a center forward.

Beckham once again passed the football into the penalty area. Ramos, who played the role of a center-back, jumped up to head the football out.

The second point of fall was taken by the Forest team.

Van der Vaart passed the football to Ribéry, and Ribéry caught the opponent’s attention on the flank. Gareth Bale dashed to plug in. Diarra, who ran to the flank to fill in the position, hesitated and opted to follow Bale to retreat. He let go of his defense against Ribéry. Ribéry took the opportunity to dribbled across. He looked like he was going to shoot.

Cannavaro immediately cut across to block him.

But Ribéry did a feint and sent the football van der Vaart in the middle.

Van der Vaart also made to look like he was about to do a long shot, leading Heinze, the particularly easily excited defender, to slide to the ground and shovel.

The football had already rolled to Beckham’s right foot.

The ball went around and came back again.

Beckham caught the attention of two Real Madrid players as soon as he took the ball. Marcelo immediately stood in front of him to block, while Sneijder was in charge of protecting the middle.

Rafinha saw the ball on the right flank and did not hesitate to plug in. He attracted Marcelo’s attention which resulted in Marcelo following him to retreat. Sneijder silently came over to fill the position.

Beckham passed the ball just as Sneijder came up to intercept the ball. He did not send a high ball at an angle into the penalty area but kicked a straight pass.

It was not passed to Rafinha on the right wing but to the player behind Sneijder — George Wood!

George Wood decisively inserted into the void and received a pass from Beckham.

“George Wood! He showed up in the flanks of the Real Madrid defense!”

Wood did not pass the ball after he received it. He did not continue to dribble forward. He swung his leg for a vigorous shot!

The football flew out like a cannonball and headed straight for the nearest corner of the goal.

George Wood rarely shot with certainty like that. Casillas could only slam the football out in a hurry and could not pounce on the end line. Because the ball that Wood shot out spun slightly outward, maybe he was going to pass, but it turned into a shot.

The football was pounced on by Casillas, but it bounced toward the goal.

This scene startled and made countless people in the Bernabéu stands gasp.

Van Nistelrooy charged out from the crowd and did a header shot!

The football flew toward the goal but was kicked out in front of the goal line by Ramos, who rushed back. The football flew outside the box and the second point of fall still belonged to Nottingham Forest. Van der Vaart shot straight away but missed. The football brushed along the turf and turned to the left. If no one blocked it, the ball would have rolled out of the end line, and it would have been a false alarm.

A leg suddenly extended from within the crowd and firmly cut off the incoming ball!

“Franck Ribéry! He stopped the ball!” The commentator exclaimed.

Casillas’ reaction was so fast that he had just landed on the ground when he pushed up pounce toward the back corner, intending to block the Forest team’s attack.

Ribéry, who intercepted the ball, did not hesitate to turn around and swing his leg to volley the football into the goal on the spot.

Casillas was too slow by half a beat.

The football flew over before his hands got there and smacked into the net.

“The ball went in — ”

Accompanied by the commentator’s yells, Bernabéu suddenly quieted down.

It was only nine minutes and eighteen seconds after the start, and the gates of Real Madrid were lost.

The haughty Real Madrid people were unable to accept this for a moment.

“That’s terrible defense!” Schuster, who sat in the technical area, slapped his leg angrily and complained to the assistant manager next to him. “I need a center-back and they’ve brought me Robben who can’t get on the field.”

Ribéry celebrated the goal wildly. Schuster’s brows wrinkled more and more tightly. He thought of the recent rumors. By the end of this season, when he still needed a defender, would Mijatović bring him another Ribéry?

The people around Tony Twain celebrated their lead. He did too, but he quickly put down his raised arms. He turned around and saw the president’s podium above the grandstand. Like Schuster, he also thought of the recent rumors. Would Ribéry’s excellent performance in front of the Real Madrid president further motivate their poaching?

After the end of this season, perhaps he would not have a holiday to speak of.