Los Angeles, Home Depot Center.

On this day, the stadium welcomed a huge crowd of fans, and even many celebrities from the entertainment and sports world.

And their main purpose was to watch Real Madrid's commercial match — or to be more precise, Suker's match.

Inside the players' tunnel.

Everyone else was in normal kit, but Suker had a small camera strapped to his chest, secured with an X-shaped harness across his body to keep it stable.

Wearing such a device made Suker quite uncomfortable, but since the whole purpose of the trip was to record a first-person perspective match video, he could only endure it.

LA Galaxy's players occasionally turned to glance at Suker.

For these players who were striving for the growth of football in the U.S., standing across from someone at the very peak of the game — Suker — was naturally a dream.

Even though Suker hadn't yet reached the absolute pinnacle, it had to be said: in the current football world, no active player could take his place.

"This thing's really uncomfortable!"

Suker twisted his body, still feeling restricted.

Srna turned his head and asked: "Can you see me?"

Saying that, he even waved his hand.

Suker: "It's recording, idiot!"

Srna didn't mind, just laughed and turned back.

At this moment, the players of both teams began to enter the pitch.

"Here we are at LA Galaxy vs Real Madrid in this warm-up match! Let's see how the warriors perform when facing a top team like Real Madrid!"

The lineups were as follows:

Real Madrid (4-3-3):GK: Casillas.Defense: Srna, Ramos, Pepe, Marcelo.Midfield: Khedira, Alonso, Di María.Attack: Kaká, Benzema, Suker.

LA Galaxy (4-4-2):GK: Ricketts.Defense: González, DeLaGarza, Franklin, Berhalter.Midfield: Juninho, Stephens, Birchall, Beckham.Forwards: Donovan, Buddle.

Suker stood in the center circle, waiting for kickoff.

On the other side, apart from Beckham, he didn't recognize anyone.

MLS's level was still far behind the top five European leagues.

And this game was nothing more than a commercial exhibition. The announcers might call it a "warm-up," but in truth, it was a show.

Suker would play the full 90 minutes — after all, they were being paid.

Soon, amid cheers, the whistle blew.

After kickoff, Suker immediately sprinted forward.

He ran for a bit and noticed no one was even following him. At first he was surprised, but then he quickly understood.

This was an exhibition match. Most people in the stands had paid to see Suker. If opponents marked him as tightly as in a real league match, what kind of "show" would that be?

This was Suker's stage to perform.

Realizing that, Suker dropped back to receive the ball, demanding possession.

Seeing him in space, Alonso immediately passed the ball to him.

Suker looked down at the ball, felt someone charging at him from behind, and without stopping, he feinted with his right foot above the ball, spun, and sprinted away.

In just that one turn, he left the opposing defensive midfielder behind.

"Suker! A brilliant escape!"

The commentator's voice boomed through the stadium speakers.

Suker blushed a little.

What was so brilliant?It was purely a difference in physical ability!

But he knew it was time to put on a show.

He touched the ball with his left foot, nudged it sideways to the left. The Galaxy center-back stretched his leg to intercept.

But at that very instant, Suker pulled the ball back inward with his left foot, changing direction again.

Two rapid changes of direction in a split-second — the defender was sent into a split.

"WTF?"

The Galaxy defender cried out from his soul.

Two lightning touches, two changes of direction in less than a second — how was that even humanly possible?!

On TV, Suker's dribbles had always looked effortless; he thought defenders hadn't tried hard enough.

But now, experiencing it firsthand, he realized — they simply couldn't keep up.

Suker broke past the center-back, created shooting space, planted his left foot, and swung his right.

Bang!The ball rocketed low into the right corner, beating the keeper's hands and smashing into the net.

"GOAL!!! Just 4 minutes in, Suker scores! Beating two defenders in succession, he's cut straight through the Galaxy's central defense!"

Suker laughed, ran to the corner flag, celebrated, and waved to the fans.

The crowd responded enthusiastically with loud applause.

That goal alone was worth the ticket price.

But Suker wasn't done.

In the 18th minute, with his back to goal, he feinted left and right, shook off his marker, burst down the flank with raw speed, cut inside, and delivered a through ball — Benzema finished it off.

Then came the highlight at the 40th minute.

From the right corner of the box, Srna crossed into the far post.

Suker leapt into the air and smashed home a thunderous volley.

By halftime, Madrid were 3–0 up.

Of course, it was only an exhibition; they couldn't humiliate the opponents too much.

Early in the second half, Madrid eased off, and Beckham delivered a trademark free kick to set up a goal.

But in the 78th minute, Suker started from his own half, sprinted the length of the pitch, bulldozing defenders with speed, and finished with a left-foot rocket.

Hat-trick complete, scoreline 4–1.

That was also the final score.

After the final whistle, players shook hands amiably.

"All done! All done!"

Suker removed the chest camera and handed it to the staff.

The game had no real value — just a show. The score didn't matter.

But the fans loved it.

They had seen Suker's dazzling dribbles, his volley, his solo run.

It was a feast for the eyes.

And they eagerly awaited the first-person footage that Real Madrid promised to release.

Madrid's media team worked quickly.

That evening, they had already cut the footage down to a 20-minute highlight reel, uploading it to both the club's website and YouTube.

The moment it went live on YouTube, views exploded.

Fans rushed to watch the video and were stunned.

"Wow! In such an intense match, Suker always finds perfect spaces to run into."

"Everyone knows league matches are much tougher than this. I'd love to see his first-person view in the Champions League!"

"Mate, that's impossible — UEFA doesn't allow cameras."

"This is insane — every chance that came, he took it!"

"Every time he got the ball, he was surrounded — but in the next second, they were gone. He just glided past them!"

"That volley — when the camera lifted into the air, I screamed!"

"Even holding back in a show match, Suker's still this strong!"

"Notice how the footage kept switching between normal speed and fast-forward, but never paused. Sure, that's editing — but it shows how tireless his running was!"

"Hah! What are you talking about? He's a mule! Hahaha!"

"A mule? Quite fitting. Suker can really run!"

Fans worldwide joined the heated discussion.

Three goals and one assist!Every five minutes there was a highlight.

Compared to other first-person perspectives where you barely saw a chance in 45 minutes, Suker's footage was pure action.

As soon as the video dropped, fans flooded Barcelona's and Manchester United's sites, demanding Messi and Ronaldo do the same.

But neither club responded.

After the exhibition match, Madrid flew back to Spain immediately.

It was time to prepare for the second half of the season.

Compared to the first half, the second half would be far tougher, with no room for "adjustments."

The league title race.The Champions League knockouts.The Copa del Rey.

One after another — with two matches a week becoming routine.

The squad had to be in peak condition.

Once back in Spain, Mourinho ordered a full medical check. He wanted to know every player's status, and check for hidden injuries.

The tests revealed some minor issues, nothing serious — just needed some adjustment.

Most of the core players were in excellent condition, thanks to Pintus's training regimen, which built resilience and kept them sharp deep into the season.

On January 9, La Liga resumed.

Madrid faced their Round 17 opponents: Villarreal, the "Yellow Submarine."

With talents like Rossi and Cazorla, they were still a force, even if not as strong as before.

Madrid, of course, would not underestimate them. Every game had to be won.

That day at noon, at Madrid's training base, the match squad packed their bags to head to the Bernabéu.

The non-selected players stayed behind to train.

Carvajal, Vázquez, and Nacho watched enviously as the first-team regulars boarded the bus.

Their eyes were full of longing.

"Hold down the fort!"

Arbeloa patted Carvajal on the shoulder before leaving.

The three youngsters felt even more jealous.

Though Arbeloa had lost his starting spot to Srna, he was still the first substitute, and always made the squad list.

As for the three of them — they weren't even official first-team players yet.

They hadn't signed professional contracts with Real Madrid.

Still, they had been working harder than anyone, arriving first, leaving last, training tirelessly.

They believed effort would bring reward, and they could earn a place in the team.

Suker, sitting on the bus, rested his chin on his hand and looked out at the trio by the dressing room.

He knew they were the hardest-working in the club.

But—

"Hard work's fine, but if it's in the wrong direction, it's useless."

Suker shook his head.

"You mean those three?" Kaká put down his Bible and turned. "They're working hard."

"What's the point of effort? If you don't find the right way, you'll never fit into the team." Suker shook his head again.

Mourinho had said it himself: trialists were supposed to show their value, not just bury themselves in training. Otherwise, it would lead nowhere.

And recently, Mourinho was already running out of patience.

If things continued, those three would soon be sent back.

"Then why don't you correct them?" Kaká asked.

Suker: "Why should I? What's in it for me?"

"There you go again!" Kaká shook his head.

He remembered — Suker had been the same with Pato.

"Don't stick your nose in. Last time with Pato, that was because of you." Suker teased.

Kaká: "That was different. Pato's Brazilian, he made the national team — that benefitted me. But Carvajal and the others? What do I gain from helping them?"

Suker gave him a thumbs up. "Clear-headed!"

Once everyone was aboard, Mourinho got on last. After counting heads, he said loudly: "Let's go!"

The Madrid bus rolled out of the training base and headed for the Bernabéu.

Madrid fans lived for weekends.

Because that meant another opponent would be thrashed.

After consecutive wins over Barcelona, and their winning streak intact, Madridistas felt their team had no rivals left.

The dominance this squad was showing was among the greatest in club history.

Villarreal's glory had been built by Pellegrini.

The Chilean "Engineer" had led them to the Champions League quarterfinals with his tactical brilliance.

Though his time at Real Madrid ended in failure, it didn't erase his past achievements.

Some coaches simply thrived with underdog teams, but couldn't manage giants.

In contrast was Ancelotti — who sometimes stumbled with smaller clubs, but was steady as a rock with big ones.

At the moment, the "Captain of Madrid" was in the Premier League, struggling yet still enjoying himself.

He wanted to prove he could handle both giants and minnows. But so far, it wasn't going too well.

Back to Villarreal.

Their current coach, Juan Garrido, couldn't replicate Pellegrini's success.

They had fallen off — no longer a threat to Madrid or Barcelona, even missing out on Europe for two straight years.

Garrido tried to build around Rossi, pushing more resources forward.

But that decision stifled Cazorla's talent.

Yes — Santi Cazorla was still at Villarreal then.

Without resources channeled his way, he couldn't fully express his qualities.

Only after moving to Arsenal, when Fabregas and Nasri left, did he blossom as the midfield core.

Sadly, injuries ruined the Spanish genius.

"Remember! Defend well. Always watch Suker!"

In Villarreal's dressing room, Garrido stressed again and again how dangerous Suker was.

The players were sick of hearing it.

Mark Suker?

Impossible.

If it were that easy, he wouldn't be the "problem of the century."

So far, no team had successfully shut him down.

Unless you used insane triple man-marking. But that was basically gifting Madrid the win.

Three men stuck on Suker would leave Kaká free to rip them apart.

Maybe last season, when Madrid relied heavily on Suker, it might've worked.

But not now.

This Madrid had a complete tactical system. Even Barça had been hammered at home. How could Villarreal stop Suker?

Not to mention his terrifying reputation.

Last season, he won the treble of golden boots — La Liga, Champions League, World Cup.

This season, in just 16 league matches, he already had 23 goals. The numbers alone made them tremble.

Still, they had to go out there. Garrido kept urging them to believe, to fight for three points.

But the players knew — three points were impossible.

Even scraping a draw would be a miracle.

Not because they lacked fighting spirit, but because — how do you even play against this Real Madrid?

Unless they scored three wondergoals in the first half — no, four, because three wouldn't be enough — only then could they hope.