"He actually passed the ball!"

Guardiola pursed his lips.

In the world of football, there is a type of player who, whenever they have a chance, regardless of how good or bad it is, and regardless of their teammates' positioning, only cares about their own stats.

These players are called 'lone wolves'!

Of course, there is also the argument of a striker's confidence, but it's clear that when there is no shooting angle and a teammate is in a better position, they still choose to shoot themselves, ultimately leading to a complete failure.

Guardiola had previously categorized Suker as this type of player. He believed Suker was the kind of player with a strong desire for goals, unwilling to share the spotlight.

But in reality, while Suker does want stats, he hates losing even more!

So, after everyone had grown accustomed to Suker's 'lone wolf' style of play, his sudden change in approach caught them off guard.

This goal came about precisely because of that!

Everyone thought Suker would go it alone, but he chose to pass.

And what a pass it was!

The entire Camp Nou fell silent once again.

The Barcelona fans wore expressions of frustration.

Just when they thought they had turned the tide, Real Madrid immediately equalized.

They had lost to Real Madrid too many times already, so even in a draw, their psychological inertia made them sensitive.

The fierce booing in the stadium gradually died down.

In Real Madrid's VIP box, Zidane shook his head and sighed:

"This isn't the first time, but this is Suker! Making the right choice at critical moments—it's as if he always knows what to do!"

"Of course, this is also because Suker can adapt to various styles of play!"

Zidane couldn't help but recall the match between Real Madrid and Atlético Madrid.

The game known as the 'Suker Show.'

Five goals, five different styles!

Suker demonstrated what it means to be truly versatile.

Exceptional footwork leading to dazzling dribbling!

Precise shooting and lightning-fast bursts of speed!

Elusive positioning!

Blistering pace!

Zidane was a midfield maestro, a player who reached the pinnacle of football. Players like him are born with immense talent.

You could say each one of them is a chosen son of the game!

But even someone like Zidane couldn't help but feel a twinge of envy toward Suker's talent.

If God sprinkled a drop of talent on ordinary players when creating humans,

then top-tier superstars were given a cupful of talent.

Suker, however, was different.

God practically shoved a funnel into his mouth and poured talent down his throat!

The so-called prodigies pale in comparison to Suker!

Most importantly, Suker hasn't wasted this talent. His ability to realize his potential is incredible, and he remains highly disciplined.

With such innate talent and relentless effort, if he doesn't become a historic superstar, Zidane would feel wronged on Suker's behalf!

"70 minutes are up!"

Florentino said with a smile.

Everyone in Real Madrid's VIP box perked up.

It was time for Suker's explosive performance!

At the same time, Real Madrid made a substitution.

In the 70th minute, Real Madrid made a change:

Bale off, Di María on!

This was Mourinho's signal to ramp up the attack.

Meanwhile, Suker immediately used his stamina recovery card. Feeling his muscles regain vitality and strength surging through his body, a gleam shone in Suker's eyes.

"20 minutes left!" Suker grinned, baring his teeth.

After the substitution, Barcelona threw the ball back into play.

The moment Messi received the ball and turned, Kaka pressed against his back. Just as Messi was about to pass back, Kaka seized the opportunity and poked the ball away.

The ball was knocked loose.

Suker dropped back to receive the ball and then passed it to Alonso in the midfield.

After distributing the ball, Suker turned and gave Kaka a thumbs-up.

Since dropping back to the midfield, Kaka's defensive abilities had noticeably improved.

Alonso passed the ball to the right, finding Di María.

Barcelona's entire defensive line shifted toward the right.

At that moment, Suker began drifting toward the center.

Ahead of Suker was the defensive line, about 5-6 meters away.

To his side was Busquets.

But Suker didn't think Busquets could stop him.

Tap!

Di María played a horizontal pass.

Suker controlled the ball with his right foot while extending his arm to block Busquets, who was trying to disrupt him from behind.

Although Busquets kept applying pressure, Suker stabilized himself and, without even looking up, swung his right foot and fiercely struck the ball.

This long-range shot was sudden. Although the ball wasn't extremely fast, its angle was tricky, heading straight for the left corner.

"Oh no!"

Barcelona goalkeeper Valdés reacted belatedly. He shuffled his feet and dove to make the save.

Stretching his arm and fingers, he tried desperately to touch the ball.

At the very least, he could deflect it onto the post.

His silicone glove grazed the ball but didn't alter its trajectory much. The ball brushed against his glove and flew into the net.

"Oh~~~~ my god~~~~ Suker!!!!!"

"A goal in the 73rd minute!!!"

"A long-range shot from outside the penalty area! He didn't even take a run-up. Although the ball wasn't extremely fast, the angle was too tricky. Valdés got a touch but couldn't stop the goal!"

"What did I say? What did I say!"

"This is Suker! The 70th to 90th minutes belong to him. Look! He's scored again!"

"Barcelona failed to extend their lead earlier, and once the game reached the 70th minute, it became incredibly difficult for them to contain Suker in his explosive form!"

"Real Madrid has turned the game around, leading 4-3 against Barcelona!"

"Suker has scored a hat-trick away from home!!"

Gonzalez exclaimed excitedly: "16 league games, 29 goals!! What an insane efficiency!! Meanwhile, Messi has also scored 27 goals, trailing by just two!"

"However, the question now is, should Barcelona continue to attack? If they don't find a way to stop Suker, they might..."

At that moment, Barcelona made a substitution.

Sánchez off, Villa on.

Guardiola was going all out, continuing to push for attack.

This was their home game, and they couldn't afford to lose again.

Another reason was that Guardiola had tried defending.

But it still couldn't stop Suker, so he decided to focus on attack.

What followed was a period of end-to-end action!

Tap! Tap! Tap!

In the 75th minute, Barcelona strung together a series of one-touch passes, executing brilliant penetrating plays with their triangular positioning.

The ball reached Messi's feet, and he took a low shot.

Tap!

Casillas made a desperate save, barely tipping the ball away.

The ball flew toward the right, and Srna immediately followed up. He turned and launched a long pass downfield.

Real Madrid's counterattack was on!

The long pass accurately found Suker.

Suker effortlessly cushioned the ball with his thigh. While the ball was still in the air, Suker spotted Kaka making a darting run from his side.

Suker feinted slightly to the opposite side, shifting Alves's weight.

At that moment, Suker lifted his right foot and back-heeled the ball.

The ball instantly flew toward Kaka's path.

"Suker! A brilliant back-heel!"

Kaka caught up to the ball and cut inside into the penalty area.

With little support around him, Kaka decided to take matters into his own hands.

A powerful shot, a driven strike along the ground!

Valdés desperately stretched out his right leg, deflecting the ball with his shin.

The ball bounced out of the penalty area. Suker turned to look.

He saw Alonso charging forward and meeting the dropping ball with a volley.

Bang!

Suker instinctively ducked as the ball whizzed past his head.

The next moment, he heard a clang.

Suker turned toward the goal and saw the ball hit the crossbar and bounce into the net.

Alonso's thunderous long-range strike!

An absolute world-class goal!!

"Goal!!! Another goal!!"

"Xabi Alonso with a world-class strike! In the 81st minute, Real Madrid extends their lead: 5-3 against Barcelona!"

At that moment, the entire Camp Nou fell silent.

Barcelona fans wore pained expressions.

Again!

Just when they thought they had turned the game around, Suker erupted again.

They absolutely despised Suker!

If it weren't for him, they would have surely won this match.

"81st minute, leading by two goals! Barcelona might really be out of chances. They've lost yet another El Clásico in the new season!"

Gonzalez shook his head.

He felt that Barcelona had developed a psychological block when facing Real Madrid.

Especially once the game entered the 70th minute, Barcelona's defense became shaky.

Suker's explosive performance boosted Real Madrid's morale and dealt a heavy blow to Barcelona.

On camera, Guardiola stood with his arms crossed, a bitter smile on his face.

He had used everything he could, prepared everything possible.

But they still couldn't win!

Guardiola was at a loss.

The Barcelona players also looked dejected. Despite experiencing this many times, losing still felt incredibly painful.

Messi crouched on the ground, gasping for air.

His eyes were filled with confusion.

He had given his all!

So why couldn't they win?

What would it take to defeat Suker?

Messi felt a deep sense of frustration.

Suker had always been a mountain on his path forward.

Perpetually shrouded in mist, its peak unseen. Then one day, he mustered all his strength to clear the fog, thinking he could finally overcome this towering peak.

But when he looked up, the summit still pierced the clouds, filling him with despair.

Three minutes of stoppage time.

Barcelona 3:5 Real Madrid!

"That should be the end of the match. In the 16th round of the 2011/2012 La Liga season, Barcelona once again failed to defeat Real Madrid. I've lost count of how many times they've lost now. Barcelona is already one of the best teams in the world, but Real Madrid and Suker's presence forces everyone to look up to them!"

"Mourinho has truly built a historic team, one that could potentially sweep through history!"

Beep! Beep! Beep!

Three whistles blew.

The match was over.

Barcelona lost 3:5 to Real Madrid at home, once again losing El Clásico.

And given the attention this match received and the influence of its legendary figures, Barcelona had humiliated themselves this time.

"As the manager, I take full responsibility for this loss. I am willing to accept any consequences and arrangements."

In the post-match press conference, Guardiola dropped a bombshell.

This statement didn't sound like a normal post-match conference.

There was no analysis of the game's issues. Instead, he directly shouldered the blame.

The reporters were stunned, but they quickly recovered and began firing off questions.

On Real Madrid's charter plane

Suker and the others gathered together.

"What do you think Guardiola meant by that?" Srna asked, pursing his lips. "Is he really going to get sacked?"

"Hard to say. After going two seasons without a trophy, even Guardiola would face criticism."

"I don't think it's necessary. Even though Barcelona didn't win any trophies, they still reached 100 points last season!"

Upon hearing this, Ramos shook his head. "You definitely shouldn't bring that up in front of Barcelona fans."

Indeed, Barcelona also reached 100 points last season.

But they were the runners-up with 100 points!

Despite achieving a historic feat, they were overshadowed by another team in the same league, which stole all the spotlight.

Whenever people mentioned 100 points, they first thought of Real Madrid, and only then of Barcelona as the supporting act.

So, what seemed like a glorious moment was actually a humiliating one for Barcelona.

They fought hard all season, performed well, but still couldn't defeat Real Madrid and win the league title.

How could they not be frustrated!

Suker sat in his seat, leaning back with an eye mask on, pretending to sleep but listening to his teammates' discussion.

Earlier, Suker had mentioned that even Guardiola could face the risk of being dismissed due to relatively poor results.

This time, Guardiola wasn't speaking without reason. Suker felt that Guardiola might indeed leave.

As for his next destination, Suker wasn't sure.

However, even though Barcelona was overshadowed by Real Madrid in the league, it didn't mean Guardiola's managerial skills were lacking.

If things followed the original timeline, he might be heading to Bayern Munich.

But exactly how it would play out, Suker didn't know yet.

Haaaaaa——

Suker yawned. The plane had been flying for five hours.

But there were still about 10 hours to go.

That's right!

They weren't heading back to Madrid but flying directly to Tokyo, Japan.

They were going to participate in the 2011 FIFA Club World Cup.

The FIFA Club World Cup evolved from the 'Intercontinental Cup,' which was reformed in 2000.

Previously, Real Madrid had won the Intercontinental Cup three times, in 1960, 1998, and 2002.

But since its reform into the Club World Cup, they hadn't won the title.

The FIFA Club World Cup brings together the top clubs from six continents.

This year, seven teams are participating.

They are:

UEFA representative - Real Madrid CF (Spain).

CONMEBOL representative - Santos FC (Brazil).

AFC representative - Al-Sadd SC (Qatar).

CONCACAF representative - Monterrey (Mexico).

CAF representative - Espérance Sportive de Tunis (Tunisia).

OFC representative - Auckland City FC (New Zealand).

Host nation - Kashiwa Reysol (Japan).

The tournament will run from December 8th to December 18th.

As the UEFA representative and Champions League winner, Real Madrid holds a significant advantage in strength, so they only need to play from the semifinals onward.

In fact, the Club World Cup champion is almost always the UEFA representative. Their strength is universally acknowledged.

Thus, they enjoy certain privileges.

For example, Real Madrid's match is scheduled for December 15th.

They will face the host team, Kashiwa Reysol.

All matches will be held at the National Stadium in central Tokyo.

Referring to it as the 'Tokyo National Stadium' might sound unfamiliar, but think of it as the 'Koshien' of baseball—the final stage of the national tournament that Japanese middle schoolers dream of reaching.

When Real Madrid arrived in Tokyo, the airport was practically overflowing.

Enthusiastic Japanese fans gathered, seeing Real Madrid as a distant豪门 (wealthy club) from afar. Unlike European fans, who are accustomed to these elite teams, Japanese fans view them with greater curiosity and imagination.

Suker's appearance, in particular, caused a frenzy at the airport. On the way to the hotel, the roads were sealed off to prevent overly radical fans from causing trouble.

Japan had clearly put great effort into hosting the Club World Cup, aside from the strangely eerie mascots.

After arriving at the hotel and checking in,

Suker entered his room, and shortly after, Zorančić walked in.

"Here's the schedule for tomorrow."

Zorančić handed him a sheet of paper with the itinerary.

Suker was used to promoting himself wherever he went.

After all, for the sake of his influence and reputation, these actions were necessary.

"In the morning, there's a signing event. In the afternoon, we're going to a place called 'Saitama' to interact with some teenagers training there..."

"Wait!" Suker interrupted. "Interacting with teenagers? Youth training?"

Zorančić shook his head. "Not exactly. They're students, and I heard they're talented players aged 12-14 selected from a national training camp. They're not part of the youth training system."

Suker nodded in understanding.

Japan's youth training system differs from Europe's.

The 'school club + youth training' model is deeply ingrained.

Unlike European youth training, where players are developed from a young age,

Japanese teenagers first go through school clubs for initial selection. They prove themselves in so-called 'national tournaments' or, if they show exceptional talent, they join the youth training system.

"Are we getting paid?" Suker asked.

He wasn't doing volunteer work, not even for the organizers.

Zorančić smiled. "Two payments: one for the club, one for us."

Suker nodded. "Got it."