The All-Around Center Forward

"Well done!!"

"That's right! Keep playing like that!"

Barcelona equalized, bringing the game back to a draw.

However, Real Madrid's defense was a bit strange this time.

There seemed to be a problem with the coordination between Pepe and Ramos.

In fact, at times like this, someone should have rushed out to interfere or commit a foul directly.

But now, the two of them were staring at each other.

"It came from your side! You should have gone!"

"He changed direction, heading towards you!"

Of course, they weren't arguing whose fault it was.

Regarding the conceded goal, they both agreed it was the entire defensive line's responsibility, and each of them had their own issues.

The key to their argument was, who should go up and foul!

"Tsk!"

Suker stood with his hands on his hips, unable to help but grin and shake his head.

Ramos and Pepe were Real Madrid's ultimate problem players.

As two central defenders, it should have been the most stable position, but these two had fiery tempers, each worse than the other.

The number of cards these two received accounted for almost one-third of Real Madrid's entire team.

Red cards were even far ahead!

To control these two thugs, Suker, Casillas, and Mourinho formed a united front for the first time.

They made a three-point agreement with these two.

First, they couldn't both charge forward at the same time; one must remain stable!

Second: The fouling should be left to one person, and the other person should be ready to break up the fight!

In summary, one is responsible for fighting, and the other is responsible for breaking up the fight!

You can't let these two hotheads be directly hooked by the opponent, can you?

But under this arrangement, the two of them clearly hadn't adapted yet and didn't know how to distribute the tasks, leading to some errors in defense.

But there was no other way!

To stop these two from getting cards so quickly, this was the only method.

Otherwise, Real Madrid's defense would collapse sooner or later!

"I'll take this one!" Pepe pointed to himself; "I'll go on the wall, you cover the back! I'll fight, you break it up!"

A hint of envy flashed in Ramos's eyes: "How about... I go first!"

Just as the two were arguing, Casillas's angry voice came from behind them.

"You two, get your act together!"

He had conceded a goal and was already annoyed enough; seeing these two bickering endlessly made him even more furious.

"If I make a fool of myself in this match, you two won't have it easy either!" Casillas said with a gloomy expression.

The two fell silent.

They knew very well that Casillas was in an extremely sensitive period right now, and it was best not to provoke him.

Barcelona equalized the score.

Some adjustments at the beginning of the season and the midfield reorganization inevitably had a considerable impact on the team.

At the very least, the defense was no longer as solid.

However, with an entire first half of the season to integrate, they were not afraid of these things.

At 32 minutes, Suker came to the center circle to prepare for the kickoff.

The intense atmosphere on the field grew even thicker.

As Barcelona equalized, the match became even more deadlocked.

At 38 minutes, Real Madrid counterattacked, Bale crossed from the wing, and Suker once again prepared to jump.

But this time, Mascherano learned his lesson.

He pulled Suker's jersey the whole time, preventing him from jumping.

Anyway, he himself wouldn't jump, and Suker couldn't jump either.

Suker was uncomfortable from being pulled by this guy, unable to jump, and was so angry he almost slapped him.

At 41 minutes, Messi once again dribbled past Casemiro, preparing to rush into the penalty area.

But before that, Kaka unexpectedly stepped in and directly tackled Messi to the ground.

After falling, Messi angrily got up, looking for Kaka, ready to retaliate.

But seeing Messi rush towards Kaka, Pepe immediately rushed over.

"I got this!"

The moment Messi pushed Kaka, Pepe suddenly rushed over and knocked Messi down.

Immediately, players from both sides began to gather, and the scene became chaotic.

Ramos was breaking up the fight again.

He had just pulled Xavi away when the latter forcefully shrugged off Ramos's arm, and as he swung his hand, his finger even brushed Ramos's face.

"Damn it!"

Ramos's eyes turned red.

He directly pushed Xavi down, and immediately, pushing and shoving began on the field.

The conflict might escalate further.

At the critical moment, under a sharp whistle, the Referee continuously blew his whistle to separate everyone, while showing Kaka a yellow card and awarding Barcelona a free kick.

Xavi remained relentless.

"Trying to be the good guy? Don't think I don't know, you guys are doing this on purpose, a bunch of scumbags!"

Ramos also retorted; "You piece of shit, what else can you do besides talk all that nonsense?"

With that, Ramos spread his hands: "You can't do anything, coward!"

Xavi's expression grew even more furious, and just as he was about to turn around, he was pulled away by Fabregas from the side.

Ramos continued to taunt until Casillas arrived and told him to shut up.

Casillas looked at the scene before him with a headache.

These National Team teammates from Barcelona, they were no longer just simply angry, but their gazes were filled with hostility.

This was not just a conflict on the field; it was even brewing off the field.

Casillas believed that he should do something, otherwise, this 'family' would fall apart!

But before that, let's finish the match.

After this farce, both sides' retaliatory actions became more frequent.

Suker had just been tackled around the waist, sending him flying.

Marcelo immediately retaliated, and Pedro was brought down by him.

After several consecutive back-and-forth clashes, the game was again at risk of getting out of control.

At 43 minutes, after showing his sixth yellow card, the Referee called both captains over for a warning and a lecture.

"Play smarter! Focus on the game, don't play those dirty tricks, let's play a fluid game, okay?"

As the Referee spoke, he pulled out a corner of a red card from his pocket.

Both captains saw this scene; at this point, the Referee was warning them that if the conflict continued to escalate, he would have to use red cards to expel unstable elements.

With this warning, the game would also enter halftime.

This moment allowed players from both sides to calm down slightly.

Inside Real Madrid's locker room.

"These bastards, they have too many dirty tricks!"

Benzema rubbed his big toe, he didn't know how many times he had been stepped on, his ribs were also faintly aching, and his chest had been elbowed, almost making him gasp for air.

Real Madrid's fouls were straightforward, directly showing the opponent 'we're going to get you!'

But Barcelona played dirty in the shadows; they had many small, sometimes dangerous, fouls, and they were trying to provoke Real Madrid players.

Suker stood bare-chested in front of the bench, taking a sip of water.

The team doctor knelt beside Suker, spraying hemostatic agent on Suker's calf.

Suker was the most fouled player in the first half.

His calf was also cut, but the wound wasn't deep.

There was some minor pain, but it didn't affect him!

Suker also sighed; every time he played against Barcelona, it was a full-blown brawl.

If you didn't get a little injured, it wouldn't be called an El Clásico.

"In the second half, we'll change our strategy!" Mourinho looked at everyone and said; "We'll play simpler!"

With that, he looked at Benzema; "Karim, you'll rest in the second half! Di Maria is ready to come on!"

Hearing this, Suker raised an eyebrow slightly.

Mourinho continued; "Suker will move to the center forward position to contest headers; we'll frequently play high balls, and you'll contest them!"

Suker immediately nodded.

After seeing his jumping ability, Mourinho quickly took action.

"At the same time, don't drop back, try to press the defensive line and enter the penalty area."

Listening to Mourinho's words, Suker blinked: "You want me to play as a target man?"

"No!" Mourinho shook his head; "I'm just telling you to do that, but for the specific situation, you judge it yourself. Whether you want to pass, whether you want to shoot, it's all up to you to decide!"

Suker immediately smiled.

He liked this about Mourinho; he was decisive in everything he did.

Especially with Mourinho's center forwards, you could truly do whatever you wanted, and the whole team would cooperate with you.

Kroos looked at Mourinho eagerly, almost saying 'Coach, I want to play'.

Mourinho also noticed that gaze, but he didn't pay attention to it.

Even if he were to play, it wouldn't be now.

Kroos was more experienced than Casemiro, but the team's cohesion with him wasn't enough.

For this match, to be cautious, the team could only bring one 'newcomer'.

When the time was right, he would replace Casemiro with Kroos, and at the same time, move Khedira back to the defensive midfield position.

That's right, after three warm-up matches, Mourinho valued Kroos more in the central midfielder position.

His elegant passing lines could open up attacking routes for Suker.

On the other side, Barcelona's locker room was somewhat quiet.

Head Coach Vilanova's expression was not good; he was filled with worry.

Defense was a big problem!

In the second half, Real Madrid, no! More accurately, Suker would become even more formidable.

But Barcelona had no players to reinforce their defense.

Bartra and Abidal's injuries had not yet healed, making them unable to play.

Puyol was too old, and his form had already declined.

Busquets could replace Alexandre Song, but what good would that do?

Busquets feared Suker; the whole of Europe knew this.

Ultimately, Barcelona intended to use more fouls to disrupt Suker.

In the second half, the teams switched sides and resumed play.

When the Barcelona players arrived on the field, they were momentarily stunned by Real Madrid's lineup change.

Suker had actually moved to the center forward position.

Vilanova also stared blankly at this scene; Suker playing center forward meant he intended to press the defensive line and enter the penalty area!

How the hell were they supposed to foul him then?

When he turned to look at Real Madrid's bench, Mourinho was also looking at him.

As their eyes met, Mourinho's lips curved slightly, revealing a hint of disdain.

"Damn Portuguese!" Vilanova cursed inwardly.

"Angel!"

At the center circle, Suker called out.

Di Maria snapped out of it and turned to look at Suker.

Suker narrowed his eyes slightly; "Get your spirits up!"

Di Maria nodded, but his mood was not high.

Suker could understand Di Maria.

He had been with Real Madrid for some years, but had always been a rotation substitute.

He had played as a midfielder, and as a winger, but had never truly had his own position.

There was bound to be a sense of disappointment in his heart, and also some dissatisfaction.

Suker didn't know if Di Maria was considering leaving at this moment, but it wasn't necessarily a good choice.

After all, it had already been proven in the original timeline that Di Maria found it difficult to be the core of a team!

In the original timeline, he joined Manchester United, with a high transfer fee and even higher expectations. Van Gaal, then Manchester United's Head Coach, also built the team around Di Maria, which greatly increased Di Maria's pressure.

Coupled with the fast pace of the Premier League and the pressure on key players, Di Maria played very unhappily, eventually leading to a complete break with Manchester United.

In Suker's understanding, Di Maria was a very good piece of the puzzle.

But he couldn't be the foundation of the puzzle!

He couldn't handle that kind of pressure!

He performed well at Real Madrid because Real Madrid was full of superstars, and no one paid too much attention to him.

Just like with Suker and Di Maria, the opponents would only focus on Suker, and the pressure would also be on Suker.

In this situation, Di Maria played very happily and freely.

But when he received the same pressure and intensity as Suker, he completely couldn't handle it.

"Focus on the game; we'll talk about other things later!" Suker said aloud.

Hearing this, Di Maria looked up in surprise.

Did Suker know what he was thinking?

However, he also took a deep breath.

That's right!

Suker was right; first, play this current game well.

In the second half, Real Madrid kicked off first.

After Suker kicked off, he immediately pushed up to the center forward position.

It had been a long time since he had played this position, so there was a slight unfamiliarity, but more than that, there was excitement.

After all, he only needed to break through one defensive line, and then it would be the opponent's goal.

Of course, this defensive line was also the most difficult to break through.

When Suker moved to the center forward position, Alexandre Song would inevitably drop back, and he and the two center-backs formed a triangular encirclement around Suker.

No matter how they broke through on the flanks, Alexandre Song only needed to stick close to Suker.

This was the instruction given by the Head Coach.

Just as he was tracking Suker, Bale suddenly passed the ball horizontally.

Suker received the ball and turned, all in one smooth motion.

Alexandre Song immediately followed, rushing in front of Suker from the right, but Suker suddenly stopped and changed direction.

Alexandre Song couldn't keep up, but his body instinctively turned and fell, his head hitting Suker's knee bend. With a sudden force, Suker's body suddenly dropped, and he fell to the ground.

"I... I didn't do it on purpose!"

Alexandre Song quickly explained.

The Referee also nodded; he could tell Alexandre Song hadn't done it on purpose, as a deliberate foul wouldn't result in that kind of fall.

Seeing that the Referee believed him, Alexandre Song also breathed a sigh of relief.

At this moment, he saw Suker walking over and immediately felt nervous.

He wouldn't hit him, would he?

"How much is your annual salary?" Suker suddenly asked.

The question stunned Alexandre Song.

But he still subconsciously replied, "5 million!"

"5 million pre-tax, can you still have 3 million left after tax?" Suker said.

Alexandre Song shook his head; "Less than 3 million!"

Suker shook his head, mumbled softly, and turned to leave.

He was also inwardly terrified; if his calf had pushed up just now, it wouldn't have been his knee bend that hit Alexandre Song, but his studs.

Suker turned and left, leaving a bewildered Alexandre Song in his wake.

Barcelona's salaries were divided into five tiers after tax.

The first tier was Messi at 12 million euros.

The second tier was Xavi, Iniesta, and Villa, around 7 million.

The third tier was Fabregas and Alves, around 6 million.

The fourth tier was Piqué, Puyol, and other defenders, around 5 million.

The fifth tier was Busquets, Pedro, Sanchez, and others, around 3 million.

As for Alexandre Song, his pre-tax salary was 5 million euros, and Spain's tax rate reached 43%.

After tax, it was around 2.9 million, which meant he didn't even qualify for the fifth tier!

The words Suker mumbled kept echoing in his ears, deafeningly!

'I'm not even risking my life! With an annual salary of less than 3 million, what life are you risking!'

Alexandre Song felt something inside him shatter!

The game was still going on, and Suker no longer dropped back to receive the ball; once he dropped back, he would inevitably be fouled.

But when it came to fouls, Suker still thought it would be more worthwhile to be pulled down inside the penalty area.

Moreover, when Suker entered the penalty area, their actions also had to be restrained, otherwise, Suker would really fall for them to see.

"Right side coming!"

Mascherano roared, turning his head to remind Piqué.

Piqué also stuck close to Suker.

Just then, Suker actually ran forward.

"Mascherano, watch your back!"

Piqué warned, then said; "I'm coming too!"

Suker sprinted to a certain position and suddenly jumped.

Suker and Piqué jumped almost simultaneously, but Suker jumped higher and had better hang time.

Piqué saw that he couldn't hold him, so he could only use his hands to push Suker, affecting Suker's center of gravity.

Under the interference, Suker also couldn't maintain his balance; his body was slightly askew, so he could only try to tilt his head and brush the ball backward.

The ball brushed into the penalty area, and everyone turned to look.

Di Maria was on the wing, and Khedira in the half-space came forward to the landing spot.

"Shoot!" Suker roared: "Shoot!"

Khedira glanced at the goal, but he didn't shoot; instead, he passed it horizontally to Kaka.

Kaka received the ball and took a powerful shot.

The ball hit Mascherano's calf and flew out for a corner kick.

Suker couldn't help but grimace.

That coward!

That position just now wasn't the best for a shot, but there was space, and he could have definitely tried.

And when Khedira transferred it to Kaka, Barcelona's defenders had already filled the gap, and by the time Kaka shot, it was too late.

"Khedira~~ too hesitant~~ He should have shot directly. This pass out was already too late; by the time Kaka shot, Barcelona had already blocked the gap!"

González shook his head.

They missed a good opportunity. Although it wasn't certain it would go in, they should have at least tried!

Khedira's expression also changed, but he still retreated silently.

Mourinho, on the sideline, frowned.

"Khedira's mentality is problematic!"

Faria sighed.

How could it not be problematic?

When Khedira was pushed forward from the defensive midfield position, he was already a bit nervous.

And when Kroos started frequently taking over the central midfield position, Khedira became even more anxious.

Anyone with eyes could see that Mourinho intended to cultivate Kroos.

Of course, they didn't know why Mourinho suddenly changed his attitude towards Kroos, but that was the reality.

In such a situation, Khedira dared not make mistakes!

He became cautious and careful.

He sought no merit, but to avoid fault!