A 'Friendly' Discussion with Guardiola

Although Lin had a moment in the spotlight due to the Puskás Award, tonight's stage belonged to the two greats of soccer.

Following the award ceremony for the Women's World Player of the Year, the former World Cup champion, Ballon d'Or, and World Player of the Year winner Fabio Cannavaro appeared as a presenter. He was about to announce the most prestigious award of the evening—the FIFA Ballon d'Or.

Cannavaro, aware that all eyes were on him, understood that the focus was not just on him but on the unopened winner's envelope in his hand. Thus, as he stepped onto the stage, he playfully pretended to peek at the winner's list, drawing laughter from the audience.

The camera then focused on the final three Ballon d'Or nominees, Iniesta, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Messi, framing them together in a single shot.

All three appeared slightly uneasy and nervous.

Iniesta, though aware he was an underdog, couldn't help but feel a flicker of hope:

What if?

Having been a runner-up for several years, what if the judges recognized the importance of a midfielder and cast their votes for him, giving him a chance to win the Ballon d'Or?

As for Cristiano Ronaldo and Messi, analysts were saying the race between the two was close, with Messi slightly ahead.

Ronaldo couldn't help but glance at Messi, who had already won three consecutive Ballon d'Or awards. Ronaldo felt that his performances over the years had been building toward a win.

After three years of buildup, surely it was time for him to reap the rewards?

Messi, meanwhile, felt anxious. He had no significant trophies for the year 2012; his national team performance was lackluster, and he had lost both the Champions League and the league title at the club level.

However, his personal goal tally reached a new high, even breaking the world record, which significantly boosted his standing.

Cannavaro did not prolong the suspense, quickly opening the envelope:

"The player awarded the 2012 FIFA Ballon d'Or is—Lionel Messi!"

The camera immediately cut to Messi and Ronaldo in the front row.

Ronaldo pursed his lips, his feelings complex, but still, he clapped for Messi.

At 27, Ronaldo had only one Ballon d'Or to his name, while 25-year-old Messi had just secured his fourth.

Could he ever catch up?

Watching Messi head to the stage to accept the award, Ronaldo couldn't help but ponder this question.

Lin, along with Xavi, Fabregas, and others, also applauded Messi. While clapping, Lin glanced at Ronaldo's resolute figure.

The world called them the great rivals, but now Messi had significantly outpaced Ronaldo with four Ballon d'Or titles.

Ronaldo, always competitive, must be finding it tough.

With his personality, to prove he was not inferior to Messi, he would surely play even more fiercely in the upcoming matches!

...

After the award ceremony, Lin did not join Fabregas and the others to congratulate Messi. They weren't very close, and since he wasn't planning to return to play in Barcelona, he saw no point in joining the celebration.

Seizing the moment while Guardiola and del Bosque were chatting, Lin approached del Bosque.

"Coach, congratulations on winning the Best Coach award!"

"Haha, just luck, I guess, but I'm really pleased to see you've improved again!"

Del Bosque had just received an award and was in a very good mood. Seeing Lin, he gave him a warm hug.

Seeing a healthy, lively Lin was the best news for del Bosque.

With only half a year left until the Confederations Cup, the core players of the team, especially those like Lin, absolutely must avoid injuries, especially serious ones.

Otherwise, they might not be able to play at the Confederations Cup.

Spain's lineup was solid elsewhere, with strong depth in midfield and defense; even occasional injuries wouldn't greatly impact the team.

However, up front, especially at Lin's position, there was no real backup.

Every time Lin played, del Bosque was nervous, almost wishing he could stand guard in front of the TV for two hours just to ensure Lin wasn't injured.

The team had never been this stressful before Lin's arrival.

But the stress was worth it; Lin's improvement was evident.

And as he aged, del Bosque noticed that all aspects of his physical abilities were enhancing.

Like in the recent match between Werder Bremen and Bayern, Lin's stamina in extra time surprised the old coach.

Seeing del Bosque in good spirits, Lin took the opportunity to express his desire to play more matches.

"With national team qualifiers and

 the Confederations Cup coming up next year, and given that the Confederations Cup is essentially a prelude to the World Cup with strong opponents, we need to give it our all. I plan to include you and use you as a starter."

Del Bosque seemed to think Lin was worried about securing a starting spot, so he reassured him:

"As long as you're not injured, you'll be included in all of Spain's important matches."

"But there aren't many matches with the national team in the next few months, you know. There aren't many games at Werder Bremen either, so I was thinking, maybe I could play with the youth team? Aren't they participating in the European Youth Championships?"

Del Bosque looked at him, puzzled: "Isn't that a bit unnecessary? Those games wouldn't challenge you enough to be worthwhile."

After all, Lin was a nominee for the Ballon d'Or; wouldn't it be embarrassing for him to play against much younger players?

Well, Lin wasn't even 17 yet, so he was actually younger than those "kids"...

Del Bosque was momentarily at a loss for words.

Lin sighed internally: Why not? A win in the youth team games would still earn me points!

These easily won matches were exactly what he dreamed of!

The only downside was the need to shuttle between the club and the national team, which was a bit strenuous, and the rewards were minimal—only 1 point per game.

If it were 2 points per game, he'd definitely stick with the youth team matches, unable to be chased away!

Seeing Lin a bit down, del Bosque didn't want to dampen his enthusiasm too much, so he asked, "So, you really want to play more matches?"

"Yes, I want to engage with more opponents, gain experience in matches, and grow better!"

"That's a good ambition, very proactive. But forget about the youth team; overpowering weaker opponents won't help you improve. If you want to exchange ideas, do it with the top teams!"

Lin was thrilled by these words; that's exactly what he'd been waiting to hear!

"We're going to Brazil this year for the Confederations Cup, which includes champions from every continent. All the teams are strong.

So, we need to exchange more with powerful opponents, especially those with a similar style to the teams participating, and play some friendly matches to adjust to their pace.

That way, we won't be caught off-guard at the Confederations Cup!"

The teams likely to participate in the 2013 Confederations Cup were mostly decided:

Hosts Brazil, Europe and World champions Spain, Asian champions Japan, Copa America winners Uruguay, CONCACAF champions Mexico, Oceania champions Tahiti, and the European Championship runners-up Italy.

The African Cup wasn't finished yet, so the advancing team was still undetermined.

Among these eight teams, Brazil, Uruguay, Italy, and Mexico were the strongest, representing classic European and American soccer styles.

So if Spain were to choose warm-up opponents, they'd opt for teams geographically and stylistically similar.

Del Bosque immediately thought of several suitable candidates, but whether they could connect would depend on negotiations between the Spanish Football Federation and those associations.

After the FIFA awards, Lin disappeared from the public eye.

Guardiola, however, made an appearance.

On January 16th, Guardiola appeared in Munich to officially sign a contract with Bayern Munich.

The contract, lasting three years, would end in 2016.

Guardiola's signing with Bayern disappointed the clubs that had been pursuing him, especially Chelsea. Rumor has it that Abramovich, the owner, was so upset that he smashed things in his office.

Once he calmed down, he thought of Mourinho, Guardiola's counterpart.

"Call Mendes, tell him I want to invite him to Stamford Bridge to watch a game!"

Unable to secure Guardiola, Chelsea had no choice but to turn to Mourinho.

Chelsea's performance in the league this season was poor; after 22 rounds, they were 13 points behind leaders Manchester United, with virtually no chance of winning the league title.

Moreover, their Champions League spot was precarious.

Currently in third place, Chelsea had several challengers breathing down their necks.

Arsenal, in particular, known as the "fourth-place maniac," was only five points behind and known for their miraculous late-season surges to secure a Champions League spot.

This made Chelsea's lead seem less secure.

The poor results and shaky Champions League prospects exhausted Abramovich's patience with Di Matteo.

Although Di Matteo had helped the team win the Champions League the previous year, fulfilling Abramovich's dream, he couldn't tolerate the coach forever just for that. Giving him a year was generous enough.

Now it was time to part ways.

Mourinho's days at Real Madrid were also challenging; with only half the season gone, they were 18 points behind Barcelona in

 La Liga, essentially out of the title race.

Fortunately, they were still in the Champions League, with a chance to win.

But if they were eliminated from the Champions League as well, Mourinho would surely be fired.

He was well aware of this and thus didn't reject Chelsea's overtures.

Without the setbacks at Real Madrid, with his personality, he would never have considered a second stint at Chelsea.

...

The undercurrents in soccer had little to do with Lin, who was busy training for the second half of the season.

In addition to routine training, he spent his days studying the video tapes in Guardiola's collection.

He also frequently discussed soccer tactics with Guardiola.

Guardiola's understanding of soccer was progressive; the tactics he experimented with in games were his interpretation of the sport.

However, these weren't always correct; at least, his experiments often failed.

"Overall, modern soccer, especially European soccer, which represents the direction of the sport's development, is increasingly emphasizing the whole over individual player roles, like the classic number ten, which has virtually disappeared."

"Just like the strikerless formations pioneered by Barcelona and the Spanish national team, everyone is capable of attacking, everyone can take on the responsibility of organizing the offense, and positions are fluid, making it harder to defend!"

Lin countered: "Isn't Barcelona's strong tiki-taka because of Messi? The same lineup without Messi doesn't perform as well for the Spanish national team!"

Before he joined the Spanish national team, their strikerless formation was so ineffective it couldn't even break down weaker teams!

Although everyone could attack, no one could finish as well as a professional striker.

Guardiola was momentarily speechless; Spain's striker-less approach indeed played poorly but had won several major tournaments, which was still commendable.

Guardiola held his beliefs about the future of soccer.

He was convinced that possession-based soccer was the way forward, but Lin thought that tactics like those of Atlético Madrid and Borussia Dortmund, which involved high pressing and extensive player movement to cover space, would have a place in future soccer, perhaps even becoming mainstream.

Dortmund and Atlético had achieved impressive results with less financial power and inferior squads, highlighting the effectiveness of their approaches.

While such tactics might not appeal to the elite clubs, who wouldn't stoop to play such soccer, they offered a valuable model for smaller teams.

Possession play was a luxury only the top clubs could afford; slightly weaker teams couldn't manage it.

But Simo...