Chapter 585: The Long-Awaited Golden Boot Ripple
Chapter 585: The Long-Awaited Golden Boot Ripple
As Wang Feng leads Real Madrid through challenges and obstacles, Wembley Stadium proudly displays a wax figure of him in proportion, indicating it will be permanently preserved in the stadium museum.
To celebrate the 150th anniversary of the English Football Association and commemorate the tremendous success of the 2011 UEFA Champions League final at Wembley, UEFA has decided to host next year's Champions League final here again. Thus, it becomes the first place to host the final showdown twice in three years.
That year, with the unparalleled brilliance of the Chinese superstar scoring twice, Real Madrid ultimately defeated defending champions Manchester United 3-2, equaling the club's historical achievement of five consecutive titles.
The wax figure depicts him pointing to the sky after scoring a goal, and William Adams, the stadium manager, told the media, "Legendary records need legendary figures to epitomize them. The tremendous success at Wembley that year was brought about by players from both sides, and Wang Feng was the brightest gem among them, worthy of eternal remembrance."
In response, the Chinese superstar expressed his honor in an interview, saying, "Every player who stepped onto the Wembley pitch contributed to the great history of this stadium. I look forward to Real Madrid going there again next year!"
In fact, it's not just one stadium that has a wax figure of Wang Feng. Besides Belgium's Veltins Arena and Genk, Inter Milan's Meazza Stadium, and even the Bernabeu, there are many differently shaped wax figures.
Especially at the Meazza Stadium, they almost want to carve out all the exciting key moments with wax figures. They even specially built a Wang Feng wax figure memorial hall to display them.
No matter when you become a fan of the Nerazzurri, you can quickly learn about such a king of stars who once helped the team establish an immortal legacy.
Wembley's move has also sparked enthusiasm from other stadiums, with more and more managers wanting to associate themselves with legends. They have all contacted the agent Balmond in the hope of obtaining authorization.
Wang Feng's team is also very cautious in assessing the impact and qualifications and does not grant permits indiscriminately.
The Chinese superstar switching to the defensive midfield position this season almost signaled his withdrawal from this year's Golden Boot contention. Therefore, the La Liga Golden Boot and the European Golden Boot have rarely stirred up such intense waves.
Cristiano Ronaldo, who is eager to go, has noticeably increased his solo attempts in Manchester United's recent league matches, often taking unreasonable shots that sometimes even affect the team's overall attack, much to Ferguson's annoyance, who often scolds him.
Messi is also eager to compete, but although La Liga no longer has Wang Feng's insane goal-scoring performance, Atletico Madrid's "Tiger" Falcao has emerged, scoring nine goals in six rounds, surpassing the Argentine to top the scoring chart.
With his divine performance, the Mattress Makers are closely behind Barcelona with 16 points from 5 wins and 1 draw, showing signs of breaking the duopoly and causing a sensation by unexpectedly winning the league title last season.
The Colombian star's biggest feature this season is his diligence. According to AS, despite not being in his best physical condition, Falcao never gives up any chance.
Like in the match against Real Betis, when his teammate Garcia's shot went wide of the post from the right side of the penalty area, most people would choose to let it go, but the "Tiger" ignored the danger and threw himself in to poke the ball into the net, scoring a brace.
He almost had an intimate encounter with the post! It is this "reckless" desire for goals that has enabled Falcao to constantly achieve results and surpass the superstar Messi.
European Sports gave the headline "The Biggest Competitor for the Golden Boot in the Post-Wang Feng Era," believing that after winning the European Golden Boot for eleven consecutive years, Wang Feng has finally withdrawn from the competition due to the team's needs, and the most probable successors are Falcao and Messi, with Ronaldo having a smaller chance.
"The title of top scorer is not out of reach for me. Besides Wang Feng, I am confident that I can beat anyone," the Colombian "Tiger" confidently said in an interview. "I hope to bring the fans an excellent season, and with my goals and those of my teammates, the fans will definitely feel very happy."
In fact, Falcao had already exploded last season, but at that time, Atletico Madrid was still in the transition between old and new coaches, and the team was relatively chaotic. In the later stage, Simeone's reuse of him saw him score 24 goals in the Europa League, becoming the biggest contributor to the Mattress Makers' cup victory.
"I suffered a minor injury during the game, now I need to see the specific situation, but I am eager to continue playing and score goals," the Colombian did not hide his ambition: "Helping the team win and competing for the top scorer is my goal for the next stage."
Falcao's outstanding performance has also attracted the attention of major European powerhouses. According to The Sun, Chelsea are willing to pay 56 million euros to sign him this winter.
After letting go of Drogba, the Blues currently only have Torres available, so the team must strengthen the front line, and Falcao is one of the best choices.
In the midweek Champions League group stage second round, Real Madrid challenged Ajax away. This match was very important for the Galaxy Battleship, as they needed to snatch points from the Eredivisie powerhouse.
But there is also the century-old derby against Barcelona over the weekend, which is also a match where they cannot afford to lose, as they must rely on the two direct confrontations to narrow the points gap with the Catalan team for the league.
After repeated deliberation and rehearsal, the coaching staff decided to rotate Ramos, Arbeloa, Modric, and Morata, and sent in Coentrao, Varane, and brought up Lucas and Denis from the youth team to fill the lineup.
After the start of the match, the young lineup dominated the field unexpectedly and, with Wang Feng guarding the rear, quickly took control of the game.
In the 3rd minute, Marcelo inserted a cross from the side, and Denis's header was blocked by Blind. Just two minutes later, Callejon sent a through pass from the front, and Iguaín's shot from 12 meters in front of the goal was saved by Ajax goalkeeper Vermeer.
In the 8th minute, Wang Feng sent a diagonal pass into the penalty area from outside the box, and Varane's side volley hit the body of Poulsen and went out of bounds, giving Real Madrid a corner opportunity. The Chinese superstar took the corner, but Lucas's header went over the bar.
In less than 10 minutes into the game, the away team had already completed 4 shots and got a corner opportunity, showing the pressure they were putting on Ajax.
They soon broke the deadlock. In the 17th minute, Wang Feng sent a through pass, Lucas broke into the left side of the penalty area and crossed from the bottom, and the unmarked Iguaín easily poked the ball into the net with the outside of his foot.
Just 7 minutes later, the Galaxy Battleship extended their lead. Marcelo's breakthrough on the side failed, and he passed back to the Chinese superstar, who sent a through pass to the back post, where Varane fell to the ground and scored with a sideways shot.
Just before halftime, it was Wang Feng again who lofted the ball into the penalty area, and Iguaín, with his back to the goal, scored with a bicycle kick through Vermeer's fingertips!
Leading by three goals at halftime was not enough. Starting the second half, in the 51st minute, Wang Feng received a cross from Coentrao and blasted a powerful shot from 25 meters in front of the goal. The ball bounced twice on the turf, causing a deflection, slipping past Vermeer's hands and rolling into the net.
Real Madrid completely unleashed their frenzy! After securing the victory, Ancelotti decisively substituted Wang Feng and other main players to conserve their strength.
Ajax scored a face-saving goal in the 82nd minute. Eriksen took a corner to the far post, and Essien made a marking error. Moisander tapped in the rebound from a tight angle, breaking through Casillas's fingertips.
The final score was 4-1, and the Galaxy Battleship secured their second consecutive victory in the Champions League.