Check out advanced chapters on P@treon: [email protected]/CosmicKaminari
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"Why am I suddenly a bit nervous?"
"Being nervous is normal. It proves you're still human."
"Get lost!"
Even at a time like this, Saúl was still being mocked by Lance.
During the 2013-2014 Champions League Final, Saúl had still been in Atlético Madrid's youth academy without any chance to play.
The three veterans from that final, Godín, Gabi, and Koke, were all injured and sitting in the stands.
Players like Diego Costa, David Villa, and Raúl García were no longer with Atlético Madrid either.
Back then, the goalkeeper had still been Courtois.
Now Courtois was preparing to join Real Madrid.
Saúl closed his eyes and recalled the past. Two years ago, he had still been in the stands cheering for his teammates during the final. It felt as though it had happened yesterday.
And now, he was standing inside the player tunnel, moments away from stepping onto the field for the most important match of his life.
How could he not be nervous?
"Learn from Lance. Relax and take a deep breath."
The two veterans who had already experienced two Champions League Finals, Juanfran and Filipe Luís, came over to comfort him.
Saúl forced a bitter smile.
"Lance is already a monster who's experienced every kind of big stage. Nothing makes him nervous. I can't learn that."
Lance was still young, yet he had already played in three Champions League semifinals and a World Cup. He was one of the rare players born with nerves of steel.
How was anyone supposed to compare with that?
Standing beside the freakishly talented Lance, Saúl felt like nothing more than an ordinary person.
"Stop thinking so much. Just go out there and play."
Lance patted his shoulder.
"That's right! Beat Real Madrid!"
Just as Saúl was trying to fire himself up, Cristiano Ronaldo happened to walk past and glanced sideways at him.
Saúl's confidence instantly weakened again.
But the moment he thought about Lance standing behind him, Saúl raised his head, puffed out his chest, and glared right back.
Cristiano Ronaldo looked slightly confused.
"What's wrong with this guy? Why's he staring at me like that?"
Out of habit, Cristiano Ronaldo looked toward Lance, expecting to see that familiar competitive glare.
In the entire tunnel, Cristiano Ronaldo believed he was the biggest superstar present.
Yet Lance wasn't even looking at him.
Instead, he was casually chatting and laughing with his teammates.
Cristiano Ronaldo suddenly felt like he had overreacted and almost awkwardly looked away.
"Just wait."
Past records meant nothing anymore. Real Madrid's strength in finals always rose to another level.
Cristiano Ronaldo was already waiting to see the shock on Lance's face.
...
"Playing Barcelona, playing Barcelona, playing Bayern Munich..."
At the Meazza Stadium, UEFA had even invited an orchestra to perform the Champions League anthem live.
After the ceremony concluded, the players from both teams finally walked onto the field.
English referee Mark Clattenburg led the officiating crew out first.
The entire Meazza erupted with deafening cheers.
"AHHHHH! LAAAAAANCE!"
The stands had completely exploded.
Chloe felt like her ears were about to burst from the screaming around her.
Ever since meeting Lance's parents at Munich Airport, she had not dared reveal her identity and had only introduced herself as one of Lance's fans.
After arriving in Milan, she secretly booked her own hotel room. On match day, she put on Atlético Madrid's red-and-white striped jersey and joined countless fans in the stands to cheer for Lance.
The moment she saw him walk out, the young girl reacted exactly like everyone else around her.
"LANCEEEEE!!!"
At last, she was seeing him live.
In the VIP box above, Lu Yongping and Zhao Ping were equally excited.
Zhao Ping was still holding a plate of fruit.
The VIP section provided it for free, so not taking any would have been a waste.
"Look at our son. He's so handsome!"
"He inherited my genes."
"Oh, stop it. He obviously looks more like me."
"Alright, alright. He looks like you."
The stadium was too noisy for them to argue properly, so the old couple could only use all their strength to cheer for their son.
Watching tens of thousands of people shouting Lance's name before the match had even started, Zhao Ping's eyes had already turned red.
"Come on! Just don't get hurt!"
...
In front of televisions around the world, countless fans waited for kickoff.
On CCTV5, Duan Xuan and Xu Yang were analyzing the starting lineups for the final.
At the same time, LeTV had purchased the Champions League Final broadcasting rights at an enormous price.
The legendary commentary duo Jian Jun and Zhang Lu were also providing live commentary online, with the stream already surpassing tens of millions of viewers.
"Another Madrid Derby in Champions League history! Let's first take a look at the starting lineups for both sides."
"Real Madrid's lineup is nearly complete. Ever since Zidane took charge at the Bernabéu, Real Madrid has barely suffered any major injury problems. They're essentially fielding their strongest possible squad in this Champions League Final."
———— Real Madrid 4-3-3. Goalkeeper: Navas. Defenders: Carvajal, Ramos, Pepe, Marcelo. Midfielders: Casemiro, Toni Kroos, Modrić. Forwards: Gareth Bale, Benzema, Cristiano Ronaldo. ————
"On the bench they still have young defender Varane, as well as top-class players like James Rodríguez and Isco. Ever since Florentino's era began, Real Madrid has entered one of the strongest periods in club history! Although Atlético Madrid have beaten them many times in the league, Real Madrid absolutely cannot be underestimated this time."
Even Jian Jun could not help breaking into a cold sweat for Atlético Madrid.
"Now let's look at Atlético Madrid. Because of injuries to several key players, Godín, Gabi, and Koke are all unavailable. Simeone is really struggling with squad depth right now."
———— Atlético Madrid 4-3-3. Goalkeeper: Oblak. Defenders: Juanfran, Giménez, Stefan Savić, Filipe Luís. Midfielders: Thomas Partey, Saúl, Matías. Forwards: Lance, Torres, Griezmann. ————
"This is already the strongest lineup Atlético Madrid can currently field."
Jian Jun smiled bitterly.
The broadcast camera swept across Atlético Madrid's players one by one.
Fans were already familiar with Atlético Madrid's regular starters, but today's final included many fresh faces.
Center-back Stefan Savić. Defensive midfielders Thomas Partey and Matías.
All three were players born in the 1990s, along with Saúl, born in 1994, and the young Giménez, born in 1995.
Atlético Madrid's midfield and defense were practically made up entirely of players in their early twenties.
Facing a match of this magnitude, many of them looked pale with nerves.
Zhang Lu still tried comforting the fans.
"Hahaha, although this group of young players lacks experience, their physical condition and reactions are excellent. Maybe they can use their athleticism to challenge Real Madrid more aggressively."
Using physicality and pressing to contain world-class stars like Modrić, Cristiano Ronaldo, Bale, and Benzema.
Especially Saúl.
With Koke and Gabi unavailable, he had become the pillar of Atlético Madrid's midfield and defense.
Playing in defensive midfield, he looked more and more composed, pushing his interceptions and running ability to the limit.
After the handshakes and coin toss were completed, the Atlético Madrid players gathered together in their own half.
Everyone looked toward Lance.
With captain Godín and vice-captain Gabi both absent, the captain's armband naturally fell to him.
The youngest captain in Atlético Madrid history.
Lance showed no sign of nervousness whatsoever.
He did not shout empty slogans or exaggerated promises. He simply looked seriously at every teammate standing around him.
"Remember this. No matter what happens, no matter how bad the situation becomes, it's never the end of the world."
"I'll cover for all of you."
"Trust me. Atlético Madrid is invincible."
The moment the "God of Victory (dios de la victoria)" of Atlético Madrid spoke, the team's morale surged to an unprecedented level.
That's right.
As long as Lance was there, they could not lose.
"Vamos!!!"
"Victory!"
...
Thirty minutes later, Saúl stood frozen.
"Are we really going to lose today?"
The scoreboard displayed a brutal scoreline.
3-0!
Real Madrid: 3.
Atlético Madrid: 0.