Capello excluded Qin Xiong from Real Madrid's squad list for the Copa del Rey. He did not even make it into the substitute list.
This was his way of protecting Qin Xiong. He needed Qin Xiong to rest. After all, Real Madrid's opponent in the fourth round of the Copa del Rey was from the third division, Escha.
Other than the strong and energetic Diarra, the other 10 players on Capello's starting list were not the main players.
Of course, even so, Real Madrid's starting list was still luxurious, such as Cassano, Ronaldo, Robinho, Guti, Beckham, and others. As for the captain's armband, it stayed on the arm of the failed product of the youth training, Paven. This was Real Madrid's tradition. The captain's armband was generally worn on the arm of the most senior player.
Qin Xiong watched Real Madrid's Copa del Rey game at home.
When the game was over, Qin Xiong turned off the TV and went to bed with Sylvia in his arms.
He knew that the next day's media reports would definitely be a small storm.
Real Madrid 1: 1 Escha.
The first round of the Copa del Rey was tied with the third division team!
Although Real Madrid's starting lineup was luxurious, the team's offensive system was still disorderly.
After the game, Capello did not express his dissatisfaction with the players. Instead, he vented all his anger on the conditions of the field.
"The field here can't be considered a field at all. It's difficult to play on such a field. But overall, the score is fair, including a few good chances in the final stage of the game. "
However, his statement was not convincing to the media. Some of the gloating media directly used the headline that Real Madrid was beaten back to its original state by the third division team.
In fact, Real Madrid did not pay enough attention to the Copa del Rey because everyone's main focus was on the Premier League and the Champions League. Even Capello said that a draw in the first round was acceptable.
"I said, the result is not important. The most important thing is that none of our players are injured. But even so, a few of our players felt a little uncomfortable after leaving the field. I'm most worried about Reyes, Beckham, and Cassano."
After the Copa del Rey, it was the weekend of the league tournament. Real Madrid was going to challenge Tarragona.
In view of Real Madrid's brilliant 3: 0 victory in the last league match, Real Madrid's image in the league was aggressive.
Especially since Qin Xiong would return to the starting lineup.
Tarragona was not strong, but he had a lot of ideas when fighting on his home ground.
They created trouble for Real Madrid with a beast-like charge and a stamina that spared no effort.
Real Madrid were really frightened by the opponent's crazy momentum in the early stages of the game.
The first goal in the game came from a penalty kick. Tarragona's striker, Markukula, was knocked down by Cannavaro in the penalty area. The opponent was awarded a penalty kick and then took the lead over Real Madrid.
Qin Xiong did not fight hard in the game. He skillfully used the organization in the middle and front field to consume the opponent's stamina. Then, at the right time, he crushed the opponent's two defensive midfielders, Álvarez and Pinha with his individual ability to get rid of them. When more and more of the opponent's defensive players came to surround him, he created more opportunities for his teammates to attack. He did this job well.
Near the end of the first half, Reyes assisted van Nistelrooy to score.
In the second half, Qin Xiong still did not change his strategy. He had been playing with Tarragona's overall defensive formation to consume the opponent's stamina.
The experts saw the skill, while the laymen saw the excitement.
Perhaps the audience wanted to see Qin Xiong's frequent personal skills, but the professional football critics could not help but give him a thumbs up after seeing Qin Xiong's performance in the game.
Qin Xiong was like a conductor of the art of war, methodically suppressing the opponent's overall strength.
When the 65th minute of the game arrived, Qin Xiong successfully broke through Pinha for the fourth time and sent a precise through ball to van Nistelrooy. Van Nistelrooy did not squander the opportunity created by Qin Xiong. He succeeded in scoring twice and made the score 2: 1.
Real Madrid achieved a reversal as expected.
When the game was over 70 minutes old, the mentality of the Tarragona players was slightly tragic.
They could not run anymore!
After Qin Xiong mobilized Real Madrid's offense to control the rhythm of the game, they paid an unimaginable physical price to maintain their pressing efficiency.
Then, Real Madrid's offense became very easy.
Tarragona's overall defensive line's movement and position filling problems were the first. Qin Xiong inserted diagonally in front of the penalty area to Raúl in the 79th minute of the game. Raúl swept the ball to the back of the goal. On the other side, Reyes cut into the penalty area and easily pushed the ball into the empty goal.
3:1
Real Madrid locked in the victory.
In the last ten minutes of the game, Tarragona's players were almost all holed up in the penalty area, and the discouragement after the high physical load made them seem unwilling to move. They just used their bodies to prevent Real Madrid from continuing to score.
Before the end of the game, Qin Xiong fired a long shot from the outside toward Tarragona's goal. The angle was a bit right, but it still caused the goalkeeper, Rubén Pérez, to make a save. Then the center back, Riera, made a mistake to clear the siege, and the football was kicked to Raúl by him.
Raúl smiled and directly sent the ball to the back of the goal.
4:1
After the Derby de España, Real Madrid won the game again.
When the game ended, Qin Xiong was about to leave the field, but he was surrounded by three Tarragona players. They asked Qin Xiong for his jersey. Qin Xiong was embarrassed because he did not know who to exchange jerseys with.
In the end, it was left to the three Tarragona teammates to coordinate.
After the result was reached, Qin Xiong exchanged jerseys with the other party and then left calmly.
The scene was recorded by the media and highlighted after the game, claiming that it reflected Qin Xiong's fame and the extent to which his strength was recognized.
After he conquered the Netherlands and England, he also began to convince his opponents in the Spanish game!
This was the 50th La Liga milestone game in which Capello led Real Madrid, and also the 12th anniversary of Raúl's service to Real Madrid.
Being able to defeat the opponent with a score of 4: 1 was a perfect ending to this special day.
The big-mouthed Calderón actually preached before the game that "Real Madrid will win in Tarragona."
The game was finally won, and it also gave him a chance to praise the team.
"What makes me proud is that Real Madrid still won in a difficult situation. Everyone saw how our defensive players fought. Not only did they play well, but they also protected the goal effectively. They also had a very sacrificial spirit. We are on the road to progress. "
In fact, no matter how the outside world criticized Calderón, sometimes his words were still very important, especially those that praised the team, which could have a positive effect on a rising team.
After all, in Florentino's era, too many players were drowned in the halo of superstars. In Florentino's eyes, there were only superstars.
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