Su Hang said,
"Yes. When I first stepped onto the Copa del Rey stage, everyone thought I was ridiculous."
"When I first played in El Clásico, everyone thought I was ridiculous."
"When we went to Zaragoza trailing by three goals on goal difference, everyone thought I was ridiculous."
"Until we lifted the Champions League trophy last season, we were still considered ridiculous."
"But isn't a 'ridiculous' goal precisely the kind of goal worth striving for? And isn't a goal that gets mocked as nothing more than a dream the very definition of greatness?"
"If I told you that Real Madrid's goal this season is simply to get out of the Champions League group stage and finish in the top four in the league, would you still think I'm ridiculous?"
"You wouldn't."
"But I would!"
"I would laugh at myself for being at the best club in the world and yet lacking the courage and the action to chase championships!"
"As for Beckham, it's true that he can't play the role Zidane played."
"He can't activate everyone on the team, and he isn't the organizing core."
"But he has the best crossing ability in the world, and that's enough to activate our forwards. At the very least, it's enough to activate me."
Reporter: "So you believe that as long as you reach your best form, you alone can beat Bayern? That you can lead Real Madrid into the quarterfinals at the Allianz Arena?"
Su Hang glanced at the reporter.
"I know you're trying to set a trap. Of course I can't do it alone. Football is played by eleven people, and every single one of them matters."
"But if someone really has to stand up and take responsibility for Real Madrid's wins and losses, then that person is me."
"We lost this match because I scored one goal too few."
The reporters nodded repeatedly.
What Su Hang was really saying was that he was confident he could beat Bayern largely on his own—as long as the team gave him the environment to perform.
After all, they lost because he scored one goal too few.
So winning would simply mean that he scored a few more.
Yet the way he expressed it neither hurt his teammates' pride nor made him sound arrogant.
Even his earlier comments about the younger players on the team followed the same pattern: affirming them first, then objectively pointing out shortcomings in chemistry and experience.
Worthy of the title of team soul.
Even in his anger, he never did anything that would damage unity.
After the match, Su Hang's remarks quickly became a focal point.
...
Mundo Deportivo: "Defeat! Real Madrid lose again! Without Zidane, Real Madrid and Su Hang are nothing!"
Marca: "Was losing 2–1 at home to Liverpool not a defeat? You idiots!"
Sport: "Arrogant Su Hang XVI still dares to talk about championships? Shameless!"
AS: "A suggestion to the Catalan media: report more news about Barça. If you truly love your team, you should be waking up in the middle of the night to watch Barcelona, not Real Madrid and Su Hang!"
Kicker: "Never give up! Bayern fall behind twice, equalize twice, and then kill the game against Real Madrid—true championship spirit on display!"
Bild: "3–2! Ballon d'Or winner Su Hang lives up to his name with a brace! Bayern's constellation of stars proves superior!"
On Bayern's side, the players were also happy to share their thoughts on the match.
Standout youngster Lahm said,
"Su Hang is a phenomenal player. He feels impossible to stop. The only reason we might have won is that we wanted the victory more."
Equally impressive Schweinsteiger added,
"That tactical corner wasn't rehearsed between Sagnol and me, but we both knew that was what needed to be done in that moment."
Lucio commented,
"Defending against a forward line like Su Hang plus Van Nistelrooy is very difficult, but I think we managed it. We'll do even better in the second leg."
Van Buyten said,
"Su Hang is a player who dominates matches, but aside from him, Real Madrid don't have much right now that really stands out."
Kahn concluded,
"We're confident we can secure the final victory at the Allianz Arena. Real Madrid are strong, but not as strong as we initially imagined."
All in all, most players acknowledged Su Hang as a deserving Ballon d'Or winner.
At the same time, there was a broad consensus that Real Madrid had declined significantly compared to last season.
That assessment matched both Real Madrid's recent results and Su Hang's scoring numbers.
Su Hang was scoring a lot. Aside from his explosive run at the start of the season, he had continued to score consistently in recent matches—most of them braces.
His total goal tally this season was already double that of the second-highest scorer.
Yet Real Madrid, whether in La Liga or the Champions League, were constantly walking a tightrope and showed no real dominance at all.
On February 25th, La Liga Matchday 24,
Real Madrid traveled away to face Atlético Madrid.
It was a city derby.
But Atlético at that time weren't strong—they had only just been promoted back from the Segunda División.
Considering Real Madrid's packed schedule, some rotation was inevitable.
Yet this not-so-powerful Atlético side equalized through Torres' goal in the 12th minute and another strike from Portuguese midfielder Maniche in the 80th minute.
Real Madrid scraped away with a single point.
On Real Madrid's side, Su Hang once again scored twice.
But after the 65th minute, Real Madrid inexplicably collapsed yet again and were eventually pegged back at the death.
On the one hand, these lottery-ticket substitutes could destabilize the entire team the moment they stepped onto the pitch.
On the other, without Zidane's observation, organization, and on-the-fly adjustments, the team's attack, defense, and stamina all fell out of balance. The allocation of effort became completely unreasonable, making problems far more likely.
Atlético fans even went to Madrid's Neptune Fountain to celebrate this draw.
Normally, repeated late collapses like this would earn criticism from the club's management.
Yet Capello received no feedback from the board at all.
Instead, the very next day, Beckham returned to the first team and was allowed to train with the squad again.
Calderón had backed down.
Under Su Hang's pressure, Real Madrid's upper management not only failed to push back against him, but instead chose to comply.
If Real Madrid's defeats hadn't made people fully appreciate Su Hang's dominance on the pitch, then Beckham's return at least showed everyone his dominance off it.
On March 4th, La Liga Matchday 25,
With the Champions League just three days away, Capello went all in on rotation.
Since he couldn't make adjustments on the pitch, he chose to let the players recover fully off it.
It had to be said—Capello was extremely pragmatic.
In the end, thanks to a goal from "Happy Boy" Higuaín, Real Madrid drew 1–1 with Getafe.
Their league position slipped smoothly from third to fourth.
Higuaín felt miserable.
He had finally scored, only for the team's ranking to drop.
In the end, it was Modrić who comforted him.
Modrić said,
"Don't worry. Even though the team dropped in the standings because of your goal, the Champions League is coming up. Honestly, nobody really cares about this match."
After Modrić's words, Higuaín gradually calmed down—but his calm carried a sense of quiet dejection.
The Real Madrid medical staff quickly noticed that something was off. After examining him, they found signs of depressive tendencies.
Their judgment was that he had suffered too many blows and too much negative guidance.
But the problem was that as a favored prodigy, Higuaín hadn't really experienced any major setbacks.
Even at Real Madrid, he received playing time frequently.
And next season, with Cassano leaving, he was bound to get even more opportunities.
So who, exactly, had been pouring cold water on him?
Modrić: logging off, logging off.