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Madrid.
Inside the Atlético Madrid training base changing room, a group of players were wailing loudly, making Simeone frown.
"Stop yelling! If you're uncomfortable, go find the physio to relax."
"Coach, this training is hellish!"
"Yeah, I feel like I'm going to die."
"What does modern football emphasise? How many times have I stressed this!"
Simeone, like the German old-timer with the moustache, gesticulated wildly in the changing room, full of passion.
"Physical fitness! Physical fitness! It's still f***ing physical fitness!"
"Pre-season physical conditioning is good for you. Being tired now means you can push hard in the second half of the season! Take a 10-minute break, then continue!"
"Ah?"
Another round of cries erupted in the changing room.
Atlético Madrid's physical training was indeed brutal. It had been over a month, and the team's main training focus was still on physical fitness.
Lance had never experienced this intensity even at Bayer Leverkusen.
Fortunately, he was already 18 years old, and his body had gradually matured through training over the past few years.
He could grit his teeth and keep up with Atlético Madrid's devilish training.
Though it was tiring, Lance felt incredibly fulfilled!
He could clearly feel himself getting stronger every day.
At the same time, the impact of Lance joining Atlético Madrid gradually spread.
Barcelona, Real Madrid, scouts from various clubs would occasionally appear near the Atlético Madrid base, secretly observing Lance's movements.
"I heard that guy Lance, on the first day of training camp, led his team to crush Atlético Madrid's main squad?"
"No way, the reserves dominated the main team?"
"Fake news."
Barcelona defender Piqué couldn't believe it.
Football is an 11-player sport; no matter how strong one player is, it's difficult to lead a reserve squad to defeat a first-team lineup.
Otherwise, they wouldn't be reserves.
Even Messi, leading that bunch of youngsters at Barcelona, could he defeat a lineup composed of Neymar, Suárez, Busquets, Iniesta, and others?
Messi probably couldn't do it.
"It's absolutely true, I have a friend on the Atlético Madrid team."
"Hiss..."
Busquets, Iniesta, and others gasped.
Is he really that strong?
But thinking about it, it made sense.
Barcelona had already used every trick in the book in the Champions League semi-final.
MSN gave their all, even the referee gave his all, yet Barcelona was still eliminated by Bayer Leverkusen.
Only those who have played against Lance can truly feel his intensity.
"What about the new season?"
"Yeah..."
As a group of Barcelona players worried, Messi walked past expressionlessly.
Hearing his teammates' discussion, he merely frowned and calmly uttered a sentence:
"Don't overthink it. We'll know once the match is played. It's good that he came to La Liga, it makes it easier for us to get our revenge."
It was clear that Messi was still bothered by that defeat.
Being eliminated by Lance for two consecutive years had become Messi's eternal nightmare.
Unable to break this mental barrier, Messi would forever be trapped within it.
Only by avenging himself against Lance could he truly move on.
"We can only hope the league starts soon. We'll strive to take them down. Dealing with Atlético Madrid, everyone's familiar with that, right?"
"Exactly!"
...
"Cristiano, I heard..."
Bang!
Castilla training ground.
Cristiano Ronaldo unleashed a powerful shot that blasted open the goal, as if pouring all his resentment into the ball.
"What did you say?"
"Nothing."
Marcelo was silent with fear.
The team's big brother was in a bad mood, and Marcelo dared not provoke him.
Ever since Lance's astronomical transfer fee move to Atlético Madrid, all the Spanish media went crazy, tracking and reporting on him.
"Atlético Madrid Wins Big in Warm-up Match! Genius Scores Hat-trick in 30 Minutes!"
"La Liga 15/16 Season Preview: The 'Big Three' Era, Who is the World's Number One Superstar? Belgian-Chinese Genius Threatens to Disrupt La Liga."
"Lance > Messi > Cristiano Ronaldo? Detailed Data Analysis of La Liga's Three Core Players."
"Breaking Cristiano Ronaldo and Bale's Transfer Fee Records, Why Did Atlético Madrid Sign Him? His Unique Quality Could Reshape La Liga."
Whether it was traditional newspapers and magazines, television news and interviews, or social networks like Twitter, Cristiano Ronaldo saw Lance's face everywhere this month.
Sometimes, relaxing at home in his luxury mansion watching TV, he would switch channels three times in a row and still see news about Lance.
Enraged, Cristiano Ronaldo turned off the TV and threw a tantrum, leaving his girlfriend, Irina, bewildered.
At this time, Irina, leveraging Cristiano Ronaldo's fame and popularity, was in the ascendancy of her modelling and acting career.
The couple already had numerous arguments due to differing family values.
Recently, another small spark ignited a huge fight, leading Irina to leave in a huff with her suitcase.
Cristiano Ronaldo blamed Lance for this incident.
If it weren't for that kid stealing the spotlight, why would they have argued?
"It's all because of this damn Asian!"
Cristiano Ronaldo unleashed another powerful shot, almost hitting goalkeeper Casillas.
"Hey?! What are you doing?!"
"Mind your own business!"
"You want to fight, you bastard?!"
Casillas and Cristiano Ronaldo had long been at odds. As they were about to come to blows, teammates quickly pulled them apart.
"You two! Calm down, calm down!"
The head coach who succeeded Ancelotti, former Liverpool Champions League winning coach and tactical master Benítez, was at his wit's end.
Being Real Madrid's head coach was truly unbearable.
Cristiano Ronaldo and Casillas, two factions, were fighting internally, and Benítez couldn't control them at all.
After two consecutive seasons without a championship, the atmosphere at Real Madrid was already tense...
All forces were stirring.
As preparations for the 2015-2016 season were underway, the time had already come to August 2015.
The Spanish Super Cup kicked off.
La Liga champions Barcelona defeated Copa del Rey champions Athletic Bilbao 5-1 over two legs, with MSN performing perfectly, securing their first title of the year.
Just one week later, on August 22nd, the first round of La Liga ignited!
Atlético Madrid vs. Las Palmas, a newly promoted team from the Segunda División.
"La Liga First Round Predictions: Barcelona to Win Away Against Athletic Bilbao, Real Madrid to Win Away Against Sporting Gijón, Atlético Madrid to Win at Home Against Newly Promoted Team."
"Lance's La Liga Debut! Tickets for the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium are hard to come by, with 30% of them going to Chinese fans."
"Atlético Madrid head coach Simeone: We will win big at home against our opponents, starting the season with a victory!"
Last season's third-place team in La Liga, trailing only Real Madrid and Barcelona, with no injuries or suspensions, and a starting lineup playing against a newly promoted team, should, in theory, easily crush them with their eyes closed.
There was no reason to lose!
Moreover, the team also had their new summer transfer record signing, the "€150 Million Man" Lance.
How could Atlético Madrid, playing at home, possibly lose?
Before the match, the media, fans, and the club from top to bottom, everyone underestimated the Segunda División team.
Chinese fans, thousands of miles away, had waited all summer, finally anticipating Lance's La Liga debut.
CCTV5 had started promoting it two weeks in advance.
Even though the La Liga match time was rather inconvenient, at 3:30 AM, when the match began, CCTV5's ratings still soared, second only to "Football Mundial" ratings.
Over 10 million people were waiting in front of their televisions to watch Lance's debut and easy victory.
The happiest, of course, was CCTV commentator Duan Xuan.
Previously, Duan Xuan had always commentated on the Bundesliga, but now it was finally La Liga's turn, and Duan Xuan naturally became the commentator for the first match.
"CCTV!"
"Viewers, you are now watching the crucial first-round match of the 2015/16 Spanish Football La Liga. Atlético Madrid, featuring Chinese player Lance, is facing newly promoted Las Palmas. Atlético Madrid is fielding their traditional 4-4-2 formation.
Goalkeeper: Oblak.
Defenders: Juanfran, Godín, Giménez, Filipe Luís.
Midfielders: Saúl, Gabi, Koke, Griezmann.
Forwards: Torres, Lance!"
"Today, Lance, wearing Atlético Madrid's number 10 jersey, makes his first appearance on the La Liga stage. As the most popular player in the summer transfer window, a star who refreshed football history's highest transfer fee at 150 million euros, Lance's starting position has captured the attention of fans worldwide... Griezmann, who usually plays as a forward, has tactically returned to his familiar left-winger position to make way for Lance... Oh? Look at this goal!!"
Everyone was praising how strong Atlético Madrid was, not taking their opponent seriously.
However, in the very first minute of the match, Atlético Madrid's defence made a mistake.
Giménez's pass was intercepted by the opponent, who launched a counterattack right outside the box.
The forward blasted the ball into the net!
"Oh? The ball is in!! Las Palmas takes an early lead away from home!!"
What?
What's going on?
Even Lance himself was stunned by the goal.
How could they be playing from behind against a newly promoted team?
The bad news was, if they couldn't win this match, their morale would surely be severely hit, and they would face ridicule from around the world.
The good news was, the moment the goal was conceded, Lance noticed that the integration value, which had been stagnant for a long time, increased by 5%!
Since acquiring the [Hyuga Kojiro] template, this was the first time it had exceeded 60%!
There was hope of breaking through 100% this season!