In mid-August 2013, just as the transfer window was closing, Real Madrid completed their final transfer.
They acquired Brazilian player Pato from AC Milan for 65 million euros.
This transfer was surprising, as there had been almost no prior news, but from the news breaking to the deal being finalized, it took less than a week.
Ultimately, Real Madrid still generated a significant transfer buzz this season.
As a key player for AC Milan, Pato became another pillar for Milan after the eras of Suker and Kaka.
Pato, at 24 years old this year, had gradually entered his professional peak.
Furthermore, after gaining sufficient resources and a core role at Milan, he once again experienced a period of explosive form.
Now, Pato was no longer satisfied with the intensity of Serie A matches and was about to transfer to Real Madrid.
This was also the beginning of his pursuit to follow in Suker's footsteps.
AC Milan was also prepared to let Pato go.
A forced melon isn't sweet.
People who are forced to stay will eventually cause trouble.
Just as Pato had repeatedly agitated for a transfer before, now, after communication, both sides finally reached an agreement.
Pato also got his wish to join Real Madrid.
However, at AC Milan, he was a core player.
After coming to Real Madrid, he would most likely be in the first substitute lineup.
"Is he sick?"
Suker stared at the large headline in Marca, completely stunned.
In the original timeline, Pato was supposed to be returned at this time due to a sharp decline in form caused by constant partying, and he went back to play in the Brazil League.
Now, with Suker's help, this guy had changed his destiny, but... this turn was too big.
Also, why was he coming to Real Madrid?
With so many clubs, so many giants, if Pato wanted to transfer, those teams would surely accept him.
Why did it have to be Real Madrid?
If this guy came to Real Madrid, he would most likely be a substitute.
Of course, this would also help Real Madrid expand their lineup and increase competitiveness in multi-front competitions.
But was it really necessary?
"Actually, Pato called me before the transfer," Kaka suddenly said from the side.
Suker turned his head: "Did you instigate him to transfer?"
Kaka grinned: "How could I? However, I also think it's not a good thing for him to stay in Milan."
To be honest, Kaka also had some selfish motives.
Pato was, after all, a Brazilian player, and his form and performance could help the National Team.
Although Neymar might be the future leader, during this transition period, having Pato's support would definitely be better.
Another thing was Pato's overly erratic personality.
He had caused quite a few troubles in Milan.
In today's Milan, with the old veterans retiring or leaving, there was almost no one who could keep Pato in check, and this guy had become a bit carried away.
Kaka believed that Pato would only play honestly when he was around Suker.
Another reason was Ancelotti.
In fact, this transfer was pushed by Ancelotti.
When Pato joined, Ancelotti had said that Pato's talent was enough to make him world-class or even historical-class.
In the declining Serie A, Pato indeed found it difficult to perform.
For this reason, Ancelotti wanted to bring him back under his wing for a second round of cultivation and transformation.
Of course, another aspect was... Ancelotti intended to put some pressure on the forward line.
To give these forward players enough pressure to threaten their starting positions; only then would these guys be more actively involved in training, and their performance in matches would also improve accordingly.
August 14th, Madrid Airport.
A small private jet arrived at the airport.
Pato, dressed in new clothes and wearing a hip-hop hat, stepped off the plane.
He smiled brightly at the media, waving his arms as he walked out of the airport.
"This is a brand new challenge for me. La Liga is still very unfamiliar to me, but I will adapt to the pace of the game here as quickly as possible and contribute to the club."
"Of course, I believe I will deliver excellent performances, just like the glory Suker, Kaka, and I created together back in Milan."
Facing the reporters, Pato spoke eloquently.
The former 'little country bumpkin' had now been completely transformed.
Both his attire and his speech had become proper, but Suker watched the television, seeing Pato's shifty eyes constantly darting around at some beautiful female passengers and reporters.
"A leopard can't change its spots!" Suker couldn't help but complain.
Kaka, beside him, also shook his head with a smile.
On the other side, Pato had already begun various examinations under the guidance of Real Madrid staff.
Finally, at the signing ceremony, Florentino even personally made an appearance.
Pato's transfer fee was 65 million euros, but his true value was far more than that.
Real Madrid paid the remaining transfer fee through other methods.
However, for Real Madrid, this was also a very good deal.
After all, Pato was also a core player for AC Milan, and his ability was evident.
Of course, whether Pato could adapt to the pace of the game at Real Madrid was another topic.
As for the issue of an overcrowded forward line.
Real Madrid wasn't afraid of this; they were eager to form another super-strong squad to compete on two or even three fronts.
After completing a series of ceremonies, Pato officially joined Real Madrid.
And that same night, this guy ran to Suker's house.
"Surprise~~~" Pato, holding a bottle of red wine, knocked on Suker's door.
Suker took the red wine and let Pato in.
After Pato entered, he also saw Sukic.
He was curious after all.
After all, Pato found it hard to imagine how someone with Suker's personality could raise a child.
But from the first impression, Sukic was very well-behaved and polite.
He was far from the spoiled, volatile, unreasonable little devil he had imagined.
"Go! Go upstairs and play with Luna!" Suker said simply.
Sukic immediately jumped off the sofa and scurried upstairs.
Suker, meanwhile, sprawled casually on the sofa, looked up at Pato: "What were you thinking?"
Pato scratched his cheek: "I just wanted to join Real Madrid! I want to play for a stronger team."
Suker: "From being a core player at Milan to a substitute at Real Madrid, you didn't even negotiate a starting position. What is your agent doing?"
Pato scratched his head awkwardly. In fact, his agent also disagreed, but Pato wanted to go to Real Madrid too much.
"You still have a dream of playing for Real Madrid?" Suker asked.
"No, no, no!" Pato shook his head.
Suker asked, puzzled: "So, why join Real Madrid?"
Pato was silent for a moment, then walked around to the front of the sofa and sat down.
"I wasn't happy playing at Milan!"
Suker raised an eyebrow.
"You were a transfer player primarily handled by Galliani. Did the management not support you?"
"No! They supported me very much."
"Then why weren't you happy?"
Pato pursed his lips: "I felt too much pressure."
Suker rolled his eyes: "Professional players all have pressure."
"It's different," Pato shook his head. "The moment I became the core player at Milan, I was indeed very happy. Enough tactical resources, enough say—all of these gave me a lot of privileges!"
"But precisely because of these privileges, I had more obligations!"
"The management had high expectations for me, the fans had high expectations for me, and even my teammates relied heavily on me."
"Whether I played well or not determined the outcome of the match."
"Winning was because of me, and losing was also because of me!"
Pato exhaled a long breath, looking up at Suker: "I tried to overcome this pressure, tried to play like you, tried to become a pillar of Milan, but... I'm not cut out for it!"
"I was almost going crazy! Before crucial matches, I couldn't sleep. I was always worried about gains and losses. I had to constantly simulate possible scenarios in the game in my mind, but no matter what I did, it was never satisfactory."
"So I wasn't happy playing. I couldn't handle this pressure, and I don't want to handle this pressure anymore."
He paused, then Pato continued: "I started to recall when I was happiest, and I realized that when I first joined Milan, that was my happiest time."
"Someone else took the pressure, someone told me what to do... On this matter, I even specifically consulted the old captain (Ambrosini)!" Pato grinned. "He said I was a coward!"
"But if I'm a coward, then so be it. I just want to play happily."
Suker shook his head, "Coward!"
Pato: "Anyway, I don't want to bear this pressure anymore, for myself and for my future children."
Suker turned his head, "What children do you have?!"
"Exactly!" Pato suddenly became agitated. He stood up, pointed to his crotch, and said indignantly, "It's broken! The doctor said it was caused by stress. Now I can only look, not use! Don't you think I'm frustrated?"
Suker: "…"
The next day, Pato officially entered the Real Madrid training base for concentrated training.
Here, he had the protection of older brothers like Suker and Kaka, and the help of National Team teammates like Marcelo, so integrating into the team was not a problem at all.
Ancelotti also liked Pato very much.
With the care of these three people, Pato felt the mountain-like pressure on his shoulders instantly dissipate.
And in his first training session after joining Real Madrid, Pato delivered an excellent performance.
He scored two goals.
"His acceleration is very fast, and his dribbling speed and shooting skills are excellent." Zidane nodded. Pato was indeed a strong player to have on the bench.
This could increase Real Madrid's tactical depth and even help Suker and Bale share the pressure of multi-front combat.
Especially Suker!
Suker had played every game for two consecutive seasons, and this high-intensity usage could eventually destroy him.
Ancelotti was very worried that Suker's form would suddenly plummet due to the high intensity of matches.
After all, Suker was already 27 years old!
There were only three years left until he reached the 30-year-old mark, and if he suffered a major injury, the problem would be very serious.
Therefore, Ancelotti planned to let Suker play a bit more easily this season.
Not like the previous two seasons, where he had to be on the front line for all matches, big or small, important or not.
At the same time, Ancelotti also talked to Bale.
He informed him of Pato's situation and arrangements.
To put it bluntly, Pato was not Bale's substitute, but Suker's.
He was meant for Suker to rotate with.
Hearing this, Bale also breathed a sigh of relief, and the faint unease in his heart largely disappeared.
But he still needed to be nervous, after all, Pato could play on the right wing, and if his own performance was not good, he could be replaced at any time.
As for Benzema, he was still carefree.
There was no way around it; it was truly difficult to find a center forward of Benzema's type in today's football world.
Now was precisely the era of transition from traditional center forwards to functional center forwards.
Many functional center forwards began to emerge and make their mark.
But their ability and performance could not be compared with Benzema, and it was even difficult to find a decent substitute.
In this position, the only one who could truly compete with Benzema was probably the future 'uncrowned king,' Harry Kane.
However, this brother was truly miserable!
Ballack was ridiculed as 'the eternal runner-up,' but at least he won some decent trophies.
But Harry Kane, he really hadn't!
"How did I play?" Pato asked excitedly.
Since joining Real Madrid, he felt his pressure had been released, and his overall condition had improved to some extent.
At least when playing for Real Madrid, no one would look for Pato when encountering difficulties.
He was nothing!
Suker was the real big leg!
"So-so!" Suker said casually.
Kaka, standing by, couldn't help but smile.
It was really difficult for Suker to praise Pato.
However, Pato's growth was obvious. Despite receiving core treatment at Milan for so many years, he ultimately couldn't bear the pressure and became a deserter.
But this guy's ability was commendable.
It couldn't be said that he would decide the outcome of a battle, but he could provide help and diversity to the overall tactics.
"Suker! It's your turn!"
Zidane walked over and said.
Suker immediately nodded and walked onto the field.
After Suker entered the field, the faces of the opposing main defenders, Ramos, Pepe, Srna, and others, became very grim.
No one liked to be abused!
But the penetration and progression ability of Real Madrid's frontline was too strong now.
Especially Suker's positioning.
He was an attack initiator, an attack finisher, an organizer, a tempo-setter, a final passer, and could even steal the ball in the front field, constantly switching between multiple roles, making him simply undefendable.
After Suker came on, the surrounding coaches also perked up and began to record various data.
And the progression started the moment Suker got the ball.
Suker dribbled horizontally from the left side of the big penalty area line.
There were connections at both front and back ends, plus Suker's dribbling ability, which made the main defenders constantly move back and forth.
They wanted to press, but dared not!
They retreated, but couldn't let Suker shoot!
During the stalemate, Suker suddenly stepped on the ball in place, pulled his body forward, and drew Pepe away.
Just as Pepe came to his senses and tried to turn around.
Kroos had already passed the ball forward, accurately finding the forward-running Benzema, assisting a goal.
"I told you, don't always mark Suker!"
"What can we do if we don't mark him? Let him shoot?"
"Tackle him! Tackle him directly!"
Even the usually calm Srna couldn't help but become agitated.
The defending side was already passive, and now with Suker leading them, they seemed to have become fools.
If they couldn't make accurate predictions, they would only be constantly worn down until they conceded a goal.
But as for prediction, who could guarantee that it would always work?
"Very well done!" Ancelotti couldn't help but praise.
The forward line combination was gradually showing form, and now it only needed to be further consolidated.
But this kind of thing needed to be accumulated through matches, so he was not in a hurry.
After the new season started, there would be plenty of opportunities in the first half of the season.
Of course, the premise was that no one jumped the gun.
"Are there any latest updates on Atletico Madrid?"
Ancelotti asked his son.
Since Zidane became Assistant Coach, Ancelotti's son, Davide, began to take charge of information gathering and technical analysis.
Davide shook his head and said, "Still no news."
Ancelotti couldn't help but pout, "How annoying!"
Since Real Madrid and Barcelona started non-public training, Atletico Madrid also followed suit, not revealing any information.
However, from some clues and the scores revealed in warm-up matches, Atletico Madrid's current form should be very good.
But Ancelotti didn't know exactly how good it was.
He could only wait until the League started to observe it through actual matches.
Whew~~~~
Ancelotti sighed slightly, looking up at the clear sky.
In two days, Real Madrid would start their new season.
The flames of the 2013/2014 La Liga season would also be ignited!
In addition, there was the Champions League in September.
All of these required Ancelotti's attention.
This was also a brand new challenge for him!
On August 18th, the new season's battles began.
Real Sociedad vs. Getafe played the first round's opening match.
Real Madrid's match was scheduled for 3 PM.
They would face Real Betis at home.
But before that, in the 1 PM match, Barcelona delivered an astonishing score in their first round.
They massacred Levante 7-0 at home!
Just 3 minutes into the match, Rakitić assisted Sanchez for a goal.
After that, Messi, Alves, Pedro, and Xavi all scored.
In this match, Messi and Pedro both had excellent performances with two goals and one assist, but the Man of the Match award was ultimately given to Messi.
Barcelona's performance in the first round was surprising.
Perhaps Levante was not in form, but the score was a bit too extreme.
But in Ancelotti's view, this signal was a bit unsettling.
This might be a sign of 'jumping the gun.'
However, Ancelotti did not change his plan and still prepared for the match according to his original tactical approach.
Attention was focused on the Bernabéu Stadium.
Many people were curious whether Real Madrid, after Barcelona's massacre show, would also deliver an explosive performance and defeat Real Betis at home.