Who would've thought Su Hang not only didn't resist, but actually seemed to enjoy it? He nodded repeatedly.
"I'm totally fine with it. As long as I can train with everyone, whether I get to play or not doesn't matter."
His attitude left Camacho with no room to criticize.
But then Morientes stepped up.
"I don't think a lone striker is a good idea. Our dual-striker setup has been working so smoothly. I really think we should—"
He went on and on.
Camacho nearly burst into tears..
If only those words had come from Su Hang!
But no—it was Morientes who said them.
Camacho had two goals: establish authority and freeze out Su Hang. But at the core, both were about asserting control over the team.
With Morientes stepping up like that, it became impossible to accomplish both at once.
Even if he dealt with Morientes, Su Hang's position in the lineup would naturally rise, and the two objectives would clash.
Camacho gritted his teeth and lashed out at Morientes—basically saying, "Who do you think you are to question my tactics?" Then he punished him with a three-kilometer run.
He successfully asserted his authority.
But he also missed the chance to deal with Su Hang.
...
On August 29, the 2004–2005 season officially kicked off.
In La Liga's first round, Real Madrid played away against Real Mallorca.
They fielded a baffling lone striker formation.
Ronaldo, who had picked up a minor injury in the Spanish Super Cup, made a last-minute return.
In the 56th minute, Ronaldo scored, giving the team a 1–0 lead.
Camacho then subbed him off for Owen to avoid risking a re-injury.
In the 73rd minute, Su Hang came on for Raúl, playing as an attacking midfielder.
In the 75th, Morientes replaced Figo and moved to center forward, while Owen was shifted to right midfield.
The adjustments were all over the place.
Real Madrid couldn't score again.
They even nearly let Mallorca equalize.
In the end, they scraped by with a 1–0 win.
But after the match, the media tore into Camacho's substitutions.
If you're going with a lone striker, why sub in all your forwards?
And why play Owen and Su Hang in positions like right midfielder and attacking mid—roles they clearly can't handle?
It was as if Camacho didn't understand football at all.
But if you knew what was going on in his head, the logic behind those substitutions wasn't hard to see.
Subbing Owen in for Ronaldo made sense.
But Camacho was most comfortable with a two-striker system. He was always going to go back to that sooner or later.
His ideal setup? Ronaldo and Owen as starters, Morientes off the bench.
Raúl could occasionally fill in as a forward. That's more than enough depth.
But right now, Su Hang was hugely popular. In a two-striker setup, he might break into the starting lineup. Camacho couldn't stand the idea of a player with such weak fundamentals starting.
Because poor fundamentals meant he couldn't carry out Camacho's complex tactical plans.
Casual fans focus on goals; insiders look at tactical execution.
Su Hang was beloved by fans because he scored goals.
The fact that Camacho didn't like him? That was actually a sign of the coach's quality.
A team built purely around scoring would eventually collapse.
So Camacho had to ruin Su Hang's chances before switching to two strikers.
That meant putting Su Hang on the pitch—and making sure he looked bad.
But if Su Hang was playing, then Morientes had to play too. Otherwise, people might start thinking Su Hang was better than Morientes. Then what? Camacho would be forced to make Su Hang his go-to sub.
That's why the substitutions were so strange and contradictory.
...
September 11, La Liga Round 2.
Real Madrid hosted newly promoted Ciudad de Murcia.
Against such a weak opponent, the mighty Real Madrid only managed one goal—a Beckham free kick in the 17th minute.
In the second half, Owen, Su Hang, and Morientes were brought on one after another. Once again, the team fell into disarray.
Even though they eked out another 1–0 win, fan frustration hit a breaking point.
Many started lashing out at Camacho.
It caught Su Hang off guard.
He'd played terribly, probably lost the ball more than anyone else.
And yet… nobody blamed him?
Come on, people—fire away!
Don't go soft on me!
...
September 18, La Liga Round 3.
Real Madrid traveled to face Espanyol.
Under heavy public pressure, Camacho had no choice but to use a multiple-striker formation.
The lineup:
Raúl, Ronaldo, Owen
Zidane, Beckham, Figo
Roberto Carlos, Samuel, Woodgate, Salgado
Casillas
It was a weird 4-3-3.
Weird because Raúl and Owen weren't true wingers.
Figo wasn't a traditional midfielder.
Beckham wasn't a holding mid.
The whole thing was a mishmash.
And the performance was exactly what you'd expect.
By halftime, Real Madrid were down 0–1.
In the second half, Camacho subbed in Su Hang, Morientes, and Guti.
That made it even worse.
If Owen and Raúl could function as second strikers in a three-forward setup, then Ronaldo, Morientes, and Su Hang together meant three pure center forwards.
It would've been better not to make any changes at all.
Final score: 0–1. Real Madrid lost.
The backlash was swift and brutal.
Su Hang was interviewed about Camacho's tactics.
He had mixed feelings.
He liked that Camacho used a lone striker.
But he hated that he was still being thrown in under that system.
Were there no proper attacking or wide midfielders in the squad?
Would it kill Camacho to use players like Borja or Solari?
Borja: I have reason to believe you're humblebragging.
Solari: Is that even human speech?
So Su Hang told the media,
"Camacho is a capable coach, but I think he needs to consider player positioning more carefully."
"No player can excel at every position. He should let players play where they're meant to play."
In short: let midfielders play midfield—and stop sending me on!
But his comments were completely misinterpreted.
The media claimed Su Hang was criticizing Camacho's rigidity, saying he should drop the lone striker system and just use more forwards. With so many superstars up front, just take out a defender!
Marca: "The Crown Prince Strikes Back! Su Hang Slams Camacho's Rigid Tactics—Forcing Forwards to Play Out of Position!"
AS: "Real Madrid's Fourth Captain Speaks Up! He Voices What Fans and Players Are Thinking—Use the Team's Talent or Step Down!"
Diario Sport: "No Respect! Real Madrid's Crown Prince Abuses His Status, Pressures Coach to Use More Forwards—Just So He Can Play!"
Mundo Deportivo: "Camacho Furious! Swears to Freeze Out Su Hang Forever—As Long As He's Coach, Su Hang Won't Make the Squad!"
Su Hang had to admit, when he saw the headlines… he felt relieved.
Everyone misunderstood.
But the outcome was perfect.
A mix-up from start to finish—but it turned out great!
He no longer had to worry about being subbed in.
In the previous two games, people thought he just didn't adapt well to playing as an attacking mid.
Little did they know—that was his true level. Without his "offside privileges," unable to float freely outside the team's system, Su Hang's performance was downright criminal.
So while outsiders saw Camacho benching him as punishment…
To Su Hang, it was an act of self-sacrificing heroism.
Now, Su Hang had only one hope:
That Real Madrid would perform well in the coming stretch.
That Camacho would prove, game after game, that this team didn't need Su Hang.
So that he could stay safely on the bench.
Praise be!