The Valencia goalkeeper thought Su Hang would at least feint before shooting, but he didn't expect such decisiveness. Before he could react, the ball had already flown past him.
Whoosh!
"Four-nil! Real Madrid is going wild!"
"Su Hang scores twice! He's playing like Superman today!"
"Su Hang! Su Hang! Su Hang!"
Real Madrid fans in the stadium began chanting his name, urging him to do his signature celebration.
Even Zidane gestured with a spin, signaling, "Hurry up and celebrate, don't keep the crowd waiting."
Su Hang had no choice but to rush to the corner flag and leap into the air.
With a 180-degree spin, he landed in style.
The entire stadium roared with him: "Siuuuuu!"
The display made Morientes, watching from the sidelines, burned with envy. If only he had scored that goal.
Oh well!
In the end, thanks to Su Hang's outstanding performance, Real Madrid lifted the Spanish Super Cup with a convincing 4-0 win.
They started the new season with a trophy!
Su Hang scored twice and was involved in the other two goals, delivering a peerless performance that earned him the Best Player of the Spanish Super Cup!
It was his first official individual honor.
The Crown Prince of Real Madrid was red-hot!
Keeping a low profile? Impossible now!
...
The headlines poured in:
"Real Madrid wins the Spanish Super Cup! A perfect start to the new season!"
"The youngest fourth captain in Real Madrid history proves himself again! Su Hang silences critics with a brace!"
"Not a starter, but even better! Su Hang comes off the bench and orchestrates a 4-0 rout in just 45 minutes!"
"Seamless chemistry! Su Hang fits effortlessly with players like Ronaldo, Owen, and Morientes!"
"A tough call! Su Hang might be Ronaldo's best partner! But he previously declared he'd step away from the striker competition—will he go back on his word?"
"Back-to-back braces! Su Hang is on fire—how can a player like this sit on the bench?"
"This is the second trophy Su Hang has brought to Real Madrid! It's time we acknowledge the true strength of the Crown Prince!"
"Su Hang deserves to start—out of respect for Real Madrid fans and for the sport itself!"
After the Spanish Super Cup, the media exploded with coverage.
Everyone was talking about Su Hang's role in the team.
Some were genuinely advocating for Su Hang.
Others just wanted to stir up drama around Real Madrid's striker rotation and create internal tension.
But one thing everyone agreed on—Su Hang's ability was undeniable!
Even his rival Morientes voiced his approval.
"Ding! Morientes enjoyed playing with you, but he believes you still have areas to improve—such as turning under pressure. You've now acquired the skill: 'Mastery of Turning in Combat.'"
Mastery of Turning in Combat: Player-level skill.
Turning under pressure while holding the ball is a core technique for any target striker and a key indicator of quality. Your turn success rate and speed have both improved.
Well then…
If Morientes' criticism makes Su Hang stronger, couldn't he throw in a few more?
Su Hang was starting to love this guy.
Thanks to the feedback, Su Hang's Offensive Awareness, Burst, Strength, and Jumping all got a +1 boost!
It may be just a player-level skill, but its impact was massive.
A perfect example of how "A perfect example of the saying: 'Egg fried rice may look simple, but it's the hardest to master."
Faced with public pressure, Camacho had no choice but to start Su Hang again in the second leg of the Champions League qualifier on August 25.
And this match… Krakow was just too weak.
Even though Su Hang coasted through the entire game, he still managed to pick up an assist without even trying.
Helping the team obliterate Krakow 5-0.
With that, Real Madrid returned to the Champions League group stage, officially kicking off the new season.
Some die-hard fans claimed that Real Madrid's return to the Champions League meant the trophy was already in the bag!
The Champions League was Real Madrid's to lose!
Many major sports media agreed, and they also highly praised Real Madrid's switch from a single striker to a two-striker setup.
But this gave Camacho sleepless nights.
He had his own version of a two-striker system, but it wasn't this one.
In his mind, the ideal formation was 4-4-2—with two defensive midfielders.
But Real Madrid's current system was more of a 4-1-3-2. With just one defensive midfielder, it felt way too risky.
Originally, Camacho started Su Hang to prove that the formation didn't work, and that Su Hang wasn't up to standard.
That way, he could switch back to using two defensive midfielders without any blowback.
The difference between one and two defensive midfielders is that the latter requires benching an attacking star in favor of a workhorse midfielder.
Something Real Madrid fans would never tolerate.
They'd rather see no defensive midfielders and all superstars on the pitch—it looked more glamorous, even if the results were questionable.
But the plan backfired. Su Hang played so well that people started believing a lone defensive midfielder could work after all.
Camacho couldn't let that happen!
The next day, Camacho announced to the team that to ensure stability, they would stick with the lone striker system this season, since everyone was more familiar with it.
Midfielders like Guti and Solari were all for it—more midfield slots to compete for.
Even Figo and Beckham supported it—otherwise, they'd sometimes have no position at all.
But the forwards went quiet.
This meant that aside from Ronaldo, everyone else was benched.
One starter, three substitutes.
The difference between that and "two starters, two substitutes" was massive.
In the latter setup, everyone got some minutes, and two players could start.
In the former, half wouldn't play at all, and even the ones who did wouldn't see much time.
It was like the difference between a two-day weekend and a one-day weekend—just one day apart, but a world of difference in happiness.
"Su Hang, do you have any comments?" Camacho called him out.
If Su Hang objected to the lone striker tactic, Camacho could use his previous statement about not competing for a spot to expose him as a hypocrite.
That would give Camacho the excuse to clamp down and assert control.
"I think the lone striker system is indeed more stable. I support the decision," Su Hang replied, barely holding back a grin.
He'd been worried that with two strikers, his chances of playing would increase—and now Camacho insisted on one striker?
Couldn't have asked for a better setup!
With one striker, it would rotate between Ronaldo, Owen, and Morientes. Su Hang could finally relax.
Delightful!
Camacho almost choked on his own blood.
He had a whole scolding speech prepared, and Su Hang actually agreed?
"Uh… but if we go with a lone striker, you'll be pretty far down the pecking order. You might not even make the 18-man squad!" Camacho hinted, trying to provoke a reaction.
---
For more chapters and to support the series, follow me on Ptreon (35+ Chapters Ahead!)
p-atreon.com/GhostParser (remove the dash in "p-atreon" to access the site)