The starting lineup can be announced as late as one hour before the game.
Capello did just that, announcing it an hour before the game.
At a few minutes past five in the afternoon, Madrid time, Pellegrini stared intently at the starting lineup in his hand.
He was prepared, but also hopeful of some luck.
Still, he couldn’t avoid that one person.
Last season, he missed the first leg, and in the return leg, he shattered their dreams: the €120 million man, the conqueror of Istanbul, the king of Stade de France and Stade Louis II, friend to the Italian people, miracle of the Christian World, Europe’s last knight, with eyes that pierced the future, and the heir to Brazilian football, stronger than any No. 10 after Pelé—Kevin Huang.
Pellegrini let out a long sigh. It looked like he would have to warn Roman to be cautious.
They couldn’t afford Riquelme getting another red card.
"Hehe, with a record transfer fee, Kevin Huang joined Real Madrid. Even though he participated in the training in Austria, his early departure due to injury has fans worldwide worried that Kevin might miss the opener. Now that we’ve got the big list, I’m happy to tell all the fans, Kevin is starting today."
Zhang said with contagious enthusiasm, "Compared to last season, Capello’s Real Madrid has significantly changed, both in starting lineup and tactics, probably gonna shock the fans today."
Fiery discussions had already started on the forums.
"Kevin Huang is faking injury; he just didn’t want to attend pre-season training."
"Starting today, fake an injury in a few days, then play in the UEFA Champions League and two derbies, and then Kevin will start faking injuries again. The new season’s schedule puts the important games earlier, perfectly suited for Kevin."
"I heard he’s getting €15 million in salary, and Milan even paid him a €20 million loyalty bonus."
"Damn, what’s a loyalty bonus? Never heard of it before, Barbara’s literally throwing money at Kevin."
"That’s just blind hatred. Loyalty bonuses are common for players; it’s paid on July 1st each year, or after completing a contract period without a transfer. It’s not unusual for clubs to settle loyalty bonuses when they want to sell a player; Kevin’s bonus is just a bit more than usual."
""World Sports News" mentioned Kevin also got a 10% share of the transfer fee, he grabbed more than €50 million from two years at Milan, right?"
"Transfer shares are normal, Kevin signed with Milan on a free transfer, 10% is actually low. When you deduct what Kevin took from Milan, they made a net profit of five championships and several tens of millions, that’s a huge profit."
"Kevin might not be that great, but take what "World Sports News" says with a grain of salt; they’re literal toilet paper. Claimed the little cousin has extraordinary talent, haven’t seen him play a minute of the game, not even a warm-up opportunity."
"I saw the little cousin hit the nightclub with Ronaldo a couple days ago. He’s got the smarts, hooked up with the first team core right away."
"I think Marca is right, Kevin’s cousin can’t play football at all, now Laporta is just stubbornly holding on for pride. Benshan Uncle said it, ’no harm in walking two steps,’ if the little cousin can play, let him prove it on the field."
"I also think the little cousin can’t play, Kevin’s over here bragging, using Barca to jack up his price, turning around and making Barca the laughing stock even before his official appearance for Real Madrid."
"Ah, probably Kevin is going to show off again today; from what I know of him, expect nothing less than a hat-trick for his Bernabeu debut."
"Damn, even Huan is saying so, seems like the Yellow Submarine is in trouble today."
"What’s a Yellow Submarine?"
"Villarreal’s kit is yellow, and they officially use The Beatles song ’Yellow Submarine’ to celebrate their promotion from the fourth division to the third in 1967, and since then, their fans nicknamed the team the Yellow Submarine."
"Learned something new, learned something new."
While warming up on the field.
Kevin Huang was getting a feel for it.
A top-tier model, boosted with skills and attributes.
The performance on the field was going to be exaggerated.
From physicality to technique, Gold Bordered Robe was just terrifying.
The teammates were also getting used to Kevin’s way of playing; Raul immediately noticed that Kevin’s handling of the ball felt completely different from yesterday’s training.
"Why do you like using the back of your heel?"
Raul asked with a smile.
"I’m good with everything, no particular favorite part."
Apart from his feet, Cristiano Ronaldo also uses his shoulders, chest, and back during games.
"Kevin looks in good shape, so we don’t have to worry."
"Today Capello is using a 433, completely different from the 442 with double wingers and a diamond midfield he often used at Juventus,"
"Probably because of Real Madrid’s different setup, Pellegrini hasn’t changed much, still playing a 442."
"Let’s look at both teams’ starting lineup."
Real Madrid’s 433 with a single defensive midfielder and two attacking midfielders:
Goalkeeper: Casillas,
Defenders: Robert Carlos, Cannavaro, Raúl Bravo, Salgado,
Midfielders: Emerson, Mahamadou Diarra, Beckham,
Forwards: Kevin Huang, Van Nistelrooy, Raul.
Yellow Submarine’s 442 diamond midfield:
Goalkeeper: Sebastian Vieira,
Defenders: Arubareṅa, Quique Alvarez, Juan Peña, Xavi Venta,