Football: Messi, I am your wallbreaker!

Chapter 33: Bringing Yerba Mate to Europe!

A muffled "bang" was heard.

The red and blue checkered locker room door was pushed open forcefully!

Li Jinggang found a bench in front of his cabinet and sat down.

With a four-goal lead by halftime, the overwhelming feeling left him panting heavily as he sat on the bench, his chest heaving with excitement.

The smell of a man's sweat mingled with the scent of excitement!

The setting is still the locker room!

This reminded Li Jing of some old acquaintances.

Team doctor Ortega walked in carrying a huge metal insulated container.

In his other hand, the old man was carrying a dozen or so gourd-shaped wooden cups with metal straws attached.

Ortega strode to the center of the room and slammed the thermos full of liquid onto the tactical table.

Another loud thud!

"Bang!"

He pulled the cork off the thermos, and an extremely rich aroma of herbs and wood instantly filled the closed locker room.

"Stop right there! Throw all your Red Bulls into the trash!"

Ortega shouted loudly, distributing the gourd-shaped wooden cups he was holding to the table one by one.

"The boss has spoken! Starting today, during halftime, stop drinking those chemically sweetened drinks and drink this instead!"

Simeone is a coach who respects the players' personal preferences.

This is especially true when it comes to what we drink.

Interestingly, this Atletico Madrid team, ever since their match against Real Madrid in the Middle East...

Everyone started to crave that strange smell!

Falco strode over, casually picked up a gourd-shaped wooden cup, and brought it to his nose to smell it.

"Doctor, you really have to admit."

Falcao turned and gave Ortega a thumbs up.

"Since trying this stuff after the last game, I feel more energetic than when I drink energy drinks. This should have been introduced to the locker room a long time ago."

Gabi didn't hesitate to throw away the plastic water bottle in his hand and pick up a metal straw to stick into the cup.

"Doctor, you should quickly get the coach to register a patented brand."

Gabby took a big gulp, laughing as he pointed towards the door.

"This stuff tastes so good."

Hold onto Flying Yerba Mate, and drink Red Bull!

From now on, all extreme sports in Europe will be limited to drinking mate tea!

The locker room immediately erupted in extremely enthusiastic laughter.

Everyone still vividly remembers the celebration after the last draw against Real Madrid, and now this grassy smell has become a great way to boost the team's morale.

Courtois, shirtless, squeezed through the crowd from behind, his two-meter-tall frame pushing aside Miranda who was about to grab a cup.

"Excuse me! Excuse me! Let me pour first!"

Courtois picked up the largest gourd cup and filled it to the brim with water from the thermos faucet.

He eagerly bit the metal straw and took a big sip, only to wince in pain from the heat.

Gabi kicked Courtois in annoyance.

"Add ice! You big oaf!"

Courtois ignored Gabi.

Then, holding his cup, he strode over with his long legs and plopped heavily into the seat next to Li Jing.

"Achoo!"

Courtois had just sat down when he suddenly sneezed dramatically without warning.

He rubbed his big, red nose vigorously, then turned and nudged Li Jing's shoulder with his elbow.

"Li! You bastard, you've completely ruined my warm-up in the first half!"

Courtois raised his voice and complained loudly.

"I stood on the goal line for a full forty-five minutes and didn't even touch a single piece of the ball! The wind in Calderón was so strong tonight, I felt like I was going to catch a cold!"

Miranda scoffed from beside the tactics table:

"Teborough, do you want me to get you a blanket to wrap around the goalposts for the second half?"

Courtois completely ignored his teammate's teasing. He leaned closer to Li Jing and chuckled in a low voice.

"Don't listen to their nonsense. You have no idea how miserable I was in the first half of the season. Those La Liga strikers were basically using me as a human ATM to pad my stats."

Courtois took a sip of mate tea, his face beaming with excitement.

"Now that you're in front of me as my wall of sighs, I can finally see my shutout bonus beckoning to me like crazy!"

You must maintain this level of toughness in the second half!

Zero-coverage award~

A truly unfamiliar vocabulary!

Gabi strolled over with his cup in hand, grabbed Li Jing's neck, and shook him vigorously twice.

"Tibor, you're still dreaming."

Gabi took a sip of tea and turned to look at the goalkeeper.

"We are now up 4-0."

In La Liga, when a team is leading by such a large margin, the manager will definitely substitute key players to give them a rest.

Simeone will definitely substitute Lee later to conserve his energy, so you'll probably have to handle things on your own in the second half.

Upon hearing this, Courtois's face fell, and he looked at Li Jing with a mournful expression.

Li Jing took a sip of the mate tea. He looked up and stared intently at Gabi.

"Shall I take a break?"

Li Jing reached up and touched his forehead, then pointed to his thigh muscles.

"Captain, I haven't even broken a sweat."

I feel like those 45 minutes were just a warm-up; I'm not tired at all.

As soon as Li Jing finished speaking, he regretted it.

Although I said it from the bottom of my heart.

But why does that sound so extravagant!

Fortunately, the word "Jiahao" has not yet been invented by the great Chinese people.

Gabi casually touched Li Jing's extremely dry jersey and stared wide-eyed.

"Holy crap, how did you develop such incredible stamina?"

Gabi exclaimed in surprise.

"Sprinting across the entire field for half the game without even breaking a sweat? You're a monster!"

Just then, the locker room door was pushed open from the outside again.

"Bang!"

Another loud bang.

Gabby's powerless吐槽:

"It was bound to be smashed sooner or later."

"Why is each door opening so extravagantly impressive..."

Simone and his assistant Burgos walked in, each holding a cup of mate tea, their faces beaming with excitement.

As Burgos walked, he asked Simone in an extremely incredulous tone:

"Diego, are you sure? We're leading 4-0, and you're really not making any substitutions?"

Upon hearing the teaching assistant's words, the previously noisy locker room instantly fell into an extremely eerie silence.

All the players, holding their cups, turned to look at Simeone.

Everyone was waiting for the head coach to decide when to end the second half, since the schedule was so packed and protecting the key players was a timeless principle in football.

Simone took a big gulp of tea through the straw and strode over to the tactics board.

He turned around, his sharp gaze sweeping across the entire room, a wildly enthusiastic smile playing on his lips.

"Change the player?"

Simone slammed his teacup down on the table with a loud bang.

Gabby's lips twitched; it seemed the table would break sooner or later too.

"Why would you replace him!"

Simone roared so loudly that the metal lockers in the locker room vibrated.

"Don't the media outside always say that we are rude thugs who defend by kicking people?!"

"Aren't we now portrayed as the villains of La Liga?!"

Simone spread his arms wide, his chest heaving violently.

"In the second half, you are not allowed to substitute a single player!"

Everyone stay on the field and keep pressing! Press relentlessly! We absolutely cannot stop scoring!

Simone slammed his fist on the table, spitting as he did so.

"We must massacre them!"

Simeone completely disregarded the unspoken rule in football of "knowing when to quit while you're ahead."

This team was already in a slump, and they needed an extremely brutal and crushing victory to announce the return of the gang to the entire La Liga.

"I'll substitute you when you're too tired to run anymore, when your legs cramp up, and you collapse on the grass!"

Simeone pointed at the players in front of him and yelled.

"Did you understand?"

Screw your social niceties!

"Awooo—!"

The players in the locker room were instantly ignited, letting out a series of beast-like roars.

Li Jing sat in his chair, looking at the head coach in front of him who was caught up in extreme fanaticism, and couldn't help but twitch his lips.

"That's 4-0! The away team's fans have probably all left, but this old man is still determined to crush them."

Li Jing silently complained in his heart.

But then, Li Jing grinned.

This old man is even more like a villain than I am, with my bully system.

However, he absolutely adores this old man!

……

……

In stark contrast to the extreme fervor in Atlético Madrid's locker room was Villarreal's locker room at the other end of the corridor.

A deathly silence filled the air.

No one spoke; even the heavy breathing sounded extremely oppressive, just like a cold morgue.

Huang Qian's head coach stood alone in the middle of the locker room, holding a tactics board in his hand. The black marker in his hand hung in mid-air, and his lips trembled for a long time, but he couldn't squeeze out a single word.

Sitting in the corner, Cazorla buried her head deeply in a thick white towel, remaining motionless.

The sheer terror of being utterly crushed in the first half made him resemble a statue that had completely lost its soul.

……

At this time, comments sections on major domestic sports portals and live streaming platforms were filled with messages.

The wind direction has undergone a dramatic reversal.

What was initially a barrage of insults and trolls before the match was now completely drowned out by a deluge of exclamation marks.

Public opinion in China regarding Li Jing has begun to reverse dramatically, and the reason is none other than this.

Instead, a large number of fans, moved by Atlético Madrid's fighting spirit, began to actively help Li Jing in the match.

The reason is simple: this is a real powerhouse, and we must protect it!

Li Jing was attacked online, but most Atlético Madrid fans remained unmoved.

After all, Li Jing was just a newcomer who had just arrived to seek refuge.

As long as you don't involve Atletico Madrid in your criticism.

Everyone just turned a blind eye.

The majority of those criticizing Li Jing are Messi fans, plus Real Madrid fans who already have a grudge against Atletico Madrid fans.

This water is getting really murky.

But that was before this match!

Now, I've watched the first half of this game.

Li Jing almost single-handedly revitalized the team, which had been in disarray during the first half of the season.

This is ridiculous! It's like they're asking for a dad!

That would be a different story.

Does it matter if you're a Messi fan or a Real Madrid fan?

You think you can let my dad be bullied by you?

Do they really think Atletico Madrid has no domestic talent?

"Holy crap! I have to apologize to Li Jing! I insulted him at the beginning, and now I've slapped myself twice across the face!"

"If you like watching effeminate football, go play billiards with those cute girls at the 10-yuan-an-hour billiards hall outside! Stop watching football!"

"This is so exciting! I haven't seen a match this good in half a season! Hurry up, haters, come and challenge me!"

"What kind of inexhaustible stamina is this?! His coverage area defending the entire field is incredible! If the Chinese national football team had someone like him, they would have won the Asian Cup long ago!"

"Do those people who criticize Li Jing even understand football?!"

"What's called a savage thug? This is called top-tier toughness!"

"This kind of dedication—doing the dirty work and hard labor for the club—that's the best sportsmanship!"

Immediately, familiar comments began to retaliate.

"Hey bro, I remember your ID."

"You didn't say that after the last game. Didn't you say this slob would ruin the club's image? Didn't you also call him a nepotism hire?"

The netizen who had just spoken immediately responded strongly.

"Bullshit! You've got the wrong person!"

"What the hell?! This is what you call top-tier hardness! I've been a Li Jing fan from beginning to end!"

"This defense is so damn exciting, I love watching this!"

"I can write 7000 words a minute! Anyone disagree? Join the group! Let's see who dares to criticize Li Jing!"

……

The second half of the game is about to begin.

The players from both sides walked back to the Calderon Stadium's pitch through the players' tunnel.

The broadcast camera slowly panned across the stadium.

A large section of the Villarreal away fans' section at the highest point of the stands was already empty, its glaring yellow seats filled with grievances. Many utterly devastated Villarreal die-hard fans, carrying a psychological scar they would never forget, chose to leave early.

The remaining few hundred people were also dejected and silent, even throwing their cheering banners on the ground.

Fifteen-year-old Rodri was still sitting in the front row.

He clutched the scarf tightly in his hand, becoming one of the very few fans who did not leave the stadium.

"Forty-five minutes left... what if a miracle happens?"

Rhodes' eyes were red and swollen, and he gritted his teeth as he prayed frantically in his heart.

……

Commentator He Wei sat in the domestic broadcasting studio, picking up the newly printed list of players for the second half.

When his gaze swept over Atletico Madrid's roster, He Wei's voice suddenly faltered for half a second.

He suddenly brought the list close to his eyes and looked at it over and over again to make sure he hadn't made a mistake.

"Dear viewers! Unbelievable! Absolutely unbelievable!"

He Wei's voice suddenly rose in pitch due to extreme shock.

"We just saw that Huang Qian has changed three coaches in a row."

Nielma has been substituted and rested.

This indicates that Villarreal has completely raised the white flag and given up on the match.

Yes, perhaps this is the right choice, after all, the league is an extremely long marathon.

Preserving the physical fitness of key players is also part of the power struggle among head coaches.

Especially Qianlong, who are still in the relegation zone!

He Wei took a deep breath and shouted into the microphone in utter disbelief.

"But! Atletico Madrid, leading 4-0, didn't make any substitutions!"

Falcao is on the field! Gabi is on the field!

Li Jing, who covered an incredible distance in the first half, is still starting in the defensive midfield position!

He Wei shook his head, his tone filled with profound shock:

"Simone has no intention of stopping! According to the unspoken rules of football, this is called leaving no way out!"

He not only wanted to kill people, but also to completely destroy their spirit!

The second half will likely see an even bigger bloodbath!

I need to check if there's any connection between these two teams or coaches!

What deep-seated hatred or grudge could they possibly have?

The referee blew the whistle to start the second half of the match on time.

……