Monday, July 13—the day Real Madrid's preseason training camp opened.
There was still more than an hour before the team was due to report, but Yang Yang had arrived at Valdebebas early.
His role was no longer merely that of a player. He was also Real Madrid's First Team Chief Assistant Coach.
Although he had yet to pass the examination and obtain his coaching certificate, that was only a matter of time. Real Madrid had not publicly announced Yang Yang's exact position, but that did not stop everyone from recognizing the fact.
At most, it meant he could not sit beside Zidane.
But that was unimportant, because he was a player, and he had to go onto the pitch and play.
Yang Yang had already joined the preseason training camp several days earlier. It had always been his habit.
After arriving at Valdebebas, he first went to the dressing room to get ready, then headed to the gym. There, he once again ran into Antonio Pintus, Real Madrid's fitness coach for the new season.
Pintus had an extensive coaching résumé. He had worked at Juventus for seven years, surviving the tenures of Trapattoni and Lippi, both of whom had made great use of him. In 1998, he followed Vialli to Chelsea, then went on to work with the national teams of England, Italy, and Russia. His career had been extraordinarily illustrious.
That summer, Pintus had originally signed with Lyon. But after Real Madrid intervened, the Italian fitness guru changed his mind and joined Real Madrid instead. Real Madrid even sent Manuel Redondo to negotiate with Lyon president Aulas, paying a breach-of-contract fee before Pintus was finally able to come to Madrid.
Like Zidane, Pintus was bald. At first glance, he even somewhat resembled the bald referee Collina. He stood around