November 5, Bernabéu Stadium, Madrid, Spain.
In the twelfth round of La Liga, Real Madrid hosted Osasuna in a highly anticipated clash.
To better cater to Asian fans and promote La Liga in Asia, the Spanish Professional Football League had designated an Asian time slot this season—matches played at precisely noon.
That was exactly 6:00 p.m. Beijing time, making it highly suitable for fans across Asia to watch the game.
In the previous eleven rounds, matches had all been scheduled during the Asian time slot, but they had never caused much of a stir because they were usually less appealing fixtures. This time, however, Real Madrid's clash with Osasuna had received tremendous attention from Asian fans, and both the Spanish Football Association and the league had made it a major promotional focus.
It could even be said that they were promoting this match in Asia with almost the same intensity as El Clásico. They had indeed achieved the desired effect, because Real Madrid had a world-class superstar with tremendous popularity in Asia: Chinese player Yang Yang.
After this match, Yang Yang would return to China to take part in the World Cup qualifiers. They were crucial matches for the China National Team. If they won, China Team would advance to the Top Ten Tournament. As a result, the entire country was paying close attention to this game, while the Football Association and National Team Head Coach Queiroz were closely monitoring Yang Yang's condition.
Fans across the country all understood that the National Team's hopes rested on Yang Yang, and that his form was of vital importance.
Before the match, Real Madrid's players came out wearing specially made T-shirts bearing the slogan, "Best wishes to Cassano." The former Real Madrid player was suffering from serious heart problems, so Real Madrid's official