However, because Real Madrid were in Pot 2,
a Group of Death was theoretically possible.
England legend and former Barcelona player Lineker was a guest at this UEFA Champions League draw.
After the Pot 1 teams had each been drawn into a group,
Li Yufei noticed that the people around him were silently praying.
"Please don't draw Real Madrid. Please don't draw Real Madrid."
Watching Wilshere and the others pray to God,
Li Yufei was speechless.
It was only Real Madrid. They'd been knocked out in the Round of 16 five years in a row. What was there to be afraid of?
Li Yufei knew that Mourinho was Real Madrid's manager this season, and that his side was a different beast altogether.
But it wasn't as if they were all that strong.
At least, as Li Yufei remembered it, Mourinho had only won the King's Cup in his first year at Real Madrid.
In both the league and the Champions League, they'd been thoroughly outclassed by their bitter rivals Barcelona.
A team like that was nothing to worry about!
Even if Arsenal drew Real Madrid, Li Yufei was confident they'd win!
If he couldn't feel confident against a Real Madrid side without the famed trio in midfield,
he might as well go home and live off his parents—and his girlfriend!
What was the point of playing football?
Perhaps Heaven had heard Wilshere and the others' prayers.
Real Madrid weren't drawn into Arsenal's group.
In the Pot 2 draw, Real Madrid were the second team picked, landing in the same group as AC Milan.
When the result came up, Li Yufei could clearly sense Wilshere and the others letting out a huge sigh of relief.
"Thank goodness. We got lucky this time. We didn't draw Real Madrid."
Hearing his teammates lose their nerve before the match had even begun, Li Yufei couldn't take it anymore. He said bluntly:
"What's the big deal? It's only Real Madrid."
"What's there to fear from a team that's been stuck in the Round of 16 for years?"
"If we'd drawn Barcelona, then worrying would've made sense."
"But what's there to worry about with Real Madrid?"
"Even if we had drawn them, I'd just beat them to a pulp!"
Wilshere and the others fell silent at Li Yufei's words.
This...
Whether you liked it or not, that was the same old Li Yufei.
Arrogant as ever, looking down on everyone, brimming with confidence.
Fabregas wanted to say something, but didn't know how to begin.
To him, Li Yufei was the kind of child who'd been spoiled rotten since he was young.
He'd never faced any real setbacks, so of course he'd grown up conceited, acting as if he could take on the whole world.
Anyone who followed football knew just how strong Real Madrid's squad was these days.
Fabregas couldn't understand how Li Yufei could say something so outrageously overconfident.
Did he really have no respect for the Galácticos' second generation, assembled by Florentino's lavish spending?
As if he'd seen what Fabregas was thinking, Li Yufei added:
"I know you're going to say Real Madrid bought all these amazing players."
"But does that actually help?"
"Did the stars from the first Galácticos bring Real Madrid any real results?"
"Ronaldo, Zidane, Raul, Figo, David Beckham, Van Nistelrooy, Owen, Carlos..."
"Every one of them was a household name. So what did they achieve?"
"Did they ever win anything worth talking about together?"
"No. In all his years at Real Madrid, Ronaldo won just one La Liga title."
"Zidane joined relatively early. He only managed to win a Champions League because the Galácticos hadn't been fully assembled yet."
"Tell me, does this Real Madrid look stronger on paper, or did the one Ronaldo played for?"
"Who do you think is more famous: Cristiano, Benzema, Kaka, and Di Maria,
"or Ronaldo, Zidane, Figo, Owen, and David Beckham?"
"Even people who don't watch football know the second group are far more famous than the first."
"So if the Real Madrid side with the bigger names and stronger squad on paper won nothing,
"what's there to fear from the current side, with less famous players and a weaker squad on paper?"
It had to be said, after Li Yufei's little piece of sophistry, he really did manage to fool Wilshere, Fabregas, and the others.
They realized they couldn't actually argue against him!
At least, taken at face value, everything Li Yufei said seemed perfectly reasonable.
Which Real Madrid sounded more intimidating: the first Galácticos or the current side?
Of course, the one with Ronaldo and Zidane!
That Real Madrid had Ronaldo, Zidane, Figo, and Owen—all four Ballon d'Or winners—on the same team.
And if you counted Cannavaro, who joined later, that made five!
And the current Real Madrid?
They only had Cristiano and Kaka.
Two was less than four. Nothing wrong with that logic, right?
Without looking too closely, you really could arrive at that conclusion.
But Li Yufei knew full well that the current Real Madrid were far more dangerous in practice than the first Galácticos.
Back then, Real Madrid had followed the policy of "buy the expensive players, not the right ones" to the letter.
They'd even let Makelele, their only midfield enforcer, leave.
The result was a top-heavy team with no defensive ability whatsoever.
Any team with a halfway decent attack could tear them apart.
That was why that Real Madrid side had achieved so little in the Champions League over the years.
Because in a cup competition like the Champions League, defense was what won you the title.
The new Galácticos, now led by Mourinho, were absolutely not to be underestimated defensively!
Their manager was Mourinho, a champion coach who'd taken defending to the extreme.
Why had Inter Milan managed to beat Dream Team Barcelona and win the Champions League last season?
Because their defense had been rock-solid!
Barcelona's possession-and-control tactics hadn't worked against Inter Milan.
So Inter won. It was that simple...
Before you continue