El Clasico, About to Explode (Seeking Collection, Seeking Recommendation)

Li Mingyu sat inside the team bus, gazing out the window.

A little girl, no more than five years old, sat on her father's shoulders, waving a red and blue Barca scarf with her tiny hands, cheering wildly at the passing bus.

Her father held his phone, filming the scene while singing the Barca anthem at the top of his lungs.

Surrounding them, Barca fans gathered like pilgrims beside the bus, pouring out their respect and expectations for the players inside.

Seeing Li Mingyu's excitement, Messi, sitting beside him, offered a faint smile.

They arrived at the away team's locker room.

Li Mingyu found the cramped, enclosed, and shabbily furnished away locker room rather amusing.

It seemed to have become an unwritten rule: no matter how great a club might be, its away locker room is always remarkably humble.

This is football.

The purest form of football.

A U-shaped bench, just like those at a bus stop, sat against the wall; players could stow their boots and gear underneath, with their jerseys laid out on top.

A row of coat hangers hung on the wall—the conditions were worse than a public bathhouse!

But what could you do? You were the visitors, after all!

Dressed in his training kit, Li Mingyu followed his teammates onto the pitch to get a feel for the surface.

It had rained earlier that morning, so the ground might be a bit slick.

Stepping into Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, Li Mingyu couldn't help but feel his heart race at the sight of the magnificent arena.

To represent Barcelona at Santiago Bernabeu Stadium and play against Real Madrid—what a dreamlike scenario.

This was the greatest hope in the heart of every Barca fan.

With a surge of excitement, Li Mingyu walked onto the pitch.

Messi was strolling about, dribbling the ball to find his rhythm.

Griezmann was also juggling the ball to warm up his body.

The Barca players were slowly warming up in their own half.

However, the pre-match cameras were almost entirely focused on the 19-year-old Chinese-heritage youngster, Li Mingyu.

Li Mingyu sprinted across the pitch with the ball, dashing from one end to the other; his astonishing speed drew gasps of amazement from the spectators.

Watching Li Mingyu fly across the field, Real Madrid fans couldn't help but recall the man who once dominated their ranks: Gareth Bale, a winger as swift as thunder and as fast as lightning.

However, Bale had been loaned back to Tottenham Hotspur last year.

Back at Tottenham Hotspur, Bale was in good form, recording 10 goals and 3 assists, and with Tottenham Hotspur currently sitting in seventh place, they still had a decent shot at securing a Champions League spot.

After two laps, Li Mingyu felt his body buzzing with energy, itching for the match to start immediately.

Because Dembele had shown disrespect to head coach Koeman in the previous match, Koeman hadn't gone soft; he had stripped Dembele of his starting position and, in front of everyone, warned him that if he didn't play according to his instructions, there would be no place for him in the squad for the remainder of the season.

Dembele was terrified—who has a grudge against money?

If he were truly suspended by the team, he wouldn't be playing, and his form would surely suffer. If Barca decided not to renew his contract, would he still be worth a high transfer fee?

Consequently, Dembele rushed to apologize to Koeman, promising to obey him.

Had this been Koeman eight matches ago, he wouldn't have had the confidence to speak so sternly to his star winger.

Success breeds courage; the exhilarating eight-game winning streak had straightened Koeman's spine, giving him the air of a top-tier manager.

After the warm-up, the Barca players returned to the away locker room in small groups.

The head coach didn't say much, as Barca had prepared thoroughly for this match throughout the week.

With a wave of his hand, Koeman declared, "Gentlemen, the eyes of the world are upon us. Defeat Real Madrid and bring those three points home!"

"We are Barca!"

"We are Barca!"

"We are Barca!"

The Barca players roared in unison, their morale reaching its peak.

Eight consecutive victories, all decisive, had left the players brimming with confidence.

In the first El Clasico of the first half of the season, Barca had hosted the match and lost to Real Madrid.

However, as the Barca squad looked at Li Mingyu, who was bouncing with excitement, they wore expressions of quiet assurance.

We have Li now; Real Madrid, you had better be careful!

Courtois, watch out—don't get shaken by our Li.

In the player tunnel, the players from both teams held the hands of the mascots, waiting to take the field.

Li Mingyu sized up the Real Madrid players.

Several Real Madrid players were also observing him with great intensity.

Valverde, Vazquez, Varane.

These three players were the defensive and offensive mainstays on the right flank for Real Madrid, and they were now facing the zone of Li Mingyu's attack.

Looking at Li Mingyu's somewhat slender frame, a hint of curiosity appeared on their faces.

The players entered the pitch.

Accompanied by the deafening roars of the home fans, the players from both sides stepped into the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium.

The moment they emerged from the player tunnel, it felt as if they had stepped into an entirely different world.

Fans in the stands on both sides were constantly roaring at the Barca players, not even concerned about frightening the young mascots.

The head referee took the lead, walking onto the pitch with the match ball in hand.

The players from both teams lined up in a single file.

Then, the players from both sides shook hands.

The players dispersed to their respective halves, leaving only the four referees and the two captains in the center.

FC Barcelona captain, Messi.

Real Madrid captain, Ramos.

These two men were also the players who had represented their respective teams in El Clasico the most times.

Including this match, Messi had reached 44 appearances, while Ramos had one more than Messi, at 45.

45 times was also the highest number of appearances by any player in the history of El Clasico.

As for Li Mingyu, this was his first time participating in El Clasico; after stepping onto the pitch, he felt his hands and feet trembling slightly.

This was not fear, but excitement; he could not wait to start sprinting across the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium.

After the coin toss concluded, the referees took their respective positions.

It was only then that the head coaches of both sides walked out of the player tunnel, chatting as they went.

Zidane, the current head coach of Real Madrid, was also a legendary player and coach for the club; his journey at Real Madrid could truly be called legendary.