This Is Calderon's Gift to Him

The plane landed.

The cabin filled with the sounds of seat belts being unfastened. The players began gathering their carry-on belongings and putting on their coats.

Klopp rose from the front row and walked to the middle of the aisle, looking at everyone.

"All right, lads." Klopp clapped his hands. "We're in Madrid."

"For the next forty-eight hours, put your phones on silent, stay off social media, and focus all your attention on one thing: the match ahead.

"This is Atletico Madrid's territory. Not only is this their final UEFA Champions League home match of the season, it's also the last UEFA Champions League match at Calderon Stadium.

"So they'll do everything they can to stop us."

He paused, his gaze passing over Chen Anno without lingering on him.

"Remember this: we didn't come here to sightsee. We came here to win!"

"Roar...!" The players let out a unified shout.

The coach left the airport and headed east along the M-30 ring road.

Chen Anno was still sitting by the window, watching the streets flash past outside.

He saw the Nike flagship store on Gran Via and the enormous poster at its entrance.

One half was red stripes, the other solid red.

His face had been split down the middle. On the left, he wore an Atletico Madrid shirt; on the right, a Liverpool shirt.

Chen Anno watched it for a long time. Only when the coach turned a corner did he look away, lean back in his seat, and close his eyes to rest.

At the same time, Simeone sat in his modest office at Majadahonda Training Base.

The training ground lay right outside the window. The players had long since left, and the pitch glowed with soft shades of red and green beneath the setting sun.

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