Defeating AC Milan in the first round of the Champions League group stage gave Real Madrid a huge morale boost.
Although there were some hiccups during the match, timely adjustments allowed them to secure the win.
To Real Madrid's players, this season's team has indeed been a bit unstable.
But this "instability" isn't due to weakness, rather, it's a sign of constant growth and progress.
Everyone has new ideas, and as these ideas continue to clash and merge, the overall fighting strength improves.
And when everything finally blends together, that's when Real Madrid will truly explode in performance.
After arriving at Madrid's airport, the players took a bus back to the club.
"Anyone want pasta?"
Srna walked from the back of the bus with a plate of pasta in his hands.
Real Madrid's team bus is basically a luxury tour bus, equipped with food and drinks so players can eat after a grueling match.
Since they can't eat enough before matches, they usually feel quite hungry afterwards.
"Give me some!"
Suker immediately raised his hand.
Srna quickly handed him a portion of pasta.
It wasn't a lot, but had plenty of sauce—Srna knew Suker preferred strong flavors.
While others used forks, Suker directly scooped the sauce with a spoon.
Just then, Marcelo suddenly exclaimed, "Inter Milan lost!"
Everyone turned to look.
Marcelo held up his phone in shock: "Tottenham 3:1 Inter Milan. Apparently Maicon got torched!"
"Maicon got torched?"
Srna looked stunned.
As a former teammate, he knew how strong Maicon was.
Only someone like Suker could overpower Maicon—others would struggle.
Everyone crowded around.
"Who did it?"
"What happened?"
Suker kept slurping his noodles—he didn't need to look. Most likely, it was "The Great Saint" Bale.
Srna looked at the phone.
Despite the poor resolution and blurry image, they could still vaguely see a player in Tottenham's white home kit relentlessly charging down the flank.
Maicon, once a dominant full-back, looked disheveled trying to chase him down—yet he couldn't catch up.
"So fast!"
"This guy is lightning fast!"
Gareth Bale, nicknamed "The Great Saint" for his monkey-like appearance, is a Welsh player who joined Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur in the 2007/2008 season.
At that time, Tottenham's home ground White Hart Lane was still jokingly called "Ferguson's three-point lane."
In the original timeline, Bale's breakout season came in 2011/2012, when Modrić was leaving and the team started focusing tactically on Bale.
Now, however, Modrić stayed at Manchester United, allowing Bale's rise to come earlier.
Tottenham manager Redknapp had been conducting a bold experiment—trying to mold Bale into a monster like Suker. After several seasons of training, and with van der Vaart's arrival in 2010/2011, Spurs' lineup became even stronger.
And the Welsh star finally exploded.
Slurp~Suker took another bite of noodles and tilted his head.
His teammates were shocked because Inter were the defending Champions League winners.
But Suker knew just how unreliable Benítez's Inter side was—and how many players he'd dragged down.
In this match, Maicon was completely wrecked by Bale.
And the impact would be huge.
If Suker had done it, it wouldn't have mattered—his reputation justifies it.
But Tottenham isn't Real Madrid.
And Bale isn't Suker!
Being dominated by a debutant in the Champions League could seriously damage Maicon's reputation.
Sure enough, the European media erupted with talk about Maicon and Bale.
For a newcomer, the best performance on the UCL stage is to outplay your opposite number.
But Bale didn't just outplay—he dominated.
This match made Bale a star and knocked Maicon off his pedestal. His market value plummeted, and waves of criticism followed.
That's the price of being a football star.
Same applies to Suker.
If he ever gets dominated, the consequences would be even worse.
Originally, there was training on Monday, but because of the two matches a week schedule, Mourinho gave the players a day off to rest and recover.
The season is long—balancing work and rest is the way to go.
Suddenly given a day off, Suker found himself with nothing to do.
He lay in his yard, sunbathing lazily.
But soon, Kaká and Srna barged in.
"Not cooking today?"
"We're hungry!"
Suker took off his sunglasses and cursed, "What do you think this is, a restaurant?"
"Hey, we're not asking for free work!" Srna laughed, walking out and soon returning with bags of ingredients.
Suker glanced over—it was all food.
"We brought ingredients! We always freeload, so we felt bad!"
Srna smiled, but his face didn't show a hint of guilt.
He clearly just wanted more free meals.
Suker rolled his eyes and stood up.
"What do you want to eat?"
"Barbecue!"
"Hotpot!"
Srna and Kaká shouted at the same time.
Then Srna turned: "What's hotpot?"
"Something delicious!" Kaká nodded seriously.
Srna turned back: "Hotpot!"
Suker shook his head and went inside to prep the ingredients.
"Should we call Ángel?" Srna asked.
Kaká added, "Then let's call Karim too."
Suker watched them making phone calls.
Soon, a meal for three became five.
And when the hotpot was almost ready, Ramos, Marcelo, and Pepe showed up with grinning faces.
"We heard there's good food!"
"Hotpot? What's that? First time I've heard of it."
Kaká nodded again: "Delicious!"
Five became eight. Suker had no choice but to start slicing more lamb and beef.
Footballers eat a lot, so he had to prepare more.
Soon, they began the hotpot feast.
At first, everyone chatted animatedly—but then, the magic of hotpot took over, and they all focused on eating silently.
After the meal, they leaned back, patting their stomachs and praising life.
"So good!"
Marcelo looked blissful.
Even Ramos, who usually watched his weight, had eaten a lot.
Pepe, unsurprisingly, was a big meat-eater.
Suker brought out chilled sour plum juice to cut through the grease and cool them down.
"In the last match, Diarra didn't play well," Ramos said, glancing at Suker. "But Mourinho's punishment seemed too harsh."
Mourinho had benched Diarra for four games.
"He got off easy. If this was Inter Milan, repeated mistakes would've seen him demoted to the B team."
Srna grinned, "That's the real killer."
"Diarra's performance was problematic," Kaká frowned. "I'm not against him dribbling, but doing it in that dangerous area? Losing the ball was mostly his fault. If you mess up, you need to own it."
Hearing this, Ramos fell silent.
Suker also glanced at Ramos.
Diarra had close ties with the Spanish players.
Ramos was probably testing the waters.
Because after Diarra was benched, Di María rose to the starting XI.
And Di María was close to Suker, so even if they wanted to plead with Mourinho, they'd have to consider Suker's stance.
If Suker let his "little brother" lose his spot due to their lobbying, he'd lose all credibility as a leader.
That's why Suker didn't say a word the whole time—he let Srna and Kaká speak on his behalf.
Di María felt a bit uneasy, but didn't say anything.
After a while, Suker said, "Let them compete fairly. Whoever plays better, gets the spot."
Hearing this, Ramos sighed.
Diarra's starting spot would be hard to regain.
Soon after, Ramos and Marcelo left.
Pepe stayed behind.
Suker looked at him.
"Whose side are you on?"
Pepe blinked, "What side? I'm Real Madrid's!"
Suker grinned.
This guy may lose his temper easily, but he's not dumb.
Pepe was in a tricky spot.
He had a good working relationship with Ramos and the defenders.
But Suker had once spoken up for him, so he was also on Suker's side.
Now Mourinho, a fellow Portuguese, had been throwing him olive branches—but Pepe kept playing dumb to avoid getting involved.
"You guys can talk, I won't say a word," Pepe smiled, pointing outside. "Want me to walk your dog while I'm at it?"
Suker rolled his eyes.
"Forget it!"
Then he turned to Di María: "Don't be afraid. Compete. I can't help you with everything—but if you earn it, it's yours. No one can take it with politics."
Suker had made things clear. Di María finally relaxed.
"Thanks," Di María said seriously.
In a top club, relationships are everything—aligning with the right people is crucial.
And Suker's words told Di María he'd picked the right person.
Srna nudged Suker with his shoulder and laughed, "That was pretty boss of you."
Suker chuckled, "I can be even more boss!"
"Like what?"
Srna blinked.
Suker suddenly shouted, "Why are you all just sitting around? Nobody's doing the dishes? You want me to do everything? Get off your asses and wash those dishes!"
Later that evening, Casillas met with Ramos and others. Diarra was also there, looking uneasy.
Ramos sighed, "Suker said—fair competition."
Casillas shook his head.
They had hoped Suker would compromise a little. He did, but it was hardly a concession.
"You'll be a sub for now," Casillas told Diarra.
Diarra frowned, "Really competing with that Argentine?"
"No confidence?" Casillas narrowed his eyes. "I can help—but only if you play well."
"If you don't do anything right, how can I help you?"
Casillas said seriously, "If you want your spot back, prove you're better than Di María. Only then can I vouch for you. Otherwise, why would I ask Suker to give up that spot?"
Diarra frowned, "But I'm not competing with Suker—it's Di María!"
Casillas sneered, "You think Di María's the key? If it were just him, I could get your spot back in a snap! But it's not—Suker is the key!"
Di María had no real status in the locker room, no voice.
But Suker was the leader of one of the two main factions.
Without convincing Suker, there was no way to reclaim a starting spot.
And since it was Diarra's own fault for losing the position, Casillas had already gone as far as he could by pleading for him.
To Casillas, Diarra wasn't that important.
Maintaining locker room harmony was what mattered most.
Right now, Real Madrid was on the rise. As captain, Casillas didn't want to see internal conflict.
That required a good relationship with Suker.
So they always kept things cordial.
Bottom line: Diarra wasn't worth a fallout with Suker.
After Diarra left, Casillas and Ramos stayed.
"This feels weird," Ramos muttered, unable to pinpoint it.
Casillas waved his hand, "Let's just leave it for now. We can't fight Suker—not for Diarra."
The locker room dynamics at a top club are incredibly complex.
Besides performance, starter status involves competition in relationships, alliances, and factions.
Diarra lost his starting role.
Di María claimed it.
Suker sat on the villa couch, stroking his chin.
Mourinho was stirring things up.
A united locker room isn't what he wants to see.
Especially when he isn't the center of that unity.
Mourinho has a huge need for control.
Real Madrid's two factions were getting along too well.
So he started playing little tricks to create division. At the very least, he couldn't allow them to be "too close." Otherwise, he'd have no say.
From Mourinho's perspective, this was the right move.
And with just one personnel change, he set the locker room into chaos.
In the original timeline, Mourinho used the divide between the Portuguese and Spanish factions to consolidate power.
Now, lacking such a natural divide, he's fabricating conflict.
Sigh~~~Suker exhaled.
Tactically, Mourinho is a top coach.
But his need for control is problematic.
He wants to be Real Madrid's version of Sir Alex Ferguson.
But neither Casillas, Suker, nor Florentino are willing to give up their power.
It's a headache.
Choosing Mourinho had been a last resort.
Suker still felt Ancelotti was the better fit.
But the fat Italian had thrown himself into the Premier League, steering a tiny boat through rough seas, refusing to stop even when it was sinking.
Suker didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
Why ignore the galácticos and keep drifting around?
Still, Mourinho's arrival wasn't all bad—he was a master of defense.
At least, he could help build a world-class back line.
As for the infamous "Mourinho Year Two Curse"?
Screw that!
Real Madrid doesn't do second-year curses!
They'll crush everything from year one!
On Tuesday, Real Madrid returned to training.
As soon as Suker arrived in the locker room, Casillas approached him.
"I heard you guys had a hotpot party yesterday? I couldn't make it—but next time, I want in!"
Casillas was clearly trying to maintain a good relationship, even bringing up the hotpot to bond.
Suker smiled and nodded, "No problem—next time, I'll make it extra spicy!"
Let's see if you can handle that!
The matter of the starter-substitute switch, based on the delicate balance of the three main factions, had now been resolved.
Those "four matches as a sub"—it was just talk.
As long as Di María didn't mess up, Suker would keep him in the starting XI.
Out on the field, Real Madrid resumed warm-up training.
Everything looked normal. The two main groups still got along well.
Mourinho stood on the sidelines, watching, a faint smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.
Faria looked at him, frowning: "Is this really necessary?"
He knew Mourinho's personality well and suspected this locker room conflict was intentional.
Mourinho turned: "Whether a locker room is stable depends on centralized power. The head coach must be the core. The so-called 'star effect' must be contained."
"But if this continues, I'm afraid it'll create bigger conflicts."
"Relax. I'll manage the balance. I won't let the two groups fall out completely—but they also can't be too close."
Mourinho said firmly, clenching his fist: "I didn't come to Real Madrid to be a transitional coach!"
Sigh…Faria sighed helplessly.
He felt Mourinho might be pushing too hard.
None of them had coached a truly top-level club before. These were all Mourinho's ideas.
But… was this really the right path?
He couldn't be sure.
At the same time, Faria couldn't help but be amazed at how tangled the politics were in a top club locker room.
What began as a simple question of who starts—Diarra or Di María—ended up dragging in Suker and Casillas.
Luckily, they seemed to have aligned in thought, preventing open conflict.