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Platini and Blatter were indeed suspended, just as the timeline in the prophecy foretold.
Recently, whenever I scrolled through Twitter, Facebook, or Weibo, the entire football world was discussing this topic.
Lance became the one who fired the first shot, triggering a vigorous anti-corruption storm within FIFA and UEFA.
Of course, this had nothing to do with Lance; he merely brought back a Puskás Award.
The best goal of 2015 was scored in the Champions League group stage this season.
Atlético Madrid vs Benfica.
It was the second goal, where Lance, like a god descending, took on four opponents alone and scored a magnificent solo goal.
This goal fully showcased Lance's characteristics: his elegant and fluid style of play, nimble handling, and calm finishing.
This was also Lance's third consecutive year monopolising the Puskás Award, leaving everyone else speechless.
"Maybe they should just rename the award from now on."
"He's too much of a bug; how can anyone play without him being nerfed?"
"It's one thing that Lance's goals are spectacular, but he scores so many of them!"
"It's really hard to judge; objectively, his goals are indeed brilliant, but then no one else gets a chance to win the award."
The new FIFA President, Infantino, also joked about it at a recent press conference.
On camera, Infantino's bald head gleamed brightly, and he smiled happily:
"Honestly, we're really considering creating a separate award just for Lance, otherwise it's genuinely hard to judge."
"One can only say that Lance is the most special player in the world."
Infantino even quoted Mourinho's old line, "the special one"...
At the height of the FIFA buzz, Atlético Madrid quietly completed the second leg of their Copa del Rey Round of 16 match.
In the first leg, both teams drew 1-1.
In the second leg at the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium, Rayo Vallecano felt immense pressure.
In fact, Rayo Vallecano had already been thrashed by Lance in the league previously.
Once bitten, twice shy.
This time, they knew defending was useless, so they launched a frantic attack from the start.
When rivals meet, the brave prevail!
Then Atlético Madrid steamrolled them for the second time.
"Lance Shaaaaw—"
"Gooooooooal!!!"
"The messenger sent by God, shining at the Calderón! A world-class shot blasts open Rayo Vallecano's goal!"
"1-0—"
"OHHHHH— In less than 3 minutes!"
"2-0!!"
"It's Lance again!!"
"A perfect dribble and shot in the box, right into the top corner!"
"We thought missing out on the Ballon d'Or would hit him hard, but that's not Lance's creed! The more setbacks he faces, the angrier he gets! Believe me, amigos! You don't want to anger this Eastern lion!"
"Hat-trick—"
"Just as the second half began, Griezmann made a reverse pass from the left, and Lance surged in from behind to strike directly!"
"A simple, clean shot! Lance completes his first hat-trick in the Copa del Rey!"
It was over.
After only 60 minutes, Lance was substituted by Simeone for a rest.
It was just the Copa del Rey; there was no need for the ace player to play the full match.
Actually, Lance hadn't played enough yet.
The night after the Ballon d'Or ceremony, Lance found that he had accumulated 1600 silver coins, so he decided to do a 10-pull.
[Obtained item: Normal Red Bull - C x 10]
???
Was he getting Red Bull in bulk here?
Couldn't he just go to the supermarket to buy Red Bull?
Looking at the stack of canned Red Bull in his inventory, Lance was amused and annoyed by the system.
However, in another life on the other end of the prophetic dream, "Lance" was also very unlucky.
Playing a certain open-world anime-style game, he had pulled countless off-banner characters.
Lance knew that the word "lucky" had nothing to do with him.
Fortunately, the system retained a last shred of conscience.
Below the Silver Coin Wishing Pool, there was a small line of text:
[100% chance to draw an S-tier item after 68 Silver Coin Wishes]
Alright.
At least there was a guaranteed pull.
Currently, besides the A-tier item [Substitute Paper Figurine] which was quite useful, items like equipment expansion cards and Red Bull were almost never used.
There was only one S-tier item, [Protagonist Speaker - S], which Lance had not yet used.
Lance hadn't yet encountered a desperate situation requiring a life-or-death strike, so this S-tier item would remain a trump card for now.
Items that were one-time use, who knew if he could ever draw them again, so Lance conserved them whenever possible.
As for [Normal Red Bull], these could be stacked in the inventory and drunk as beverages.
Lance had no problem with playing two matches a week; if he was thirsty or tired, he could drink one.
It was just that Simeone, considering Lance's crucial role, didn't want him to be expended in meaningless matches.
After 60 minutes, enjoying the enthusiastic applause of the crowd, Lance sat on the bench watching his teammates finish the game.
Torres scored the final goal of the match in the 75th minute with a volley from inside the box.
Atlético Madrid defeated Rayo Vallecano 4-0, advancing to the next round with a 5-1 aggregate score.
In the Copa del Rey Round of 16, they might still encounter La Liga bottom-dwellers, or teams from Segunda or Tercera División.
Next up was the quarterfinals!
All top-half La Liga teams.
The intensity suddenly increased!
Now, whoever drew Real Madrid, Barcelona, or Atlético Madrid was unlucky.
The Spanish Football Federation was probably also working behind the scenes. To prevent the Copa del Rey from losing its excitement and suspense, it was impossible for the three giants to meet in the quarterfinals.
The earliest they could meet would be the semifinals.
Indeed, it was as Lance expected.
The draw results were out, and Atlético Madrid's opponent was the Bat Team, Valencia.
"Why? Are they trying to annoy us with the draw?!"
"The other two teams have such good draws?"
"It's unfair, if you ask me, not only FIFA needs to be investigated, but the Spanish Football Federation too."
"Keep your voice down! Don't discuss these things."
The Copa del Rey quarterfinal matchups were revealed:
Atlético Madrid vs Athletic Bilbao
Real Madrid vs Mirandés
Barcelona vs Las Palmas
Sevilla vs Valencia
Relatively speaking, Athletic Bilbao was the toughest opponent in the quarterfinals, and this Basque team had also climbed to 4th place in the league standings.
Becoming the top team in the second tier.
And Real Madrid and Barcelona, two giants, were playing against Segunda División teams; wasn't this bullying the honest ones!
"Stop discussing it."
As the changing room descended into chaos, Simeone spoke up to stop them.
He stared intently into everyone's eyes, scanning the room, and posed a soul-searching question.
"Are you... afraid?"
Huh?
Although Athletic Bilbao was strong, Atlético Madrid's players were generally not afraid.
Last time at Athletic Bilbao's home stadium, Atlético Madrid crushed this tough opponent with Lance's "Thunder Beast Descends."
Thinking about it, if they weren't even afraid of Real Madrid and Barcelona, what were other teams worth?
"Let me reiterate, our goal is always only to win the championship! I will not give up any title, and I hope you won't either! No matter what opponents you encounter on the way, crush them!"
Very good!
Lance clenched his fists and nodded.
This was one of the reasons he chose Atlético Madrid back then.
Regardless of how Atlético Madrid might decline years later, at least during the period from 2013-2017, Atlético Madrid, in terms of morale, fighting spirit, overall player level, changing room atmosphere, and manager, was the most suitable team for him.
They didn't have the glorious heritage of Real Madrid, nor the dominance in the league that teams like Barcelona, Bayern, Manchester United, Chelsea, or Manchester City possessed.
But this team had enough fighting spirit!
January 21st, Copa del Rey Quarterfinal First Leg: Athletic Bilbao vs Atlético Madrid
January 24th, La Liga Matchday 21: Atlético Madrid vs Sevilla
January 28th, Copa del Rey Quarterfinal Second Leg: Atlético Madrid vs Athletic Bilbao
January 30th, La Liga Matchday 22: Atlético Madrid vs Athletic Bilbao
In less than two weeks, four tough matches, three of which were against Athletic Bilbao.
Such an inhumane schedule would make even Real Madrid and Barcelona headaches for a week.
However, all of Atlético Madrid's players were already rolling up their sleeves and ready!
Just do it!