After returning home with the European Super Cup trophy, Parotti gave the team three days off.
Then we regrouped on August 15th and started preparing for the new season.
At the same time, they ushered in their last warm-up match on August 18, playing a warm-up match against the Phoenicians, who were relegated from La Liga to La Liga B last season.
Parotti used completely different lineups and personnel configurations in the first and second half of this game, and it was clear that he was still experimenting with tactics.
But the effect is not good.
Hu Lai came on as a substitute in the second half of the game and failed to score.
Madrid Pirates were held to a 1:1 draw by the Phoenicians away from home.
After playing the last warm-up match before the start of the new season, it's time for the official game.
In the first round of the league this season, Madrid Pirates, as the defending champion, will face newly promoted Canaria at home.
This game is not what everyone is most concerned about, or to be more precise, it is not what Chinese fans are most concerned about.
What they are concerned about is what happens after this game - on August 28, UEFA will hold an awards ceremony for various honors in the 2028-2029 season, and at the same time, the new season Champions League and Europa League group stage draw ceremonies will be held.
This time Hulay has to go to Frankfurt, Germany, which is the venue for the Champions League awards ceremony and draw ceremony.
Whether he can win the European Ballon d'Or will also be revealed here.
However, judging from the public reaction before the game, most people were optimistic that he would win.
The odds offered by various European bookmakers for Hulay to win the Ballon d'Or illustrate this point.
※※※
"Of course I am optimistic that Hu will win the Ballon d'Or. But if you want to win a big sum, of course you can only bet on Melli. After all, his odds are not good. If he wins, it will be an upset.
But...it's more likely that the whole thing will be paid for."
In the rest area of the Truckers' Home, Neil Mullin analyzed it for his colleagues.
Since he became rich overnight by betting on Hu Lai and Leeds City, and helped Andy Warman win a lot of money, he has become a "legend" among truck drivers.
"So if you don't want to lose money, then bet on Hu, and you will definitely win. But you will win less. If you want to take a gamble, bet on Meili."
"What about you, Neil, who are you taking?" someone asked loudly.
"Me? I'm not betting on anyone. Whether it's Hu or Meili, it has nothing to do with me." Mullin said.
"I remember, you only care about Leeds City, ha!"
"Yes, I only care about Leeds City."
Someone suddenly remembered and asked: "Hey, Neil. In the past two months when everyone was rumoring that Hu might return to Leeds City, did you buy it?"
"I bought it." Mullin nodded. "I bought him to go back to Leeds City."
"But you know he's not going back to Leeds, right?"
"Yes. I know."
"Then you still buy it?"
"Express my attitude. Of course he will never come back."
There was a sigh from the crowd: "Ah..."
Andy Warman stood up and said: "As a Tramed fan, I have to say something for the other eighteen teams - Hu should just stay in Spain and never come back!"
There was a burst of laughter in the room.
Neil Mullin also laughed, and he didn't care about Warman's statement.
Even if Hu Lai never comes back, that memory will not disappear.
※※※
On August 25, Saturday, the 2029-2030 La Liga season finally kicked off.
Madrid Pirates host newly promoted Canaria.
This team was promoted through the play-offs as fourth in the Spanish Second Division.
The defending champion plays a newly promoted team at home, so it should be easy.
There is no suspense about victory or defeat, the only suspense is how many goals you win.
However, the performance of Madrid Pirates was very average, as if they continued their unstable state in the pre-season warm-up games.
In the end, the suspense was revealed, and the Madrid Pirates only narrowly defeated their opponents by one goal.
What makes Chinese fans happy is that even if the overall performance of the team is poor, Hu Lai did not lose his performance.
The only goal in the whole game was scored by him. This is the 35th consecutive league game in which he has scored.
At the critical moment when the European Ballon d'Or is about to be announced, every goal is crucial.
But in fact, Chinese fans are overly worried.
The voting process for the European Ballon d'Or has ended.
Strictly speaking, the results have already come out at this time, but they have not been announced.
So now, let alone Hu Lai scoring one goal, even if he scores ten goals, I'm afraid it won't affect the final result.
In addition, theoretically speaking, the European Ballon d'Or is a reward based on the performance of players in the previous season, and it is already a new season, so no matter how good the performance in the new season is, it cannot affect the result of the Ballon d'Or.
This is different from the World Footballer selection.
The European Ballon d'Or measures a player's performance in the previous season, while the World Footballer of the Year examines a player's performance in a calendar year.
Only the performance of the candidate players in the new season will be taken into account in the World Footballer of the Year selection.
Different from the struggling performance of Madrid Pirates, the other two direct competitors not only won the first round of the league, but also won relatively easily.
Catalan United defeated the tough Sporting Vizcaya 3:0 in an away game.
The Kings of Madrid defeated last season's Segunda División runner-up Atlético Oviedo 4:0 in an away game.
After the first round, Kings Madrid, with a four-goal difference, ranked first, and Catalonia United, with a three-goal difference, ranked second.
Defending champion?
Ranked sixth.
Even Saria is ranked higher than them - Zhang Qinghuan led Saria to defeat Getafe 1:0 at home in the first round of the league with 1326. They have the same points as Madrid Pirates, the same number of goals, and the same goal difference, but their ranking is different.
That's one place higher than Pirates of Madrid.
Hey, are you angry?
※※※
"It was said before that if you leave the Madrid Pirates, you won't even be able to participate in the World Cup. Now look at the performance of the Pirates, can you say that they can't play without you? So in fact, who can't do without whom?"
In a restaurant, agent Jim Castian raised a glass to Carey and smiled.
Carey shook his head: "But unfortunately, that's not the case, Jim. Without me, their strength will of course be lost. But I don't think it will be too different. At most, it was easy to win games before, but not so much now."
It’s easy. And what can the performance at the beginning of the season mean? We were tied by Valero in the first round of the league last season.”
"Uh..." Castian thought of the "Triple Crown" that Madrid Pirates finally won last season.
Performance in the first round of the league really has little to do with the final outcome of the season.
At the beginning of the league, Madrid Pirates encountered a more serious crisis, and faced greater doubts and pressure.
But the final result is still good.
After Madrid Pirates won the "Treble", no one mentioned the team's poor performance at the beginning of last season.
"Right now, I have more important things to do than caring about the Pirates. The league has already started three rounds, but I haven't produced a decisive performance yet. The Premier League is indeed different from what I originally thought."
While Madrid Pirates are struggling, Maxi Carey is also struggling to adapt to the Premier League.
He started all three rounds of the league, but only contributed one assist.
Castian comforted him: "I can't blame you. Maxi. Leeds City's forward's ability to seize opportunities is still a bit poor, not as good as Hu..."
Kaili shook his head: "Doesn't that mean that if I leave Hu, I can't do anything?"
Castian was speechless.
"And it's not just the statistics that look bad." Kyrie continued, "From a scene perspective, I'm not as good at playing as I was with Madrid Pirates. The Premier League and La Liga are different in terms of game rhythm and physical confrontation. But sooner or later I can
I will find my rhythm. I am 'max', and since I can conquer La Liga, I can definitely conquer the Premier League. Tony still trusts me, and I can't live up to his trust."
"Yes, you can." Castian agreed.
But he still had some regrets in his heart - it would be great if Maxi didn't leave the pirates...
But with Maxi’s character, how could he not leave?
No solution.
It's almost like a couple who broke up and are trying to adapt to a new life without each other...
It's hard to say whether everyone will be fine in the end, or whether someone will become the resentful and angry party.
※※※
"Have you brought everything? Is there anything you forgot to bring?"
Hu Lai stood at the door and turned to ask Li Qingqing who was outside by the car.
"You've asked me three times." Li Qingqing was helpless.
"Oh, I always feel like I forget something every time I go out..."
"I've brought everything. We're just going to stay for one night, so we don't need to bring too many things."
"Okay, let's go!"
Hu Lai closed the door and turned around to leave.
In the camera lens facing the door in the entrance hall, the door that was originally closed was opened again. Hu Lai waved to the camera: "I know I forgot something. Photographer! We forgot the photographer!"
There was a burst of laughter behind him.
The lens started to shake, and it was obvious that the photographer had lifted it up with the tripod and taken it out.
After the photographer came out of the house, Hu Lai locked the door again.
"This time we really set off!"
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