Chapter 123: The New Generation Replaces the Old—A New Era in Football Has Arrived
"Blaise, that was a great interception just now! Next time you win the ball back, don't hesitate to push forward a little more aggressively. Karim and the others will drop back immediately to support you.
Right now the chemistry's still a bit off, that's totally normal. If you really can't decide what to do, just look for Cristiano and send him a long pass—give it a little more lead if you have to."
Under the scorching summer sun on the training pitch, Matuidi was listening intently to Leon's advice, clutching a bottle of sports drink.
Communication between them was no issue—Leon was currently speaking fluent, albeit slow, French.
This had also become one of the main reasons why he and Matuidi had grown closer so quickly over the past few days.
Leon's ability to communicate in French wasn't due to diligence or studying.
It was because one of the golden item cards he'd drawn from his championship reward package was a "Five-Language Proficiency Capsule," worth 500 system points.
The capsule, a pair of golden-grade ankle-protection boots, and a bottle of intermediate stamina recovery potion with ten unlimited-use charges—that was the full item haul Leon had pulled.
The ankle boots? He loved them.
Anything that boosted injury resistance, Leon welcomed with open arms.
With the previously acquired reinforced shin guards plus these ankle-protecting boots, he had more than enough coverage to avoid most lower-body injuries—critical for any professional footballer.
The stamina potion? Classic utility. Not flashy, but always reliable.
But the language capsule? Leon had originally thought it was way overpriced and not worth it.
Redeeming it seemed like a waste of points.
Even now, he still kind of felt that way.
But since he'd already drawn it, selling it back to the system would only get him 200 points, and that felt like an even bigger loss.
So, after thinking it through, he just used it.
His five selected languages were: French, Arabic, German, Russian, and Italian.
He already knew Italian fairly well—at least conversationally.
He could've picked another new language, but… Portuguese wasn't necessary. He already spoke English.
As for Korean and Japanese?
"Yeah, no thanks. Not interested," Leon thought.
He chose Italian again just to further refine his accent.
So now, Matuidi was pleasantly surprised to find that, besides Benzema, there was another teammate he could speak fluent French with.
Leon's multilingualism quickly made headlines at the training ground again.
When teammates asked how he'd learned French so fast, he just brushed it off, crediting it to his aptitude for languages.
Fair enough—after all, he had previously learned Italian on his own.
Still, our dear Benzema felt betrayed.
"You learned French and didn't even ask me?
Now you're chatting in French with the new guy instead of me?
No love. No love at all."
Mourinho, on the other hand, was pleasantly surprised.
Since Leon and Matuidi were expected to partner frequently in midfield this season, the fact that they could communicate easily was a huge plus.
With Leon's guidance, Matuidi could more quickly integrate into the squad's tactical system.
The preseason training window was already quite short.
With the European Championship running for an entire month, many of Madrid's key players were still on extended leave.
But the season waits for no one.
After finishing their friendlies against Milan and Celtic, Madrid would immediately kick off La Liga.
Then the Spanish Super Cup and UEFA Super Cup would follow in quick succession.
So in order to buy the regular starters a little more rest, Mourinho would have to deploy a fully capable rotational lineup for La Liga's opening fixture.
Leon and Matuidi were already locked in as the starting double pivot.
With Xabi Alonso still on break, Leon's playmaking from deep would suffice.
As long as Matuidi could integrate quickly, Mourinho was quite pleased with this midfield pairing.
People always joked that Mourinho loved his "black and strong" midfielders.
But hey—those guys got the job done.
Matuidi might not have been a household name yet.
He hadn't made a name for himself with the French national team.
But his ability perfectly fit Mourinho's tactical mold.
He could cover ground, had incredible stamina, was excellent at breaking up play, and—most importantly—he was humble and willing to do the dirty work.
He wasn't especially tall, but that didn't matter—Leon could cover the aerial game.
Now standing at over 1.84 meters tall and weighing 82 kilograms, Leon had been steadily adding muscle.
His vertical leap and heading had improved too—he could make up for Matuidi's air-game weaknesses.
Add a fully-fit Essien to that?
This trio was rock solid. Even tougher than when Khedira was around.
Of course, Madrid's recent preseason friendlies hadn't provided a real test.
The opponents had been too weak to gauge how well this new midfield trio meshed.
Luckily, Milan were up next.
On the evening of August 8th, Real Madrid hosted AC Milan at the Santiago Bernabéu for a preseason friendly.
Before the match, the interactions between the players and coaches of both sides were genuinely warm and friendly.
Kaká had just returned to Milan after winning a treble with Real Madrid, completing what many considered a perfect storybook ending to his time in Spain.
Even the Milan fans had softened their attitudes toward Real Madrid, with past irritation and even occasional hostility now dissipated.
Of course, if Real Madrid were willing to loan Leon back to Milan for a season or two, the Rossoneri faithful would be even happier.
Unfortunately, that wasn't going to happen.
As Mourinho's trusted lieutenant and one of Real Madrid's key midfielders, there was no way the club would loan Leon out again so easily.
So, while Milan fans watched Leon warmly embrace Kaká, his former Milan teammates, and even manager Allegri, they could only sigh softly.
The friendly match itself was fairly cordial—while the intensity of the duels was high, there were no malicious fouls or dirty plays. It was physical but respectful.
Even with a slightly toned-down defensive effort, Real Madrid's new midfield trio—Leon, Matuidi, and Essien—gave Milan's veterans quite a headache.
Leon didn't even need to intervene much—Matuidi and Essien's relentless pressing was enough to break up most of Milan's attempts to build through the middle.
Real Madrid fans were loving what they saw.
But up in the luxury box, Florentino Pérez wore a slightly forced smile.
All these years of building his Galácticos 2.0 project—and now it seemed like the team was slowly transforming from a constellation of stylish superstars into a squad of fearsome, muscle-bound warriors.
The friendly's tactical results were obvious, and Florentino, being a football man, could certainly appreciate how well Mourinho's setup stabilized the team's results.
But come on... Matuidi and Essien?
Great for results—terrible for marketing.
In the end, it was Leon's handsome, cheerful face that comforted the president's heart just a bit. "At least we still have some poster boys," he probably thought.
Mourinho, meanwhile, had no idea about the president's turmoil. He was all smiles, chatting and laughing with Karanka on the bench throughout the match.
The final score of the friendly was 4-2, with Cristiano Ronaldo coming off the bench to score a brace in the second half, while Higuaín and Callejón also found the net.
After the earlier loss to Benfica, Real Madrid had now strung together three consecutive wins in their preseason friendlies.
On August 12th, in the final friendly against Celtic, Mourinho gave nearly every first-team player some minutes to shake off rust and build match sharpness.
At this point, the coaching staff wasn't too worried about match fitness.
Most of the core squad had played deep into the Euros.
Leon, the beast, had even done an extra month of summer training on his own.
Right now, if Mourinho wanted to roll out the full starting XI against Barcelona, he had full confidence they'd win.
But for long-term strategy, he opted for caution.
With the Spanish Super Cup and UEFA Super Cup on the horizon, giving the starters a bit more rest was the smart move.
After a final week of tactical prep, Mourinho threw up a smokescreen at his pre-match press conference ahead of La Liga's opening match.
Real Madrid were set to face Valencia, last season's third-place team—a formidable opponent for the opening fixture.
Unai Emery said in his press conference that his side would give it their all to earn a result at the Bernabéu.
You could still tell—he hadn't forgotten last season's two defeats to Mourinho. He was out for redemption.
When he saw Madrid's announced 18-man squad, Emery had to think long and hard about how to adjust his tactics.
With names like Cristiano Ronaldo, Benzema, Di María, and Alonso on the list, Emery believed he'd be facing a full-strength Madrid.
He planned accordingly: don't press too high, don't rush—play a deep 4-2-3-1 and look for counter-attacks.
Going head-to-head offensively with a Madrid side that scored over 130 goals last season was pure suicide.
But on the night of August 19th, when the match kicked off... Emery was stunned.
There was no full-strength Madrid.
Cristiano and the others were laughing and chatting on the bench.
On the pitch? All the players Emery had assumed were second-stringers.
And yet, those so-called backups quickly seized the upper hand against Valencia in midfield duels and ball control.
From the opening whistle, Leon stood out with his commanding presence.
His ability to orchestrate play, distribute short and long passes—it had all visibly improved since last season.
You could see it with your own eyes.
La Liga commentators across multiple countries couldn't help but remark:
"Leon is becoming more and more complete."
But of course, that was before a lightning-fast Valencia counter-attack.
Leon and the recovering Matuidi stepped in with a fierce, perfectly timed tackle to stop Guardado in his tracks.
Now that felt right.
As Leon stood up with grass stains still on his face, he turned and barked at his teammates to stay sharp defensively.
Versatility may be his future,
but solid defending has always been his foundation.
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