Su Hang knew very well that his Ball Sense was poor.
The core purpose of youth football training is to weed out players who lack or have weak Ball Sense.
Only after that foundation is laid do coaches begin to cultivate elite skills—speed, finishing, passing, tactical awareness, and so on.
In theory, Ball Sense is the most basic threshold for any professional player.
All pros have good Ball Sense.
But then Messi came along—and raised that baseline into one of the game's highest ceilings.
Once again, it proved the saying: the most fundamental is also the most essential.
"Ding! After two matches, Henry has come to understand you more deeply. He's seen how much you contribute to both attack and defense—your goals and assists remind him of himself during the 2002–2003 season."
"You have obtained a Moment Card: Thierry Henry 2002!"
Whew!
As Su Hang finally read through the reward, excitement surged through him, his scalp tingling.
A Thierry Henry Moment Card!
In the 2001–2002 Premier League season, Henry scored 24 goals and provided 5 assists, leading Arsenal to the league title and claiming the Golden Boot.
In 2002–2003, he notched 24 goals and 20 assists—an incredible double-double—dominating Europe!
2002 was the peak of his career stats.
That meant Su Hang now held two Moment Cards:
One for Portuguese maestro Luís Figo 2000.
One for the King of Highbury, Thierry Henry 2002.
...
Thud!
Thud-thud!
Thud!
Watching Su Hang juggle on the training ground, the Real Madrid players were stunned.
"Ninety-eight, ninety-nine… one hundred!"
Clatter!
Everyone broke into applause.
It was like witnessing someone break a world record.
"He actually hit a hundred juggles? That's insane… for him!" Guti joked.
Beckham nodded. "If I remember right, at the start of the season he couldn't even get past thirty, could he?"
Baptista added, "I heard he couldn't even reach ten last season."
Roberto Carlos cut in, "Don't spread rumors… the under-ten streak was the season before last. After a summer of hard training last year, he could already manage eleven."
Hahaha!
The whole squad burst out laughing.
Is juggling a hundred times that hard?
For someone who can't juggle, even ten is brutally difficult.
But for those who can, once you control your rhythm, a hundred is no harder than ten—it's easy.
Su Hang, however, was one of those rare pros who just couldn't juggle.
Don't be fooled by players like Dembélé looking hopeless in their Barcelona signing ceremonies—those guys actually have top-tier Ball Sense. In good form, they could juggle a hundred times even wearing leather shoes.
Su Hang was a completely different case.
"His Ball Sense has improved," Figo muttered, finding it hard to believe. This had always been Su Hang's weakest link. Was he finally fixing it?
He's improving!
But who helped him turn the corner?
Himself?
Zidane?
Su Hang: Could it be Bergkamp?
"Su, if you can dominate La Liga without Ball Sense, imagine what you'll do across Europe once you master it!" Ramos teased from the side. "You owe us a big feast."
Su Hang grinned. "Eat, eat, eat—of course! Everyone's invited tonight. The bill's on me!"
And so, plans were made immediately.
Su Hang never hesitated to pick up the tab.
But it was mostly symbolic—no "afterparty" followed.
Everyone went home early.
Money spent, but not much satisfaction.
After all, once these guys really start celebrating, things can get wild.
It's bad for their bodies—and more importantly, they couldn't afford to completely relax at such a crucial stage.
Otherwise, they'd lose that razor's edge for the upcoming matches.
And that edge was exactly what Real Madrid needed as they chased titles on two fronts.
Sometimes, championships come down to just that final bit of drive.
...
April 30, La Liga Matchday 35.
Real Madrid's defensive midfielder García returned from injury.
The team beat Osasuna 2–0 to stay top of the table.
But Su Hang's performance that match was a disaster.
He was subbed off for Robinho in the 62nd minute.
After the match, the media published photos of Su Hang leading teammates out for dinner, questioning his professionalism.
Sport: "Hosting a team dinner during the title race? Su Hang shows a shocking lack of respect for La Liga!"
Mundo Deportivo: "Su Hang must've done more than just eat—how else to explain such a poor performance?"
Marca: "Su Hang's dip is understandable. This season he's among Real Madrid's top three for appearances. Last season, he was dead last! He's played too much and needs rest."
AS: "Su Hang is the only attacking starter for Real Madrid who hasn't missed a match through injury this season. But the workload is simply too heavy for someone his age and experience!"
Other than the Catalan press, no one really blamed him.
Fans weren't blind—everyone could see how much Su Hang had contributed this season.
But from a sports science perspective, Su Hang had clearly entered a fatigue phase.
...
May 4, La Liga Matchday 36.
Real Madrid crushed Santander 3–1.
Another seven-game winning streak.
Meanwhile, Barcelona slipped up and lost.
That meant if Real Madrid won their next match, they'd secure the La Liga title one round early, no matter what Barcelona did.
That would give them precious time to prepare for the Champions League.
But again, Su Hang's performance was dreadful.
This time, he was subbed off by Robinho in the 55th minute.
It turned out Su Hang wasn't just fatigued—
He was completely burned out.
By March and April, as fixtures pile up, pressure mounts, and the season reaches its climax, players often hit the wall—physical exhaustion.
When stamina runs low, movement becomes awkward, muscles lose their tight control, and injuries start creeping in.
Without proper muscular support, players become far more vulnerable.
This phase is what teams often call the "injury wave."
Su Hang had been the only forward at Real Madrid to avoid it.
His secret? Perfect physical management.
Under professional monitoring and with Luxemburgo's careful control of his minutes early in the season, Su Hang had kept himself in excellent condition.
But no one escapes nature.
Delaying fatigue doesn't mean avoiding it forever.
In truth, Su Hang's stamina was only average at best.
He was constantly involved in defending and often dropped deep, but that was because he rarely made forward sprints.
He played as a deep-lying forward.
And slow retreats cost far less energy than explosive runs.
Of course, this was Su Hang's personal issue—not Real Madrid's, nor football's as a whole.
The real problem for world football was that...
On that very same day, the Calciopoli scandal erupted in Italy!
The football world was shaken by its most terrifying earthquake in nearly thirty years!