As the saying goes, gold will shine sooner or later.
After his glorious stint in the Premier League, Reyes finally enjoyed a second spring following long stretches of obscurity with both the national team and Real Madrid.
His popularity skyrocketed, his name quickly heating up among Real Madrid fans.
He even carried a bit of that same explosive energy Su Hang had back when he burst onto the scene in the Copa del Rey.
The difference was that Reyes had started from a much higher point. If he simply kept up this level for half a season, he'd be considered a top-tier star.
He wouldn't have to "settle in" for two or three years like Su Hang did.
Zidane: You call those two years at Real Madrid "settling in"?
Raúl: Then what the hell are we? Scrubs?
September 23rd, La Liga Round 4.
Real Madrid traveled to face Real Betis.
Su Hang finally returned to the starting eleven.
The entire team's morale shot upward.
Meanwhile, Reyes—coming off a brilliant performance last match—also kept his starting spot.
To start Reyes without completely falling out with Raúl, Capello used a small smokescreen.
He formally announced that the team would try a new lineup: the 4-3-1-2.
Su Hang, Van Nistelrooy
Reyes
Zidane, Diarra, Emerson
Roberto Carlos, Cannavaro, Sergio Ramos, Cicinho
Casillas
=
But in reality, Reyes drifted to the right—wasn't this still just Real Madrid's 4-3-3?
With Zidane on the pitch, how could Reyes realistically operate as a central attacking midfielder?
Still, credit where it's due: Capello could've openly benched Raúl, yet he still put on a gesture of respect. Raúl felt that tiny, remaining shred of consideration.
So he didn't make a scene.
Beckham, however, just couldn't figure it out.
In the two draws without Su Hang, Beckham had been exceptional, scoring a free kick to save a point.
In the previous match, he also came off the bench and scored.
His form was visibly excellent.
Yet Capello continued to sideline him, seemingly pushing his "new core project" even if it meant ignoring Beckham entirely.
This is exactly the kind of situation veterans run into.
No matter the result, once you play, people say you're taking opportunities from the youngsters—
as if those youngsters are guaranteed to become stars.
But years later, everyone usually ends up saying:
"They should've just kept the veteran on the pitch. The youngster never developed anyway."
The referee's whistle blew, and the match officially began.
After a few minutes of probing from both sides, Real Madrid took control of possession.
Individual ability naturally dictated who controlled the early phase.
Every matchup is different, every opponent demands a different approach, and it's often during this probing stage that one side seizes the advantage.
In the 9th minute, a drowsy-looking Zidane suddenly threaded a perfect through ball.
Su Hang, who had been operating frequently on the left edge of the box, held off a Betis defender, spun with the ball, and used his physical strength to burst into the penalty area.
Boom!
Su Hang fired a rocket.
The ball smashed into the net while the Betis goalkeeper was still mid-air—
he reacted far too slowly!
The stadium exploded.
"GOAL!"
"Su Hang has returned! Just nine minutes in, and he announces his comeback to world football with a thunderous strike!"
"For the past two weeks, Real Madrid without Su Hang has been full of ups and downs! But with Su Hang back, Real Madrid will only rise, rise, rise, and rise!"
"Watch the replay—her turn is so smooth!"
"You'd never guess he sprained his ankle and suffered a concussion all within the last month!"
Su Hang: You're betting on that? You got a death wish?
At the request of traveling Real Madrid fans, Su Hang ran to the corner flag, leapt high, descending like a divine figure.
The fans erupted with him, shouting their celebration chant:
"Siuuuuuu!"
...
In the 28th minute, Su Hang signaled for the ball on the wing, then broke forward on a counter-offside run, dragging Betis' Right Back with him.
Zidane immediately looked to Su Hang, then slipped a no-look pass to Roberto Carlos, who had surged forward.
Carlos played a quick one-two, allowing Zidane to bypass the Defensive Midfielder.
Zidane carried the ball to the left edge of the box—a spot from which he'd scored many beautiful goals.
Just as he raised his right foot, he delivered…
an outside-of-the-boot chipped pass to the right.
A fake shot and a real pass!
Betis' defenders and goalkeeper were all fooled.
Van Nistelrooy darted into the six-yard box from the right and calmly tapped in the empty net.
Even O'Neal's grandmother could've scored that one.
"GOAL!"
"Real Madrid score again!"
"Zidane's fake-shot-to-pass tricked the entire world!"
"Van Nistelrooy just had to finish the meal Zidane practically fed him!"
"Congratulations to Van Nistelrooy—believe it or not, this is his first La Liga goal since arriving from the Premier League, where he scored like a machine!"
"With the early adjustment period behind him, he's slowly finding his rhythm, building chemistry with Su Hang, Zidane, Raúl, and the other Real Madrid veterans!"
In the 36th minute, Cicinho collided with an opponent and fell.
After examining him, the team doctor signaled that he likely had complications and couldn't continue.
Capello substituted him for Bravo.
No one scored again before halftime.
At the start of the second half, Betis made two substitutions, clearly still chasing a home result—
at the very least, they wanted a point.
In the 59th minute, Reyes really did operate as an attacking midfielder.
He boldly drifted inside, pressuring the central defense before passing to Su Hang.
Van Nistelrooy instantly accelerated, crashing into the back line and drawing defenders before moving into an offside position.
Su Hang slipped a through ball behind Van Nistelrooy.
The space had opened precisely because of Ruud's run.
After Reyes disrupted the central defense, Zidane easily broke free and charged toward the ball.
Boom!
Zidane curled the shot into the far corner, smooth as ever.
"Wow! Zidane now has both a goal and an assist! That's Real Madrid's third goal!"
"Three-nil! Real Madrid are back on the route to another big win!"
During the celebration, Su Hang found a moment to quietly mention Raúl and Beckham to Capello.
Capello's face twisted with reluctance.
With the team leading by such a margin, he had planned to send on youngsters like Modrić, Mata, or Negredo to see if he could hit the lottery.
But Su Hang insisted he needed to calm the veterans.
To be fair, Capello's plan wasn't unreasonable.
Most teams would sub in young players here, let them gain experience.
But Real Madrid was different.
Raúl wasn't truly at retirement age yet.
Even if Beckham was about to leave, his form and influence were still top-tier.
Not making them starters was already disrespectful enough.
If you didn't even let them come off the bench, they might as well flip the table.
How were they supposed to keep playing like that?