Baptista was repositioned back into defensive midfield, filling the vacancy left by Emerson's departure.
Sneijder moved from attacking midfielder to a deeper midfield role. Simon granted him a degree of freedom—but only with Su Hang's approval.
In other words, Sneijder could only be the little brain.
The true brain of Real Madrid… was Su Hang.
Su Hang took up the attacking midfielder position, beginning to assume the role once played by Zidane.
However, their styles were completely different.
Across La Liga and the Europa League, Real Madrid went on a five-match winning streak.
Su Hang's output was downright outrageous—10 goals and 6 assists.
Double-digit goals and six assists, better than Robben's entire seasonal output combined.
Yet Sneijder struggled to adapt.
He wanted to be Real Madrid's Zidane, not Real Madrid's Guti.
During El Clásico, Sneijder overstepped his authority on the pitch. Simon showed no mercy, subbing him off and sending on the "useless" Modrić instead.
In the end, thanks to Su Hang's two goals and two assists, Real Madrid managed to equalize.
Compared to last season, it was clearly inferior.
But compared to the humiliation they suffered against Barcelona earlier in the campaign, this result was already more than acceptable.
After this match, Modrić became an undisputed starter in midfield, partnering Su Hang.
His performances were unremarkable, but his physique and strong positional awareness made him effective at interceptions. From time to time, his quick, simple passes also brought something different to the team.
Of course, he made plenty of mistakes as well—his form was extremely unstable.
Many questioned Modrić's place in the starting lineup. As a rotation player, fine. As a starter, it felt excessive.
Sneijder, they argued, should never have been nailed to the bench.
Simon's stance, however, was uncompromising.
Thus, the Dutch faction within Real Madrid collapsed overnight.
The Spanish faction successfully suppressed the unrest without damaging locker-room harmony.
Because the one who acted wasn't Su Hang—it was Simon.
In the end, through the combined efforts of Su Hang and Simon, Real Madrid clinched the La Liga title with four rounds to spare, ruling the league for a fourth consecutive year.
In the Europa League, Su Hang also led the team all the way to the summit, capturing the only Europa League title in Real Madrid's history.
Yet as he lifted the trophy, Su Hang spoke with gravity:
"This is a special trophy. It will be placed in the Real Madrid museum and remembered forever."
"Not because it is a title—but because this season, Real Madrid suffered the humiliation of being eliminated in the Champions League group stage."
"This is one of the greatest disgraces in our history."
"It will forever inspire us, warn us, remind us, and strike us. We should be the best team in the world."
"I would rather exit the Champions League knockout rounds with regret than lift a hollow Europa League trophy."
"Of course, I apologize to all Europa League teams and players. I'm not belittling the competition—it's a great opportunity for many clubs."
"But for Real Madrid, we must have this awareness."
"The same goes for all clubs of Real Madrid's stature. Otherwise, we fail the fans who support us."
"Finally, I will donate my entire season's salary to first-team staff, coaching members, lower-paid teammates, and outstanding youth academy players."
"This wasn't a glorious season—but… the boat has already crossed ten thousand mountains."
...
In the Champions League, C Ronaldo finally proved himself at Manchester United, leading them past Chelsea and tasting Champions League glory.
His overall statistics were no worse than Su Hang's—despite being achieved over a longer span.
And the Champions League, after all, carried far more weight than the Europa League.
As a result, he overtook Su Hang in early Ballon d'Or projections.
Thus concluded Real Madrid's 2007–2008 season.
Although Su Hang only returned in the second half of the campaign, he still blasted in 28 league goals, edging Guiza's 27 to win the La Liga Golden Boot.
At the same time, his 20 assists surpassed Ronaldinho, Deco, Messi, and Ibagaza, earning him the La Liga Assist King title.
A staggering 28 goals and 20 assists—surpassing Henry's 24+20 Premier League season.
The difference?
Henry needed a full season.
Su Hang needed only half.
In the Europa League, Su Hang again dominated with 13 goals and 8 assists, sweeping both top scorer and assist leader honors.
In just half a season across two competitions, he scored 41 goals and delivered 28 assists—69 total goal contributions.
That was two more than the total he produced in the season he first led Real Madrid to a treble.
After suffering a serious injury, Su Hang hadn't declined—he had become even stronger.
If last season's 99 goal contributions felt unimaginable,
then now, the world eagerly awaited what he would unleash next season.
...
As the club season ended, the European Championship began.
During the tournament, Su Hang increasingly ignored Calderón, openly voicing opinions on the transfer market. Many rumored targets were publicly dismissed by him.
At the same time, he made no secret of his admiration for Kaka, insisting the club should find a way to sign him.
Calderón planned to buy Kaka—but not this year.
Yet under Su Hang's pressure, Real Madrid were forced into talks with AC Milan, repeatedly rebuffed.
Calderón swallowed his pride again and again, begging Milan to negotiate.
Fortunately, Su Hang also publicly courted Kaka, and the two maintained a friendly relationship on social media.
Then, after Su Hang led Spain to the European Championship title with 12 goals and 10 assists, he reclaimed the top spot in Ballon d'Or rankings—surpassing C Ronaldo once more.
Su Hang's call now carried real weight.
"Let's go win the Champions League together. Let's win every title we're meant to win."
That sentence moved Kaka.
Twice he had reached the Champions League final.
Twice he had left empty-handed.
And since 2006, Serie A had been in steady decline. After yet another failed European campaign, AC Milan entered restructuring. The squad was aging, and overall strength was fading.
Kaka knew this was no longer the place for him.
In the end, Real Madrid signed Kaka for €60 million.
This instantly overshadowed the arrivals of Huntelaar, Van der Vaart, Lassana Diarra, and academy product Parejo.
Van der Vaart openly lamented that he had come to the wrong place.
Calderón had lured him in with promises of a starting role and "guaranteed safety," only for news of Su Hang personally requesting Kaka to surface afterward.
Van der Vaart wasn't at fault—but his future at Real Madrid was already bleak.
The midfield spots belonged to Su Hang and Kaka.
The wings were for pace—Van der Vaart's weakness.
The only remaining position was defensive midfield, which he couldn't play.
When the new season began, it wasn't just Van der Vaart and Sneijder who couldn't get minutes.
Even Diarra, a pure defensive midfielder, couldn't get on the pitch.
Instead, the role went to the controversial "ordinary workhorse" Modrić.
Don't be fooled by the nickname or his interception stats—Modrić simply couldn't handle the lone defensive midfielder role.
Preseason matches proved it.
Yet Modrić's starting position never wavered.
Even when Kaka drifted left or Robben moved right, Modrić remained central.
His backing was terrifyingly strong.
Media investigations revealed that during Su Hang's injury layoff, only two players regularly visited him to "report for duty."
One was Ramos.
The other was Modrić.
Ramos had local backing and strong performances, so he faced no pressure.
Modrić, as a fringe player, had suffered plenty of bullying.
Now, with a new emperor came new favorites.
As one of the emperor's closest confidants, Modrić's playing time could no longer be judged by ability alone.
...
At the end of 2008, the Ballon d'Or ceremony arrived.
Thanks to his European Championship triumph and Player of the Tournament honors, Su Hang edged out C Ronaldo to win his third consecutive Ballon d'Or.
C Ronaldo finished second, ahead of Kaka in third.
Half a month later, at the World Player of the Year ceremony, Su Hang successfully defended his title.
His total top individual honors now matched Ronaldo and Zidane—yet he was only twenty-two and a half.
C Ronaldo remained second.
Kaka remained third.
The era of the C Ronaldo–Kaka rivalry had officially begun.
But only because neither could challenge the world's number one.
They fought for second.
Everyone else fought for fourth.
...
By May 2008, with Kaka's arrival, Robben embracing his super-sub role, and Van der Vaart and Sneijder rotating in with full energy, Real Madrid cruised through what became the easiest season in club history.
Injuries were minimal.
They won La Liga seven rounds early, completing a five-peat.
Then they marched into Camp Nou as champions, accepted Barcelona's "homage," and slapped them 5–1—completing a season double.
Su Hang scored 49 league goals and added 21 assists, sweeping the Golden Boot, Assist King, and European Golden Boot.
Kaka contributed 24 goals and 18 assists, forming a god-tier dual core with Su Hang.
In the Copa del Rey, Real Madrid easily defeated Valencia, winning their fourth title in six years.
In the Champions League, they powered past elite opponents to meet Manchester United in the final.
This was C Ronaldo's best—and only—chance to surpass Su Hang.
With the World Cup approaching, Portugal would struggle to match Spain, who had already won two consecutive major tournaments.
Last year, C Ronaldo had lost precisely on the national team front.
But in the final, Su Hang delivered the first-ever five-goal performance.
Five–two.
Real Madrid demolished Manchester United.
After one year away, Su Hang returned to the Champions League—and returned as champion.
At that moment, the world believed there was no one left who could stop Su Hang.
The entire planet began discussing only one question:
How do you stop Real Madrid?