Atlético Madrid had practically begun preparing for the Barcelona fixture the exact second their charter flight touched down from Rome.
Over the past week and a half...
Simeone had meticulously managed the minutes of his absolute core starters.
Shane had only played a heavily restricted fifteen minutes against Sporting Gijón.
And for the second leg of the Europa League against Lazio, he had been entirely omitted from the matchday squad.
Truthfully, Shane desperately needed the rest.
Previously, when he was only required to navigate the domestic league schedule of one match per week, his teenage stamina reserves were perfectly adequate.
But a chaotic schedule of one match every three days...
Was an entirely new physiological puzzle for the eighteen-year-old.
Optimizing stamina distribution was a profound, elite-level sports science.
There was no universal template to follow because every athlete's biological engine operated differently. Every single elite player had to manually discover and fine-tune their own physical rhythm.
The legendary box-to-box midfielders who seemingly never stopped running...
Didn't necessarily possess vastly superior VO2 max levels compared to their peers.
Instead, they possessed an incredibly high footballing IQ, allowing them to allocate their stamina exponentially more efficiently throughout the ninety minutes.
They knew exactly when to sprint, and exactly when to walk.
The day following the second leg against Lazio...
UEFA conducted the draw for the Europa League Round of 16 at their headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland.
Atlético Madrid received a highly favorable draw.
They completely avoided the terrifying Manchester duo—United and City—who had both shockingly crashed out of the Champions League group stages and tumbled into the Europa League bracket.
They also avoided drawing any clubs from the traditional top five European leagues.
Instead, they drew the Turkish Süper Lig giants, Beşiktaş.
The only slight tactical disadvantage was the scheduling order: Atlético would play the first leg at home at the Calderón, before traveling to the notoriously hostile atmosphere of Istanbul for the decider.
However, factoring in the glaring disparity in sheer squad quality...
The moment the draw was televised, the European media universally agreed that Atlético Madrid's progression to the quarter-finals was essentially guaranteed.
Simeone breathed a quiet sigh of relief.
Deep down, no manager truly wanted to blatantly forfeit a European competition.
But if they had drawn the terrifying, star-studded rosters of Manchester City or Manchester United in the Round of 16...
Simeone would have unapologetically thrown the matches to focus purely on La Liga.
But since they had drawn Beşiktaş... if Atlético could efficiently navigate this tie and reach the final eight...
Then, realistically, they could begin genuinely entertaining the prospect of lifting the trophy.
But for the current iteration of Atlético Madrid...
The domestic league remained the absolute apex priority.
Specifically, the impending, terrifying clash against Barcelona.
...
"Did you finish watching the tape?"
"Every second of it."
"Give me your assessment."
Inside Simeone's private office at the training ground.
Shane was seated directly across from his manager's heavy oak desk.
Exactly a week ago, Simeone had handed Shane a heavily encrypted USB drive. It contained hours of meticulously edited tactical footage compiled by the analytics department, focusing entirely on Barcelona's legendary midfield trio: Xavi Hernández, Andrés Iniesta, and Sergio Busquets.
Now, the manager was officially checking his "homework."
"Their offensive structure is completely fluid," Shane began, his tone analytical. "The positional rotation between the three of them is terrifyingly seamless, and they dictate the tempo of the match with an almost telepathic understanding... And defensively, their counter-pressing structure is immaculate. The exact second they lose possession, they initiate a suffocating swarm. Even though they lack traditional, raw physical strength, their lateral agility and spatial awareness allow them to instantly generate overwhelming numerical superiority in localized zones..."
Shane spent the next ten minutes breaking down the intricacies of the Catalan system.
Simeone nodded repeatedly, deeply impressed.
A thought briefly flashed through the manager's mind: If this kid decides to get his badges after he retires, he is going to be a terrifying tactician...
But then he remembered the kid was only eighteen.
Even if he retired at thirty-six...
That was eighteen years from now.
I'll be ancient history by then, Simeone chuckled internally.
Simeone refocused his thoughts and leaned forward, his expression hardening. "That is the exact monster we are facing on Sunday. You must psychologically prepare yourself for a deeply frustrating reality: our possession statistics will be abysmal, and our offensive opportunities will be incredibly scarce. You must maintain absolute, unwavering patience."
"Understood," Shane nodded.
This specific era was undeniably the absolute zenith of FC Barcelona's historical power.
Although Johan Cruyff had successfully transplanted the foundational DNA of Total Football into Barcelona decades ago, evolving it into the philosophical framework known as "Tiki-Taka"...
The true, terrifying manifestation of that philosophy was only fully realized under Pep Guardiola.
Built around a generational core of La Masia academy graduates—Xavi, Iniesta, Busquets, Lionel Messi, and Pedro—Barcelona had essentially achieved footballing perfection.
They had conquered the Champions League twice in three years (2009 and 2011).
During the Champions League final the previous season, the television cameras had famously captured Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson sitting on the Wembley bench, his hands visibly trembling in sheer, helpless frustration as Barcelona systematically dismantled his legendary squad.
They were universally referred to by the media as "The Extraterrestrials."
"You will operate in your standard Number 10 role," Simeone instructed. "Your sole objective is to ruthlessly exploit the incredibly rare transitional counter-attacks we generate."
Simeone was inherently pragmatic. He knew perfectly well that his squad was vastly inferior in terms of sheer technical quality.
Therefore, absorbing pressure and praying for a successful counter-attack was their only mathematically viable strategy.
Shane, however, possessed a slightly different perspective. "Boss, if we don't occasionally initiate our own offensive sequences to pin them back, we are going to bleed to death in our own penalty area. You can't just absorb that much pressure indefinitely."
Simeone threw his hands up. "If we attempt to open our shape and aggressively engage them, our defensive lines will stretch. And the exact second that happens, Lionel Messi will personally slaughter us. His individual isolation ability is a cheat code."
Hearing the name, Shane's expression turned grim.
Xavi, Iniesta, and Busquets provided the suffocating control.
But Messi...
He was, without a shadow of a doubt, the most terrifying offensive weapon of the modern era.
If Messi received the ball while facing an exposed defensive line, a one-on-one scenario was a guaranteed goal. Even a one-on-two scenario heavily favored the Argentine.
Combining a midfield trio that permanently monopolized possession with a forward who could instantly, single-handedly shatter the balance of a match...
It was a nightmare to defend against.
Simeone's extreme caution was entirely justified.
Pondering this reality, Shane couldn't help but ask a hypothetical question. "Boss... do you think the prime, player version of Diego Simeone could successfully lock down Xavi or Iniesta in a pure one-on-one?"
"Ah... well..." Simeone coughed awkwardly, violently clearing his throat. "Defending isn't a barbaric, one-on-one cage match, kid. Defending requires a cohesive system. Do you understand the concept of a tactical system?"
Shane completely understood.
Simeone hadn't explicitly said no.
But his evasion confirmed that even the legendary Mobster Midfielder would have been sweating blood.
Shane remained lost in thought.
His newly acquired System modules were incredibly powerful, and relying on pure, digitized attributes was undeniably convenient.
But professional football wasn't a simplistic video game.
Or rather...
Even in highly competitive video games, two completely different players could select the exact same optimally statted character.
In the hands of a tactical genius, that character became an unstoppable god.
In the hands of an idiot, the character was completely useless.
Raw attributes were merely the baseline foundation.
How an athlete intelligently applied those attributes under severe psychological pressure was an entirely different scientific field.
Given Shane's current attribute spread, his defensive metrics were genuinely world-class.
However, Shane acutely understood that even if his attribute panel was permanently locked at its current state, the sheer accumulation of high-level match experience and tactical IQ would continue to elevate his actual performance.
Shane suddenly recalled a famous quote from José Mourinho regarding Mario Balotelli: World-class from the neck down.
Even if you possessed the biological hardware and technical proficiency of a god...
If your footballing brain was defective...
You would inevitably fail on the grandest stages.
"Boss, I genuinely believe my defensive fundamentals have drastically improved recently," Shane stated confidently, fully aware that his Tackling and Interceptions had just skyrocketed to 88 and 89 respectively. "What if you deploy me alongside Gabi in a pure double-pivot? Then we can afford to field an extra forward, creating a much more balanced transition threat."
"Your defensive fundamentals have drastically improved?" Simeone blinked, genuinely taken aback. I mean, he's aggressive, sure... but when did he suddenly become a defensive maestro?
Simeone reached out and aggressively ruffled Shane's hair.
"Stop overthinking the tactics, kid. You aren't the manager yet. Let me do my job."
Shane had no choice but to drop the subject.
The fact that Simeone was willing to sit in his private office and casually debate macro-tactics with him was already a massive testament to his current status. It was a privilege exclusively reserved for the undisputed tactical core of a franchise.
But while Simeone loved the kid's ambition, there was absolutely zero chance he was going to let an eighteen-year-old dictate the tactical blueprint for a match against Pep Guardiola.
...
The clash between Atlético Madrid and Barcelona was already billed as the marquee fixture of the weekend.
But a massive, seismic event occurred just hours before kickoff that violently escalated the stakes of the match.
Real Madrid had just been defeated away at Málaga!
In the seventy-eighth minute at La Rosaleda, a brilliant strike from Isco had secured a 1-0 victory for Málaga over the league leaders.
Former Real Madrid manager Manuel Pellegrini had successfully orchestrated the ultimate revenge against his former employers!
Because of this shocking upset...
Real Madrid currently sat 7 points ahead of Barcelona, having played one extra game.
If Barcelona could successfully defeat Atlético Madrid at the Camp Nou tonight...
They would instantly shrink the deficit to a mere 4 points.
A 4-point gap!
That was a completely surmountable margin, a margin that instantly reignited Barcelona's burning hope for the title.
Factoring in that Barcelona and Real Madrid still had one remaining El Clásico fixture to play against each other...
If Barcelona won that head-to-head matchup, the gap would theoretically be reduced to a single point.
The La Liga title race had suddenly turned white-hot.
Therefore...
In the hours leading up to kickoff...
The entire region of Catalonia was vibrating with manic, desperate energy.
This specific fixture, scheduled as the absolute final match of the La Liga weekend, instantly became the undisputed focal point of the entire European footballing community.
As the Atlético Madrid players emerged from their hotel lobby, they were immediately engulfed by a blinding sea of camera flashes as they boarded the team bus.
"Ladies and gentlemen! The Atlético Madrid squad has just boarded their transport to the Camp Nou! We are rapidly approaching the ultimate turning point of the La Liga season!"
A reporter from a local Catalan television station spoke frantically into the camera.
For the Catalan media empire...
Securing a victory against Atlético at the Camp Nou was viewed as an absolute, uncompromising certainty.
There was absolutely zero room for doubt.
Barcelona's roster was exponentially vastly superior on paper, they were currently riding an immaculate five-match winning streak, they were operating on their own legendary pitch, and they possessed the ultimate, desperate motivation of a renewed title race.
Conversely...
Atlético Madrid was reeling from back-to-back defeats. Their "New Manager Bounce" had completely evaporated, their tactical playbook was perceived as highly rigid and purely reactive, and their entire offensive engine was being driven by an eighteen-year-old kid whose consistency under severe psychological pressure remained completely untested.
When aggregating all these variables...
The conclusion was brutally obvious: Every single conceivable advantage—tactical, environmental, and psychological—belonged entirely to FC Barcelona.
How could they possibly lose?
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