After the match ended, Barcelona's official account released an announcement.
[Our club player Lionel Messi suffered a thigh ligament strain during the match. According to the medical staff's assessment, he is expected to be out for three weeks. We look forward to Leo Messi returning at full strength and helping Barcelona win more matches. We wish Messi a speedy recovery.]
When Barcelona fans saw the news, they were furious.
They aimed their anger at Theodore Bjorn.
Before long, organized groups of Barcelona fans flooded Theodore's social media, filling his comment section with insults.
When Real Madrid fans heard about it, they rushed into Theodore's comments and started arguing with the Barcelona supporters.
"Theodore used dirty tricks and injured Messi! Real Madrid's win was dishonorable!"
"Exactly! If Messi hadn't been injured, Barcelona never would've lost that badly!"
"Are the Barça fans above completely delusional? Messi got injured right at the end of the match. Real Madrid were already leading 7–2 at that point. Even if Messi hadn't been hurt, Barça were still losing!"
"I'm laughing. Messi getting injured is Theodore's fault now? It was obvious Messi's stamina was gone."
"Barcelona fans just can't accept losing!"
"The tables have turned! Now it's Madrid's turn to smash Barça! Barcelona fans, your hard days are still ahead!"
After a fierce war of words, the Real Madrid fans came out on top.
...
As for Theodore, he felt nothing about the situation. His mind was focused on training and matches.
He did not care about the fans' comments.
When Theodore returned to his villa, his agent Jonathan called him. The purpose of the call was to inform Theodore about a new endorsement.
"Dior will hire you as their ambassador on a three-year deal worth one hundred million euros. Tomorrow, I will go with you to Dior's headquarters to sign the contract."
"Alright. Thanks for handling it."
After hearing the endorsement fee, Theodore felt no emotional fluctuation.
He was already wealthy.
His total net worth exceeded five hundred million euros. Theodore knew that once he won the Ballon d'Or, his income would multiply.
...
The next day, at eight in the morning, Theodore arrived at Dior's headquarters with Jonathan.
The process was the same as his previous endorsement signings.
After reading through the contract, Theodore signed his name.
Under the guidance of the staff, he went to the shooting location to film the advertisement.
It took half a day before the work was completed.
After returning to Madrid, Theodore did not go back to his villa to rest.
Instead, he went to Real Madrid's training base for extra practice.
There was no training session scheduled that day, but in order to maintain his form, Theodore chose to put in additional work.
Ever since Theodore joined Real Madrid, he felt that the system's rewards were becoming fewer. At present, his attributes were the same as when he first joined Madrid. Nothing had changed.
That meant if Theodore wanted to become stronger, he had to rely on daily training to improve himself.
When Theodore arrived at the training base, he saw Ødegaard.
"Martin! You're doing extra training too?" Theodore greeted him.
Ødegaard stopped shooting and walked over to talk. "Yeah, I have to. My position at Madrid is becoming more marginal. In the last match against Barcelona, Coach Zidane didn't even put me in the starting lineup."
Theodore comforted his friend. "You didn't start, but you came off the bench. And didn't you score too? Don't worry. In the future, you will become a regular starter for Madrid."
Ødegaard did not have Theodore's overwhelming confidence.
He sighed. "It's hard to say. Right now, there isn't a suitable place for me in Zidane's tactical system. Man, if only I were as complete as you."
Ødegaard looked at Theodore. "Theo, help me out. Teach me how to defend! I want to become an all-round midfielder like you!"
An awkward expression appeared on Theodore's face.
He answered, "That's pure talent. You can't really learn it."
"But I can help you improve your dribbling," Theodore offered. "Come on. I'll defend, and you try to beat me."
The moment Ødegaard heard that Theodore was willing to train with him, his eyes lit up.
Like Messi, Ødegaard was left-footed. However, Ødegaard's explosiveness and ball control were inferior to Messi's.
During the defensive drill, Theodore won the ball from Ødegaard with ease.
In fact, before Ødegaard could even accelerate, the ball had already been poked away by Theodore.
This was the first time Ødegaard experienced just how strong Theodore's defensive pressure was.
"Theo, I finally understand why Messi looked so desperate. If it were me, I'd feel hopeless too. Your defensive pressure is way too strong."
Theodore replied, "I wasn't even being serious. Again."
"Alright!"
Theodore and Ødegaard trained for two hours.
With Theodore acting as his sparring partner, Ødegaard's ability to beat defenders improved.
Toward the later stages of training, Ødegaard was able to perform two consecutive feints in front of Theodore.
Of course, the final result was still Theodore winning the ball.
The reason Theodore helped Ødegaard was not only because they had a good relationship.
There was another reason.
Next year's European Championship.
Norway's national team had qualified for the Euros, and Theodore hoped Ødegaard could improve over the course of the year.
Theodore was strong, but football was an eleven-man sport. Most of Norway's national-team players were weak by European standards, belonging to the second tier of the continent.
Only Theodore, Ødegaard, and Haaland had the quality to play in Europe's top five leagues.
If Norway wanted to go further at the European Championship, Theodore had a duty to help Ødegaard improve.
This year, Norway did not have many important matches.
The only competition was the UEFA Nations League, but Norway head coach Lars Lagerbäck had not called Theodore up.
The main reason was that Theodore had just joined Real Madrid, so he needed to focus on his club.
The Nations League was a low-priority competition.
If Theodore were called into the national team for those matches, it might expose him to unnecessary injury risk.
Lagerbäck left Theodore out of the national-team squad.
Aside from Theodore, Ødegaard and Haaland were also not called up for Norway's Nations League matches.
...
The next day, Real Madrid's training resumed.
Their next opponent was Huesca, with the match scheduled for October 31.
Huesca were currently 16th in La Liga, a side fighting relegation.
Because of that, Zidane decided to rotate his squad for the match.
Once November arrived, Real Madrid would enter a brutal run of fixtures. They would have to play twice a week, and almost every opponent was tough.
On November 4, Real Madrid would host Inter Milan at the Bernabéu in the third round of the Champions League group stage.
On November 9, they would travel away to face Valencia.
After that, they would continue on the road against Villarreal.
Immediately after that, they would fly to Italy to face Inter Milan again.
The schedule was congested.
Since none of these opponents were easy, rotation against Huesca was necessary.
....
October 31 arrived.
At eight in the evening, the Bernabéu was packed with people.
Tens of thousands of fans were impatient to watch this match.
However, when the starting lineup was released, quite a few Madrid supporters were disappointed.
Theodore Bjorn was not in the starting eleven.
Half of the Real Madrid fans inside the stadium were there because of Theodore.
Fortunately, even without Theodore starting, Real Madrid's players were in good form.
This was especially true for Ødegaard, who had gone through Theodore's special training.
In the 34th, 37th, and 67th minutes, Ødegaard found the net three times!
Ødegaard's hat trick helped Real Madrid defeat Huesca 3–0 at home, securing their eighth straight win.
With that, they continued to sit firmly at the top of the La Liga table.
Meanwhile, Real Madrid's direct rival, Barcelona, suffered a defeat in this round.
They were beaten 2–0 away at Sevilla.
With Messi absent, Barcelona's attacking firepower dropped.
The front three of Dembélé, Fati, and Griezmann failed to create much danger for Sevilla's back line.
After losing that match, Barcelona were overtaken by Atlético Madrid in the La Liga standings.
They dropped to third place.
...
As for Real Madrid, after using a rotated lineup against Huesca, they prepared to welcome Inter Milan to the Bernabéu.
Theodore was familiar with Inter Milan.
Last season, he had led Aston Villa against Inter Milan in the Europa League final.
Theodore scored four goals in the final and helped Aston Villa snatch the Europa League trophy from Inter's hands.
The day before the match, the pre-match press conference was held.
Zidane brought Theodore along with him.
Facing the reporters, Zidane spoke with confidence.
"Inter Milan are a traditional powerhouse, but we are ready. I believe Real Madrid will deliver a great match at the Bernabéu tomorrow night."
"There are many gifted players in Inter's squad, such as Lautaro and Lukaku. That forward partnership is feared throughout Europe. But our attacking line is not weak either. Most importantly, our midfield has Theodore Bjorn."
When Zidane said Theodore's name, he raised his voice.
"I believe everyone saw Theodore's performance in El Clásico. I have to admit, Theodore is the most talented player I have ever seen. As long as he is on the pitch, Real Madrid will never lose. I firmly believe that."
It was supposed to be a pre-match press conference, but Zidane turned it into a Theodore Bjorn appreciation meeting.
Everything Zidane said at the press conference was praise for Theodore.
It showed how much Zidane valued him.
When Theodore spoke, he thanked Zidane for his trust.
"First of all, I want to thank Coach Zidane for trusting me. Joining Real Madrid is the best decision I have ever made. Inter Milan are a strong team. I faced them last season in the Europa League final. Every Real Madrid player is ready, and we will work hard to win tomorrow night."
Inter Milan's head coach was Antonio Conte.
After Real Madrid's coach and player finished their interview, Conte arrived at the press conference with his striker, Lukaku.
Conte looked relaxed as he addressed the room.
"Real Madrid are the greatest club on this planet. For us, being able to face such a superpower is an honor. At the same time, I believe Inter Milan's players are ready for this battle."
"We did not come to Madrid for a holiday. We came here to take three points. I believe that by the end of the group stage, Inter Milan will finish above Real Madrid and qualify."
Lukaku was full of confidence as he told the reporters, "Just as our coach said, we will win at the Bernabéu. Over the past few days, we have been preparing specific tactical plans against Real Madrid. Last season, in the Europa League final, we lost to Theodore. Tomorrow will be our chance for revenge!"
Before the match, UEFA organized an official vote.
Eighty percent of fans believed Real Madrid would win.
Fifteen percent believed Real Madrid and Inter Milan would draw.
Only five percent believed Inter Milan could win.
---------
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