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"I understand. I respect your choice."
Lance's expression was somewhat helpless.
After a long private conversation with Torres, Lance had gradually come to understand Torres's decision. Unlike Griezmann's departure, Fernando Torres truly couldn't hold on anymore.
Theoretically, in the original timeline, Torres didn't leave Atlético Madrid until 2018. But with the high-intensity competition across three fronts last season, combined with the fact that Atlético Madrid had no other reliable forwards, Torres had to carry the load alone, participating in a lot of high-pressing and physical battles for position. Torres was willing to be the supporting player, performing quietly and helping Lance score miracle goals many times.
However, compared to the original timeline, Torres's physical damage was much more severe. After a medical examination in the summer and the team doctor's advice before the season, it became clear that Torres's old injuries posed a significant risk, and he could no longer handle high-level European football.
Moreover, having won the Champions League and the European treble, Torres had already fulfilled his long-held wish. He had no more desires. So, following his agent's advice, he planned to go to the Japanese J-League to spend his final playing years.
The Saudi League and Qatar League weren't as developed as they would be a few years later, so the MLS, the Chinese Super League, and the J-League became the choices for retirement. Considering his lifestyle and match intensity, Torres chose the J-League. After all, many Japanese internationals still played in their domestic league at 40, so Torres going there would be an absolute domination.
"Thank you for understanding, Lance. I've always felt very sorry..."
"Don't say that, brother. What you went through before would have destroyed many people. It was my honor to fight alongside you last season."
"Thank you, Lance, thank you."
Torres was truly moved, but then the question arose. With Torres and Griezmann gone, who was left in Atlético Madrid's front line?
Simeone's head was about to explode, as he had been searching for suitable replacements lately. But many shining stars were either too expensive or had already been signed by others. This left Atlético Madrid in a passive position, unable to find a partner for Lance.
Furthermore, Atlético Madrid had to prepare intensely for the upcoming UEFA Super Cup and Supercopa de España. Out of the "sextuple winner" mission, there were still three trophies to go. Failing to win them would undoubtedly be a deep regret for Atlético Madrid. If they missed this chance, Atlético Madrid might never achieve the "sextuple winner" status again.
Therefore, the whole team continued their closed-door training as usual. July passed quickly, and on August 10th, it was the UEFA Super Cup: Atlético Madrid vs. Sevilla. On August 15th, the Supercopa de España: Atlético Madrid vs. Barcelona. Two important showdowns were imminent.
Simeone could only coordinate the lineup as much as possible within the limited time to restore their combat effectiveness.
During this time, Griezmann's transfer was finally settled. The Frenchman eventually joined Barcelona for a staggering fee of 120 million, filling the void left by Neymar's departure. The MSN trio became the MSG trio, and Griezmann's addition made Barcelona incredibly expectant.
"In the Supercopa de España, let Atlético see who the real core was last season!"
"Barcelona can finally get revenge!"
"As long as we can ruin Atlético's sextuple, it's a victory!"
Atlético Madrid had lost key players consecutively while Barcelona had strengthened, no wonder the Barcelona fans were starting to act up.
Furthermore, the Royal Spanish Football Federation had changed the cup format. For the 2016 Supercopa de España, the traditional two-legged format was cancelled, becoming a single-match winner-takes-all, and due to the operation of Chinese capital, the Supercopa de España was about to kick off at the Bird's Nest Stadium in the capital.
With one month left before the game, tickets were already selling like crazy. Scalped tickets once reached a sky-high price of 30,000 yuan. Even so, there were plenty of wealthy people waving cash seeking a ticket.
"It's rare for God Lance to play domestically; I must see God Lance up close!"
What was clearly a commercial Super Cup, an inconsequential match, under the hype from both sides, turned into a life-and-death battle involving honor, reputation, and interests.
"Lance, is the pressure high?"
"If I say yes, will you sign some star players for me?"
Lance wanted Hazard, De Bruyne, or even his national teammate Lukaku. Even if Lukaku didn't score, he could at least serve as a target man. Unfortunately, Lukaku's price tag had skyrocketed to the heavens, considering he was a European Cup-winning forward.
Atlético Madrid's only signings this summer were the little-known Gaitán, and a fringe French forward, the 29-year-old Ligue 1 silver boot winner, Kevin Gameiro. The golden trio of Lance, Griezmann, and Torres had instantly gone from top-tier quality to ordinary quality, with only Lance left to hold up the show. No matter how dissatisfied the Atlético fans were, protesting at the club base entrance against Gil Marín for easily selling Griezmann, it was to no avail.
August 10th arrived quickly, and the UEFA Super Cup was here.
"Time flies. Not long ago, we were watching the European Cup final together, witnessing Belgium's historic championship moment as they were crowned Kings of Europe."
"Who could have imagined that now, a month later, the curtain-raiser of the new season, the UEFA Super Cup, is here!"
On LeSports, Jian Jun was very excited. 2016 was truly good to him, with one major tournament after another. Lance had successively won the Champions League and the European Cup, becoming the undisputed "King of Europe." Jian Jun didn't care how tired he was. The new season was coming again.
"That's right. If Atlético wants to replicate Barcelona's sextuple, they must win today's match."
"Yes, the UEFA Super Cup is just one match."
Jian Jun took the opportunity to inform everyone: "Last season's Champions League winners Atlético Madrid against the Europa League winners Sevilla. It's also an all-La Liga civil war."
"And because this title is decided in a single match, it's easy for an upset to happen. Atlético must be fully focused."
In the past year, Lance had won everything. It was as if he had never lost. Everyone believed in Lance, and theoretically, there shouldn't be any suspense. But Lance wasn't 100% guaranteed to win the title; there were too many variables.
"First of all, Atlético recently lost two key players. Without Griezmann and Torres, their strength might be significantly compromised."
"Additionally, the Super Cup is prone to upsets. Many teams have stumbled here before and failed to achieve the sextuple."
It was truly difficult, which is why Barcelona's sextuple back then seemed so unique.
"Alright, the match is about to start. Let's look at the starting lineups for both sides."
Sevilla 4-5-1 Rico Pareja, Carriço, Kolodziejczak, Nzonzi Franco Vázquez, Mariano, Konoplyanka, Iborra, Vietto Vitolo
Atlético Madrid 4-4-2 Oblak Juanfran, Godín, Giménez, Filipe Luís Ángel Correa, Koke, Gabi, Gaitán Lance, Gameiro
Seeing Atlético return to a 4-4-2 formation, and with Lance needing to play multiple roles as the scorer and the midfield playmaker, single-handedly supporting Atlético's offense and defense, Jian Jun couldn't help but worry.
Whether Atlético could continue to write their legend in the new season depended on this match.
Jian Jun's intuition told him that Atlético might be in trouble.