<h4>Chapter 560: Returning to the Summit of Europe</h4>


    The situation of the Champions League semi-finals is Real Madrid vs Bayern Munich, Barcelona vs Chelsea.


    History always has its coincidences. Two years ago, the Gcticos also met a Bundesliga powerhouse in the Champions League semi-finals. They fought and won, eventually lifting the UEFA Champions League trophy.


    Now, it''s uncertain who will emerge victorious. "Honestly, we don''t have any assurance," Dong Fangzhuo said with a bitter smile over the phone.


    Wang Feng understood their predicament. In the past two seasons, under Klopp''s leadership, Borussia Dortmund had stirred up a youthful storm, not only causing Bayern to miss out on the league titlest season but also putting them in a precarious position this season.


    So the Champions League was their only redemption. The "Southern Kings" of the Bundesliga would rather face Barcelona or Chelsea than confront the Gcticos.


    "Our head coach, Heynckes, is very aware of your strength and that of Real Madrid. He says everything can be calcted except for Wang Feng," Dong Fangzhuo said.


    The veteran coach had spent 33 years in coaching, gaining rich experience at clubs like Monchendbach, Athletic Bilbao, Real Madrid, and had even taken charge of Bayern three times.


    In his memory, there had never been a yer who could dominate the football field like Wang Feng, downying all tactics against him. That''s why he felt Wang Feng was "unpredictable".


    "Anyway, we will do our best next. We''ll try to avoid a repeat ofst time''s tragedy."


    The conversation then turned to Huang Hu, who joined Werder Bremen this year. "He''s a very energetic and positive young man," Dong Fangzhuo said.


    Dong Fangzhuo had faced him in Bundesliga matches. At that time, Huang Hu had already be a stable substitute for the team, often getting thirty to forty minutes of ying time.


    "Seeing him easily reminds me of my younger self," Dong Fangzhuo said. "And he''s luckier than me; he can receive systematic European training from a young age, with greater potential for future development."


    "Yes, I hope he can be a new leader of Chinese football in the future. After all, we are no longer young," Wang Feng expressed his hope.


    As for the Europa League, Athletic Bilbao drew 2-2 against Schalke 04 at home and advanced with a total score of 6-4.


    Valencia swept Alkmaar 4-0 at the Mesta Stadium, overturning the score from losing in the first leg to winning 5-2 overall.


    Atletico Madrid maintained their strong performance from the first leg, defeating Hannover 96 2-1 again, with an aggregate score of 4-2.


    All three Spanish teams advanced to the Europa League semi-finals! Unprecedented! Among the remaining eight teams in Europeanpetitions, La Liga unexpectedly upies five spots!


    Dubbed as "El Super," Real Madrid and Barcelona are unparalleled in strength, being the two strongest clubs in today''s football world. This season, they remain unbeaten in the Champions League and are positioned in different halves, guaranteeing the possibility of at least one team making it to the final.


    With the other three Spanish powerhouses converging in the Europa League, the Madrid derby and a Basque derby are possible matchups, making it highly likely for Spanish teams to sweep both titles.


    In the UEFA coefficient rankings, points are calcted based on the performances of the clubs in the two major Europeanpetitions over the past five seasons.


    Each win earns two points, a draw earns one point, and qualification for the Champions League group stage and round of 16 earns three points and one point respectively.


    Qualification for the quarter-finals, semi-finals, and finals earns an additional point each. The total points are then divided by the number of participating teams to get the season''s total score.


    This score, along with the scores from the previous four seasons, determines the total score for the country. Since the allocation of Europeanpetition slots to each country''s leagues is decided before the start of the season, the current season''s points will determine the situation for the following season.


    Although Real Madrid and Barcelona have brought in many points for La Liga in recent years, the strong performances of several Premier League teams have barely pushed them ahead of La Liga by 0.675 points over the past five years.


    But after this season ends, the situation couldpletely reverse. Even if Chelsea ultimately wins the Champions League, La Liga will surpass the Premier League. Spain will once again reim the top spot in Europe!


    After this year, there will be significant changes in thendscape of other European leagues. The Bundesliga''s performance in Europeanpetitions will surpass Serie A, rising to the third position.


    This means that the Bundesliga will have four Champions League slots in the following season, while Serie A will only have three.


    What''s even morementable is that due to the failures of teams like Marseille and Lyon, and the negligence of other Ligue 1 teams towards the Europa League, their points have been caught up by the Portuguese Primeira Liga, leading to aplete copse to the sixth position.


    This means that the third-ce team in Ligue 1 will have to start from the Champions League qualifiers, a situation that has not urred in 22 years.


    On April 9th, in the 31st round of La Liga, Real Madrid faced Valencia away.


    The recently qualified Gcticos were in high spirits. Less than a minute into the game, Wang Feng threatened the Bat Legion''s goal with a long shot from outside the penalty area.


    In the 9th minute, Real Madrid organized an attack. Modric nted the ball to Di Maria, who directly volleyed it into the penalty area.


    Wang Feng held off the defending team and headed the ball to an open space. Iglesias followed up with an easy shot, making it 1-0!


    With five minutes left in the first half, Di Maria cut inside from the nk and passed the ball. Iglesias flicked it with his heel, catching everyone off guard near the penalty spot.


    Just when everyone thought it was a mistake, the Chinese superstar appeared like a ghost and volleyed the ball into the, increasing the Gcticos'' lead.


    After scoring, the Real Madrid yers hugged each other in celebration. Alonsoughed and said, "Gonzalo, I didn''t expect you to have such a mysterious passing technique!"


    Iglesias rubbed his head shyly. "Actually, I ran a bit deep, and the ball just happened to hit my heel."


    "Haha!" Everyoneughed, "But Wang Feng''s ability to snatch the ball is amazing, he even managed to make a mistake!"


    Little did they know, in the future, countless fans would carefully study and analyze this passingbination through videos, considering it one of the greatest in history.


    In the end, Real Madrid defeated Valencia 2-0.


    On April 12th, in the 32nd round of La Liga, the Gcticos weed the Madrid derby at home.


    Since Simeone took over as head coach, Atletico Madrid''s results have seen a strong rebound, rising from near the relegation zone to the Europa League zone, now just one step away from Europeanpetition.


    "The yers must understand the team''s history and the significance of ying for Atletico!" said Simeone, who had won two league titles before taking office, emphasizing responsibility and a sense of mission, which had always been his style.


    During the period of former coach Manzano, Atletico Madrid pursued ball possession butcked efficiency in attack. After Simeone took over, he drastically strengthened the defense, transforming the team''s tactics into a counter-attacking style.


    Juanfran, the right winger, was moved to right-back, to contain opponent''s wing attacks while actively contributing to the offense.


    Miranda and Godin were fixed in the center-back positions, while Felipe Luis, who was also good at assisting, was deployed as the left-back. Gabi and Tiago, the two defensive midfielders, also dropped back to protect the penalty area.


    On the offensive side, the core front line was established, with Falcao leading the line, Turan breaking through on the wings, and Adrian supporting from behind.


    Adrian, who won the Golden Ball and Golden Boot in the European Under-21 Championship, surprisingly did not gain the trust of the former head coach, but Simeonepletely revitalized him. Not only could he support Falcao on the wings, but he could also y as a forward.


    So despite Atletico Madrid''s deteriorating financial situation, their results were theirst line of defense.


    "Returning to the Champions League can greatly solve our debt problem. I believe Simeone can do it," said Hill, one of the club''s top executives, in an interview.