I Am Jose-Chapter 149 - : Aerial Dominance

"What an impressive jump!" Hidalgo couldn't help but exclaim, "Daniel Van Buyten, Belgian international, 1.96 meters tall, weighing 80 kilograms... A bit on the lean side, but with that height, his presence on the pitch is terrifying. Mallorca's defensive line has once again gained an advantage in height! Looks like any team trying to break them down will need to rely more on ground attacks..."

"His footwork isn't slow either—definitely a quality defender! Whether he can maintain this form remains to be seen, but one thing's for sure: Mallorca might have found another hidden gem abroad! Last season, Ronaldinho and Kaladze performed brilliantly, and now they've added Van Buyten... Mallorca is launching a counterattack!" Bones shouted excitedly.

Van Buyten's powerful header sent the ball flying to a spot just behind the center circle. Ronaldinho received it with his back to Real Madrid's half, and before Makélélé could close in, he quickly flicked the ball to the advancing Rufete on the right flank.

Now it was time for another of Mallorca's new signings to showcase himself.

Rufete sprinted down the right wing. Though he wasn't exceptionally fast, with Roberto Carlos already pushed forward in attack, there was no one marking him.

But of course, Carlos wasn't about to let Rufete run unchecked. Sprinting back at an astonishing pace, he was determined to recover his defensive position!

"What a monster. If I had a full-back like that, I'd also be confident enough to leave one side of the midfield open," José thought, pursing his lips.

Rufete was no rookie. He had been playing in La Liga since his teenage years and had faced Carlos many times during his spell at Málaga. Knowing Carlos was closing in fast, Rufete didn't attempt to dribble further. Instead, he lifted his right foot and sent a diagonal half-volley cross into the box!

The ball curved beautifully and landed inside Real Madrid's penalty area.

Samuel Eto'o, sprinting at full speed, shook off Karanka's marking and met the ball mid-stride, redirecting it with the inside of his foot in a controlled volley!

"OHHHH! Iker Casillas! What a stunning save! He dived and reached out with one hand to deflect the ball away—it's out for a corner! Mallorca wins a corner kick!"

"Eto'o's shot was fantastic—timing his run, jumping mid-stride, and using the inside of his foot to cushion the ball. It was textbook execution! But Casillas' save was even more remarkable. He practically saved Real Madrid on the goal line!"

"With Zidane's arrival, Real Madrid's attack has become even more formidable than last season. However, their defense still hasn't seen significant improvement. Last season, they lost to Mallorca twice in the league because of their defensive frailties. But Casillas has matured—this young, talented goalkeeper ensures that Real Madrid won't have to worry about their No.1 spot for the next decade!"

As the Mallorca fans let out a collective sigh, commentators across different broadcasts shared their thoughts. Meanwhile, José leaped in frustration, clutching his head—this was exactly why Real Madrid managed to achieve success in the coming years despite their leaky defense. A great goalkeeper truly counted for half a team...

Mallorca was solid in most areas, but their goalkeeping position was slightly weaker. Franco was decent, but not at the level of a starting goalkeeper for a top club. However, José had no better options. Spain's restrictive foreign player policy severely limited his choices. In this regard, Spain had the strictest foreign player regulations among the top four leagues.

The English Premier League had its infamous work permit system, but as long as a player was an international, they could sign without a cap on foreign players. In Italy, clubs could only sign one or two non-EU players per season, but selling existing non-EU players could free up additional slots. The Bundesliga had a similar cap to Spain, but their definition of a "foreign player" was more lenient—any European player wasn't considered foreign. In Spain, only EU nationals counted as domestic, which made a huge difference.

For instance, under German rules, Kaladze wouldn't count as a foreign player since Georgia is a European country...

This meant that even if José wanted to sign Petr Čech, he couldn't—Čech was Czech, and the Czech Republic wasn't in the EU yet. He'd have to wait until 2004 to sign him without worrying about the non-EU player limit...

Sighing internally, José turned his attention to Drogba, who was sitting next to him.

"Didier, did you see that? That was a top-class shot from Samuel. Even while sprinting, he managed to strike the ball cleanly with the perfect contact point to guide it towards goal... If you want to improve your finishing, power is only part of it—accuracy is far more important. It doesn't matter if you can blast the ball through the net—if you can't hit the target, all you'll do is give some unlucky fan in the stands a nosebleed."

"But that shot still didn't go in," Drogba muttered.

"Yeah, it didn't. But that's because the opposing goalkeeper pulled off an incredible save. Sure, a missed shot and a saved shot both result in no goal, but there's a key difference—shots on target have a chance, while shots off target have zero chance. Plus, when a shot is saved, it can lead to a corner kick. These are small advantages, but victories are built on accumulating these little advantages."

José grinned and patted Drogba on the back. "Alright, now watch this corner."

He didn't lower his voice while speaking, and the other substitutes were all listening intently—especially Campano and Novo. Both had been promoted from the B team, where they had received plenty of José's guidance. They weren't guaranteed starters in the first team, but they got frequent game time and were considered José's loyal protégés. And his advice was always valuable...

Rufete stood at the corner flag, scanning the situation inside the box.

Mallorca had always been strong in the air, and today's lineup only reinforced that. Aside from Rufete, who was just 1.72 meters tall, everyone else was at least 1.80 meters—including the full-backs. George was 1.87 meters, Capdevila 1.82. Now, with Capdevila and Nadal staying back to defend, the rest had flooded Real Madrid's penalty area—Van Buyten (1.96m), Kaladze (1.86m), Motta (1.87m), George (1.87m), and two forwards, Luque and Eto'o, both over 1.80m.

From Real Madrid's perspective, their penalty area was now a towering forest, blocking out the sunlight...

Real Madrid's defenders weren't exactly short—Hierro and Karanka were excellent in the air—but the rest of their backline was diminutive. Salgado was 1.74m, Makélélé just 1.70m, Savio 1.76m. Even Zidane and Figo, both 1.80m, weren't natural defenders...

Hierro and Karanka looked at the approaching crowd of towering Mallorca players and could only sigh.

Damn it, these guys are too tall!

As the referee blew the whistle, Mallorca's players started making runs to disrupt the defense. Real Madrid's defenders did their best to track the most dangerous targets. Hierro stuck to Van Buyten—after all, he was the tallest...

Rufete whipped in the cross. His job was to deliver a ball that was easier for his teammates to attack rather than for defenders to clear.

Van Buyten, originally at the back post, suddenly cut towards the center. Hierro followed him but was momentarily blocked by Kaladze. By the time he got around, Van Buyten had already leaped high into the air!

Marking him? A 1.69m Roberto Carlos...

With such a massive height disparity, Carlos didn't even attempt to jump. He could only watch as Van Buyten powered his header towards the top right corner!

With the ball coming from such close range and at such an acute angle, even Casillas' lightning-fast reflexes couldn't react in time.

All he could do was turn his head and watch the ball fly into the top corner...

For a brief second, the Estadio Son Moix fell silent.

Then, an explosion of cheers erupted!

"It's in! After just five minutes, Mallorca is leading 1-0 at home! The goal comes from newly signed Belgian international Van Buyten! The towering defender played a crucial role in both defense and attack, first clearing a corner from Real Madrid in front of his own goal, and then scoring off a corner in Real Madrid's box! The assist came from fellow summer signing Rufet! These two new players have given Mallorca a great start!"

Van Buyten spread his arms wide and ran toward the stands. His long hair flew behind him. Though Van Buyten wasn't exactly handsome—some might even say he was quite unattractive—at this moment, he was incredibly eye-catching to Mallorca's fans!

After soaking in the fans' cheers, Van Buyten turned around and high-fived Rufet. For these two new players, having such a good start would positively impact their performances going forward—at least they no longer had to rush to prove their abilities.

When Van Buyten scored, Jose jumped up from the coach's seat, fist pumping.

His celebrations were always exuberant, a habit formed after feeling the thrill of his first match coaching Mallorca. When there's no goal, he remains calm, controlling his emotions while analyzing the situation on the field, but when a goal is scored, it's his moment to release his emotions and relieve the pressure!

"Didier, did you see that? All you have to do is score, and you'll get the fans' cheers!" Drogba pumped his fist in support of his teammates while thinking to himself.

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