Starting as a Defensive Midfielder at Real Madrid

Using Di María as a central midfielder still had plenty of issues—his coordination with Alonso and Leon wasn’t seamless yet. But with Khedira suddenly injured, Mourinho considered it a blessing in disguise that he’d managed to piece together an emergency new formation.

It carried some risk, sure—but it was a risk Mourinho believed he could control.

As long as Di María retained his starting position, he wouldn’t feel too out of place. And with Di María tracking back on the left side of midfield, providing defensive cover in front of Alonso, Mourinho could confidently allow Leon to focus more on shielding Kaká.

Thankfully, Leon hadn’t over-promised. He delivered exactly what he said he could, showing that he truly had the stamina and intelligence to cover both halves of the midfield.

It came at a higher physical cost, of course, but with Lassana Diarra available as a backup, Mourinho wasn’t too worried about depth in that position.

At most, they’d have to make do for two months until Khedira recovered. Then he could return to his ideal 4-3-3.

For now, everything hinged on how well Di María and Kaká adapted to their new roles.

After the scrimmage, most of the first-team players figured out what was going on.

Kaká was a little anxious, waiting for Mourinho’s final decision, and Di María looked unsure about the change.

”Ángel, don’t worry. You’re not losing your starting spot. Just keep pushing forward when the opportunity comes—I’ll cover your position. And besides, you’ve got my teacher back there too. If things get messy, we’ve got you,” Leon said, patting Di María on the chest, trying to sound reassuring even as he felt the pressure building.

”You’re really a good guy, Little Lion. Thanks so much. Alright, I’ll do it. I mean, it’s not like I hate the position or anything—I just need time to adjust.”

Seeing that Di María still lacked confidence, Leon turned up the praise.

”Don’t say that! You’re going to be great in midfield. Think about it: your passing range, stamina, vision, and positioning are all top-tier. That’s everything a central midfielder needs. You just need to track back a bit more than when you play on the wing, and that’s it! Leave the dirty work to me and my teacher.”

”Ahem.”

Xabi Alonso, who had just walked by, cleared his throat with enough weight to make Leon’s soul leave his body for a second.

Quickly, Leon corrected himself.

”Right, I will handle the dirty work! You, maestro, just keep bossing the tempo and running the game! Ángel here’s got such incredible ball-carrying skills—he’s going to be way more dangerous than most midfielders!”

Di María blinked at the flurry of compliments.

”…Am I really suited to midfield?”

Still caught between doubt and belief, he barely had time to think before Mourinho summoned him to the office.

Ten minutes later, Di María sat in front of Mourinho, listening to the manager outline all the reasons for the position switch.

”Your technical profile allows us to launch attacks from midfield. You’re excellent at carrying the ball forward—not just playing long passes.”

”Your natural left foot fits perfectly in the left central midfield role. And your short and long passing ability makes you ideal for breaking lines and feeding the forwards.”

”As for defense, just help Alonso out. Leon will track back too—those two will handle the heavy work.”

”Boss.”

”Hmm? You’ve got something to say?”

”Not really. It’s just… Leon said almost exactly the same things you did. If you both believe this is right, then I’m in. I’ll do it.”

”…Huh?”

Now it was Mourinho’s turn to be stunned. Still, he quickly regained his composure and sent Di María back out onto the field.

Twenty minutes later, Kaká entered the office and earnestly expressed his resolve.

”I think Leon had a point. With age and my current physical condition, I need to adapt to the team’s system. If you give me the chance, I’ll do my best in this new role. Just tell me how you want me to play.”

Mourinho: ”…”

He had planned a whole speech—but now it was useless. All he could do was smile and give Kaká a few pointers.

”Try to focus on one-touch passing and making late runs for long shots. You know your body—you’re not built for explosive bursts anymore. Adapting your play will help extend your career.”

”I understand. Thank you, boss!”

Unburdened, Kaká left the office brimming with confidence.

Now that Mourinho had mentally settled both players who were adapting to new positions, the rest of the tactical planning went smoothly.

He tweaked his usual system, adding new combinations: Kaká’s threat with vertical passes, Higuaín’s back-to-goal layoffs, and the late runs from both Kaká and Di María.

Kaká could now shoot from distance or drift wide to cross. Di María could cut in himself or combine with Ronaldo and Higuaín for one-twos through the middle.

While this version of Real Madrid lost some width on the right compared to the traditional 4-3-3, it gained versatility and central depth.

In the afternoon friendly against Leicester City, Di María’s penetrating runs from midfield repeatedly broke the defensive lines.

Kaká, in the 61st minute, lofted a pinpoint through ball to Higuaín, who slotted it home low and hard.

There were still a few minor miscommunications between the new midfield trio. Leon and Alonso were doing most of the defensive sweeping, but the progress was enough to satisfy Mourinho.

August 1st. The team flew out for the final leg of their preseason—China.

In both Guangzhou and Tianjin, the Chinese fans welcomed Real Madrid with explosive enthusiasm.

In two back-to-back matches, Madrid swept aside their opponents 6–0 each, though the quality of opposition was questionable.

But as far as branding and promotion went? A resounding success.

The players themselves were stunned by how loud and loyal the fans were—playing felt like being back at the Bernabéu.

Unfortunately, the China trip was brief.

August 6th, the team flew back to Spain. On the 8th, training resumed—intense and focused.

Because the Spanish Super Cup was coming.

As Copa del Rey winners, Madrid were set to face league champions Barcelona in a two-legged affair.

With the first leg at the Bernabéu, Madrid needed to win to have any real shot at lifting the trophy.

But beating this version of Barça? No easy task.

Even though Madrid had beaten them in last year’s Copa del Rey final, they’d been outplayed in their first league meeting and knocked out in the Champions League semifinals.

The pressure was real.

Leon, however, remained calm.

He didn’t look nervous at all—something that amazed his teammates.

After all, this was peak Barcelona. Two Champions League titles in three years. Three straight league titles. They were untouchable.

What his teammates didn’t know was that Leon had watched enough football in his past life to stop being in awe of so-called ”beautiful football.”

Especially after seeing possession-heavy teams like Barça get carved up by compact, counter-focused sides.

He wasn’t even thinking about Bayern’s ”7-Up” demolition of Barça or Chelsea’s old-school masterclass.

Even Inter—with their aging veterans—had dumped out Barça just a year ago.

And in the original timeline? This season, they’d fall to an even older Chelsea team.

So no—Leon didn’t fear Barça.

With Mourinho at the helm, and the right tactical setup, anything was possible.

Madrid’s starting XI was strong—Leon felt they had every reason to be confident.

His calm confidence helped ease the tension in the squad.

And Mourinho backed it up with tactical drills that gave his players the tools to believe again.

Six days of hard training later, Real Madrid had shed their anxiety and regained their confidence.

As Mourinho said, no tactical system is invincible forever.

He’d already shown he could break down tiki-taka once—and he intended to do it again.

It was time for Madrid to reclaim their throne.

Forget yesterday. Don’t dream of tomorrow.

It’s about the now.

※※※

August 14th, evening. Under the roar of nearly 70,000 fans at the Bernabéu, Real Madrid and Barcelona walked out of the tunnel.

He Wei was excited to be back on commentary duty, covering another match featuring Leon.

Last year, Leon’s time at Milan had given his colleague Liu Jianhong all the best moments—his first assist, his first goal, his championship lift.

Now, it was He Wei’s turn again.

CCTV didn’t assign a co-commentator tonight, so it would be a solo broadcast.

After running through the intro, He Wei began announcing the starting lineups:

”Real Madrid, at home tonight, have lined up in an unusual 4-4-2. This is the same setup they rehearsed during the friendlies—developed after Khedira’s injury. Let’s see how it plays out.”

”In goal: No. 1, Iker Casillas.

Backline from left to right: No. 12 Marcelo, No. 3 Pepe, No. 2 Carvalho, No. 4 Ramos.

In midfield: No. 10 Leon and No. 14 Alonso as holding midfielders. No. 22 Di María and No. 8 Kaká on the flanks.

Up front: Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema.”

”Barcelona, starting in goal: No. 1 Valdés.

Left-back: No. 21 Adriano.

Center-backs: No. 22 Abidal and No. 14 Mascherano.

Right-back: No. 2 Dani Alves.”

In midfield, No. 15 Keita was positioned as the lone defensive midfielder, with No. 11 Thiago and No. 8 Iniesta operating as twin central midfielders.

Barcelona’s attacking trio featured their new summer signing No. 9 Alexis Sánchez, No. 7 David Villa, and the ever-familiar No. 10 Lionel Messi.

Just as He Wei finished listing the lineups, the teams completed the opening ceremony and took their places in their respective halves, waiting for the captains to decide ends and the referee to blow the whistle.

The live broadcast camera panned across the star-studded rosters of Real Madrid and Barcelona.

Messi, Iniesta, Villa, Cristiano Ronaldo, Benzema, Xabi Alonso...

For fans watching around the world, this was more than just a football match—it was an emotional clash between two footballing empires, backed by two of La Liga’s financial titans.

And with the whistle blown and Benzema tapping the ball to Di María, the ”Clash of the Century” that kicked off the new season was officially underway!

”Zhuangdian’er TV! Zhuangdian’er TV! Welcome to the 2011…”

He Wei’s impassioned commentary reached all the way across the globe to China, where fans had stayed up until 4 a.m. to watch this footballing spectacle.

A Real Madrid vs. Barcelona match was already a must-watch event in the footballing world. Now that China’s own Leon was part of it, interest had broken out of the sports bubble and gone mainstream.

And not all those staying up late were hardcore football fans. Many were just curious spectators.

So when Real Madrid launched their first attack, and Kaká, Ronaldo, and Leon appeared in the same frame, the top-trending comment wasn’t about tactics.

It was:

”Real Madrid wins on looks alone!”

Even some diehard Barça fans had to admit, if this were a beauty contest, Real Madrid had already secured a clean win.

Given the late-night heat around this matchup, once the result trended on Weibo, it was inevitable that a wave of newly converted fangirls would declare themselves ”ten-year Real fans.”

But the true Barça faithful weren’t letting up.

”Football is about ability. Just wait until Barça crushes Real again and wins the Super Cup to kick off the new season!”

Their confidence, however, began to fade as the match progressed.

Usually, Barça would quickly gain control and begin pressing Madrid with their superior midfield play.

But tonight?

It was flipped.

Didn’t Mourinho say he’d play cautiously against Barça’s possession tactics?

So what was this ”caution” exactly—charging out and pressing from the start?

A completely uncharacteristic attacking approach from Real Madrid sent waves of cheers crashing through the Bernabéu.

And on the sidelines, Guardiola looked genuinely stunned. Mourinho had baited him with a smokescreen once again.

Not that Guardiola could be blamed.

Only a few months ago, in the Champions League final, they had demolished Manchester United, who had dared to go toe-to-toe in an open battle.

With that memory fresh, and given Mourinho’s long-standing reputation for conservative football, Guardiola had assumed Madrid would bunker down and counter.

He had contingency plans, sure. But none for this kind of onslaught.

Five minutes in, and with Real Madrid’s attack unrelenting, Guardiola found himself in a familiar spiral of tactical hesitation.

But then came a timely defensive steal from Keita, followed by a driving run from Iniesta that launched a textbook Barça counterattack.

Even before they’d crossed the halfway line, Iniesta spotted the angle and whipped a diagonal through ball toward the right.

Target: Messi.

Di María lost track of him for a second. Messi slipped into the right half-space and was now bearing down on Xabi Alonso one-on-one.

Despite Alonso’s positional awareness and experience, he was helpless against Messi’s sudden burst of acceleration.

His lack of speed left him no time even to pull Messi’s jersey to foul him.

Gasps echoed through the Bernabéu as Messi charged straight at the heart of Madrid’s back line.

But just then—Leon, already tracking back, came surging in from the side.

”Can’t lose position!”

He had made up his mind long ago. Rather than dive in recklessly, he took a more calculated path, sprinting inward to cut off Messi’s preferred shooting angle and potential dribble route.

Messi was caught off guard by Leon’s clever positioning. But he didn’t overthink it—just shifted wide to bait him, then snapped back inside with a trademark body feint.

His plan was to wrong-foot Leon and then glide into space for a shot or pass.

And from the outside, it looked like Leon had taken the bait, backing off and giving ground like he was waiting for reinforcements.

But just as Messi began to accelerate, Leon struck.

With perfect timing, he stepped in and cleanly poked the ball away—no foul, no fuss, no hesitation.

A roar erupted from the Madrid faithful.

Maybe Leon still lacked the defensive ceiling of a certain short-statured French legend, but in that moment, it didn’t matter.

Leon had just done a Makélélé.

And he did it to Messi.

On the sidelines, Mourinho looked like he’d just scored the winning goal himself.

He waved his arms wildly, urging the crowd to go even louder.

Leon didn’t hesitate—he launched the ball back upfield with a booming clearance.

Cristiano, Benzema, and Kaká all turned their heads and smiled toward midfield.

Their anchor had returned.

The man behind the stars—was back.

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