Starting as a Defensive Midfielder at Real Madrid

”Real Madrid has achieved admirable success over the past season, but I still believe that Madrid needs a second voice.

We will prove that we deserve the attention we’re getting.

Atlético is not destined to be the forever sidekick in the Madrid derby. The old status quo—it’s time for it to change.”

Simeone sounded confident in his pre-match press conference ahead of the Madrid Derby.

And, of course, that confidence was in line with his character. Without that inner belief, he would never have led this Atlético transformation in the first place.

But it seemed like he had conveniently forgotten one fact.

Even without looking at previous head-to-head records, since the end of 2011, the Simeone-led Atlético had lost all three matches against the big two—Real Madrid and Barcelona.

And in the two direct clashes with Real Madrid, they hadn’t just lost—they’d been annihilated.

Eight goals conceded in two games, utterly humiliated. They didn’t just lose the game—they lost their shorts.

So naturally, a lot of fans found Simeone’s sudden surge of confidence both baffling and laughable.

Sure, Atlético’s start to the season had been outstanding—even the most loyal Real and Barça fans had to admit that this Atlético team was on another level compared to years past.

But as the head coach, couldn’t he keep it low-key? Wait until they actually take a point off Real or Barça before making bold claims?

Public opinion ahead of the match was already shaping up to be heavily unfavorable to Atlético.

Yet Mourinho wasn’t in the mood to gloat. In fact, during the tactical meeting, he openly said that Simeone was cunning and decisive.

”He said those things on purpose,” Mourinho said. ”He’s cutting off any retreat for his players, forcing them to fight back from a corner, to go all out when no one believes in them.”

Mourinho was so certain in his interpretation that even Karanka and the other coaching staff were taken aback.

But Mourinho’s next line left no room for doubt.

”Ahem, well, you know… I’ve done this kind of thing myself. Once or twice. Simeone’s clearly trying to squeeze out every drop of motivation by playing the mental game. They’ll definitely sit deep and go all-in on counterattacks.”

Well, since the boss himself had said it, Karanka and Pintus could only nod and swiftly move on.

Now that the staff had deciphered Simeone’s psychological warfare, there was just one tactical question left.

Playing at home tomorrow, should they be cautious and guard the center early on?

Or throw caution to the wind and go straight into high-pressure attack mode to test Atlético’s supposed defensive strength?

”We absolutely cannot rush forward from the start. Simeone is begging for us to walk into his counterattack trap!

Their whole wing-to-center counter setup is built around Falcao, and the Tiger is on fire right now.

If we get hit on the break early, it’ll be a disaster.

Cristiano—don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying Falcao’s better than you. I’m saying it’d be stupid to jump into an obvious trap. We need to play this smart~”

It was the night before the match, November 30th. During dinner at a restaurant, Ma Long (aka ”Ma Pongpong”) had treated the team, and while they waited for the food, Li Ang confidently broke down Atlético’s tactical approach.

Cristiano Ronaldo didn’t mind the teasing at all. He waved it off, clearly more interested in Li Ang’s tactical analysis.

”Little Lion, why are you so sure? What if Atlético tries to hit us early with a head-on attack?”

Li Ang asked the waiter for a lemon water, and without even turning his head, responded casually.

”I watched their last three games. In all of them, they sat deep at the midfield line and played for counters—every single time aiming for Falcao.

You guys don’t know, but their half-field defense is way tighter than when we faced them earlier this season.

Their midfield four—no matter who starts—tracks back hard. Arda Turan and Koke both put in serious work defensively.

And when defending, their central midfielders always prioritize protecting the top of the box.

Gabi is a beast, whether he’s paired with Tiago or Mario Suárez, the midfield stays solid.

And don’t forget their set pieces—Godín is a monster in the air!”

Hearing Li Ang’s detailed and logical breakdown, the rest of the first-teamers at the table had no choice but to give him a thumbs-up.

Now this was professionalism!

While they usually headed home after training to relax or spend time with their girlfriends, Li Ang was watching tapes of their toughest opponents.

Okay… he didn’t have a girlfriend. But that wasn’t the point!

The point was that Li Ang’s insights gave everyone at the table a deeper, more specific understanding of Atlético’s strengths, even outside of the coaching staff’s scouting reports.

By the end of dinner, even Ma Pongpong gave up on his idea of heading out for fun afterward. Everyone just wanted to get home and watch Atlético match replays.

Because according to Li Ang, Atlético might be even stronger than they thought—especially on defense.

And if they still held onto their old assumptions, they might really get caught off guard tomorrow.

Losing the match wasn’t the end of the world. But losing a home match? A derby match?

That’s headline material.

Li Ang wasn’t exaggerating Atlético’s strength—his analysis came from carefully rewatching their last three games.

Initially, he’d just wanted to check on the form of the ever-handsome Diego Costa and Arda Turan.

After all, he wouldn’t be matched up with Falcao too often during the game, but against Turan and Costa—both of whom often drifted out as tactical pivots—he’d be facing them constantly.

But after watching the matches, Li Ang found himself more interested in Atlético’s tactical design and Falcao’s explosive form.

With all those notes and breakdowns fresh in his mind, it was no wonder he could rattle off such an in-depth analysis at dinner.

The next morning, upon arriving at the training base, Li Ang was immediately briefed by Karanka on the match plan for the night.

”Starting with tight coverage on the flanks and half-space?”

”Yep. We’re focusing on protecting the wide zones and those inside channels. You’ll have to run more today.”

”No problem!”

Li Ang thumped his chest, full of confidence in his defensive duties.

And in that moment, his heart settled. Mourinho’s tactical awareness was still as sharp as ever—not only anticipating Atlético’s wing play but drilling down to target those vulnerable half-spaces.

Li Ang suddenly had a premonition: twenty minutes into tonight’s game, Simeone’s expression was going to look real sour~

※※※

December 1st, evening. Earlier that day, Barcelona had thrashed Athletic Bilbao 5–1.

That result had piled on even more pressure for Real Madrid to keep up the winning streak.

As the final match before midnight—and the only high-profile derby during the time slot—Real Madrid vs. Atlético Madrid immediately sent TV ratings through the roof.

In Spain, of course, the numbers skyrocketed. But even overseas, viewership spiked sharply.

After all, this was the only La Liga match on at the time. And with Barça having already dropped five goals earlier in the day, the hype was in full swing.

While European viewers were just settling in to watch the match before heading to bed, fans in China were rubbing their sleepy eyes and shutting off their alarms.

There was no choice—this match kicked off at 5 a.m. local time in China. If they wanted to watch it live, many fans had to go to bed early and wake up painfully early.

It was one thing to stay up for a 2 or 3 a.m. kickoff. But 5 a.m.? That basically meant pulling an all-nighter. A lot of older domestic fans simply couldn’t manage it anymore.

He Wei was on solo commentary duty again tonight, but his solo hosting skills were solid—he had no trouble holding the audience’s attention on his own.

After briefly summarizing both teams’ recent form, He Wei turned to the broadcast and quickly walked through the starting lineups as the players stepped out onto the pitch.

Atlético lined up in a 4-4-2 formation tonight, with Courtois—one of the most promising young keepers in Europe—starting in goal.

Their backline featured Filipe Luís, Miranda, Godín, and Juanfran in a straight line across the back.

This defense was the main reason Atlético had only conceded ten goals in their first thirteen La Liga matches.

In one word: solid.

They were among the best in Spain, both in defending on the ground and in the air. Their raw defensive quality was probably just a shade below Real Madrid’s full-strength back line.

And the numbers backed it up. Madrid had only conceded eight goals over the same span, with Atlético close behind. In fact, Atlético had conceded the second-fewest goals in the league, behind only Barcelona in third.

In midfield, Atlético went with the taller Mario Suárez and Gabi as the starting central pair.

Arda Turan started on the left wing, Koke on the right.

Up top, Diego Costa and Falcao formed the familiar striker duo.

Looking at that lineup now, in hindsight, it was a textbook counterattacking setup with the defensive dial turned all the way up.

On Real Madrid’s side, Mourinho went with a cautious 4-2-3-1 starting shape.

Casillas started in goal.

With Coentrão back from injury, he returned to his usual spot at left back.

Pepe and Ramos continued as the center-back pairing, while Essien got the nod at right back tonight.

Why Essien? Because Atlético’s left flank—the ”Turan + Filipe Luís” corridor—was their most dangerous offensive route.

Mourinho wasn’t taking chances. He directly assigned Essien to that side to go head-to-head with Turan and Filipe Luís.

Li Ang started on the right side of central midfield, specifically tasked with shutting down Arda Turan, the engine of Atlético’s attack.

Alonso played left defensive midfield.

Modrić started in the central attacking midfield role, with Cristiano Ronaldo and Di María on either wing. Benzema led the line up front.

By now, the smile on Simeone’s face had faded noticeably.

He really wanted to ”thank” Mourinho—because his tactical intentions couldn’t have been more obvious.

If both Turan and Filipe Luís were shut down, it was no exaggeration to say Atlético’s offense would be cut in half.

And to make matters worse, Real Madrid’s main attacking focus was on the opposite flank, avoiding Atlético’s strongest side entirely.

Mourinho could afford to ”sacrifice” Li Ang and Essien to smother that wing, but could Atlético afford to have Juanfran and Koke drop deep just to deal with Ronaldo?

If Simeone actually made that call, both of Atlético’s wings would be neutered.

That would leave only Gabi in the center to support Falcao.

And what good is support if it doesn’t actually reach him?

Unfortunately for Simeone, the match started right on time, leaving him little space to rethink his strategy.

From the opening whistle, Real Madrid applied immediate pressure on Atlético’s right side.

Li Ang and Essien together? No matter the zone, no matter the opponent, their combined pressing and interception ability was absolute top-tier.

Even more impressive—they could cover for each other. While most fullback-midfield duos see one go forward and the other sit back, these two could go together and recover together.

And the key factor? Arda Turan wasn’t particularly fast.

So as long as one of them blocked Filipe Luís’s advance, the other could hammer Turan with tight physical pressure every time he received the ball.

After a few probing exchanges, both Turan and Filipe were looking a little battered.

Costa, as usual, instinctively drifted toward that side to help Turan relieve pressure.

But the moment he realized doing so would mean dealing with Li Ang…

Our beautiful Diego Costa instinctively reached back to adjust his waistband.

Yeah, this wasn’t the way.

Turan, ever the cerebral player, quickly began rotating positions with Koke.

Well, more like he had Koke go babysit that flank for a while. But you couldn’t argue with the logic—Turan was too important to the team’s attacking structure to be wasted in no man’s land.

Alonso was difficult to deal with, yes—but compared to Li Ang, he was far less aggressive and covered less ground.

So Turan began operating more in the half-spaces, and Juanfran started pushing forward to support.

Falcao didn’t see much of the ball early on, but with Turan’s help, Diego Costa became more active.

Since Costa liked drifting to draw defenders away, and now avoided Li Ang entirely, he quickly made both Alonso and Ramos uncomfortable in just three minutes.

Dirty little tricks, shirt pulls, subtle nudges—Costa had them all. And the ref only blew the whistle for one foul, which left Ramos fuming.

That’s when Li Ang stepped in and swapped positions with Alonso.

Costa clicked his tongue and muttered something under his breath.

Li Ang didn’t hold back either—he immediately glued himself to Costa’s back and smiled as he greeted him.

Alonso was solid, sure. But when it came to physical duels and relentless pressing, he was no Li Ang.

Costa was in for a rude awakening.

The next time Costa made a run to receive a pass from Juanfran, Li Ang tugged his shirt and locked into a shoulder battle right away.

The two tangled all the way to the sideline, eventually both falling to the ground.

Costa got up first and immediately pointed at Li Ang, complaining to the ref about the shirt pull.

But Li Ang?

He clutched his chest and started rolling on the ground like he’d been shot.

Oh boy—he looked genuinely miserable. The assistant referee flagged that Costa had committed a foul.

And just as he was about to add ”they both elbowed each other,” the head ref decisively awarded possession to Real Madrid.

Costa stood there, stunned.

The replay quickly clarified what had just happened for the sleepy-eyed fans at home.

Both players had slyly thrown elbows while out of the ref’s line of sight…

And then flopped in sync like seasoned actors.

Neutral fans burst into laughter.

My goodness. Good thing these two don’t play on the same team.

Otherwise, the rest of La Liga would be in for absolute torment.

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