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Starting as a Defensive Midfielder at Real Madrid

Chapter 176 - 175: Dortmund’s Twin Engines Useless Before Li Ang · Nov 11, 2026

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Chapter List (401)

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151 Chapter 151: You Were Given the Chance, and You Blew It! 2026-11-11
152 Chapter 152: Dortmund Should Be Thanking Us, and Ajax Owes Man City a Bow Next Match 2026-11-11
153 Chapter 153: So I Heard Atlético Wants to Rise Up? 2026-11-11
154 Chapter 154: Good Thing These Two Aren’t on the Same Team—La Liga Would Be a Nightmare 2026-11-11
155 Chapter 155: With Pintus on Our Side, Attrition Battles Are Real Madrid’s Home Turf 2026-11-11
156 Chapter 156: The Champions League Round of 16 Is Set—Real Madrid Sets Sights on a Sixth Title 2026-11-11
157 Chapter 157: “Light of Asia” Sparks Idol Frenzy in East Asia 2026-11-11
158 Chapter 158: Guardiola in Meltdown—Is Barça in Trouble? 2026-11-11
159 Chapter 159: Kid, If You Go to Barça, I’ll Just Keep Beating You 2026-11-11
160 Chapter 160: Alright, I Admit It—Li Ang Does Want the Ballon d’Or 2026-11-11
161 Chapter 161: Triple-Front War or Cautious Double-Line Focus? 2026-11-11
162 Chapter 162: One Path Up Mount Hua—All In for a Double Title Defense 2026-11-11
163 Chapter 163: You Mock Arsenal for Their Top-Four Obsession, but They’re Really Not That Weak 2026-11-11
164 Chapter 164: Wenger: Who Wouldn’t Want to Sign Li Ang? 2026-11-11
165 Chapter 165: Playing Against Technical Teams? That’s What We Do Best 2026-11-11
166 Chapter 166: Their Will Is Shattered—Arsenal’s Dao Heart Has Collapsed! 2026-11-11
167 Chapter 167 - 189: Offensive Talent Skyrockets — The Giants Are Drooling Over Leon 2026-11-11
168 Chapter 168 - 167: A Burned-Out Barça Falls in the Second Half of the Season 2026-11-11
169 Chapter 169 - 168: El Clásico IV—A Slumping Barça Meets a Red-Hot Madrid 2026-11-11
170 Chapter 170 - 169: Farewell, Barça! Madrid’s Real Target—Wipe Out the Premier League! 2026-11-11
171 Chapter 171 - 170: We Said We’d Crush Your Midfield—and We Meant It 2026-11-11
172 Chapter 172 - 171: Three Champions League Games—Li Ang Proves His Worth Completely 2026-11-11
173 Chapter 173 - 172: Time to Calculate When Madrid Can Clinch the Title Early 2026-11-11
174 Chapter 174 - 173: All-In—Madrid Is Going All-In for the Title! 2026-11-11
175 Chapter 175 - 174: Fat Tiger’s First Appearance for Madrid, Li Ang: “That’s My Brother.” 2026-11-11
176 Chapter 176 - 175: Dortmund’s Twin Engines Useless Before Li Ang 2026-11-11
177 Chapter 177 - 175: Dortmund’s Twin Engines Don’t Work Against Li Ang 2026-11-11
178 Chapter 178 - 175: Dortmund’s Twin Engines Are Useless Against Li Ang 2026-11-11
179 Chapter 179 - 176: A Midfielder Can’t Just Drift with the Game — Total Domination in Attack and Defense, That’s the Core Shield! 2026-11-11
180 Chapter 180 - 177: Shameless but Effective Tactics — Real Madrid’s All-Out Bombardment Squad 2026-11-11
181 Chapter 181 - 178: Give Me Leon, and Real Madrid Loses 2026-11-11
182 Chapter 182 - 180: The First All-German Derby in a Champions League Final 2026-11-11
183 Chapter 183 - 181: After This Makeup Match, We’re Having Our Championship Celebration Banquet 2026-11-11
184 Chapter 184 - 182: Championship Night! If You Want to Keep Climbing, You Need to Learn to Be More Selfish 2026-11-11
185 Chapter 185 - 183: Before We Drift Apart, Let’s Build the Mourinho-Era Madrid Dynasty 2026-11-11
186 Chapter 186 - 184: The Most Star-Studded Champions League Final in Nearly Two Decades 2026-11-11
187 Chapter 187 - 185: Can You Guess If I’m a Bluff or the Trump Card? 2026-11-11
188 Chapter 188 - 186: Robbery + Müller + a Classic Target Man — This Is Peak Bayern 2026-11-11
189 Chapter 189 - 187: We Are the Legend — Long Live Mourinho’s Real Madrid! 2026-11-11
190 Chapter 190 - 188: I Don’t Want Money, Sir — I Want to Be the Leader 2026-11-11
191 Chapter 191 - 189: Offensive Talent Skyrockets — The Giants Are Drooling Over Leon 2026-11-11
192 Chapter 192 - 190: The End of Mourinho’s Madrid — Leon and the Battle of Six Giants 2026-11-11
193 Chapter 193 - 191: We Are Chelsea Now—The New Kings of London! 2026-11-11
194 Chapter 194 - 192: Huge Potential, Plenty of Questions—But Mourinho’s Ready to Unleash a Youth Storm! 2026-11-11
195 Chapter 195 - 193: A Brother’s Call and Zlatan Lands at the Bridge! 2026-11-11
196 Chapter 196 - 194: A System? Leon Is the System, Offense and Defense Alike 2026-11-11
197 Chapter 197 - 195: The Calm Little Lion and the Beast Zlatan 2026-11-11
198 Chapter 198 - 196: Guardiola vs. Mourinho Returns to the Premier League! Matić Closes the Summer Transfer Window 2026-11-11
199 Chapter 199 - 197: Creating a Goal from Kickoff—Little Lion, Are You Actually Going All-In?! 2026-11-11
200 Chapter 200 - 198: From Unpredictable Enigma to Super-Sub? Watch My Belgian Mini-Tank Explode! 2026-11-11

Real Betis tried a late surge of attacks, but Real Madrid’s defense had already compacted. Even with a new face on the field, Madrid still switched into a three-defensive-midfield formation by the end.

Betis pushed with everything they had—and got nowhere. It was a painful sight, and not just for Betis fans. Neutral La Liga supporters watching couldn’t help but feel a collective pain.

Because they realized something: that new kid Madrid brought on—he was vicious. Big tackles, aggressive coverage. Just ten or so minutes on the pitch, and already people could see his defensive intent.

No one had seen much of Casemiro’s offensive skills yet, but just based on his defensive energy alone, fans watching could only mutter:

”Damn, looks like Madrid picked up another gem.”

And that stung.

Madrid already had four players capable of playing as holding midfielders:

Two elite, one near-elite, and one seasoned vet whose level had just slightly dipped.

Now they’d brought in a potential fifth?

Meanwhile, other clubs were begging for a single decent defensive midfielder.

And here was Madrid—sitting one of their near-elite options on the bench!

Worse, Mourinho wasn’t shy about using three or even four defensive mids when leading.

For anyone chasing the game?

It was a nightmare.

Watching Betis suffer like this, many La Liga fans shuddered thinking about what would happen when their team faced Madrid.

Misery loves company.

But for Madridistas?

Pure joy.

Casemiro’s buyout fee? Just €6 million.

Six million for a 21-year-old with clear defensive upside?

Even if he never developed into an attacking threat, with that frame, grit, and aggression?

Totally worth it.

Madrid saw out a 3–0 win.

Casemiro’s debut was brief—about 20 minutes—but effective.

His defensive positioning? Solid.

His physicality? Undeniable.

His mentality? All-in.

The Spanish media hyped him up, framing him as a potential future star after just one game.

But Casemiro knew the truth.

He wasn’t a Brazilian wonderkid like Neymar, born into the spotlight.

His path had been slower, quieter, forged in hard work.

He had actually planned to move to Portugal first, build his name there, and then try to reach one of the big four European leagues in his mid-20s.

But when Real Madrid came knocking?

How do you say no?

Growing up playing alongside so-called ”prodigies,” Casemiro had learned early not to trust the media.

If everything Brazilian reporters said were true, half his childhood teammates should be starting for Bayern and Barcelona by now.

But most of them flamed out.

Overhyped.

Undisciplined.

Gone.

And here he was—not flashy, not ”special”—but standing in Madrid’s first team.

Li Ang’s post-match encouragement hit him straight in the heart:

”Everything we have today is thanks to our own effort. Keep going, Carlos. Keep pushing until you grab your dream.

When you finally get there, you’ll know—everything you went through was worth it.

You’ll be the best Brazilian defensive mid in the world.

Just like the legends you look up to.

I believe in that day.

Let’s go.”

Li Ang was only a year older, but he spoke with the gravity of a veteran.

To Casemiro, that moment cemented his admiration—and trust.

The next day, while most of the team rested, Li Ang showed up early for extra training.

To his surprise, Casemiro was already sitting in the locker room waiting.

Li Ang laughed.

And just like that, the day’s extra training group went from one to two.

By the time Ronaldo came in for physiotherapy around five, he found both of them drenched in sweat.

So the three trained, recovered, then went out to dinner together—Ronaldo footing the bill.

Li Ang didn’t hold back. He ordered a feast.

News of the trio’s post-training dinner hit the web by evening.

When Mourinho saw the headline, Karanka sent him a screenshot.

Mou grinned.

”This kid has a bright future.

Let Li Ang guide him.

Maybe we’ve got another surprise on our hands.”

It wasn’t a light compliment, but Karanka wasn’t shocked.

Three years under Mourinho had taught him this:

Mou loves hungry, humble, hardworking talent.

Add ”defensive midfielder” to the list, and it was basically a cheat code.

”Let’s give him more minutes soon.

If all goes well, we’ll keep him next season after Essien returns to Chelsea.

Four holding mids should be enough depth.”

Casemiro had no idea that Mourinho was already plotting his rise.

He kept training, adjusting, bonding with the team.

But with the Betis match done, he’d have to wait a week before his next shot.

The upcoming fixture?

Madrid vs Dortmund.

Champions League.

First leg of the semifinals.

Not exactly a match for rookies.

On April 22, Dortmund’s first team and staff arrived in Madrid for final preparations.

The city was electric.

Champions League buzz filled the air.

Even Atlético fans felt a twinge of jealousy.

Their rivals were about to play one of the biggest matches of the year.

Thank you for the support, friends. If you want to read more chapters in advance, go to my Patreon.

Read 20 Chapters In Advance: /johanssen10

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