Even so, against Real Madrid's relentless pressure, Athletic Bilbao still had no ability to fight back.
Madrid beat their opponent 4–0 at home and successfully advanced to the Spanish Super Cup final.
Only three days later, Real Madrid welcomed the nineteenth round of La Liga.
Their opponent was, once again, Athletic Bilbao.
This time, Athletic Bilbao had clearly learned from the previous match.
Head coach Marcelino knew very well that his team was no match for a firing Real Madrid, so he simply deployed a heavily rotated backup lineup for the league clash.
In the end, Real Madrid crushed Athletic Bilbao 6–0.
They claimed their nineteenth straight league win!
That nineteen-match streak became the longest winning streak in La Liga history.
...
After Real Madrid finished their match against Athletic Bilbao, Theodore Bjorn received the second major individual award of his career—The Best FIFA Men's Player.
When the Ballon d'Or had been awarded months earlier, some German fans and media still questioned the result.
But now, when the 2020 Best FIFA Men's Player award was handed to Theodore, it was almost unanimously accepted by everyone.
At the award ceremony in Zurich, Switzerland, the moment the host announced Theodore's name, the entire venue erupted in cheers.
Theodore was elected the 2020 Best FIFA Men's Player with an overwhelming majority of the votes from international captains, coaches, and media.
At the same time, he also became the youngest Best FIFA Men's Player in history.
That night, the front pages of the European football media were once again dominated by Theodore's name.
AS: "Theodore Bjorn, who just celebrated his nineteenth birthday, wins the 2020 Best FIFA Men's Player award by an overwhelming margin! At nineteen, Theodore has already conquered the Ballon d'Or and The Best FIFA Men's Player!"
Marca: "Real Madrid core Theodore rightfully wins The Best FIFA! The nineteen-year-old is creating an era of his own!"
Mundo Deportivo: "Theodore ends the Messi-Ronaldo era! After winning the Ballon d'Or, he has now swept The Best FIFA Men's Player as well! The future of football has changed!"
...
In China, the video clip of Theodore receiving the award surpassed ten million views in hours.
On Douyin, the number of likes had even reached five million.
In the comment sections, Chinese fans were incredibly proud of Theodore.
"Although Theodore doesn't have Chinese nationality, there's no doubt Chinese blood flows in his veins!"
"Theodore winning The Best FIFA Men's Player proves one thing: it's not that Chinese people can't play football well, it's that China doesn't have the right football environment!"
"Congratulations, Theodore! I hope he can lead Real Madrid to the Champions League this season!"
"In a way, Theodore has already broken Messi and Ronaldo's monopoly! This is Theodore's era now!"
"I really can't imagine how terrifying his influence would be if he chose to represent China!"
Douyin officially partnered with the sports channel to conduct a special, exclusive interview with Theodore.
This interview was broadcast live from start to finish, immediately attracting a massive audience.
The person responsible for conducting this interview was the famous sports channel presenter, Ma Fanshu.
...
The next day, at Real Madrid's Valdebebas training ground, Theodore had just finished training when Ma Fanshu and the Douyin livestream crew set up.
The interview lasted for about half an hour.
Theodore and Ma Fanshu sat facing each other.
The table between them displayed the Ballon d'Or trophy and The Best FIFA Men's Player trophy Theodore had won.
"Hello, everyone in the Douyin livestream room. Welcome to our sports interview! Our guest this time is Theodore Bjorn, who has just won The Best FIFA Men's Player award!"
After Ma Fanshu finished her opening statement, she turned to the teenager.
"Theodore, first of all, congratulations on winning both The Best FIFA Men's Player and the Ballon d'Or. Let's start by talking about how it feels to win these two awards. As everyone knows, these two are considered the absolute highest individual honors in football."
The livestream camera focused tightly on Theodore.
He had already done plenty of live interviews, so there was no trace of nervousness on his face.
"Being able to win these two awards definitely makes me happy on a personal level," Theodore answered in fluent Mandarin, "but this is really the result of collective work. Whether it was at Aston Villa or now at Real Madrid, I've been lucky enough to meet teammates who share the same goals as me. Without their help, I wouldn't have been able to win these."
His answer was humble and sincere, instantly earning praise from the Chinese fans tuning in.
Real-time comments flooded the screen:
"Theodore is way too humble! I love this personality!"
"Calm, confident, and not arrogant at all!"
"Wow! Theodore is so handsome! I'm Theodore's fangirl!"
"I didn't expect his Mandarin to be this good. I thought he only spoke English and Norwegian!"
Ma Fanshu continued the interview. "What are your goals for this season? Right now, Real Madrid are almost running away with La Liga, and you've also qualified early from the Champions League group stage…"
Theodore replied without hesitation, "The goals are definitely the Champions League and La Liga titles. Of course, there's also the Spanish Super Cup and the Copa del Rey."
His tone was brimming with quiet confidence.
Ma Fanshu glanced at her cue card, then continued asking, "Let's talk about life at Real Madrid. You've been living in Madrid for almost half a year now. Have you adapted?"
"It's been pretty good, but most of my time has been spent training and playing matches, so I haven't really had the chance to properly get to know the city yet."
Since Theodore still had recovery sessions later, Ma Fanshu did not waste any time and asked the final question.
"After the season ends, the European Championship will begin. How far do you think Norway can go in the Euros?"
Theodore lightly said two words.
"Win it."
The moment those two words came out, Ma Fanshu froze slightly, shock appearing on her face.
She knew very well that although Norway boasted Erling Haaland, Martin Ødegaard, and Theodore, the level of the squad depth in other positions was very average.
Wanting to rely on those three players to win the entire European Championship against juggernauts like France or England was obviously not very realistic.
However, because of the strict time limit, Ma Fanshu did not press him on it.
The Douyin livestream comments exploded in heated discussion.
"Wow! Theodore is seriously confident! He actually thinks Norway can win it…"
"The Euros are full of powerhouses. England, France, and Portugal are all stacked!"
"Current Norway can at most go toe-to-toe with Italy or Spain, but winning the whole thing?"
"It's difficult, but I still believe in Theodore's ability! This is the man who carried Aston Villa to the Premier League title by himself!"
"That's right! Once the Euros begin, Norway will be my team! Come on, Theodore!"
...
After the interview ended, Theodore specially invited Ma Fanshu to have a cup of coffee at the facility.
Since the birthday dinner, the relationship between the two of them had clearly taken another step forward.
In fact, it had already gone beyond ordinary friendship.
...
On January 21, Real Madrid played their first Copa del Rey match of the season.
Their opponent was Alcoyano from the Primera Federación, Spain's third tier.
Against a team like that, Zidane naturally rotated heavily.
Theodore Bjorn, Karim Benzema, Luka Modrić, and the other core starters all watched from the sidelines or stayed in Madrid.
In the end, Real Madrid relied on Rodrygo's hat-trick to win easily and successfully advance to the next round.
Three days later, on January 25, there was another away match.
This time, Real Madrid's opponent was Deportivo Alavés at the Mendizorrotza Stadium.
This time, Zidane chose to send out his main lineup.
As a relegation-battling side, Alavés naturally had no way to compete with a rested Real Madrid.
After the match began, Madrid's attacking trident—Vinícius, Benzema, and Rodrygo—were all in burning-hot form.
The three of them scored in the 12th, 15th, and 32nd minutes respectively.
Each member of the attacking trident scored once, instantly leaving Alavés stunned.
And it was worth mentioning that all three goals were assisted by Theodore.
Entering the second half, Theodore scored twice in a row from long range, breaking through Alavés' goal again and again.
The score became 5–0! All suspense disappeared.
By the end of the night, Theodore had recorded three assists and two goals, once again helping Real Madrid secure a demolition job almost single-handedly.
On January 30, Real Madrid hosted Levante at home.
When the two teams met for the first time this season, Madrid had won 2–0.
Now that they met again, Real Madrid's spirit, impact, and form were far better than they had been at the start of the season.
At the Bernabéu, Madrid crushed Levante with another big win! 6–2!
Theodore did not play in this match, resting for the upcoming cup final.
After entering February, Real Madrid's most important match was naturally the Spanish Super Cup final against Barcelona!
...
February 2.
Estadio de La Cartuja.
Real Madrid and Barcelona fans split the massive stands into two distinct camps: one red and blue, the other pristine white.
Before the match began, both Barcelona and Madrid fans belted out their club anthems to drown out the opposition.
Both head coaches sent out their strongest possible lineups tonight.
Real Madrid's players were eager to win their first trophy of the new season, while for Barcelona, this was a desperate chance for revenge.
In their first league meeting, Real Madrid had crushed Barcelona 7–2.
Theodore had dominated that match, recording a perfect tally of four goals and three assists.
More than that, in his direct duel with Messi, Theodore had displayed suffocating defensive technique, hounding the Argentine until he was physically sick.
Without question, that match was a massive humiliation for Barcelona.
Every Barcelona player was hoping to wash away that stain tonight!
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