Following the Super Cup triumph, Real Madrid entered a grueling stretch of fixtures.
Playing twice a week became the standard routine.
Three days later, Madrid traveled to face Huesca.
Sitting at the bottom of the La Liga table, Huesca fought for survival. Every match was a cup final for them.
Zidane warned his squad against complacency during the pre-match meetings.
The match unfolded just as Zidane predicted. Huesca fought for every loose ball, throwing themselves into tackles.
Through relentless running and tactical fouls, they disrupted Madrid's rhythm. The first half ended scoreless.
The stalemate persisted deep into the second half. By the seventieth minute, the home side resorted to time-wasting tactics, slowing the tempo
The defensive strategy proved effective.
In the 84th minute, Theodore initiated a solo drive and drew a foul twenty-five meters from goal. He stepped up to take the ensuing free kick.
Theodore struck the ball with a whipping technique. The shot bent around the wall and dipped with vicious speed, nestling into the bottom corner.
The Huesca goalkeeper watched in resignation.
1–0!
That singular moment of magic secured a hard-fought away victory, keeping Madrid's perfect league record intact.
Returning to the Bernabéu for the twenty-third round, Madrid hosted Getafe. The team found their rhythm early. In the seventh minute, Theodore headed home from a corner.
Twenty minutes later, a Getafe center-back tripped Vinícius inside the penalty area. The referee pointed to the spot.
Having missed his previous penalty attempt, Vinícius deferred to Theodore. Theodore utilized a stutter-step run-up, sending the goalkeeper the wrong way.
2–0!
In the second half, Theodore unleashed a strike from outside the box to secure his hat-trick and a 3-0 victory.
Madrid then welcomed Valencia.
The Bats arrived on a five-match winning streak, but the Bernabéu proved too formidable.
Theodore dismantled Valencia in the span of six minutes, scoring in the 45th, 49th, and 51st minutes.
With his hat-trick secured, Theodore shifted his focus to playmaking.
Over the previous weeks, his goal tally had soared while his assists had leveled off.
He began orchestrating the attack, providing precise deliveries to his teammates. In the 67th and 78th minutes, he set up goals for Benzema and Vinícius.
Real Madrid crushed Valencia 5–0, extending their winning streak to twenty-four matches.
Theodore finished the night with three goals and two assists.
...
Following the Valencia victory, the Champions League Round of 16 draw concluded.
Real Madrid's next European opponent was Borussia Dortmund.
The Yellow Wall. Erling Haaland!
The news delighted Theodore and Ødegaard.
Sharing the pitch with their international teammate was an exciting prospect even Theodore sent Haaland a text message.
[Haaland, congratulations. You and your team are going out in the Champions League Round of 16.]
Theodore possessed supreme confidence in Madrid's superiority.
Haaland's response matched that arrogance.
[I'll beat you at the Westfalenstadion. Our home ground will become Madrid's graveyard!]
The first leg in Germany was two weeks away.
Before shifting their focus to Europe, Madrid had domestic duties to fulfill.
A Copa del Rey clash against Celta Vigo awaited.
Engaged in a relegation battle, Celta fielded a rotated squad.
Zidane mirrored their approach, giving his reserves an opportunity. After ninety grueling minutes, the deadlock remained unbroken.
The match drifted into extra time. In the 119th minute, Rodrygo fired a long-range strike into the net, sealing a 1–0 victory and sending Real Madrid to the quarterfinals.
Five days later, Madrid traveled to face Real Valladolid in La Liga.
This served as their final test before the flight to Germany. Taking no chances, Zidane deployed his strongest starting eleven.
Zinedine Zidane's decision to field his strongest starting eleven served one purpose: to ensure his key players regained their match sharpness ahead of the looming Champions League Round of 16.
...
February 21.
The battle lines were drawn at the Estadio José Zorrilla.
The stadium was compact, holding a capacity of twenty-five thousand fans. Tonight, the stands were packed to the rafters.
Judging by Real Valladolid's squad depth, defeating Real Madrid on home turf was a monumental task. In truth, it bordered on an impossibility.
The primary reason thousands of Valladolid supporters had flocked to the stadium was not fueled by belief in a home victory.
They came to witness Theodore Bjorn's footballing masterclass in person.
The home crowd had arrived to watch the newly crowned Ballon d'Or winner.
At eight in the evening, the Matchday 25 clash kicked off. Every time Theodore received the ball in midfield, the stadium erupted with cheers.
The atmosphere made the José Zorrilla feel like a second home ground for Real Madrid.
Theodore did not disappoint the spectators.
Less than ten minutes into the match, he shattered the Valladolid defense with a breathtaking long-range strike.
Receiving a crisp pass from Luka Modrić in the center of the pitch, Theodore found himself under immediate pressure.
Rubén Alcaraz and Roque Mesa charged at him, launching simultaneous sliding tackles to close the space.
With a fluid, lightning-fast La Croqueta, Theodore shifted the ball between his feet and glided past the double challenge.
In the stands, over twenty thousand Valladolid fans raised their arms and cheered the piece of skill.
Breaking into open space, Theodore glanced up. He noticed Valladolid goalkeeper Jordi Masip standing a few yards off his line.
Without a second thought, he drew his right leg back and fired.
The ball whipped through the air, dipping with vicious top-spin toward the top corner of the net. Masip had no answer.
He stood rooted to the spot, watching the ball ripple the netting.
1–0!
The goal ignited the José Zorrilla. Despite their team falling behind, the Valladolid supporters offered no groans of frustration.
Instead, they rose to their feet and delivered thunderous applause for the Norwegian prodigy.
Moved by the overwhelming respect from the opposing fans, Theodore dialed back his intensity for the remainder of the match.
Real Madrid dictated the tempo, relying on that solitary, spectacular strike to secure all three points.
...
In the post-match press conference, Valladolid head coach Sergio González expressed his resignation.
"Today, this stadium belonged to Real Madrid," Sergio lamented. "Whenever their number ten received the ball, fans wearing Valladolid colors applauded him. There is no denying Theodore is the greatest player on the planet right now. He is the youngest Ballon d'Or and FIFA Best winner in history, and he commands a global audience. But as the manager of this club, I am disappointed by the behavior in the stands."
...
Destination: The Yellow Wall
Following the victory, Real Madrid rested in the Spanish capital before boarding a flight to Germany.
The upcoming Champions League clash commanded massive attention across the European media landscape.
AS: "Real Madrid visit Europe's most intimidating fortress—the Westfalenstadion! Can the Galactic Battleship translate their domestic dominance to the European stage?"
Marca: "Real Madrid vs. Borussia Dortmund! The heavyweight clash of the Round of 16!"
Kicker: "A collision of Norway's elite! Dortmund plan to eliminate Real Madrid and end their unbeaten streak!"
Sport Bild: "Dortmund sit unbeaten in ten Bundesliga matches; Real Madrid boast twenty-five consecutive La Liga wins! Sparks will fly at the Westfalenstadion!"
Zidane maintained a cautious demeanor regarding the fixture. Securing a victory at the Westfalenstadion was never a simple task.
Since the turn of the millennium, Real Madrid had crossed paths with Dortmund several times in the Champions League.
Madrid's overall record stood at five wins, three draws, and three losses.
Yet, every trip to Dortmund required them to leave a layer of skin on the pitch.
All three of Madrid's historical defeats to the German club had occurred at the Westfalenstadion—a 2-1 loss in 2012, a brutal 4-1 thrashing in 2013, and a 2-0 defeat in 2014.
Only in 2017 did Madrid manage to break the curse with a 3-1 away victory.
The stadium had earned a reputation as a graveyard for Los Blancos.
The routine pre-match press conference took place the day prior to kickoff.
Zidane attended alongside Theodore, while Dortmund head coach Edin Terzić brought Erling Haaland.
The two Norwegian superstars crossed paths in the waiting area. Haaland approached his national teammate with a wide grin.
"Theodore, are you ready?"
"Ready for what?" Theodore asked.
"To lose. Tomorrow night, Dortmund will crush Real Madrid." Haaland's voice brimmed with supreme confidence, fueled by the terrifying home advantage of his club.
Theodore offered a dismissive smile. "Keep dreaming, Erling. We haven't lost a single match this season. Tomorrow, we won't just conquer the Westfalenstadion. We will dismantle Dortmund."
"We will see about that," Haaland retorted.
---------
Read 30 chapters ahead and support me on patreon.
patreon (.)com/Newbietranslator