Málaga and Deportivo La Coruña both lost in this round, with only Granada, previously ranked third, securing a victory. After eleven rounds of the league, the Segunda División standings had undergone massive changes. With the three points from this round, Granada had climbed to the top of the table, while the original leader, Málaga, had dropped to second. Real Oviedo had squeezed past Deportivo La Coruña to take third place.
The improving situation had also made the atmosphere within the squad more relaxed.
However, the opponent for the next round of the league had some history with Oviedo.
This was because they would host the Real Madrid B Team at home in the next round. This would be the first time André had faced his former club since joining Oviedo. Similarly, it was the first time Hierro had encountered Real Madrid since becoming the head coach of Oviedo—not the first team, of course, but it was still related to Real Madrid. Furthermore, with Real Madrid currently in a state of turmoil, the encounter between Real Oviedo and Castilla in the upcoming round of the Segunda División had attracted considerable attention.
In the recently concluded round of La Liga, a highly anticipated El Clásico had come to an end. Barcelona crushed Real Madrid at home with a massive score of 5-1. Immediately after the match, Real Madrid held a press conference to announce the dismissal of Lopetegui as head coach. They also announced that Santiago Solari, the head coach of the Real Madrid B Team, would serve as the interim head coach, while Malono Dias would take over as the head coach of the Real Madrid B Team.
Match 12: Real Oviedo vs Real Madrid Castilla (Home)
The good news for Real Madrid was that Solari, who'd just taken over as head coach, had won his first match. Everything seemed to indicate that things at Real Madrid were moving in a positive direction. In the recently concluded round of La Liga, Real Madrid easily defeated Valladolid 2-0 at home, putting a stop to their slump.
Although the first team's victory had nothing to do with the Real Madrid B Team, they still carried the Real Madrid brand. They shared in the glory and the shame—it was inescapable. Moreover, this was Malono Dias's first appearance before the public as head coach.
At the Estadio Carlos Tartiere, the team's improving form led more and more Oviedo fans to watch the match in person. Today, looking across the stadium which held just under twenty thousand people, the attendance reached eighty percent. This was the highest attendance in several seasons, and everything suggested that this club with a long history in Spanish football was undergoing a revival.
When the Oviedo players appeared on the pitch, the scene immediately erupted with very enthusiastic cheers and applause. Among them, the cheers welcoming André were almost the loudest.
The Real Madrid B Team players looked at the tallest player in the Oviedo lineup with very complex expressions. Four months ago, this man had been on the same squad as them. At that time, almost everyone chose to isolate him, once making him a cancer within Castilla. In the end, he could only leave Castilla in disgrace. Back then, they'd all watched everything with a mocking attitude, but four months later, they met again as opponents, and this time, the mindsets of both sides had undergone a huge change.
Those looks contained envy, jealousy, and even a bit of resentment.
André appeared in the starting lineup for this match. However, in the original plan, André was still a substitute. The day before the match started, André went to Hierro and expressed his hope to start the match. Ultimately, after considering it for a while, Hierro agreed to André's self-recommendation.
"Brother, I've taken over your body. Watch how I clear your name in this match," André said silently to himself as he walked onto the pitch, addressing the original host's spirit.
For this match, Hierro stuck to his tactics and fielded a 4-3-3 formation. In the goalkeeper position, because Juan Carlos was suspended, the backup goalkeeper Gilart appeared in the starting lineup. The four defenders were Christian, Hernández, Cabrera, and Javi Fernández. The three midfielders had Folch playing deep, with Mossa and Teixeira on the left and right. In the forward line, André was positioned in the center at the front, with Saúl and Ibra on the left and right.
In his first match as head coach, Dias fielded a standard 4-4-2 formation. The goalkeeper was Luca Zidane (son of Zinedine Zidane), and the four defenders were Manu Hernando, Javier Sánchez, Javi Hernández, and Álvaro García. In the midfield, Óscar Rodríguez and Pablo Ramón played deep, with Fran García and Cristo González on the left and right. The two forwards leading the line were Marvin Park and Sergio González.
It's worth mentioning that the Real Madrid B Team's starting forward, Sergio González, was the player with whom André had the greatest conflict during his time at Castilla.
Looking at André on the pitch, Dias also felt some emotion. In fact, the reason André became a cancer at Castilla back then was largely the responsibility of the coaching staff.
When Cristiano Ronaldo first brought André to Castilla, because Zidane had valued André so much, André took a starting spot as soon as he arrived. However, it was later discovered that although André's physical talent was freakish, he hadn't received any football-related training. That is to say, André had no basic football skills. Later, because André was brought in by Ronaldo, he was ostracized by many Castilla players, and André's temper was gradually provoked until it eventually spiraled out of control.
Dias knew that Solari bore a great deal of responsibility for this. He was very familiar with Solari, and it was precisely because of Solari's tacit approval that André's life at Castilla became increasingly difficult. The main reason was that in André's first training session at Castilla, he'd made Solari look quite bad.
In fact, given the talent André showed back then, they should have gradually formulated a corresponding training plan for him, but Solari didn't do it at all. This also caused André to drift further and further away from Castilla.
And now, such a talent was no longer a member of Castilla.
But what Dias didn't know was that his own head coaching debut would be ruined by this player who once belonged to Castilla.
After the match began, André showed a very strong desire to attack.
In the 6th minute, after receiving a pass from Teixeira at the edge of the penalty area, André gently flicked the incoming ball with the tip of his right foot. He then turned past Javi Hernández and immediately unleashed a volley. The football flew toward the goal like a cannonball. Seeing this, Hierro on the touchline was already prepared to celebrate, but unfortunately, after the ball passed Luca's hands, it smashed directly against the post and bounced out of bounds.
Seeing the ball hit the post, André also grimaced. When his left foot struck the ball, he'd felt like it should have gone in because the contact with his instep was very clean.
This shot also gave goalkeeper Luca Zidane and Dias on the touchline a cold sweat.
On the pitch, Sergio González looked at André with barely concealed hatred.
This was going to be personal.
And André knew it.
Good, he thought. Let's settle this properly.
The game was on.
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