I Am Scouted by Real Madrid

Chapter 71: Chapter 41: The Top 100

The latest issue of ”442” magazine selected the top 100 football stars in the world today.

La Liga has a total of 30 players selected, second only to the Premier League’s 32, with Barcelona having 10 players selected, the most in La Liga.

Ronaldinho, Henry, Messi, and Eto’o even made it into the top ten.

This is a unique honor in the world.

Next is Real Madrid, with a total of seven players selected among the top 100 stars: Cannavaro, Van Nistelrooy, Casillas, Sneijder, Ramos, Robinho, and Robben.

Real Madrid’s captain Raul and Valencia’s Joaquin regretfully missed out on the top 100 star selection this time around.

Ranked third is the ”Bats” Valencia, with Villa, Albelda, Silva, and Vicente making it into this selection.

”I can’t believe I didn’t make it,” Marcelo said with some regret, ”Chen, if you had become a Real Madrid player a season earlier, maybe your name would have been on this top 100 star list.”

”You just know how to talk nonsense,” Chen Zhong, getting more familiar with Marcelo, replied warmly, ”At that time, I wasn’t even of age to play.”

”Hehe,” Marcelo laughed, ”Kanoute from Sevilla, Aguero from Atletico Madrid, and Fernando all made it, yet our captain Raul didn’t... alright, alright, I won’t talk about it anymore.”

”Oh, by the way, Chen, do you know what happened in the post-match interview yesterday? The manager of Werder Bremen mentioned you.”

”Cough cough, this is what he said,” Marcelo said seriously, ”Before the match, we prepared thoroughly but underestimated Real Madrid’s depth. Recently, the football world has been producing many geniuses, and Chen, you have shown me that, for a genius, age only makes them shine even brighter.”

”Eat!” Chen Zhong glared at Marcelo, ”In our country, the rule is not to speak while eating or sleeping.”

Sometimes you can really feel the profoundness of Chinese culture; a phrase like ”not speaking while eating or sleeping” expressed in another language requires a long explanation and still lacks that specific charm.

”Oh!” Marcelo responded, but quickly couldn’t control his chatter. He looked at the people sitting nearby, especially Higuain, and said somewhat irritated, ”(#`O′) Hey, why are you sitting here too? Didn’t you always sit with Saviola and Gago before?”

Schuster implemented a new rule in the team, requiring players to stay at Sports City for lunch, where the player groupings at the dining hall also revealed small cliques.

For example, the Argentinians Saviola, Gago, and Heinze sat together like an iron triangle, and Van Nistelrooy from the Netherlands was accompanied by Drenthe, while Sneijder mingled with Guti, who sat with Raul, Casillas, Ramos, and others.

There were also some lone players, like Robben, Dudek, Metzelder, and Robinho...

”Eat!” Chen Zhong smacked Marcelo on the head, and Marcelo shrank his neck and murmured about how he would have fallen out with anyone else who hit his head, that given they were friends he’d forgive him, and warned him not to hit his head again next time.

The room was filled with an atmosphere of joy for a moment.

Chen Zhong raised his head and gave Higuain a reassuring look; unknowingly, the number of players eating together with him became the second largest in the dining hall.

Castilla’s youth players Soldado and Torres.

The Brazilian players Marcelo, Pepe, and Baptista.

Plus Higuain, making seven people, almost unable to fit at one table. After finishing their meal, everyone headed to their respective dormitories for a nap to refresh themselves, and during this time, Pepe found Chen Zhong.

”Pepe?” Chen Zhong looked at Pepe, wondering what he wanted by seeking him out privately at this time.

With Chen Zhong’s outstanding performance in matches and Pepe’s significant recovery from his injury, their relationship inevitably grew tense, as they were direct competitors for the same position.

Moreover, in usual group activities, Pepe often stared at Chen Zhong with ”fierce” eyes, pondering something unknown.

This is also why Marcelo has become increasingly talkative lately; he hopes to lighten the atmosphere between them.

”Chen!” Pepe displayed a menacing smile and walked toward Chen Zhong. To be honest, if someone were to call the police now, accusing Pepe of harboring ill intentions toward him, just this smile alone could likely sway the judgment: ”I have a question I’d like to ask you.”

After organizing his thoughts, Pepe finally asked the question buried in his heart, ”During the warm-up match, around thirty minutes into the game, the opposition intercepted the ball from our midfield, and our defense kept retreating.”

”At that time, I was on the field, loudly calling out Fabio’s name, asking him to help with defense.”

Pepe paused, showing an indescribable expression on his face, and said, ”But his response was, ’We don’t do that here, each person manages their own space.’”

Undoubtedly, Cannavaro’s response left a profound impression on Pepe; upon hearing Cannavaro’s words, an inner roar echoed deafeningly inside Pepe’s head.

My God! What? Is this how Real Madrid operates? They are so far from me; am I playing a solo challenge here?

If everyone’s treatment was the same, Pepe wouldn’t mind and would consider it Real Madrid’s unique defensive operation method. However, when Chen Zhong was on the field, everything changed.

In fact, Pepe noticed with some envy that Chen Zhong and Cannavaro did cover for each other.

In the games Pepe played, it seemed like he had to tackle all the problems alone, to live or die, it all rested on his shoulders.

However, when Chen Zhong was on the field, Ramos, Cannavaro, Marcelo, and Casillas would ”help” him, sometimes intentionally and sometimes not, even Sneijder and Guti often retreated to protect.

This kind of treatment was non-existent when Pepe and Metzelder were on the pitch. It was as if when Chen Zhong was on the field, Real Madrid’s defense genuinely became a cohesive unit, centered around Chen Zhong, establishing a solid defense.

In fact, Pepe wasn’t the only one to notice this; at this moment, Schuster and Francisco, in the coach’s office, were also watching the footage and discussing this.

”Metzelder’s ability is not inferior to Chen’s.”

”But why, when on the field, his performance is nowhere near comparable to Chen’s?”

”I believe we now have the answer.”

Real Madrid employs a zonal defense, and before Chen Zhong made appearances for the team, performances in warm-up matches were not particularly impressive, prompting Schuster to seek improvement, and now he’s found some clues.

”He demonstrated extraordinary leadership and charisma during his time with Castilla,” Francisco said from the side, ”The players always unite around him, and on the field, he constantly inspires them with words and actions. Now, Castilla’s captain, Nacho, is also learning from his ways of dealing with matters.”

”Pepe’s injury has mostly recovered,” Schuster tapped on the table, ”Francisco, if we have to take down a player, who should it be?”