I Am Scouted by Real Madrid

Chapter 86: Chapter 8: Extremes

The second round of the Champions League group stage ended, and Barcelona, ​​which was in a slump at the beginning of the season, has rebounded, being selected as the best team for two consecutive rounds, with media around the world showering Barcelona with praise.

”Team Report” headlined with ”The Lyon that made Real Madrid fall twice fell at Barcelona’s feet.”

”French Football” summarized the Lyon vs. Barcelona match with ”Powerful Barcelona” and ”Tamed Lyon.”

Even the team involved, Lyon, acknowledged Barcelona’s strength on its official website by writing: ”This Barcelona is too fierce.”

Spanish media have been tirelessly praising Barcelona, ​​even agreeing that Barcelona’s current performance in returning to the top of Europe is only a matter of time.

In the Champions League group stage, Barcelona already firmly holds the top spot in Group E, while Real Madrid in Group C shares 4 points with Lazio and Olympiacos, temporarily ranking first in the group only by goal difference.

”World Sports Newspaper” and ”Daily Sports” not only ridicule Real Madrid but also start speculating about when Barcelona will regain the top spot of the season.

In the seventh round of La Liga, Chen Zhong did not make the starting lineup, nor did Robben, who had played two consecutive games. In this match, the team relied on goals from the ”Little Box King” Van Nistelrooy and Higuain to defeat Villarreal 2-0 at home, maintaining its position at the top of the league standings.

Raul and Van Nistelrooy are becoming more in sync, with the team’s first goal made by Raul’s pass to Van Nistelrooy, while Guti’s state wasn’t great this game. It wasn’t until the 90th minute, just before the match ended, that he delivered a perfect pass to Higuain, who showed superb technique, tricked the goalkeeper, and scored into an empty net.

At the post-match press conference, Schuster confidently stated: ”Recently, I heard the news saying Barcelona will sit at the top of the standings. I can’t control their mouths, but I want them to open their eyes and see that it is Real Madrid at the top right now.”

Schuster’s comments also caused a huge uproar.

In another highlight match of the same round, Barcelona beat Atletico Madrid 3-0, signaling their recovery from the early season slump, with their attacking squad demonstrating multifaceted scoring capabilities.

Deco, Messi, and Xavi successively breached Atletico Madrid’s goal, marking Messi’s continuity of scoring in six consecutive matches in all competitions.

The media everywhere are reporting on Messi’s news.

Barcelona’s transformation is also due to Rijkaard finally getting tough on discipline.

Following negative news of Ronaldinho partying all night before a match and Oleg being late to training due to car racing, Rijkaard reestablished team rules.

Previously, Barcelona players reported to the team at noon on the day of each home match, but this time, Rijkaard gathered the players a day before the match and kept them at the hotel for centralized management.

This prevents players from going out to seek fun at night, allowing them to rest to the maximum extent and focus their energy on the next day’s match.

The effect was explosive, with Atletico Madrid powerless against Barcelona, leading some media to use them as a contrast tool to Real Madrid.

This also led to a very unfavorable situation for Schuster recently, especially regarding the unprecedented pressure of public opinion.

Spain, Madrid

In the office, Schuster and Francisco watched Barcelona’s game, both silent, with the recently returned Ronaldinho performing average in this match, but Messi showcasing traits that are truly unforgettable at first glance.

Especially Schuster, who was reminded of the scene when he coached Getafe, where Messi completed a ”Maradona”-style goal.

”Damn.” Schuster exclaimed in frustration, grabbing his blond hair: ”The club can’t put its energy in useless places anymore.”

Recently, Calderon has given Schuster support mainly in two aspects: bonuses and transportation. Calderon announced that if the team wins the Champions League this season, each player could receive a staggering 600,000 Euro bonus.

On the other hand, the club’s efforts include a new plane going to Italy for the match, where the club created the ”Golden Arrow” special jet for the team.

This plane, painted with the honorary chairman Stefano’s name and nicknamed, has evidently not brought much aid to the team, as Real Madrid could only helplessly swallow a draw against Lazio away.

To Schuster, this support is utterly useless, and if possible, he would prefer reducing the bonus by half and using the old plane, as long as they replace that damned fitness coach, which would be better than anything.

Of course, that is not possible, as Calderon values ​​Disalvo greatly, with Disalvo currently enjoying his peak time in the club.

Besides these things, some trivial matters also distracted Schuster’s attention, such as Real Madrid’s fan organization ”Extreme South Stand,” an extreme fan group.

During the Champions League match between Real Madrid and Lazio, they organized hundreds of members carrying various ”props” to infiltrate the Olympic Stadium in Rome.

There were fireworks and makeshift Molotov cocktails among them. After the match ended and Real Madrid players left, they quickly hurled fireworks and Molotov cocktails towards the passage for the Roma players.

Although the local Roman police reacted swiftly, immediately deploying forces to disperse these extreme fans, preventing them from causing significant harm.

However, this enraged Lazio’s extreme fan organization ”The Incorrigibles,” who voiced their intentions through various channels to retaliate.

UEFA is investigating this incident and is likely to penalize Real Madrid.

Of course, the unfortunate events didn’t stop there. What drove Schuster crazy was just after this round of matches, the Dutch coach Van Basten announced the 24-man squad for the Euro qualifiers against Romania and Slovenia on the 17th.

Van Nistelrooy, Sneijder, and Robben were all enlisted, which gave Schuster a headache. You have to know that Van Nistelrooy is his primary center forward, Sneijder his key midfielder, and Robben is increasingly becoming an important part of his lineup. He is very worried they might get injured in the international matches, and even if they don’t, it will affect their form.

”If I remember correctly.” Schuster tapped the table with his hand, looking up at Francisco and said: ”Starting today, we don’t have any matches until the 20th?”

”Yes.”

”We have a match against the Spanish away on the 21st.”

”Hmm.” Schuster responded, then looked up at Francisco and asked, ”So how long is it until we meet Barcelona?”

”9 rounds, in 9 more rounds of the league, we’ll meet Barcelona.”

”Damn it.” Schuster cursed under his breath; ”By the way, Chen, what is Chen that kid doing?”

...

Spain, Sports City

Nacho, Parejo, Callejon, Carvajal, and Vazquez were invited to a relatively remote training ground. With permission from this squad’s coach, there’s now only Chen Zhong plus them five, making a total of six people.

”Chen!” Nacho ran over first, looking at Chen Zhong with a face full of resentment, ”You’re a big star now, when you invited us out, I thought it would be to see something grand.”

”In the end, you actually called us to the training ground?”

”It’s not just you guys!” Chen Zhong shook his head with a smile at Nacho, ”There’s also Mata, Negredo, Granero.”

”None of them were selected for this period’s Spain Euro qualifiers squad.”

This period’s Spain Euro qualifiers squad announcement also sparked some controversy, as Real Madrid’s captain Raul was not selected. Many have urged that Raul should be included in the squad, with some even considering Raul as the soul of Spain.

However, Spain’s coach Aragon did not give any direct response to this.

The team with the most selections is not Real Madrid nor Barcelona.

It is the ”Bat Army” Valencia, with no less than 7 players selected, whereas Real Madrid only has 2, and Barcelona only 3.

Real Madrid’s selections are Casillas and Ramos, Barcelona’s selections are Xavi, Puyol, and Iniesta.

Negredo, Granero, and Mata teamed up to come together; they are currently doing significantly well outside.

Negredo is the attacking core, the main center forward for Almeria.

Granero is steadily securing a starting position in Getafe, but unfortunately, he didn’t play in the last encounter between the two teams.

Lastly, there’s Mata. Mata’s debut was against Negredo’s Almeria. In that match, he helped his team defeat Almeria and scored a goal, now he’s a vital member of Valencia.

The ”Bat Army” Valencia is regarded by some fans as a super team, the only entity capable of breaking Real Madrid and Barcelona’s dominance. Winning league titles in 2002 and 2004, and capturing the UEFA Cup in 2004, completing a double crown feat, and recently reaching the Champions League finals twice.

In the Spain National Team, they stand out, having more selections than Real Madrid and Barcelona combined. Mata’s ability to secure his place in Valencia also attests to his strength.

After exchanging greetings, everyone turned their attention to Chen Zhong, knowing he must have called them for some task, naturally waiting for him to speak.