I Am Scouted by Real Madrid

Chapter 94: Chapter 13: Fame Across the World

Some things, in the end, can’t be hidden, so the showdown happened, no more pretending.

If Lemonis’s comment during an interview, ”A real monster!” was setting a spark, then Schuster’s statements facing the cameras after the match further pushed Chen Zhong to the center of attention.

Francisco kept rolling his eyes on the side. Initially, it was agreed not to let Chen Zhong draw too much media attention, but Schuster, as he spoke, seemed to forget all about it.

”It’s a good thing, it’s a good thing.” Schuster, with his blonde hair, smiled very calmly in front of the camera: ”Olympiacos is indeed quite strong, but for us, encountering him is absolutely beneficial.”

”This is either the third or fourth time we’ve faced Olympiacos at home.”

”And at least twice, after facing Olympiacos, we’ve won the Champions League. I think it’s a good omen, maybe this time we’ll get to the end as well!”

Schuster laughed heartily, looking very proud and elated. Facing several questions from reporters, his answers were spot on, especially when a reporter asked Schuster: ”What do you think of Chen Zhong’s performance in this match, and how important is Chen Zhong to the team?” Schuster didn’t hide his affection for Chen Zhong at all.

”He is an outstanding player.”

”At such a young age, playing at such a high level.”

”Honestly, the only dilemma I feel right now is whether to position him as a center-back or as a defensive midfielder.”

Facing the camera, Schuster spoke at length: ”Sometimes, I really wish I had two, no, several Chen Zhongs.”

”When he’s in the center-back position, I feel the entire defense line changes, and the players paired with him change too. He’s not just a simple defensive player.”

”My God! Although it sounds a bit crazy to say, when he’s acting as a center-back for the team, I feel a lot more secure about the team’s defense line stability.”

”Of course, when he acts as a defensive midfielder, he also shows potential, much like Vieira’s potential. I wouldn’t compare him to Makelele, because it’s obvious that he contributes not only to the team’s defense but also significantly boosts the team’s offense. His performance in this position, especially today, exceeded my expectations.”

”Honestly, if Ronaldo was considered an extraterrestrial back then.”

”Then I think Chen might truly be a monster.”

...

Schuster’s words spread globally in a very short amount of time. All the fans knew that there was a ”monster” emerging at Real Madrid, and after this match, both Marca and Diario AS dedicated large sections the following day to specifically report on Chen Zhong.

Marca: ”A leader-like, monster-attribute warrior.”

Diario AS: ”The successor to Raul, a monster that can improve the defense.”

After seeing their rivals praise Chen Zhong, World Sports Newspaper and Daily Sports, unwilling to be left behind, also published reports analyzing Chen Zhong’s weaknesses.

The World Sports Newspaper’s sharp words, with a simple title, raised questions: ”A new Pavin.”

Daily Sports also did not lag behind in criticizing Real Madrid, their specialty: ”A hyped-up monster.”

Four newspapers, two viewpoints, one of praise, the other of suppression, even denigration, leading to a polarization of opinions once the news reached the domestic audiences.

However, regardless, Chen Zhong’s name, after this match, managed to secure a place in the minds of most football fans, both openly and clandestinely, with many people unable to resist turning their attention to Chen Zhong, starting to evaluate what benefits this rising star might bring them.

Among them, Calderon and Florentino had completely different attitudes.

Upon seeing Chen Zhong gaining fame, Calderon’s first reaction was to ask those around him how much money could be made if Chen Zhong were sold right now.

During Florentino’s tenure, the team began to gradually focus on youth training, and the ”Zidane + Pavin” policy wasn’t just about Zidane and Pavin as individuals.

It actually referred to introducing a Zidane-like superstar from the football world every year and promoting a Pavin-like talented young player from the youth academy.

But during Calderon’s era, he started by trying to gain support through introducing superstars and then played the emotional card by supporting youth training. However, in reality, he did neither, covertly pocketing money, and occasionally selling ’geniuses’ from the youth academy for profit, performing transfers on the market that hurt reputation and inflated prices, finishing it all off by hollering at the proud Merengues that they were always making money, with profits soaring and debts being nothing to worry about in his false proclamations.

Now Calderon has even started plotting fake ticket sales and intends to sell some players for funds, with the ideal choices being either youth academy players of Real Madrid or players promoted to the first team from Castilla.

Calderon has now set his sights on a few youth academy players, intending to sell them to gain some funds to ”replenish” the club; this kind of desperate action also directly led to the current head of the youth academy angrily resigning, declaring that this would ruin the foundation of Real Madrid.