I Am Scouted by Real Madrid

Chapter 98: Chapter 15: As Fragile as Thin Paper

The break always seems to pass quickly. Chen Zhong hasn’t signed his contract yet, and the new league match is already upon us.

This time, the team’s opponent is ”Super Laco” Deportivo La Coruña. Schuster is still using the 442 formation. In this match, Chen Zhong and Guti are paired as the dual midfielders, with Higuain and Robinho on the flanks, and Cannavaro and Metzelder on defense.

The goalkeeper remains Casillas. This year, Casillas and Raul both made it into the 50 candidates for the Ballon d’Or. It is Raul’s tenth time entering the Ballon d’Or candidate list.

This year is also the most Spanish players have been included in the top 50 list since 2004. In the Barcelona team, Messi is the player most likely to win the Ballon d’Or, and Deco has openly voiced his support for Messi.

However, Ronaldinho from the same team supports Kaka instead, and Messi himself said in a media interview, ”Of course, I dream of winning the Ballon d’Or one day.”

”This year? I hope I have a chance, but honestly, I’m not really concerned about whether I win the Ballon d’Or right now.”

”Ronaldinho? Of course, he can support Kaka, because I also think Kaka should win the Ballon d’Or this time.”

In this Ballon d’Or 50 candidates list, Barcelona, Real Madrid, and Milan have the most players, each with six players included.

Real Madrid: Cannavaro, Casillas, Diara, Raul, Ronibiao, Van Nistelrooy.

Barcelona: Abidal, Deco, Eto’o, Henry, Messi, Ronaldinho.

Milan: Gattuso, Inzaghi, Maldini, Kaka, Pirlo, Seedorf.

Although last year’s Ballon d’Or winner was Cannavaro of Real Madrid, this year the most hopeful for the Ballon d’Or are Manchester United’s Cristiano Ronaldo, Barcelona’s Lionel Messi, and Milan’s Kaka.

Kaka helped Milan win the Champions League and was the top scorer in the Champions League, and with his outstanding performance, he is a hot favorite among the three.

Even Milan’s official channels have begun campaigning for Kaka. ”When Kaka Rules the World” has already become a trending topic.

The Ballon d’Or will be announced at the beginning of December, but almost everyone has already assumed that Kaka will win the Ballon d’Or, surpassing C. Ronaldo and Messi as the best.

This also causes a ripple within Real Madrid. Calderon is salivating over Kaka, and after charging a café bill to Real Madrid’s tab, he quickly found his trusted aide, sports director Mijatovic, the same man who later became a laughingstock, making Real Madrid a joke.

”We need to get Kaka in a Real Madrid jersey!” Calderon said decisively. ”For that, we can even sell more players, any player. I heard they performed well; do you think we can sell them at a higher price next?”

Since becoming president of Real Madrid, Calderon has habitually charged both his and his family’s bills to Real Madrid’s account. Regardless of the size of the bill, he never takes a penny out of his pocket, and his ”premium” purchases in the transfer market have made him quite desirable to some agents.

To fill the club’s financial ”difficulties” this season, Calderon chose to sell youth players for return flows. After Mata, Granero, and Negredo performed outstandingly, Calderon’s first thought was not to buy back but felt that they were sold too cheaply, and he was somewhat heartbroken for not renewing Mata’s contract, allowing him to leave freely.

”I’m not sure if Milan is willing,” Mijatovic replied with a very amateur answer, while Calderon’s response was very un-Real Madrid.

”We can make more contact.”

”Guide some news, just like we did with C. Ronaldo.”

During Florentino’s period, no matter which club—except for Barcelona—nobody had any qualms about doing business with Florentino, because Real Madrid never shortchanged on payments in transactions.

However, under Calderon’s management, Real Madrid’s appeal to superstars seems to have ”faded,” being able only to slightly overpay for some players from leagues like the Eredivisie, such as Pepe and Drenthe.

And for other players like Ballack, C. Ronaldo, Kaka, Calderon even found it difficult to communicate smoothly with the clubs.

So financially, when does Real Madrid need to ”break the bank” and sell the future to buy a player?

Last month, Calderon accepted an interview with ”Marca.” In the interview, he claimed Real Madrid’s revenue increases every year, but in fact, it’s mainly the debts that are increasing.

Calderon claimed in the interview that it was what Florentino left behind, but when Florentino took office in 2000, the club also had close to 300 million Euros in debt.

However, in contrast to Calderon who rolled the debt to almost 500 million Euros, Florentino paid off the debt in less than two years and even had the launch capital to build a Galaxy Battleship, later allowing Real Madrid to surpass Manchester United and become the most profitable club.

”We need Kaka.”

”Only Kaka can suppress C. Ronaldo and Messi.”

”Only by having Kaka can we truly have the strength to fight against Messi.”

Calderon once again affirmed his belief in his trusty sports director Mijatovic, although transfers cannot be achieved by belief alone.

Santiago Bernabeu Stadium

This season, Real Madrid has not lost any home games, and when Schuster made his appearance on the sidelines, the applause from the stands represented the Merengue fans’ acceptance of him.

Although sometimes the matches under Schuster’s leadership were not that exciting, at least the Merengue fans saw progress and change.

The fans in the stands sang loudly, and their resounding songs echoed throughout the stadium, making the current Deportivo La Coruña coach, Miguel Angel Lotina Oluechelaria, a bit envious.

Lotina, a bald middle-aged man, felt excited to coach Super Laco, but once he truly started coaching, he discovered that the current Super Laco was not the same as before.

The Super Laco of the early 21st century was a ”super team” capable of breaking the dominance of Real Madrid and Barcelona. It was a formidable team that could make waves in the Champions League, known for its gorgeous playing style and beautiful attacks, with many outstanding players in the team, significant investment from the club, and visionary upper management.

But now Deportivo La Coruña is entirely different.

Thinking of this, a wry smile appeared on Lotina’s face...

After all, he was a man whose coaching career mostly involved weaker teams, with the best league finish being fourth, and with only one cup championship in his entire career. How could you expect him to lead Deportivo La Coruña back to glory?

It’s just a bit disappointing for those supportive fans.

The two teams entered the field one after another, and the visiting fans continued to cheer loudly for their team. Even though the actions of the team management seemed to be ”giving up,” they still believed that they were still that Super Laco and could have glorious days again.

They finished runner-up in La Liga in their second year after promotion, won the King’s Cup in 2002 during Real Madrid’s centennial celebration, overturned a 0:3 deficit against Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League by scoring four goals in the second half, and created the ”miracle” of coming back to beat Milan 4-0 in the second leg after losing the first leg 1:4 during the 02-03 season when they overcame an 11-point gap with the La Liga leaders to top the league. How could you not have expectations for such a Super Laco?

”Chen!” Marcelo was standing next to Chen Zhong, rambling a bit, ”I’m a little excited!”

”The first match I played for the team last season was against Deportivo La Coruña.”

”Isn’t this a good omen? Like you mentioned.”

”Yes, yes...” Chen Zhong nodded repeatedly at Marcelo. After a brief chat, they both entered the field, with the sound of commentary and fans’ cheers filling their ears.

After completing a series of rituals, the match officially began.

With the referee’s whistle, Deportivo La Coruña kicked off first. Lodina is a coach adept at counter-attacks, and Schuster instructed the players during the tactical briefing.

However, after the match started, Deportivo La Coruña took quite an aggressive approach.

When Belldu got the ball in the middle section, Chen Zhong quickly put pressure on him. Facing Chen Zhong, Belldu moved towards the flank, then sent a diagonal pass with his foot.

Chen Zhong did not take this pass seriously at first, but when he heard the gasps from the entire stadium, he realized the seriousness of the situation.

He turned his head and saw Metzelder chasing Sisco.

”What’s happening? What’s going on?”

Chen Zhong’s mind was filled with confusion because, in his scenario, this pass should have been intercepted by Metzelder in advance. Still, the ball bypassed Metzelder and landed at Sisco’s feet in reality.

Sisco quickly broke into the penalty area, and from the right side of the six-yard box, he made a low shot facing the advancing Casillas, and unbelievably, it went through Casillas’ legs!

The ball flew into the net through Casillas’ legs.

Deportivo La Coruña took the lead in less than two minutes.

Casillas showed a complex expression on his face, while Sisco excitedly ran to the corner flag after scoring, and the traveling Deportivo La Coruña fans raised their arms and shouted Sisco’s name.

Schuster stood on the sidelines, unable to believe his eyes.

”What happened here?”

”Francisco, tell me.”

”Why does our defense look like a damn piece of paper?”