I Am Scouted by Real Madrid

Chapter 119: Chapter 33: He Drives People Crazy

La Condomina Stadium, when Chen Zhong rose from the substitute bench and walked to the sideline, the noisy volume of the stadium noticeably decreased by a few decibels. Just like Barcelona’s Messi, Chen Zhong has already earned a certain ”fame” in La Liga.

As long as Chen Zhong plays, Real Madrid almost never loses.

”Is it him?”

”That monster from Real Madrid?”

”He’s actually coming on, but it won’t do much good, right?”

Murcia’s fans were chattering away, trying to calm their anxious hearts with various remarks, while Madrid’s fans and Murcia’s fans had completely different mental states.

”Chen should have been on long ago.”

”Finally, some sense. Chen should definitely be in the game.”

”I don’t know why, but when Chen stands on the sidelines, I just feel assured about this match.”

On the touchline, seeing Chen Zhong enter, Murcia’s coach quickly made targeted substitutions, bringing on a relatively taller midfielder to replace the shorter one, clearly having studied Chen Zhong’s games.

Of course, the most excited to see Chen Zhong come on was Guardiola.

As the head coach of the Barcelona Athletic Team, Guardiola’s team performance was pretty good, but as someone who enjoys thinking and has always hoped to bring ”art” to an extreme, this ”tactical maniac” was still seeking ways to make his control art even more beautiful.

The last time he saw Chen Zhong at Real Madrid, that performance of ”all swords returning to their roots” made Guardiola sleepless. His mind constantly echoed those passing lines again and again.

Those plain, straightforward passes seemed to possess some kind of magic.

And back then, Real Madrid used those plain, straightforward passes to firmly control the initiative on the field, finally ”passing” the ball directly into the opponent’s goal.

That was art; art is ball control, it’s making the opponent despair one pass at a time!

”You’re watching live coverage of the 13th round of La Liga.”

”Murcia at home against Real Madrid.”

”Dressed in dark blue shirts with white stripes are Real Madrid players, while those in red tops and white shorts are Murcia players.”

”The time has reached the 74th minute.”

”Murcia has a 1-goal advantage at home, but can the ten-man Real Madrid level or even overturn the score?”

”Let’s wait and see.”

After coming on, Real Madrid’s passes centered around Chen Zhong, with the ball passing to him from all directions, and then being distributed from him; Murcia had also set up specifically for this.

Every time Chen Zhong got the ball, two or three Murcia players would charge at him. Murcia’s coach’s expression was firm; he didn’t believe that under such pressure, this young player could remain calm and not make any mistakes!

”Heh.” Watching the match, Guardiola let out a cold laugh: ”Murcia’s coach doesn’t understand art at all. If Chen plays my kind of art, then next, pass out, pass back, pass out, pass back, good! Just like that!”

In Guardiola’s words, when faced with pressing, Chen Zhong didn’t intend to dribble at all but directly made a pass to the side to Sneijder. After Sneijder got the ball and saw Chen Zhong pulling away, he passed it back to Chen Zhong, and the two completed a series of one-twos.

However, Chen Zhong’s ”wall” could be anyone; it could be Sneijder, Robinho, even a withdrawing Raul, Van Nistelrooy, or the center back or fullbacks behind him.

2-3 people?

Unless you surround him from all sides, Chen Zhong always has space to pass, and with his game reading and exceptional vision, although he doesn’t have some dazzling long passes, he solidly and steadily keeps the ball at his feet.

”Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!”

A Murcia player stopped his steps, shouting to the sky. In this time, he just chased left, then right, like a dog being played with.

If his running could have some effect, it might be okay, but the problem was, he didn’t see any effect!

And just as this Murcia player broke down, a glint flashed in Chen Zhong’s eyes. He found a burst space, decisively pushed forward, and charged ahead.

The newly substituted tall Murcia player was ready to block physically right away, but Chen Zhong knew his dribbling skills; he never thought he could elegantly dribble like Robinho. After stretching Murcia’s defense, he turned sideways to shield against the Murcia player, then pushed the ball out.

Sneijder picked up the ball and made a straight pass.

The ball slipped through the gap between Murcia players and reached the slashing Robinho, who never misses such chances. He used a Ronaldo-like stepover to shed the oncoming Murcia goalkeeper and then lightly pushed into the empty net.

The ball entered the goal with a sound.

1:1

Real Madrid equalized in the 84th minute of the match.

”Robinho equalized for Real Madrid.”

”His form has been simply fantastic lately.”

”He has scored in several consecutive games.”

”Of course, for this goal, Chen Zhong’s contribution was also incredibly significant.”

”He attracted the attention of most defenders and passed the ball to Sneijder, who was in a better position.”

”Sneijder’s direct through ball penetrated Murcia’s defense, leading to the goal.”

”What about Chen Zhong!”

”He is simply maddening. He doesn’t have the skillful footwork, nor can he dribble past opponents one-on-one like Messi, and he doesn’t have the precise passing of Guti or Sneijder.”

”But his vision, overall perspective, and ball protection skills are astonishing.”

”He’s like the lubricant of the team, making the whole team smooth and fluid.”

In the stands, Murcia’s fans created all kinds of noises, hoping to pressure Real Madrid’s players, while Real Madrid’s fans were full of anticipation, hoping their team could quickly take the lead.

Guardiola watched Chen Zhong’s performance on TV, lost in thought, muttering to himself: ”Why didn’t he pass directly?”

”Is it because of his technique? No, it’s not. It’s because this way, the success rate is higher. Direct passing could be intercepted.”

”But passing through a second person, both angle and success rate would significantly improve, and it also stretches Murcia’s defense. Is this simple? No, it’s not simple. It requires an absolutely calm mind and exceptional vision.”

”Iniesta, Xavi, or Yaya Toure?”

”Who can do all this?”

Guardiola seemed bewildered, looking at Chen Zhong as if he saw his own art. Art is passing and controlling, and Chen Zhong, he’s simply maddening.

Schuster stood on the sideline, also relieved. As long as they didn’t lose this match, they could remain at the top of the table.

Murcia’s coach was evidently struck by what had just happened. In the remaining time, he assembled his players into a bus parked in front of the goal, and facing such a dense defense, any team would find it daunting.

”The match is nearing its end.”

”Real Madrid, despite having only 10 players.”

”But they completely controlled the rhythm of the match.”

”Murcia’s attitude is clear: we don’t have to win, but we definitely must not lose.”

”This is Real Madrid’s last attack.”

”The referee keeps glancing at his watch.”

”The ball is now at Chen Zhong’s feet; let’s see how he handles this.”

The boos from Murcia fans were like waves, one after another, and Real Madrid had already passed the ball three times outside the box.

Robinho was eager, looking at Chen Zhong as if to say, Chen, let me sprint once more! What if it works? But he had failed many times already, and Murcia’s players were eyeing him closely.

Van Nistelrooy and Raul also looked at Chen Zhong, seemingly saying, pass it over, or pass it through Sneijder, but this method had also failed many times, and Murcia’s players were clearly prepared.

Time ticked away, the referee frequently glanced at his watch, and if Real Madrid lost possession this time, he would undoubtedly blow the whistle.

Chen Zhong gritted his teeth, gently pushed the ball forward, then gathered his strength, adjusted the angle, and struck the ball hard.

In the last moments of the match, he chose to take a long shot himself, bearing the responsibility on his shoulders.

”Boom!”

The ball rocketed towards the goal like a missile.

Murcia players made various moves trying to intercept the ball.

But it was all in vain. Chen Zhong watched expectantly, Real Madrid fans craned their necks, Schuster clenched his fists...

However, a dull thud was heard.

The ball, under the desperate yet suddenly delighted gaze of Murcia’s goalkeeper, smashed against the crossbar and flew out.

”Beep~ Beep~ Beep~”

The referee blew the final whistle of the match.

Murcia drew 1-1 at home with ten-man Real Madrid.

Chen Zhong clenched his jaw, filled with unwillingness. If only I could have kept the ball a bit lower, or maybe if my arc could have been higher, could I have chipped it?