I Am Scouted by Real Madrid

Chapter 145: Chapter 48: El Clásico: Chen’s Battle for the Throne! (Part 2)

Red and blue loyalty, iron-blooded lion, this backbone of Spain’s national defense and Barcelona’s spiritual leader glanced at Chen Zhong, then threw himself wholeheartedly into the ”battle”.

Chen Zhong looked at Puyol’s back and also gave a grim smile.

The match reached a fever pitch from the start; every inch of the Camp Nou field had players from both teams fighting for possession. Fans in the stands and in front of televisions worldwide were emotionally stirred by every move on the field.

Barcelona couldn’t keep taking hits; they finally found a chance and passed the ball to Ronaldinho’s feet. This football spirit from Brazil concealed his trademark rabbit teeth and began his dance, as if asking his opponents, ”Would you like to dance too?”

However, just as he nudged the ball forward, Chen Zhong, charging in from the side aggressively, knocked Ronaldinho down to the ground together with the ball.

The tune of the football spirit’s dance was abruptly ”cut off” after only one note.

Both teams employed a simple and brutal approach in this match, players falling all over, and Ronaldinho clearly hadn’t adapted to this state.

He lay on the ground, glaring at the referee, but the referee didn’t make any indication.

Barcelona’s midfield lost control under Real Madrid’s fierce pressure, and when Real Madrid moved the ball into the threat area, Real Madrid’s players were the ones tumbling down.

”This damned bastard!” Schuster glared with wide eyes at Rijkaard. If you ignored the team’s shirts and focused only on their expression on the field, Real Madrid appeared more Barcelona-like than Barcelona: ”What the hell is he thinking?”

Rijkaard stood calmly on the sidelines, arms crossed, ignoring Schuster’s glare, but intently watching the field and Ronaldinho.

”This match is incredibly interesting.”

”I’m not talking about Ronaldinho and Deco starting, nor Guti on the bench, but about the tactical design by the team coaches.”

”Schuster, playing away, surprisingly used Cruyff’s tactical philosophy, insisting on pressing defense, disrupting Barcelona’s ball control with forward and midfield pressure, then taking control of the tempo and possession.”

”But Rijkaard clearly anticipated this situation, and upon sensing Real Madrid’s midfield dominance at the start of the match, they abandoned the regular tactic of midfielders using technical coordination and also the much-emphasized by Cruyff forward press formation, opting for defenders and retreating midfielders to use long passes for counter-attacks.”

”Yes, exactly!”

”Barcelona surprisingly played defense and counter-attack in this match, while Real Madrid played Cruyff’s style.”

”In this match, Rijkaard seemed to have placed all bets on Ronaldinho.”

”Judging from Barcelona’s recent long pass maneuvers, Max and others primarily aimed their long passes at Ronaldinho in the front field, and Ronaldinho’s position also shifted from the initial center to the left wing.”

”This helped Barcelona’s thwarted offense slightly gain effect, yes, when avoiding Chen Zhong.”

”Some say Rijkaard doesn’t quite trust Ronaldinho, but judging by the team’s tactics now, Rijkaard clearly trusts Ronaldinho too much.”

Commentary noticed Barcelona’s strategic focus, and Schuster, too, noticed; Schuster usually enjoyed seeing Ramos assist forward, given Ramos possessed excellent assisting ability.

Yet in this match, seldom did Ramos charge forward; Ramos hadn’t initiated any assists.

Because Ronaldinho gave him too much pressure, most of his energy was dedicated to defense.

Despite this, Ronaldinho still found an opportunity.

Having rested for two weeks, Ronaldinho’s physicality was astonishingly robust, taking the ball to the bottom line and breaking through Ramos’ defense, then executing a triangle pass attempt aimed at the charging Eto’o.

But Chen Zhong ghosted quietly at Eto’o’s side, making him miss a golden chance, preventing a direct shot.

”You damned dog.” Eto’o glared at Chen Zhong furiously: ”I will score, I will defeat you.”

”Shut your filthy mouth.” Chen Zhong frowned at Eto’o: ”Then score a damn goal for me to see.”

Samuel Eto’o, nicknamed ”Cheetah,” was once part of Real Madrid’s youth training. He lost his standing ground at Real Madrid due to the coach’s distrust and injuries.

Back in 2000, when Florentino just became the club president, Eto’o directly approached Florentino, asking for a position and playing opportunity, and refused to be loaned out. Florentino replied, ”Who do you think you are? This is Real Madrid. You are just a player, we decide if you play.”

At that time, Real Madrid’s front line was glittering, and Eto’o neither had fame nor outstanding ability.

His rudeness left Florentino extremely displeased, noting Eto’o’s name, while Eto’o held grievances against Florentino. Coming from poverty, he was sensitive and extreme, gradually transforming this into hatred.

Even being loaned out was considered disdain to him.

Eto’o eventually left Real Madrid, gradually showcasing his ability.

Merengue fans used to miss Eto’o but Eto’o’s animosity towards Real Madrid during matches, and later actions after joining Barcelona, turned this ”reminiscence” into disgust.

He said later in interviews, when transferring to Barcelona, he didn’t receive Florentino’s respect.

You were headed to Barcelona!

In this brief exchange, Chen Zhong also disliked Eto’o’s demeanor and words; was he incapable of speaking?

Perhaps I should teach him how to speak properly.

The teams were still entangled in midfield, and Rijkaard finally took action, calling from the sidelines: ”Pass the ball to Ronaldinho!”

”To Ronaldinho!”

”Dodge Chen, don’t enter his territory.”

These words were obviously aimed at Eto’o; Eto’o glared at Rijkaard with eyes ablaze, and his restless soul began losing self-control.

Last season, he lashed out at Ronaldinho and Rijkaard; within Barcelona, he wasn’t particularly popular.

Rijkaard’s shouting quickly had an effect; after Van Nistelrooy’s shot was blocked, the ball reached Ronaldinho, who executed small area coordination with Iniesta.

Cannavaro charged from the side, colliding with Ronaldinho, and they turned into tumbling gourds; Cannavaro lay on the ground, grimacing and clutching his thigh, seemingly injured.

Real Madrid players raised their hands, indicating someone was down, but Eto’o, rushing from the side, didn’t care; he took the ball and tried to seize Real Madrid’s ”slack” moment for an attack.

However, Chen Zhong’s furious sliding tackle from the side made Eto’o fly into the air.

”Can’t you see someone is injured?”

Eto’o grimaced, rolling twice on the ground, but before he could say anything after struggling up, Chen Zhong rushed over and forcefully knocked him back onto the ground.

At that moment, Chen Zhong seemed to emit a dangerous vibe, making Eto’o shudder.

The referee blew the whistle, running over to Chen Zhong, hand on his pocket, seeming to hesitate about issuing a card, but eventually choosing stern verbal warnings: ”Mind your words and actions, if you continue, I’ll show you a yellow card.”

He also glanced at Eto’o.

Typically, when someone went down appearing injured, either a foul was called stopping play, or opposing players kicked the ball out, returning ball possession upon match resumption.

Few acted like Eto’o.

Medics carried Cannavaro to the sidelines, conducted simple treatments, and Cannavaro stood up, ready to return to the field.

During this period, Barcelona, taking advantage of its numerical superiority, launched a fierce attack.