I Am Scouted by Real Madrid

Chapter 169: Chapter 59: Winter Transfer Window (Part 2)

In terms of information channels, Chen Zhong’s sources are much more impressive than Marcelo’s, at least when it comes to Real Madrid affairs, there’s little that Chen Zhong doesn’t know.

After all...

Many kids in the Sports City youth team have families or backers that should not be underestimated.

For example, Zidane has already arrived in Madrid, and his children have long joined the Real Madrid youth academy. Zidane’s eldest son Enzo is currently playing for the Real Madrid Infantil B team (ages 11-13), and his younger son Luca is with the Benjamiin b team (ages 8-10).

Among them, Enzo is already a well-known young midfielder star in the Real Madrid youth camp.

On April 9, 2007, in the finals of the Mediterranean International Victory Cup, the Real Madrid Youth Team, under Enzo’s leadership, defeated the Barcelona Youth Team to win the championship.

Enzo and Luca were both meticulously guided by Zidane when they were young; the slightly older Enzo even learned his dad’s signature move: the Marseille Turn.

However, after they joined the Real Madrid youth camp, Zidane rarely interferes with their football life. After retiring, although he doesn’t have to play in matches, his busy commercial activities have made Zidane a ”frequent flyer,” giving him even less time to guide his kids.

Chen Zhong had a brief team experience with them; Enzo Zidane in midfield somewhat resembles his father, but it feels a bit rigid, lacking his own unique style.

Chen Zhong is not very optimistic about his future development because, as a midfielder, he lacks a bit of his own thinking. In the youth team, he is indeed invincible, but once he reaches the professional arena, especially in top leagues, any player is a dominating presence during their youth training.

His little antics are just too obvious.

As for the other one, Luca, he’s a goalkeeper, a not-so-tall goalkeeper, and Chen Zhong has nothing much to say about his future. At least Chen Zhong thinks it’s hard for him to make it to the end and become part of Real Madrid.

Unless Real Madrid’s head coach is his father, otherwise Chen Zhong really can’t figure out what qualifies him to play for Real Madrid.

But can Zidane really advance from youth training to become the first-team coach?

Chen Zhong doesn’t know.

You should know that the promotion process for Real Madrid’s youth training coaches is quite similar to that of players.

It is worth mentioning that hiring retired stars as youth camp coaches has always been a tradition at Real Madrid. The current youth training director, Michelle, was one of the famous ”Real Madrid Five Eagles” in the 1990s, and during his coaching period, he successfully nurtured his son Adrian Gonzalez to success. Although the latter isn’t exactly a star, currently only playing in a second-tier league, he is still a professional player who doesn’t worry about making a living.

Maybe this kind of lineage gives Zidane some advantage in the competition?

There’s also the ”Golden Child” plan; Real Madrid is in talks to acquire the Santos Team’s ”Brazilian Messi,” Thiago. Perhaps due to recent events, this matter is still only at the negotiation stage.

Thiago, at a very young age, is already playing in the first team, with 8 goals in 4 matches, which seems quite impressive. Without Chen Zhong, such talent is what Real Madrid craves, but because of Chen Zhong’s presence, Real Madrid seems a bit less eager.

Compared to Thiago, it’s the 15-year-old kid Neymar from the Santos Team that makes Real Madrid want to try their luck.

What if they hit the jackpot?

”Chen, Chen, did you hear what I said?”

”Huh? What were you saying just now?”

”Damn.” Marcelo muttered, then said, ”I was saying that recently Barcelona made it public that they hope to introduce a player from China!”

Recently, the Barcelona Club’s official responsible for the Asian market, Stiles Wieg, stated to the media, ”We hope that in the near future, Barcelona will have a Chinese player.”

Stiles Wieg analyzed Barcelona’s operations in the Chinese market, stating that the Catalan Legion, which once visited China, has already developed a good fan base and reputation in the densely populated country, but sales of jerseys and souvenirs, as well as membership development, are not very ideal.

Moreover, Stiles Wieg noticed a phenomenon that Chinese fans tend to focus on stars rather than teams. For example, Beckham’s joining once made Real Madrid’s fan numbers skyrocket overnight.

And now, with Chen Zhong, the number of Real Madrid fans from China has increased.

At the same time, Stiles Wieg gave an example: ”After Manchester United signed the Korean player Park Ji-sung, there was significant growth in terms of jersey sales and broadcast rights sales.”

”I really hope one day Barcelona can sign a Chinese player. The Chinese market has huge appeal, and developing the Chinese market is a huge challenge to Barcelona’s potential. We have 2,000 paying members from Japan, but in China, although there are 80,000 Barcelona fans, paying members are fewer than 200. Without a doubt, Barcelona has tremendous potential for development here.”

At this point, Stiles Wieg paused and said, ”And if we could have a player at Chen’s level, that would be even better. Not only would it provide huge financial assistance to the team, but it would also greatly boost the team’s competitive strength.”