I Am Scouted by Real Madrid

Chapter 213: Chapter 80: I Actually Made the Club’s Top 100 of All Time?

The fireworks Derby of Milan in the 04-05 season was moving.

The scene of Materazzi and Rui Costa watching the fireworks side by side is recognized as a ”world famous scene” between the two teams, belonging to both Inter and Milan.

And today, in 2008, when Raul pulled Chen Zhong, the two came to the stand of die-hard fans, people saw the No. 7 and No. 22 in white, looked at those fans cheering with arms raised, and thought about what happened on the field today, how could they not say that this is also a ”world famous scene”?

And when Schuster wisely substituted Raul and Chen Zhong in the 77th minute, allowing them to enjoy the applause and cheers from the entire stadium, undoubtedly, all this reached a climax.

The ”old king” of Barcelona is Ronaldinho, the new king is Messi, although there are some voices beginning to support Bojan, who just joined the first team this season, most fans still recognize Messi, the Ballon d’Or candidate.

And in Real Madrid, the ”old king” is Raul, the new king will undoubtedly be Chen Zhong. This young player from China, in just over half a season, has already left a mark in the heart of the Merengue, although some rational fans still worry about ”rookie wall” and other issues.

But today, at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, looking at the scene of Raul and Chen Zhong standing side by side, they threw all these concerns out of their minds.

And domestically, today’s scene was reported extensively.

A Chinese, in Spain, at the Bernabeu, standing there in front of thousands of fans, amidst countless cheers and claps.

Just this scene made countless fans feel excited.

And some newspapers expressed the relationship between Raul and Chen Zhong with ”respecting the old and cherishing the young,” after all, the penalty Raul gave up to Chen Zhong at the beginning of the season was Chen Zhong’s first goal for Real Madrid in the league, and Chen Zhong’s refusal of Raul’s penalty helped Raul achieve the feat of his 200th league goal.

At the post-match press conference, the coach of the Spanish team had little to say, leaving the scene after briefly answering media questions.

Schuster laughed heartily facing the barrage of journalists’ questions: ”I’ve always favored him because I see a shadow of my younger self in him. His current performance is no surprise to me.”

For Schuster, the greatest compliment to someone is that they remind him of himself.

However, what pleased Schuster besides Chen Zhong’s excellent performance was Real Madrid’s lead in the league table widening to an 8-point gap.

In the just-finished match, Villarreal sank Barcelona, and more interesting was Henry’s performance on the field, along with Ronaldinho’s slumping form.

After reaching his peak, Ronaldinho quickly fell from grace.

Due to concerns about Ronaldinho’s form, Barcelona signed Henry last summer.

Partly out of commercial interest considerations, partly to strengthen the squad, while also to provide Ronaldinho with some stimulus.

The entire club, from top to bottom, was satisfied with the grand move of bringing in Henry, after all, he is ”Emperor Henry!”

Additionally, during Henry’s transfer, Barcelona played the emotional card, subtly using the examples of Real Madrid clearing Ronaldo and Villarreal driving out Riquelme to highlight their sense of camaraderie, crafting a family concept.

And this concept also moved Manchester United’s Gerard Pique and Arsenal’s Cesc Fabregas deeply.

Pique joined Barcelona’s youth training in 1997, being a top student, while Fabregas also joined Barcelona’s youth training at the age of 10.

Now, one has the identity of Manchester United’s youth training, the other of Arsenal’s, since the former joined Manchester United in 2004 when Pique was only 17, and the latter joined Arsenal in 2003 when Fabregas was only 16. According to the rules, if a club registers a player for three years between ages 15-21, they are recognized as the club’s youth trainees.

Now, both the Manchester United-trained and Arsenal-trained players want to return to the Barcelona family, showcasing the ”family” culture of Barcelona.

Barcelona brought in Henry but didn’t drive Ronaldinho away. As the Galaxy Battleship disbanded, they not only promoted the ”family” culture but also the concept of Barcelona’s ”superstar corps.”

However, the effect they expected did not materialize.

Henry and Ronaldinho do not fit well together; their roles on the pitch overlap, even neutralizing each other’s strengths, while issues in the locker room doubled due to the self-awareness of the two players.

Friends around Ronaldinho even revealed to journalists: ”Since signing Henry, he has felt his leadership position being questioned.”

Rijkaard was not good at handling such ”complex relationships,” lacking a strong personality and decisiveness.

Ronaldinho is closer to Messi, and Messi also likes Ronaldinho, as his first league goal for Barcelona was assisted by Ronaldinho.