I Am Scouted by Real Madrid

Chapter 365: Chapter 36: El Clásico Derby

”CCTV, CCTV.”

”Viewers, welcome to the 234th Spanish National Derby!”

”This is the first round of this season’s National Derby at Camp Nou.”

”Barcelona at home against Real Madrid.”

”The team in red and blue stripes is Barcelona, and the team in white robes is Real Madrid.”

”Both teams have fielded all the main players available.”

”Alright, as the referee blows the whistle, the match officially begins.”

”Real Madrid kicks off, and the ball is delivered to Chen Zhong.”

”Chen Zhong passes sideways to Alonso.”

”Alonso with a long pass.”

”Directly towards the backfield.”

Real Madrid gains the kick-off advantage, and the ball quickly reaches Chen Zhong’s feet, who transfers it to Alonso, as Real Madrid’s formation collectively presses forward at this moment.

After a slight adjustment, Alonso executes a long pass from the backfield.

Barcelona swiftly adjusts for defense, and in the contest with his old friend C. Ronaldo, Pique is the first to secure the position, heading the ball out, and it falls to the defending Messi’s feet.

”Messi!”

”Takes the ball in the center.”

”Very swift.”

”Messi is also one of the main highlights of this match.”

”Very rapid advancement.”

In this match, Barcelona, at home, has set up a 4-3-3 formation:

Iniesta, Henry, Messi

Keita, Busquets, Xavi

Abidal, Puyol, Pique, Alves

Valdes

While Real Madrid has set up a 4-2-3-1 formation:

Negredo

C. Ronaldo, Baptista, Kaka

Chen Zhong, Alonso

Marcelo, Albiol, Pepe, Ramos

Casillas

Guardiola and Pellegrini’s starting lineup differed from fan pre-match predictions, with Barcelona not starting Ibrahimovic, instead opting for Henry to replace Ibrahimovic’s position, while Real Madrid did not choose Pirlo for the attacking midfielder position but instead opted for Baptista.

After Barcelona kicked off, the ball was quickly delivered to Messi, who raced through the center like a sharp blade piercing the heart of Real Madrid.

Iniesta, Henry, Keita, and Xavi created space for Messi, while Real Madrid’s defense retreated in unison, with Chen Zhong and Alonso attempting to clamp down on Messi from front and back.

Messi quickly glanced at Chen Zhong; there was no eye contact, but Chen Zhong sensed something was wrong and swiftly moved forward to try to intercept the ball.

As he had this thought, Messi had already passed the ball.

The pass was a bit rushed, with Keita who had overrun, hastily slowing down to take possession, while Kaka attempted to intercept but Keita turned and the ball was flicked to the opposite side.

Iniesta pointed forward with the ball, and unbeknownst to all, Messi had already run past Chen Zhong, diagonally running along a side in the triangle formed by Chen Zhong, Pepe, and Albiol.

Chen Zhong realized the danger and tried to block Iniesta’s passing route, but before he could, Iniesta, under pressure from two Real Madrid players, sent a precise through ball that pierced Real Madrid’s defense.

Their synergy was perfect, as if no extra thought or communication was needed.

Messi took the ball, advancing to the right side of the penalty area, surrounded by Marcelo, Albiol, Alonso, while Chen Zhong kept watch on Messi looking down at the ball, choosing instead to move towards the penalty spot after assessing the surroundings.

This choice was correct because as most players moved towards Messi, he suddenly stopped and passed a low ball to the middle.

Several Barcelona players surged forward, trying to capitalize and score, but all efforts were blocked by Chen Zhong’s long leg.

Instead of trying to control the ball, Chen Zhong immediately passed it to Casillas, who kicked it long, but not accurately enough to find a forward player.

The ball fell back into Barcelona’s possession.

Baptista was the first to pressure upfront, but the ball-carrier Busquets passed it to Xavi, who without stopping pushed it further into the box.

Henry accelerated towards the goal, but Chen Zhong used his body to impede Henry’s progress, watching helplessly as the ball ’slipped away’ from the side.

”Oh dear!”

”Both sides are extremely fired up after the start.”

”Henry was blocked by Chen Zhong on takeoff.”

”He got a bit anxious.”

”Pushed Chen Zhong from behind in the penalty area!”

”The referee spotted it and blew the whistle, giving Real Madrid a free kick.”

”Such a body, such strength.”

”Chen Zhong’s positioning was very precise, earlier intuitively moving to the penalty spot to intercept a dangerous cross.”

”Again now, he preemptively positioned himself, disrupting Barcelona’s smooth cooperation and causing Henry to get flustered.”

The referee did not give Henry a card, only verbally warning him, while Henry gritted his teeth, occasionally glancing at Chen Zhong as if to say, ”I’ll remember you, kid, just wait.”

Not far off, Messi, Xavi, Iniesta, and others had noticeably more serious expressions.

On the sidelines, Pellegrini watched this unfold, tapping his chest and breathing a sigh of relief; Chen Zhong had not let him down, his game awareness and judgment of the surrounding environment were very precise.