I Am Scouted by Real Madrid

Chapter 512: Chapter 11: Knives Drawn on the Front Line (Part 2)

Mourinho didn’t know! Nor did he care what thoughts were in the locker room because Real Madrid now had Chen Zhong holding the fort.

He was more concerned about Benzema’s performance on the pitch.

A forward like this, though obedient, was not quite to Mourinho’s liking; he felt like a domesticated little cat, lacking a bit of wildness and ferocity.

And what he wanted was definitely not a house cat.

This is the complexity of people, wanting someone obedient yet also a bit rebellious.

In these 14 days, Mourinho was not idle either, he turned his attention to Emmanuel Adebayor, who had just joined Manchester City.

If you don’t know why Mourinho wanted to bring in Adebayor, then just remember Adebayor’s nickname, ”Little Magic Beast.”

Success at Chelsea for Mourinho was closely linked to Didier Drogba!

After experiencing Didier Drogba, both Chelsea and Mourinho developed a bad habit of liking tall, black-skinned African players.

Well, simply put, they all liked the ”Magic Beast.”

days of holiday passed quickly, and at the Bernabeu Cup, Chen Zhong led the Castilla players to easily defeat the visiting team, helping the team secure the Bernabeu Cup once again.

On that day, the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium was echoing with Chen Zhong’s name, and Chen Zhong responded by raising his arms high.

La Liga’s second round, players returned from the national teams, and fans now turned their attention to the league, eager to see how Mourinho’s team would perform in their second league match.

There had been a lot of bad rumors during this time, various news stories were pessimistic about Real Madrid.

And the start of this match was indeed not very good.

In the seventh minute of the match, Real Madrid’s number 7, Cristiano Ronaldo, received a pass from Higuain.

Negredo did not start this match because he played the full game for the Spain National Team. With Chen Zhong on the pitch, Higuain was clearly an obedient baby.

After getting the ball, he innocently drew the defenders away and then passed the ball to a teammate.

Cristiano Ronaldo, now the big figure of the Portugal National Team, had apparently not yet recovered from his national team duties.

When he got the ball, he did not look for cooperation with his teammates, even with teammates available to follow up in the middle and having shrugged off the defense.

The Portuguese chose to shoot himself!

The shot flew directly into the stands.

This left some Real Madrid fans on the stands displeased, even leading to some scattered boos.

And upon hearing the boos, C. Ronaldo’s face darkened, the commentators even voiced sympathetically for him.

”We can hear scattered boos.”

”This is a bit too harsh.”

”Earlier, he indeed could have sought teamwork.”

”But shooting himself was not necessarily wrong.”

The harshness of Bernabeu fans placed some pressure on C. Ronaldo, and in the subsequent attack, this time after receiving Chen Zhong’s long pass, Cristiano Ronaldo opted for teamwork.

He passed the ball to Higuain in the center, but Higuain, in his eagerness at the critical moment, ended up shooting too high again.

This drew a package of arms spread in complaint from C. Ronaldo to Higuain, although he didn’t shout or run to Higuain to say anything, everyone could see C. Ronaldo’s posture and knew the Portuguese was not happy about it.

”He hasn’t touched the ball for 15 days, continually undergoing physical therapy, so his ball touch is a bit off,” Francisco explained timely to Mourinho at the side.

This national team matchday, Higuain didn’t even play for Argentina for a single minute, spending most of his time adjusting his physical condition.

”It’s not about that I’m concerned,” Mourinho explained to Francisco, ”it’s his attitude I’m troubled with.”

”Regardless of how things are, he shouldn’t have this attitude towards a teammate!”

”And of course, the fans can’t behave like this towards him either!”

Mourinho frowned at the sound of boos from the fans; just now, Cristiano Ronaldo isolated himself once more.

It seemed like Higuain’s miss had provoked him.

Or perhaps the boos from the fans had made this proud man desperately want to prove himself.

After receiving the ball, he ignored Higuain’s raised hand asking for the ball, his expression seemingly saying, with that last shot you took, you even have the nerve to ask me for the ball?

And then, he kicked the ball into the stands again.

This left more Real Madrid fans dissatisfied.

And it was in this kind of environment that Mourinho began to speak up for C. Ronaldo.

In some sense, what Mourinho said was right, under no circumstances should fans doubt C. Ronaldo.

Nor should they boo him at this time.

Over the past two weeks, no matter whether with the national team or on return, C. Ronaldo continuously engaged in various physical training programs, practicing five hours each day.

After the national team’s match, on one day returning home, he encountered the esteemed footballer Stefano at the swimming pool; the elderly man, in poor health, had just been discharged from the hospital, holding Cristiano Ronaldo’s hand as he expressed his respect, ”With a player like you, Real Madrid will not lose games.”

”You are the second most diligent player I’ve seen in recent years.”

”The other one you should know too, it’s Chen, the captain of Real Madrid.”

Stefano, Real Madrid’s honorary chairman, rarely praised players face-to-face, aside from Chen Zhong, only C. Ronaldo received such commendations.

Cristiano Ronaldo had a strong desire to compete, craving to make his mark on the field, and he was the type of player who excelled under pressure— the greater the challenge, the tougher the opponent, the more spirited he became, eager to play.

At the start of the match, he aggressively attacked right-back Lolo, causing panic along Osasuna’s left side. For one, his cooperation with Marcelo showed better understanding; additionally, Lolo’s repeated failures broke his confidence, turning him into Osasuna’s weakest defensive link.

From Mourinho’s perspective, the only issue Cristiano Ronaldo had was a lack of goals!

In all other respects, his performance was practically impeccable.

His dribbling efficiency was high, succeeding 4 out of 5 times during this period, which was a terrifying statistic.

The boos at Bernabeu stadium grew louder, seemingly affecting Cristiano Ronaldo’s performance.

Just now, Real Madrid launched an attack, and C. Ronaldo picked up the ball on the flank, surged forward, and then attempted to cut in from the side, driving straight into the box for a finish.

However, he made a mistake right from the first step, as an opponent intercepted the ball!

”C. Ronaldo!”

”Carrying the ball on the wing!”

”Aiming to cut in!”

”Great idea!”

”But his move was seen through by the opponent!”

”Too hasty!”

”The ball was stolen!”

”The opponent’s counterattack!”

”Chen!”

”Brilliant slide tackle!”

This was quite a threatening counterattack, potentially posing a direct threat to the goal if executed.

But Chen Zhong from the side broke it all up with the slide tackle.

He directly put down the opponent’s player, taking both man and ball.

Then gracefully rose, shaking his hair.

With that defiant expression seemingly saying, this is Bernabeu, my territory, everyone better watch themselves.

Real Madrid fans on the stands chanted Chen’s name loudly, and after a wave to the crowd, Chen Zhong pointed his right hand at Cristiano Ronaldo.

And then raised a single finger, making a shushing gesture.

”Chen?”

”He’s signaling the fans to stop booing.”

”Yes.”

”He’s indicating that he doesn’t want to hear people booing their own teammates.”

”That’s Chen, that’s Real Madrid’s captain.”