I Am Scouted by Real Madrid

Chapter 914: Chapter 17: Shadows of Familiar Faces

Metropolitan Stadium

The Real Madrid fans in the stands were ecstatic, while Atletico Madrid’s fans were furious.

Alonso stood on the sidelines smiling and clapping, while Simeone raised his head slightly, his eyes filled with exhaustion. This familiar feeling triggered a bad premonition deep in Simeone’s heart.

Could it be that we’re going to lose this match again?

And indeed, Simeone’s premonition was quite accurate. In the following moments, Real Madrid, having taken the lead, played more and more comfortably, while Atletico Madrid, though still trying to catch up, never found the key breakthrough.

When facing Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid always seems to be at a disadvantage, even under Simeone’s leadership, they have been overturned by Real Madrid several times.

The match continued, and Real Madrid sealed the victory in the 78th minute.

”Real Madrid’s attack.”

”Valverde with the ball on the wing!”

”Decides to send the ball to the center!”

”Chen Zhong!”

Valverde, once considered the second Chen Zhong during his training at Real Madrid, delivered an extremely precise cross from the wing. In Atletico Madrid’s penalty box, Chen Zhong leapt high, outjumping the defenders, and executed a beautiful header.

Oblak could do nothing but watch the ball go into the net.

2:0

Chen Zhong completed a hat-trick, truly living up to his title as the Derby de Madrid assassin.

The Real Madrid supporters in the stands were thrilled, singing in unison, ”Whose home ground is this!” provoking Atletico Madrid fans. This led to clashes between the two sets of fans, causing a temporary halt in the game.

In the end, Real Madrid defeated Atletico Madrid by 2 goals.

During the FIFA Club World Cup, Atletico Madrid was slaughtered by Paris Saint-Germain with 4 goals, and now, being easily defeated by Real Madrid again, many began to bring up the old topic of Simeone’s impact on Atletico Madrid.

After the match, Atletico Madrid’s coach Simeone entered the press conference room with a heavy expression.

When discussing the team’s performance in the match, Simeone stated, ”Our organization and cooperation appeared very weak after regaining possession.”

”Although Griezmann had a great scoring opportunity, unfortunately, he didn’t seize it, and we soon fell behind 0-2.”

”Koke coming off the bench significantly improved the quality of our passing, and we almost pushed the score to 1-2.”

Regarding the referee’s decisions, Simeone said, ”After 14 years of coaching, I am tired of such referee controversies. I don’t want to waste more time and energy on this issue.”

And when talking about the difference between the pre-match interviews and the current result, Simeone admitted, ”This result is undoubtedly hard to accept. We are well aware that the road ahead remains full of challenges, and this defeat is just a bump in our journey forward.”

For Simeone, leading a relatively modest club like Atletico Madrid to stand on equal footing with giants like Real Madrid and Barcelona is an achievement in itself.

After this match, it seemed that Simeone had come to some realization, as he spoke to reporters about the time-worn topic in the football world—Chen Zhong and Messi.

Simeone stated that Messi is currently the best technical player in football, and he can perform magic on the field. However, in crucial matches, he fears facing Chen Zhong more.

Because Chen Zhong can always bring victory. As a coach, signing Chen Zhong will bring you championships. Of course, Messi can also do it, but you need to buy his Barcelona teammates as well.

This remark has been discussed frequently by Simeone over the years. Messi needs to perform within a system that suits him.

But Chen Zhong is different. No matter what system or tactics you have, Chen Zhong can always help you elevate the team’s baseline.

As one of the coaches who has faced Messi and Chen Zhong the most, Simeone’s views are worth discussing. Atletico Madrid can be said to be a team Messi loves and hates; in the league, Atletico rarely wins against Barcelona, but in cup competitions, Atletico has been Barcelona’s nemesis. Atletico Madrid has twice eliminated Barcelona in the Champions League, and Barcelona cannot triumph against Atletico in cup matches, facing Atletico’s tough defense and ferocious charges, Messi always struggles to perform at his best.

And Chen Zhong can be considered Simeone’s most feared opponent, with no exceptions. On the Champions League stage, Simeone can’t even count how many times his team has been eliminated by teams with Chen Zhong on their roster. It’s safe to say that Atletico Madrid’s inability to achieve greater success in the Champions League under Simeone is largely due to being defeated by Chen Zhong.

Of course, some might also mention Cristiano Ronaldo. After all, the Portuguese player delivered plenty of brilliant performances while Real Madrid crushed Atletico Madrid.

Even after Cristiano Ronaldo left Real Madrid and joined Juventus.

When he led Juventus to come back against Atletico Madrid, defeating Simeone, many began to wonder if Real Madrid’s repeated victories over Atletico Madrid were due to Cristiano Ronaldo or Chen Zhong?