I Am Scouted by Real Madrid

Chapter 765: Chapter 36: Learning to Keep Quiet (Part 2)

Casillas looked at the considerate Kaponeiro, blanked out for a moment, and felt as if a huge burden had been lifted off his heart, but on the surface, he showed an unwilling look...

"Although Chen is formidable."

"But I’m not afraid of him."

"I also have a proper youth training background."

...

The next day, inside the locker room.

The players looked at the entering Casillas with a peculiar expression. Even though Casillas had remained silent on social media, it was still possible that he might be in a "cold war" or "conflict" state in private.

But clearly, they were going to be disappointed.

Casillas entered with a bright smile on his face and then walked up to Chen Zhong and said, "Nice to see you, my friend."

"I think you’re right, internal matters shouldn’t be discussed by others."

"I support your viewpoint."

"Thank you." Chen Zhong embraced Casillas. Suriyan Cristiano Ronaldo and players under Mendes had a significant presence in the locker room, but within the team, if you were to rank the second-in-command, Casillas was undoubtedly the choice.

And now, the second-in-command in the locker room, after his girlfriend was criticized, showed such an attitude, either this person was deeply scheming, or Chen Zhong was indeed someone he couldn’t provoke.

And everyone knew the answer.

...

After Real Madrid defeated Santander Athletic away, their next league opponent was the unfortunate Hercules, established in 1922 with only three Segunda Division titles in its history.

In this match, Cristiano Ronaldo was not included in the squad due to injury, but according to the team’s evaluation, he could appear in the Champions League match against Lyon a few days later.

Facing a team like Hercules, Mourinho didn’t field all the main players, preferring to put most of them on the bench, of course, Chen Zhong still started.

Before the match, both teams observed a minute’s silence for the victims of the earthquake in Japan.

There was also something worth mentioning here, during an interview, when a domestic reporter asked Chen Zhong what he thought about the earthquake in Japan.

Chen Zhong blurted out: "Little Japan... Did Little Japan have a nice little life? I truly feel bad for them..."

Despite the grudges between the two countries, as China has a glorious history of thousands of years and a two-volume humiliating history of two hundred years, when talking about Little Japan, there is still a subconscious tendency to say "Little Japan."

Of course, as a public figure, Chen Zhong still had to pay attention to his image, after all, those were innocent Japanese civilians...

And some Japanese fans were deeply moved after seeing Chen Zhong’s statement.

"Captain Tsubasa" is a very popular soccer anime in Japan and has left a significant impression on many domestic fans, who even consider it to be of the same era.

In that era of domestic soccer fervor, China in "Captain Tsubasa" was also strong, arguably the number one football powerhouse in Asia, with one impressive character.

And now, in the eyes of Japanese fans, Chen Zhong is the real-world embodiment of that character.

Seeing Chen Zhong express concern for the earthquake in Japan on camera and observe a moment of silence during the match, many Japanese fans were deeply moved...

As the whistle blew, the match officially started.

The match against Hercules was held at Real Madrid’s home ground, Santiago Bernabeu Stadium.

Everyone knew what this match was about.

The goal was not just to win but to win beautifully, and hopefully, to boost Chen Zhong’s scoring statistics.

Hercules initially intended to defend for a draw, but Real Madrid’s sharp attack soon forced them to focus entirely on the game.

In this match, Real Madrid used a 4-2-3-1 formation.

Adebayor

Benzema, Chen Zhong, Di Maria

Granero, Parejo

Marcelo, Albiol, Ramos, Alvaro

Casillas

The formation Real Madrid used in this match was quite interesting; Adebayor and Benzema started, but they weren’t both center forwards, as Benzema was positioned on the left side as a left midfielder.

Mourinho, seeing Benzema’s recent diligence, aimed to replicate some scenes from his time at Inter Milan, requiring Benzema to track back more defensively in this match.

Meanwhile, on Di Maria’s side, he could move forward more, delivering crosses to Adebayor, Benzema, Chen Zhong.

It is also worth noting that in this game, Ramos was moved to the center by Mourinho. Given the need to strengthen the flanks next season and seeing Ramos’s strong aggressiveness and defensive capabilities, Mourinho was trying some unique tactics.

In fact, it was precisely due to Mourinho’s change that Hercules was caught somewhat off guard.

Real Madrid quickly broke the deadlock.

"Real Madrid’s attack."

"This time Mourinho has made a bold tactical change."

"The fans in the stands appear highly enthusiastic."

"Chen Zhong has the ball."

"Passed to Di Maria!"

In the 8th minute of the game, Chen Zhong, without stopping the ball, directly passed it to Di Maria; after receiving the ball, Di Maria dribbled forward and followed the tactics to the designated spot.

Meanwhile, Adebayor, Benzema, and Chen Zhong charged towards the goal.

Hercules’ defense was in chaos.

Although chaotic, there was some pattern to it.

Chen Zhong was surrounded by the most defenders.

Di Maria had no hesitation and directly passed the ball to the center.

Chen Zhong jumped high amidst the interference from Hercules, making a header pass to the side where Adebayor was.

Faced with this heavenly gift, Adebayor attempted a side-volley, the ball clearing the goalkeeper’s reach but not escaping the crossbar.

A dull thud left Adebayor on the verge of tears.

But soon, Benzema’s appearance made the fans extremely excited.

Benzema’s hard work was rewarded when he arrived at the goal just in time to see the rebound, swiftly kicking it into the net.

1:0

Within 8 minutes of the game, Real Madrid’s first shot on target resulted in a goal.

The fans in the stands were extremely excited.

"Benzema!"

"Benzema has scored, keeping his streak of goals going for several matches."

"1:0"

"Real Madrid has taken the lead."

"This match is going to be a tough one for Hercules!"

Hercules’ players were a bit disheartened; they had already prepared for tough defense and considered the possibility of conceding, but they hadn’t expected to concede a goal this early.

Watching the Real Madrid players celebrate and hearing the cheers from the stands, Hercules’ morale plummeted.

Real Madrid, from then on, completely controlled the flow of the match.

Although not explicitly stated, everyone knew they were helping Chen Zhong, who was trailing in data, to improve his statistics, so in the following moments, the players played around Chen Zhong and created opportunities for him.

And Chen Zhong, having taken on the "enhancing heavy cannon" task, also very much needed a long-range shot goal to help complete his objective.

"Real Madrid’s attack."

"Continuous passing cooperation in the midfield."

"Benzema receives the ball with his back to goal, passes it back to Chen Zhong."

"Chen Zhong slightly adjusts, takes a heavy shot!"

Real Madrid had firmly grasped the match rhythm, passing and moving as they pleased, leaving Hercules only able to respond passively.

Benzema cut diagonally into the penalty area and returned the ball to Chen Zhong.

After controlling the ball, Chen Zhong was already outside the penalty area.

After a slight adjustment, without any hesitation, he took a heavy shot on goal.

"Bang!"

Adebayor and Benzema had cleared space for Chen Zhong, who sent a precise thunderbolt through the narrow path, straight into the net, unstoppable.