I Am Scouted by Real Madrid

Their original intention with this attack was to repeat the old trick, but Chen Zhong retreated and stuck close to Fernando Llorente.

Khedira sighed in relief upon seeing this.

Cavaleiro’s furrowed brow also calmed.

Only Fernando Llorente...

He was very confident initially, with a confident smile on his face, but when Chen Zhong came beside him, his confident smile disappeared.

From grinning to not grinning.

In less than three seconds.

"Damn it."

Fernando Llorente muttered under his breath, and Chen Zhong, looking at the grumbling Basque Lion King, teased, "Here I am."

"As you wished."

"I hope you can still put up a remarkable performance."

"What, aren’t you happy to see me?"

The actions of the two didn’t stop, appearing evenly matched, but if one were to categorize their "attack and defense", Fernando Llorente seemed more like the "defender".

Chen Zhong was not some "good" kid.

During his time in the youth team, he often took on defensive duties against those offensive geniuses.

And most defensive players like to mess with opponents’ mentalities, even warmly greeting their families.

Naturally, Chen Zhong was no exception.

Of course, when he greeted "family", it just meant within this game...

Under such distractions, Fernando Llorente missed his teammate’s pass.

"Hahaha!"

"Basque Lion King?"

"Not even as good as one of Chen’s fingers!"

Real Madrid fans in the stands broke into smiles, as they were initially worried about Fernando Llorente’s threat in the defensive line, but once Chen Zhong stood by the Basque Lion King, this lion king turned into a sickly cat.

Basque Sick Cat!

Chen Zhong secured his position, shouldering Fernando Llorente and taking the ball, though slightly unstable, it didn’t affect his ensuing action.

He made a long pass from the backfield, accurately finding Kaka.

Kaka weaved into Athletic Bilbao’s right flank in the penalty area, executing a beautiful curling shot.

If not for the goalkeeper’s excellent display, that shot would have gone in.

"It seems Real Madrid has found a way to deal with Athletic Bilbao."

"This Spanish center forward who shone in the World Cup."

"In front of Chen Zhong, doesn’t seem that impressive either."

Though Chen Zhong’s retreat effectively stifled Athletic Bilbao’s offense, from another perspective, it could be said Athletic Bilbao limited Chen Zhong as well.

Mourinho frowned on the sidelines, looking at Khedira and then at Alonso, unwilling to admit it, but the two combined didn’t provide him the reassurance of Chen Zhong sitting in the backfield alone.

"I remember." Mourinho frowned at Francisco, saying, "Juni, um, Juni Calafat, seemed to have recommended a player."

In 2004, Juni Calafat recommended Chen Zhong to join Real Madrid’s youth training.

Initially, no one cared about this "part-time" scout, but as Chen Zhong made his mark in the youth team and stabilized in the first team, becoming a Ballon d’Or favorite.

Now Juni Calafat has become a "favorite" among Real Madrid scouts, and recently he recommended a defensive midfielder from Brazil.

"Carlos Henrique Casemiro."

"Carlos Henrique Casemiro?" Mourinho turned to Francisco and asked, "Should I call him Carlos, Henrique, or Casemiro?"

Brazilian players usually have their own nicknames.

Kaka, Pepe, Marcelo...

All belong to this type.

"Casemiro."

"Casemiro." Mourinho nodded, looked at Francisco and asked, "Can he currently serve in the first team?"

Francisco was a bit surprised by Mourinho, but soon understood that Mourinho was dissatisfied with the team’s defensive midfielders.

"He should join Real Madrid’s youth training." Francisco replied, "Or Castilla."

Mourinho glanced at Francisco and didn’t elaborate on the matter while suppressing his impatience internally.

After all, there’s only one Chen Zhong in this world.

Juni Calafat discovering a Chen Zhong already used up a lifetime of luck.

He can’t possibly discover every player to be of Chen Zhong’s level, right?

Also, to some extent, Real Madrid’s actions guaranteed Chen Zhong’s stature, didn’t they?

Every such "seedling" must go to Real Madrid Youth Team or Castilla?

Then naturally, they are in the same camp as Chen Zhong.

While pondering, Mourinho watched the team’s match; with Chen Zhong "absent" from the team’s attack, Real Madrid’s offense relied heavily on "counterattacks".

Within Real Madrid’s squad, no one possesses Chen Zhong’s all-around and top-notch ball protection and ball recovery capabilities.

In the 9th minute, Marcelo had the ball stripped away by Ilaola beyond the left edge of the penalty area, and Athletic Bilbao quickly counterattacked, bypassing Chen Zhong’s defensive zone, ignoring Fernando Llorente’s call for the ball, and attacked from the other side.

Alonso was tricked by the opponent, eventually forced to resort to a foul.

This resulted in Alonso receiving a yellow card.

Receiving a yellow card by the 9th minute of the match.

This made Mourinho a bit anxious.

"Watch your actions!"

"Damn it."

Mourinho murmured to himself; Alonso is about to be 30, with comprehensive skills, and a decent long-pass technique; on a macro perspective, quite good.

Without Chen Zhong and Khedira, his defensive ability is "top-notch" too.

But because of Chen Zhong and Khedira, Alonso seems a bit "awkward".

When it comes to organizing and passing.

Chen Zhong, adept at dribbling and advancing, organizing and cleaning up messes, and long-range shots, is evidently superior to Alonso.

For defense alone.

Khedira is clearly stronger than Alonso in this regard.

Mourinho’s brows slightly furrowed as he contemplated a midfield structure in his mind.‌

One responsible for organizing and dispatching the team, acting as the midfield commander, maintaining fluid coordination on offense through precise passes and wide-vision dispatching.

One providing strong interception and defensive abilities with tough defense and active movements, becoming an essential defensive shield for the team.

Another tasked with connecting the defense and offense with long passes and dispatch, finding attacking opportunities up front through precise long passes.

The problem now is, Chen Zhong can fulfill each of these three roles, even taking on two roles simultaneously; having a player like Chen Zhong is sometimes a delightful dilemma.

According to Mourinho, he certainly prefers Chen Zhong to handle the defense part.

But...

The club’s upper management won’t agree...

While Mourinho was contemplating, Chen Zhong evidently also realized Real Madrid’s current predicament.

The difference between a world-class player and an ordinary player is that they make the right choice at the right time.

Chen Zhong didn’t "wait passively"; in one of Athletic Bilbao’s attacks, he suddenly shrugged off the frustrated Fernando Llorente.

The Basque Lion King didn’t have time to be happy.

Before seeing Chen Zhong tackle his teammate controlling the ball from the side.

At that moment, the entire Santiago Bernabeu Stadium was electrified.

"Athletic Bilbao’s attack."

"Continuous passes."

"What!"

"When did Chen Zhong appear?"

"Sliding tackle!"

"Real Madrid’s counterattack!"

After intercepting the ball, Chen Zhong pushed it forward, his eyes accurately locking onto Kaka’s figure, and Kaka seemed to feel Chen Zhong’s gaze, as he accelerated almost instantly when Chen Zhong struck the ball.

Their chemistry was unmistakable at that moment.

Danger!

This alarm rang in the minds of every Athletic Bilbao player at that moment.

Chen Zhong’s deadly through-ball, at that instant, was reminiscent of Guti and Pirlo, slicing through Athletic Bilbao’s defenses like a sharp scalpel.

Gazing directly at its pulsating heart.

And now Kaka was the hand holding that scalpel!

"Deadly through-ball."

"Kaka!"

"Successful offside trap."

"One-on-one!!!"

"Beautiful!"

"Perfect execution by Chen!"