I Am Scouted by Real Madrid

Chapter 126: Chapter 39: The Five-Star Red Flag Flutters at the Bernabeu

November has passed, and on December 2nd, the Golden Ball Award ceremony began with Kaka standing alongside C. Ronaldo and Messi, successfully being elected as the new Golden Ball winner.

Also on December 2nd, Real Madrid held the Bernabeu Cup at home.

This is the 29th Bernabeu Cup hosted by Real Madrid, in which Real Madrid has won 17 times. Whether they can achieve their 18th win this time is a concern for many people.

The Bernabeu Cup was established in 1979, a competition specifically set up to commemorate Santiago Bernabeu, the builder of the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium who passed away the previous year.

This season’s Bernabeu Cup was originally scheduled for August 29th, but due to Puerta’s passing, the game was postponed until now, and the previously finalized opponent was changed from Portugal’s Sporting Lisbon to the Belgrade Guerrillas.

Since it’s just a memorial match and there’s another league game to play the next day, Real Madrid’s coach Schuster fielded the substitute lineup.

Former Red Army goalkeeper Dudek, Brazilian ”Beast” Baptista, Argentine ”Rabbit” Saviola, Higuain, and the long-absent Robben all started, and even players like Sergado, who had been clearly abandoned by the team, got a chance to play.

Before the game officially started, there was an interlude, which was the ceremony of Chen Zhong’s new contract renewal.

At Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, the lights focused on the center platform, and the fans, who had done their homework early, were cheering Chen’s name, smiling as they looked at the field.

This scene surprised many Chinese fans watching the game.

[Isn’t this the Bernabeu Cup?]

[No, isn’t there some kind of little interlude in between?]

[Why do I see a five-starred red flag on the stands? Am I seeing things?]

[I found out, it seems to be Chen Zhong’s new contract, and there will be a signing ceremony before the Bernabeu Cup starts.]

[Whoa, is it really this grand? I know he’s playing for Real Madrid, but it doesn’t seem like he’s scored or assisted much, right?]

[Are you blind to the stats upstairs? His stats at his age are already phenomenal.]

Inside Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, the players of the Belgrade Guerrillas were dumbfounded by this magnificent scene, and the atmosphere stunned them.

At this moment, the Bernabeu’s broadcast also began to speak.

”In 2004, we signed a genius player from distant China.”

”He quickly stood out and jumped three levels upon joining the team.”

”At that time, no one believed he could become a Real Madrid player in just three years.”

”When I heard at the beginning of this season that Chen was joining Real Madrid, like most fans, I didn’t pay much attention.”

”But what did he bring to us?”

”The Russian Railways Cup championship, the Spanish Super Cup championship, he proved himself as a vital member of the team through his actions.”

”And today, he is going to sign a new contract.”

”To ensure a future with the team, let us all shout his name together.”

”CHEN!”

Amidst the fans’ chants, the music of ”Hala Madrid” played, and under the spotlight, Chen Zhong, draped in the five-starred red flag, walked out from the player’s tunnel. This was the first time a player, draped in the five-starred red flag, walked inside Santiago Bernabeu Stadium.

This scene also made some domestic fans who had gone through a lot of trouble to find the Bernabeu live stream extremely excited. They quickly spread the news, and even on some domestic forums and bulletin boards, it reached the ”top spot”.

Chen Zhong, under the illumination of the lights, walked towards the platform in the center. Real Madrid clearly had their own plans and intentions for Chen Zhong signing the new contract.

On one hand, to enhance the player’s sense of identity with the club, and on the other hand, to create a buzz for the player himself.

The Golden Ball Award may still be a bit far away, but the ”Golden Boy Award” is something Real Madrid evidently wanted to push for Chen Zhong.

Chen Zhong, draped in the five-starred red flag, walked up to the platform; a table with two chairs was set up on the platform, with a contract and a pen on the table. Calderon, smiling broadly, hugged Chen Zhong.

He picked up the microphone and boasted, ”It was my decision to promote you from Castilla to Real Madrid.”

”The facts have proven you did not disappoint my expectations.”

”Chen, are you willing to sign this contract to secure your future with the team?”

Chen Zhong received Calderon’s microphone, his emotions somewhat stirred, and he solemnly said, ”Yes.”

As his voice fell, the music of ”Hala Madrid” played again. Chen Zhong stood up with a microphone and sang with the fans, even shouting ”Madrid!” together with them.

On the electronic screen, the split-screen showed Raul and Chen Zhong side by side, seemingly indicating that the ”successor” of Bernabeu had appeared.

After the signing ceremony ended, Hento, the six-time European Champions Cup winner and Real Madrid legend, gave a speech. At the end of his speech, he expressed his expectations for Chen Zhong, saying, ”Chen, at a very young age, became a main player of Real Madrid. I hope one day he can break my record and win seven or even more European Championships for the team.”

After the speech, the simple stands were dismantled, and the two teams successively entered the field, with Hento kicking off the match.

The match was not intense. In the first half, Real Madrid launched several offensives with Drenthe and Robben spearheading the flank, but with little effect. Both Metzelder and Saviola had a chance, but neither managed to score for the team.

Dudek also helped the team resolve an opponent’s counterattack in the first half.

The game saw a change only in the 35th minute when Saviola set up a play in the penalty area, and Baptista followed up with a powerful shot to score, making it 1-0.

Seeing Saviola assist and Baptista score, Schuster and Francisco had a brief exchange.

”Look at this,” Francisco said to Schuster, ”maybe we should give them more opportunities. They are all capable players.”

”You’ve been telling me about this for several days now.”

”I might consider starting Baptista in tomorrow’s match.”

Francisco rolled his eyes at Schuster. With Sneijder’s stamina a problem and Guti suspended with a red card, was there really a choice but to play Baptista in midfield instead of Diara?

At halftime, Real Madrid led by a goal and went into the break, and in the second half, Schuster substituted in the red-card suspended Guti, gaining firm control of the match.

In the 72nd minute, Guti delivered a through ball from midfield, Drenthe ran in to challenge the goalkeeper, and scored, making it 2-0.

Real Madrid completely defeated the opponent, lifting the Bernabeu Cup for the 18th time in history.

In this match, the Belgrade Guerrillas were completely overshadowed by Real Madrid, and their strength compared to Real Madrid was too weak.

This also became the perfect stage for Real Madrid’s substitute players to showcase themselves.

After the end of this match, Dudek submitted a transfer request to the club. Whether he truly wanted to leave or was just putting pressure on the club, when asked, he said, ”I haven’t played a match in two months. My condition isn’t great; training and matches are different. I want to play as many matches as possible because this is Poland’s first time reaching the European Cup finals, and I must play more to be selected for the national team.”

...

After the match ended, Francisco announced the formation and match list for the next game in the team’s locker room.

In the next match, Real Madrid will change from the continuously used 442 formation to a 433 formation.

With Van Nistelrooy, Robinho, and Raul at the front, Sneijder, Baptista, and Chen Zhong are lined up behind them in midfield, and the central defense pairing will be Cannavaro and Pepe, with Marcelo and Ramos on the flanks.

Marcelo gradually gained Schuster’s trust, slowly becoming a key player for the team.

When Baptista heard he could start, he was so happy he seemed dazed, and Marcelo was the first to congratulate him afterward.

”Hahaha.”

”Congratulations! You’re finally starting.” Marcelo looked at Baptista with genuine expression: ”This is your first start of the season, make sure to perform well.”

”I’ll do my best!” Baptista clenched his fist and looked at Chen Zhong: ”Chen, with both of us there, the opponent’s midfielders are just amateurs.”

Chen Zhong rolled his eyes at Baptista, saying, ”Please, just manage your own legs and make sure you leak fewer balls.”

The team has been practicing the 433 formation for quite some time now, and this time, the midfield combination of Baptista, Sneijder, and Chen Zhong is clearly defined, with Sneijder as the attacking midfielder, Baptista as the all-powerful midfielder, and Chen Zhong as the defensive midfielder.

The trio has a clear division of responsibilities.

Schuster had not considered making Baptista the main defender because, during his time at Arsenal, he proved the difference between himself and Vieira.

Vieira was a midfield iron wall, while Baptista was a midfield ”waste,” except for their physique, they had almost nothing in common.

During his time at Arsenal, Baptista often created dangers in front of his own goal, blocking shots that almost deflected into the net or letting balls slip past his feet, causing Wenger to offload him at lightning speed after the season ended.

While at Real Madrid, he also frequently displayed these characteristics during training matches.

Even though he is big and burly, he is quite ”gentle.”

Schuster probably felt the team’s defense had been letting him down recently, and with the do-or-die match against Lazio coming up soon, Guti couldn’t play in the league due to a red card.

So he simply used a league match to test out the new formation.