I Am Scouted by Real Madrid

Chapter 360: Chapter 34: Barcelona, Five Goals Achieved

The relationship between Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid is similar to that of Manchester United and Manchester City.

They both represent different classes.

And this time, Atletico Madrid’s idea of breaking the ”ten-year winless” curse failed once again.

After overcoming this tough challenge against Atletico Madrid, Real Madrid achieved victories in the subsequent league matches, King’s Cup, and Champions League group stage.

On November 11th, Real Madrid easily defeated Alcorcon, who had come to Santiago Bernabeu Stadium as visitors. Alcorcon, who had already been crushed by Real Madrid in the first round, showed no fighting spirit.

The match ended 5-0.

After the match, Alcorcon’s players chased after Real Madrid’s players to swap jerseys.

And then on November 22nd (November 21st at home), which was Chen Zhong’s birthday, Real Madrid defeated Santander Athletic with an 11-0 victory in the league. In this match, Chen Zhong scored five goals, bringing his total to 15 goals for the team in just 11 league rounds, and 27 goals across all competitions.

These terrifying statistics shocked the entire football world, but also sparked some controversy, as Chen Zhong was suspected of ”stat padding” in matches against Alcorcon in the King’s Cup and Santander Athletic in the league.

However, Real Madrid’s record of conceding zero and scoring 16 goals in the two games made many people feel that the 300 million euros spent in the summer window was indeed worth it.

On November 26th, Real Madrid faced Zurich as visitors in the Champions League group stage and won the match 8-1. This victory surpassed Marseille’s 6-1 win against Zurich, and also put Chen Zhong at the top of the Champions League scorer list with 9 goals!

On one hand, some fans felt that Chen Zhong this season seemed to be retracing the path to the throne of Ballon d’Or winners like Kaka and C. Ronaldo, while on the other hand, many fans questioned Chen Zhong’s statistics.

Although Chen Zhong’s goal tally now reached a staggering 29 goals, just the goals scored against some weak teams alone exceeded the average, let alone the goals scored in November against teams like Santander Athletic, Alcorcon, and Zurich.

Such comments led to disputes between supporters and detractors. Supporters argued that Chen Zhong had already proven his strength in key matches, such as against Atletico Madrid and Milan, while detractors continued to counter with statistics from weaker teams.

After defeating Zurich, the next round of the King’s Cup draw was also concluded, with Real Madrid set to face Santander Athletic again, who had just suffered an 11-0 thrashing.

This news immediately left many Santander Athletic fans feeling down.

Some fans even mocked online: ”Honestly, I’m crying. They could have just eliminated us, but they insist on going through the motions.”

”Many people say we intentionally allowed Real Madrid to pad their stats, but who would let their team lose by 11 goals?”

”This must be a conspiracy by Real Madrid. They’re plotting for the 2010 Ballon d’Or, and we’re just becoming their stepping stone.”

However, few people paid attention to the voices of Santander Athletic because all eyes were focused on the 12th round of La Liga, where Real Madrid would face Barcelona at Camp Nou.

Now, the topic everyone was discussing was the upcoming match between Barcelona and Real Madrid, undoubtedly a grand event in the football world each year.

It’s worth noting that Cristiano Ronaldo, who missed matches due to injury, also began to appear in some reports.

Every El Clasico inevitably involves a war of words.

Among Spain’s four major sports media outlets, Marca and Diario AS support Real Madrid, while World Sports Newspaper and Daily Sports are Barcelona’s propaganda tools. The derby is not only a battle between teams but also between media.

The focus of this war is the two teams’ most dazzling stars: Messi and Chen Zhong.

Of course, some also mentioned Cristiano Ronaldo, who joined Real Madrid with the Ballon d’Or aura and a Champions League title, once seen as a ”savior” for Real Madrid. However, in the eyes of the Barcelona media, C. Ronaldo, who has missed two months due to injury, already fell behind in the Ballon d’Or race.

Not to mention, Chen Zhong is an authentic Real Madrid youth product, commanding a higher salary than Messi’s, the world’s highest.

Compared to discussing C. Ronaldo, discussing how to overpower Chen Zhong, or even having Chen Zhong, like Eto’o, abandon Real Madrid for Barcelona is truly a delightful story.

Real Madrid’s flag, core, youth product.

Joining Barcelona to serve their youth product, core, and flag as a mere ”employee,” wouldn’t that be a great victory?

...

Facing this situation, Pellegrini originally wanted to create a smokescreen with C. Ronaldo’s recovery to trick the opponents, but Cristiano Ronaldo himself refused to back down and accepted a media interview.

In the interview, Cristiano Ronaldo dressed to impress, wore his beloved earrings, styled his handsome hair, and gazed confidently at the camera, saying, ”I never fear Guardiola’s games.”