I Am Scouted by Real Madrid

Chapter 797: Chapter 52: Tottenham Approaches (Part 2)

Mourinho admitted Bell is a superstar, but he denied that Real Madrid is looking to sign Bell.

”I was one of those who said early on that Bell would become a great player.”

”He still has great potential for improvement because he is very young.”

”That is beyond doubt.

”Tottenham Hotspur is not a club that sells players, and if they do, it would definitely be at a sky-high price. It’s not easy to acquire such a player.”

”If Real Madrid were to spend money, we would have to spend it on positions where we have problems.”

Real Madrid’s starting lineup has been announced. Before the game, whether Cristiano Ronaldo would play was a problem that Real Madrid was quite tangled about, but the information the fans received was: he will definitely play.

The Portuguese superstar had already told the club and coaching staff that he wanted to play against Tottenham; he didn’t want to miss such an important game.

The Portuguese said he must help the team. The match against Tottenham is the most important game of the season. On game day, no matter what, he had to overcome difficulties and perform to the best of his ability to help the team pursue victory.

These remarks actually stirred up some waves in the locker room. For example, Callejon approached Chen Zhong, hoping Chen Zhong could persuade the Portuguese.

He didn’t need to take risks at all.

Although his left thigh’s biceps injury had basically healed, there was still a possibility of the old injury recurring.

He might even miss the remaining matches.

In fact, Chen Zhong also talked to Cristiano Ronaldo about this issue, but the Portuguese still insisted on his view, and after discussing with him privately, Chen Zhong also understood the reason.

Recently, he was underestimated by Premier League coaches.

A media outlet conducted an opinion poll among 15 Premier League coaches, asking them to choose the player they most wanted to sign. As a result, Chen Zhong took first place with 46% of the votes, followed by Messi, Rooney, Fabregas, Vidic, Bell, and Gerrard.

Surprisingly, not a single Premier League coach chose Cristiano Ronaldo.

Despite the Portuguese being a top figure in world football, and having made Premier League teams suffer while playing there, a 0% voting rate still made him appear embarrassed.

He wanted to remind the Premier League coaches that ignoring his existence was absolutely wrong.

”CCTV, CCTV.”

”Now bringing you the live broadcast is the first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals.”

”Real Madrid vs. Tottenham Hotspur at home.”

”The two teams previously met in the 85 UEFA Cup quarter-finals, where Real Madrid won away and drew at home to advance.”

”Real Madrid has faced English clubs at home ten times, achieving 4 wins, 4 draws, and 2 losses, and lost their last two matches successively to Arsenal and Liverpool.”

”Tottenham has visited Spain three times in history, with 1 draw and 2 losses, never tasting victory.”

”It is worth mentioning that Mourinho, during his time coaching Chelsea, won all five matches against Redknapp.”

”In this match, Pepe rotates in, Alonso returns from suspension, C. Ronaldo, and Marcelo play through injuries.”

”It’s worth noting that there are several players within Real Madrid with experience facing Tottenham.”

”C. Ronaldo has scored 6 goals in previous 14 appearances against Tottenham.”

”Adebayor, on loan from Manchester City, used to play for Tottenham’s North London rival Arsenal and scored 8 goals in 9 games against Tottenham, but representing Arsenal and Manchester City, he only achieved 3 draws and 3 losses in the last 6 matches against Tottenham.”

”Personnel-wise, in this match, Di Maria and the recovered Higuain sit on the bench. Tottenham winger Bell has timely recovered from injury, and Van der Vaart, who scored 11 goals in 58 appearances in La Liga, returns to the Bernabeu.”

”There’s a sudden update; Lennon got injured during the warm-up, and Jenard replaced him.”

Mourinho could barely contain his smile on seeing Lennon being substituted on the sidelines.

Tottenham relies on two fast horses in the Premier League; one is Bell, the other Lennon, along with midfielder Modric, these three players provide ammunition for Crouch.

But now, before the game even began, Tottenham lost one fast horse. Isn’t this a good thing?

”The match officially begins.”

”Real Madrid’s attack.”

”Chen Zhong with the ball.”

”Modric advances.”

”Gets pushed over directly to the ground.”

Modric was dazed after falling to the ground, not knowing what he had just bumped into; no wonder this guy is the player Premier League coaches most want.

Isn’t this just like Manchester City’s Yaya Toure?

Yaya Toure:?

Don’t drag me into this! Back when I was in Barcelona, I couldn’t compete against that guy.

After easily knocking down Modric, Chen Zhong made a slanting pass to Cristiano Ronaldo, who did not hesitate and shot from outside the penalty area.

However, the shot did not end within the goal range.

Mourinho slightly frowned on the sidelines, feeling that Cristiano Ronaldo’s form was a bit off this match.

Sure enough, in the third minute, when the Portuguese got another chance, he fired another heavy shot, sending the ball straight into the sky.

”Just three minutes into the game.”

”C. Ronaldo has already attempted two long-range shots.”

”Unfortunately, both long-range shots missed the target.”

”He needs to be more patient.”

”Recently, in the Premier League, a vote was launched regarding the player most wanted to be signed.”

”C. Ronaldo did not receive the choice of any coach, whereas Chen Zhong received the most selections.”

”Maybe this somewhat affected his mentality.”

Many fans found it unbelievable that even Lord Ferguson did not choose Cristiano Ronaldo, but this is the reality, which they had no choice but to accept.

Some fans even used this to attack the Portuguese.

”Cristiano.” Chen Zhong called out loud to the Portuguese: ”Stick to the game plan.”

”This is not good.”

The Portuguese gave Chen Zhong a glance and said nothing; he was not a person to give positive feedback actively and sometimes had a little tantrum. Chen Zhong did not care much about it.

The game continued, and Real Madrid soon regained possession. Tottenham’s midfield looked as fragile as paper in front of Real Madrid.

Soon, Chen Zhong had the ball, and as usual, made a diagonal pass to Cristiano Ronaldo.

The Portuguese learned his lesson this time and chose to move wide, then coordinated with Marcelo.

Marcelo took the ball and continued to advance, with the Portuguese cutting inside, and after making some progress, Marcelo crossed aiming for Adebayor.

Adebayor faced the ball and headed it back instead of controlling it.

Kaka advanced and struck directly without stopping the ball.

”Marcelo crosses.”

”Adebayor heads back.”

”Kaka!”

”Takes a shot.”

”Gomez tips it away from the baseline.”

”Corner kick!”

Real Madrid won a corner kick opportunity. Kaka raised his head, somewhat regretfully; he was indeed not good at such volley shots.

The players from both teams started filling up the goal’s box, and Chen Zhong also entered the box, while Alonso approached the corner flag to prepare for the kick.

Crouch also returned to the penalty box, standing specifically beside Chen Zhong.

Tottenham’s plan was obvious: intending to use Crouch’s height to limit Chen Zhong.

Chen Zhong glanced at Crouch’s pole-like height, unable to suppress a snicker.

He merely nudged Crouch once or twice, and it seemed as if Crouch was about to fall over.

Seeing this situation, Modric also came up to help defend.