I Am Scouted by Real Madrid-Chapter 450 - 76: The World’s Number One
The match between Real Madrid and Barcelona is not very friendly to domestic fans. At 4 a.m., even for the World Cup, some fans may only choose to watch key matches.
But this El Clasico is different; true fans will definitely be staying by their TVs and won’t think of missing this game.
With only 8 rounds left in the league, this match has turned into a "knockout" for the La Liga championship. You could say these are the strongest Real Madrid and Barcelona teams in the past 10 years, and the captain of Real Madrid, Chen Zhong, is a Chinese player.
Undoubtedly, the focus of this match also falls on the core players, Chen Zhong and Messi. Can Real Madrid, like the last match, unite mid and backfields to freeze Messi, and can Barcelona find a way to limit Chen Zhong?
These will all be highlights of the match.
Most fans are leaning more towards Real Madrid for this El Clasico.
After all, besides Chen Zhong, Real Madrid also has Alvaro, who no matter whether at Deportivo La Coruna, Liverpool, or Real Madrid, has used close defense to keep Messi scoreless in 4 matches. Many people believe he will replace Marcelo in the starting lineup for this match.
Even a considerable number of Barcelona fans, while vocally insisting, "We will defeat Real Madrid," are somewhat uneasy inside.
In a pre-match interview, when someone asked Guardiola if Yaya Toure would start, Guardiola said something interesting.
"Chen is an outstanding midfielder." 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶
"But unfortunately, he’s not in my team."
"Many believe you need a strong midfielder to counter Chen. That’s what Sevilla did, and it seemed effective. Fortunately, we have Yaya Toure."
Guardiola’s expression was subtle. He looked at the camera with a peculiar smile and said, "Of course, we will let Yaya Toure play because that’s what everyone knows."
Yaya Toure also spoke to the media before the match and said, "Many say Chen is strong. I’ve faced him, and he’s not that strong. In fact, I believe in physical contests I am stronger."
"I am fully prepared and can’t wait to show the coach who truly should be regarded as the best midfielder in his eyes."
Although Guardiola gave a clear answer, many media analyzed this statement, suggesting it could be a smoke screen from Guardiola. After all, currently, Guardiola trusts Busquets more in the defensive midfielder position, and for the dual midfield, he often opts for the combination of Keita and Xavi.
Soon, people turned their attention back to Messi.
Round 30 of the league is on April 4, and Barcelona’s Champions League quarterfinal second leg is on April 6.
In the recently concluded Champions League quarterfinal against Arsenal, Messi scored four goals, causing a huge stir throughout Spain, even making the Madrid media immediately worry about the April 10th century battle.
How will Real Madrid defend against the red-hot Messi?
Since Guardiola started "handling" Messi, the Argentine star has been in increasingly better form, so much so that Marca, after studying Messi’s performance against Arsenal, used the headline "Can Chen Stop Messi’s Progress?"
Diario AS was also worried, describing it with "The Formidable Messi."
Compared to these two Madrid media outlets, other neutral media have also lavished praise on Messi, including criticisms of Real Madrid.
After all, compared to Barcelona defeating Arsenal in the Champions League quarterfinals, Real Madrid’s opponent Bordeaux seems insignificant.
Messi’s phenomenal state has also affected Real Madrid’s training, as the media will not miss any "news." Chen Zhong, living more secludedly within the Sports City, is hard to reach and seldom spends too much time at press conferences, so they’ve turned to interview Cristiano Ronaldo.
On April 8, just two to three days before the El Clasico, Cristiano Ronaldo attended the media press conference. At the conference, a reporter boldly asked, "Do you agree that Messi is the best player in the world today?"
C. Ronaldo and Messi have been engaged in the "contest" for the world’s best player since last season, and at the press conference, when faced with the question, Cristiano Ronaldo sternly replied, "Him? He’s scored a lot, and will become a great star in the future, but as of now, if you count goals, Chen has more in the league, King’s Cup, and Champions League."
"By this standard, I think Chen is more outstanding than Lionel Messi."
C. Ronaldo’s statement surprised the journalists present, and even some media who have subtly written about discord between Ronaldo and Chen Zhong in newspapers looked at Ronaldo and asked, "So do you think Chen is the best player in the world?"
