I Am Scouted by Real Madrid-Chapter 502 - 6: The Battle That Made a Name (Part 2)
At that time, under Schuster’s leadership, the team ultimately won the league championship. Chen Zhong made 28 league appearances, scored 12 goals, and provided 13 assists.
Every game Chen Zhong played, the team always managed to secure a victory. In matches he didn’t play, the team would either lose or draw. At that time, there was a saying that Chen Zhong was a gift from heaven to Real Madrid.
In the second season, Real Madrid’s experience seemed to reaffirm this.
This player, who brought luck to the team, was utilized by Schuster under a baseless pretext, heading to the Apennine Peninsula to help Milan rise from its slump.
No one expected that Milan, at that time, could make a comeback and win the Serie A and UEFA Europa League titles!
Chen Zhong made 13 appearances in the league, scored 7 goals, and provided 5 assists. In the UEFA Europa League, he played 5 times, scored 3 goals, and provided 2 assists, proving who the real key player was.
Many Real Madrid fans hoped for Chen Zhong’s return, and he did not disappoint upon his comeback.
After a brief silence in the league, he entered a period of explosive performance!
In a single season, Chen Zhong made 58 appearances for Real Madrid across all official competitions, scoring 75 goals—a shocking achievement in football. Among these, he scored 48 goals in La Liga, winning both the La Liga Golden Boot and the European Golden Boot. He was the top scorer in the Champions League with 11 goals and in the King’s Cup with 16 goals.
He helped Real Madrid win the Spanish league title and the Spanish King’s Cup, advancing to the semifinals of the Champions League, narrowly losing to Bayern Munich.
Individually, he won several awards, including La Liga’s season’s best player, best midfielder, best XI, league’s best rookie, and FIFPro’s best young player.
He even became a strong contender for the Ballon d’Or.
After such a "dream" season, Real Madrid fans couldn’t help but look at Chen Zhong with admiration.
It’s worth noting that the previous season, Barcelona had just won the "Triple Crown" and subsequently became the "Six Crown" team. Even if the fans didn’t say it aloud, they thought Barcelona would dominate football for some time.
But who would have thought that in two face-to-face league encounters, Real Madrid scored one win and one draw, forcing Barcelona to settle for runner-up status despite accumulating a championship-worthy points tally.
Champions League, league, King’s Cup.
Barcelona had an empty season in all three, which meant that even though Xavi and Iniesta helped Spain win the World Cup, it was hard for them to gain an advantage in the newly revised Ballon d’Or selection.
And Messi was even more at a disadvantage. Despite being appreciated by the then boss for Barcelona’s tactics and Messi’s skill, Messi’s data was overshadowed by Chen Zhong’s. Behind each of Chen Zhong’s Golden Boots, there was a silver boot Messi left speechless.
To surpass Messi in data, that sneaky Barcelona player, felt amazing for Real Madrid fans as if they drank ice water on a hot summer day.
Chen Zhong stood out time and again in crisis moments, earning the full trust of his fans.
Real Madrid fans entered Santiago Bernabeu Stadium with heads held high, while Sevilla’s fans, despite leading the first leg, seemed to lose their momentum.
From the score alone.
Sevilla indeed won.
But if one looks at the lineup, it’s clear that one side had resting Spanish national team players, including Chen Zhong, while the other deployed their full-strength Sevilla to bully a Real Madrid half filled with young Castilla players.
To only score two goals in a match like this, especially when a large-eyed player messed up, can you really say it was a win?
"Hello, viewers!"
"Welcome to the second leg of the Spanish Super Cup."
"Three years ago, Chen Zhong first played for Real Madrid in an official match in the Spanish Super Cup against Sevilla."
"That was considered Chen Zhong’s breakout match, where he leapt high and fearlessly scored with a header, leaving a strong impression on many fans."
"That time, Sevilla’s star striker Kanoute hadn’t heard of Chen Zhong’s name yet."
"Kanoute was a Ballon d’Or candidate back then, even surpassing Drogba to be named Africa’s Mr. Football."
"Back then, one was a rookie, the other a well-established superstar striker."
"But the rookie tightly controlled the superstar, scoring a decisive comeback goal."
"After the match, Kanoute seemed displeased, but he never regained his composure in subsequent encounters with him."
"Now, the two have experienced... a change of places."
Frederic Kanoute, Sevilla’s star striker, was in his 5th season with the club, loved by the head coach.
Due to their long-ball strategy mainly targeting the 192CM tall Kanoute.
Kanoute performed well in the 2009-10 season. Although he didn’t help Sevilla win any titles, his 38 appearances with 14 goals and 2 assists were impressive.
If not for Messi and Chen Zhong, who are "data freaks," he’d be a wanted asset by many teams.
In the player tunnel, Kanoute saw Chen Zhong again. Chen Zhong’s height hadn’t changed, but he looked solid and more mature.
Standing at the front, Chen Zhong held his head high while other Real Madrid players, whether chatting or doing something else, frequently glanced in his direction.
Kanoute wanted to chat, perhaps talk tough.
But recalling every encounter with Chen Zhong’s outcomes in the past years, he restrained himself.
Players from both sides began entering the field. During the hugging exchanges, the somewhat aged Kanoute was hugged tightly by Chen Zhong, hearing his cheerful voice.
"Good to see you again."
"You can try again this time, see if you can score in front of me!"
Kanoute broke free from Chen Zhong’s embrace, feeling reinvigorated, and replied with a smile, "Kid."
"This time, I’ll definitely score in front of you."
True strong ones never dismiss the enemies they encounter on the way, because the enemy’s strength highlights their own.
...
In the stands, Bernabeu fans cheered.
This game was nothing like the "watered down" first leg, with both teams fielding their elites.
Although Sevilla knew their chances were slim, with two goals in hand, they weren’t surrendering easily.
Having conceded two goals in the first leg, Real Madrid was eager and ready for battle.
Mourinho stood on the sidelines, couldn’t help but smile when Sevilla won the kick-off.
His eyes were full of eager anticipation.
"Do you think they’ll attack?" Mourinho asked Francisco beside him, seemingly questioning or reassuring himself. He then confidently said, "They’ll definitely try to score one more, then defend."
Mourinho spoke confidently.
Meanwhile, on Sevilla’s bench, their coach Alvarez had made up his mind.
Though he was only "ordinary," with kick-off in hand, scoring during the opponent’s acclimation phase, and defending a three-goal advantage.
There might be a chance...
A chance to win the championship, right?
The game started, and Sevilla bravely attacked upon seeing their coach’s signal.
Kanoute quickly moved into position according to the planned tactics.
