CHAPTER 32: CHAPTER 3: ALL SIDES

Spain, Barcelona

Bojan was sweating on the training ground, a trace of impatience hidden in his eyes.

Since he was a child, he had been regarded as a genius by the club, breaking countless records during his youth team days. He always believed he would be the next Messi!

No, he would far surpass Messi!

He could break Messi’s records, so he could naturally surpass Messi. However, in the European Youth Champions League, he encountered that monster.

"I was already a player for Barcelona at 17, how about you?"

The declaration echoed in his mind, and Bojan felt his face burning as if that arrogant figure appeared before him again.

With his arms crossed, he looked dismissive: "I debuted for Real Madrid at 16 and already won two championships. How about you?"

Aaaaaaahhhh!

Bojan felt like going crazy, like a beggar boasting about his wealth in front of a king. If he didn’t know the other person’s identity, it would have been fine, but then, but then...

"You can’t go on like this!" Pique, who had come over for a visit, hesitated for a while before walking over to Bojan: "How about we go out to have some fun and relax a bit later?"

"No!" Bojan shook his head vigorously. To him, outside was all Chen Zhong, all Chen Zhong!

Pique saw Bojan’s state and left with some admiration.

With talent and effort, if he doesn’t succeed, who will?

Maybe the coach’s idea is right.

He also wanted to go home.

...

Spain, Castilla

Lopetegi felt a whirlwind of emotions inside. He didn’t expect Chen Zhong to be able to play in official matches for Real Madrid so soon.

At the same time, he looked at Nacho, who was excited upon entering the office, and couldn’t help but say: "I saw it, I saw it."

"You don’t need to say anymore; I know you two have a good relationship."

"With this batch I’ve led, I would be satisfied if more regular players could emerge for the team."

Nacho saw Lopetegi’s demeanor, smiled shyly, and said: "Definitely, I don’t know about others, but Vazquez and I will definitely bring you pride."

"By the way, I heard the club has been observing that tough kid and a youngster from Sao Paulo recently. Are they that impressive?"

"If you don’t work hard, you might get surpassed by them!" Lopetegi said, looking at Nacho: "Don’t hang around here, if you’ve got energy, hurry and go train!"

"As for how impressive they are, you’ll know when they actually arrive!"

After sending Nacho off, Lopetegi continued searching for information about Chen Zhong, a slight smile involuntarily appeared on his lips, as if savoring something.

This junior is remarkable!

...

Spain, Valencia

Mata hung up the phone he was handling. He had just spoken with Negredo, and naturally, their topic couldn’t veer away from Chen Zhong.

"You rascal." Mata playfully cursed with a smile: "You’re truly a monster!"

Entering the first team at 16 and starting in warm-up matches was one thing, but starting in the second leg of the Spanish Super Cup final was something else. Luckily, Mata wasn’t Chinese; otherwise, he might have said something like this more or less.

This guy has incredible luck and will surely achieve something in the future.

Switching off the TV, Mata put on his training gear, his eyes blazing with determination. Now, he too had to work harder.

Valencia had already announced the squad for the first league match against Villarreal, and Mata’s name wasn’t on the list, but he wasn’t discouraged.

He would work harder in training and use his best form to impress the coach.

In Real Madrid, I didn’t have a chance, but does that mean I won’t have a chance in Valencia?

I won’t fall too far behind you guys.

Friends!

...

Time flies by, and the season is about to begin.

Real Madrid’s opponent in the first league match is Atletico Madrid. Both teams are in Madrid, making it a "city derby," and this time many media and fans favor Atletico Madrid to win.

After all, Real Madrid underwent substantial personnel changes during this summer transfer window, naturally causing some apprehension.

In the locker room, Guti, Raul, and Casillas all smiled and nodded at Chen Zhong when they saw him, with Raul even going up to pat Chen Zhong on the shoulder in encouragement.

Casillas couldn’t help but jokingly say: "Chen, do you know? Raul talked about you on a TV show."

"When the reporter asked how he viewed you, he straightforwardly called you a monster, saying that at 16, no one could do better than you. You’re going to be famous, kid."

"No, I should say you are already famous, after all, you broke the record set by Raul and became the youngest starting player in Real Madrid’s history."

Raul patted Casillas with a smile, signaling him to hush. After Chen Zhong politely listened and gave some feedback, he went back to his corner, where Marcelo was wide-eyed, looking at Chen Zhong in amazement: "You’re different now! Chen!"

"They’re talking to you now!"

"Before, when they looked at you, it was like looking at a child, but now, you give off a different vibe."

The two exchanged banter for a bit, recounting Raul’s recent interview. Marcelo animatedly described: "That Diario AS reporter, not long ago, was saying Raul should contently play as a substitute, and now, guess what he said?"

"He said there is something that distinguishes regular players from champion-level players; the latter always find a way to counter and rebut those who doubt them."

"Clearly, Raul is such a person. When everyone was questioning whether he still had it, Raul didn’t say a word. He knew he would use actions that outweigh the voices of opposition to prove himself."

Seeing Chen Zhong’s apparent interest, Marcelo was even more enthusiastic as he added: "That reporter even asked and answered his own question, saying we often ask why Raul doesn’t smile?"

"It’s probably an innate trait of champions. Don’t believe it? Look at Stefano. So, when we say Raul wears a smile, then he wouldn’t be Raul anymore. Perhaps he might smile when he scores his tenth goal in the upcoming derby, who knows?"

"When I was watching Raul on TV and seeing that reporter, I thought Raul might want to say, ’Guess why I’m not smiling? You keep bad-mouthing me behind my back, how can I smile? Hahaha!’"

At this moment, Pepe, who had been listening on the side for quite a while, couldn’t help but speak up: "That reporter also mentioned me, asking Raul why he didn’t stop me when I spat. My God! Had they not repeatedly aired that clip of my spitting on TV, of course, I know it was wrong, but looping it and airing it for an entire week!"

Raul’s interview added plenty of talking points in the locker room. As the team captain, he is now Schuster’s right-hand man and spoke favorably about Schuster on TV.

The locker room door swung open, and Schuster entered with Francisco, looking grim. Francisco observed Schuster for a moment, seeing him unmoved, he had no choice but to step forward.

"I have some unfortunate news to announce to everyone."

"Metzelder got injured during training, and hopefully, everyone will try to maintain their physical health."

"Additionally, I’ll read out the squad list: Raul, Van Nistelrooy, Robinho, Sneijder, Guti..."

Pepe felt relieved upon hearing his name called; he had been worried that with Cannavaro returning, Chen Zhong might take his place. But now it seemed those concerns were unfounded.

Marcelo visibly tensed up. Since the Russian Railways Cup, he hadn’t been listed in the squad for quite some time.

In contrast, Chen Zhong sat there calmly, a demeanor that caught Schuster’s eye. Meanwhile, he thought of that damn Disalvo, who persisted that his fitness training plan was fine. The season hadn’t even started, and already Robben, Higuain, and Metzelder were injured. Was his priority not ensuring players’ health but rather trying to injure them?

After Francisco finished reading the starting lineup, he continued with the substitute list: "Dudek, Chen Zhong, Sergado, Saviola, Gago, Baptista, Soldado."