CHAPTER 40: CHAPTER 11: AURA

When the ball was passed to Aguero.

Chen Zhong charged aggressively towards him immediately.

During the halftime break, Schuster made it very clear: this is a Derby, this is war. He needed the team to be more oppressive, more aggressive, more spirited, and more courageous.

And this was reflected in Chen Zhong by making bolder and more rugged maneuvers, fighting for every ball, by any means necessary.

"Boom."

This was the sound of his foot striking the ball.

"Ah~"

This was the sound Aguero made as he lost his balance and fell to the ground.

The roar from the spectators in the stands made one’s scalp tingle, and Chen Zhong quickly got up and rushed towards the ball, seeing Fernando about to touch the ball, he executed a sliding tackle.

The referee had the whistle in his mouth, momentarily unsure of whether to blow it.

In terms of rulings, Chen Zhong’s two tackles were both ball-first; the only consideration was whether his actions were too dangerous, which was up to the referee’s subjective judgment.

The look of shock filled Fernando’s eyes; Chen Zhong actually made his heartbeat accelerate, the once youthful face now looked somewhat "terrifying".

How is this possible?

He’s just a 16-year-old kid, and I’m actually feeling a hint of fear from him. Is it possible he has some kind of terrifying aura?

The two consecutive sliding tackles also enraged the Atletico Madrid players.

Rodriguez and Garcia immediately closed in on Chen Zhong from both sides, but Chen Zhong wasn’t afraid of the pincer attack. When they got closer, drawn to him, he passed the ball to Guti who was not far away.

The three collided into each other, the referee once again placed the whistle to his lips, wanting to blow, but seeing that the fouled team had an advantage on the attack, he let it go.

As Guti received the ball, there was a vast open field in front of him, his white headband tied over his dyed blonde hair, adopting a stance suggesting a powerful long pass, which tricked the Atletico Madrid players into focusing on Robinho who was advancing from afar.

They all thought Guti would pass to Robinho, who would then have a one-on-one with the goalkeeper once he got the ball, but Guti didn’t do that.

A glint of amusement shone in his eyes, a slight smile on his lips. It looked like a powerful pass, but in reality, it was a perfectly timed through ball.

The ball shot out from Guti’s foot with a "whoosh," passing between two Atletico Madrid players, just as Van Nistelrooy broke through.

"Guti plans a long..."

"No, it’s a through ball."

"This pass is perfectly timed."

"Van Nistelrooy breaks into the box."

"A powerful shot!"

"Beautiful!"

"Beautiful!"

"It’s a goal!"

"2:1"

"The second half has just begun, less than 2 minutes in."

"Real Madrid has overtaken the score."

"Guti’s imaginative pass, combined with Van Nistelrooy’s superb shooting skills, has once again broken through Atletico Madrid’s defense."

On the field, the referee’s whistle was like a signal, as the Merengue fans erupted in cheers, while the Atletico Madrid fans fell silent, like eggplants hit by frost.

Van Nistelrooy, who scored, executed his signature celebration move, running toward the corner flag, but before celebrating, Guti pointed to Chen Zhong.

He clearly remembered whose pass it was that came out of the two-man pincer attack.

"Yes, yes!" Schuster loudly celebrated on the sidelines, repeatedly slapping his palms in an attempt to hear a sound from Francisco, but Francisco’s agile reflexes allowed him to evade Schuster’s slaps, leaving Schuster a bit disappointed.

However, Schuster quickly issued instructions to Chen Zhong, signaling him to be more prudent.

If Chen Zhong were a Defensive Midfielder, his tackling would have no issues, after all, the central defenders were behind him, but as a center-back now, if he failed in a tackle, although Cannavaro was there to cover, it was still a significant threat.

"Robinho!" Schuster called out loudly from the sidelines, and the players quickly understood what Schuster meant. During the following time, the left side, which was uneventful in the first half, posed a great threat to Atletico Madrid in the second half.

Especially Robinho, who repeatedly exploited the vacant spaces left by Atletico Madrid’s advancing wingbacks, penetrating into the opponent’s dangerous areas several times.

Aguirre’s elegance was completely gone; he called out player names from the sidelines, and if it weren’t for Robinho’s lack of precision in his final pass and shot in those dangerous areas, Atletico Madrid might have conceded another goal.

Seeing Real Madrid’s offensive wave was becoming more intense, and their own front line was stuck in a stalemate, Aguirre used his first substitution.

On one hand, it was to replace Simao, who performed poorly in the second half; on the other hand, it was to give Atletico Madrid some time to adjust and catch their breath.

The handsome man stood by the sideline, his firm and striking appearance left a strong first impression.

Jose Antonio Reyes, a player who was on loan to Real Madrid last season. Initially, people didn’t know much about him until he came off the bench in the last match, scoring twice to help the team overturn a 3-1 deficit against Mallorca, which made the Merengues find a place for him in their hearts.

Everyone thought Reyes would officially become a member of Real Madrid, but ultimately, Reyes chose to join Atletico Madrid.

At the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, applause mixed with boos; it was unclear whether the applause or the boos were louder.

Reyes stood by the sideline with a tense face. Before the match, someone had asked him about his thoughts on this game, considering that Real Madrid’s championship victory last season had an undeniable contribution from him.

"It seems that the fans don’t have a positive reaction to my joining. I can’t say I’m truly happy about it, but I know it’s not their fault. I will prove myself with goals and make them accept me from their hearts."

"Last year, I had already decided to join Atletico Madrid, but the club wanted to trade me for Baptista. At that time, I had no choice. This time, I’m finally returning to play in Spain in the true sense and joined a team that desires me."

"As for this Derby, I just want to say that everyone will be looking forward to it."

Atletico Madrid had long wanted to acquire Reyes, and in the summer window, Atletico Madrid’s offer was 6 million Euros more than Real Madrid’s. He thought that his heart would not waver at all.

After all, he came to Atletico Madrid for a main position.

However, how could the applause and boos from the stadium not make him feel emotional?

"A fool!" Schuster said by the sideline, listening to the mix of applause and boos as he looked at Reyes and remarked, "He left a truly great club, what can he get at Atletico Madrid?"

Ultimately, the victory of this match would belong to Real Madrid.

The match continued, with the intensity of physical confrontations between the two teams rising again and again. Garcia tackled Guti, Drenthe knocked over Aguero, Pablo tripped Robinho, and Van Nistelrooy outmuscled Pereira in the penalty area.

The passionate collisions on the field also made the emotions of the fans in the stands more and more intense.

Reyes, amidst the fervent atmosphere, found it a bit hard to let loose, yet he still displayed his standard. He shook off the reckless charge of Ramos and sent the ball into the penalty area; it was a mid-height ball, and Fernando was right at the drop point of the ball.

However, Chen Zhong squeezed Fernando aside with a violent header to clear the ball.

Guti got hold of the ball, narrowly avoided Atletico Madrid’s sliding tackle, and then passed it to Sneijder on the flank. Sneijder dribbled forward all the way, taking a shot from 23 yards out from the goal.

"Boom!"

The shot was powerful, yet it skimmed over the grass.

Atletico Madrid’s players attempted to block it but were all a step too late.

By the time goalkeeper Franco reacted, the ball had already hit the inner side of the left post and ricocheted into the net.

"Beautiful!"

"Goal!"

"Sneijder, a low shot on the ground."

"3:1"

"This is his first goal in La Liga."

"This is also the goal that killed the match."

"Real Madrid has a two-goal lead now."

Sneijder smiled after confirming the goal. He ran towards the corner flag, clapping hard above his head, while the Merengues also cheered for the hero who scored in this Derby match.

"Hahaha." Schuster laughed heartily on the sideline and then let Gago from the substitutes’ bench get ready for warm-up.

When Aguirre saw Gago replacing Sneijder while his own forwards were still sluggish upfront, he knew that this match had slipped away.

In the end, the score was fixed at 3:1.

As the final whistle blew, Atletico Madrid’s midfielder Maniche quickly approached Raul. He pointed at his Atletico Madrid jersey and then at Raul’s Real Madrid jersey, expressing his desire to exchange jerseys.

His nephew’s birthday was coming up, and he had asked Maniche before the game to get a Raul jersey.

After explaining, Raul said, "Alright, but I can’t give you this jersey; I’ll go to the locker room and get you a new one later."

Inside the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, the orderly and loud singing rang out again, with Real Madrid players occasionally shouting that slogan.

Schuster watched this scene with a smile on his face. He turned to Francisco and said, "What’s the arrangement for the parade celebration? I wonder when the trophy will be adjusted to be delivered to the championship team that season."

"Still the traditional route, first to the city hall, then to Plaza de Cibeles." Francisco replied slowly, "I have a feeling it’s going to be another glorious season."

"Of course!" Schuster laughed heartily.