CHAPTER 45: CHAPTER 16: CHANGE

Spain, Madrid

After training, the players returned to the locker room in groups of twos and threes.

Baptista’s face was full of joy. He was called aside by Francisco for a private conversation, and during the discussion, he felt that the opportunity he had been waiting for was near.

At this moment, a phrase kept echoing in Baptista’s mind: "The team needs a power midfielder."

Since joining Real Madrid, Baptista had never thought, at least never expressed verbally, the idea of leaving Real Madrid.

He trained hard, always hoping for a chance to prove himself.

And now, the opportunity seemed to be right in front of him.

Not only was Baptista happy, but Marcelo couldn’t help but excitedly chatter with Chen Zhong after training: "Chen, I’m going to start; I’m going to start."

"What I need to do is what Carlos did."

"I know exactly what to do, and I’m really good at it."

Roberto Carlos, in most people’s minds, is the world’s best left-back, the best in history, and the only superstar in the Galaxy Battleship to be invited aboard as a defender. His assists on the left wing have become a "trademark" of Real Madrid over the past decade.

Schuster brought in Drenthe hoping he could become the second Carlos. Even after Drenthe joined, many media outlets referred to him as the "new Carlos."

After all, like Carlos, he had the ability for long-range shots, which is something Marcelo lacked, one of the reasons why Schuster was not very fond of using Marcelo.

Unfortunately, Drenthe played his cards terribly.

He even got into a car accident, injuring himself, while Marcelo seized a perfect opportunity to showcase himself due to Heinze’s incomplete recovery and Drenthe’s injury.

"That’s pretty good," Chen Zhong said with a smile, while also contemplating whether he could complete other system tasks.

It seemed Schuster found some inspiration in the last derby against Atletico Madrid. Now he asked the team to press when the opponent had possession, with all players except the goalkeeper participating.

And when the team was on offense, they should press forward as much as possible, sometimes leaving only 1-2 players in the back other than the goalkeeper. In such situations, Chen Zhong also had the chance to score and assist.

The atmosphere in the team’s locker room had improved significantly. Without the superstars, the players instead showed a vibrant energy.

Francisco stood next to Schuster, watching the energetic players and couldn’t help but smile knowingly. Maybe Real Madrid without superstars would be better!

If these young people could grow, perhaps they could create an era!

"Your smile is really ugly, Francisco," Schuster said with a slight hint of disdain beside him. "This summer transfer window, except for Robben, we didn’t achieve anything in our transfer plans."

Schuster’s complaints were justified; Calderon had promised three players during his campaign.

Kaka, Robben, Fabregas.

However, in this summer window, Arsenal and Milan mercilessly rejected Real Madrid’s offers, and the players themselves expressed no interest in joining Real Madrid.

The only successful signing was Robben, but Robben had been plagued by injuries over the past year and was embroiled in controversies, having already fallen out of the first-tier star ranking.

In the process, Schuster also mentioned a name: Ballack, who was playing for Chelsea, but unfortunately, that transfer ultimately fell through.

Time quickly advanced to September, and the match against Villarreal was approaching.

In a recent pre-match press conference, when asked by reporters, Pellegrini jokingly said, "I know we are facing Real Madrid, but this is the Estadio de la Cerámica. We will adopt a more proactive tactic to show everyone we are not afraid of them."

Pellegrini’s confidence came from Villarreal’s record.

Unbeaten in 18 games, with 16 wins and 2 draws.

In the league, counting from the end of last season, Villarreal was on a 9-game winning streak.

Recently, many commentators were optimistic that the "Yellow Submarine" could secure a home win, and Real Madrid was likely to lose this match.

Some even referenced the last match against Atletico Madrid, where Real Madrid conceded a goal in 55 seconds, indicating there must be some problem in defense.

Soon, Schuster’s response came. Facing the cameras, he said, "I hope Villarreal is as tough as their coach said. I’m very much looking forward to going head-to-head with them at their home."

Compared to Pellegrini’s coyness, Schuster’s response was much more straightforward and bold.

Estadio de la Cerámica, your home turf, do you want to go head-to-head or not?

Amidst the verbal exchanges, the match day quickly arrived.

Estadio de la Cerámica, thousands of Villarreal fans chanted Pellegrini’s name. In the interview area, Pellegrini faced the reporters’ questions and shouted across at Schuster: "Welcome to Estadio de la Cerámica."

Schuster responded unabashedly: "I hope this time we can provide the fans with a spectacular attacking duel."

Thirty minutes before the match, Schuster entered the visitors’ locker room, where the Real Madrid players were already in their gear.

The soundproofing of the visitors’ locker room didn’t seem very good. Even inside, you could hear the noise from the fans outside, which gradually turned into a coordinated song:

"Where is the Galaxy Battleship?"

"They have already sunk."

"Welcome to Estadio de la Cerámica."

"You will lose everything once again."

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

The Villarreal fans sang loudly, and all the players in the locker room heard it clearly. Yet Schuster seemed not to hear it at all, just surveying the environment of the visitors’ locker room, appearing quite satisfied with the current setting.

It’s known that many teams would use some "little tricks" in the visitors’ locker rooms.

For example, "heating" the visitors’ locker room, having a short door, painting the walls "death colors," refusing to supply hot water, placing a very high table, and so on...

Anyhow, they would try to create trouble for the visiting team, attempting to make them feel uncomfortable physically and mentally. Of course, not every team would do this.

At least, apart from being slightly simple in decoration, Villarreal’s visitors’ locker room seemed normal in other respects.

"Gather around, gather around," Schuster clapped his hands forcefully, shouting loudly, and the players gathered around one by one, listening to the songs from outside and looking at the blond-haired man with slightly heavier breaths.

"Did you hear the songs outside?"

"How does it feel inside?"

"I see someone is already eager to go and show their might."

"Good, that’s what I want. Go! Go outside and tell them what kind of team Real Madrid is!"