I Am Scouted by Real Madrid

"Real Madrid have used their final substitution." The commentator’s voice carried a hint of surprise as he said, "Chen Zhong, number 10 Chen Zhong is coming on."

"During his years at Real Madrid, Chen Zhong has always had one record: in any match he’s played, Real Madrid have never lost."

"Last season, in the four matches between Real Madrid and Barcelona, Chen Zhong didn’t play in any of them because of injury."

"That led to some voices from the outside, believing that maybe Chen Zhong was afraid of his record being broken, and that’s why he made that choice."

"This season Chen Zhong’s performances have been mediocre, and he’s coming on at a time like this."

"No one knows what the head coach is thinking!"

...

If this were the past, when Chen Zhong came on at this point in the game, the Barcelona fans in the stands would feel fear—afraid the record would be extended, afraid their team would be overturned.

But now...

The Barcelona fans in the stands shouted without restraint: "Don’t come on and embarrass yourself!"

"Aren’t you afraid your precious record will be broken?"

"We’re the ones who’ll come out on top in the end."

"You’re already old!"

...

The boos from the Barcelona fans in the stands were especially loud. Chen Zhong paid them no mind; he just couldn’t wait to get onto the pitch. And since the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium is Real Madrid’s home ground, when the Real Madrid fans heard the Barcelona supporters being so arrogant, they couldn’t hold back either.

The white wave at the Bernabeu boiled over in an instant.

The Real Madrid fans used a deafening "Hala Madrid" to drown out all the away end’s noise. They shouted Chen Zhong’s name at the top of their lungs; at a moment like this, even the most extreme fans chose to stand with Chen Zhong once again.

Back then, Chen Zhong forced Barcelona to "limit their height", smashing open their goal with thunderous Heavy Cannons, felling their defenders again and again and leading his team to victory.

And right now, they haven’t won yet!

Let alone the Real Madrid fans, even the players on the pitch had a different look in their eyes.

A sharp glint flashed through Mbappe’s eyes, and up front Vinicius’s expression also turned serious. In this match, Chen Zhong’s position would be pushed up to center forward.

Yes, in this match, Chen Zhong would be Real Madrid’s center forward.

Or you could say, the attacking midfielder!

Mbappe and Vinicius were the real double center forwards.

Chen Zhong needed to secure the ball in the final third, then feed the shells into their feet.

...

In China, many fans who’d been staying up late waiting for Chen Zhong to appear let out cries of astonishment.

Since the start of this season, they’d had very few chances to see Chen Zhong play. Many fans were so excited they grabbed their phones and called their sleeping friends to wake them up.

"Get up!"

"Chen Zhong is on!!!"

"Yeah, he’s coming on as a substitute!!!"

Not just in China—across the whole of Asia, plenty of people were being woken by calls from their relatives and friends to watch this match. This is the kind of influence a football legend brings.

As the light of Asia, the Asian king of football, a legend of the game, a super megastar who created the myth of winning the Ballon d’Or nine times.

Even though Chen Zhong’s on-pitch impact has declined, his influence worldwide is still astonishingly huge. This is also why the Saudi league have been trying to bring Chen Zhong over—because once Chen Zhong joins the Saudi league, its profile will climb another rung.

They might even have a shot at squeezing into the ranks of the top five leagues.

...

Flick stood on the touchline. He is Barcelona’s head coach, the second coach in Barcelona’s history to win all of his first four Spain National Derby matches, the second German coach to lead the team to a La Liga title, the first German to guide Barcelona to a league championship, the oldest coach to win his first La Liga title with Barcelona, and the second oldest coach ever to claim a first La Liga crown. In his first season in charge of Barcelona, Flick swept the domestic Triple Crown (La Liga, King’s Cup, Spanish Super Cup).

He has renewed with Barcelona until 2027; you could say he is writing his own legendary story.

When he saw Chen Zhong coming on, his brows knit slightly. Although Chen Zhong’s stats this season have been poor, Flick had carefully studied the matches where Chen Zhong did play; when he’s on the pitch, Real Madrid’s cohesion and fighting spirit always rise.

And besides...

Right now every Real Madrid player on the pitch looked furious, and sometimes anger can lead to unexpected outcomes.

In this match, Barcelona’s choices at center-back were Cubarsi and Martinez, and neither had much of a height advantage: Cubarsi is 184 cm, Martinez is 182 cm.

This is also why Alonso decided to have Chen Zhong play center forward.

Even though Chen Zhong’s body has declined overall, if he’s coming on as a substitute, he still has a certain edge.

...

Alonso stood on the touchline; no one knows better than he does how dangerous Chen Zhong can be. He looked at his players on the pitch, their morale surging, listened to the thunderous support from the Real Madrid fans inside the stadium, and felt the emotions stirring in his own heart.

Even an aging Chen Zhong, once he steps onto the field, still brings a sense of calm inside; he still makes Alonso feel that as long as Chen Zhong is out there, there is always a chance, they still have a shot at victory.

In the next stretch of play, Real Madrid’s tactics were going to be very simple and straightforward: Passing, then finding Chen Zhong, and pinning their hopes on him putting the ball into the net.