I Am Scouted by Real Madrid

During this period, Alonso also had a conversation with Chen Zhong, as he realized Kompany’s difference.

Last season, under the eyes of former managers Tuchel and Nagelsmann, Kompany, who always waved the banner of "Guardiola-style beautiful football," uncharacteristically led Bayern Munich to play "anti-football": 0 shots and 0 corners in the first 70 minutes, and ultimately, with just 2 missed target shots, they ugly forced a 0-0 draw away against the defending champions Bayer Leverkusen, maintaining an 8-point advantage with approximately a third of the Bundesliga schedule remaining.

As Bayern Munich legend Matthaus said: "Today, Bayern Munich won 0-0. Ultimately, it felt like a victory. 95% of the championship competition is over, I can say that."

Kompany has started to take a practical football approach, which has led Bayern Munich’s offensive data to hit rock bottom,

The two former Bayern Munich coaches returned as the head coaches of the Germany Team and the England Team to the place where they felt heartache, only to see their familiar players playing in an unfamiliar scene.

Matthaus stated: "I’ve never seen Bayern Munich like this, even in my time. The front line was so unthreatening, completely devoid of threat. Two attempts on goal, in my view, don’t even really count as attempts."

Well-known data institution Opta pointed out that since statistical tracking began in the 2004/05 season, this is only the second time for Bayern Munich to have 0 shots on target in a Bundesliga match, with the last occurrence in early May 2008 away to Wolfsburg, resulting in a "0-0 victory"—securing the team’s 20th Bundesliga championship three rounds in advance. The objective conditions faced by Bayern Munich in these two instances of 0 shots on target separated by nearly 17 years were similar. Back then, Bayern Munich had just suffered a 0-4 away defeat against Zenit St. Petersburg, exiting the UEFA Cup semifinals, physically and mentally exhausted, forcing Hitzfeld to rotate up to 6 players, resulting in being overwhelmed by Wolfsburg.

However, in that game, at least Bayern Munich managed to have their first attempt in just 5 minutes by Jose Sosa, and Marcel Jansen hit the post in the 23rd minute, unlike the current match where the first attempt happened not until the 73rd minute—Kane cut into the right side of the box facing Incapie and forced a shot that was blocked out of bounds, and only relying on Goretzka’s header from near the penalty spot in the 81st minute that was off-target, barely managing to scrape up a 0.14 expected goals value.

According to the Bundesliga official statistics, since 1992, this is the first time for Bayern Munich to have 0 shots in the first half, and only 2 shots for the entire game is also the worst record—the previous record was 4 shots in an away 0-0 draw against Rostock in November 1995.

Since the introduction of "expected goals" statistics in the Bundesliga from the 2020/21 season, Bayern Munich’s previous lowest record was 0-3—0.27 to 1.81, which is not as lopsided as this game’s 0.14 to 2.23.

For Alonso, the current Bayern Munich manager Kompany makes him feel unfamiliar, as Kompany is no longer stubborn.

And this game between Real Madrid and Bayern Munich, as Matthaus said: "It reminds me of the first leg last season, only today the roles of the two teams have swapped."

Last season Alonso was still in the Bundesliga, still coaching Bayer Leverkusen.

In the first leg away at Allianz Arena, Alonso surprisingly made Leverkusen resolutely "park the bus," and from the start, Hradecky deliberately delayed during goal kicks.

The match ended 1-1 despite two spectacular long-range goals, it was similarly not an enjoyable spectacle for viewers, with Leverkusen’s expected goals as low as 0.15.

Neuer said: "Ultimately, you have to admit, taking away a point maybe is lucky, but we’ve also been unlucky against Leverkusen, unable to take all three points. The important thing is we didn’t lose the match, but of course, we always want to win. We didn’t win today, but we also didn’t deserve to win."

If Alonso showed his cunning and experience in the first leg, then Kompany, seemingly stubborn, also made a mature choice conforming to the current situation after experiencing some major setbacks.

After all, Bayern Munich already has an 8-point advantage, and can "consistently beat weaker teams" in the league, plus this tough match sandwiched between the two legs against Celtic, it’s the second of three matches in six days (while Bayer Leverkusen is exempted from the burden of two playoff rounds, possessing a clear physical advantage), ensuring advancement to the Champions League round of 16 is evidently the priority. Considering comprehensively, Bayern Munich really doesn’t need to engage in a fierce battle with Bayer Leverkusen—especially since even going all out, this Bayern Munich doesn’t have the absolute certainty to defeat their opponent. With this 0-0 result, Alonso’s Bayer Leverkusen has maintained an unbeaten streak of 6 games against Bayern.

Alonso cunningly "parked the bus" in the first leg, Kompany later returned the favor, and it seems that’s when the light bulb for Kompany went off.

As for Bayern Munich’s face and pride, as long as they achieve the ideal results in the end—Champions League advancement and Bundesliga championship, it’s ultimately insignificant on reflection.

Thomas Muller, who didn’t play at the time, said: "You can say whatever you want, even add adjectives. Regardless of winning the championship now or not, we have an 8-point lead, and a chance to advance in the Champions League at home next Tuesday. We don’t care about other things."

Of course, after such a "shameful" and a match that violates his personal football philosophy, Kompany wouldn’t boldly declare a major strategic victory, especially since he hasn’t done so after beautifully sweeping to victory.

When asked post-match why Bayern Munich’s attack lacked threat, he skillfully responded: "When we face a team that forces us to defend deep, we’ve proven that we can do it. Of course, people always imagine an ideal match, and this definitely wasn’t it, but the guys fought hard, kept running tirelessly. We’ve scored a lot this season, but unfortunately, not today. However, our attack supported our defense. Overall, this match also showed that the leading team is the correct one."

During this victory over Real Madrid, Kompany also utilized this "deep defensive mindset"; Bayern Munich, faced with "high-profile" Real Madrid, was able to strike effectively.

Additionally, Real Madrid now has a major weak point like Arnold, Alonso indeed suffered enough in the first leg.

And as the second leg was about to start, looking at the players within the team, Alonso ultimately placed everything on the old teammate Chen Zhong.

Although Chen Zhong has aged.

But he has performed countless miracles before.

And before the match began, Alonso even spoke to Chen Zhong in an almost devout manner: "Chen, lead us forward once more!"

This season, Chen Zhong has become the team’s substitute, but also due to having adequate rest, at critical moments he can always help the team navigate through crises.

He is gradually reversing public opinion.

Faced with the request from his old teammate, Chen Zhong said no such grandiose words, he merely looked at Alonso and said: "I can only guarantee that I will give my all."

At this point, Chen Zhong paused, then continued to say: "We shouldn’t stop here."

...

Soon it was match day.

Bayern Munich’s manager Kompany spoke about this matter before the game, saying: "I don’t know if this is just a bluff."

"But Chen is no longer who he once was."

"He’s now 35 years old."

"He’s been playing for Real Madrid’s first team since he was 16."

"Perhaps, he should start preparing for retirement and enjoy life."

Clearly, Kompany is now full of confidence and is not worried about Chen Xuan causing him much difficulty.