I Am Scouted by Real Madrid-Chapter 251 - 5: Beckham, Chen, and the Spotlight (A Farewell from Ten Thousand Fans)

Chapter 251: Chapter 5: Beckham, Chen, and the Spotlight (A Farewell from Ten Thousand Fans)

Florentino: Good boy, go to Italy for a while. It’s quite chaotic here, and I’m afraid you’ll get hurt. Don’t worry, when I return as Real Madrid’s president, I’ll build another "Galaxy Battleship" for you!!!

Chen Zhong held the microphone, and when fans nearby, or even passing travelers, saw it, most of them stopped in their tracks.

Through word of mouth, everyone knew that the "Crown Prince" who left hastily had something he wanted to say to them.

Chen Zhong felt his mouth was dry. Throughout the entire event, he felt completely out of place. Schuster openly stated that he wouldn’t get any playing time, and while the team didn’t sell him, they just loaned him to Milan for half a season.

His emotions were complex right now, mixed with reluctance, bewilderment, amusement, but certainly not anger. However, those fans waiting for him to speak seemed to feel aggrieved for him, with some even expressing anger on his behalf.

Just a slight flick of his wings would send the team into a troublesome patch after he leaves Madrid.

Unless Schuster leads the team to a handsome streak of victories.

People were watching Chen Zhong, waiting for him to speak, and after a moment of hesitation, Chen Zhong picked up the microphone.

He didn’t fan the flames, didn’t criticize the coach, nor did he express dissatisfaction with the club. Instead, he shouted the phrase countless Real Madrid fans held in their hearts, a phrase representing more than words, a spirit, a totem.

"Hala Madrid!"

"Hala Madrid!!"

"Hala Madrid!!!"

The first time was just the shout of a young boy, the second time most people joined him, and the third time everyone shouted together.

This scene was also recorded and captured by some journalists.

A particularly passionate journalist from Madrid even wrote, "On this day, the Crown Prince of Bernabeu was forced to leave his kingdom, but in the near future, he will return here to create a new dynasty."

...

Italy, Milan

After a period of flying, Chen Zhong arrived in Italy.

This wasn’t his first time in Italy, as he had previously played here against Rome and Lazio in the Champions League, even scoring his second Champions League goal against Lazio with a beautiful long shot.

This was also why Ancelino was so eagerly anticipating Chen Zhong’s arrival.

Although Chen Zhong was only 17, he had already proven himself in the top leagues, playing against multiple teams since he was 16.

And now Milan’s biggest problem was their utterly poor defense this season.

However, just moments ago, Ancelino’s enthusiasm for Chen Zhong’s arrival was dampened, and he felt a headache coming on.

Because Galliani had just called him to inform that they had also loaned David Beckham!

Yes, the team recognized the problem, so they loaned David Beckham from the MLS, but why immediately after loaning Chen Zhong?

All of this suddenness gave Ancelino a bit of a "headache." He was quite doubtful about the capabilities of Beckham, who was older and hadn’t played for a while.

Additionally, when discussing the deal, Milan’s Vice Chairman Adriano Galliani remarked, "Today’s football is about stadiums filled with sponsors and superstars like Beckham." "With him, Kaka, and Ronaldinho, it will be a dream team."

This kind of description naturally set up a competition between Chen Zhong and Beckham for a position, and compared to Chen Zhong, financially strapped Milan may lean more towards Beckham.

Plus, during recent interactions with Beckham, Ancelotti keenly sensed that the superstar was eager to play and wanted to prove himself on the field.

Italy is not Spain, and Milan’s fans are not Real Madrid’s fans.

The superstar Chen Zhong simply couldn’t compare to football star Beckham, which was evident in their respective unveiling ceremonies.

Although Chen Zhong arrived in Milan City earlier than Beckham, the city didn’t plan a separate unveiling for Chen Zhong but rather decided to introduce him during Beckham’s unveiling.

After all, although both are considered Mercenaries, Beckham, who could be continually loaned, was clearly more important. If Chen Zhong had been transferred to Milan, then the fans might have been enthusiastic and seen him as a future core of the team. Plus, since Cheng Zhong joined Milan at 17, after 3 years, he could be tagged with Milan’s youth training label.

Of course, the criterion for youth training is being registered with the club for three years between the ages of 15-21, meeting some hard standards for some competitions, like having a number of home-grown players.

But the problem is...

Chen Zhong is not transferred but only on loan, nor is it a long-term loan, just half a year.

In this case, there’s no need to waste too much affection.

Milan also gauged Chen Zhong’s "value" through jersey sales and some polls. Compared to Beckham’s joining, Chen Zhong’s value was negligible.

...

Ancelotti composed himself, the slightly chubby coach wore a warm smile on his face. He stepped forward and kindly patted Chen Zhong on the shoulder. Ancelotti didn’t speak Spanish but knew some English, so the two communicated simply in English.

During this interaction, Ancelotti continuously evaluated Chen Zhong, while his hand instinctively poked and prodded him, clearly pleased with Chen Zhong’s physical condition.

When Chen Zhong underwent physical tests, he gave Ancelotti a satisfactory report. Ancelotti believed that Chen Zhong was exactly the energetic and powerful midfielder he needed.

When asked when he wanted to start training, Chen Zhong was eager to express his desire to train, which made Ancelotti even more satisfied.

Possessing excellent physical talents and being disciplined, with a good personality—outgoing, expressive, and charismatic.

During this brief exchange, even though their conversation was somewhat halting, Chen Zhong didn’t give off a "distant" feeling, instead being very trustworthy.

However, problems still arose.

When introduced in the locker room, the players weren’t particularly friendly to Chen Zhong. Kaka only gave Chen Zhong a smile, and that was it.

The Brazilian players, because Ronaldinho used to play for Barcelona and weren’t the same type of player, didn’t have much in common to talk about.

While Ronaldinho had a good personality, he wasn’t antagonistic towards Chen Zhong, but he didn’t greet him warmly either, which was to be expected.

Moreover, since Chen Zhong was on a short-term loan, just for half a season, he didn’t win over the locals, so his first appearance was met with indifference.

And later, Beckham’s arrival made this contrast even more noticeable.

Almost every player greeted Beckham, and Beckham responded to everyone, including Chen Zhong.

During the subsequent unveiling ceremony, Beckham took up most of the time, while Chen Zhong made an appearance for less than 3 minutes, virtually just passing through.

And in the stands, almost all of Milan’s fans were chanting Beckham’s name.

Some extreme Italian fans even shouted, "With David here, who needs Chen!"

"Go back to your Spain, go back to your Asia!"

There were even a few rather nasty individuals imitating monkey sounds.

Perhaps in their eyes, Chen Zhong wouldn’t even get playing time in Milan!

This was Chen Zhong’s first encounter with such "malice." Previously, Chen Zhong was well-protected by Real Madrid and rarely encountered such discriminatory remarks. Of course, his young age was one of the reasons.

But now, in Milan, in Italy, he was experiencing the same kind of prejudice faced by Asian players.

Ancelotti looked at Chen Zhong with some concern, noticing Chen Zhong constantly staring at Beckham. Was he beginning to feel jealous of Beckham?

Could it perhaps be that he wanted to learn from Beckham?