Chapter 19: Chapter 19: The Protagonist

Locomotive Stadium

Eindhoven would not allow victory to slip away from their grasp like this. Koman activated his furious mode on the sidelines, shouting the names of the players, urging them to muster their fighting spirit and focus.

However, Real Madrid was already in full swing, their offense was beyond comprehension, and the mastermind behind it all was Guti.

This Real Madrid youth academy player finally found a coach who trusted him. Schuster established him as the team’s midfield core, and Guti repaid the coach’s trust with one outstanding performance after another.

“Over there!” With crab steps, Balka pointed towards Sun Xiang, where Robben was rapidly advancing, and Guti also leaned in that direction.

At this moment, no one thought Guti wouldn’t pass the ball there.

Their worry was only whether they could intercept Guti’s pass, and if not, what would they do?

Guti’s long hair swayed with his sprint, a smile at the corner of his mouth, his eyes revealing inscrutable emotions. He didn’t choose to pass but ran sideways. Balka followed, and Eindhoven’s entire defensive formation moved along.

Eindhoven’s players looked at Guti, thinking, “He missed a perfect opportunity.”

Because facing their encirclement, there was no one in front of Guti to receive the ball, and he was off the direction of the goal, being driven towards the right side of the penalty area.

Like a wolf trapped in a snare, only to be slaughtered.

Just as they thought this, Guti elegantly paused, the ball separating from his foot in movement, in a stunning backheel pass, and the ball rolled diagonally towards the center outside the penalty area.

Raul, dressed in white, broke through quickly, seizing the ball before Eindhoven’s players.

Dribble, accelerate.

Raul dodged Eindhoven’s interception, broke into the penalty area, and with one powerful kick, shot towards the goal.

Gomez completed a heroic save, striking the ball outside the penalty area. Raul turned, catching a distant glimpse of that number 14 back, it was Guti! The eternal number 14.

Chen Zhong bit his teeth, marveling at Guti’s brilliant pass and regretting Raul’s shot, while from afar he saw Guti’s calm face.

Perhaps he saw Chen Zhong, or maybe not, it was merely Chen Zhong’s illusion.

Guti’s elegant backheel sent the ball rolling towards the danger zone like it had eyes.

Five Eindhoven players stood in a cross formation. Their relaxed mood instantly tensed as different emotions appeared on each face.

The three players closest to the passing line instinctively chased the ball, but it perfectly landed at the feet of Raul running outward.

Eindhoven players quickly raised their hands, wishing Raul was offside at this moment!

Raul turned, saw that number 14, saw the bouncing, happy ball, without any hesitation.

Side-step, dribble, shoot!

This time Gomez was powerless to save.

2:2

Schuster’s substitutions had an immediate effect.

Real Madrid played Eindhoven without giving them any chance to retaliate.

Guti completely revitalized Real Madrid’s midfield.

“Guti, oh Guti!” Koman shook his head and sighed. Real Madrid’s Guti was an unsolvable problem. How on earth can we stop this man?

Just now, Guti didn’t even look back, as if he had eyes on the back of his head, like everything on the field was within his mind.

Eyes focused on Guti, all the fans cheered for him. He enjoyed all of it, his heart pounding beyond description, brimming with heroics, just waiting for the season to let the world know of Guti’s talent.

“Good! Good!” Schuster’s face was flushed, yet again. He was an odd character, and Guti suited him perfectly. Seeing his chosen player perform so well, his emotions were beyond words.

If only Francisco wasn’t so far away, maybe he could give him a few pats to feel better.

Real Madrid’s two goals utterly bewildered Eindhoven.

The match reached the 76th minute, Guti with the ball at midfield. Eindhoven dared not slack, yet Guti’s superb dribble allowed him to move freely amidst multiple encirclements.

A flick, a pull, a lift.

The hearts of Eindhoven players trembled, the arc of the ball angled toward the right side, and number 11 Robben quickly burst forward. Without stopping the ball, he directly dashed, instantly leaving the defenders in his wake, the defending players could only follow behind and eat dust.

Cut in, shoot.

Mastering one move can take you anywhere!

The ball once again found the net, Real Madrid had turned the score around, while PSV Eindhoven seemed as if the life had been sucked out of them, crushed inch by inch before their eyes, they had completely lost their fighting spirit.

Having defeated Milan to reach the final, the Eredivisie champions had already realized their defeat. No matter how much Koman tried to rally them, it was useless.

“Madrid, Madrid, Madrid~” Schuster couldn’t help but hum a tune, liking Guti more and more: “When talking about midfield maestros, everyone mentions Xavi, Pirlo, Skrtel, but in my heart, the best is still Guti, Guti, Guti~”

Schuster’s tune seemed to also signify Real Madrid’s mentality, when Marcelo on the left flank, during a wing advance, was intercepted by a PSV player in a counterattack.

Not all PSV players had lost their spirit.

At least Afelay hadn’t.

The youthful breeze of competing was more precious than gold.

In this time of youthful exuberance, how could he easily bow his head?

Pepe approached from the side, forcefully colliding with Afelay, who stumbled but passed the ball towards the center before completely losing balance.

There, Lazovic was sprinting fast.

Just when the camera focused on Lazovic, a young player in white burst in from the side, Chen Zhong charged in like a raging bull, brutally entering people’s view.

The two got closer and closer, closer and closer.

Lazovic moved the ball outward with his outside foot, avoiding a direct collision with Chen Zhong.

Both moved towards the touchline, Lazovic kept trying to shake off Chen Zhong but failed. He could only keep nudging the ball towards the touchline before Chen Zhong could close in, waiting for an opportunity.

“This kid.” Schuster looked at Francisco with some amazement: “Is his starting speed that fast?”

Lazovic tried to use rhythm changes to get rid of Chen Zhong, but Chen Zhong perfectly positioned himself, shadowing Lazovic closely, frustrating him as they neared the touchline.

Lazovic slowed down, and Chen Zhong also slowed down, which made Lazovic confident. He began thinking about how to toy with this kid.

However, slowing down was just Chen Zhong’s ruse.

Chen Zhong, about two or three meters from Lazovic, sidestepped, lunged forward, using his right arm as a shield to fiercely collide with Lazovic’s side.

Lazovic staggered directly out of bounds, heading for the advertising board.

Chen Zhong narrowly managed to stop the ball.

“Chen!”

Pepe’s voice came from afar, and fans’ gasps echoed from the stands. Most players would be flustered in such an uncertain situation.

Chen Zhong was not.

He lowered his center of gravity, spread his arms, and got into a protective stance, and the next moment, Afelay slammed into Chen Zhong.

Apparently hearing the commotion on the pitch, the off-field Lazovic also moved towards Chen Zhong.

Chen Zhong quickly assessed the situation, facing Afelay’s constant pressure, he first leaned his upper body towards the side Afelay was pushing from, gained some space, then slammed into Afelay.

The slender Afelay was sent flying two or three meters, and by this time Lazovic had also arrived, Chen Zhong created space, using his right hand as a shield to slam into Lazovic.

Lazovic stumbled but held his ground, yet when Chen Zhong came in for a second hit, he was off to find the advertising board again.

By this time, Marcelo and Pepe had reached the vicinity, and Chen Zhong passed the ball, defusing this crisis.

This was also PSV’s last struggle in the second half.

The final whistle blew, under the complex gaze of PSV players, amidst Real Madrid fans’ cheers, players went up the stage one after another, lifting the first trophy of the new season.

The Russian Railways Cup trophy, this was also the first trophy Chen Zhong had won for Real Madrid. Though it was just a warm-up match trophy, it held immense significance for Chen Zhong.

On the awards podium, Raul, as the captain of Real Madrid, stood in the middle holding the trophy high, with vice-captain Guti next to him.

Casillas, Cannavaro, Ramos, Van Nistelrooy, Robinho, and other players surrounded them.

Chen Zhong watched the smiling Guti from the side, this match, he was the absolute protagonist, creating three game-winning goals, helping the team turn the game around.

When can I, like the veterans, become Real Madrid’s cornerstone, even its core?

“Chen, Chen!” Marcelo clung tightly to Chen Zhong at the side, nervously saying: “Do you think my performance in this match was terrible? Will I still get a chance to play in the upcoming Super Cup?”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep