Chapter 454: Chapter 77: The Battle Begins! (Part 2)

As for the left flank, Marcelo, this attack-oriented fullback, can fully develop his attacking capability in the winger position. Being Brazilian, Marcelo’s footwork and breakthroughs are impressive. This is not the first time Pellegrini uses Marcelo on the flank, and it has proven effective this season.

When it comes to Marcelo’s defense, opinions can vary. Anyway, Pellegrini cannot be too reassured about it.

If there is a position among the three lines of the team that Pellegrini trusts the most, it is probably the midfield.

The combination of Chen Zhong and Alonso gives Pellegrini peace of mind.

Barcelona’s formation is the 4-3-3:

Pedro, Messi, Alves

Keita, Busquets, Xavi

Maxwell, Ziglinsky, Pique, Puyol

Valverde

Guardiola also places great importance on this match, evidenced by his choice of Ziglinsky as the starting center back.

In Barcelona’s squad for this match, there are four center-backs: Pique, Milito, Max, and Ziglinsky.

Pique, standing at 193CM, is unsurprisingly selected. Among Milito at 179CM and Max at 184CM, Guardiola ultimately chooses Ziglinsky, who is 190CM.

He is Guardiola’s chosen “genius center back,” brought to Camp Nou from Shakhtar with a hefty price of 25 million Euros.

Guardiola and Ziglinsky’s connection dates back to the recently concluded European Super Cup, where Ziglinsky, playing for Shakhtar, did not manage to lift the trophy as he hoped.

However, his sliding tackle on Messi left Guardiola thunderstruck, as if he saw the shadow of another man serving at the Bernabeu in that instant.

With Puyol already over thirty and Max on the verge of leaving, Ziglinsky’s sliding tackle struck a chord with Guardiola, especially when he saw Ziglinsky’s running figure on the field, reminiscent of Puyol.

In the post-match press conference, Guardiola straightforwardly said, “Ziglinsky’s joining will surely stabilize the team’s defense.”

As for the fans, they have high expectations for the Ukrainian’s arrival, even considering it a revamp and upgrade of Barcelona’s defense line.

After all, Ziglinsky combines height and flexibility. Ukrainian media even elevate him to the status of “the Beckenbauer of Ukraine,” and the 25 million Euro price tag sets him as the highest valued in Barcelona’s defense line history!

Barcelona snatched Ziglinsky from Bayern Munich’s grasp.

Even before he officially reported in Barcelona, Guardiola sent him a CD on Barcelona’s tactical training to help him integrate better into the new environment.

This demonstrates how much Barcelona values this newcomer!

Ziglinsky and Barcelona belong to each other mutually. To refuse offers from other giants, he set his home phone to automatic response mode, and to join Barcelona, he voluntarily proposed a salary cut of 1 million Euros.

The agreement between both parties was reached in just 5 minutes, and with a transfer fee of 25 million Euros, Ziglinsky became the highest-priced center back in Barcelona’s history.

Not a few Barcelona fans hold a tiny bit of hope in their hearts.

Doesn’t Real Madrid have Chen Zhong?

Didn’t Chen Zhong rise from a center back?

Ziglinsky and Chen Zhong are about the same height, so could Ziglinsky also rise from center back then?

By then, they could say, Chen?

Hehe, he’s just fit to play second fiddle to Messi at Barcelona.

Busquets: Then what about me? What about me?

Guardiola’s choice was somewhat unexpected for Pellegrini. If it were the beginning of the season, Pellegrini might have had worries since Ziglinsky’s performance back then was noteworthy, even outstanding.

The Ukrainian, when he first arrived, debuted against Getafe, where he made 7 tackles and 2 clearances, and completed all 52 passes successfully, delivering an impressive performance!

At that time, countless Barcelona fans were chanting his name and had great expectations for the future.

Later, in his Camp Nou debut, in the direct confrontation with Fernando and Aguero, Ziglinsky held his ground, achieving the highest in the match with 10 tackles, perfectly restraining Fernando and Aguero.

Back then, media reports were “Another Chen,” “Barcelona Unearths New Chen,” “Seeing Chen’s Mediocrity From Ziglinsky”…

All this put immense pressure on Ziglinsky, who was well protected at the Miners and soon found himself lost on the field.

Barcelona was disappointed to discover that this towering player seemed to have issues with physical confrontations?

In Barcelona’s La Liga match against Bilbao, the 1.9-meter-tall Ukrainian center back fell completely behind in 11 direct confrontations with opponent center forward Llorente, even facilitated the opponent’s goal.

Likewise, Chen Zhong, in his confrontations with Fernando Llorente, never allowed the opponent an advantage, each contest was neck and neck, with Chen Zhong even seemingly having an upper hand.

In Barcelona’s King’s Cup game against Sevilla, Ziglinsky surprisingly couldn’t withstand an opponent smaller in size, ultimately pulling the opponent’s jersey to give away a penalty.

This directly led to Barcelona being knocked out by Sevilla, which is also why many hold expectations for Sevilla; if Sevilla beats Barcelona in the King’s Cup and Real Madrid, eventually clinching the league championship, it would be quite a spectacle.

Guardiola faced considerable pressure letting Ziglinsky play in such a crucial match.

Both coaches had their own considerations, and in the fans’ chants, players from both teams began to enter the field one after the other, with Real Madrid fans cheering repeatedly at their player names, and boos resounding when Barcelona players were announced.

When the two teams’ players shook hands, C. Ronaldo stared at Messi, Messi stared at Chen Zhong, and Chen Zhong maintained an equal gaze towards everyone.

Just something was odd; the long-haired, equally tall Ziglinsky in front of him had an air of “timidity” about him.

For Ziglinsky, Chen Zhong’s name was long familiar.

Once he even fantasized about joining Barcelona and becoming the next Chen Zhong.

But after facing successive “beatings,” he had already come to terms with reality.

He knew his mission in this match, but even though he had undergone thorough training, he still lacked confidence.

As for Chen Zhong, most of his thoughts focused on self-improvement and training.

Ziglinsky?

Sorry, haven’t heard of him, so didn’t know this was the “nemesis” Barcelona prepared for him.

Pellegrini stood on the sidelines, looking at Barcelona standing on the opposite side. When the captains on both sides were guessing sides, he saw Chen Zhong gain the right to kick-off and couldn’t help cheering quietly.

For Pellegrini, it was a good omen.

In such intense rivalries, scoring first could significantly influence the match’s outcome positively.

With the referee’s whistle, the match officially commenced.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep