CHAPTER 142: CHAPTER 47: WHY ARE ALL THE MEDIA PRAISING ME?

Calderon publicly announced plans to re-sign Negredo and negotiate the introduction of youth players such as Mata and Granero, combined with the impending Spanish National Derby, calming the storm rapidly. And two days before the Real Madrid vs. Barcelona match, news about Chen Zhong was swirling overwhelmingly.

Originally, Real Madrid’s mouthpieces "Marca," "Diario AS" and "World Sports Newspaper," "Daily Sports" were mutually attacking each other. One side said, "We will have a pleasant ’White Christmas’ after the match, beating Barcelona at Camp Nou will give fans a good mood for Christmas." The other side asserted that they would deliver Real Madrid a "pre-Christmas nightmare," as Barcelona has remained undefeated in 34 home games and they will continue their winning tradition at home.

The verbal sparring between the two media outlets also sparked discussions among fans:

"The Spanish Football Association likes to arrange two Madrid teams against Barcelona in some rounds."

"This time it’s the same strategy, with Espanyol and Atletico Madrid winning 1-0 before this National Derby."

"Personally, I think Barcelona, stationed at Camp Nou, should be able to defeat Real Madrid."

"Hey, what you said isn’t quite right! Although Real Madrid’s away performance is indeed good, this is Camp Nou, Eto’o is back, and he’s a Real Madrid assassin."

Overall, fans still lean toward Barcelona winning at Camp Nou.

Real Madrid’s away performance in this La Liga season is considered the best, but Barcelona’s record of 11 home victories in various competitions this season provides more reassurance to fans. If we extend the time frame, this is already their 34th undefeated home league game.

The last time they lost a league match was on February 2006, where they lost 3-1 at home to Atletico Madrid. Since then, the team has maintained 34 undefeated home league games, and the last time they failed to score at home was on March 2, 2005, with a 0-0 draw against Espanyol.

Perhaps it’s fair to say only Madrid teams and city rivals Espanyol can challenge the status quo at Camp Nou.

These two records also make Barcelona fans proud, with many Barcelona supporters even exclaiming, "We will break through your defense." "We will continue our record."

Many only know Merengue as one of the world’s most demanding fans, but aren’t aware that Barcelona fans are also quite demanding of their team.

During last season’s poor performances and the sluggish start of this season, Barcelona players have often heard boos from fans at Camp Nou.

Initially, the media intended to create topics around the two teams, but due to Real Madrid’s "Golden Boy" and Barcelona’s internal locker room conflicts causing pressure, neither team communicated much, leading to the topic not being overly heated.

The impression given is that Real Madrid is very confident, while Barcelona is quite reserved.

Seeing this, the media began shifting the topics. The hype around the Spanish National Derby had started a week ago, so the media brought up Guti, who had started as a substitute for four consecutive games and played the full 90 minutes in a recent Spanish King’s Cup match, wondering if he would start in the Barcelona game.

They tried to turn this into a "smoke bomb," but Guti’s performance in the Spanish King’s Cup seemed clear-cut—he wasn’t in form.

They then attempted to stir discussions about Rijkaard, Ronaldinho, and Deco.

In the past, Rijkaard would promptly announce everything people wanted to know, but in this Spanish National Derby, Rijkaard was unusually discreet, clearly stating in interviews that he would only reveal the player list 30 minutes before the match, as per regulations.

Rijkaard seemed to keep everything about the team confidential, leaving the media to guess whether there was any hidden intrigue.

Then people tried to interview Messi, who accepted an exclusive interview with "Daily Sports." However, he didn’t reveal anything about Barcelona’s insights on the National Derby, only repeatedly emphasizing that Barcelona’s locker room is very united now, there are no conflicts, and he openly supported Ronaldinho.

He even stated directly, "Ronaldinho is a key member of our team. If he’s in good form, Barcelona will be stronger."

Messi further discussed Ronaldinho and the media, "I think the media shouldn’t focus too much on Ronaldinho, as it can greatly affect him. I personally think this isn’t good; I hope he can maintain a good state and mindset. To achieve this, we need not to influence him with other matters."

Ronaldinho’s issue has fatigued fans since last season up till this season, especially as young players like Dos Santos recently voiced support for Ronaldinho, making it lacking in highlights.

Finally, "Daily Sports" mentioned a genius player Chen Zhong this season, who has gained widespread acclaim throughout La Liga, now standing alongside Messi, Rossi, and Dos Santos.