CHAPTER 48: CHAPTER 19: FULL-THROTTLE ADVANCE

The Love Song Stadium, most people didn’t notice Chen Zhong’s move.

Even the commentators were only commenting on this decision and said, "Rossi is very angry."

"He’s chattering nonstop beside the referee, thinking it was definitely a foul."

"But the referee saw it clearly."

Soon, everyone was attracted by the scene on the field, and the first to react were some fans, especially Villarreal’s, who made various sounds, boos, whistles, shouts, trying to put pressure on Chen Zhong, who was advancing steadily on the field.

Then came the broadcast cameras.

They quickly captured the focus, Chen Zhong was dribbling towards the center line.

The players from both teams on the field were watching Chen Zhong intently, with Real Madrid’s players running forward, while Villarreal’s players followed them.

If viewed from a bird’s-eye perspective, you would see a seemingly intentional small path opened up in front of Chen Zhong.

Would you believe a center-back dares to advance boldly from the backfield?

Anyway, Villarreal’s players didn’t believe it.

Not until Chen Zhong dribbled past the center circle did they suddenly realize, this kid truly dared to dribble forward!

"Chen Zhong!"

"He utilized the gaps left by the opponent’s aggressive attack to advance with the ball."

"Deep into their territory!"

"Can you imagine? A 16-year-old center-back, without a good passing route."

"Dribbling alone, striding in big steps, running wild all the way."

"Oh~ oh~ oh~~~"

The commentator’s astonished voice grew higher and higher, but if you could see the scene before his eyes, you would know why he was surprised.

No matter if you’re a center-back or anything else, you’ve crossed the center circle, any level of team cannot continue to ignore this.

The first to approach was Pires, the French star sidled up threateningly, thinking this young man would quickly panic and pass the ball away.

But even when the two made physical contact, Chen Zhong didn’t show any intention to pass the ball.

Chen Zhong saw clearly that besides Pires, everyone else was sticking close to their teammates, lying in wait, waiting for Chen Zhong to panic and pass the ball out.

Unfortunately for them, they miscalculated.

Pires tried to snatch the ball from Chen Zhong’s feet, but instead, was bumped into and lost his balance, staggering a few steps to the side.

This was like poking a hornet’s nest, Villarreal’s players suddenly awakened, and those closest to Chen Zhong pounced on him like wolves.

Sena and Hosico were the first to rush over, clearly dividing tasks between them, using both hands and feet, but Chen Zhong was very fast, handling the ball steadily, entangling them with both arms while moving.

Pellegrini watching from the sidelines for the first time thought maybe the team needed a few players over 180CM in midfield, as the two around 170CM near the 190CM Chen Zhong seemed like kids asking for candy.

Sena and Hosico entangled with Chen Zhong, and Chen Zhong, like a black hole, attracted the surrounding Villarreal players.

Center-back Fabio finally couldn’t stand it anymore, and the Argentine center-back rushed forward, trying to snatch the ball from Chen Zhong’s feet from the front.

As Chen Zhong was about to be trapped by three players, when everyone thought Real Madrid’s attack would end unsuccessfully, Chen Zhong suddenly lunged towards Sena on his right.

Sena instantly lost his balance, while on the other side, Hosico was secretly determined, using his hands with force intending to make a tactical foul.

The three of them tangled and fell to the ground, but...

"Advantageous attack!"

"The referee didn’t blow the whistle."

"The ball went to Van Nistelrooy!"

"One-on-one with the goalkeeper!"

Chen Zhong surprisingly lobbed the ball out before completely losing his balance, it flew over Fabio’s head, he immediately raised his arm and loudly shouted: "Offside, offside!"

But Van Nistelrooy was not affected at all.

He didn’t know if he was offside, but he knew that as long as the referee didn’t blow the whistle, and the ball was under his feet, as an attacking player, his only goal was to send it into the opponent’s net.

Van Nistelrooy charged into the penalty area, compared to the panicking goalkeeper, he was like an emotionless assassin.

"The ball is in!"

"Calmly kicked to the far corner and scored!"

"Van Nistelrooy scored the first goal for the team."

"0:1"

"Villarreal had the upper hand in the first half."

"But it was Real Madrid who scored first."

"Who would have thought!"

"A center-back dared to be so bold!"

After scoring, Van Nistelrooy pointed at Chen Zhong, without a trace of the competitive look they had on the training ground, now he looked at Chen Zhong with great favor.

As long as he’s willing to pass the ball and assist him, he likes him.

Van Nistelrooy ran to the corner flag and performed his trademark celebration, amid a chorus of boos from the stands, but the opponent’s boos are the best praise for him.

Schuster was laughing loudly by the sideline, his golden hair flowing in the wind, he looked towards the Villarreal stands and shouted, "Sing! Why the hell aren’t you singing? I want to hear it!"

Francisco quickly stepped forward to cover Schuster’s mouth, sneaking glances at the linesman and the fourth official, luckily they didn’t hear Schuster’s provocation toward the fans, and fortunately, Villarreal’s boos were loud enough.

"Chen!" Marcelo rushed to Chen Zhong during the celebration, looked at him in surprise and said, "Unbelievable, I thought that was Lucio!"

"They might start to wonder if the team signed a center-back, or a midfielder, or maybe a forward."

Lucimar Ferreira da Silva, known as "Lucio", currently plays for Bayern Munich, a Brazilian center-back with a forward’s mindset. When he joined Bayer Leverkusen in 2001, he scored three goals in his first two games, and Bayer Leverkusen jokingly said, "We signed a forward, not a center-back."

Chen Zhong hearing Marcelo compare him to Lucio couldn’t help but roll his eyes and said, "That’s because you didn’t do well. If you had moved into position, I would have passed the ball to you, and I wouldn’t have had to take that risk to run."

"Mainly because they paved the way for me. If I didn’t dare to take that run, wouldn’t that make me seem timid?"

As the two were laughing, Cannavaro came over, quietly listening to them joke, and just as the match was about to resume, he said softly to Chen Zhong, "Chen, you were too risky, this isn’t the trait a center-back should have. If you were intercepted and they counter-attacked, the team might have conceded a goal."

Cannavaro’s words were well-intended, as stability is most important for a center-back.

At least, for now, it is.

Outwardly, Chen Zhong listened humbly, but inside he was checking his system tasks.

[Season task: Organization (Updated)]

[Completed 1/5 assists.]

[Randomly reward one related attribute point based on the assist method.]

[Congratulations, you have successfully completed the season task: Organization, and gained 1 point of short pass attribute.]

Cannavaro looked at Chen Zhong, who not only wasn’t impatient but even smiled sincerely, nodded in satisfaction, and mentally praised, "He’s a kid who listens to advice!"

On the sidelines, Schuster and Francisco also discussed Chen Zhong’s issue.

In such a situation, among all the current Real Madrid players who could play center-back, only Ramos might take a risky step forward, but definitely not to the extent Chen Zhong did.

"This kid." In a good mood, Schuster apparently had no intention of benching Chen Zhong or changing his playstyle but glanced at the bench’s Baptista saying, "Don’t we need a physical midfielder? Maybe we can give this kid some chances."