This is an extremely bold move, and when Schuster made this choice, even the most steadfast Merengues would have doubts, doubts that overshadowed other complex emotions.
The youth training at Real Madrid is no longer the same as in the first generation of the "Five Eagles."
Back then, the youth training genuinely produced stars usable by the team, fulfilling its own needs.
However, with the advancement of the times and the convenience of communication, in the star-studded Real Madrid, the youth training model has undergone tremendous changes.
Nowadays, it is more about selling young players and then spending a significant amount of money to buy them back after they've fully developed.
Some Merengues even think these expenses are more of a cultivation fee rather than a transfer fee.
The diversity of views—when people discovered a strange new name in the famous Real Madrid, and, upon learning that he was impossibly young, fans worldwide were "shocked" to different degrees.
"This is the site of the second leg of the Spanish Super Cup."
"We're broadcasting live from the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium."
"We can clearly hear the surprised voices of the fans in the stadium."
"Fans on both sides seem surprised by Chen Zhong's starting position."
"Many ordinary fans now only know La Masia, not Castilla."
"Chen Zhong is a genius player from Castilla, known as a monster during his youth team years due to his extreme dominance on the pitch, and has also performed well in recent warm-up matches for Real Madrid."
"Some fans might have some impression of Chen Zhong; they might remember the news in 2004 when Real Madrid's youth training introduced a young Chinese player. Yes, the protagonist on the pitch is Chen Zhong."
No one knows how many "What the hell" exclamations echoed through the night. In gathering spots for Chinese fans online and offline, countless people started discussing Chen Zhong, discussing Castilla, discussing Real Madrid.
And that crazy coach, Schuster.
Yes, if not for madness, why would anyone place such a young player in a position like central defender that relies heavily on experience? If it were any other team, they might not be as surprised, but this is Real Madrid!
"Castilla? Have they ever produced a star player?"
"Never heard of them! I only know about La Masia academy..."
"Not familiar, it's the first time I've heard of this youth training today. How does it compare to La Masia?"
"Is he another Casillas? But even Casillas wasn't this exaggerated! How much of a genius is he?"
...
People were talking endlessly, and after realizing they couldn't find more information about Chen Zhong, they turned their attention to Castilla. Castilla is nothing less than La Masia; just looking at Granero's experience shows that, before Messi joined.
The team that included Pique and Fabregas hadn't even beaten the youth team led by Granero.
So why, later on, did people only hear about the fame of La Masia while they felt Castilla didn't produce talent?
This is entirely due to the differences between the two youth systems and the two teams. Barcelona has long been considered as being on par with Real Madrid, but in reality, in terms of glory and heritage, Real Madrid is far superior to Barcelona, enabling them to have more money to sign star players in transfer dealings.
Moreover, the training approaches between the two youth systems are different.
La Masia focuses more on serving the first team, ingraining short-passing play into their core, and players who have gone through their "growth phase" in the youth team, if they can't serve Barcelona, find it hard to fit into any other system.
As Barcelona has risen from the Dream Team II in recent years, showing extraordinary strength by playing within a cohesive system, now with the Dream Team III starting to form, naturally, they're more exposed to the fans, giving people the impression that La Masia is full of talent.
Compared to La Masia's focused systematic approach, Castilla exhibits a highly diverse output of excellent players who are scattered throughout La Liga and even other leagues.
This results in Castilla not having as much of a reputation, and unlike La Masia, which has had a collective burst of success, only when a player becomes exceptional do people surprisingly realize, oh, this person was once a youth player at Real Madrid!
In the player tunnel, listening to the noise outside, there was slight unease within Real Madrid's lineup. Pepe approached Chen Zhong from behind, wanting to offer comfort but not knowing what to say.
Casillas occasionally took deep breaths to adjust his mindset. Upon hearing Chen Zhong would start, his feelings were mixed.
From a personal perspective, seeing a younger player of his get a leap-of-faith or roller-coaster opportunity put him in a complex mood, but from a tactical viewpoint, he had a bit of concern over whether the young Chen Zhong could manage the central defender role that requires experience.
This match, I don't know whether these hands of mine can withstand it.
Casillas lifted his hands, looking at his palms, a thought inexplicably flashed through his mind.
Outside the pitch, Schuster stood on the sidelines while some nearby Merengue waved white handkerchiefs at him, expressing dissatisfaction. The game hadn't even started yet, and they were already amused by Schuster's maneuvering.
We are Real Madrid; since when has a 16-year-old kid been eligible to play in such an important match?
Have we really fallen to this extent?
Schuster remained unruffled; throughout this period, he had already anticipated everything he would face. Chen Zhong's youth background couldn't offer "protection" as not every Merengue bought into the youth training.
In fact, the previous generation of Galaxy Battleship's helmsman, Florentino, was the one who recently promoted and focused on youth training the most.
"Can he handle it?" Francisco was a bit worried on the side.
"Now worried? Too late!" Schuster replied, "The list has already been announced, the match has already started, unless we plan to substitute Chen Zhong off while accounting for one less substitution slot."
"But after taking him off, who would we use?"
"Torres?"
"Or Metzelder?"
Francisco fell silent, realizing that if you didn't take Chen Zhong's age into account, disregarding fame, and looking solely at ability, then truly, after Cannavaro's absence, Chen Zhong was the best choice.
Francisco's worry now was only whether Chen Zhong could withstand such pressure.
If he couldn't bear it...
Then Chen Zhong might become another Pavin.
...
Both teams gradually entered the field, Chen Zhong followed his teammates expressionlessly. The pure white jersey draped on his body, purple wings outlined on it, poised to soar.
The light shone on Chen Zhong's face, the roars of fans echoed in his ears, and amidst thousands of eyes, Chen Zhong slightly lowered his head, bypassing the team emblem, stepping onto the turf of the Bernabeu.
"This grass."
"Is it really the same as Di Stefano's?"
Stepping onto the pitch, ignoring the noise, with high composure of 93, Chen Zhong displayed somewhat a general's bearing on the field, making some who followed the youth training aware of Chen Zhong's monster nickname, start to think positively.
They could accept the somewhat mediocre Ramos, accept the rough and wild Pepe, so why not try to expect from Chen Zhong?
During the handshake and goodwill exchange, Sevilla's players scrutinized Chen Zhong, some filled with curiosity, others with malice, and some full of provocation.
Upon hearing Real Madrid sent out a 16-year-old child at the central defender position, the coach instructed: "Welcome that kid to the adult world."