The sky was gray, like it had just cried...
Above Real Madrid, it seemed as though clouds were obscuring the sun. During this period, both the coach and the players endured enormous pressure.
The mouthpieces of Barcelona, "World Sports Newspaper" and "Daily Sports," mocked Real Madrid's failures to the greatest extent possible, while even "Marca" and "Diario AS" criticized the current state of the team.
At the same time, many fans criticized Schuster, turning his statement on the day he took over, "I will get rid of Capello's style in the team," into various short videos, flags, and paper slips.
To express their dissatisfaction with Schuster's "lies."
Some even sarcastically said, "Getting rid of Capello is just turning Capello's style into Schuster's."
Schuster and his coaching team were under enormous pressure. During interviews in this period, they faced considerable difficulty.
"Luckily, you haven't announced the starting lineup yet," Francisco said, looking at Schuster with a dark expression. "Otherwise, they would definitely slam you for starting Chen and call you a madman."
"Even the fans would show their dissatisfaction. You know, our demands at Merengue are quite high!"
"Then I'll just eat Merengue whole!" Schuster said through gritted teeth. "The more they oppose me, the more I want to do it."
"By the way, have these days affected Chen in any way?"
"Is Cannavaro really unable to play on match day?"
Schuster rambled on, and after receiving Francisco's confirmed answer, he finally gave up resisting. Choosing Chen Zhong seemed like a crazy choice, but Schuster didn't have many options on hand.
If you were to traditionally pick someone from Castilla, guess what?
The best would be Chen Zhong, and the other would be Torres, who was promoted to the first team last season.
If you don't pick anyone, only Metzelder remains, but this veteran either hasn't adapted to the intensity of the team's physical training or is under too much external pressure.
In recent days, he's given off an impression of being in a daze.
The external media generally believed that with Cannavaro out, Metzelder and Pepe would form a new defensive line, which put a lot of pressure on Metzelder.
"Alright!" Schuster, once everything was confirmed, looked at Francisco like he was resigned to his fate and said, "Let's go!"
"Why are you looking at me? I said I'm going to eat Merengue."
After hearing Schuster's words, Francisco made some arrangements for training with the other coaches then somewhat defeatedly went with Schuster to buy some Merengue to eat.
Of course, they weren't really going to grab a fan and eat them.
In fact, Merengue is a Spanish beloved dessert, similar to creamy ice cream.
The media was the first to call it this "nickname," just when Real Madrid was all the rage in Europe during the 50s and 60s.
The nickname has been deeply loved by fans, so Real Madrid fans call themselves "Merengue."
...
The atmosphere in the locker room after training was particularly "heavy," with every player doing their own thing quietly. In such an atmosphere, even those wanting to whisper could only keep everything to themselves.
"What a terrifying atmosphere," Marcelo grumbled as he exited the locker room with Chen Zhong. "We lost the first leg, but we'll definitely win the second leg, right? Right? Pepe? What's wrong?"
Pepe seemed somewhat downcast. He raised his head, sensing the concerned gazes of Marcelo and Chen Zhong, and said, "No, nothing, I just don't know why."
"I don't know why it's like this."
Pepe's voice grew softer and softer. Ever since joining Real Madrid, Pepe had become the darling of the media. As a newcomer to La Liga, major media outlets swarmed like sharks smelling blood, seemingly wanting to leave nothing but bones of Pepe.
Whether in Brazil or Portugal, Pepe seldom had the chance to appear in "Ball Report," "Record," or other global, local, big media outlets' pages.
But now, Pepe's every move was magnified, even his former fans were surprised when they saw him in the papers.
Before playing for Porto, Pepe was considered a good guy.
Yes, you heard right. Although Pepe looked fierce, during his time in the Portuguese Primeira Liga, he only looked fierce but was actually a "good boy." The most aggressive moment was when he took down an opponent in a match.
For this, Pepe even went to apologize to the person at their home.
It wasn't the type of apology where he threatened, holding a knife to someone's neck, saying, "If you don't accept my apology, I'll make you disappear from this world."
Nor was it the self-centered apology, bringing a wheelchair, delivering a fruit basket, with hands in pockets, caring for no one. Rather, it was a very sincere, serious, and earnest apology.
Back then, no one considered Pepe a violent player. Before joining Real Madrid, he accumulated only 9 yellow cards in the Portuguese Primeira Liga, which was "gentle" for a central defender.
And this stemmed closely from his childhood experiences.
At 13, Pepe represented Corinthians in a youth cup match. The team was down by one with the match nearing an end, which made Pepe anxious.
At that time, as the opposing goalkeeper delayed a goal kick maliciously, Pepe couldn't help but argue, only to be pushed to the ground by the opponent.
Fueled by anger, Pepe stood up and punched the opponent's face, consequently receiving a suspension and criticism, which then put him in a plight of having no matches to play.
His father had to buy him a taxi, intending for Pepe to run a taxi to make a living.
Later, he got some opportunities, even trying out with Sporting CP together with Manchester United's star player Cristiano Ronaldo.
Sadly, one got through, and one didn't.
However, after three years of hard work in an unknown small team, he successfully joined Porto. Everything that followed felt like a dream.
30 million Euros.
He became a part of Real Madrid!
However, at Real Madrid, he experienced unprecedented pressure, as though everything about him was magnified under a magnifying glass.
"Can you believe it?" Pepe looked at Chen Zhong and Marcelo, with his eyes unknowingly reddened. This man who suddenly found himself at the center of the world couldn't hide the grievance in his heart anymore. He said, "They endlessly replay the footage of me spitting during a warm-up match on TV."
Working in an unknown team for three years, in the lower leagues where each match was a dirty fight. As a South American player, these little tricks and foul language were their "natural instincts."
All of this became wrong when he came to La Liga and Real Madrid. Initially, Pepe could tolerate it, silently honing himself as always.
But when he saw his irrational actions in matches, driven by the urge to prove himself, actions that he barely remembered, upon hearing that Cannavaro could not play due to injury,
Pepe could barely hold together. Over the course of more than a month, everything he experienced seemed to overwhelm him like a tide, while the damned media outside incessantly pursued him.
"It's alright," Marcelo stepped forward, patting Pepe's shoulder. By this time, Pepe had already reverted to his usual demeanor, dodging Marcelo's hand disdainfully.
This left Marcelo with a face full of grievance.
The three chatted for a bit more, then suddenly Pepe looked at Chen Zhong and said, "Chen, if I had to choose one among the remaining three as my partner, I would hope it's you."
"You have a great sense of positioning and remain very calm. With you behind me, I can rest assured."
Listening to Pepe's words, Chen Zhong's eyes filled with anticipation. The Spanish Super Cup is an official match, and participating in it, even as a substitute, would complete tasks to activate the badge module!
Time flew by, and soon it was match day.
In the locker room, players sat in rows, with Francisco standing in front of them, holding a list. As he read out the defenders' names, it felt like a depth charge exploded underwater.
"Chen Zhong."
Disbelieving gazes fell on Chen Zhong. Even Chen Zhong couldn't believe he had earned a starting spot.
It wasn't until the system notification sounded repeatedly in his ears that he realized it was all real.
[Congratulations on successfully starting. Task completed.]
[Badge module activated!]
[New match task released. Please check.]