NOVEL NEXT Chapter 1: Transfer
"This leader, he is very fond of football, come and take a picture together."
The leader is a kind middle-aged man, he tucked his white shirt into his trousers, and his eyes were shining as he looked at Chen Zhong.
In ordinary life, he is just a fan, and now it's rare for the country to have a good young talent, coupled with the right opportunity, he naturally wouldn't miss the chance.
"Very unfortunate! Young Chen!"
"Your age is too young, and after discussions, it's still decided not to let you participate in this football project."
"But it doesn't matter, serving as an Olympic torchbearer and singing the theme song for the country is also an honor."
The leader is still very approachable.
Although Chen Zhong is only 16 years old, he is already a pioneer for China in the field of football, setting new records for domestic players playing abroad from all aspects.
In the last season, he appeared in the league 28 times, scored 12 goals, and made 13 assists, tying with Henry and Alango at 13th on the league's top scorer list, second only to Raul and Van Nistelrooy within the team, ranking third, surpassing Robinho by one goal, which also caused Robinho's dissatisfaction.
On the league's assist leaderboard, he reached the 5th position, and within the team, he also ranked 3rd.
For a 16-year-old player, this is nothing short of a dream-like achievement.
Beside the league, Chen Zhong also performed well in the Champions League and the Spanish Super Cup.
In the Champions League, Chen Zhong appeared 7 times, scored 4 goals, and made 3 assists, while in the Spanish Super Cup final, he scored the goal that decided the outcome of the match.
Although domestically, the Champions League winner record was claimed by the Manchester United Director.
But such a "tag-along" Champions League victory, even the player himself despises mentioning it.
Undoubtedly, Chen Zhong is the flag-bearer among domestic players playing abroad, featuring in 36 matches in all competitions throughout the 07-08 season for the team, scoring 17 goals and making 16 assists, elevating domestic players' performance in the top five leagues to a new height.
Just from his performance alone, there could be many "firsts" created.
First to have double-digit appearances in a top club in the top five leagues, first to have double-digit goals and assists in a single season in the top five leagues, first Chinese player to score 12 goals in a single season in the top five leagues.
With intentions, such "firsts" could easily create a dozen variations.
Chen Zhong chatted with the leader for a few moments, then politely declined the invitation for a meal together, which later became a "joke" used by some well-informed netizens to tease Chen Zhong.
The Olympics were in full swing, Manchester United Director stood out on the field, scoring the first Olympic goal, which made the watching Chen Zhong extremely excited, and he was even captured on camera.
And this footage also alleviated some of the comments questioning why Chen Zhong did not participate in the Olympics or doubting his patriotism.
After all, even when Robinho wanted to join the Olympics, Real Madrid did not permit it, leading to severe conflicts between both parties, and at Chen Zhong's age, having played so many matches in a season, it seemed as though the so-called strongest National Olympic Team could manage without Chen Zhong.
However, the final result was beyond everyone's expectations.
And after the match, some post-match scandals also revealed to the fans what this so-called "strongest" National Olympic Team was like.
There were even shouts of: "A team without Chen Zhong. How can it be called the strongest!"
From here, one could feel the status Chen Zhong held in the hearts of domestic fans.
Although to this day, Chen Zhong has not represented any level of the national team in a match, there is a belief in the hearts of fans.
We lost now only because our strongest, Chen Zhong, has not yet played.
After the Olympics ended, Chen Zhong also concluded his domestic journey and returned to Spain, where he had to reengage in training.
Although last season the team won the Russian Railways Cup, the Spanish Super Cup, and the La Liga title, this was clearly not enough to satisfy Real Madrid. By Triple Crown standards, such achievements don't even reach the edge of a Double Crown.
Broadly speaking, the Triple Crown refers to winning the Champions League, La Liga, and the top domestic cup.
And in the entire world of football, there are only four teams that have won the Triple Crown, namely Celtic in the 1966-67 season, Ajax in the 1971-72 season, Eindhoven in the 1987-88 season, and Manchester United in the 1998-99 season.
In the entire La Liga, no team has yet managed to win the Triple Crown.
Back in the dormitory at Sports City, Chen Zhong had just put down his luggage when the dormitory door was knocked, standing at the door were Negredo and Nacho.
"Chen!"
"There's big news!" Negredo's expression was somewhat serious: "Schuster and the club seem to have fallen out."
"Fallen out?"
Chen Zhong widened his eyes, looking somewhat incredulous, while Negredo and Nacho detailed the incident, showing Chen Zhong a video clip on their phone.
In the footage, facing reporters, Schuster suddenly expressed intense dissatisfaction with the club, aimed directly at the team's transfers.
The lion with the golden mane roared: "The club completely disrespects me, I even have to hear the news from you guys."
"Those club executives, they haven't communicated with me at all. As the head coach of the team, I have no idea about the club's transfer activities, as if I'm an insignificant nobody."