Chapter 722: Chapter 17: You Really Are a Genius!
However, amidst the opponents’ jungle of muscles, neither Cristiano Ronaldo, Di Maria, nor Benzema could make an impact. Instead, it was Osasuna’s Alanada who emerged as the main character.
Jose Samano of Spain’s El País stated that no one is more indispensable to Real Madrid than Chen Zhong. Without Chen Zhong, Real Madrid is as rigid as a machine.
Another major Spanish newspaper, World Newspaper, echoed this sentiment through commentator Ophio Suarez, indicating that Chen Zhong’s absence in this match was the first omen of Real Madrid’s defeat.
Many Real Madrid fans believe that the player Real Madrid relies on most is indeed Chen Zhong.
With Guti leaving Real Madrid and De La Red retiring, Real Madrid’s midfield appears quite barren. When Chen Zhong is present, there is naturally no issue, but even Chen Zhong needs rest. Previous coaches before Mourinho like Schuster and Pellegrini, including Ancelotti in Milan, have learned the hard way by rotating Chen Zhong.
Mourinho once experimented with Granero, who indeed played as a playmaking midfielder in Real Madrid’s youth academy. However, his performance now at Real Madrid is not stable. Whether against Levante or Mallorca, Granero couldn’t form a good partnership with Benzema, so in this match, Mourinho didn’t give Granero another chance.
Instead, he opted again for the German midfielder with big eyes, who performed exceptionally well at the World Cup.
Unfortunately, the big-eyed German didn’t seize the opportunity, rendering Real Madrid’s play in this match quite dull, practically devoid of football, making the team appear very mediocre.
Eventually, the big-eyed German even had to retreat a few meters because Real Madrid’s attack lacked any clear direction. He couldn’t handle, shield, or distribute the ball like Chen Zhong.
Having just introduced Adebayor, Real Madrid now faces an even more urgent and crucial task: bringing in a player who can replace Chen Zhong.
The team returned to Madrid with an atmosphere of some gloom, and every player faced criticism, except Chen Zhong. Even Cristiano Ronaldo received scrutiny.
After all, this prolific Ballon d’Or winner has gone several matches without scoring goals.
Sevilla, in the wake of Real Madrid’s defeat to Osasuna, engaged in various "disruptions," hoping to pull off an upset at Santiago Bernabeu Stadium and advance confidently to the finals.
After returning to Madrid, Mourinho calmly appeared in the press room at Valdebebas Sports City. He provided responses and explanations regarding the league loss to Osasuna and the team’s recent poor performances.
"In recent years, Real Madrid has been knocked out early once they reach the knockout stages in the Champions Cup, so the players are a bit unaccustomed to the rhythm of these matches."
This was Mourinho’s explanation.
But it did not gain much acceptance, given that last season Real Madrid advanced to the Champions League semi-finals. However, it’s also not entirely groundless since the season before last, Real Madrid was indeed eliminated early.
On the same day, Spanish media also analyzed and found that Real Madrid’s main players have more playing time and match load far exceeding that of Barcelona, making fatigue another reason for losing away games.
"For players familiar with match rhythms, playing nine matches in a month isn’t an issue."
"However, Real Madrid’s players are still somewhat unaccustomed because in the past few years, Real Madrid has been knocked out in the first or second round of the knockouts, for example, in the Champions Cup. So they’re a bit unfit for playing a match every three days," Mourinho continued, "But this time, we will beat Lyon and stay alive in the Champions Cup, so the players must, by all means, get used to playing more matches every week. I hope they can do better next year and make progress in the next two to three years because our goal is to win all the matches."
"The players aren’t accustomed to this bad luck, nor are they familiar with various objective factors. Players like them can play a match every two days, and this kind of fatigue isn’t physical but due to insufficient psychological preparation."
At this point, Mourinho also suggested a method to overcome psychological barriers. His method was, "Everyone is human. If other teams’ players can play a match every three days, why can’t we? The key is to develop a habit. Humans have physiological inertia, so I think next year we will do better."
The on-site reporters believed that the loss to Osasuna was related to Mourinho fielding two defensive midfielders. Mourinho responded relatively mildly, saying, "You’re picking bones out of an egg, criticizing everything I do. Whether I use a single or double defensive midfielder, whether I rotate or not, you’re critical. Of course, you have the right, and perhaps I really am wrong."
Mourinho also talked about Pepe. Pepe is under Mendes’ management, and so is he. He urged the club to finalize a contract renewal with Pepe, as Pepe’s contract has less than a year left.
"In my view, Pepe has maintained a high standard for quite a long period of time, and now we’re facing a bit of punishment. Of course, I don’t like to discuss players not involved in the match, but I have to be honest: if Pepe is on the field, the team’s performance will be better. Once the ball is intercepted, we can quickly launch a counterattack, especially when transitioning from defense to attack, where the threat would be greater."
