Chapter 788: Chapter 48: Never Defeated
Every club has its "privileged" players. In fact, before joining Real Madrid, Cristiano Ronaldo was favored by Ferguson at Manchester United.
But now, his privileges have encountered backlash.
Perhaps with a more convincing performance, he could secure his privileges, but under the suppression of someone like Chen Zhong, the counterattack against the Portuguese is inevitably happening.
Chen Zhong was also asked about this issue. Since the beginning of the season, people have been eager to see internal strife at Real Madrid, as that’s how Real Madrid has been in the past, isn’t it?
However, after Chen Zhong became the team captain, although there were occasional minor disturbances within the team, they were harmless.
Facing reporters’ questions, Chen Zhong frankly said, "I don’t think this is a problem."
"Cristiano is an excellent player. When he joined Real Madrid, he was even hailed as the best player in the world."
"He is also the player with the most goals in the team this season. The manager must have his reasons for doing so, and in fact, we’ve been doing well."
"As for issues in the dressing room, I believe there are no problems."
"Every player hopes to have more opportunities to play, and there’s nothing wrong with that."
Chen Zhong’s response didn’t pose any significant problems. He attributed everything to healthy competition, and journalists quickly moved past this issue and brought up Barcelona.
The rivalry between Barcelona and Real Madrid in La Liga, the King’s Cup, and possible Champions League encounters has reignited hostility between the management of both clubs and divided the media into two camps once again.
The only difference is: compared to before, the roles have swapped.
Recently, Barcelona has had a tough time due to the constant gunfire from Madrid.
With every match, some narratives consistently appear.
These narratives focus not on how Guardiola’s team plays, but on the lineup of Barcelona’s opponents, the referees’ officiating, and the scheduling of matches. Sometimes they even target doctors’ reputations and doping topics, as if Barcelona’s match results are not due to their performance on the field but result from a series of off-field factors favorable to Barcelona and unfavorable to Real Madrid.
Barcelona people are familiar with such tactics because there was a time when they used similar methods against Real Madrid.
Centered around the spirit of "more than just a club," Barcelona created a captivating story.
This story is unique in its football meaning because Barcelona has a distinctive perspective on interpreting the facts.
For instance, playing for Barcelona implies endorsing Catalanism, describing the misfortunes Barcelona endures (relative to Real Madrid).
Because of this, in the eyes of Real Madrid people, Barcelona exhibits an interesting victim mentality.
However, the situation reversed with the arrival of Cruyff.
The Dutch "godfather" respected Barcelona’s history, conquered the world on the field, and off the field, challenged the authority of Real Madrid.
Gradually, the Barcelona brand began to stand equal with the Real Madrid brand.
Many new fans even consider Barcelona and Real Madrid as teams of the same caliber, something unimaginable in the past.
But over time, the balance between the two sides was broken, with the competition scale gradually tilting toward Barcelona before Chen Zhong appeared.
There’s no need to elaborate on Barcelona’s history, but after the 21st century, the club’s achievements and development are convincing, and this development is based on a sound operational mechanism.
From a long time ago, Barcelona has been working hard in the same direction, using the same football philosophy to guide the development of teams at all levels.
This has been done much better than Real Madrid.
The fact is, Barcelona succeeded.
Recently, Cesc Fabregas, who plays for Arsenal, has frequently been linked with rumors, and Fabregas is a product of the La Masia Youth Academy.
La Masia Youth Academy has become the "religious" Holy Land of Barcelona.
Facing Barcelona’s progress and success, Real Madrid people first dismissed it, then had no choice but to work hard to write their own history.
Real Madrid’s disdain and confrontation strategy against Barcelona failed partly because they were not used to doing so and partly because they found it difficult to truly surpass without acknowledging Barcelona’s achievements.
Barcelona’s development path is historically significant because the club runs well, can set up a unique system based on its characteristics, and has pioneers like Montalvan.
Many times, Real Madrid’s attacks on Barcelona resemble football hooligan tactics. Those who attack pursue media sensationalism and its effects, regardless of the means used or moral standards.
The "story" between Florentino and Figo is also a typical example.
And now, the loudest voice attacking Barcelona comes from Real Madrid’s manager Mourinho, who is strongly backed by club president Florentino.
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