"Today we might just beat Real Madrid 4-0!"
Alcorcon is a team from the Third Division, but facing Real Madrid at ho, they aren’t the least bit flustered.
Because Real Madrid has a tradition of letting go of the King’s Cup, and they’ve already learned through special channels that Real Madrid will have extensive rotations for this match.
Casillas, Kaka, Ramos, and others are all rotated out, along with Alonso and C. Ronaldo’s injuries, ensuring Real Madrid’s main players mostly stay back at the Sports City to rest.
This is where Alcorcon’s confidence stems from.
In fact, it was true. In Madrid, at the Sports City, Pellegrini announced the team’s roster in the dressing room.
Morata, Benzema
Vazquez, Parejo, Chen Zhong, Van der Vaart
Nacho, Alvaro, Albiol, Carvajal
Dudek
The average age of this lineup is around 22; if it weren’t for Dudek’s age pulling up the average, it might even hover around 20.
Actually, Pellegrini didn’t want Chen Zhong on the team roster, but without Chen Zhong as the stabilizing force in midfield, he felt uneasy.
Facing a team like Alcorcon, it seed using Baptista, or even directly fielding a player like Granero, could be considered a dinsion-lowering strike!
After all, Alcorcon has historically never reached the top league; they’re still just a little-known team from the Fourth Level League.
Even if the Castilla players ford a team, they could easily crush the opponents, right?
The Spanish dia were also optimistic about this match, as from an economic standpoint, Alcorcon’s annual budget is barely 1 million Euros, while Real Madrid’s seasonal budget is around 400 million Euros, approximately 1/400 of Real Madrid’s. So dia even coined it as Real Madrid vs their own 1/400 in the match.
However, after discussing with Chen Zhong, Pellegrini ultimately decided to field Chen Zhong, a decision that spared him a "harrowing experience."
Ti quickly reached the match day.
Alcorcon’s stadium is very "small." They even added a large number of seats specifically for this match.
But even so, 7,000 fans cramd it fully.
The team looked around the simple dressing room disdainfully, yet soon started joking and laughing.
Nacho gathered around Chen Zhong, while Carvajal, Parejo, Vazquez, and Morata were chatting; everyone was doing their own thing, seemingly not taking Alcorcon seriously.
Even the coach Pellegrini seed not to care much about Alcorcon, not even researching this season’s performance of theirs.
All this made Chen Zhong feel worried.
Yet he said nothing, because...
A Third Division League, a Fourth Level League, a team whose total worth might not reach a million Euros, with a starting eleven potentially totaling around 100,000 Euros.
What’s there to fear?
Indeed, Chen Zhong was a bit overconfident too.
Both teams’ players gradually stepped onto the pitch, the shouts from the live audience amusing Real Madrid players, as this was the weakest ho atmosphere they’d ever seen.
The Alcorcon players, dressed in yellow jerseys, were far inferior in quality compared to Real Madrid’s white armor.
"Look at that, look at that."
"Look at that one, look at that one!"
In Real Madrid’s lineup, young players were pointing fingers, Alcorcon players appeared a bit shabby, with ssy hair, stubbly beards, and heavy dark circles.
They didn’t look like a proper team.
Unlike them, everyone seed first-rate in spirit and appearance.
Pellegrini stood by the sideline, leisurely chatting with Francisco about the next match, everyone thought this match would be uneventful.
Yet the unexpected just happened.
minutes into the ga, Parejo took the ball and opted to go solo; after drawing in opposing players, he attempted to kick the ball out with a fancy move but ended up passing it right to Alcorcon’s feet.
Alcorcon swiftly launched a counterattack. If not for Chen Zhong’s tily repositioning, they almost made it to Real Madrid’s penalty area.
Parejo raised his right hand apologetically, seemingly saying: My bad, my bad.
anwhile, he couldn’t help but glance at the VIP box, knowing Florentino would be watching this match.
But the other Real Madrid players, aware of this, didn’t realize the severity of the situation. Instead, they looked at Parejo with amused expressions.
Dare to act tough, now you’ve overdone it!
This scene made Chen Zhong furrow his brows.
No matter how easy the prey is, a lion still gives its all.
Their behavior was rather...
Too relaxed.
Moreover, so players were overly reckless, like Parejo, while others seed restrained, making Real Madrid’s performance on the pitch appear fragnted.
Pellegrini was still chatting endlessly at the sideline, discussing the next league opponent, the second leg with Milan, while Francisco spoke worriedly: "We’re making too many mistakes on the pitch."
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