I Am Scouted by Real Madrid-Chapter 88 - 9: Discovery

Chapter 88: Chapter 9: Discovery
[Butcher: You’re seen as a butcher, opposing players will feel the pressure, which strengthens as your reputation grows.]
Upon discovering the system’s new functionality, Chen Zhong placed even more importance on his personal training time, planning to improve his main attributes. However, after a morning of training, he couldn’t see any improvements on the player attribute panel.
During the pre-season training camp, Chen Zhong’s attributes basically didn’t change because he had reached his limit. Training hard was merely for earning playing time. But now, it’s different. He has empty attributes he can improve.
Previously, the player panel had some small arrows, the most conspicuous being green going up and red going down. At that time, Chen Zhong thought it represented form, but now he realizes it indicates a decline in ability.
As to why Chen Zhong thought it represented form, well that’s another sad story. Every time he saw one of his attributes showing the red down arrow, he would focus his training on that attribute for a while.
Under the green up and red down states, an attribute’s ability might fluctuate slightly within 1-2 days. These are tiny changes, although he hasn’t experienced a decrease under the red down state, Chen Zhong assessed that apart from injury and lack of matches, or continuous indulgence, or not training a particular aspect for an extended period, these are possible ways to trigger the red down state.
After the La Liga round 7 match against Villarreal ended on October 7, the club had nearly two weeks without scheduled matches. For Chen Zhong, if used wisely, he could let his ability in certain positions "skyrocket".
So, what’s the fastest way to increase ability values?
In three years, Chen Zhong also figured out that the fastest way to improve was to have a player of "equal" strength practice with you, and throw yourself into it with full concentration and dedication.
It’s best to play a small match or something like that.
This is why Chen Zhong wanted to gather his friends.
Nacho, Parejo, Callejon, Carvajal, Vazquez, Mata, Negredo, Granero.
Among them, Chen Zhong cared most about Negredo, Parejo, Callejon.
Negredo’s strength, headers, long shots.
Parejo’s short passes, long passes, vision.
Callejon’s speed, agility, balance.
These are all abilities he’s craving, and other friends can be called over to deepen bonds and relationships. Besides, they can assist Chen Zhong in improving his abilities through occasional small matches, competitions, and games.
At least for Chen Zhong, improving his interception ability is quite important.
"That’s the way it is." Chen Zhong didn’t directly say something silly like, oh, I want to conduct closed training, come train with me! Instead, he sincerely said, "On one hand, it’s rare to have a long vacation, and I want to meet with everyone; on the other hand, I feel there are many areas I can improve on and wonder if anyone is willing to train with me."
"Of course, if people have other plans, I’m fine with it too, as it’s a rare holiday after all."
After Chen Zhong finished speaking, everyone stood there without speaking, but Nacho couldn’t hold back and burst into laughter, holding his stomach and pointing at Chen Zhong, "Chen, you, you, you’re killing me with laughter."
With Nacho’s laughter, the other players couldn’t help but burst into laughter too.
"Chen." Granero cleared his throat and spoke up, "The fact you’re inviting us to meet at the training field, your intentions are quite obvious!"
"Yeah! It’s like inviting a girl to your place!"
"I promise, I won’t make any moves tonight!"
"Shut up," Negredo shouted, disrupting the nonsense of a couple of fools. He stepped forward, arms crossed, and looked at Chen Zhong displeased, "Really, Chen, who do you think you’re looking down on? Even if you didn’t call me, I was planning to do extra training during this period."
"Not so!" Mata was unhappy to hear Negredo’s words, standing out from the side to retort, "Negredo, what do you mean! Only you want extra training? None of us do?"
"Alright, alright! Stop arguing." Parejo stepped out to smooth things over and looked at Chen Zhong, "Chen, how do you want us to train together? You must have your plans since you asked us to meet at the training ground, right!?"
To make it on the football scene, talent alone isn’t enough. It requires extraordinary hard work, especially in the top five leagues. Even the laziest players undergo training that is a massive amount for the average person.
"I want to conduct a one-week training."
"If possible, we’ll eat, drink, sleep here in the Sports City for the whole week."
"Negredo, Granero, Mata, your rooms haven’t been allocated yet. Just mention it to the coach and they can be opened again."
Chen Zhong analyzed in an orderly manner. Without counting the time to return to the club, they have 13-14 days of free time, and after spending 7 days, they still have some free time left for rest.
"I have no objections," Nacho was the first to agree, then the Castilla players followed Nacho in raising their hands in agreement. Upon hearing Nacho and others agree, Negredo, Granero, and Mata also smiled and said they had no problem.
After finalizing the process, Negredo was the first to come forward with a very kind smile, "Chen! How about we settle the scores from the last match?"
"Come on guys, let’s form teams to help me and Chen Zhong have a good match."
At a training ground for a certain age group in Sports City, Real Madrid’s geniuses gathered, divided into two groups, engaging in competitive training, continuing to sweat on a day meant for relaxation.
...
Spain, Madrid
In the coach’s office, Disalvo sat in his chair, slowly sipping coffee, speaking unhurriedly, "I’ve said it many times, Chen, he’s already reached his limit, and it’s hard for him to improve anymore."
"Here’s the detailed data, especially in terms of physical fitness. After more than a month of training, although he is indeed working hard, his fitness hasn’t grown."
"Do you know what this means?"
Disalvo smiled, "It means that the so-called genius you value, what he’s showing now is already his all."
Schuster and Francisco exchanged glances. The abilities Chen Zhong showcased in this period were quite impressive, but he seemed to have some physical fitness issues.
Especially since Chen Zhong demonstrated his desire to attack and organizational talent, Schuster was eager to push Chen Zhong forward. However, Chen Zhong’s fitness remained a significant hurdle.
Ultimately, after discussing, they had to bring in Disalvo.
Schuster’s and Disalvo’s relationship had hit rock bottom during this period. On the one hand, Schuster believed Disalvo’s fitness training arrangements were unreasonable, leading to players repeatedly suffering muscle injuries.
Especially Cannavaro, who had already suffered 4-5 muscle strains this season. It’s just that he can recover before the matches start, focusing on no major injuries but continuous minor ones.
On the other hand, Disalvo thought Schuster was a fool. Could injuries really be blamed on him?
Isn’t it possible that players like Robben, Higuain, Pepe have their fragility issues?
"Don’t challenge my expertise." Disalvo stood up, looking at Schuster and Francisco, "If it really doesn’t work, when the players return, we can conduct another physical test."
"Everyone saw the last fitness test data, and this time, you will find he’s still without progress."
"And then you’ll understand who is actually right in this matter!"