33-year-old Mendieta announced his retirement, so how much longer can 30-year-old Raul play?

In an interview with Marca, Capello revealed some inside stories of the season, mainly about how, at the start of last season, when he first arrived at Real Madrid, he learned that Calderon and Mijatovic planned to loan out, or even sell Raul. Ultimately, it was Capello who vetoed this proposal and helped Raul regain his form.

"Raul has many stories, but when I came to the club in the 2006-07 season, the first thing I learned was that the club wanted to loan him out."

"I've known Raul for ten years, and such suggestions were incredible to me."

"Raul is a very friendly player, influential in the dressing room. On the pitch, he is tireless, a typical altruist with a natural striker's instinct. In short, this is completely different from the Raul the board described to me."

Capello paused and added, "It was also completely different from the Raul I saw."

"In the first meeting with the chairman and technical director, they told me Raul was on the decline."

"I find it hard to believe that such a problem would occur at Real Madrid."

"I told them that this 30-year-old player is crucial to the team both in terms of professionalism and character. Everyone knows what happened afterward; Raul's performance and this season's performance prove who was right."

Capello's interview was also a double stab at Calderon since after Calderon's failed star signings, he proudly championed youth training. However, the young talents from youth training were continually being sold, and there was even an attempt to sell Raul in the past.

Some Merengue fans started using Chen Zhong as an example, suspecting that many "Chen Zhongs" were actually sold off by Calderon.

At this time, Negredo, Granero, Mata, and other players who left this season gave Calderon a vicious backstab.

Negredo was a potential contender for the La Liga Golden Boot, while Granero and Mata were gradually becoming vital members of their respective clubs. Many people felt that Negredo would be the perfect successor for Van Nistelrooy with his performances on the pitch.

This series of changes also gave Calderon a headache, forcing him to discuss a buyback plan for Negredo with Mijatovic.

"What do they know!"

"Wasn't I doing this to bring Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaka to the team?" Calderon muttered. If Merengues heard this, Calderon might be lashed at.

When did we need to sell youth players to raise funds to buy players?

Calderon inquired about the progress of transferring these two players with Mijatovic.

The answer was disappointing; Kaka was preparing to renew his contract with Milan, and Lord Ferguson refused to negotiate with Real Madrid due to Calderon's "stupid" operations.

Buying back Negredo became the cheapest way to appease the fans.

Didn't you all say that Negredo was something?

Since he's cheap, then just buy him back!

...

Avoiding too much talk about the high-level mess-ups, Schuster muttered a few lines about pigheaded teammates in the office and then focused on the upcoming do-or-die battle.

"Damn it."

"We could have been first in the group."

"But now, whether it's first, second, or eliminated, all depends on others' faces."

Schuster cursed, clearly not expecting the group situation to end up like this mess.

"Lazio will definitely go all out in this game."

"They only have a chance to advance by beating us with a two-goal victory or more, snatching the qualifying spot from us."

"At that time, it truly depends on others. Olympiacos only has to avoid losing to Werder Bremen, then we will be eliminated, and Olympiacos and Lazio advance."

"Who the hell only wants to just qualify from the group!" Schuster slammed the table, looking at Francisco, "I want to be first in the group."

"Then we have to beat Lazio to have a high chance of being first in the group. If we draw, we can only see if Olympiacos can beat Werder Bremen. If they win, the best we can do is be second in the group."

Schuster sat in the chair, drumming his fingers on the table, his eyes firmly locked on a name on the paper: Chen Zhong.

It's quite amusing to say, this season for Real Madrid, not mentioning overall performance, but seemingly depending on a 16-year-old kid for defense.

"I now understand why that game."

"Why Lopetegi put Chen on the defense against Bojan."

"Don't mention him; I also want to put Chen on the defense to ensure everything is foolproof."

Francisco glanced up at Schuster without saying a word.

In determining that Lazio will attack fiercely away, if Real Madrid's entire defense had two most reliable central defenders, one would be Cannavaro and the other could only be Chen Zhong.

Pepe is too reckless, Metzelder unpredictable, Heinze, Torres, and Ramos can be said to have no competitiveness in central defense.

After some musing, Schuster finally made up his mind.

...

"Here we're broadcasting the final round of the Champions League Group C match for everyone."

"Real Madrid versus Lazio."

"We can hear the fans at the scene singing loudly."

"Such an atmosphere really makes one envy!"

"This match is crucial for both teams."

"Lazio must beat Real Madrid by more than two goals to ensure qualification."

"Real Madrid also must win against Lazio to ensure they qualify."

"The players of both teams are entering the field one after another. Those in white jerseys are Real Madrid's players, and those in blue are Lazio's players."

"The starting lineup for the match has been announced, and Real Madrid is still using the 442 formation, the goalkeeper...."

"While Lazio is using the 4312 formation in this match, which is different from the expected 433 formation before the game, the goalkeeper..."

"Before the game, there were reports saying Schuster might play Chen Zhong in the central defender position, which could be one of the reasons for all this."

"16-year-old Chen Zhong has become an important member of the Real Madrid team. Now many fans like describing the solidity of Real Madrid's defense with the term Casillas + Chen Zhong."

"In terms of lineup, Swiss right-winger Behrami is absent from the squad due to a muscle injury, which may be one of the reasons Lazio is trying to focus on penetrating the center."

"On the Real Madrid side, surprisingly, Guti did not start, and in midfield, Schuster used the combination of Baptista and Chen Zhong, who has been performing well in recent matches, with Robinho and Sneijder still on the flanks."

"Sneijder's performance on the right side hasn't been too impressive; let's see if Schuster has any solutions for this match!"

Lazio's morale was very high, and Rossi encouraged them with words in the locker room. They shouted the slogan of going all out, walked out of the locker room, and stepped onto the pitch.

On the Real Madrid side, despite their serious faces, there was a hint of relaxation in their eyes. Once Lazio's starting lineup appeared, they knew the opponents had taken the bait.

Although formations can be changed, it was clear that the pre-match smokescreen had worked.

"I actually fell for Schuster's trick." Rossi stood in the coach's area, turning his head to look at Schuster. Upon hearing that Chen Zhong would be at center back, he changed the offensive strategy, attempting to break through the center.

How weak Real Madrid was in defending the backline without Chen Zhong in the midfield had been proven in previous games.

"Do we need to change our tactics?"

"No, there's no need." Rossi replied to his assistant coach, "Let's play and see first!"

"After all, he's just a 16-year-old kid."

Rossi was also feeling a bit irritated inside. No, brother, do you really think I'm scared of a 16-year-old kid holding the center?

Well, today I'm going to attack through the center!

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