I Am Scouted by Real Madrid-Chapter 461 - 81: What Is Talent

What is talent on the football field?

In my humble opinion, a strong physique, absolute speed, agile footwork, keen intuition, and broad vision are all talents. Messi possesses some of these qualities, and in addition, has a unique "foot frequency."

In one-on-one duels, with his ability to dribble and maneuver since childhood, he doesn’t even need to use fancy moves like stepovers. In 0.5 seconds, before the ball drops, his ankle can produce a phantom - it’s terrifying enough.

Stepovers only hinder his dribbling efficiency.

Messi swept past Chen Zhong like the wind, his nimble figure resembling a "flea," hard to catch and pin down in the haste.

Barcelona fans on the stands expressed their surprise and excitement, and Boarcelona fans broke into cheers, albeit faint under the hissing.

Pellegrini clutched his heart, mumbling something, no one knew what.

His gaze looked urgently towards the team’s defense, with Pepe and Albiol still there.

Moreover, Chen Zhong wasn’t entirely left behind. He followed Messi like a hungry wolf seeking an opportunity, ready to pounce anytime.

"Messi surpassed Chen Zhong!"

"He didn’t opt for physical contact with Chen Zhong."

"Nor did he dribble past Chen Zhong head-on."

"That’s smart because Chen Zhong’s judgment of football lines is very precise."

"It’s easy to pass the person but not the ball."

"He chose first to use a change of pace, drawing Chen Zhong’s center of gravity."

"Then made a directional change."

"This series of movements was completed within 0.5 seconds."

"If not for the slow-motion replay, we might not even notice he made three moves in that instant."

"However, Chen Zhong’s turning speed isn’t slow."

"Even though he’s large, he’s still tightly on Messi’s heels."

"If he slightly slows Messi down, he might get a chance to intercept the ball."

"This is the first time someone has been able to break through Chen Zhong head-on in the match."

"It’s also Messi’s first upper hand in a one-on-one with Chen Zhong."

Following Messi, Chen Zhong evidently exerted psychological pressure on him, the kind other players can’t impose on Messi.

And in front of Messi, Albiol seized the moment, colliding with him before Messi entered the penalty area.

He didn’t opt to intercept the ball, because a ball Chen Zhong couldn’t intercept, Albiol naturally wouldn’t bother with. His choice was evidently correct.

Messi lost balance and fell to the ground, just as the referee’s whistle sounded timely.

"A tactical foul by Albiol."

"Can’t let Messi enter the penalty area."

"That’s correct."

"The referee issued a yellow card warning to Albiol."

"Xavi is clearly unhappy with such a penalty."

Albiol extended his hands innocently, but even so, the referee still gave him a yellow card, clearly unsatisfied with Albiol’s repeated fouls.

When Chen Zhong arrived, he helped Messi up, yes, lifted him up rather than pulling him up. Messi glanced at Chen Zhong, said nothing, but his abundant fighting spirit needed no translation to be understood.

Xavi rushed to the referee first, loudly saying: "No, no, no, this can’t just be a yellow card!"

"This should be a red card, it’s a very vicious foul, we had an excellent offensive opportunity."

Xavi’s loud protest and questioning clearly challenged the referee’s authority, and after repeated warnings, the referee chose to show Xavi a yellow card as well.

Xavi bit his lip hard enough to break it, and could only keep silent.

"Barcelona has a free-kick opportunity."

"From this position, they can choose to go for goal directly."

"Maxwell and Xavi stand before the free kick."

"Oh, quick free kick to Messi."

When the ball was passed to Messi, the Real Madrid player’s sense of crisis immediately heightened; they quickly closed in on Messi, who remained unflustered, and without stopping, crossed the ball to the advancing Xavi.

Chen Zhong’s alarm bells were ringing, shouting: "Hold your positions!"

Simultaneously, he quickly moved toward Xavi.

Xavi, without hesitation, lob kicked over Chen Zhong’s head, after which Messi received the ball, altered his pace to unbalance Albiol.

Casillas quickly charged forward.

Yet, Messi calmly pushed the ball in, from 10 yards out, breaking through Real Madrid’s goal.

1:1

Both teams are back on equal footing!

"Messi! Messi! Messi!"

"A skillful passing collaboration."

"Continuous one-touch passing."

"They are exceptionally in sync."

"Messi’s dribbling and finishing at the last moment were crucial too."

"Now let’s look again at Albiol’s one-on-one with Messi."

"Here you can see the gap with Chen Zhong."

"If it were Chen Zhong, he wouldn’t be as embarrassed as Albiol."

"And could disrupt Messi’s shot to some extent."

"Wouldn’t let him face the goalkeeper so easily."

The stands of Real Madrid resounded with boos, whether directed at the players or Messi was unclear, yet Barcelona fans, though faint amidst the boos, let their cheers be heard.