Spain, Madrid
The newspaper in his hands rustled, and as long as you're not blind or deaf, you could sense that Schuster was not in a good mood.
Francisco quietly distanced himself from Schuster, but couldn't help but advise, "The newspapers from the Catalonia region, it's better not to look at them! Why bother caring about what they say?"
"Look at Marca, look at Diario AS, those are the newspapers we should be reading."
For a century, the rivalry between Real Madrid and Barcelona has been entangled, not just on the field but also through their respective regional media, attacking each other with words and pictures.
Among the four major sports media in Spain, Marca and Diario AS are loyal supporters of Real Madrid.
In the eyes of Barcelona fans, these two newspapers just know how to praise Real Madrid and attack Barcelona day by day.
World Sports Newspaper and Daily Sports, as sports newspapers from the Catalonia region, are naturally inclined towards Barcelona.
In the eyes of Real Madrid fans, these two newspapers are the ones kissing up to Barcelona daily, full of nonsense.
By the way, Barcelona also has a niche newspaper written in Catalonia language called "Number 9," but unfortunately, "Number 9" is not quite influential yet.
"Ha!" Schuster sneered, "Special privileges, single rooms, rebellion?"
"If they didn't write about it, I wouldn't even know that during training, Raul and Casillas were staying in single rooms."
"Moreover, it seems my players have gathered together and want to overthrow me, even want to replace me with another coach!"
Francisco also read the news from World Sports Newspaper and Daily Sports. Although he verbally advised Schuster not to read them and to be broad-minded, observing the enemy's movements had become an instinct ingrained in his bones.
"Nonsense!" Francisco retorted, "Raul is clearly sharing a room with Saviola, Casillas is sharing with Dudek."
The two exchanged a glance and reached a tacit understanding.
"Moreover, didn't our newspapers say?" Francisco picked up the Marca and Diario AS, enunciating with emphasis, "Barcelona has only 13.5 million euros for transfers this season and bought four players with it. Henry's transfer was even on installment payments. What did the newspapers say? Can't afford players but still pretending to be lavish!"
"Hmph." Schuster commented, "I remember those two Barcelona mouthpieces even said the team was being savvy!"
The conversation between the two lifted their spirits significantly. As they chatted, Schuster suddenly changed the subject and picked out another round of newspapers from the four major media.
"Take a look!"
"This time their viewpoints are surprisingly consistent."
Schuster grunted in dissatisfaction, clearly upset not only by the fabrications of today's newspapers but also by accumulated grievances from the past.
With just a glance, Francisco knew what the newspapers were saying.
Diario AS, after Real Madrid's victory, commented on the team's win as follows.
At the beginning of the match, the team exposed many problems. From the start of this cup match, the team had been continuing the slow start issues from the pre-season games.
While Schuster's instructions could be implemented by the team, unfortunately, he seemed to have some issues with his choices, as both sides with Balboa and Higuain were virtually ineffective, and Cicinho was almost invisible on the field.
If it weren't for Eindhoven's two goals, forcing Schuster to make substitutions that changed Real Madrid's slow pace, the result would have been hard to predict.
Undoubtedly, the standout of the match was Guti, who brought more initiative and creativity to the team on the field, while Saviola being left alone at the front by Schuster was unquestionably a blunder, with the Argentine missing several chances.
Looking at the whole match, among the rest, only Ruud van Nistelrooy and Arjen Robben's goals were commendable, Balboa's dedication on the wing was also praiseworthy, and Chen Zhong's calmness on the field gives us more to look forward to.
Compared to the subtlety of Diario AS, Marca was much more direct and sharp.
Their headline was "The team nearly faced failure in front of a more flexible and faster Eindhoven."
While some content was similar to Diario AS, there were also some rather radical remarks directly pointing out the team's deficiencies.
Marca believed the team's shortcomings included lack of aggressiveness on the flanks, slow defense, lacking in finishing touches, and the midfield couldn't dominate even against a not-so-smart opponent on the same average level.
Marca's sharp comments indirectly reflected the high standards Real Madrid fans held for the team: it's not enough to win; you have to win beautifully for it to count.
Of course, Marca didn't spare the praise either, mentioning how Guti's appearance activated Real Madrid's attacking group, improving the scenario on the pitch while also criticizing Schuster's substitutions.
Marca discussed Schuster's substitution as follows: Schuster wasted a valuable substitution slot. Guti is a master passer, and there was completely no need to take Saviola off; they could have complemented each other well. He should be thankful that we had 6 substitutions available for this match.
They also said, "Schuster has a long way to go," "Robben is indispensable for Real Madrid's flanks," "The team needs to perform better," etc.
World Sports Newspaper and Daily Sports's views were inclined towards Marca's, but their comments included more sarcasm and ridicule, even offering individual critiques of Real Madrid players.
For instance, they mentioned the aging Cannavaro struggling to make perfect tackles like in the past, saying we spent the entire match searching for Cicinho, and suggesting that Marcelo should play as a winger instead of being a disaster at left-back.
Finally, they mentioned Chen Zhong, albeit with some irony: "I can't imagine Real Madrid is already relying on a kid to stabilize their defense; even if he's a hundred times stronger, he can't stop Messi."
A month ago, when Chen Zhong just joined Real Madrid, Diario AS and Marca hyped Chen Zhong's solo defense against Bojan, making him null and expecting that the young player could also defend against Messi in the future.
A month later, World Sports Newspaper and Daily Sports revisited the story, dragging Chen Zhong, who was once praised by Diario AS and Marca, into the mud.
"We do have problems." Schuster began, but quickly added with some dissatisfaction, "But it's not as severe as they say. What do you think of Chen and Marcelo?"
"The upper management doesn't have a great impression of Marcelo," Francisco spoke up, "Mainly because he was late a few times for training, which they noticed, and he's a bit too lazy."
"On the field, he also often loses his position."
Schuster nodded affirmatively to Francisco's words, "Yes, but I believe he will improve, and I don't plan to sell him."
"As for Chen." Francisco hesitated for a moment before speaking, "I noticed his speed has increased..."
Schuster impatiently flipped the newspaper in his hands, the noise interrupting Francisco's statement, this impolite behavior causing Francisco to frown slightly.
"I'm very disappointed in him!" Schuster bluntly said, "Did you see his performance at the back? He really considered himself a center back, and even as a center back, his performance wasn't perfect."
"When he bumped the opponent off, he shouldn't have stopped the ball, just let it go out of play—then it would have been our throw-in, and none of what followed would have happened."
"And his subsequent actions disappointed me even more. He already had control of the ball, why didn't he try to advance, or make a long pass from the back?"
"If that's what he was going to do, he might as well have just let the ball go out of play."
Francisco looked at the articulate Schuster with some surprise, realizing that Chen Zhong seemed to hold a higher place in Schuster's heart than he had imagined.
Perhaps Schuster wasn't even aware of how heavily he expected things from Chen Zhong—after all, he's just a 16-year-old kid!
"What about the upcoming Super Cup?"