Chapter 446: Chapter 446

Ever since being provoked by Huang Kaiwen last time, Cassano had put in a lot of effort.

Because Capello had a good relationship with Huang Kaiwen, he also chose to give Cassano another chance.

Starting to work harder and having the chance to play, Cassano gradually found some form.

Although Cassano was not as sensational as when he debuted, his current level of effort already exceeded the past.

Cassano approached the penalty area and tried to dribble past a player with his right foot, but Betis’s fullback Meli read the move and successfully intercepted the ball.

Meli quickly passed the ball forward, but Alberto Rivera miscontrolled it, knocking it more than two meters away.

Huang Kaiwen, who had just run to the center, quickly rushed to take the ball and surged forward. After a few meters, he sent a diagonal pass, and the ball went between the two central defenders David Rivas and Enrico Romero, past Isidro, and found Marcelo advancing on the left.

Marcelo shot at the far corner without stopping the ball, and it slipped past Betis goalkeeper Toni Doblas and into the net.

"Huang Kaiwen, indeed effective, came on and assisted in a tackle, helping the youngster Marcelo score his debut goal for Real Madrid. No wonder Madrid fans are so eager for Huang Kaiwen to recover; he really makes a difference when he’s on the pitch."

"Huang Kaiwen’s movements are unpredictable, making it hard for defenders to mark him. Maldonado was just watching Huang Kaiwen, but in an instant, Huang Kai propelled into the midfield. Huang Kaiwen’s game-reading skill is truly exemplary; he always appears in crucial spots."

After the goal, an exhilarated Marcelo immediately rushed to Huang Kaiwen and hugged him.

Huang Kai, the Yellow Ball King, was very famous in Brazil, even more so than the average Brazilian player.

Marcelo hadn’t dared to get close to Huang Kaiwen before, but this time he finally found an opportunity.

Capello clapped with a smile.

He pulled out a copy of the "Tao Te Ching" from his pocket.

Although the Taoist claimed he didn’t know kung fu or witchcraft, Capello had learned a lot from him.

Capello was filled with confidence for the upcoming second half of the season.

Betis restarted the game and launched a fierce attack on Real Madrid’s half.

The Copa del Rey was very important for teams like theirs.

For smaller teams, domestic cup competitions represented the only honors they could dream of achieving.

Unfortunately, Huang Kaiwen’s defense today was very solid; he tracked back into the penalty area to defend multiple times and made a key slide tackle.

At the end of the full match, neither side was able to score another goal. The scoreline stayed at 2:1, with Real Madrid successfully advancing to the quarter-finals.

"Hard work, Kevin," Capello said, handing over a towel.

"It’s what I should do," Huang Kaiwen said with a smile.

Drawing Casemiro was more challenging than he had expected.

Brazilian players always had a good feel for the ball. With skills and special attributes, an enhanced version of Casemiro could achieve even more.

Now, Huang Kaiwen was looking forward to reaching the top tiers even more.

He had scored a lot before, and there were reasons for that.

Often, it was against weaker teams with second-rate defenders.

When facing peak defenders like Ferdinand, Nesta, or Terry and their equally strong teammates, the gap between a regular template and a top-tier template became apparent.

A 0.1-second faster speed, slightly quicker action frequency, or slightly better ball sense could all decide the outcome of a confrontation.

At the post-match press conference, Capello, beaming, said, "Real Madrid can play without Kevin, but Kevin is indeed one of the leaders of Real Madrid. Today he came on to provide an assist, and he defended with all his might. This pursuit of victory is something everyone should learn from. Even a player who has won the Ballon d’Or two years in a row is working so hard; there’s no reason for the other players to slack off. Next, I will make sure that both the first team and the academy players understand this lesson."

Capello already had a plan.

He intended to put up a photo of Huang Kaiwen’s slide tackle in all the youth academy levels and the first team.

Those who don’t want to defend should first see how many Ballon d’Or awards they have.

Damn it, if they had just put in more effort today, Kevin wouldn’t have had to chase back so desperately.

After the match, Huang Kaiwen changed his clothes and waited at the Bernabeu for Pele, who came to watch the game, to go home together.

As soon as they got in the car, the old King complained: "You didn’t play much and didn’t attack much either; it wasn’t satisfying at all."

Pele had always hoped that Huang Kaiwen would showcase the Samba dance with his footwork, destroying the opponents’ defense with his technical skills.

Huang Kaiwen’s active participation in defense wasn’t something Pele agreed with.

Pele thought it was a waste of talent.

"The coach is worried about me getting injured; there are many matches coming up," Huang Kaiwen explained.

A star player in any team couldn’t possibly play all the time.

For someone like the Yellow Ball King with an injury history as long as a book, rotation was even more crucial.

Huang Kaiwen had no objections; playing less meant better rewards at the end of the season.

Nowadays, his Immunity Card wasn’t even sufficient.

Without the "Susceptible to Injury" trait, he wasn’t as prone to injuries.

But that didn’t mean he was immune to injuries. Considering how much attention he drew, getting kicked around was a given in every match. Without using the Immunity Card, the risk of injury was still significant.

Today, against Betis, he hardly touched the ball and found his socks stained with three bloody marks when he changed them.

After returning home, Huang Kaiwen treated the wounds simply.

He chatted with Pele for a while before going to bed.

Pele primarily talked about his long-standing love-hate relationship with Maradona and how Maradona went from being a Pele fanboy to an archenemy.

The tale, as told by Pele, was quite subjective, and Huang Kaiwen got the gist of it.