The reporters nodded. Sure enough!
Su Hang's sense of team honor was incredibly strong. He never bragged about himself. He always remembered his teammates and was always willing to share the credit with them.
For some Europeans and most Americans, this way of thinking was hard to grasp. To them, modesty equated to weakness. In the East, friendships often emphasize giving and selflessness, fostering deep loyalty. In contrast, in the West, competition is more highly valued, which can sometimes mean turning on someone when they're vulnerable.
"Su Hang, how do you feel about the new nickname Real Madrid fans have given you?" a reporter asked.
"New nickname? What nickname?"
"The Undefeated Captain!"
Su Hang laughed out loud.
"The Undefeated Captain? That sounds straight out of a comic book. You'd better pay me royalties for that one… Wait, you're from back home, aren't you?"
The reporter froze.
"Yes, we're correspondents for the Spanish newspaper Marca…"
Su Hang cut him off, switching to flawless Mandarin with a Sichuan accent.
"No, no—what I mean is, you're really from back home, right?"
The reporter was stunned. That accent! For a moment, it felt like he'd been transported back to his hometown. The sound was so warm and familiar it nearly brought tears to his eyes.
"You… hello!" His eyes reddened with emotion. "I'm a Sports Weekly reporter, based in Spain but temporarily working with Marca. I knew you had Chinese heritage, but I didn't realize when you said 'back home' you meant our home country!"
"And your Mandarin… it's so natural!"
Su Hang smiled.
"You're the first person who's ever said my Mandarin is natural. Even though I hold Spanish nationality, I'm Chinese by blood. Almost every year I go back with my parents to visit our relatives.
Because of family reasons, my passport is Spanish—that can't be changed. But I'm definitely not an ABC (American-born Chinese). You can think of me as one of your own, just unable to play for the national team."
The reporter was so overwhelmed that he didn't even know what to say.
Seeing this, Su Hang wrote down a string of numbers and handed it over.
"It's fine. This is my contact information. Reach out anytime if you want to talk. By the way, what's your name?"
Clutching the slip of paper as if it were a treasure, the reporter answered excitedly, "My name is Zhan Jun, you can just call me Little Zhan!"
"Little Zhan? That nickname wouldn't do."
Su Hang simply nodded politely.
This small gesture earned him the genuine respect of many veteran reporters present. No wonder he had managed to rise so quickly within Real Madrid, becoming one of the club's flagbearers in just a single year at such a young age!
This guy's emotional intelligence was off the charts!
What Su Hang had actually done was help the young reporter, Zhan Jun, out of an awkward situation. Zhan Jun had taken up far too much of Su Hang's interview time, and the other reporters were getting impatient with him.
And in this business, you couldn't underestimate professional rivalries. As a foreigner, if you offended the Spanish media in their own backyard, the consequences could be dire. They had plenty of ways to sideline you, or even sabotage you.
In recent years, the so-called Western mainstream had shown growing prejudice toward other regions.
Of course, Su Hang never expected his goodwill to bring unexpected rewards.
In truth, Zhan Jun had been tracking Su Hang's story for a long time.
Believe it or not, Su Hang was already a massive star in Europe. But back in China, almost no one knew his name.
At the beginning of this season, Zhan Jun had written a report about Su Hang. The result? He got a furious phone call from his superiors back home.
Their response was blunt: even if you don't have real news, don't just make things up to fool the fans.
A Chinese player who came out of nowhere, helped Real Madrid win the Copa del Rey and the Spanish Super Cup? Crushed Barcelona? Thrashed the Catalans? Real Madrid's Crown Prince? The club's fourth captain? Unknown last year, suddenly a legend this year?
What is this—some over-the-top soap opera?
Zhan Jun tried to explain, but his words carried no weight.
Since 2002, the football atmosphere in China had fallen into decline. Basketball had surged ahead, overtaking football. Most football reporting was outdated.
On top of that, European football coverage was fragmented. Chinese media mainly focused on the Bundesliga, and Serie A, which many still considered the world's top league. La Liga coverage was scarce.
And because Su Hang often missed games due to suspensions, he hadn't actually played that many matches this season.
So even if fans read Zhan Jun's articles and tried to verify, most couldn't find anything.
To make matters worse, at that time Football News carried far more weight than Sports Weekly. If fans saw your story in Sports Weekly, then checked Football News and found nothing, what would they think?
That you, little Zhan Jun, were just making things up.
So, Zhan Jun had no choice but to suppress his reports on Su Hang.
But inside, he was unwilling.
He kept collecting Su Hang's stories, determined that one day, he would let the entire country know: there was a Chinese player overseas this outstanding!
He had conquered the world's most demanding fans—the Merengues! He had conquered the star-studded Galácticos! He had conquered all of Spain!
But he couldn't conquer the editors and chiefs of the domestic news media.
This time, however, Zhan Jun believed he had finally gathered enough evidence.
He compiled everything and sent it to headquarters.
The report caused a sensation within Sports Weekly. Once management confirmed the information, they instantly realized how valuable it was.
They marked the content as top secret. Discussion was limited to a small circle.
After learning that Zhan Jun already had Su Hang's contact information, they decided to release part of the story publicly.
At the same time, they pushed Zhan Jun to arrange an exclusive interview with Su Hang as soon as possible. If they were going to do this, they had to make it the top headline!
They even established a dedicated "Su Hang" column team. Their main task: to counter smear campaigns from rival outlets.
This was a common tactic in China's media wars.
Think of any great football star you remember. Their media journey likely went the same way: One outlet breaks the story, drawing attention. Soon after, another outlet dismisses it as fake news. If that fails, they smear the player, saying, "Yes, he exists, but he's not actually that good."
The target isn't really the player—it's the media outlet that first uncovered him.
Once other outlets secured their own sources, they too would start hyping the player. But by then, the original outlet would have lost its traffic advantage.
News seeks truth. But how truth is used—that's another story. In many ways, it's a weapon.
...
"19-year-old Chinese star conquers Spain! Two goals and two assists in the Champions League quarter-final second leg to knock out Chelsea!"
"Real Madrid captain Su Hang is Chinese! He returns to the Mainland every year! His Mandarin is said to be impressively fluent and precise!"
"Real Madrid's hottest superstar this season—the Crown Prince, Su Hang!"
"The youngest fourth captain in Real Madrid's history! The youngest on-field captain in the club's history!"
...
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