Chapter 107: Chapter 106: The Battle Between the Top Three, Competing for the Championship (Seeking Subscriptions)
Outside the Benfica training base, a certain café.
"So, I need you to show some performance. If you can’t play in your own style when facing tough opponents, then it’s very difficult for me to take you to the national youth team training base," Violante said with emphasis.
Sitting opposite him were Benfica’s midfielder Amorim and right-back Pereira.
Benfica’s other attacking midfielder, Vieira, wasn’t there; his spot had been taken by Deng Kai and Igor.
Compared to the attacking midfielder, what Violante needed more was a defensive midfielder and a holding midfielder.
Although he was already studying the double attacking midfielder tactic, he would only try it when Viana and Deng Kai were both on the pitch.
No one else deserved this treatment.
"We understand, thank you for giving us this opportunity," Amorim and Pereira said as they sent off Violante, both of them let out a sigh.
Four consecutive losses.
Benfica U15 was supposed to be one of the strongest four teams of the season.
But now, they were associated with the word "weakest" in people’s minds.
If they couldn’t win a single game, it would be very difficult for them to win a professional contract in the future. They might as well not have made it to the champions division, damn!
Back at the training base, the two of them were grinding their teeth.
"Hey, guys, I have something to say," Amorim, who was already one of the captains on the team, gathered all his teammates together, "We’ve lost four straight, and I guess even some people have already started planning their summer vacations."
"I don’t know what you think, but I really can’t accept being told I’m the weakest."
"What I cannot accept even more is that the person saying that is one of us."
"Let’s show Nuno Gomes with our actions that he is wrong, shall we?"
"Yes!" Pereira was the first to respond.
"Yes!" the other players spoke up as well.
They would not die in silence; they would explode in silence.
Under Amorim’s leadership, this group of young players erupted.
Amorim showed his leadership skills early, laying a solid foundation for his future as the head coach of a top club.
...
May fifteenth.
The penultimate round of the Portugal U15 league.
Sporting Lisbon away against FC Porto.
This match was incredibly important for both sides.
Because Guimarães would undoubtedly win against Benfica.
Therefore, after this round of games, Guimarães’ points should be ten.
And if Sporting Lisbon lost or drew the match, Guimarães would overtake them in the standings.
Porto needed to win this match and then win against Benfica in the next one to have a chance to snatch the championship from Guimarães’ hands.
If Porto and Sporting Lisbon drew, they would have to hope for a draw between Sporting Lisbon and Guimarães, and also accumulate enough goal difference against Benfica to have a chance at the title.
The three powerhouses were battling for the championship, with all teams holding a chance to win.
This year’s Portugal U15 league was extraordinarily intense.
Benfica???
So we’re either losing to Guimarães or Porto, right?
This is bullying the honest!
Before the match began, the live camera locked onto a middle-aged man in the stands.
Most fans did not recognize this person.
But Huang Jianxiang in the broadcasting booth, with information from Jiang Yunzhu in hand, said with confidence, "Ahem, perhaps our audience does not recognize the man in the camera, but his presence definitely adds a special meaning to this match."
"Because he is the head coach of the Portugal U16 team, Antonio Violante! He will lead Portugal U16 in the UEFA European Under-16 Championship this year!"
"And the players on the pitch, Almeida, Igor, Augnistan, Bruno Leve, Ronaldo, Veloso, Semedo, Angelo, and Deng Kai, are all within his scouting range!"
"Yes! Deng Kai is very likely to wear the Portugal jersey this summer."
"If he’s really selected, he’ll become the first player of Chinese heritage to join the Portugal national team!"
Huang Jianxiang’s introduction stirred excitement among the fans watching the game.
Is Deng Kai really that amazing?
He made it into the Portugal national team?
The national youth team, in a sense, that’s also the national team.
That’s not right, Deng Kai is of Chinese heritage, he should be eligible to join China’s team, right?
But such questions were quickly dismissed by the fans.
Even though everyone usually considers those of Chinese heritage as fellow citizens, their documents are ultimately not the same.
Moreover, Deng Kai is still young, and there aren’t such opportunities for him to play in Europe’s youth competitions domestically.
At most, there is the Nike Cup in China.
Back to the field.
In the first thirty minutes, both sides had their chances.
This was Deng Kai’s second time facing the midfield combination of Igor and Oganishta.
Their coordinated defense and attack were seamless and highly effective.
In the thirty-second minute, seeing that passing moves and regular attacks couldn’t break through, Deng Kai decided to take a different approach.
First, he performed a backheel drag to get past Igor, then carried the ball up to challenge Oganishta.
As the two met in a narrow path, Deng Kai executed an "inward dragging" move, feigning a breakthrough on the left but actually dribbled and sped up to the right front.
Oganishta was not completely out of position at first.
However, Deng Kai used his hands to shove Oganishta while breaking through.
Deng Kai’s upper body strength was formidable, and he was adept at destabilizing his opponents while moving, thus he completely shook off Oganishta.
Porto’s central defender was drawn out by Deng Kai’s artistic diagonal pass.
Ronaldo received the ball and scored.
One to zero!
In the forty-fifth minute.
Porto’s midfielder Oganishta spread the play, looking for offensive opportunities from the flanks.
When they couldn’t find a way through, they would rely on Almeida’s height to create chances.
Their victory over Guimaraes in the second round was clinched with this tactic.
Sure enough, as the first half was about to end, Porto launched an attack, Lisbon was all about defense, and this allowed Porto to execute a cross from the flank.
Almeida leapt high, performing a Lion’s Header, and breached Lisbon’s defense.
One to one, a tie!
Soon, after a fifteen-minute break, both teams came back fiercely.
In the fifty-seventh minute, Deng Kai long passed to Marcelino, who found Lorenzo while breaking through.
Lorenzo managed a shot while under pressure, but the quality was not high, and it was saved by Porto’s goalkeeper Vale.
In the sixty-sixth minute, Almeida headed another goal.
But the linesman had his flag up early; Almeida was offside beforehand, so the goal was disallowed.
In the seventy-fourth minute, Deng Kai took the initiative to go down the right flank and, in a rare decisive move after wall-passing with Marcelino, went to the byline.
Bang!
Deng Kai delivered a high cross.
Ronaldo’s judgment of the ball’s drop was incredibly precise, and with his astounding leap, he managed to get his head to the ball first.
The ball grazed the underside of the crossbar and flew into the goal.
Three parts skill, seven parts luck.
Two to one!
Lisbon took the lead again.
