Chapter 119: Chapter 118: Return, Still Li Yi’s Good
In the complete list of the Portugal U16 team, the Lisbon Sporting Academy U15 contributed six players.
Along with the older players, the green and white brigade provided more than ten youth internationals in total, becoming the main force of this edition of the European Youth Championship.
The momentum of Lisbon Sporting’s youth training completely overwhelmed Porto and Benfica.
The detailed list included:
Forwards: Quaresma, Postiga, Ronaldo, Almeida, Luis Lorenço, Lorenzo.
Midfielders: Viana, Deng Kai, Meireles, Igor, Veloso, Amorim, Semedo.
Defenders: Jorge Ribeiro, Jose Fonte, Ricardo Duarte, Jose Bosingwa, Angelo, Araujo, Pereira.
Goalkeepers: Bruno Vale, Pilar, Vieirinha
Almost all were youth players from the three major clubs.
This lineup didn’t lack star quality either.
Not to mention Quaresma, who would be flying alongside Ronaldo and almost became a big-name star in the future.
Postiga was later Tottenham’s first Premier League flop bought, earning a name for himself with the title of the Premier League.
Almeida was once Portugal’s first-choice striker on the national team.
Viana was touted as the most talented Portuguese player on the left wing.
Meireles even became one of the most reliable midfielders at Liverpool and Chelsea in the future, winning the Premier League’s PFA Fans’ Player of the Year award.
At his peak, his transfer value was comparable to Higuain without a problem.
To keep him, Liverpool’s players even considered moving Gerard to a different position.
Fonte became a renowned legend in the Super League of Chinese football.
Bosingwa was Chelsea’s main right-back and a solid player who won the Champions League.
Deng Kai was very confident about this lineup.
"Kai Kai, hurry up, we’re going to miss the flight."
The end of the Youth Champions League final marked the end of a season.
Deng Kai had gained unprecedented success in the past season, winning a double crown.
But due to the upcoming European Youth Championship this summer, Deng Kai didn’t have much rest time for his holiday.
This year’s European Youth Championship was hosted by the Czech Republic, with the matches played in several large stadiums in and around the capital, Prague.
As their regular training venues were being upgraded, the Portugal U16 team simply rented a training site in Prague this year to allow the players to get used to the pace of the European Championship early.
Last year, Portugal missed the World Cup, and Figo directly issued bold statements that he would lead Portugal into the European Championship.
This also led to Portuguese fans paying extra attention to international competitions, including this edition of the European Youth Championship.
Even the reason Lisbon Sporting U15 was so hot in the Youth Champions League this year was due to these reasons.
The compensation therapy is something that fans, especially long-time ones, need very much.
And Deng Kai’s parents were sending him off to Prague for the team’s training camp, while also taking the opportunity to travel for a few days.
Deng’s parents earned a modest salary and could not afford the expense of the trip.
But who asked them to have a champion son?
The league’s top assist bonus, best midfielder bonus, league champion bonus, Youth Champions League best player bonus, Youth Champions League golden boot bonus, Youth Champions League best midfielder bonus... these amounts combined were two to three times more than the scholarship that the University of Lisbon gave Deng Kai.
This near six-figure sum left Deng’s parents clicking their tongues in appreciation.
No wonder their son insisted on playing football.
This business was too profitable.
Indeed, it was a classic example of studying hard in school but not being as useful as playing football!
Similarly, Ronaldo also received quite a bit of bonus, but not as much as Deng Kai.
Because the bonuses from the league were relatively small, the main source came from the Youth Champions League.
But on the Youth Champions League stage, Deng Kai achieved more honors.
So in terms of honors, Deng Kai and Ronaldo were about even.
But as for the earnings in hand, well... he could only say sorry to Ronaldo.
...
During the three days in Prague, Deng’s parents had a particularly good time.
During this time, some of the more diligent Portuguese (C) young players (Ronaldo) had already gone to the training location.
The few, like Deng Kai, who had not arrived, were in the minority.
On the fourth day, which was also the last day Deng Kai accompanied his parents on their trip,
they visited a dense forest park on the outskirts of Prague.
The environment was beautiful, complete with several striking ancient castles.
Upon arriving, Deng Kai’s parents held hands and immediately went to enjoy the scenery.
They are truly in love.
Deng Kai belonged to the unexpected.
Deng Kai didn’t disturb the two of them, finding a seat nearby to start receiving his post-match rewards.
He hadn’t had time to collect his rewards after the end of the Youth Champions League.
As for items, he could hold off on checking them; he had accumulated a lot of super training stakes and Dong Long special drinks.
After the U-21 competition ended, he had enough for high-intensity training every day until the new season started, and he might not even finish using them all.
He had already thought of how to torture Ronaldo this summer.
Just exhaust him, see who is more tenacious!
Deng Kai mainly focused on skill-related items.
"Forward Pressing: Through smarter running, you effectively increase your efficiency in forward pressing, enhancing your coverage ability when pressing up the field."
"Offense-Defense Metronome: When there’s a change in offense or defense modes, your passing ability is enhanced."
"Precision Crossing: Your crossing ability from the wings is enhanced. Your passes allow teammates in the box to have a stronger ability to strike at goal."
"Beng Bu Swivel: My ball protection is like Henry’s! As the national team’s first emperor, Li Yi’s Beng Bu Swivel is eternally classic. When you use this move, your ability to withstand opponents’ challenges is enhanced."
I can’t even!
All four player-level skills are powerful.
But the last one is somewhat of a joke.
Isn’t this supposed to be a gold-star skill?
Who are you looking down on?
Never heard of the great emperor Li Yi?
"Forward Pressing" is definitely useful, and it suits Deng Kai’s current style of play perfectly; it’s a masterful tool for creating chaos.
The essence of the "Offense-Defense Metronome" isn’t the changing of offensive and defensive modes, but the fact that it can also enhance passing ability during offensive transitions.
That means, during an attack, if the tactics of wing penetration fail and the ball comes to Deng Kai, his through balls or lofted through balls will receive a boost as well.
And that’s exactly Deng Kai’s style of play.
It’s also what De Bruyne’s Conscious Flow Pass loves the most.
Thus, Deng Kai’s passing ability is further improved.
"Precision Crossing" is also great; this skill differs from "Crossing from the Wings" in that it provides an attacking boost to teammates in the box.
This highlights the significance of the word "precision."
It offsets the side effects of "De Bruyne’s Conscious Flow Pass" to a certain extent.
As for the "Beng Bu Swivel," to be honest, this skill isn’t of much use to Deng Kai.
Given Deng Kai’s height, physical fitness, and confrontational ability, even with the boost, it’s hard for him to navigate through multiple challenging opponents.
That’s not one of his strengths.
Li Yi’s Beng Bu Swivel might seem comical, but when he left behind this iconic scene, the confrontation was intense. There was a player who pulled at his jersey for the whole match, and still couldn’t hold him back.
If it were Deng Kai, he would’ve been brought down long ago.
But!
Although the effect of this skill might not be great, the movement this skill entails is like a godsend to Deng Kai.
Because the Beng Bu Swivel is a rare "720-degree" rotational movement!
The Marseille Turn is merely 360 degrees.
The Jinhu Turn is just 180 degrees.
Only the golden skill "Football’s Most Expensive Spinner" can perform a 720-degree spin in a short time.
But even the master of this skill, Anthony himself, rarely completes a full 720-degree turn in one go.
From this perspective, the Beng Bu Swivel is not golden, but better than golden.
And the Swivel, it’s even better if it’s Li Yi’s!
Just think, if Deng Kai starts with the Spinner rotating twice, triggering the opponent’s defense and then using the Beng Bu Swivel for another two turns, a 20% increase in power descends in minutes.
By that time, the pass Deng Kai gets after the Beng Bu Swivel won’t be Li Yi’s pass anymore, he could break free on his own and surge forward!
From Li Yi to Kaka!
Just thinking about it is exhilarating!
"Whoo, whoo..." As Deng Kai was inspecting the goods, he was awakened by the faint sound of crying around him.
He looked around. Was someone bullying a girl here?
That would be a case for the police!
Deng Kai immediately followed the sound.
