Chapter 140: Chapter 139: An Illusion in Football, Germany is Very Strong
Guardiola burst out laughing, "Who do you think you are? Holmes? Judge Bao? Detective Di Renjie? Pfft! You’ve been spouting nonsense and even you believe it?"
"Well, I regret to inform you that the reason the autographs on the footballs I sent looked that way is because I had my agent sign them on my behalf!"
"I really didn’t have the time to sign them one by one for you, I wouldn’t waste so much time on you! Lol!"
Deng Kai was so angry he almost threw his phone: "Damn it! No wonder lately a few footballs were returned by fans claiming they were fakes, and I was still arguing with them. You screwed me over!"
Guardiola: "Who told you to sell the autographed footballs I gave you? Didn’t you say you were my fan and you wanted to cherish my autographed footballs? You think I don’t know about the dirty deals you’ve been doing behind my back?"
"What’s the name of your store? Wang Tao’s Autographed Jersey Store? Understanding Football Emperor’s Official Direct Sale Store? Do you even believe that yourself?"
Deng Kai: "Don’t be so cheap and play innocent."
"You think I don’t know about the two high-profile advertising invitations you just got from the Lisbon area? Shooting commercials in Portugal when you haven’t even played football there? Isn’t your popularity all thanks to the autographed footballs I gave you?"
"You often interact with me, aren’t you just trying to maintain a familiar face in Portugal?"
"There needs to be business ethics in doing business, so send me a batch of proper autographed footballs. Otherwise, the four words ’Guardiola’ will become synonymous with fakes, and your future commercial value might take a hit, you know."
"What the fuck! You..." Guardiola muted himself voluntarily.
Afterward, Guardiola called his agent, "Send me twenty, no, fifty footballs."
"Yes, I want to sign them myself... Of course, I’m not being threatened. I’m just worried that Deng Kai will be devastated after losing a match, so I’m giving him some encouragement, that’s all."
"Right, that... Get me a nutritionist and also find a specialist in sports medicine. I don’t want to suffer any more significant injuries, I want to play for Barca until I’m thirty-five!"
...
June 21st.
The other semifinal of the U16 European Championship kicked off.
Portugal U16 vs. Germany U16!
Before the match, it was seen as a one-sided game.
The German team was strong and robust.
The starting lineup was:
Florian Heer, Kevin Kuranyi, Schweinsteiger
Markus Föhrner, Florian Klinge, Hitzlsperger
Andreas Hinkel, Michael Fink, Andreas Gerlitz, Lahm
Heinze
Additionally, their bench included capable players like Jürgen Schmidt, Leonhard Haas, Jan Schröder, and others.
In contrast, the Portuguese team had to change their lineup due to player injuries.
Their starting lineup was:
Ronaldo
Meireles, Deng Kai, Quaresma
Amorim, Veloso
Ribery, Feng Te, Duarte, Bosingwa
Vale
In this 4-2-3-1 formation, both Ronaldo and Meireles were not playing their best positions, making it hard to believe they could perform well.
Before the match, Violante repeatedly emphasized tactical plans to the players and reaffirmed Deng Kai’s crucial role on the field.
As the match began, the Germans launched a fierce pressing strategy.
Deng Kai chose to pass back as his first move, trying to play the ball in their own half.
Even with many players in the back, they were still heavily oppressed by the German team, struggling to breathe.
In the end, Deng Kai was forced to boot the football to the German half, surrendering possession.
The German fans in the stands started jeering.
Because Deng Kai didn’t even dare to try and engage in physical duels with the German players.
Too weak!
Indeed, not as good as Viana by far!
The German players on the field also set the tone for the match in their minds... We’re on the offensive, we’re dominant, the opponent is weak, Deng Kai can only punt the ball!
In the 3rd minute, Portugal had possession again.
The Germans started another round of fierce, full-field pressing.
Full-field pressing is a useful tool, but most of the time it’s applied haphazardly, and when used carelessly, it becomes very flawed.
Proper full-field pressing or even attacking pressing requires meticulous coordination.
It involves long-term training and positioning.
Without understanding, full-field pressing is full of holes to a skilled midfielder...
In an instant, Deng Kai saw at least five or six excellent passing routes before him, allowing for an easy transfer of the ball.
Quaresma was even gearing up on the right.
A long pass from Deng Kai would essentially launch an attack.
Bang!
Deng Kai passed back to Amorim.
He didn’t look for Quaresma.
The charging Kuranyi continued to press.
Deng Kai moved laterally, providing Amorim with an outlet for a pass.
Amorim passed it back.
Deng Kai played the ball, this time directly to the left wing, Meireles, while making a run himself.
Meireles played a wall pass back to Deng Kai.
After receiving the ball, Deng Kai performed a ’fried dough twist,’ eluding the charging German defensive midfielder with no reservations.
Then, an open path lay before him.
"Deng Kai advances! He’s reached the edge of the penalty area."
"Germany pressed too aggressively, and now there’s space at the back!"
"A couple more touches and Deng Kai could take a long-range shot."
"Fortunately, the German defensive line kept their composure; they’re barely maintaining formation and retreating in an orderly manner."
"Deng Kai has slowed down. The Germans haven’t given him any openings. He can’t move forward with the football; he should be waiting for his teammates to catch up, and then..."
Bang!
While running, Deng Kai suddenly stopped and just when everyone thought he was going to come to a complete halt, he lifted his right foot and unexpectedly executed a flick pass!
By the German center-backs, Ronaldo, who had just returned from an offside position, suddenly started up again and darted into the penalty area.
The football descended.
Ronaldo planted his right foot, tilted his body to the right, and lifted his left foot.
A volleyed sweep without stopping the ball.
The football hit the back of the net as if it were answering a call.
One to zero!
Portugal had a dream start amidst Germany’s fierce pressing!
German fans were utterly bewildered.
We’re frighteningly strong.
How did we suddenly concede?
The luck is really damn terrible!
However, Guardiola, who had come specifically for intelligence gathering today, smiled slightly in the stands.
Bad luck?
Heh, this had nothing to do with luck.
Both Deng Kai’s flick pass and Ronaldo’s left-footed volley, which he’s not adept at, couldn’t be attributed to luck.
This was a display of their strength.
After conceding, the German U16’s mentality changed a bit, but their concept of dominating the offensive play remained unchanged.
Indeed, they pressured Portugal with seventy-two percent possession.
As their attacks intensified, their defensive line unconsciously pushed up.
The backfield was now a vast expanse of open field, enough to sustain a wild mare like Miss Dong.
The tenth minute.
Veloso at the back stole the ball from Schweinsteiger.
The Germans frantically pressed Veloso, but no one anticipated Deng Kai’s position.
Veloso successfully got the football to Deng Kai before the German forces could close in.
Bang!
Deng Kai turned halfway, without stopping the ball, and fired a long pass!
De Bruyne’s Conscious Flow Pass + no-look pass were executed to perfection!
Trailing the German center-backs by more than three meters, Ronaldo took off in hot pursuit.
"Ronaldo’s sprinting! He’s got some distance from Gerlitz and Fink, but he hasn’t given up."
"Wow! Ronaldo’s so fast!"
"When did Portugal start producing Ferraris?"
"He’s too fast! Supercar Ronaldo just zoomed past Fink!"
"That speed is just overpowering!"
"Gerlitz is trying to get close to Ronaldo, but Ronaldo takes a detour and even then, he’s faster than Gerlitz!"
"Gerlitz reaches out... stretching a hand out while moving at high speed can actually slow one down, and Gerlitz grabs at air!"
"Ronaldo! It’s all Ronaldo!"
"He’s got the ball! Not the prettiest control, but it does the job!"
"This is a one-on-one situation!"
"The German goalkeeper comes out hesitantly; Ronaldo moves sideways with the ball – beautiful! He’s bypassed the goalkeeper!"
"A gentle tap in! Ronaldo completes his brace effortlessly!"
