Chapter 144: Chapter 143 Western Portuguese Battle
"After the rain, you definitely need to drink some brown sugar ginger tea. I’ll send you the recipe so you can have your family prepare some," Deng Kai said.
"It’s easy to catch a cold after being out in the rain like that."
"I’m fine here, might have a tactical meeting later."
"Alright, thank you for your blessings, I will definitely give it my all," Deng Kai responded.
As Deng Kai ended the call with tender affection, Ronaldo pinched his nose and mimicked Deng Kai and Hathaway’s tone, "I might have a tactical meeting later, you go get some rest, ew..."
Deng Kai threw a slipper back with a backhand.
"And you dare say there’s nothing going on between you two?" Ronaldo threw the slipper back at him.
Deng Kai laughed, "That was just a normal and polite greeting. When someone calls, I can’t just hang up immediately, right? That’s not my style."
Just then, Veloso walked out of the dormitory, "Kai, I just called you. Why did you hang up immediately after I said my name?"
Ronaldo looked at Deng Kai, who was a bit embarrassed, "Come on, I’m listening to your excuses."
"Sorry, Veloso, the way you started made it hard for me to believe you weren’t a scam caller," Deng Kai said with his hands spread, repeating Veloso’s first sentence after answering the call, "Kai, can I borrow some money? It seems my dad has moved to another club, my phone service is cut off, and I can’t contact him."
"Help me top up my balance, I will return double later!"
Ronaldo looked puzzled, "Is there a problem with that?"
Deng Kai incredulously said, "My goodness, with your anti-fraud level, it’s really hard to keep the scammers in Northern Myanmar from being tempted. You should really learn some knowledge on how to spot scams, otherwise you’re going to get conned sooner or later."
Afterward, Deng Kai topped up Veloso’s phone with a thousand euros worth of credit.
Veloso was stunned.
This...is way too much.
"Remember to return double," Deng Kai made clear he definitely wouldn’t miss out on a business opportunity with a hundred percent return on investment.
After communications with his father, everyone found out that Benfica’s first-team captain and key right-back Antonio Veloso had transferred to Porto.
This was a heavy blow for Benfica.
In the Portuguese Primeira Liga, the powerhouses are only those three: Sporting Lisbon, Porto, and Benfica.
The top players usually only move among these three clubs.
This also leads to constant disputes between the clubs over player transfers.
Nobody wants to see their player lining up for the arch-rival next season.
Antonio took on the title of ’traitor to the team’ for the sake of his son.
This touched Veloso deeply.
"I will repay my father with the best performance on the field!" a moved Veloso cried.
Deng Kai also cheered them on, "Go for it, Veloso, you have to strive to make it into the Portugal national team before your father retires from the national squad."
"That way, you’ll be the rare father-son duo in world football, taking to the field together!"
Deng Kai said it lightly.
But these words struck Veloso deep and stayed with him.
They gave him tremendous motivation and showed him the first real reason to play football, apart from his love for the game.
Afterward, they all went to attend the tactical meeting.
Violante had brought Trigella to assist.
They analyzed in detail Spain’s U16 strength and playing style.
The conclusion was, they had to contain Spain’s passing game.
"We have only two options," Trigella said, "either we play defensively, intending to draw this match, or we pressurize them all over the field, try to win the opening, and then resort to defense."
Not to mention the Portugal U16 team, even Portugal’s actual national squad couldn’t press another team across the entire pitch for ninety minutes.
There is no team in the world that has such stamina.
However, Deng Kai expressed concerns about this tactic, "The Spanish players have a strong foundation in passing. Their midfield combination all come from Barcelona with excellent understanding."
"The rest of the players are mostly from Barça or Real Madrid."
"It’s possible to defend for the whole game, but a specific defensive plan is needed."
Trigella asked, "Such as?"
Deng Kai replied, "For example, we could combine pressing with ’parking the bus.’ You just brought up the Barcelona youth team’s performance this season, where they scored their first goal in the second half in more than half of their games."
"This shows that they encountered strong resistance, but in the end, the opposition couldn’t hold on."
"I believe this is related to the opposition giving them too much space to hold the ball."
"When the ball is in their half, we should ’park the bus’ and not be drawn out easily. Ensure the stability of our middle and back field."
"But when they bring the ball past midfield, our midfield and forward players should actively go out and increase the pace of confrontation and tackling, putting pressure on them."
"Force them to either pass back or lose the ball. We cannot give them an easy environment to handle the ball in our half; otherwise, they can completely penetrate our defensive line with their exquisite passing combinations."
Deng Kai’s words gave Trigella a concrete entry point for his ’parking the bus’ tactic.
Subsequently, Violante and Trigella conducted a detailed analysis and then summarized a set of defensive tactics for pressing in their own half.
Through active, pressing defense in their own half, they aimed to limit Spain’s attack.
Defend, but proactively.
This was completely different from the traditional ’parking the bus.’
Afterward, the team practiced this defensive tactic.
There were many problems.
Because players who actively press are essentially out of position, this leads to the opposition exploiting their positional errors if they cannot force a pass back or complete a tackle.
Therefore, the other players had to compensate for this vulnerability.
At the same time, Violante underscored the importance of committing fouls, encouraging everyone not to be afraid of getting yellow cards.
However, at the same time, players with yellow cards must control themselves and avoid getting sent off with a red card.
...
June 23rd.
On the eve of the big Spain vs. Portugal match, the Spanish team gave an interview.
The young Barcelona star Iniesta possessed the air of a great general, "We have absolute confidence in our midfield, we will control the pace of the game and become the dominators of the match."
"We have enough patience to slowly hunt down the Portuguese team."
"We have rich experience in countering ’park the bus’ tactics in the league; it’s something we excel at."
"Which Portuguese players are we worried about?"
"Quaresma, he’s a true superstar, no one should ever take him lightly."
"Ronaldo is also a problem, his speed could be a threat."
"Deng Kai is a very good midfielder, but a midfielder without the ball at his feet can hardly exert his full strength, so he’s not within our range of concern."
However, when the match actually started, people realized Iniesta was outright lying.
Because as soon as Deng Kai managed to get the ball, Barcelona’s midfielder Arteta immediately took Deng Kai down.
Deng Kai was clearly the player the Spanish Matadors feared the most.
