Chapter 197: Chapter 196: The Fall of Pinto’s Star, The Birth of a Saint
Ultimately, the football slowly crossed the line and came to a complete stop less than ten centimeters inside it.
This goal was really a stretch.
But... it was indeed a genuine goal.
Beep!
With a whistle, the referee pointed to the center circle, signaling the goal was valid!
The Benfica players had no time to complain before the referee blew the whistle again, short-short-long, and the match ended!
The referee had given Benfica a chance to prevail, but they did not seize it.
Conversely, he gave Deng Kai a chance, and Deng Kai seized it.
Three goals, a hat-trick!
Deng Kai became the youngest scorer in the history of the Portugal Cup and the youngest to complete a hat-trick!
...
"Caesar Returns! A King’s Arrival! On-loan youngster from Sporting Lisbon dazzles with hat-trick to crush Benfica!"
"The CD Connection Showcases Its Might Again! Deng Kai’s last-minute goal defeats Benfica, leading ’Little Sporting Lisbon’ to the semifinals of the Portugal Cup!"
"The only true god of Luz Stadium—Deng Kai!"
"Deng Kai and Ronaldo, Portugal’s youngest goal and assist record-breaking machines!"
"From rock bottom to escaping the drop zone, Trigella’s coaching at Moreirense is obviously a success!"
"Pressure mounts on Matrazzi as Sporting Lisbon’s first team shows no significant improvement!"
"Hoeness: The opposing player lacks professional ethics, Maniche’s red card was totally unfair! It’s hard to believe Trigella once was a youth coach with the way he incites his players!"
"Maniche: He said something very offensive to me, and I don’t regret getting the red card. My only regret is that I didn’t punch him at that time!"
"Deng Kai: Maniche needs to calm down, Altino’s defense on him was very successful. If Maniche had joined Moreirense during the winter transfer window, he would be celebrating the victory with us now."
This Portugal Cup brought Moreirense into the spotlight of Portugal’s football media and mainstream public.
Nobody thought that heading to the Primeira Liga was not the sunset for Trigella, Ronaldo, and Deng Kai, but rather the beginning of their shine.
This is the Primeira Liga!
This isn’t youth league football, this is the professional stage!
In the evaluation systems of the major clubs, the weight of a player’s achievements on the professional field is significant, while the weight of accomplishments during their youth phase is quite light.
This is why players like Simon and Quaresma only played in the Portuguese top-flight for about a year, but their transfer values soared from one to three million euros during their youth to fifteen or twenty million euros.
"Ding! You have completed a..."
After the match, Deng Kai received his reward.
Having entered the professional field, Deng Kai no longer needed the training pyles and functional drinks.
Because the match rewards were enough to allow Deng Kai’s super training pylons and East Dragon power drink to achieve a perfect inner cycle.
His training efficiency was maxed out now.
The match awarded Deng Kai with a blue player skill—Backward Triangle Pass.
The Backward Triangle Pass is a common move in football.
But its technical content is actually not low.
Most players use a half-turn to expand their passing angle, thereby completing the backward triangle pass.
The advantage is that the pass is very stable, making it easier for teammates to control the ball or take a shot.
The downside is that this passing method is only suitable for when there are no defenders nearby, because the half-turn movement takes a bit of time.
Especially when passing from the wings, the reason why the football can be passed out is often that you’re just a fraction of a second quicker than the opponent.
If you’re slow, the ball will definitely not make it through.
Or the opposition’s defense will most likely be in place by then.
So, what to do?
There’s another method, one where the passer doesn’t change the orientation of his body, but completes the backward triangle pass by adjusting the angle of the leg swing, the touchpoint on the ball, and a special technique.
This pass is very unpredictable and, compared to the previous kind with almost certain opportunities, it can create chances when there seem to be none.
Players pushing up from the back need this type of pass to get a shot at goal, or else, by the time their teammate has turned around, everyone has noticed and prepared for your move.
Regarding this technique, during the 2022 Qatar World Cup, when the Netherlands beat the United States 3-1 in the knockout stage, Denzel Dumfries, who was named man of the match for his one goal and two assists, delivered two such backward triangle passes.
Additionally, Deng Kai received a star piece during this match.
It came from Joao Pinto.
"The Glory of Portugal’s Golden Generation (1/5): As Portugal’s Golden Generation marches towards their pinnacle, they are also slowly aging, and they hope that young players will take up their banner and continue to fight. Offensive positioning +2, Shooting +2. Collecting all the glories will yield a hefty reward!"
Well, well!
In the past, only low-level items had fragments, but now, even stars are dropping in pieces. Has Teng Xun completely taken over the system?
Of course, given Deng Kai’s understanding of the system, this "hefty" reward is probably going to be very generous indeed.
In hopes of collecting these glories, probably, he’ll need to find a way to play more matches against players from Portugal’s Golden Generation.
Figo, Rui Costa... oh, forget it, that’s way too insincere.
Let’s not even talk about Figo’s Barcelona, which, barring any surprises, could continue to defend their La Liga title this season.
Of course, in the end, a surprise did happen, as they ended up second in the league, succumbing to Deportivo La Coruña.
In the Champions League, they’re also at a semifinal level.
Rui Costa’s Fiorentina finished third in the Serie A last season and were runners-up in the Coppa Italia.
Deng Kai has no chance of encountering them in the Portuguese league.
Going to the Primeira Liga might give him a smidgen of hope.
Because of Deng Kai’s outstanding performance, the media interviewed Marten Maxa, the current head coach of Sporting Lisbon.
Reporter: "Do you plan to feature Deng Kai, Ronaldo, and other loaned players in the first-team squad next season after they return from their loans?"
Matrazzi: "I really have to question the professionalism of the Portuguese football media with such questions. What are you thinking? They are only fifteen years old! Players of this age should be playing in the youth ranks."
"Trigella is indeed very good at developing players, which is why they can produce so many stars, making Ronaldo and Deng Kai seem like future superstars even in the Primeira Liga!"
The average person might not read too much into Marten Maxa’s words, but Maxa, his assistant coach, knew the nuances well.
When Matrazzi joined the team, he brought his own coaching staff, rendering Maxa’s position as a head assistant coach in name only.
However, Maxa was not only unfazed, he actually arrived early and stayed late every day, doing everything from cleaning the locker room and setting up training equipment to communicating with players, and making sure their training and morale were looked after, playing a perfect team manager role. He only gave without expecting anything in return, like a saint.
He was beloved by the players and well-liked by his colleagues.
Some even nicknamed him "Saint Maxa"!
The reason they didn’t call him "Saint Marten" was to save Matrazzi some face.
