Chapter 230: Chapter 229: The Disappearing Ronaldo (11th Update)
"It’s over! Champions! Morelense are the champions!"
"Deng Kai! He is the absolute hero of the Championship Trophy! He led Morelense from the bottom of the league in a mad chase, finally defeating their rivals Rio Ave in the last round to claim the title!"
"This is definitely the most blood-pumping Primeira Liga season in history!"
"Deng Kai! Caesar of Portugal! Chinese king! Trigella’s top favorite! The hope of Sporting Lisbon according to Maxa! Conqueror of the American actress! The man kissed by the Hollywood queen! Hathaway’s true love pursued in return!"
"He will forever be remembered by the Primeira Liga! Forever! Forever!"
In bursts of flashing lights, the images of the Morelense players’ wild celebrations kept emerging.
Officials were setting up the stage.
After the celebrations ended, Deng Kai, who had just remembered Ronaldo, wanted to go over, but was unfortunately surrounded by a horde of reporters.
But from afar, he saw Ronaldo sitting up and only then was he at ease to accept the interviews.
Reporter: "Congratulations, Deng Kai, you’ve created a miracle."
Deng Kai: "It’s us, every player of Morelense, the staff, the fans... everyone!"
Reporter: "Your team was once in dire straits during the game. What supported you to make the comeback?"
Deng Kai: "As a loaned player, I don’t know nor can I decide where I will be next season. So I hope to bring everything I can to the team I’m with, during the time I can control."
"Survival, promotion, winning the championship... I am willing to give it my all!"
Reporter: "You’ve scored the winning goal against the opponent, how do you feel at this moment?"
Deng Kai: "Excited, endlessly excited!"
Reporter: "Was that goal discussed with Ronaldo, or did you just miss-hit it?"
Deng Kai: "I have unparalleled understanding with Ronaldo; facing difficulties, I naturally want to rely on myself. But after my Marseille Turn, I realized the opponent didn’t leave any defensive gaps."
"At that time, I would look to Ronaldo, and he, when faced with the same situation, would also look for me immediately. We both believe that the other can bring hope to break the deadlock."
"Fortunately, I found it!"
Reporter: "That shot was assisted like a midfield maestro!"
Deng Kai nodded, affirming the reporter’s statement.
Though it sounded a bit strange.
The journalists didn’t have much time left for interviews, as the stage was ready.
The Morelense players were about to lift their team’s first-ever Championship Trophy!
Facing the trophy, Altino looked towards Deng Kai, indicating for him to go up.
But Deng Kai refused.
Altino, who had more right to lift the trophy, was the captain of the team.
Moreover, his contribution to this team far exceeded that of Deng Kai, both in the past and future.
"One... two... three!"
"We are the champions!"
Click!
A simple yet classic championship group photo was captured.
From this moment on, Portugal gave birth to its own miracle, just like many other miracles born on the football field before, it will be remembered forever!
Two years ago, Bundesliga team Kaiserslautern created a miracle by winning the league as a promoted team.
In the 1992 European Championship, Denmark defeated the world champion German team 2-0 in the final, creating the Danish fairytale.
AC Milan’s miracle of 58 unbeaten league games in a row.
And even earlier, Nottingham Forest, the promoted team who became the double champions and achieved back-to-back European Cup miracles.
Serie A’s San Remo rose from Serie D, a three-year miracle leap into Serie A!
"A New Miracle! Moreirense Climbs from Last Place to Champions in Half a Season!"
"Magical Last-Minute Goal! Portugal’s Caesar Transforms Into a Midfield Strategist! Brilliant Shot Creates Year’s Best Assist!"
"Rio Ave’s Manager: We brought the Great Wall of China to our goal area, but we forgot Deng Kai is from China! Even the Great Wall has vulnerabilities he can find!"
"Trigella: The championship belongs to everyone, but Deng Kai was the best player in the match, bar none!"
"Trigella: The luckiest thing for me this year wasn’t renting Deng Kai; it was running to his house immediately after hearing him say he wanted to play football two years ago! Otherwise, Barcelona would have snatched him away!"
"Moreirense and Rio Ave secure promotion with the top two spots in Portugal’s second division!"
"Portuguese Second Division’s Best XI Announced, with Moreirense Players Making up the Majority. Deng Kai and Ronaldo lead, alongside Anderson, Feng Te, and Kilop!"
"Ronaldo’s Half-Season Tally: 20 Goals, 4 Assists, Snatching the Portuguese Second Division Golden Boot by a Single Goal! Also Named Best Forward!"
"Unearthly Efficiency! Deng Kai with 12 Goals, 18 Assists, Involved in 30 Goals in Half a Season, Claims Portuguese Second Division’s Best Player, Best Midfielder, and Top Assist Provider Awards!"
"Heart-Stirring! Moreirense Lifts Its First Trophy in Club History, Filling the Honors Void, as Fans Flood the Streets Crying!"
"Van Gaal: That goal was indeed exquisite and impossible to replicate. Moreirense’s success is no accident; they have many good players. Deng Kai and Ronaldo, of course, but I think Kilop’s contribution to the defense is irreplaceable!"
Portuguese media is in an uproar.
Fans are even more astonished.
Most heard the team’s name for the first time when Trigella took charge and Deng Kai and Ronaldo were loaned there, known then as the last in the second division.
The next memory they have is of Moreirense knocking out Lisbon giants Sporting and Benfica.
And now they’ve gone straight to winning the division and getting promoted to the top league.
Wow!
Even a chameleon doesn’t change like this, at least give it a moment to cool down.
Almost overnight, all of Portugal remembered "that goal"!
That otherworldly goal made by Deng Kai.
But...
Ronaldo, who flipped through the newspapers and didn’t find his photo, was perplexed.
First, what kind of goal was "that goal?"
He genuinely had no recollection of it!
Especially since "that goal" was precisely the one he scored, exceeding Gil Vicente’s striker’s nineteen goals to claim the Golden Boot as his last and most critical goal.
All he remembered was his vision going black, and when he opened his eyes again, it seemed like the match was over?
So when reporters asked him how he felt after scoring, all he could describe was "very dark, very quiet, very painful," with no other adjectives to offer.
Even after watching the replay of the moment he got knocked in the head over and over, he still couldn’t associate "that goal" with himself.
The feeling of being disconnected from the entire world was truly terrible.
If there’s a first, there must be a second.
Ronaldo’s second incomprehension was... why wasn’t the scorer himself part of the most exciting, most crucial goal’s celebration?
Yes!
Ronaldo combed through all the media!
He believed that in various versions of the reports, there were photos of nearly every team member celebrating.
Only he wasn’t there!
He disappeared, you know!
