Chapter 234: Chapter 233: Battle for Morale (Fifteen More)
In the 37th minute, Deco executed a super pass after dribbling past several players.
The football flew toward the far post; the speed wasn’t exceptionally fast, making it great for his teammates to handle.
Capucho was unmarked and met the ball with a powerful shot, which was a reasonable choice.
But, with a clang,
the football struck the crossbar and flew off.
When your side is on the rise, even if such a shot doesn’t go in, it can still exhilarate the team even further.
But when you’re in a slump, these kinds of misses can really damage morale.
Even Deco felt a chill in his heart.
Missing such a good scoring opportunity, it’s hard not to wonder which team’s jersey God is wearing today.
At the 41st minute, Deco shone again with a surgical through ball...
Dammit!
It was only after releasing the ball that Deco realized Deng Kai was near that passing path, he couldn’t possibly...
Bang!
Deng Kai slid and intercepted the pass.
The invisible man on the pitch, YYDS!
But the main issue was still Deco’s continuous shining.
An occasional flash can catch people off guard.
But if you keep flashing, won’t you just become a lightbulb?
Kai, it would be hard not to notice you, Little Deco!
Deng Kai got up, poked the ball, and started a counter-attack.
But the next moment, Deng Kai fell to the ground.
Porto’s midfielder Sasso next to him had taken him down.
The referee blew the whistle, indicating a foul by the Porto player.
But Deng Kai, always calm, got up and let out an angry roar, spreading his hands and rushing towards Sasso.
Sasso ignored Deng Kai, sinisterly retreating to his own half
The referee came over to calm Deng Kai’s temper while calling Sasso back and warning him.
"Why is Kai so agitated? Isn’t this not very good? After all, he is the core of the midfield; if he is irrational..." Morelence’s assistant coach was somewhat uneasy.
"This is what he planned," Trigella explained. "Professional players have been playing for more than a day or two, and they’re clear about each other’s intentions and thoughts."
"Some fouls might seem minor, but a player might explode instantly, or even teammates rush in to fight the fouler. In such cases, the foul might not be just for the ball, or even for any football goal."
"It might also carry the intention to deliberately hurt the opponent."
At the World Cup in Qatar, during the match between the Netherlands and Argentina, Dutch central defender Tinberg, who had bandages from an injury, received a yellow card for angrily pushing the player who had fouled Denzel Dumfries.
It was because the foul was more than just a normal tactical foul; stepping on someone’s Achilles heel from behind without applying pressure is deliberately trying to injure someone.
Everyone knew that Dumfries, with two assists and a goal in the previous match, was one of the Netherlands’ key attacking options.
Van Gaal didn’t focus on Dumfries in this match, fearing that this player could get targeted and injured, rendering his team handicapped.
Back to this match, Deng Kai’s anger is different from that of Tinberg.
Sasso didn’t intend to hurt Deng Kai.
But he took down Deng Kai for tactical reasons, to prevent Deng Kai from starting a counter-attack.
The team that commits such intentional fouls usually achieves their goal once the opponent is brought down.
So, they usually won’t argue about the victim’s complaints because they know they are at fault.
Yes, I did it; I just wanted you to stop, the ball is still yours, it’s within the rules of football, and I’ll take the consequences I need to take.
Part of that consequence is to accept the aggrievement of the player who was fouled.
Real conflicts on the pitch are often sparked by unclear judgments.
That is when both parties believe the other is at fault.
Of course, if you have no professional ethics or sense of right and wrong, you can argue after tripping someone that they fell on their own, that it wasn’t your fault... but that’s just disgusting.
What Sasso didn’t notice though, was that with Deng Kai’s complaints, the morale of the Morelence players was soaring even higher.
"Aside from fouling, do you have no other way to stop Little Kai?"
"Scared to even make a sound after Little Kai yelled at you!"
"Dare to knock down Little Kai? Next time, we’ll get you!"
"He’s already been warned by the main referee, another go might just get him a yellow card!"
"Rubbish Kai, pass the football over before you go down!"
The thoughts of Morlence players varied, and apart from the very few Ronaldos, most were touching.
The forty-second minute.
After Deng Kai took the set piece from the backfield, Alex and Flavio worked together on the right flank, with Alex successfully getting to the byline.
But Sasso covered well, continuously pressuring Alex.
Alex staggered under the pressure but managed to kick the ball onto Sasso before it crossed the byline.
Corner!
"Roar!"
Alex, very excited, patted his chest, proud of having won a corner.
He gestured upwards with both hands, signaling the fans to cheer, putting pressure on the opposition.
The morale of Morlence almost reached a peak.
Bang!
After Alex took the corner kick, the football was cleared out of the penalty area by Porto’s Fuchs.
Deng Kai and Deco fiercely competed for the ball, with Deco being a little taller, using his arms and legs to knock down Deng Kai.
But Deng Kai was easily knocked down just because he was hooking the ball while turning his body.
Bang!
Deng Kai fell to the ground, and the football was passed out again.
Serafim took the kick and crossed it in for another attempt.
Deco quickly raced into the penalty area to join the defense.
The main referee put the whistle to his mouth and made a gesture indicating an advantage in the attack; Deco knocking down Deng Kai was definitely a foul.
Bang!
Porto’s central defender was not bad and cleared the football again.
Watching the ball fly over his head, with his keen ability to judge where it would land, Deco felt the ball was heading to the very spot he had just vacated.
If he had known, he wouldn’t have moved... wait... not moved?
Deco turned his head to look.
Deng Kai was getting up from the ground, looking up at the ball, seemingly preparing to control it.
Deco immediately lunged back, even slipping a bit with his feet.
Several Porto players shared the same thought as Deco.
According to their speed, they likely had the chance to stop Deng Kai’s pass after he controlled the ball.
Bang!
Almost all Porto players were stunned.
Because facing the incoming ball, Deng Kai directly lifted his leg and lofted the ball back into the penalty area.
Control the ball?
Not a chance.
When it came to passing, Deng Kai was all about speed.
Only faster, never the fastest.
"A lofted pass! Deng Kai is too fast!"
"But not only did Porto’s defenders not expect it, it seems Morlence’s players also didn’t anticipate it."
"Most players from both sides missed the header."
"And this kind of volley pass is not easy to control the force; this ball is obviously a bit too strong, landing deep at the far post."
"But Ronaldo has not given up, he’s still trying to reach that ball."
