Chapter 271: Chapter 270: The True Pattern of Kai (Seeking Full Subscription)
The other central defender beside him was fully focused on Deng Kai.
Deng Kai nudged the ball, slightly changing direction.
The opponent seized the opportunity to move into the space created by the change of direction and made physical contact with Deng Kai.
Against smaller players, central defenders simply put their body weight on them.
In such cases, even if the player falls, the main referee usually won’t call it a defensive foul.
Bang!
Deng Kai stumbled.
The Barbaric Collision was effective once again!
But the football didn’t completely escape his control.
On the contrary, the confident central defender didn’t expect the recoil from this impact to be so strong, his reaction was half a beat too slow.
Bang!
As he fell to the ground, Deng Kai made a quick adjustment, firing off a sweeping shot.
The goalkeeper could hardly anticipate that Deng Kai, in this condition, would still be able to get a shot off.
Does this mean his central defender’s collision failed to break his balance? Was his strength in resisting such challenges this formidable?
Whoosh!
The football found the net.
"GOAL! Deng Kai! Deng Kai has finally broken the deadlock for his team!"
"Drogba’s wall-passing tactics are seemingly stupid but quite effective. Simple, yet very effective."
"Compared to Ibrahimovic’s fancy but fruitless play in the first half, Drogba’s practical style is evidently more suitable for Sporting Lisbon."
"Oh, Deng Kai is sprinting towards the corner flag area, a beautiful slide on his knees!"
"It’s rare to see him perform such a heartfelt celebration!"
"Wait a minute... why are there three stripes where Deng Kai slid? If his knees were sliding, it should leave two marks, right?"
For a moment, the fans were lost in thought.
Then, female fans were the first to snap out of it.
"Oh my God! Could it be..."
"I think I finally understand why Hathaway is chasing after Deng Kai!"
"Isn’t this a bit too early? Kai is only fifteen years old!"
"Some develop early. Fifteen is about right."
"Er... But does Kai look like he matured early?"
Everyone was quite happy.
Only Drogba, who had just provided an assist, was thoughtful.
He felt as if he had lost something?
The sixty-seventh minute.
Leria tried to fight back, conducting a well-crafted play and setting up an attack.
Unfortunately, Matthaus was their superior; he deceived the passing player with a beautiful defensive feint, then positioned himself behind the advancing player to intercept.
Bang!
Matthaus’s pass was no joke; he launched a long ball to start a counterattack.
The primary outlets for the team’s defense were Matthaus, Deschamps, and Deng Kai.
Ronaldo dashed down the left flank, bringing the ball into the attacking third before decisively cutting inside.
Along the way, he spotted Viana in a better position.
Ronaldo passed back to Viana, then made a forward run to the center.
With Drogba ahead and behind, they were like double ghosts at the door.
Viana deftly lofted the ball to the back post.
Seeing it and pulling it off.
Quaresma promptly arrived and sent a cross to the front of the goal.
Drogba charged past it.
Ronaldo was right on time, his foot tapping the football "pressing" it into the goal.
"Two-nil! Matthaus launched the counterattack, Viana conducted the play, Quaresma’s continuous volleyed cross, Ronaldo’s mid-air ball press shot, the entire sequence was nothing short of brilliant!"
"This is the spark of genius!"
Ibrahimovic listened to the commentary grumpily from the substitute bench.
Defiling a corpse?
What does "this is how" mean?
Is a pull and a press really that interesting?
After scoring that goal, Trigella boldly made substitutions.
Pepe and Paolo Bento both came on, replacing Matthaus and Deschamps.
This was also Bento’s first start of the season, a peripheral member of Portugal’s golden generation.
He lived up to the future moniker of The Godfather of South Korean football.
Within less than five minutes on the field, Bento contributed a failed sliding tackle.
Pepe’s Barbaric Collision not only earned him a yellow card but also gifted the opponents a perfectly positioned free kick.
The players from Leria capitalized on the free kick to score a goal, pulling one back.
This sparked an excitement amongst the Leria fans.
There was still a chance!
Trigella was speechless on the sideline.
Bento was just a low-end version of Deschamps, minus the passing ability.
Pepe was an elongated but bankrupt version of Matthaus. Matthaus roamed to find and fix gaps, while Pepe’s roaming was like knocking down the east wall to repair the west, full of holes.
The problem didn’t lie in their mobility, but in their defensive experience.
The eighty-first minute.
Leria continued to press the attack.
Feng Te blocked the passing lanes, Terry charged in, and with their combined efforts, they successfully stole the ball.
Terry passed to the retreating Viana.
Viana then sent the football to Deng Kai.
As Deng Kai advanced with the ball, he feigned a pass to Quaresma upon facing resistance, only to deceive with a feint and turn with his left foot, passing it to the flying Ronaldo on the left wing.
Ronaldo controlled the ball and after two dribbles he crossed immediately.
Drogba leaped high inside the box, heading the ball forcefully, fully determined to score.
But sometimes, excessive force is a mistake.
The ball was hit a bit too strongly and slightly too high, bouncing off the crossbar and back to the edge of the penalty area.
Deng Kai followed up, drawing back his foot as if to shoot with his left.
However, a quick glance told him there was no clear shooting lane in the box.
Bang!
Deng Kai gently touched the ball with his left foot, sweeping it sideways.
The ball traveled in a line parallel to the goal towards the right side of the penalty area.
Quaresma arrived and finished with a right-footed trivela shot!
Under the distraction of Deng Kai’s long shot attempt, several defenders were frozen in their tracks.
Quaresma, facing a static wall, found the path for his shot, it was a matter of luck or perhaps his technique.
Bang!
The ball curved magnificently, catching everyone off guard as it nestled into the back of the net.
Only at that moment did Drogba incredulously cover his head with his hands.
I can’t believe my solid header didn’t go in, yet your ridiculous trivela shot did?
It’s just not fair, God.
The whole world shares the same luck, and you, Quaresma, keep eight out of ten bushels for yourself, right?
"Three to one! Great pass from Deng Kai, even better shot from Quaresma! That’s the ability of Lisbon Athletic’s star player, Quaresma’s trivela is simply magical!"
"The players from Lisbon Athletic are celebrating together. After the celebration, Ronaldo spreads his arms as if he’s saying something to Drogba, probably thinking Drogba wasted his wonderful pass."
"It’s a bit unfortunate indeed, Ronaldo doesn’t pass the ball often. To not even get an assist from it, now that must be frustrating."
Injury time.
Drogba was brought down in the box, winning a penalty kick.
Eager to prove himself, Drogba fixated on the football, and there was no doubt he wanted to take his chance.
Deng Kai, seeing Drogba’s desire, stepped up and said to him, "Drogba, I understand your urge to score. If this penalty were mine, I would give it to you, but..."
With that, Deng Kai reached out his hand.
Reminded by Deng Kai, Drogba reluctantly handed over the football.
Deng Kai then turned around and gave the ball to Quaresma.
With Jia De’er gone, the team’s first-choice penalty kicker was obviously the star player, Quaresma.
But this simple exchange made many realize that the true leader of the team might actually be... Deng Kai?
[PS: World Cup Final, publishing the correct answer directly, ha. The last time Croatia got the World Cup third place, the champion was France...]
France is set to win over Argentina, the only suspense being whether it will be a big win or a small one. If Argentina scores first, France wins by a small margin. If France scores first, it’s a big win for France.
After consulting with Mbappé, the unanimous decision is France beats Argentina six to one!]
