Chapter 30: Chapter 30: The Second Bloom of the Twice Blooming Plum
"Hey, I don’t know if everyone has noticed, but Chris is really active today."
"We all know he’s active when he has the ball, but is he this active without it? Didn’t seem like it in the past, right?"
"He’s making a lot of runs today, even creating space for his teammates, which is quite rare."
"Look, look, another sprint after dropping back, drawing away two defenders. Deng Kai takes the chance to pass the football to the right wing, and the Sporting Lisbon winger crosses it... too bad, the goalkeeper claims it."
"The key is that Chris isn’t dissatisfied for not receiving the pass from his teammate, which is also very uncommon. He’s a player who strongly desires to touch the ball, which is both his strength and his weakness."
Maxa, watching Ronaldo’s repeated runs, felt like telling Deng Kai to just pass the ball to him, or else what if Ronaldo loses his temper?
However, neither Ronaldo nor Deng Kai exhibited the behavior Maxa had imagined.
Deng Kai continued to use Ronaldo’s runs to mobilize other teammates.
Aside from pursing his lips and shaking his head, Ronaldo showed no signs of losing control.
Finding a gap, Ronaldo approached Deng Kai: "What the hell are you doing? Didn’t you say next time for sure?"
Deng Kai: "Hey, buddy, you don’t really think that just the two of us can win the match, do you?"
Ronaldo with a full head of question marks: "Isn’t that the case?"
Deng Kai speechless: "Your goals are indeed the most on the team, and your offensive role is irreplaceable. But you have to understand how all of this comes about."
"You need others to pass you the ball, to create openings for you. Even if you can do everything, when it comes to defending and passing, would you rather dribble and shoot instead?"
"Since there are times you need others, you likewise need to meet others’ needs."
"It’s almost sixty minutes into the game, haven’t you noticed that our right winger and right back are almost falling asleep?"
"Sure, they can be replaced, but no matter who you sub in, you still have to get along with others, right?"
"Besides, if we want to go further, we need more high-caliber assistants."
"If your goal is just to play eighteen regional games, then I assure you, from now on, I will pass every single ball to you."
"But if you have aspirations for the upcoming North-South division match and the Championship Trophy, then just like me, use these games with less pressure of winning or losing to take a good look at who else on the team is worth relying on in critical moments, okay?"
Deng Kai wasn’t sure Ronaldo had understood, so he let Ronaldo head back to the left wing to ponder on his own.
Not giving teammates the chance to attack normally makes it very hard to expect them to come up with a surprising win in key moments.
Teams like Manchester City, where everyone has the chance to have a shot during play, anyone can become the savior at critical moments.
It’s not that they are lucky, but they "squander" enough opportunities on those non-core players regularly.
In the sixty-seventh minute, the proactive Ronaldo got his reward.
His aggressive fighting in the frontcourt actually earned him a precious interception.
His speed was fast, and even though he wasn’t keen on intercepting, pressing with all his might still caused huge trouble for the opposition.
After an interception in the attacking third, Ronaldo immediately passed the football to Deng Kai and then surged into the penalty area.
As he ran, he kept raising his right hand, afraid Deng Kai wouldn’t see him.
"Here! Pass me the ball!"
Ronaldo was brimming with confidence.
The central defender from Casa Pia immediately followed Ronaldo, engaging in a contest with him.
Ronaldo, like a tiger rushing down the mountain, charged through Casa Pia’s penalty area.
Bang!
A loud noise erupted.
The sprinting Ronaldo, with a puzzled face, watched as the football flew toward the goal.
As he turned to look at where the football had come from, Deng Kai was still holding the pose from the shot.
???
WTF!
Whoosh!
The football hit the net once again.
If you say that Casabia’s goalkeeper didn’t catch Deng Kai’s first shot because it was a pity since it wasn’t a difficult one to save,
then this time, the goalkeeper really has nothing to regret.
Because the quality of this shot was very high.
The football hung directly in the top-left corner of the goal.
The angle and speed were simply superb.
"Beautiful! Deng Kai helps his team score another one! Three to zero!"
"Deng Kai is in such great form, he’s scored twice in consecutive matches!"
"Similarly, Chris is astonishing everyone. Everybody says Chris won’t pass or assist, but in this match, Chris has directly provided two assists, such a fierce comeback will surely shut those people up."
"Huh, Chris found Deng Kai, but why doesn’t he seem too happy about it?"
Ronaldo, of course, wasn’t happy.
Because he had become Deng Kai’s wingman once again.
"Shouldn’t the pass have come to me?" Ronaldo wondered with a hint of dissatisfaction.
Deng Kai shrugged while running to celebrate: "You can’t blame me for that, you can only blame yourself."
Ronaldo’s blood pressure rose: "Blame me? Is my positioning not sharp enough? I’ve turned their defense upside down!"
Deng Kai: "That’s exactly the problem. Your threat is too big, buddy, everyone was surrounding you, afraid you’d get the football. You alone drew the attention of their entire defensive line."
"I don’t have the ability to pass the football straight to you through all those obstacles, your positioning could rival Yin Zhaji, but unfortunately, I’m not Zidane behind you."
"Blame me! I am not yet able to make the most of your abilities!"
Deng Kai spoke as if it were all true.
Yin Zhaji had performed quite well in Serie A over the past two seasons, winning the Serie A top scorer the year before last, and after transferring to Juventus last year, he helped Juventus lift the Serie A Championship Trophy.
He was renowned for his savvy positioning, helping his team win the European U21 Championship in ’94, and afterward, he steadily made his way into the Italian national team.
Ronaldo clearly was very pleased with Deng Kai’s comparison.
So he generously stated, "No worries, you’re quite good yourself, I believe that one day you’ll become Portugal’s finest midfielder. Then, your passes will be worthy of my runs and shots!"
Ronaldo took it seriously... he even began consoling Deng Kai.
He also felt he could perform even stronger, but the team was holding him back.
He really, I’m crying here!
The two were on the sidelines having this conversation when Maxa had also rushed over wanting to join the celebration but was halted by their exchange.
After Ronaldo left, Maxa laughed and said, "Chris, that kid, can’t even take a joke. Just now, shooting was clearly a smarter choice than passing to him."
However, Deng Kai looked at Maxa seriously and said, "No, I meant what I said."
"If I had the ability, I would definitely pass the football to him."
"He is the best in the world at scoring, and there’s no one else!"
Maxa was left stunned.
How else could you and Ronaldo become best friends?
A promising midfielder seedling, how come only the intelligence seems to be an issue?
Is Ronaldo excellent?
Excellent.
But honestly, Maxa felt that Ronaldo might not be able to reach the level of Simon or Quaresma.
Because Ronaldo’s passing and intricate skills, were really quite lacking.
