Chapter 318: Chapter 317: The Ambition of the Triple Crown King
It looked as if Serafim actively yielded his position to Deng Kai.
"Oh! Serafim was completely bamboozled by Deng Kai’s successive feints."
"His defense seemed more like a welcome to Deng Kai, the former core of the team. The two are simply not on the same level; Deng Kai has played more and more composedly since the beginning of the second half of the season."
"Some may feel his presence isn’t as strong as before, but in reality, as the midfield commander, his perfect movement and use of all his teammates is what’s most important."
"The current Viana is just like Deng Kai used to be. And now Deng Kai, I must say, is very much like those master midfielders who battle on the top stage. He has a bit of Rivaldo, Guardiola, and even Zidane in him."
"Ibrahimovic is sprinting, he’s asking for the ball... Deng Kai doesn’t pass. Ibrahimovic has moved offside, he’s coming back, choosing to return from the right side."
"Ronaldo is cutting in without the ball, asking for it at the edge of the penalty area."
"Viana is at the top of the penalty box arc, he too can wait for Deng Kai’s Backward Triangle Pass."
"Drogba holds off Morlence’s center back, Deng Kai passes... Drogba wall-pass... Deng Kai charges into the penalty area from the right!"
Gomes had no choice but to come out.
Bang!
With the outside of his foot, Deng Kai lobbed the ball, its curve taking it beyond Gomes’s reach, scoring in the far corner.
"Four to one! Deng Kai has almost certainly secured the victory for Sporting Lisbon!"
"Deng Kai has been so active today. He’s been simply unstoppable, with long shots, dribbling, crossing, brilliant passes, and penetrating the box, he’s done it all!"
"Of the four goals, Deng Kai was responsible for two assists and two shots! He completely dominated the game!"
"This is the control that a former midfield core has over the team, Deng Kai’s performance against Morlence fully demonstrates his understanding of this team."
"Such performances are definitely not inferior to Viana’s. Unfortunately, when facing Inter Milan, Deng Kai was content to play a supporting role. Otherwise, Inter Milan’s offer wouldn’t be just 13 million euros, but 26 million euros—they’d bid for Deng Kai too!"
"Because Deng Kai and Viana are exactly what Inter Milan need in the midfield!"
Watching the Portuguese Cup commentators talk confidently, Moratti, far away in the Italian city of Milan, let out a disdainful snort.
Did the Portuguese think he, Moratti, didn’t understand football?
Did Moratti, a connoisseur, not understand which midfielder between Viana and Deng Kai was stronger?
Player ability sometimes depends on the game environment.
Different leagues have different environments.
In Moratti’s view, Deng Kai is the next Pirlo.
Shorter in height, younger, with almost identical passing skills, and nearly the same in terms of ball control and dribbling ability.
Pirlo’s free-kick technique is better, but Deng Kai scores more spectacular goals out of luck.
However, everyone saw Pirlo’s performance at Inter Milan.
Moratti was quite disappointed with Pirlo.
Pirlo did excellent in his previous team, but at Inter Milan, he wasn’t cut out to be an attacking midfielder. He faced too much pressing, couldn’t deal with those situations, and his physique couldn’t provide him with enough support.
Traditional attacking midfielders may seem slow in their play, but they can withstand various outrageous impacts and confrontations.
Pirlo couldn’t withstand them, so there couldn’t be a discussion about organization and playmaking.
This is why Moratti never considered bringing in Deng Kai; he had tried that kind of player before, and they were average.
Pirlo: ???
Deng Kai: ???
But Viana was different; he had strong wing attributes.
Even if Viana couldn’t become Inter’s midfield commander, they could try transforming him into a wide midfielder or even a wing-back.
So, can you say Moratti doesn’t understand football? Doesn’t know how to buy players?
Moratti understands it all.
He has moved beyond the basic judgment of players from data to a deeper level of consideration.
Moratti’s logic is actually correct, but what he doesn’t know is that genius cannot be measured by logic.
Because true geniuses are unreasonable.
If Ronaldo had not suffered so many injuries at Inter Milan but had instead brought the team two Champions League titles, maybe Moratti would understand.
In the 70th minute, Trigella waved his hand grandly and substituted Paolo Bento for the weary Deschamps.
At the same time, he replaced Ronaldo with the substitute winger Kwame Ayew.
This was a protective substitution.
With the Portuguese Cup victory nearly secured, Trigella needed to prepare for the league.
Currently second in the league, but only one point behind Porto, a slip-up could easily see them take the lead again, so it was important to be cautious.
This has been Sporting Lisbon’s closest shot at the league championship in the past five years.
The 82nd minute.
Kwame Ayew passed the ball to Viana after an unsuccessful breakthrough on the left.
Viana continued to distribute the ball to Deng Kai.
Deng Kai, with a shake of his body on the right wing, left Serafim stupefied; he couldn’t grasp what Deng Kai intended to do at all.
Deng Kai performed a manual dribbling maneuver!
He cut inside forcefully, moving as if he were a figure skater.
The center back of Moreirense knew his teammates couldn’t stop Deng Kai and was prepared, immediately stepping up to cover.
But suddenly, Deng Kai avoided them near the edge of the box with a side-footed move.
Bang!
On his way to the byline, Deng Kai tapped the ball with his right foot, then rolled forward.
The kind of pass that would send oneself rolling forward was... towards the back and at an angle.
This was... a backward triangle pass.
Bang!
At the edge of the penalty area, Viana seized the chance of Drogba and Ibrahimovic’s dual distraction and shot almost straight into an open goal.
Gomes watched the ball hit the net for the fifth time in despair.
"Five to one! Viana’s form continues to surge, and Inter Milan’s offer for him will have to go up by another million!"
"Deng Kai completed a hat-trick of assists today; this is his first burst of form in the second half of the season. He seems different this match, as if he has found a balance between being a commander and the brightest star."
"Let’s hope he can maintain this fiery form in the upcoming games!"
The 89th minute.
Ibrahimovic drifted wide to the right, allowing Deng Kai to make a flexible run into the box.
Ibrahimovic, dazzling with the ball at his feet, looked to play a through ball to Deng Kai.
But it was kicked out of play by a Moreirense player with a foul-like action.
The referee awarded a throw-in, no foul.
As the match was nearing its end, he hoped to pass the last moments smoothly and quickly so that everyone could finish early—why wouldn’t he be pleased?
Holding the football, Ibrahimovic waited five seconds before tossing it to Barzagli, who came up to take the throw-in.
By then, Deng Kai had returned.
Ibrahimovic was making his run into the penalty area.
Barzagli took the throw-in, and Deng Kai, without stopping the ball, performed a ’scoop turn’ to flick it over an opponent.
The Moreirense defender hadn’t anticipated Deng Kai’s showiness at all.
Bang!
After the ball bounced off the ground, Deng Kai followed through with a powerful long pass toward the near post of the penalty area.
Drogba leapt among the crowd and headed the ball to ferry it across.
Ibrahimovic, who had just charged into the box, was already at full speed and wasn’t slow.
Bang!
Ibrahimovic propelled forward and headed the ball toward the goal.
The football blasted through the net.
Six to one!
Ibrahimovic scored his second goal with a header!
Having come on as a substitute, Drogba provided two assist doubles, and both strikers reaped a bounty!
The Portuguese Cup defending champions Moreirense were stopped at the quarter-finals this year. This result was decent for a team fighting relegation, providing some financial relief. If they were unfortunate enough to be relegated back to the Portuguese second division this season, there’s hope for a quick return to the top flight.
Meanwhile, Sporting Lisbon, carrying their zeal, advanced to the semifinals, continuing their campaign on three fronts.
Suddenly, the Portuguese media realized that Sporting Lisbon was the only team this season in the Portuguese league with a chance to claim the "Treble."
The "Treble" in quotation marks because the traditional treble refers to winning the Champions League, domestic league championship, and the highest-level domestic cup.
And Sporting Lisbon is currently in the quarterfinals of the Europa League.
The Europa League is Europe’s second-tier club competition, a level below the Champions League.
But... for the Portuguese league, it’s still quite an accomplishment.
No team has ever won such an official treble in the history of the Portuguese league!
Sporting Lisbon, is this the year they come into full bloom?
