Chapter 33: Chapter 33 Ghost Ronaldo
Following the corner kick, Sporting Lisbon failed to create a shot on goal.
Heading was not the strong suit of this team.
Deng Kai couldn’t help but criticize Cristiano Ronaldo’s straightforward and simple heading effort in his mind.
But it was understandable.
The essence of heading lies in positioning, but it’s based on physicality.
At this stage, Ronaldo’s physical condition wasn’t superior to his opponents’, leaving his heading without any advantage.
Moreover, he hadn’t yet considered heading as a means to score goals and was still fixated on attacking with his feet.
He still needed a lot of time to develop his arsenal.
Instead, Viktoria Plzen managed to secure the first touch from the corner kick and attempted to launch an attack.
But their attack died at the first hurdle.
Deng Kai executed a beautiful tackle to disrupt the football.
At this point in the game, most of the players’ stamina had fallen below the red line.
Their key movements unconsciously slowed down.
This made Deng Kai’s tackles much easier.
In just five minutes, Deng Kai made two consecutive tackles and one interception.
His defensive stats skyrocketed in an instant.
He helped Sporting Lisbon suppress Viktoria Plzen’s counter-attacks.
In the 84th minute.
After receiving the ball in the middle of the field, Deng Kai deceived the approaching defender with a Backheel Drag, his feet as swift as the wind, and instantly broke away with the ball, making a high-quality advance.
"Wow! It’s hard to believe that the 13-year-old Deng Kai has managed a high-speed advance at this stage!"
"The burst of speed he demonstrated just now was even comparable to Chris, whose energy is nearly depleted!"
"The resilience of this young player is simply too strong!"
"Pass! Deng Kai passed the ball to Chris, who was cutting in, before Viktoria’s center-backs could get to him."
"Chris... doesn’t stop the ball! It’s a one-two pass!"
"Deng Kai... another one-two! Deng Kai and Chris are so in sync! Two consecutive one-twos, Chris completely shook off all defenders, and he drives the ball into the penalty area! Chris..."
"He’s fallen! Chris has fallen in the penalty area! Viktoria’s center-back hooked his foot from behind!"
"Penalty! As expected, the referee’s eyes are sharp! A red card package! Viktoria Plzen is in danger!"
"Chris has won Sporting Lisbon a penalty that could change the outcome of this match!"
"If this penalty goes in, Sporting Lisbon are likely to defeat Viktoria Plzen, securing their first victory in the Youth Champions League! Their points would go from one to four."
"Considering the two games to come, they’ve kept alive a sliver of hope for qualifying from their group!"
Without a doubt, Ronaldo would take the penalty kick.
He stood behind the penalty spot, deep in breath.
His facial muscles were tense, even twitching unnaturally.
His gaze was also somewhat unfocused.
This was quite different from his future self, when taking penalties.
No one is born with a big heart.
Only with a natural lack of worry.
A true big heart is built with stack upon stack of success and failure.
As the penalty was taken, Ronaldo paid his first significant dues on the big stage.
His kick was saved by Petr Cech.
Petr Cech perfectly predicted Ronaldo’s shot direction, making a god-level save.
"My goodness! Petr Cech has actually saved Chris’s penalty!"
"Incredible! Amazing!"
"Petr Cech is without a doubt the strongest goalkeeper I’ve seen in the Youth Champions League!"
"Čech raised his arms and cried out in victory, his momentum completely overshadowing that of Chris on the opposing side!"
"Chris clasped his face, he missed the chance to become a hero."
"People in the stands were blaming him; I could even hear their disappointed comments about him through the broadcast!"
"Indeed, based on today’s performance, Chris is far from having the potential to become the next Simon. His dribbling was somewhat stiff, and his vision, sense of the game, passing, and tactical movement were all immature."
"His only two secret weapons, speed and shooting, were also off today."
"Perhaps he’s just a hastily promoted Simon 3.0 from Sporting Lisbon? By comparison, I think Quaresma from a higher-tier youth team is the true chosen one for Sporting Lisbon’s future!"
The commentator rambled on, bringing the viewers in front of their TVs directly to Quaresma, allowing many to learn about this talent who was far superior to Chris.
But on the field, Deng Kai walked up to Ronaldo, patted him on the shoulder, and reminded him the match wasn’t over."
Ronaldo nodded reluctantly, but he clearly hadn’t regained his form."
In the subsequent corner, Sporting Lisbon took a tactical corner kick."
After several passes, the football was delivered to Ronaldo, who had run out from the penalty area."
Ronaldo tried to dribble past defenders at the edge of the penalty area."
He was in a fury.
He wanted to prove himself.
With an even more spectacular goal."
Bang!
Facing the layers of defenders, it was clear Ronaldo wouldn’t be able to break through on his own."
After he got past the first person, he lost control of the football, and it was snagged by a player from Viktoria Plzeň."
This time, Viktoria Plzeň launched a successful counter-attack."
Sporting Lisbon tried to defend, but most couldn’t catch up with the speed of the football."
"Beautiful passing! The Viktoria midfielder makes a delicate pass!"
"Viktoria striker gets the ball, he’s through on goal!"
"Wait! Who’s caught up? Is it Chris?"
"No! It’s Deng Kai!"
Bang!
Just as the Viktoria striker was one-on-one, Deng Kai, who had run all the way back from the front field, slid in with a tackle just before the shot."
The football struck his shin and flew high before being caught by Sporting Lisbon’s goalkeeper."
"Oh! What a pity! If the Viktoria striker had been a bit faster, if he had shot a bit sooner, that would have undoubtedly been a goal!"
"No one could have expected the youngest player on the field, Deng Kai, to thwart that shot, right?"
"His performance today has been noteworthy; he has a leadership quality the rest of the team lacks!"
"If Čech’s performance today was like building a copper wall and iron barrier in front of the Viktoria goal, then Deng Kai was like a movable fortress for Sporting Lisbon! They both dominated their opponents’ game, spoiling most of the goal-scoring opportunities!"
"If Deng Kai were a bit older and taller, he might become the target of many teams. With his attitude towards the game, he’s likely to become a fine utility midfielder in the future!"
At this point, Deng Kai’s teammates had all come back to receive the ball."
The match was coming to an end."
They were about to face their fourth game without a win in this edition of the UEFA Youth League."
Yet, even so, Deng Kai, after receiving the ball, still chose to pass it to Ronaldo."
He believed in Ronaldo.
But Ronaldo let Deng Kai down."
He chose to pass it back."
No movement, no daring to move!
After ten seconds, the football was passed to Ronaldo again."
He looked up at the defenders ahead and passed it back once more."
Fifteen seconds later, the ball rolled from Deng Kai to Ronaldo yet again."
At that moment, everyone could see that Deng Kai was challenging Ronaldo!
