Chapter 337: Chapter 336: The Final Destination of Sporting Lisbon is Westfalenstadion
But speaking of Cruyff, the initiator of modern strikers, his headball skills were indeed something special.
In the 17th minute, Overmars challenged Barzagli on the wing.
His dribbling and passing were even sharper than Quaresma’s, as he effortlessly outmaneuvered Barzagli with successive changes of direction.
Although Barzagli had a strong ability to tackle one-on-one, his downside was that he had the slowest turning speed among the three center-backs. He wasn’t the best choice on the right flank, and his characteristics were quite awkward.
As the central center-back, his passing skills were a bit lacking, and his tackling ability couldn’t be perfectly utilized.
As a side-center back, though the tackling was fully utilized, the slow turning speed became an evident weakness.
A four-defender system with two center-backs would suit him better, but Sporting Lisbon was not going to change their formation for just one player.
After Overmars got past Barzagli and before Deschamps came to cover, he delivered a beautiful cross.
Cruyff leaped high; he was slightly shorter than Feng Te, but Feng Te couldn’t jump at all in the face of his strong physique and could only mildly affect him.
Bang!
The football just cleared the crossbar, missing the goal by a mere ten centimeters.
Cruyff shook his head while glancing at Feng Te.
Feng Te noticed Cruyff’s gaze and his face turned red.
They both understood what the other was thinking.
Cruyff: The central center back is actually the weakest link in Sporting Lisbon’s defense! I’ll target him!
Feng Te: Damn it! They’ve realized I’m the weakest on the defense line, what should I do? Deng Kai, save me!
Yes, it was that absurd.
The central center-back position, which many people considered the most important on the defensive line, was indeed the weakest link for Sporting Lisbon.
This was the "perfect solution" that Trigella and Maxa had studied and finally came up with.
As everyone knows, Feng Te was one of the five generals behind Deng Kai in Sporting Lisbon’s youth team.
Later, he followed Deng Kai to join Moreirense and fight in the Portuguese top flight, and now he was the number one Deng Kai fan in the team.
Through many teams, Feng Te and Deng Kai built a solid comradeship.
Purely based on ability, Marcos and Facundo, the original two center-backs in Sporting Lisbon’s team, were not weaker than Feng Te—in fact, to be honest, they were slightly stronger.
And even without considering them, having Pepe replace Feng Te and then switching places with Barzagli would be the best solution for the team’s defense.
But the key point was that Feng Te couldn’t be benched.
Feng Te was a flag, a symbol of the team’s respect for Deng Kai.
Deng Kai was willing to withdraw his position for the team to create more space for players like Viana and Quaresma, but what was the prerequisite?
It was that he needed to feel absolute respect within the team.
Respect is mutual.
If the team benched Feng Te, disrespecting the hidden privileges of Deng Kai within the team, then Deng Kai would definitely not compromise on the field anymore.
At that point, conflicts between him, Viana, Quaresma, and other players would erupt.
And without him, Matthaus and Deschamps would also not be as comfortable in defense, and the team’s defensive strength would decline.
So even though Feng Te wasn’t important at all, the decision whether or not to start him was very important.
Facts have proved that Feng Te’s fan tactic was successful.
But in order to maintain this harmony and respect, the team also had to take the risk of being targeted by opponents.
However, Deng Kai had evidently noticed this too, and he began to deliberately position Deschamps more often in the central defensive midfield area, slightly moving himself to the right. By reducing Deschamps’ area of responsibility, he relieved Deschamps of some pressure, while simultaneously enhancing Deschamps’ ability to protect the area in front of Feng Te.
In the twenty-second minute, Deng Kai passed the ball back to Deschamps and then made a run down the flank.
Quaresma dropped back to receive Deschamps’ pass, then cut inside from the right rib.
He forced Barjuan to abandon Deng Kai and move inward, to prevent Quaresma from dribbling past and directly breaking into the penalty area from the front.
Bang!
Imitating the move, Quaresma flicked the ball with the outside of his right foot en route, passing the football directly to Deng Kai on the flank.
Both kings of the outside foot possessed a peculiar talent for distributing the ball from this position.
Bang!
Deng Kai met the football and crossed it directly without taking a touch.
This kind of "rushed" approach was not permitted by the majority of teams.
When there was space and time, it was better to steady the ball before passing it – the quality would be at least two or three levels higher than crossing it without stopping it first.
Moreover, teammates often needed time for their movements.
Of course, there were a rare few team leaders who had the qualification and ability to play this kind of intuitive football, accelerating the attack suddenly.
These details were all points that reflected Deng Kai’s true status in the team.
The Inter Milan fans who had been clamoring to say that Viana was the absolute core of Sporting Lisbon found it hard to notice these details, or they deliberately ignored them, focusing only on what they wanted to see.
"Deng Kai’s cross from the flank! The handling is very neat and fast, but as for accuracy..."
"The football is played long, the man at the near post, Drogba, can’t possibly get to the ball. Viana coming in from the middle can’t catch up either, if Deng Kai had waited a bit longer before crossing, Viana’s position would have been a threat."
"The cross is over-hit, this one goes directly to the far post... Deboer is at the far post, and he’s going to collect this possession, he... Ronaldo!"
"Ronaldo’s pace is incredible! He’s actually reached the position!"
"Ronaldo leaps high! Deboer has been careless, he tries to control the ball instead of clearing it, which is why he hasn’t jumped."
"Too high! Ronaldo’s midriff is pressing down on Deboer’s head; Deboer has lost the ability to jump!"
"He’s not just jumping, he’s practically taking flight!"
Bang!
Ronaldo takes flight at the far post, and although the angle for the shot isn’t large, it’s perfect because goalkeeper Reina has just turned his head around and isn’t in a position to save.
Swish!
The football flies into the goal.
Ronaldo and Deboer both fall to the ground, but the young Ronaldo flips back onto his feet, roaring at Deboer with a bellow, "Roar!!!"
His chest is puffed up proudly, like a majestic rooster.
Deboer is still a bit dazed, not fully recovered.
Plus, with Drogba, Viana, and other players coming over to celebrate with Ronaldo first, he no longer has the chance to pick a quarrel with Ronaldo.
"GOAL!!!"
"Ronaldo breaks the deadlock for his team! The underdog is truly going all the way!"
"He roared at Deboer, that pays back the shout Deboer had given him earlier!"
"That’s also the tenth goal Ronaldo has scored in this season’s UEFA League! He now surpasses his teammate Deng Kai to be the sole top scorer of the UEFA League!"
"He’s jumped so high! There’s a shadow over Barca’s airspace because Ronaldo is flying his bomber over them!"
"The CD Connection! Having breached the defenses of Inter Milan, Kaiserslautern, and Barcelona, this storm of youth continues to wreak havoc. Could their final destination really be the UEFA League final at Westfalenstadion?"
