Chapter 355: Chapter 354: Lisbon Athletics that Pierced the Sky
It was Trigella and Maxa!
Clinging to Deng Kai’s shoulder, Trigella’s stance was clear and evident.
Maxa, even more impassioned in front of the many cameras, declared, "It’s not just Deng Kai. I, Maxa, on behalf of Lisbon Athletics, declare that until there is a clear punishment for Gandour’s unfair refereeing, Lisbon Athletics will temporarily refuse to participate in any of UEFA’s competitions!"
"We can do without the championship, but we must have fairness!"
"For more details, please proceed to the Fairmont Rey Juan Carlos I Hotel Diamond Conference Room."
"We will hold a press conference shortly to analyze in detail all the issues present in this game and will also file a complaint with UEFA simultaneously!"
Boom!
A thunderous uproar!
Only when the three had disappeared from the cameras did the reporters start to react.
They hurriedly made phone calls, eager to report this explosive news back to their headquarters.
The sky was falling!
The sky of European football was about to collapse this time!
Lisbon Athletics was about to make a big move!
Indeed, many people saw Lisbon Athletics as... soft.
During the group stage of the UEFA Cup, Lisbon Athletics suffered from unfair officiating.
But after the match, Trigella did not question the game, seeming resigned to the outcome.
This led some people to believe that Lisbon Athletics was a team that could be easily manipulated, a sacrificial pawn in their schemes.
If Lisbon Athletics had been a team with more character, then the main referee of this match would not have been Gandour, nor would the officiating have been so blatantly biased.
All the money from Barcelona would have been no use.
Both UEFA and FIFA have been able to produce "football movies" for so many years because they know how to pick their targets.
However, on the side of Lisbon Athletics, UEFA made a misjudgment.
...
After the match, initially, most of the news was about the two teams and the game.
"Barcelona shockingly eliminated! Lisbon Athletics goes all dark, first time into the UEFA Cup final!"
"UEFA Cup final teams confirmed, Liverpool VS Lisbon Athletics!"
"Assist hat trick! Quaresma continues his divine performance, critical assists turn the game around!"
"Miracle at Camp Nou! But the miracle doesn’t belong to Barcelona! Lisbon Athletics beats Barcelona 4-3, breaking into the final!"
"This player is called Deng Kai — Europe’s youngest goal hat trick!"
"First header hat trick in a UEFA semi-final level game — created by Deng Kai!"
Media affiliated with Real Madrid, naturally paid more attention to Barcelona, and were committed to disrupting the internal dynamics of Barcelona.
The imbalance within Barcelona and the propaganda from Real Madrid-affiliated media had a considerable relationship.
Of course, the same issues were also becoming serious within Real Madrid.
The dominance of the homegrown clique could not be ignored any longer, and the Real Madrid management was already planning a purge.
"Barcelona’s year without trophies, is Figo’s transfer aftermath this severe?"
"Internal division led to a serious decline in Barcelona’s fighting spirit, losing to Lisbon Athletics was more due to internal factors!"
"Big match player! Deng Kai seals Barcelona’s fate, the one meter seventy player completes a header hat trick!"
"Camp Nou’s skies undefended! Barcelona’s defense got bombed three times by the shortest and smallest player on the field!"
"Rivaldo’s brace from the spot not enough to save the day! Golden Ball winner says he can’t carry this Barcelona!"
"Guardiola’s substitution was the turning point, Deng Kai was liberated after that!"
"Xavi returns in defeat! Completely outplayed by football Caesar Deng Kai!"
"Gerard didn’t perform as expected, failing to contain Deng Kai was key to the team’s loss!"
"Pepe receives a straight red! His flying kick was outrageous! There are calls for the Spanish police to arrest him!"
"Two yellows turn to red! Deng Kai suffers a ban, Sporting Lisbon devastated to lose their core player for the final!"
However, the most heated topic was the photo of Deng Kai with a pig’s head on the Barcelona crest.
"Victors as kings, losers as swine! A pig’s head at Camp Nou, Deng Kai responds to the Barcelona fans’ insult with a decisive goal!"
"Who’s the real swine? Deng Kai kicks the pig’s head in celebration and receives a yellow card, causing controversy! Most fans see no issue with Deng Kai’s celebration!"
"Incomprehensible! Kicking the corner flag is fine, so why does kicking a pig’s head unrelated to the football field warrant a yellow card?"
"Barcelona fans summed up their season with a pig’s head! Barcelona’s performance is an utter mess!"
"The youth who named Barcelona with a pig’s head—Sporting Lisbon’s true core, Deng Kai!"
He was on fire.
This time, Deng Kai was truly on fire.
He had been popular many times before, even outside football circles.
But this time, it was legitimate fame based on strength—impressive strength.
Just like Shevchenko who dazzled the Champions League years ago, Deng Kai commanded attention on the European stage with his skills.
Countless fans came to know, or re-know, Deng Kai.
The Portuguese prodigy Deng Kai officially entered the radar of fans from major clubs.
But for the football industry, the biggest event was not Barcelona’s absence from the Europa League final.
It’s not rare for big clubs to lose, which happens several times a year.
In football competitions, there is only one champion and the dozens of participating teams mostly face defeat, nothing surprising.
However, it was truly a major industry event when a team publicly questioned the referee’s decisions and refused to play in the final.
...
At the press conference called by Sporting Lisbon, reporters crowded the venue.
Nearly all major European sports media were present.
France Football, Bild, Record, Italian Republic Newspaper, sports papers from Milan, Turin, Roma, AS Newspaper, Mundo Deportivo, Marca, The Sun Newspaper, Sky Sports, BBC, and more.
The news was too explosive.
Trigella had already contacted the higher-ups, and his boss was very supportive, backing him fully.
It was only during such major events that the new president of Sporting Lisbon could thoroughly cleanse the higher ups.
Jiang Yunzhu, Deng Kai, and Trigella were preparing their statements.
Maxa arrived early to liven up the atmosphere and also to answer some reporters’ questions, keeping interest in the press conference high.
On the scene, a reporter mentioned that the media coverage wasn’t demonizing Deng Kai enough.
Maxa admitted this without any denial.
Maxa: "Yes, some things are hard to believe when said out loud, but the essence of genius is, perhaps, being unbelievable."
"Everyone calls me a tactical master, but I’m not. My tactical knowledge is ten, a hundred times inferior to Mr. Trigella and Deng Kai!"
"From the youth team era, to Moreirense, and now this season with Sporting Lisbon, Deng Kai has been involved in the entire tactical structure. If he weren’t playing now, he could immediately become a tactical coach in Sporting Lisbon’s coaching staff."
"He absolutely has the capability."
