Chapter 379: Chapter 378: The Sublimation of the Competition, I Will Forever Maintain Respect for You
All major media outlets rushed to issue their news bulletins.
Within a minute, virtually all mainstream European sports media had updated their news related to Sporting Lisbon’s championship victory.
Milan Sport Newspaper: "Sporting Lisbon’s youth army counterattacked Liverpool, with Viana’s brilliant assist helping the team to win the first UEFA Cup in Portuguese Primeira Liga history!"
Torino Sport Newspaper: "The Premier League has lost to the Primeira Liga, Liverpool were defeated by Sporting Lisbon, who claimed the treble! Barzagli scored the crucial goal!"
Il Romanista: "Viana and Quaresma could do great things in Serie A, chaotic Inter Milan and Barcelona were not their best choices!"
Diario Sport: "Quaresma’s pivotal role highlights! Led Sporting Lisbon to their most glorious season! Barcelona’s Champions League triumph next season is just a matter of time!"
Arsenal Fan’s Home: "Swedish genius achieves great success in his first season in Primeira Liga, Wenger and Arsenal’s arrogance caused them to miss the best successor to Bogkamp!"
Kicker: "Babel suffers another painful defeat, missing out on the treble for the second time in his career, possibly becoming another tragic figure like Roberto Baggio!"
Bild: "Bayern’s missed treble two years ago was not just about substituting Matthaus too early! In today’s final, Matthaus got a red card, but despite his mistake, he could still lift the UEFA Cup!"
London Daily News: "Blues’ youngster Terry excelled, claiming a treble with Sporting Lisbon! Chelsea fans hope Terry can start for the team next season and wouldn’t mind him wearing the captain’s armband!"
France Football: "Another Golden Ball decisive moment! Viana’s steal and killer move, Zidane’s little brother Deng Kai ’for the second time’ becomes a treble champion!"
Manchester Evening News: "Deng Kai dominated the game with two goals and one assist! Scoring directly from a corner and a Golden Ball strike, undoubtedly the match’s MVP!"
Marca: "Ten-man Sporting Lisbon pulls off a last-minute victory over Liverpool! A player with championship DNA like Quaresma should come to Real Madrid!"
Liverpool Echo: "He’s an angel and a devil! Gerard’s equalizer seems to save Sporting Lisbon, but he makes a major mistake in extra time that costs the team the treble!"
Sky Sports: "Sinner! Gerard is a sinner! His slip has shamed Liverpool!"
The Sun Newspaper: "Sinner! Hathaway is a sinner! She actually stuck her tongue out when kissing Deng Kai! It was her who stuck out her tongue first!"
Sporting Lisbon’s news dominated every platform.
The television is still broadcasting the highlights of the match and post-match interviews.
The red wine incident at halftime caught the most attention.
The Liverpool players were treated inhumanely because of this.
"How much red wine did you drink at halftime?"
"Was the red wine good? What brand was it? Century-old Zhangyu, or Great Wall of China?"
"How did you come up with the idea to drink red wine at halftime? Was a three-goal lead a certain win for you?"
"Owen, can you share how it feels to lead by three goals and then lose the match?"
"Gerard, can we know the model of your football boots?"
It must be said that some reporters really went too far.
This was no longer an interview; it was kicking someone when they’re down.
But crucially, the truth of the matter was not as such.
Seeing Gerard’s eyes redden, and Owen rushing up to scuffle with the journalists, Deng Kai hurried over to stop the conflict: "Things aren’t what everyone thinks."
"I witnessed the whole process; Liverpool indeed asked for red wine at halftime, but it was not for celebration, it was to help treat a sick person."
Upon hearing this, the reporters quickly surrounded Deng Kai, giving the Liverpool players a chance to escape, with some taking the opportunity to slip into the player’s tunnel, especially a sorrowful Gerard.
Never mind the public opinion, the blow of the team’s defeat was enough to collapse Gerard’s mental world.
He walked into the dressing room with a television nearby broadcasting an interview with Deng Kai live on the scene.
"This was a miraculous victory for us, but it doesn’t mean that Liverpool isn’t great. They played just as brilliantly, and for the most part, they were closer to the triple crown than we were."
"The rain brought a new dynamic to the pitch, and personally, I don’t think Gerrard is Liverpool’s sinner; he just made a mistake that every player makes. Slipping is all too common, unless you never move on the grass, then you’re bound to have your day of slipping."
"Besides, Gerrard’s overall performance on the pitch was quite outstanding, his passes and shots once made us lose confidence."
"Compared to his performance on the pitch, it’s his off-field character that has earned my respect. That bottle of red wine, the one everyone knows about, was personally sought by Gerrard."
"But it wasn’t for the team to celebrate, it was to treat Huo Li’er who suddenly suffered a heart attack."
Ah???
All the journalists were stunned.
Huo Li’er had a sudden heart attack?
Is this... really true?
But when thinking about Liverpool’s achievements this season combined with the 3-0 score at halftime, Huo Li’er had reason to get excited early, leading to the attack.
If that’s the case, then Liverpool and Gerrard have been truly wronged.
Deng Kai, "After I found out about this, I sought out Matthaus, and through him, I contacted the sports director of Dortmund... and obtained a bottle of red wine... Although I had no interactions with Huo Li’er, I still want to thank everyone who made an effort in this matter on his behalf."
"Nothing is more important than life, not even football... That’s perhaps the aspect of this match that goes beyond the score and the Championship Trophy. This is also why I say Liverpool is just as great in this match."
"They overcame the fear of death; Huo Li’er and all the Liverpool players are already heroes!"
Whirrr!
Deng Kai’s interview received unanimous acclaim from the journalists, and everyone began clapping.
Some of the Liverpool players who hadn’t left yet were moved to tears after hearing Deng Kai’s ’speech’.
Yes.
The fear of death!
Until you face the fear of death directly, you won’t understand how terrifying death can be, and that’s why the young often act so fearless.
But once you have witnessed death, you’ll know how dreadfully frightening it can be.
The older one gets, the more this holds true.
There are many players around thirty years old in the Liverpool squad, and they have already seen loved ones pass away, feeling a profound respect for death.
The situation with Huo Li’er’s illness brought up the negative emotions deep in their hearts, leading to an uncontrollable dip in their performance in the second half.
Whimper, whimper, whimper!
Babel, who was standing by, burst into tears, walked over, and hugged Deng Kai, not caring about the cameras around, speaking frankly, "Honestly, the day we lost to Bayern, you were the person I hated the most. You took everything from us."
"If you were our opponent, we would have accepted defeat gracefully. But you weren’t, you made us feel we lost unjustly, we couldn’t handle this kind of loss."
"At the end of today’s match, my resentment towards you deepened because you scored the winning goal against us, you gave us a sudden death, you made us lose everything again, I cursed you in my heart, I even wanted to kill you!"
"But now... I know I was wrong, you are a good kid, a likable player, a respectable opponent. I will always keep my respect for you, and you will forever be the greatest player in my heart!"
After saying that, Babel headed into the players’ tunnel.
And then, the flashbulbs on Deng Kai went off continuously.
The match, it was transcendent!
