Chapter 403: Chapter 402: The World’s Salvation Saint, China’s Salvation Saint!
Matthaus made a precise through pass, and after controlling and dribbling the ball, Kaka surged towards the penalty area from the center.
Surrounded by Dalian Shide’s players, not a single one could disrupt him.
Kaka’s positioning and speed far exceeded everyone’s expectations.
His dribbling might not have the agility of Viana or Quaresma, but his speed was much faster.
Bang!
Kaka, who stormed into the box, unleashed a powerful shot to score, completing his brace!
Seven to nil!
Feng Xiaoting had been behind Kaka throughout but was unable to hinder the attack in the slightest.
After the celebration, a substitution sign was raised at the sidelines.
Since it was a friendly match, there were no limits on the number of substitutions.
Ronaldo was replaced by his teammate Feng Te, meaning Sporting Lisbon had achieved their goal of fielding all players on the team.
This also provided an excuse for Dalian Shide after the match: With Sporting Lisbon rotating their entire team and conserving their energy, it was normal for our players to be unable to keep up physically in the later stages.
However, Feng Te didn’t go to the defensive position but directly took Ronaldo’s spot as the team’s striker.
Huang Jianxiang kindly explained, "Sporting has used this tactic before, Deng Kai and Feng Te used this move to defeat opponents when they were in the youth team. Maxa is truly a tactical genius!"
In the 82nd minute, Sporting Lisbon won a corner.
Ronaldinho’s corner was blocked and bounced back.
Maicon didn’t stop the ball and crossed it directly, Vidic rose high in the penalty area, the Yugoslav’s header was ferocious, and he easily found the net.
Eight to nil!
The fans at the venue were ecstatic.
So many goals in a single match were truly a bargain!
One match better than five!
The boss of Nanfu Battery, who was watching the game, was inspired and thought of an advertising slogan for his batteries.
But fate’s arrangement is never without meaning.
In the 88th minute, Dalian Shide’s substitute striker Dong Fangzhuo got a chance to shoot.
His long-range shot struck Tu Lei’s lower leg, resulting in a deflection and causing Reina to dive the wrong way.
One to eight!
Dong Fangzhuo salvaged some pride for Dalian Shide.
Fans: Can a single goal really salvage pride?
Dong Fangzhuo: Why don’t you try?
In the 90th minute, Evra kicked off, passing the ball to Ronaldinho. But he could never have imagined that the most brilliant assist of his life would be born just like that.
Ronaldinho took the ball and charged directly towards Dalian Shide’s penalty area, deep-fried meatballs, oxtail, biking, dribble and split, scoop pass over a player... a series of flashy moves you could only see in Brazilian football commercials.
Even Ronaldinho himself was surprised by his form at that moment.
Bang!
With a long shot, Ronaldinho dribbled past five players to score.
All the fans in the stadium were dumbfounded.
Ronaldinho’s performance convinced everyone that the fifteen million euros Sporting Lisbon spent on him were well worth it.
Even with a 9-1 scoreline, not many people realized just how terrifying Sporting Lisbon had become this season.
After all, Dalian Shide was indeed a bit too weak.
After the match, domestic football news instantly exploded.
"Deng Kai delivers a low-key assist, discussing the game with Trigella and Maxa like a coach, not a player!"
"African giant Drogba scores Lisbon’s first goal of the season for Sporting!"
"Drogba bags a brace with ease, facing Dalian Shide with no pressure!"
"Swedish prodigy toys with Dalian’s defense, two assists and a goal with leisurely ease!"
"Ronaldinho’s absolute brilliance! Inspecting Dalian’s defense, a perfect interpretation of Samba football!"
"Sunshine boy Kaka scores a brace, but is his position clashing with Deng Kai’s?"
"Wu Xudong nets his first goal for Sporting Lisbon! Can he become a starter for the team this season?"
"Nice timing from Nimes, will Evra become the best left center-back in the Portuguese league? Professor Wenger has a strong eye for talent, Yaya Toure is rough in technique and gifts an own goal on his debut!"
"Four million euros might be a loss! Dalian Shide had only three shots in the second half, one on target, and Reina still conceded a goal!"
"9-1! Sporting Lisbon celebrates the first victory of the season, with all players in great form!"
However, at the post-match press conference, the news just released immediately lost its luster.
Because the football association leader declared in front of all the media, "We have sent the invitation to Maxa’s email. At the latest in three days, he will give us an answer!"
Countless Chinese on the spot had their eyes redden, brimming with tears.
Has the savior of Chinese football finally arrived?
Little did anyone know, Maxa was even more resolute. Deng Kai had already started reviewing the contract in the dressing room, and for this, he even missed the post-match press conference.
Hurrying over as the conference was about to end, Maxa, seeing Deng Kai nodding in agreement after rushing over, stood up and stated, "Next, I announce... I am willing to accept the position of assistant coach for the Chinese national football team coach group offered to me by the Chinese football!"
At the same time, Ronaldo pressed the play button, setting the radio next to the microphone.
The rousing "Athlete’s March" began to play, transporting people back to the third period after morning classes and the annual sports meets.
The atmosphere on-site reached a crescendo, even resembling a motivational assembly for the last hundred days leading up to college entrance exams!
This moment was destined to be recorded in the annals of Chinese football history.
"Understanding Football"was the first to hit the front page headline, they preemptively published the news even before Maxa spoke, teaching the domestic counterparts a lesson.
The headline reads: "The Saint of the World! The Saint of China!"
The headline was instantly cited by domestic sports peers, including top football media giants like "Sports Weekly" and "Football".
Understanding Football further solidified its position as the number one football website in the country, achieving the incredible feat of maxing out user growth every single day of half a summer, with the number of registered users breaking through one hundred thousand!
However, the reason "Understanding Football" was able to attract so many users so quickly, most of them loyal users, was not just because their news was faster than everyone else’s, but also due to the quality of their news.
For instance, with the matter of Maxa joining the national team, most media could only shout slogans, and their content repeated the same old trite statements found in other newspapers.
At most, some included the editor’s personal speculation and analysis.
Reading one or two articles like this might be okay, but when every piece of news is the same, fans would feel speechless.
But "Understanding Football" was different.
"Understanding Football" immediately launched a Maxa column, compiling a number of past articles about Maxa.
They also summed up the causes and consequences of Maxa’s joining the national team and deeply explored the details of the contract.
"Understanding Football": "Maxa says: ’There is no problem for the Chinese team to make it into the 2002 World Cup in Korea and Japan, it’s not a difficult task for a famous coach like me and Milu!’"
Milu: "No one can surpass ’Maxa the Great’, how could I ever match you!"
