Chapter 404: Chapter 403: The National Football Team Advances to the Finals in Advance, There Seems to Be Some Chaos Within the Portuguese Team
"Kicker": "FIFA Shocked! Maxa books a World Cup spot in advance without notifying them! They apologize for the oversight in their own work!"
"Kicker": "French and Brazilian football associations express surprise, as they had thought they would be the first to qualify after the host! However, considering the golden touch of the Chinese team’s coaching staff, they can’t completely rule out this possibility."
"Kicker": "After internal confirmation, FIFA states that they have not yet awarded China a final round qualification, but look forward to the day it comes!"
Suddenly, people were loudly chanting Trigella’s brilliance.
But the authenticity of these news items is difficult to verify.
And that’s where "Kicker" excels.
With their "sources," they come very close to Europe in terms of player experiences and past events, with a high degree of accuracy.
They can even provide video evidence for offbeat news like "Ronaldo has never won one-on-one against Deng Kai."
Ronaldo: ???
However, when it comes to social commentary and grabbing attention, they dare to boast, and the effect is explosive.
In the midst of the news that Trigella will lead China to the World Cup finals in advance, his concurrent role as an assistant coach at Lisbon Athletics seems insignificant.
Chinese fans understand this quite well.
Even if Trigella directs the Chinese team through phone conferences or remote control, it’s all good.
As long as he delivers results, any request from Trigella seems reasonable.
Especially since Maxa voluntarily asked for his salary to be halved—to lose ten million RMB—the domestic fans felt even more fond of him.
But even with the remaining ten million RMB, Maxa virtuously declared he would donate it to the "Deng Kai Football Foundation," to assist young players and ball kids represented by Chen Tao and Messi, both domestically and internationally.
Chen Tao: Trigella’s pattern is taking off!
Messi: Kai, you’re forever my bro!
...
Let’s not dwell on the huge stir Maxa has caused in Chinese football.
Over at Lisbon Athletics, they’re still playing their friendly matches.
But their performance, well, hasn’t been that impressive.
The nine-to-one victory over Dalian Shide holds absolutely no reference value.
On the other hand, in their second match against Chelsea, Lisbon Athletics really struggled.
They managed a draw with a header from Vidic, ending with a three-to-one loss at Stamford Bridge Stadium.
On their subsequent trip to Nice, both sides played attacking football.
In the end, they drew four-all.
After this series of matches, the European professional media are not very optimistic about Lisbon Athletics’ condition this season.
"Kicker": "This summer, Lisbon Athletics managed to keep most of their players and made many signings, among them, talents like Ronaldinho."
"But overall, they lack the ability to blend these players together. Whether it is player roster or team formation, they keep changing, trying to find the best moment."
"But as far as results are concerned, at least so far, they have not found that balance."
"France Football": "Ronaldinho’s talent far surpasses that of Lisbon Athletics’ original midfield core, Deng Kai!"
"Deng Kai should take a position further back like he did last season for Viana and Quaresma, to give Ronaldinho room to maneuver."
"Similarly, Kaka has a real chance to compete with Deng Kai for a starting midfield spot. And if Lisbon Athletics don’t value Deng Kai highly, they’ll only have to reduce the number of defensive midfielders and defenders."
"Sky Sports": "Ronaldinho prefers the left side, as he has always played there. Ronaldo’s strength is indeed formidable, but he lacks much of Ronaldinho’s creativity."
"Ronaldo should play on the right wing, leaving the left wing to Ronaldinho who can make more of an impact there."
It’s clear, the main controversy lies with Ronaldinho.
His brilliance is obvious.
Ronaldinho’s agent, Eric Rovai, also supports Ronaldinho’s competition for a central role on the team, thus securing a highly impressive performance by the end of the season and negotiating a new contract with the team, earning more commission."
He even hopes that Ronaldinho can renegotiate contracts or transfer every year, so he can pocket a hefty commission.
He believed in Ronaldinho’s potential; he was a professional agent after all.
Ronaldinho was also very tempted by the idea.
But...
"Hey, Matthaus, you’re late again!"
During the early practice, Deng Kai approached the tardy Matthaus: "Lothar, your attitude really breaks my heart. I’m starting to regret suggesting to Coach Trigella that you start in the UEFA Super Cup."
"It makes me look very unprofessional."
Matthaus nearly dropped to his knees.
No one knew what he had been through after Bayern won the Champions League.
It was because he was accustomed to rough seas that he had managed to survive until now in good health.
If he had the mental resilience of young stars from later generations, he would’ve been done for long ago.
Effenberge’s mocking fans were still manageable!
"Please, Kai! I absolutely won’t be late next time!" Matthaus quickly assured.
Deng Kai nodded, "Of course I trust you. Return to the team; we always maintain respect for the Golden Ball Mr. It’s only that other players would be punished to run ten laps around the field, but you actually don’t need to."
Maxa was beside him, furiously taking notes in his notebook.
Kai’s aphorisms were definitely going to be a mandatory course in future management studies.
Master Kai’s aphorisms, and it’s like maxing out your leadership skill.
"Of course I trust you" meant he found it very hard to trust; stop the nonsense.
"We maintain respect for the Golden Ball Mr." Do you use your Golden Ball Mr. status to gain privileges?
"Other players would be punished to run ten laps, but you actually don’t need to" The word "actually" here was sheer genius, implying you bloody well should run; I can’t stop you!
Matthaus, as a renowned charmer and playboy, had excellent reading comprehension. He took off to the field to run laps without looking back.
Ronaldinho looked around; this year’s new players were all surprised by this, but the old players on the team took it in stride.
Previously when Didier Deschamps returned to the team, he also went straight to Deng Kai, and the two chatted warmly for a long time.
It was said Deschamps regretted not being able to go to China, and Deng Kai showed understanding for Deschamps’ personal itinerary, even asking about his son’s health, thankfully it wasn’t serious.
To know that the first person Deschamps reported to after returning to the team wasn’t even Coach Trigella—it was Deng Kai.
It was all too surreal.
Facing such competitors, the outside world couldn’t truly understand Ronaldinho’s situation.
At noon, lunchtime.
Guardiola once again took the initiative to sit next to Deng Kai.
As a big-star player who had just joined this year, he too was circling around Deng Kai.
Maybe it was because he and Deng Kai were already friends, but Ronaldinho thought that even without this relationship, Guardiola would still be right next to Deng Kai now.
Everyone’s intelligence is innate, but time and experience can bestow upon people emotional intelligence.
These older players all surrounding Deng Kai as their center had reasons for doing so.
Ronaldinho told himself to observe a little longer, not to rush for a position too eagerly, as it could cause discord within the team.
No, not discord within the team.
Ronaldinho watched the young "Feng Tes" as they greeted Deng Kai one after another.
In the end, the one who might be out of tune could just be himself, right?
Damn tofu!
If he stepped back, the sea would be wide, and the sky would be high, and who knows, maybe Deng Kai himself would give up his position?
Or perhaps, he could find a happier feeling in a new position!
