Chapter 410: Chapter 409: It’s DK, not KD!
But soon, Mourinho’s approach was punished.
Or rather, his control over his own team still needed to be strengthened, and his players’ understanding of him was also insufficient.
Because of the dispute between Mourinho and Ronaldo, it even affected the on-field performance of their players.
As Deng Kai was preparing for the free kick, offensive and defensive players frequently clashed at the edge of Porto’s penalty box, leading the main referee to blow his whistle multiple times to mediate.
This could cause the defensive players to lose focus, or to focus too much on certain players.
Bang!
Deng Kai took a tactical free kick, something the fired-up Porto hadn’t anticipated.
By Deng Kai’s side, Guardiola made a forty-five degree cross, sending the football into the penalty area.
Drogba, Ronaldo, and Kaka were tightly marked.
But Vidic, a tall focal point, was left unguarded.
Bang!
Vidic didn’t even need to jump to head the ball.
The shot was powerful and heavy, and the football smashed directly into the goal.
Vidic was extremely excited.
Joining Sporting Lisbon from an obscure league often met with skepticism.
But now, this man from the former "Yugoslavia," the future "Serbia and Montenegro," and "Serbia," had finally proven himself.
Like Stankovic, who played for Inter Milan, he was one of the rare players in world football who had played for three different national teams.
The only one stronger in this regard than them was their national team predecessor, Savo Milosevic.
The one additional national team Milosevic had over them was the former Yugoslav team, as Vidic and Stankovic had initially started playing for the national team after the country had dissolved.
"Three to one! Sporting Lisbon has now extended their lead."
"Now the problem is with Mourinho, how will he cope with this situation?"
"Substitutions, Mourinho is making substitutions."
"He’s using all his substitution slots at once! Mourinho is making three changes simultaneously!"
"This is... forward Almeida coming on for midfielder Alenichev! Jia De’er, Postiga... that’s three strikers!"
"Porto is going all out!"
On the other side, Sporting Lisbon also made timely substitutions.
It was clear that Trigella felt there was room for improvement in the team, which is why he made substitutions while in the lead.
Pepe came on for Kaka.
This substitution undoubtedly showed Trigella’s dissatisfaction with Kaka’s performance in the first half.
Kaka was not very influential on the pitch, and he seemed somewhat headless with the ball.
This is not to say his technique was poor, but rather that he lacked a clear purpose when he had the ball.
Forward runs that weren’t decisive, meaningless lateral dribbles, passing when there were conditions for a long shot, and so on.
And Pepe, who mainly oscillated between defensive midfield and center-back, indicated Sporting Lisbon’s shift from offense to defense with his entry on the field.
Sporting Lisbon wanted to maintain the three to one score until the end.
And the other person...
Ibrahimovic came on for Ronaldinho!
Ronaldinho was puzzled by the substitution, but he didn’t dare to refuse, nor did he make his dissatisfaction obvious.
Trigella gave his shoulder an extra pat, making him feel a bit better.
And Maxa was doing psychological work with Kaka, making him feel that the glory of the saints never left him.
Ronaldo felt that he hadn’t played to the effect he wanted today; in fact, even if he had played the full ninety minutes, he wouldn’t have been satisfied.
However, Trigella had made arrangements well in advance.
Deng Kai had instructed that Ronaldo and Kaka were of great use to the team this season, with strong combat power if used well, and that special care should be taken, especially psychologically.
So, as soon as Ronaldo sat down, the team doctor rushed over to check on him.
Today, the defense of Porto was very aggressive, and Ronaldo had fallen to the ground multiple times during the match.
Maxa, out of a sense of responsibility for Deng Kai’s health—oh no... out of a sense of responsibility for Ronaldo’s health—arranged this "emergency check-up."
It warmed Ronaldo’s heart.
Was Trigella worried that I would get injured?
Truly, only a world-class coach like him could defeat many arrogant people with just this cautious attitude. As Ronaldo thought this, he looked toward a certain number ten on the field, Deng Kai.
Ronaldo was actually envious of the jersey himself.
It wasn’t just the number ten on the jersey, but also the requirement of what was printed on the back.
Most players would definitely wish that their jersey carried their full name.
However, due to the lengthy full names of players from places like Brazil, Argentina, and Portugal, they often had to go with nicknames.
Sometimes they’d even take a stage name that had nothing to do with their birth name—Pepe, Kaka, Gomes, Ronaldinho...
For someone like Ronaldo, being able to keep his favorite name "Ronaldo" was very difficult.
Yet Deng Kai had gained special privilege.
A privilege that most players envied and would perhaps readily give up if offered to them.
On Deng Kai’s jersey, it was printed Deng Kai!
Fan Zhiyi had Fan printed on his Crystal Palace jersey.
Sun Jihai had Sun printed on his European jerseys.
In the future, Dong Fangzhuo would have Dong printed on his Manchester United jersey.
To date, only Deng Kai had his full name printed, and the order wasn’t Kai Deng, but Deng Kai!
Honestly, Ronaldo initially thought that Deng Kai’s jersey had been printed incorrectly, and approached him to suggest a correction, aiming to use it as a way to get closer to Deng Kai.
Indeed, he did get closer, but the jersey was not misprinted.
Deng Kai revealed it was his demand.
Ronaldo was puzzled at the time: "But this way, fans will think your surname is Kai, not Deng. Apart from people from China, the Korean peninsula, Japan, Vietnam, Mongolia, Hungary, in the rest of the world, surnames usually come after the first name."
Deng Kai laughed and asked: "Then let me ask you, what is my surname?"
Ronaldo: "Of course it’s Deng."
Deng Kai nodded: "There you have it. I prefer people calling me Deng Kai, not Kai Deng."
Ronaldo: "But the fans won’t know this, they..."
What Ronaldo didn’t understand then, he came to understand after this game.
The choice Deng Kai made for his jersey revealed his character and quality.
He had his convictions and was willing to work for them, regardless of any obstacles he might face.
He wasn’t worried about fans getting his surname wrong because as long as he was strong enough, plenty of people in the world would take the initiative to learn, remember, and even admire his name, surname, experience, etc.
"Ronaldo, Ronaldo."
Ronaldo was brought back to reality by Maxa’s call, and the kindly Maxa said gently, "Listen to me, I value you immensely, and you can indeed achieve success beyond your imagination at Sporting Lisbon."
"But all this comes with one condition, that is... don’t become an obstacle in Kai’s path to victory!"
Ronaldo shivered, and his buck teeth involuntarily retracted.
