Chapter 417: Chapter 416: The Football Emperor Ascends to the Throne, But This Familiar Scenario
On the television screen.
Deng Kai, who had fallen, propped himself up with his hand, rolled on the ground, and sprang up from the turf, continuing his charge towards Lizarazu without losing momentum.
"Bisente!" Effenberge signaled to Lizarazu.
Lizarazu thought Effenberge was asking for the ball, so he slowed down slightly, preparing to pass it to his teammate.
He could afford to slow down because he figured the kid was probably still crawling on the ground...
Bang!
Deng Kai poked the football away from Lizarazu from behind.
And grazed Lizarazu in the process.
Lizarazu stumbled.
Seizing the opportunity, Deng Kai completed a turn with the ball and attempted to dash past Lizarazu.
Lizarazu immediately crashed into Deng Kai, ready to commit a foul rather than let Deng Kai past.
Bang!
The two collided fiercely.
The head referee immediately brought the whistle to his lips.
Lizarazu’s blatant body check, if not for the fact that it was near the center line rather than in the penalty area, would have earned him his second yellow card.
But then, unexpectedly, emerged.
This collision had no losers!
Deng Kai, braced for the impact, managed to bounce Lizarazu off instead.
And Deng Kai was only slightly shaken.
After stabilizing himself with hands and feet, Lizarazu planned to continue and block Deng Kai.
But with a bang!
Deng Kai had already completed the pass.
And it was a long pass!
He saw inside the penalty area!
When everyone thought Deng Kai would be sent flying, Sporting Lisbon’s left winger Ronaldo started his run forward.
The moment Deng Kai completed the pass, Ronaldo had become the player closest to Kahn.
Lizarazu’s possession had led Bayern to think they could launch a counterattack.
Their players had all moved up, including right-back Kuffour.
"A one-on-one! This is a super one-on-one!"
"How could Deng Kai spot this opportunity? He was just hit so hard, his mind should be mush right now!"
"Kahn is coming out! He must come out!"
"Ronaldo is too fast! Kahn is now in a dilemma!"
"Kahn gives up! He slows down, ready to dive for a save! He’s gambling, betting on Ronaldo’s first touch being sloppy, betting that Ronaldo’s ball control isn’t solid enough!"
Bang!
No first touch!
After Kahn slowed down, Ronaldo appropriately did the same.
Then he struck the football with a volley!
Crazy!
This move, so damn crazy!
Does he even realize what level of goalkeeper Kahn is on the opposite side?
Does he even comprehend the glory of breaching Bayern Munich’s goal?
Whoosh!
The football hurtled directly into the goal’s dead angle.
The trailing wake lifted the Gold Lion’s blonde hair.
For Kahn, time seemed to have stopped at that second.
He watched the eyes of the striker on the other side, and in them, he saw himself clad in a blue goalkeeper’s jersey.
That self had an unprecedented look of fear and helplessness on his face.
"GOAL!!!"
After scoring, Ronaldo immediately turned and sprinted towards the corner flag area, too excited to stand still even for a second in front of Kahn.
It was as if the goalkeeper he’d just breezed by was a nobody.
Sitting on the ground, Kahn watched Ronaldo’s retreating figure.
Never had he thought that a match as insignificant as the European Super Cup could make him feel as if he’d let a goal slip during the Champions League final.
Effenberg reached out his hand to pull Kahn up, while Lizarazu ran back, his head hung in dejection.
Suddenly, Kahn said, "They’re really so young."
This ’they’ clearly referred to Deng Kai and Ronaldo.
At just sixteen, they were the two youngest players on the field.
Lizarazu nodded, "It’s damn good to be young!"
Perhaps this year, Lizarazu’s reputation and fame had reached the highest point in his career, and it might even climb higher in the following years.
But he knew that since last year, his physical condition wasn’t at its best anymore.
The fact that he couldn’t get the better of Deng Kai today proved this.
Their future selves could only get weaker.
While the young players from Lisbon Athletics... they would get stronger!
Whirl clatter!
Suddenly, applause broke out in the venue.
The Lisbon Athletics fans in green and white jerseys began cheering wildly, their celebrations taking over the entire Maine Road Stadium.
Kahn and the others looked up at the scoreboard.
It displayed three consecutive goal times.
Next to the times were the names of the scorers: Drogba, Matthaus, Ronaldo.
Following the scorers’ names were the names of the assist providers: Deng Kai, Deng Kai, Deng Kai!
"An assist hat-trick!"
"Deng Kai forever a god!"
"The Emperor ascends to the throne!"
"Caesar! Caesar! Caesar!"
"You have the first generation football Emperor! And we have the second, the third generation football Emperors!"
"Beckenbauer! Matthaus! Deng Kai!"
The fans’ voices were even loud enough to be clearly heard by the players on the field.
The Lisbon Athletics players also rushed towards Deng Kai, celebrating the perfect end to last season’s matches with Emperor Kai!
As the main referee blew the whistle, everyone from the Lisbon Athletics bench charged onto the field.
They lifted Deng Kai, tossing him into the air repeatedly.
Feng Te held a cooler of water above his head, the tap water cascading down, as he paid homage to the Bundesliga championship celebration of pouring beer while shouting, "We are the champions!"
It was as though he was lifting not a cooler of water but the European Super Cup trophy itself.
The field was engulfed in celebratory jubilation.
Meanwhile, the Bayern players clenched their fists and hurriedly entered the player tunnel.
Last to walk, Bayern’s midfield substitute Niko Kovac kindly reminded Feng Te, "Little brother, the match isn’t over yet, this is just the first half!"
Feng Te was stunned at that moment.
This... was it only halftime?
Seeing Niko Kovac about to leave, Feng Te quickly chased after him and said, "But brother, we’re already leading by three goals at halftime, isn’t the match over?"
Niko Kovac, "Haven’t you forgotten Liverpool? Three months ago, in the Europa League final, they led by three goals at halftime against you!"
Feng Te slapped his forehead, turned, and ran, "The wine! Coach Maxa, don’t even think about opening the wine!"
With a glint in his eye, Niko Kovac immediately found his coach Hitzfeld, and they whispered to each other.
As Niko Kovac explained, the furrows in Hitzfeld’s brow eased gradually, and he patted Niko on the shoulder, suggesting the man had potential, "Niko, even if you stopped playing, you could become an excellent head coach!"
With the coach’s praise, Niko was overjoyed, "Boss, can I play in the second half then? I feel the team needs to make adjustments, and I can help!"
Hitzfeld smiled, "Repeat what I just said."
Niko, "I can become an excellent head coach?"
Hitzfeld, "A bit earlier."
Niko, "Even if I stopped playing..."
Hitzfeld, "It’s a deal, this is what you said, haha!"
Niko: WTF???
