Chapter 426: Chapter 425: It Doesn’t Matter, Maxa Will Take Action (Seeking Monthly Votes)
"You didn’t affirm me! My value isn’t reflected in transfers, but in the games, and right now, I haven’t fully showcased my value! That’s why I was demoted to the reserve team, not because of anything to do with Deng Kai!"
"I played three Champions League games without Deng Kai, I was the core player in those three games, everyone played around me, but we just couldn’t win! The problem lies here, do you understand?"
After a moment of stunned silence, Eric Rovai yelled back at Ronaldinho, "Go to hell with the world’s best! Do you really think that way? How stupid and naive can you be?"
"Your value is reflected in transfers! The higher the transfer fee, the higher your status, the more money you get, the better your family can live!"
"Sporting Lisbon was an anomaly; no one puts their record-signing in the reserve team. Not even Lazio has such luxury! Diego plays now only because his transfer fee was a staggering forty-eight million euros!"
"Don’t stoop to arguing with a madman, and definitely don’t become one! Just because you have the name Ronaldo in your name doesn’t mean you can become the world’s best."
"There is only one Ronaldo, and only one Zidane."
Ronaldinho was struck as if by lightning.
The ever-praising Eric Rovai actually thought this way.
He didn’t truly appreciate Ronaldinho’s football talent; he was only interested in his economic value.
Ronaldinho trusted Eric Rovai enormously, almost as if he were family, and he struggled to accept this blow.
But inexplicably, he remembered what Deng Kai had said to him half a month earlier.
"But there is also only one Ronaldinho! I will prove that!" Ronaldinho declared, and with that, his resolve cleared instantly.
He stormed out, knowing who he needed to find.
At heart, Ronaldinho, like Cristiano Ronaldo, was the sort of player with strong personal convictions.
It was for this reason that Cristiano Ronaldo constantly evolved, learning new skills and styles of play.
And for the same reason, Ronaldinho stubbornly stuck to his own style of play.
They both believed they could be the best.
And those who shared that belief won their friendship and became confidants.
Most men understand this.
They can handle friends pointing out their flaws, but they won’t accept anyone saying they aren’t handsome.
Once you say that, the friendship is essentially over.
It sounds adolescent, but that’s why they say men die young at heart.
However, faced with Ronaldinho’s desire to return to the first team to help the team through a tough spot, Trigella couldn’t hide his excitement, yet laid out his plans, "We’ve been looking forward to this day for a long time, but there’s a heavier task on your shoulders than just playing in the next European match."
"Starting from the next game, we will switch our formation from 4-3-3 to 3-2-3-2 which is more conducive to your strengths. I need you to sit in the best-viewing stand with the fans to observe the whole team and Deng Kai, to find the most suitable playing style for yourself."
"Don’t resist this change. Change won’t make you lose anything; it will just give you another way to play football and a new philosophy. This will become your most valuable asset in the future."
Ronaldinho understood, but he still needed to wait, "But I’m worried..."
Maxa waved his hand, "It doesn’t matter, I’ll take action."
Ronaldinho was deeply shocked.
That’s right!
Maxa’s suspension had also ended!
With this teaching strength... When both saints join forces, who in Europe can compete?
After Ronaldinho left, Trigella looked at Maxa, wondering how he was going to intervene.
Maxa smiled, "In China, my greatest gain was ’The Book of Changes.’ The second greatest thing I picked up was... Chinese massage! How about I start with you and see if it hits the spot?"
"If you think it’s good, I’ll give Deng Kai a massage during the halftime break, to avoid hitting the wrong acupuncture point and affecting his circulation."
Trigella nodded.
It wasn’t just massage.
Before, all the various tea arts and cooking skills that Maxa learned, were first tasted by Trigella before being sent to Deng Kai.
Emphasizing food safety.
...
On October 27, in the tenth round of the Primeira Liga,
Sporting Lisbon defeated Paços de Ferreira two to zero, climbing from the relegation zone to the eighth position in the league.
Their condition had obviously improved.
With the Primeira Liga progressing, their ranking was bound to climb even further.
After this match, the media finally managed to interview Sporting Lisbon.
They were even grateful for this.
Because during the period when Sporting Lisbon refused extra interviews, their news click-through rate dropped severely.
Even when they wanted to fabricate news, they couldn’t come up with much, because there was too little valid information.
Reporter: "May I ask if Ronaldinho will start in the next European match?"
Trigella: "Ronaldinho is a very outstanding player, we look forward to him returning to the team as soon as possible, but not in the next match."
Reporter: "Are you sidelining Ronaldinho because what his agent said before was true?"
Trigella: "This is not sidelining. You’ve all seen the way Ronaldinho plays football, he has suffered a lot of fouls from opponents. The team doctor told me he might need a period of rest, so from a health standpoint, we’ve agreed on this approach after discussing it with Ronaldinho."
Reporter: "But Eric Rovai doesn’t see it that way. He says it’s a display of Deng Kai’s hegemony within the team."
Trigella: "There is no hegemony within Sporting Lisbon. If you ask any player, you’d get the same answer. This includes Ronaldinho, he would also tell you the same thing. What we’re talking about isn’t our shared communication, it is simply the truth itself."
Reporter: "What about the Champions League do-or-die match against Lazio? The winner of this match will directly advance to the last sixteen of the Champions League. Lazio is in good condition, are you concerned?"
Trigella: "There’s nothing to hide. For the next match, we will use a new formation, which is the one we use in our league matches. We have nothing to worry about because our recent condition is also very good."
Reporter: "Can you reveal the starting players?"
Trigella:
"Ronaldo, Drogba
Kaká, Deng Kai, Matthaus
Guardiola, Yaya Touré
Feng Te, Vidic, Barzagli
Schmeichel"
Trigella gave the starting lineup directly, stunningly cool.
Reporter: "Why change the formation suddenly? Don’t you have confidence in the previous 4-3-3?"
Trigella: "We had already tried the 3-2-3-2 in the league before, and the reason we didn’t use this formation in the first two Champions League matches is just to let the players know that we can win using this formation."
"We hope to build confidence in the players this way, so I believe our team’s morale is very high right now."
Reporter: "Isn’t it a dangerous choice for the team to force Ronaldinho out in order to convince him, not using him is dangerous."
Trigella: "You’re overthinking it."
Reporter: "So you’re not doing this against Ronaldinho?"
Trigella: "What I mean is, it’s not dangerous. In this team, everyone is important, but no one is irreplaceable."
Reporter: "But Deng Kai’s absence plunged Sporting Lisbon into crisis, didn’t it?"
Trigella: "Because when Deng Kai is not here, the team doesn’t exist. I’m not saying that the Sporting Lisbon club ceases to exist, but rather this moment’s quintuple-champion team!"
[PS: That’s two Chapters for today, still aiming for five. Let’s strive for it.]
