Chapter 428: Chapter 427: One Feng Te Equals Two Thirds of a Mendieta
Maxa: "The masseur didn’t do it on purpose, Chinese culture is profound and extensive; he just made a presumptuous mistake, but he will definitely not make it again. If it happens again, may I be struck by lightning."
Reporter: "Uh... why is it you who gets struck by lightning for the masseur’s mistake?"
Maxa: "Because there’s an old saying, ’If I don’t go to hell, who will?’"
The reporters clapped one after another.
They witnessed the radiant humanity of Saint Salas.
In this match, Lazio’s starting lineup was incredibly strong; all players who could play were on the field.
The dual strikers were Crespo, known as the "Iron Fist" among the "Top Ten Strikers with Ten Weapons" in world football,
and Pippo Inzaghi, the brother of the Inzaghi who transferred to AC Milan.
The four midfielders from left to right were: Dejan Stankovic, Diego Simeone, Mendieta, and Popovski.
Among them, Simeone was the future Atlético Madrid legendary coach.
The back four from left to right were: Giuseppe Favalli, Stam, Nesta, and Giuseppe Pan Karo.
The partnership of Stam and Nesta was referred to as the world’s most perfect central defense combination.
The goalkeeper was Peruzzi, the Italian goalkeeper with the most solid goal-line technique.
Additionally, on their bench, they had well-known players such as Salas, Mihajlovic, and Dino Baggio.
On the other side, Lisbon Sporting didn’t break their promise and displayed the formation exactly as Trigella had previously announced through the media.
This was somewhat unexpected.
Wait, there was one difference, the left central defender wasn’t Pepe but Feng Te,
because Pepe’s suspension would only expire after this match was over.
against 442!
The Stadio Olimpico in Rome, where ninety percent of the fans in the stadium wore blue jerseys.
It’s the home ground shared by Lazio and Roma, with a maximum capacity of 82,000 people.
And today, the stadium was filled to capacity.
For many Lazio fans, if they couldn’t win this match, their plans for watching football this season would come to an early end.
A team that fails to qualify from the Champions League group stage is hard to believe could win the Serie A championship.
Beep!
With a whistle, the match officially started.
The players from both sides engaged in close combat, starting to test each other out.
Lazio played more assertively since they had the upper hand the last time they faced Lisbon Sporting.
In terms of both gameplay and score, they had won everything.
Therefore, this time, they had even less reason to lose.
In the fourth minute, Mendieta’s through ball created a dangerous situation.
Feng Te was directly penetrated at that point.
However, Pippo Inzaghi was a bit slow, and Vidic, who had come up for backup, was first to clear the ball.
Mendieta gave Feng Te a deep look; this central defender... was even weaker than he had expected.
Moving slowly, turning slowly, not focused enough, lacking aggressiveness in confrontations, imprecise in tackling and positioning, and unclear judgement of the football’s trajectory and final destination.
Feng Te returned Mendieta’s gaze fiercely, feeling secretly pleased.
Looking at me is useless, you will never think about scoring from my spot.
No way, know that!
I won’t go easy just because your transfer value is as high as 48 million euros.
I, Feng Te, am also a top-notch figure, and my transfer value is two-thirds of yours!
German Transfer Market: ???
German Transfer Market: Aren’t you worth 8 million euros?
Feng Te: Yes, my name has four characters, and his has six. Am I not two-thirds of him?
In the seventh minute.
Popovski made a breakthrough on the right wing, and knowing he couldn’t match the speed, Barzagli moved inside ahead of time, allowing the pass but not the cut.
Pippo Inzaghi came over for support.
But suddenly, Popovski delivered a diagonal pass.
Mendieta rushed forward and received the ball inside the penalty area.
However, Popovski’s pass this time was quite forceful, and Mendieta didn’t gain full control of the ball after his first touch.
"Feng Te!" Deng Kai immediately directed Feng Te to press forward.
Defense had to be tough and aggressive—this was an internal requirement for Sporting Lisbon.
Feng Te immediately stepped up to press.
However, Mendieta flicked the football up, performing a "scoop turn," and prepared to hurry out of the penalty box.
Feng Te didn’t let his guard down as a result; he still proactively stuck to Mendieta, not giving the esteemed midfielder of Europe any chance to move horizontally near the penalty area line.
At that position, once Mendieta could turn ninety degrees, he would be able to shoot directly.
Extremely dangerous.
But the next moment, Feng Te’s eyes nearly bulged out of his sockets.
Because Mendieta had slowed down after turning.
This is...
Fuck!
Feng Te knew at once it was bad news, but it was too late.
The leg he stepped forward with hooked Mendieta’s leg which was lingering behind.
Mendieta went down straight away.
Peep!
The referee immediately blew the whistle, pointing to the penalty spot.
"No! That’s not it! I..." Feng Te wanted to argue, but realized he had nothing to argue about.
Tripping someone in the penalty box, even if Mendieta was facing away from the goal, was an undeniable penalty.
Shameless!
More shameless than me!
Feng Te fiercely condemned Mendieta in his mind.
As the team leader, Deng Kai, on the other hand, was the first to rush to the referee, communicating, "Mendieta obviously slowed down and lingered, he was deliberately provoking a foul in the penalty area."
"Such clear intentions to obtain a penalty go against the spirit of sports!"
The referee explained to Deng Kai, "There might be such a possibility, but the fact of Feng Te’s foul is more tangible than that speculation. I understand what you’re saying, and I will be on the lookout for Mendieta in this regard. If he does this repeatedly, then he will be the one penalized."
"However, before that, I cannot maliciously speculate on a player’s offensive intentions."
Deng Kai nodded his head, indicating acceptance of the referee’s explanation.
There wasn’t much that could be done in such a situation, especially with Feng Te’s long legs drawing so much attention.
And Deng Kai’s communication wasn’t necessarily about getting the penalty canceled.
That the referee declared he would keep a closer eye on Mendieta was already a sign that Deng Kai’s words had an effect.
Huang Jianxiang, commentating in front of the TV for CCTV said, "The direct error here was by Feng Te. However, at least fifty percent of the responsibility should fall on Yaya Touré."
"Today he was paired with Guardiola in the double defensive midfield. Kaká, Deng Kai, and Matthaus played as advanced midfielders."
"But Yaya Touré’s protective work was clearly not up to par; he let Mendieta pass by too easily. Keep in mind, this is the player who ranked third highest in transfer fees this summer!"
"Indeed, Deng Kai noticed this as well. He didn’t go to scold Feng Te; instead, he called Yaya Touré and Matthaus over."
"Yaya Touré and Matthaus switched positions. Although he may not be better in the attacking midfield position, making the same mistakes as a defensive midfielder would evidently cause more damage to the team."
On the field, after adjusting the player positions, Deng Kai nodded to Feng Te, helping to reduce the latter’s psychological burden.
Otherwise, what was he supposed to do?
