Chapter 441: Chapter 440: The First Battle of the Top 16
It turned out that Lazio was still quite conscientious.
Both Nesta and Simeone were very dependable "brothers."
In comparison, the generals like Crespo, Mendieta, and Popovski seemed a bit stingy.
Currently, fans watching Deng Kai’s games might find it hard to imagine that Deng Kai, known for his passing and forward runs, actually started out with defense early in his career.
However, as physical disadvantages became evident, Deng Kai’s role was limited to the offensive end.
With the appearance of "Deco’s falling star," Deng Kai made up for his physical shortcomings, resulting in a significant hardware improvement.
But his defensive skills and attributes were still relatively behind.
Compared to the average "soft midfielder orchestrator," Deng Kai was not bad, but lacking a bit compared to a proper defensive or box-to-box midfielder.
He could only rely on defensive awareness and vision to enhance his interception ability.
But in terms of actual tackling ability, he was somewhat lacking.
The arrival of "Nesta’s falling star" solved this problem to some extent.
And Simeone’s tactical plan, at a glance, seemed to share some ingenious similarities with Rehhagel’s.
The latter emphasized high pressing and active movement in the front.
Simeone, on the other hand, placed more emphasis on the players’ mental attributes and granted them a temporary attribute boost, comparable to "Diamond Body Technique."
This was indeed quite powerful.
People say that Simeone’s playing style is not picky about players, providing a sky-high path for those without talent.
But isn’t physical resilience a very important and relatively rare talent?
The greatest enemy of a talented player is injury, followed by indiscipline.
If you aren’t that resilient, following Simeone’s style, playing for two or three seasons would basically get you ready for retirement.
It’s not just Simeone, with tactical reforms in the future, all major tactics will have high demands on players’ running ability. This increases the importance of stamina and injury resistance.
It’s safe to say, Simeone’s tactical plan was as beneficial to Deng Kai as Guardiola’s vision was.
No, Guardiola was already out of the picture, now it was Pirlo’s vision.
On November 26th, the 12th round of the Portuguese league.
Sporting Lisbon lost zero to two against Boavista.
The official reason given was to prepare for the Champions League second stage group match four days later, so some rotation was done.
But the fans took one look at the lineup, and said, "What rotation? Isn’t it just that Deng Kai and Ronaldo haven’t returned from attending the Golden Ball award ceremony in Paris yesterday, missing the match, that’s why they’re resting?"
Of course, the official reason sounded nice because of the impact it might have.
After all, losing a league match due to attending an award ceremony is something many fans could not accept as unprofessional behavior.
But for the club itself, they fully supported such actions and believed that Deng Kai and Ronaldo’s choice to skip a league match to attend an award ceremony was very professional!
Because for a "dark shop" like Sporting Lisbon, having players appear at major award ceremonies and secure important awards or rankings was like a blessing on their ancestors’ graves.
It was an acknowledgment of their "leveling" ability, even if the players themselves didn’t increase in value, the club’s brand would appreciate.
This appreciation would be reflected in every future transaction.
Absolutely profitable!
On November 29th, the second stage of the Champions League group matches kicked off.
In Group C, where Sporting Lisbon was, Barcelona took the lead against Arsenal in combat.
Thanks to a goal and an assist from the former Sporting Lisbon star, Quaresma, Barcelona defeated the in-form Arsenal two to zero.
As a result, "Diario Sport" published a headline article entitled "Quaresma Deserves to Be the Tenth in the Golden Ball Award," which received enthusiastic approval from Barcelona fans.
The article believed that Deng Kai’s position should have belonged to Quaresma, as he should have been the true core of Lisbon Athletic’s triple crown.
Lisbon Athletic fans accepted the viewpoint of Barcelona enthusiasts and expressed, "But now Lisbon Athletic is the quintuple crown champion. The triple crown core may belong to your player, but the quintuple crown core is our player. No objections, right?"
Meanwhile, the English media generally believed that the overwhelming pressure of the Premier League was the fundamental reason behind Arsenal’s defeat.
At least in their eyes, Barcelona was not such a strong team.
Barcelona, Inter Milan, Liverpool, Bayern Munich... any team that could be defeated by Lisbon Athletic was not considered strong.
Unless Lisbon Athletic could defeat Juventus tomorrow.
Only then could it really prove that this team was different from the typical small clubs.
On the 30th of November, Lisbon Athletic VS Juventus.
Juventus had a dreamlike lineup.
Forwards Alessandro Del Piero teamed up with Trezeguet.
One was the Zebra Prince, and the other was the key contributor to France’s victory in the 2000 European Championship and a super striker.
Midfield included the likes of the wild boar Dai Weisi (Davis), the iron man Nedved, Tacchinardi, Zambrotta, Conte, and other famous generals.
The defense led by Buffon and Thuram also included warriors like Pesotto, Ferrara, Montero, and Iuliano.
It seemed almost flawless.
And the match process was indeed so.
Despite Lisbon Athletic fielding a full-strength squad that included Deng Kai, Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, and Kaka.
They, or should we say Deng Kai, encountered their first European defeat of the season.
Zero to four!
Lisbon Athletic got lost in the Stadio Delle Alpi in Turin.
The French striker Trezeguet showed his might, scoring twice.
The Zebra Prince added fuel to the fire with a goal.
Wild boar Davies’ dreamlike long-range shot broke through, astonishing all four corners.
Nedved was nothing short of the perfect midfielder, providing two assists.
The ever-running wing-back Zambrotta’s magic footwork created another assist.
Juventus’ new goalkeeper Buffon even twice denied Lisbon Athletic’s one-on-one chances, showcasing confidence and flair.
In contrast to Juventus’ performance, Lisbon Athletic’s side was far too shabby.
Matthaus was injured and withdrawn early on, and the young Portuguese substitute Veloso had a disastrous performance, getting completely blown away by Nedved.
Ronaldo and Ronaldinho each missed a one-on-one opportunity, completing Buffon’s perfect performance.
Deng Kai’s long shot hit the crossbar, missing a goal opportunity.
But even if he had scored, it wouldn’t have helped; four to one and four to zero are indistinguishable at times like these.
After the match, Juventus fans gathered in front of the stadium to cheer.
Torino Sport Newspaper promptly published news: "Lazio doesn’t represent Serie A; Juventus is the true embodiment of Serie A’s strength! In the face of the Serie A giant, Lisbon Athletic seemed too weak!"
The Italian sports media rushed over upon hearing the news, looking to restore confidence among Italian fans.
"Ronaldo? Is this Portugal’s best currently available striker? He’s not even worth a toe of Trezeguet!"
"Thuram shuts out Ronaldo, this is the overwhelming of a player worth over 30 million against one worth over 10 million! Ronaldo is worth 10 million euros at best; even a single cent more would be a disrespect to Thuram!"
[PS: My state of mind has collapsed twice in one day, and I really can’t stand it - I need to go out for a walk, or else I might get angry to death! There might not be any more updates today; I strive to regain my composure by tomorrow and aim for five updates.]
