Chapter 444: Chapter 443 Capello and the Penalty Kick
Maxa was a bit surprised, "You’re reading the Tao Te Ching too?"
Maicon smiled shyly, "I still want to integrate into the team’s mainstream culture, with Kai, the Saint, and Mr. Trigella as the core, uphold the four confidences, and achieve the two maintenances..."
Maxa nodded repeatedly, "You go warm up."
Maicon excitedly sprung up from the bench.
Sure enough!
The diligent person’s hard work pays off; studying by lamp into the night, and he gets to sub in the second half!
Evra slapped his thigh hard, damn, Maicon’s victory wasn’t fair!
Everyone’s focused on playing football, and you’re secretly studying?
Sporting Lisbon’s study range is too intense!
In a three-center-back formation, Maicon and Evra are both substitute central defenders on the side, in direct competition with each other.
Evra: Are you freaking forcing me to go get a Ph.D. or what?
...
At the 23rd minute, Quaresma’s dribbling eventually earned a free kick.
Deng Kai knew Quaresma; from his expression, he could tell he actually wanted to take the shot himself.
But alas...Rivaldo wouldn’t have it any other way.
With the Golden Ball winner there, the other Barcelona players had to step back on some privileges.
That’s status.
Bang!
Clang!
Rivaldo’s shot was really powerful!
A curved free kick directly hit the post, missing a goal by just a bit.
In the 31st minute, Xavi carried the ball past midfield and successfully took on Yaya Toure.
But Deng Kai’s vision was too good; he had been lying in wait behind.
At the moment when Xavi temporarily lost possession after the dribble, Deng Kai suddenly surged forward with a slide tackle, successfully intercepting.
Bang!
Upon standing up, Deng Kai kicked the ball.
The "Tackle Commander" skill might not be handy for others, but for him, it was absolutely divine.
His rapid passes during counterattacks had always been extraordinary.
But "De Bruyne’s Conscious Flow Pass" was the Seven Injuries Fist, harmful to the user and the foe, difficult to handle for Sporting Lisbon’s forwards.
The emergence of "Tackle Commander" directly improved the precision of Deng Kai’s "De Bruyne’s Conscious Flow Pass."
It gave him the real opportunity to direct and hit the ball quickly and accurately!
Ronaldo took off down the left flank, cutting in after receiving the ball.
Seeing no chance to clear the ball before Ronaldo, Puyol immediately tightened his position to guard against Ronaldo cutting inside.
As Ronaldo was about to rush over, various scenes flashed through Puyol’s mind.
He wasn’t just idling in that position.
He was Barcelona’s secret weapon to limit Ronaldo.
Although the outside world believed Barcelona would comfortably beat Sporting Lisbon, the team had, after all, knocked Barcelona out last season.
Losing to Sporting Lisbon again would truly confirm some rumors that Barcelona wasn’t a powerhouse.
So Barcelona was extra cautious.
Over the past while, Puyol had watched nearly all of Ronaldo’s highlights.
He was intimately familiar with Ronaldo’s technique, choices in dribbling, and shot selection.
Whether it was cutting inside, a lightning step-over, a zombie dribble, a touch to accelerate, taking a long shot, or choosing to speed up again after one more touch or looking at the ball’s position after the chase to decide whether to blast it or curl it.
One brilliant move can conquer all.
But in front of him, Puyol... Perhaps...
Bang!
Ronaldo tapped the ball with his heel, rushing towards Puyol but sending the ball rolling towards the bottom line along the left edge of the big penalty area.
Puyol was stunned at that moment.
Was that... a pass?
And it’s a backheel pass, seriously?
Are you sure this is Ronaldo, not Ronaldinho?
I’d believe it was Deng Kai!
Who’s that pass for?
Bang!
Deng Kai provided an answer to Puyol who was rushing forward.
Catching up to the football, he took a low shot from a tight angle!
It was all about surprise and audacity!
Bang!
Bonano moved quickly to the ground this time, his shin successfully blocking the football, which bounced back.
Bang!
After the back-heel pass, Ronaldo kept pushing forward, breezing past Puyol, who was caught in the Statue Technique, then lifted his foot to shoot at the oncoming football.
The series of clever combinations, let alone Barcelona fans, even Sporting fans had never seen such play.
Are you sure this isn’t an Arsenal match?
Aren’t the two players on the field Pires and Henry?
"GOAL! Two to nil!"
"Sporting scores again! Ronaldo and Deng Kai team up to extend their lead!"
"If the link-up between Ronaldo and Deng Kai is called the CR-DK connection!"
"The connection between Deng Kai and Kaka is the DK connection!"
"Then the connection between Kaka and Ronaldo, I’d like to call it Capello!"
"Apart from Deng Kai, Kaka might be the first player who got Ronaldo to pass the ball to him multiple times! The sunshine he radiates seems to have a magical power that illuminates the brooding boy from Madeira!"
Ronaldo: CNM! One pull, one step???
The then AS Roma head coach Fabio Capello: First of all, I am a famous Italian coach. Secondly, you guys have come up with a very classy combination name!
The Barcelona players were struggling to maintain their composure.
How could this be happening?
Weren’t Sporting supposed to be weaker now?
This doesn’t feel weak at all.
In fact, it seems even harder to play against them than last season.
In the forty-fifth minute, Golden Ball winner Rivaldo played his pivotal role, delivering a beautifully precise through ball.
Quaresma, cutting in without the ball, took a step sideways to force open shooting space and scored before Vidic could catch up with a curved shot.
Barcelona fans were instantly energized.
But as the head referee indicated Quaresma was off-side, the burst of red and blue dissolved away.
The second half.
Barcelona still found it difficult to pose a significant threat in front of Sporting’s goal.
Cruyff is definitely an outstanding striker, and Saviola and Quaresma are definitely excellent wingers, but Barcelona has never liked the tactic of crossing from the wings.
And attacking through the middle, this Sporting team was too tough to crack.
Of course, this also had to do with Guardiola’s deep understanding of Barcelona’s attacking habits.
This traitor blocked Barcelona’s through-pass routes every time, quite shrewdly.
In the sixty-fifth minute.
Quaresma and Giovane played a series of wall-passes in a one-two combination, creating a stroke of genius.
Finally, Quaresma took the ball into the penalty box.
Pepe, rushing back from the flank to defend, went in hard, bringing down Quaresma.
The head referee presented the yellow card package.
Quaresma stood out once again.
So far, he was Barcelona’s most shining player.
Playing against Sporting, Quaresma also had a good understanding.
Nearly every player on that defensive line couldn’t stop Quaresma one-on-one.
After all, as the star player, he had a status boost, performing a notch higher against former teammates.
This is a very common phenomenon in football.
Cruyff took his position at the penalty spot.
He and Rivaldo took turns taking penalties, and today was his turn.
But ten seconds later, Cruyff could only hold his head in frustration.
He had sent the penalty flying!
Schmeichel had put a lot of pressure on Cruyff.
The score remained two to nil.
Beep!
On the sidelines, Trigella began making substitutions.
Maicon replaced Guardiola.
