Chapter 483: Chapter 482: Triumph!
Within half an hour, that photo went viral across Europe.
The photo was Photoshopped.
In the dark player’s tunnel of Estádio Alvalade, a silhouetted figure approached against the light, somewhat indistinct.
But through the silhouette and hairstyle, his identity was not hard to discern.
The photo was titled—Triumph!
Kicker: "Sporting Lisbon releasing fake news? Miraculous healer Wohlfahrt analyzes again the three points that make Deng Kai’s recovery impossible from a medical standpoint!"
Bild: "Could Deng Kai make a comeback? Sporting Lisbon drops a bombshell!"
Sky Sports: "Sporting Lisbon still doesn’t get it, even with Deng Kai, Leverkusen is still the likelier winner!"
France Football: "Ballack in an interview: Doesn’t care about any changes in player information from Sporting Lisbon!"
Diario Sport: "Return of the King? First, Deng Kai is not a king. Second, his return is highly unlikely!"
Marca: "Real Madrid doesn’t care whether Sporting Lisbon or Leverkusen wins, but Ronaldo and Ballack could become their plan B if their transfers fail!"
Manchester Evening News: "Ferguson says Ronaldo should not be overlooked, he will be the key factor in the next match! It’s time for him to move to a platform where he can get more attention!"
All the major media outlets speculated.
And in the afternoon, Sporting Lisbon finally revealed the answer.
Deng Kai’s name, strikingly, was on the roster.
Unfortunately, he wasn’t starting.
The starting lineup for Sporting Lisbon was:
Ronaldo, Drogba
Kaká, Ronaldinho, Tu Lei
Matthaus, Guardiola
Pepe, Vidic, Barzagli
Reina.
Many Sporting Lisbon fans were excited.
"Young Master Kai is back! Really?"
"That was quick! The whole world said he couldn’t return until April, and it’s only April 9th!"
"Heard that Wohlfahrt wants to contact Deng Kai to collaborate on a sports medicine recovery project."
"There’s news that Deng Kai was initially misdiagnosed, that his injury wasn’t as serious as it seemed."
"Aren’t we being a bit too optimistic? What if Kai doesn’t play?"
"Kai is the stabilizing needle of the team; maybe he’s on the bench injured to boost the team’s morale?"
"Mmm, I also think Kai won’t play, but I’m satisfied."
"Young Master Kai is a true hero, advancing and retreating with the team! Even if we lose, he will face it together with the team!"
"Way to go, my Kai! It’s just too bad, really too bad. If he hadn’t been injured, Sporting Lisbon would definitely have gotten past Leverkusen."
"Heh, the Sporting Lisbon fan above just made me laugh, you really think Leverkusen is a pushover? This is the team that topped the table over Bayern for several months this season, okay?"
"The Leverkusen fan above, you make me laugh too. Didn’t you know that with Kai, Sporting Lisbon crushed Bayern at the start of the season? Is beating your Pharma team not a piece of cake? Isn’t Bayer now being suppressed by Bayern? And you still brag?"
"Would suggest the Pharma fans go hype on their official media, stop causing conflicts here on our Portugal sports official media."
"I would love to, but our Pharma team hasn’t joined Understand the Ball Emperor yet, have they?"
"Then hurry up and join! Now there are over thirty football clubs from all over Europe on Understand the Ball Emperor; without joining, there’s no sense of belonging."
"Ding! You have been muted for three days by the Sporting Lisbon administrator. Please go to other sections to post."
"Ding! You have been unmuted by the Sporting Lisbon administrator."
"Brother, feeling the sense of belonging yet? Hurry up and get your fans mobilized. Joining sooner or later is inevitable! Join now, and there are fan plaque and points giveaways!"
...
The evening of April 9th, at Estádio Alvalade.
The quarterfinal second leg of the UEFA Champions League officially kicked off.
Earlier, other teams had already settled their matches.
Manchester United won the second leg 3-2, completing a double over Super Depor to advance to the semifinals!
Real Madrid won 2-0 at home, with Figo and Zidane assisting each other, unsurprisingly overturning Liverpool to advance to the semifinals!
Barcelona, on their home ground, suffered a reversal at the hands of Bayern.
Quaresma was targeted in defense and was ineffective throughout the match.
Bayern defeated Barcelona 4-2, leveraging the away-goals rule to enter the Champions League semifinals!
Barcelona paid the price for their empty home stadium.
Sporting Lisbon, who were proactive in solving the problem of the empty stadium, finally joined the Bayer Leverkusen players in entering the pitch.
"Hello everyone, I am Huang Jianxiang, and sitting next to me is my colleague He Wei." Huang Jianxiang looked somewhat downcast because the important guest commentator they had invited was stuck in a major traffic jam and couldn’t make it.
Therefore, they had to call on a commentator who was available from another department.
And only He Wei, who was sitting on the bench, was available.
This person didn’t understand "Kai learning," and Huang Jianxiang didn’t have much in common to discuss with him.
"Hello everyone, I am He Wei. Let me introduce to you the starting lineup of Bayer Leverkusen."
"The strikers are Neuville and Berbatov, the former is a swift horse with great speed. The latter is a lazy dog but has strong playmaking abilities and good skills with the ball at his feet."
"The midfield trio are Ze Roberto, Ballack, and Shi Naide. The former two need no introduction, Bayer Leverkusen’s super duo, rumored to possibly join Bayern together!"
"Shi Naide previously played for Frankfurt, and our country’s famous striker Yang Chen’s debut goal in the Bundesliga was assisted by him."
"The five defenders from left to right are Prasente, Zivkovic, Novotny, Lemelo, and Ceberzen."
"Goalkeeper Hans-Jörg Butt."
"Bayer Leverkusen’s key defender Lucio is suspended due to accumulated yellow cards which affects their defense. But a 5-3-2 formation and the advantage of two away goals should be enough to ensure Leverkusen’s progression to the semifinals."
Huang Jianxiang was speechless at the side.
It would have been fine if you hadn’t added that last line.
Why bother?
As expected, the director immediately criticized He Wei through the earpiece, as many viewers had called in to complain.
They said that while He Wei might not be wrong, his remarks sounded unpleasant and unlucky.
Fifty yuan deducted from He Wei’s salary this month.
On the Sporting Lisbon side, Deng Kai indeed was on the bench.
Since his injury, he had been using Yunnan Baiyao bandages continuously.
His injury was healing at an accelerated pace.
He was about forty minutes away from a complete recovery.
Beep!
The whistle blew, and the match began.
Sporting Lisbon launched the attack first.
Ronaldo, Guardiola, and Kaka played a series of combinations, with Guardiola eventually delivering a diagonal pass to Kaka, who received the ball and executed the shot.
Unfortunately, Bayer Leverkusen’s center-back Novotny was brave and meticulous, going to ground to block the shot.
"Beautiful defense!" He Wei spoke up, "Novotny truly deserves to be called Matthaus’ successor, his defense was very on point, he predicted Kaka’s shot perfectly!"
Director: ...
Another fifty off He Wei’s salary!
