Chapter 514: Chapter 513: Closure of the Major Leagues, Will The Strongest Team in Portugal Still Be in Doubt?
People, they just love to be difficult.
And now, rumors are spreading about Barcelona wanting to bring in Ronaldo to succeed Rivaldo.
In response, Sporting Lisbon definitely issued a solemn statement: "He is not for sale."
But if Barcelona could really offer an astronomical transfer fee, Sporting Lisbon wouldn’t refuse.
After all, Ronaldo does really want to be the core player of a team after learning his lessons under Deng Kai.
Otherwise, this whole year of assisting Young Master Kai would have been for nothing.
Over in the Premier League.
The League Cup was won by Blackburn, the newly-promoted team to the Premier League this year, and their winning of a cup is quite an achievement.
But in England, the FA Cup is considered more prestigious than the League Cup.
And the FA Cup champions are Arsenal.
Not only that, but Arsenal also defeated Manchester United and Liverpool to win the Premier League championship.
Liverpool had the chance to compete with Arsenal for the Premier League title.
They kept the suspense going until the last round.
Kilop, the Portuguese defensive newcomer they borrowed from Ajax, performed remarkably well, holding up the team’s defense for a while.
But Simon, who was brought in from Barcelona and significantly boosted Liverpool’s strength, got injured during training.
As expected, Liverpool failed to grasp the opportunity and fell at the final hurdle.
Manchester United finished third.
This year’s English champions, once again, had a connection with Manchester United.
In the 1994-1995 season, Blackburn won the Premier League, shattering Manchester United’s dream of three consecutive titles.
In the 1997-1998 season, Arsenal won the Premier League, breaking Manchester United’s dream of three consecutive titles.
Now, Arsenal has once again personally ended Manchester United’s hopes of winning three consecutive Premier League titles.
One has to say, they truly are arch-enemies.
Last but not least, over in Serie A.
Parma exacted sweet revenge in the Coppa Italia against Juventus for poaching Buffon and Thuram, beating them and claiming the cup.
As for the league, Serie A can be said to be the most exciting.
The once-cherished Fiorentina was relegated early, which was quite a pity.
As for the championship, Inter Milan, Juventus, and Roma all had a shot.
On the other hand, AC Milan, Bologna, Chievo, and Lazio were all battling it out for the last Champions League qualifying spot.
In the final round, Inter Milan faced off directly against Lazio.
Originally in this match, Popovski from Lazio was supposed to decimate Inter’s flanks, causing Ronaldo to weep over the missed opportunity for the Serie A championship after a loss.
However, this time, with the addition of Viana, Inter did not give their manager Cooper a chance to make a mistake.
Despite Cooper placing the legendary Greco as a fullback, he’s the one who had already cost the team the championship twice in the last matches of the past two years.
This would have been the third year.
His abilities were always more suited to playing as a winger rather than a fullback.
Moreover, Cooper bizarrely chose to team up Greco with Recoba to form a "fast lane" on the flank, which was swiftly exploited by Popovski.
But Viana pointed out Cooper’s error in the dressing room in time.
As Deng Kai often advised Trigella and Maxa on tactical changes before, after, and during halftime, Viana, having witnessed and learned from him, had picked up a trick or two.
As a result, Viana’s suggestion was endorsed by a number of players including Ronaldo, Vieri, Zanetti, and Seedorf.
In the end, Cooper had to withdraw Recoba and bring on a defensive midfielder instead.
And they successfully curtailed Popovski’s influence with that move, winning the Serie A championship in the process.
After the match, Ronaldo and Vieri were excited and in tears.
Internazionale, after their triumph in the 1988-1989 season, finally reached the summit of Serie A once again, living up to the name of the Serie A giants.
Moratti rushed onto the pitch and hugged Viana, showering him with kisses.
He was fully aware of everything that had happened in the dressing room.
On the spot, he promised the Inter players that he would bring in a new coach for the next season, one that lived up to the players’ expectations.
From his description, he was on the verge of saying Maxa’s name.
Juventus finished second in the league, Roma third, and AC Milan catching the last train by finishing fourth.
Chievo was fifth, Lazio sixth.
With that, only two matches remained in the whole of Europe’s competition.
May 9th.
The UEFA Cup Final officially kicked off.
Mourinho’s Feyenoord prodigy, Fan Peixi, made an immediate threat, performing admirably.
Feyenoord scored two goals, supported by Fan Peixi’s coordination.
Bear in mind, this was Porto they were playing against.
A top-class defensive team.
Unfortunately for them, Deco carried the game.
Two assists and a goal, crowned Man of the Match, helping his team triumph 3-2 over Feyenoord and reaching the pinnacle of European competition.
Porto’s striking star, Jia De’er, bagged a brace, shining incredibly bright.
People exclaimed in amazement that there was a spring for secondary leagues as well.
In subsequent press interviews, the Madman Mourinho captured all the limelight.
He became the first coach to predict at the start of the season that his team would win the UEFA Cup.
Although what he actually said was, "If we were to play in the UEFA Cup, we could win it too."
Reporter: "Mourinho, you have taken Porto from being an ordinary European fighting team to the pinnacle of European competition, and became the best team in Portugal. Do you have any secrets?"
"We’ve noticed that you once worked as a translator in Barcelona."
Mourinho shook his head: "I did work in Barcelona for a while, but that was not pleasant, and I’d prefer it not be brought up too often."
"Also, I need to correct you, Porto is this year’s best team in the UEFA Cup and one of the best in European competition. But we are not the best team in Portugal, at least not this year."
"This may be hard for our management, fans, players, and even myself to accept. But it’s a fact we must acknowledge. Only by recognizing the gap can we strive to catch up and bridge it."
"This year’s best team in Portugal is Sporting Lisbon. Of course, I also hope they are the best in Europe this year. That way, all clubs in Europe would know what we’ve been through!"
Mourinho’s comments thrust Sporting Lisbon into the limelight.
The UEFA Cup champions were saying Sporting Lisbon was stronger and hoping that Sporting Lisbon could defeat Real Madrid.
Is the Portuguese Primeira Liga aiming to sweep this year’s European trophies?
That’s insane!
Bild: "The raging Primeira Liga! Porto takes the lead, can Sporting Lisbon rise to the challenge?"
Kicker: "Mourinho: We are one of the best teams in Europe, but not the best in Portugal!"
Sky Sports: "Portugal’s best midfielder, Deco: Kai has been underestimated by everyone, he is an incredible player. In my eyes, he is Zidane!"
The Times: "Sporting Lisbon lacks a top-class striker, but they possess top-class midfielders, they can do better at creating opportunities!"
