Chapter 520: Chapter 519: Today God is Wearing a No. 5 Jersey
"Impact! That’s precisely what Real Madrid’s frontline is lacking! And it’s also the strongest point of Lisbon Athletics!"
"Any of their midfielders and forwards have the ability to directly challenge the opponent’s defense!"
"Who will take this penalty? Ronaldo? In his last five penalties, he has missed three. Clearly, he hasn’t practiced penalties, the only missing piece in his shooting technique."
"Oh! Deng Kai steps forward, he’s voluntarily approaching the penalty spot. Ronaldo passes the football to Deng Kai and gives him a hug."
"Let’s look at Deng Kai’s penalty stats... Wow! That’s a bit exaggerated! Deng Kai’s penalty conversion rate is as high as ninety-five percent! His penalties are terrifying! It’s practically like seeing penalties as sure goals!"
"And if this penalty goes in, Deng Kai will have completed a hat-trick!"
"Champions League final! Against Real Madrid! Any kind of hat-trick is invaluable in this situation! But when these two come together... Deng Kai, can he do it?"
"He can do it! He surely can! Deng Kai never lets the fans of Lisbon Athletics down!"
"Real Madrid are doomed! All they can do now is pray for Casillas to reproduce the miracle moment from two years ago."
Bang!
Clang!
The stadium fell silent.
Then, the Real Madrid fans burst into heartbreaking cheers.
"Oh! My goodness!"
"He missed! Deng Kai’s penalty has actually missed!"
"This..."
"The football hit the crossbar and flew away! Deng Kai pursued the angle too much, he wanted to hit an absolute dead corner! This..."
"He didn’t need to do that, Deng Kai wanted to score too much! As a result, it affected his performance."
"I believe, if he were to try a hundred times, Deng Kai might score ninety-nine, but this one time he faltered." In his excitement, He Wei even unwittingly showed his chicken feet.
"And this was exactly the time he couldn’t afford to miss!"
"Deng Kai may be the King of Alvalade, but sorry, this is not Bernabéu, oh, this is Hampton Park Stadium!"
"Real Madrid’s morale is soaring! On the contrary, Lisbon Athletics is completely disheartened, Deng Kai’s missed penalty dealt a huge blow to the team!"
"This is an ominous sign!"
Watching Casillas and his teammates celebrate wildly, the players of Lisbon Athletics felt their hearts sink to the bottom.
Runners-up, huh?
Of course, this is already an impressive achievement for the youngsters.
Historically, there have been hardly any top names who managed to lift the Champions League trophy in their youth, on their first participation, and on their first final appearance.
This might just be a rite of passage for the young.
But... they were so close.
The players of Lisbon Athletics numbly walked back to their own half, many with red-rimmed eyes.
If even Kai couldn’t do it.
Then who could?
In the stands, there was a family of four also watching the game, yet they weren’t wearing the jerseys of Lisbon Athletics or Real Madrid, but the number ten jersey of Brescia from Italy’s Serie A.
This was the jersey of the famous Italian football star Roberto Baggio.
This season, the thirty-five-year-old Baggio, plagued by injuries, had made only a few appearances, with a very weak presence.
"Daddy, why are they so sad?" The despondence of the Lisbon Athletics players was so apparent that even the family’s eight-year-old son could see it.
The little boy’s sister and mother were taken aback.
The mother even subconsciously wanted to cover her son’s mouth.
The word "penalty" was not to be mentioned in their household.
The boy’s father smiled, but his smile was heavy. He wore sunglasses, a mask, and a hat, concealing his face and the ponytail at the back of his head.
"In a team, some people can afford to fail, but others cannot," the father explained.
The little boy nodded: "So in the last game, Ronaldo cried, he lost, but he can afford to lose. This game, Deng Kai lost, but he can’t afford to lose?"
Father nodded, "Likewise, in one’s lifetime. You will have many opportunities to fail, but there are some opportunities that you must succeed in. Once missed... it will be a lifelong regret!"
"And penalties, they are among these regrets, the most regrettable kind!"
Next to this family, a football fan pointed at the father’s silhouette and said, "That man’s silhouette looks like Roberto Baggio!"
The fan beside shook his head, "It’s not Baggio, a bit heavier."
Soon, the first half of the extra time ended.
Fifteen minutes later, the second half of the extra time also ended.
There was one minute of added time.
But it was this very minute.
The veteran Zidane, after being invisible for more than ten minutes, suddenly made a forward run, breaking into the penalty area!
The golden wolf Guti delivered what might be the most thrilling and spectacular through ball of the game.
The football passed by five players from Lisbon Athletics and successfully entered the penalty area.
Schmeichel charged out!
He desperately lunged forward, trying to touch the football ahead of time.
But with a light touch of Zidane’s toe and a Marseille Turn, he slipped past Schmeichel.
Time stood still at this moment.
Schmeichel seemed to be in bullet time.
Once Zidane was past him, it would be an open goal.
Schmeichel had never been as lucid as he was now.
His right hand suddenly exerted force, grasping at Zidane’s foot.
Peep!
The referee blew the whistle, pointing to the penalty spot.
At the same time, he showed Schmeichel a yellow card.
Vidic, Barzagli, Pepe, and others immediately surrounded the referee.
However, Schmeichel walked to the sidelines with his head buried.
He knew, his Champions League final had ended.
And perhaps... his professional career should end as well, right?
Schmeichel knew, this would become a famous scene in his career.
The backdrop for Zidane’s descent from the heavens.
Actually, the treatment wasn’t so bad.
After all, that was Zidane.
Boom!
The Real Madrid fans were completely exhilarated.
"The last minute of added time! A penalty!"
"Zidane is invincible! This is Zidane! Today God is wearing the Real Madrid number five jersey!"
"Zidane wins a penalty! Without a doubt, he will take the penalty himself! But the question is, who will Lisbon Athletics put as the goalkeeper?"
"Lisbon Athletics has already used up their three substitutions. They can’t substitute a reserve goalkeeper. And... Lisbon Athletics’ third goalkeeper hasn’t really played for two seasons, so you can imagine his level..."
"Looking back now, Jia De’er injuring Reina was really criminal! If Reina was here, Trigella would have kept a substitution slot open!"
"Will it be Ibrahimovic or Vidic? They are the tallest players on Lisbon Athletics... But as a goalkeeper, height isn’t enough, you have to be quick to react, Ibrahimovic might be more suitable than Vidic."
"But a forward is never as confrontational towards the ball as a defender is, and I’m afraid Ibrahimovic might dodge the ball."
"Or Pepe? He has the ferocity of a defender and is very agile, he might be the most suitable in the team... Deng Kai?"
"What is Deng Kai doing?"
