Chapter 604: Chapter 603: Best Player of the Premier League, Strong Support from the Portugal National Team
Chelsea currently ranks fourth in the Premier League, and they will face Manchester City for the second time this season in ten days.
In their first encounter, Manchester City lost to Chelsea at home, three to zero.
They haven’t lost many home games this season, but Arsenal and Chelsea have both been their bogey teams.
This has led the public to hold a pessimistic view about Manchester City’s chances of continuing in the FA Cup.
Sky Sports: "Manchester City has completed their season goals one hundred percent. League Cup champions, FA Cup semi-finalists, Premier League survival—they’ve done very well."
BBC: "Deng Kai has showcased a perfect season with his leadership achievements!"
Manchester Evening: "As of now, Deng Kai has scored a total of thirty-seven goals for Manchester City in the Premier League, League Cup, and FA Cup this season! He has tied Alan Shearer’s single-season goal record from the 1995-1996 season when he played for Blackburn!"
The Times: "Catching goals and assists all in one go! Deng Kai is on track to break Andy Cole’s single-season record of forty-one goals set during the 1993-1994 season for Newcastle United!"
Echo Report: "Totally dominant! The King of Manchester, Deng Kai, has higher goal and assist statistics than the King of Highbury, Henry!"
Many media outlets have started to summarize Manchester City’s season.
Otherwise, talking about it after Manchester City is knocked out would be less meaningful.
This is also in a way cushioning their landing.
Of course, there are those who are dissatisfied with the media comparing Deng Kai to Henry.
Vieira expressed, "It’s unfair. Deng Kai’s performance is certainly more impressive, but Henry’s goals and assists are much more valuable."
"The statistics of a Premier League’s twelfth-placed team should be different from those of the top-ranked team."
Arsenal fans were also very excited and started to relentlessly slander Deng Kai.
Similarly, Manchester City fans began to attack Arsenal fans.
Because, barring any surprises, this season’s Premier League’s Player of the Year will emerge between Deng Kai and Henry.
On the current Premier League top scorers’ chart, players like Deng Kai, Henry, Cristiano Ronaldo, Van Nistelrooy, James Beattie, Fowler, Mark Viduka, and Alan Shearer are competing fiercely.
Aside from Deng Kai’s leading advantage of four goals, the rest are extremely tense.
And even Deng Kai could be replaced by the players behind him at any time.
On the assists leaderboard, however, Deng Kai and Henry are far ahead with 15+ assists.
Solskjaer, in third place, has only seven assists and clearly stands no chance of threatening the top two.
It was only at this point that people realized why Deng Kai was so supportive of Manchester United winning the championship this season.
Because if Henry led Arsenal to back-to-back Premier League championships, then no matter how outstanding Deng Kai’s personal stats were, he might end up overlooked.
However, if Arsenal lost the championship, Deng Kai’s achievement of taking a promoted team to a mid-table finish, combined with his explosive personal stats, could see him win the Premier League’s individual awards directly.
But the problem is... didn’t Deng Kai clearly show his support for Manchester United at the start of the season?
At first, everyone thought it was brotherly love, the workings of the Red Devils’ genes.
Now it seems... this kid’s calculation is too loud, it has disturbed the whole of Europe.
The media immediately boiled over.
So that’s how it is!
Bild: "The truth revealed! Behind Deng Kai’s support for Manchester United lies the determination to aim for the Premier League’s Best Player award!"
Marca: "Explosive stats! Exceptional team leadership! Deng Kai lives up to being runner-up for the Golden Ball Award!"
Kicker: "If Ronaldo’s performance at Real Madrid this season barely met everyone’s expectations, then Deng Kai’s performance at Manchester City has completely exceeded all predictions!"
"From this perspective, Deng Kai has already taken the lead in this year’s Golden Ball Award race!"
Torino Sport Newspaper: "2004 could be the year Deng Kai reaches legendary status! On the club side, a more mature Manchester City might break into the Premier League’s top four."
"On the national team side, coupled with the last glimmers of Portugal’s Golden Generation, there could be achievements at the European Championship!"
Almost everyone assumes that if Deng Kai continues at this pace, he could very well embrace the highest honor in his professional career—the Golden Ball Award or FIFA World Player of the Year—quickly by 2004 or at the latest by 2006.
Deng Kai’s popularity has surged once more across Europe and even shows signs of breaking out of the sports circle.
On March 16th, Manchester City won 1-0 at home against Birmingham.
As soon as the match ended, countless reporters rushed to interview Deng Kai.
Reporter: "Deng Kai, do you know that Deco has announced he’s joining the Portugal national team?"
Reporter: "Deng Kai, what do you think of FC Porto’s Champions League performance? Do you think they have a chance to reach the semifinals?"
Reporter: "Deng Kai, what impact do you think Deco’s addition will have on the Portugal team?"
Indeed.
Deco has officially become a naturalized player for the Portugal national team.
This has caused a huge stir in Portugal.
Deng Kai’s return to Portugal has brought changes to Portugal’s immigration strategy.
And Deco is a direct reflection of that change.
Following them, there will be more "beneficiaries."
However, the core members of the Portugal national team, led by Figo and Rui Costa, are not welcoming Deco.
If the Golden Generation’s conflict with Deng Kai and Ronaldo mainly stems from the "old guard" wanting to prove themselves, not wanting the young to get involved, and not trusting the young players,
then Deco’s addition also comes with the debuff of being an "outsider."
At this time, the opinion of Deng Kai, who is now a new decision-maker for the Portugal national team, is very important.
Deng Kai smiled at the camera: "Congratulations to Deco, he has joined the team he wanted. Congratulations to Portugal as well, you have gained an exceptional talent."
"No one knows Deco better than I do, not even Mourinho. He is a world-class midfielder, very powerful, and I am really looking forward to collaborating with him on the national team."
"I, on behalf of myself, as well as Coach Trigella and Ronaldo, welcome Deco’s joining! I believe that under the leadership of stars like Figo and Rui Costa, Deco, Ronaldo, and I can bring more honors to this team together!"
Deng Kai’s attitude was very firm.
Welcome, Deco!
This reassured Deco, who was watching on TV.
As for the Champions League, Deng Kai spoke candidly: "Mourinho is an exceptionally talented coach who can turn decay into magic. I have no doubt about his ability to achieve success in European competitions."
"But this year’s FC Porto is still raw; they lack a top-notch striker. Additionally, their defense is not yet at its strongest."
"I think it’s hard for them to score in the second leg after falling behind in the first leg, and they might have to say goodbye to the Champions League stage for now."
"But next season, with a more solid team defense, a more reliable center forward, and a stronger Deco... I think then they’ll have the strength to challenge for the Champions League!"
