Chapter 625: Chapter 624: King of Single Season Statistics
This is a typical display of a lack of national confidence, always finding faults within oneself, reflecting and reflecting again.
But with Deng Kai’s reputation spreading far in the world of football, especially after he finished second in the Golden Ball award last year, many European media spoke out on his behalf.
Domestic confidence in football greatly increased.
This time, Wu Xudong received more comments like, "Brother Wu is awesome, nearly outplayed my Kai," "Arsenal can’t carry, Brother Wu performed like a god but still couldn’t win," and "Don’t blame Brother Wu and Arsenal, what can you do when they face my Kai?"
This was definitely praise.
Not only did the domestic fans commonly believe that Wu Xudong should be the starting fullback for Arsenal, even the mainstream European media thought Wu Xudong should play more often than Lauren, and even more than Ashley Cole.
There were even views that if Arsenal had consistently used Wu Xudong this season, they probably wouldn’t have given Manchester United the chance to overtake them at the last moment.
Because Wu Xudong was even more extreme in the offensive, if he had helped Arsenal win just one more game, what would Manchester United matter then?
Wu Xudong also expressed his views on Manchester City this season during an exclusive interview with Zhongshi, "I don’t know what others think, but when I learned that our FA Cup opponent was Manchester City, I had a bad feeling."
"It’s not that I lack confidence in Arsenal, I think Arsenal is the strongest team this season, even stronger than Manchester United!"
"But I’ve been teammates with Kai for several years, and I believe that anyone who has been Kai’s teammate would feel the same way. That is..."
"Finals Kai and everyday Kai are different!"
"No matter how strong or weak Kai’s team is, once they get into the finals, they definitely become stronger against stronger opponents!"
"No matter if the opponent is Real Madrid, Manchester United, or Arsenal, they all have a fighting chance!"
"This is related to Kai’s big heart, and also to his, Maxa’s, and Trigella’s motivation of the players. Being in the same team with Kai, you can feel that thirst for honor."
"It’s as if the team itself is a person who desires to win every single championship honor."
"When I first came to Arsenal, I didn’t feel this, so I thought it was my misconception. But after losing in the FA Cup, I realized Arsenal also had this quality."
"That’s why I feel extremely hopeful for Arsenal’s next season! I also hope that while people support Manchester City, they would support our Arsenal!"
Wu Xudong was clearly a qualified player.
His statements increased the number of Arsenal fans in the country by at least thirty percent!
The meticulous Germans in Kicker, based on various data from Manchester City this season, drew an astonishing conclusion, "In summary, we have reason to suspect that Manchester City’s strength is rapidly increasing."
"From their early season thrashings, which almost went awry, to later effortlessly defeating mid-table teams, and finally even being able to defeat a team like Arsenal."
"Looking at their track record combined with their schedule, although they lost and drew many games in the second half of the season, that has a lot to do with their strategic withdrawals."
"Fighting on three fronts meant they had to give up the league, so all the Premier League teams failed to realize that this team’s strength had gone from mid-lower Premier League level to the forefront of the Premier League!"
"Therefore, we dare to make a bold prediction!"
"Next season, Manchester City might very well become another Premier League title contender after Manchester United and Arsenal!"
"We are utterly certain they will qualify for the Champions League next season!"
"This is two years earlier than the most optimistic predictions when Deng Kai joined Manchester City!"
It was unbelievable, the conclusions of Kicker were so outlandish.
Letting a newly-promoted Premier League team qualify for the Champions League in their second season is nonsensical in any league.
Yet, the public... accepted this conclusion!
At least, if Manchester City really did break into the top four of the Premier League next season, people wouldn’t be too surprised.
Bild conducted a study on this phenomenon.
The most common phrase among surveyed fans was, "It’s hard to say, but any good result Manchester City achieves is reasonable, because they have Kai!"
The subsequent assessment was... over thirty percent of fans believed that Deng Kai was the best-performing player of the past season!
This data point remained true until Ronaldo was eliminated by Real Madrid.
Deng Kai had surpassed Trigella for a short period after being named the Premier League’s Best Player, but the gap between them was minuscule.
Now, however, Deng Kai had established a three percentage point lead.
People generally believed that this year’s Golden Ball award was, in theory, out of Ronaldo’s reach over Deng Kai.
Because Real Madrid had only secured the La Liga title this season, the King’s Cup was taken by Real Mallorca.
Even though Real Madrid reached the semifinals of the Champions League.
But considering Manchester City’s foundation and Real Madrid’s, the achievements of Manchester City were no less than those of Real Madrid.
And... Deng Kai’s personal stats completely crushed Ronaldo’s.
It sounded incredible.
Thirty-four goals and twenty-five assists in the Premier League.
Nine goals and six assists in the League Cup.
Four goals and six assists in the FA Cup.
A single season with forty-seven goals and thirty-seven assists, contributing to eighty-four goals!
Efficiency that was frightfully high!
Ronaldo’s season totals didn’t even reach forty in terms of contributions.
The data was simply not on the same level.
People predicted that Nedved from Juventus might be the last obstacle preventing Deng Kai from winning the Golden Ball.
On one hand, Nedved had impressive stats this season, displaying a core player’s performance.
On the other hand, Juventus had strong competitiveness for awards, an advantage brought by the club.
If Juventus were to win the Champions League, this year’s Golden Ball would be a three-way battle between Deng Kai, Ronaldo, and Nedved.
...
May 23rd.
Keira Knightley and Jim Carrey’s collaboration "The Fake God" premiered.
This commercial film, invested with just eighty million US Dollars, achieved an astonishing opening box office of ninety million US Dollars in North America!
It shocked all of Hollywood.
After all, the film’s female lead was Keira, known for her "art-film" style.
Keira is a British actress and quite a newcomer in Hollywood.
And both being an art-film actress and a newcomer are theoretically not sufficient to carry the box office.
Jim Carrey’s box office capability is indeed strong, but to claim it was this strong, people still wouldn’t believe it.
North America’s authoritative entertainment media subsequently provided a box office forecast for this film — two hundred and fifty million US Dollars!
This achievement, during this year’s relatively sluggish economy, was so far the highest predicted box office!
Following the release of the opening box office figures, Keira gave interviews to the media.
Keira, "I must thank Deng Kai for recommending this film, he chose it for me because he believed I possess both artistic and commercial attributes."
"Initially I had some worries, but in the end, I chose to trust Deng Kai."
"And this may just be the return on my trust in him!"
"He never lets anyone down!"
