Chapter 636: Chapter 635: Ronaldo Doesn’t Reject Playing Out Wide as Manchester Rivals Unite for the Community Shield
They needed a goalkeeper who could even cover the entire half of the pitch.
This was definitely something other goalkeepers couldn’t and wouldn’t dare to do.
But Cech did it.
So he was not only the most unique goalkeeper in Manchester City, but also in the entire world.
However, what everyone failed to notice was the sparkle in Neuer’s eyes.
"So knowledgeable! Feng Te truly understands football!" Neuer almost worshipped Feng Te, "This interpretation of the goalkeeper’s role shines like a lighthouse, illuminating my entire world."
"I always believed that I had the ability to become the number one goalkeeper in the world. But now, I realize my vision was too narrow."
"I should become the greatest goalkeeper of all time, beyond the past and present! I should become the only one at the top, beyond just being a goalkeeper!"
This summer, although Neuer suffered a bitter defeat to Cech,
he had found his true path.
He accepted the gap between him and Cech.
It was impossible to do better than Cech within the scope of being a goalkeeper.
But he believed that within the scope of being a "goalkeeper," given enough time, he could overtake by cutting corners.
Five years!
At most five years!
Or even... three years, Neuer hoped he could catch up with Cech within three years!
...
This year’s summer was special for the Champions League.
Under pressure from broadcasters, UEFA had no choice but to announce a simplification of the double group stage format.
In the original Champions League format, after the group stage, the last sixteen were divided into four groups for a second stage group phase.
But the market clearly didn’t approve of this method.
The heat from the Champions League quarter-final matches was much higher than the round of sixteen group games, and the corresponding topics and traffic were on a totally different level.
Plus, broadcasters had to pay more for the latter.
Ultimately, UEFA transformed the second stage group phase into knockout rounds!
But to compensate for the decrease in the number of matches,
they announced an expansion.
The first stage of the Champions League group phase was expanded from the original twenty-four teams to thirty-two.
This allowed more teams from leagues outside the top five to gain a Champions League spot.
For non-rich clubs and those outside the top five leagues, this was great news.
And with the knockout stage starting at the last sixteen, the games became even more exciting.
Underdog triumphs and favorites being knocked out early would become more frequent moving forward.
After getting used to the battles among the strong, people also needed to witness some "underdog miracles."
Of course, once the "underdog miracles" happened too frequently in the future, people would want the Champions League to change to a format that favored the big clubs’ performance.
The format needs to evolve with societal demands,
to continually maintain its appeal to the masses.
On August 10th, the Premier League Community Shield kicked off,
similar in nature to the "Super Cup" of other leagues.
It was contested by league champions Manchester United and FA Cup winners Manchester City for the trophy, simultaneously ushering in the new season.
This was the first match of the year within the top five European leagues.
It attracted a lot of attention.
"Manchester United spends three million euros to bring in David Berrion from Sunderland! He performed well in the pre-season and is considered by fans to be the new Beckham!"
"Making a name with one goal! Berrion hopes to score his first official goal for Manchester United in the Community Shield!"
"Fan’s determination to win! Will help Manchester United become double champions!"
"Ferguson admits, Beckham’s departure seriously affected Manchester United at a competitive level, he had even considered trying out Ronaldo on the right flank!"
"Ronaldo: I’m not jealous of Deng Kai; after he received the Premier League Player of the Year award, I called and spoke with his family for three hours to send my regards!"
"Ronaldo: Manchester United is still the strongest team in the Premier League, and I wouldn’t mind playing as a winger if the team needs me! Fortunately, Manchester United quickly found the right players for the wings!"
Manchester United didn’t have the transfer season everyone imagined this time around.
That was because their old owners were brewing plans to sell the club and naturally weren’t planning to invest further.
However, it would still take some time before the public became aware of this issue.
On the Manchester City side, Deng Kai had returned to the team the day before the season’s opening.
They were equally confident about the upcoming Manchester derby.
"Deng Kai: I heard van Nistelrooy wants Manchester United to be double champions, so, of course, our goal is to make Manchester City triple champions!"
"Deng Kai: There’s no problem between Ronaldo and me, but I’m really worried whether Ronaldo is in love. Not because we played in the Toulon Tournament together and I know about his love life, but because every time I called him after I received my award, he was already on another call!"
"Maxa: Although it’s a bit unusual to include the Community Shield in the triple championship, we shouldn’t underestimate any Championship Trophy! When we were at Sporting Lisbon, the Portuguese Super Cup made us European quintuple winners!"
"Deng Kai returns from a lavish UAE feast, his form in doubt!"
"The league title is definitely more valuable than the cup title, even though Manchester City has two cup Championship Trophies! Eighty percent of Premier League fans fancy Manchester United!"
Cardiff Millennium Stadium, the match is about to ignite.
"Hello, viewers, I’m Huang Jianxiang, your long-lost friend! The commentator who joins me today will definitely puzzle and delight everyone!"
"Yes, it’s our new sweetheart, Miss Gao Yuanyuan!"
"Her starring role in the period martial arts TV series ’The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber’ is currently airing on the first, third, and eighth sets of the Central Television!"
"You may not know, but Yuanyuan also watches football and is a fan of Manchester City."
"Yuanyuan, which team are you supporting today?"
Gao Yuanyuan: "Of course, it’s Manchester City, I’m a fan of Deng Kai."
It must be said that Gao Yuanyuan’s appearance was indeed a surprise.
But actually, with Deng Kai becoming famous worldwide with that punch at the Oscars, the domestic entertainment industry had already seen the potential in sports superstars.
Even without that, Deng Kai’s influence in Hollywood could help domestic movie stars develop abroad.
These days, all stars want to take a trip to Hollywood.
Regardless of whether they can become world stars, at least it could greatly enhance their status in the domestic industry.
Gao Yuanyuan’s company wanted to arrange for her to appear with Deng Kai to gain some popularity. They were actively contacting him and reached out through domestic connections.
But Deng Kai had a very busy schedule this summer, and they couldn’t arrange a meeting.
They could only say next time, for sure.
Huang Jianxiang: "Alright, the players from both teams have entered the field. I will quickly introduce the lineups to everyone."
"On Manchester United’s side, Ronaldo and van Nistelrooy are the twin forwards."
"Giggs, Scholes, Keane, and Berrion form the four midfielders."
"Phil, Silvestre, Ferdinand, and Gary are the four defenders."
"Goalkeeper is Manchester United’s recent signing, Tim Howard, who has also performed quite excellently during the warm-up matches."
"If nothing unexpected happens, Barthez should be Howard’s backup at Manchester United."
"On the Manchester City side."
"Three forwards, Baggio, Adriano, and Ribery"
"Three midfielders, Deng Kai, Essien, and Tu Lei"
"Four defenders, Lahm, Chiellini, Desailly, and Maicon"
"Goalkeeper Čech."
"Apart from this season, it’s basically the same old flavor. This also means that Deng Kai’s return requires no integration! This Manchester City is the same team that defeated Arsenal 5-4 last year to lift the FA Cup!"
"But we must see that, compared to last season, Manchester United has only lost Beckham."
"On the other hand, Manchester City in their key lineup has lost four significant players: Fowler, Lehmann, Grosso, and Hierro!"
"This match could be a scorecard for Manchester City’s transfer operations this summer!"
[PS: Shocking. Just passed through a night market and witnessed a durian vendor hastily throwing away the last section of a six-section durian into the peeling bin while the young lady buying the durian was distracted by her phone. The lady left, oblivious to the fact that her durian was missing a section. I suggest that everyone pay a little more attention when shopping.]
