Chapter 69: Chapter 69 Domestic Fans’ Initial Impressions
The scout spoke up, "Deng Kai’s talent absolutely crushes that of Sergio, there’s no doubt about it. As long as his physique keeps up, he could even become a midfielder of Serie A level."
"What I mean is, Sergio is no longer suitable for Sporting Lisbon. He should feel the shackles he experiences at Sporting Lisbon by now."
"As a core player, if the other isn’t excellent, leaving is the best choice. The most hurt aren’t the substitute players, but the substitute cores."
"Turning into a utility player isn’t the best solution for Sergio, and besides, many core players can’t play as utility players. When it comes to helping the midfield, Sergio’s performance isn’t even as good as Semedo’s, who is less talented."
"We should take Sergio away; it will definitely be a praiseworthy transaction in the future. The key is it’s not even difficult."
The higher-ups at Boavista nodded, indicating that they would consider it.
Why was Sporting Lisbon able to take many youths from Benfica?
Was it because Benfica didn’t value them at all?
No.
It was because Benfica already had the best ones for these positions, and they couldn’t keep those who were just good. The latter would leave on their own.
Other teams might have very good players in other positions, but just so happen to lack even the good ones in these positions.
Therefore, these generally good players might get to enjoy being starters, even core members, after transferring.
Training, matches, these are things that players in their growth phase can’t do without.
Even if you are Messi or Ronaldo, if you don’t play for three years, you might fall behind.
Deng Kai?
Forget Deng Kai.
He’s an exception.
He indeed hadn’t played for three years, but... he even improved his game.
Just outrageous.
...
The match had just restarted.
And once again, Deng Kai staged a brilliant interception.
In today’s game, if Cristiano Ronaldo’s super-fast hat-trick and his recent haul of four goals were impressive.
Then Deng Kai was showing terrifying dominance on both the offensive and defensive ends.
He too was excited today.
The reason was simple... who said two players can’t have their signature performances in the same game?
With a backheel drag, Deng Kai evaded the charging player and drove the ball forward.
Cristiano knew Deng Kai’s movement patterns.
After a dribble, Deng Kai was quite fast for a short time, but he couldn’t sustain it for long.
Since Deng Kai had just made the interception and dribble in midfield, he couldn’t possibly bring the ball to the front.
So, Cristiano went against his usual style; instead of sprinting down the flank, he slowed down and made an early off-the-ball cut inside.
He and Deng Kai executed a perfect crossover maneuver.
Cristiano’s movement instantly drew several defenders.
Everyone thought Deng Kai was going to pass it to him.
But instead, Deng Kai nudged the ball, headed left, and without any opposition, arrived at the left front.
Bang!
Deng Kai, after adjusting, made a direct cross.
After switching positions with Deng Kai, Cristiano also began a sudden forward run.
He knew Deng Kai’s pass would come quickly.
And it did so.
The football flew from the flank into the penalty area.
Cristiano also charged into the penalty area from outside the box.
But as Cristiano was about to jump, he was brought down by an opponent’s central defender.
There was also a hand movement involved.
The referee immediately blew the whistle and pointed to the penalty spot.
Penalty!
Casabia’s goalkeeper rushed out to argue with the referee, but the referee was decisive.
He awarded a yellow card combo.
But strictly speaking, a red card combo would have been justifiable too.
Deng Kai looked towards Cristiano.
Cristiano subtly shook his head.
He still wasn’t ready for the penalty kick.
His performance today was perfect, and he didn’t want a "missed penalty" to ruin it.
So, under the watchful eyes of everyone, Ronaldo picked up the football and threw it to Deng Kai.
The domestic commentators, upon seeing this scene, instantly became excited.
"Dear viewers! Next, let’s bring you the live broadcast of Deng Kai’s game!" Huang Jianxiang, the nearly thirty-one-year-old CCTV young commentator, said with a forced smile.
In fact, it was because the TV station had just found a broadcast source at the moment.
It was Jiang Yunzhu, a "Sports Weekly" correspondent in Portugal, who had helped find it.
Since it was an offbeat game, broadcasting it cost money.
And you’re joking if you think CCTV is going to pay to broadcast a game during this time slot!
This was an era when the NBA commissioner would have to come beg CCTV to broadcast their games for free with videotapes in hand.
Without Jiang Yunzhu providing the broadcast, CCTV would be airing Go matches instead—what football would they watch?
They were just broadcasting Nie Weiping’s Go match... and it was a recording.
"Alright, we can see in the picture that the handsome Portuguese lad has thrown the football to an Asian player. Yes, an Asian player—he is our main focus for this match, the Portuguese Chinese midfield starlet, Deng Kai!" Huang Jianxiang had thoroughly prepared for this match, "Clearly, Deng Kai is the team’s primary penalty taker."
"This is a symbol of status."
"And the lad who just handed the football to Deng Kai is Cristiano Ronaldo, known as the future extra-terrestrial of Portugal; Deng Kai refers to him as Ronaldo during the introductions, which is quite convenient."
"Yo! The penalty was even drawn by Ronaldo. It seems that Deng Kai’s position in the team is very solid. Of course, from here, we can see that they have a good personal relationship, the kind who often go out for drinks together..."
With Huang Jianxiang’s embellished commentary, Deng Kai confidently scored the penalty.
The score on the field was seven to one.
Huang Jianxiang was shocked when he realized, "Whoa! Seven to one! This game has gone wild!"
"Don’t think the opponent is weak. They are currently the second-ranked team in their league, and they’re very strong."
"It seems Sporting Lisbon is on a roll today."
"Wow! Deng Kai has already achieved a score of two goals and two assists? That’s awesome!"
"With this, Deng Kai’s position as the league’s assist king is even more secure."
...
"What are you watching? ’My Fair Princess’? What’s so good about a rerun? Quick, switch to Channel 5’s football match!"
"What match? There isn’t a Frankfurt or Crystal Palace game today, is there?"
"It’s not Yang Chen or Fan Zhiyi."
"Then who is there to watch?"
"Deng Kai! You know, the Football Caesar from Sporting Lisbon! The most talented Chinese talent from Portugal! The pride of the Chinese people!"
"Isn’t that just hype?"
"Hype my uncle, he even got invited to the Golden Ball awards ceremony! The future superstar! Zidane himself has praised him!"
This scene was happening all around the country.
Deng Kai, originally only somewhat famous in the football world, immediately became a hot topic after CCTV’s broadcast.
Many turned on their TVs just in time to hear Huang Jianxiang’s voice: "Alright, the game has reached the seventy-third minute, Deng Kai and his teammate... um, he’s playing down the wing with Aduriz. This Aduriz is quite the player, knowing to pass the ball back to Deng Kai, who’s now unmarked."
"Crossing... great ball!"
"It’s in again!"
"It’s Sporting Lisbon’s defensive midfielder Semedo who scored! He’s redeemed himself. In the first half, he scored an own goal."
"This player has done well, to stabilize his emotions and form after an own goal is no easy feat."
"What are the fans shouting? Hat-trick? Hahaha! Deng Kai has assisted for a hat-trick! His passing is just like the football version of Hu Weidong!"
At that moment, this hat-trick became the first impression of Deng Kai for Chinese fans.
But soon, that impression was overturned.
In the eighty-first minute, Deng Kai, who had been explosive today, once again made a steal in the attacking third and took a long shot himself.
Clang!
The football hit the post, just a bit shy of a goal.
Bang!
Ronaldo, always ready, rushed into the box to score on the rebound.
Nine to one!
"Damn! Is this a U15 game quality? This is too fierce!"
"Deng Kai’s long shot, can any domestic players of the same age make that shot?"
"Ronaldo’s follow-up was very clever, that shooting ability is solid!"
"Scores five by himself! That’s inhuman!"
"What? The little extra-terrestrial scored five goals?"
"Explosive! It’s rare to see such an outrageous score."
"I even suspect if they also ’fix’ games abroad..."
"The way you use ’also’ is just perfect."
