Chapter 705: Chapter 704: Players Never Know When They Will Be Sold
Look at how luxurious Portugal’s lineup is now!
In the front, there were Figo, Rui Costa, Bolaita, and Baia, and now it’s Deng Kai, Cristiano Ronaldo, Deco, Viana, Quaresma, Simon, Pepe!
Feng Te: You didn’t know I was also called up to the national team???
If Deco were in the Brazil team, Brazil would have three of the top four attacking midfielders!
Plus, with the support of Rivaldo, the legendary world’s best attacking midfielder from the older generation, the lineup is ridiculously strong!
Aside from these three attacking midfielders, other top-name players like Nedved seem to be attacking midfielders, but he actually tried the left midfielder position more at Juventus.
The former world’s best midfielder, Zidane, also shifted to the left at Real Madrid, no longer playing the pure attacking midfielder role.
Figo, Raul, Quaresma, these players occasionally fill in as attacking midfielders but they are not dedicated to that position.
Van Nistelrooy, Cristiano Ronaldo, Henry, these are extraordinary strikers, whether they play as center-forwards or wingers, they are definitely not attacking midfielders.
Lampard, Gerard, Xavi, these promising genius midfielders had become the pillars of their teams, but they weren’t yet world-class players, falling short of the four great midfield maestros.
But back to the four great midfield maestros.
These four people... except for Deco, had all assisted Deng Kai at some point.
Ronaldinho: ???
Kaka: ???
Viana: ???
Deco: Hehehe, not me!
Even though Deco isn’t one, it’s coming close, with the European Cup about to start.
Deng Kai is the sole core of the Portuguese national team.
The only one!
Deco: ...
Their style of play inevitably got influenced by Deng Kai.
Looking at their style of playing before joining Sporting Lisbon and after leaving, they clearly changed.
Their passing became more concise and faster, their vision improved the understanding of using the team’s regular attacks.
Passing and dribbling in counter-attacks.
Once in the offensive third, a swift pass—even if it’s a bit rash at times.
They became all-rounders in passing, shooting, and dribbling, managing the balance among these aspects really well.
They almost all represent different aspects of Deng Kai’s abilities as an attacking midfielder.
Ronaldinho is the enhanced dribbling and ball control version of attacking midfielder Kai.
Kaka is the speed and attacking version of attacking midfielder Kai.
Viana is the flexible, dribbling, and passing perfect combination version of attacking midfielder Kai.
So how could Deng Kai not understand himself?
After the last match, his team had analyzed Viana’s data thousands of times.
Combined with Deng Kai’s understanding of Viana, it was as if Viana had never left.
Bang!
Deng Kai stood up, flicked the ball, and sent a lofted through ball right in front of Inter Milan’s penalty area.
Countering Inter’s counter!
The target of this ball was very clear.
Find Adriano!
Adriano and Matrazzi were jockeying for position at the top of the arc.
Leveraging his explosive physical strength, Adriano held off Matrazzi, receiving the ball with his chest, back to the goal.
Stopping the ball with his chest to the right, Adriano pushed back, knocking Matrazzi aside, attempting to turn.
However, on the other side, Cordoba had already charged over.
Adriano had no space for excess dribbling.
But for Adriano, it was enough.
Just outside the box, if you let Adriano, possessing Batistuta’s goal-scoring prowess, complete a turn, it means this offensive play is as good as done.
Bang!
Adriano swung his left foot, volleying the ball before it hit the ground.
A volley Batistuta goal!
Cannavaro flew in with a slide tackle, trying to block the shot.
But Adriano’s shot wasn’t just an ordinary one; it was a "howitzer" type of shot.
The starting height was extremely high.
It soared right over Cannavaro.
Of course, Toldo wasn’t ready to make the save.
But after all, he was a top goalkeeper, making a flying save as the football headed straight into the net.
Too fast!
Too strong!
That kick reminded Toldo of that war god from Argentina.
Who is this Ronaldo?
This is clearly the Brazilian Batistuta!
"GOAL!"
"A god has descended to the mortal world!"
"The king returns!"
"Adriano completes a hat-trick!"
"Facing his former team with a hat-trick! Adriano is really too strong! Against three, amidst Matrazzi, Cordoba, Cannavaro, he completes an earth-shattering turn and volley!"
"The aggregate score is five to three! Manchester City takes a powerful lead!"
"Inter Milan must score three goals in a row to advance!"
"We must admit that Adriano has grown into a world-class striker at Manchester City!"
"This year, he’s like Shevchenko who burst onto the scene, like Ronaldo who has amazed in the Portuguese league, like Henry and Trezeguet when they first made their mark!"
"If one player were to represent all the forwards this year, I think it should be Adriano!"
"Manchester City still has three to four matches this season! And Adriano has already scored over thirty-five goals for Manchester City in all competitions this season!"
"Among them, the Premier League goals are very likely to break thirty!"
"While this season’s top scorer for Inter Milan, Vieri, has thirteen Serie A goals and a total of fourteen in all competitions, not even half of Adriano’s tally!"
"The old king has aged, the new king must rise!"
"Adriano!"
In Meazza Stadium, applause erupted out of the blue.
Then, the applause grew louder and louder.
At the same time, Inter Milan’s fans began chanting Adriano’s name in unison: "Adriano!"
"The king!"
"Adriano!"
"The king!"
The young Adriano’s eyes grew teary, his chest bursting with a hero’s pride.
Is this... his kingdom?
Just like how Etihad belongs to Deng Kai.
Will Meazza, too, belong to him?
Adriano stood there, lost in thought.
On the pitch, Manchester City’s players once again came over to celebrate with Adriano.
The surging blue and black seemed to have turned into sky blue.
Meazza Stadium seemed to have become the Etihad.
Everyone was celebrating Adriano’s goal.
Moratti watched the scene unfolding before him.
The home ground... had switched allegiance!
In the luxurious box.
Moratti expressed to Mansour with some apology, "I didn’t expect Adriano to perform so well here."
"He may just be eager to prove himself, he is always grateful to Inter Milan."
Moratti nodded, "No problem, a player who can score is a good player, no matter who he once belonged to."
"But... he has Inter Milan’s blood in him."
"I can feel his excitement and fervor."
"Mansour, sell Adriano to us!"
Mansour was stunned.
This...
Is this the start of poaching?
The match still hasn’t ended.
"No matter the cost!" Moratti was very straightforward, "If you’re willing to trade Adriano, we’re willing to pay everything!"
"Forty million? Fifty million?"
"Whatever the number, just name your price!"
"I know you probably don’t need the money, but this is my sincerity!"
