Chapter 729: Chapter 728: From afar, I watch my brothers ascend to high places, with one less among us to place the dogwood.
On the other side, Manchester City players rushed onto the pitch to begin their frenzied celebration.
And the world’s major media outlets scrambled to break the news.
"Perfect Ending! Manchester City Becomes the First Five-time Champions in the Top Five Leagues of the New Century!"
"Undefeated Five-time Champions! Manchester City Sets an Unprecedented 65-Match Unbeaten Record!"
"Seven to One! The Biggest Winning Margin in the History of the Europa League Final! Created by Manchester City!"
"The World’s Best Winger! Deng Kai Scores Six Goals in a Single Game, Breaking the Europa League Knockout Stage Record for Most Goals in a Match!"
"Crazy Football! If Last Season’s Manchester City Was a Dark Horse, Then After This Season, Please Call Manchester City... an Elite Club!"
"Unprecedented! Deng Kai Becomes the First Player in History to Be Crowned a Five-time Champions League and Europa League Winner Twice!"
Feng Te: ???
Feng Te: You can insult me, but you can’t ignore me! I’m the man who’s going to be the future vice-captain of the Portugal national team!
Vice-captain of the Portugal national team: ???
"Valencia Concedes Five Goals in One Half! From the Players to the Head Coach, All Are Stunned!"
"Benitez: Terrifying! Manchester City and Deng Kai Are Too Terrifying! As the La Liga Champion of This Season, I Say, Manchester City Is Definitely the Strongest Team in the World This Year, Without a Doubt!"
"Alberta: We thought Deng Kai was the world’s best midfielder, so we prepared everything for the middle. But we didn’t expect that he’s also the world’s best winger!"
"Airma: I can’t find the words to describe all this. I believe from today onwards, who is the world’s best player in each position of the attacking midfield is not up to the players, it’s up to where Deng Kai plays! Wherever Deng Kai plays, the best player in that position can only be considered the world’s second best!"
"Canizares: The goal is like the ocean to him, I can’t find any way to stop him from scoring. Just like the saying goes, prayer is the only way I can fight him. But today, God didn’t hear my prayers, because today God is wearing Manchester City’s number ten jersey!"
On site, they were setting up the award presentation stage.
The Europa League trophy had just been engraved with the names of every Manchester City player.
But as soon as the trophy was brought out,
Deng Kai snatched it away.
The staff escorting the trophy were a bit embarrassed.
Many cameras converged.
UEFA President Johansson, who was beside him at the award presentation, went over and said to Deng Kai with a smile, "Kai, congratulations, you will get this trophy, but not now."
"Wait until I hand it to you later, then it will belong to you forever."
Deng Kai smiled slightly, "I know there’s a process, but forgive me, I need it now. If I can win this trophy again next time, I can lend you one."
With that, Deng Kai walked over to Adriano with the trophy.
On the field, countless players were enthusiastically celebrating with their families.
This was almost the happiest moment in their lives.
Only Adriano stood alone, his smile carrying a tinge of loneliness.
He had just been celebrating with Ribery, but then Ribery went to take photos with his parents, and they were also calling other family members.
"Hey, Adriano," Deng Kai handed the trophy to him.
Many reporters crowded around them.
Adriano unconsciously smiled at the cameras and then said to Deng Kai, "Kai, I don’t think we should be holding the trophy yet, the award ceremony hasn’t been held."
Deng Kai: "I know, but I can’t wait, you’d better go."
Adriano turned his head: "What?"
Deng Kai looked slightly grave: "It’s a long story, I will explain it to you on the phone, but right now you must take the trophy to Gothenburg Central Hospital."
"Your father just underwent surgery, it was very precarious, but luckily, he defeated death."
"He’s waiting for you in the hospital."
"He will celebrate for you, cheer for you... forever!"
Adriano was stunned: "He... he..."
Deng Kai: "They removed the bullet, and he had bypass surgery on his heart. From now on, you don’t have to keep counting in your heart how much longer your father has."
"He will be with you for a long time."
"Hurry up, don’t let him wait too long!"
Adriano’s eyes reddened, and tears rolled down immediately: "Kai, I..."
"Go!" Deng Kai pushed Adriano away.
Adriano, with the trophy in his left hand and wiping tears with his right, ran into the players’ tunnel.
Many people on the scene were somewhat perplexed.
Adriano... took the Championship Trophy with him?
This...
"Deng Kai, what happened just now?"
"What did you say to Adriano?"
"Why did Adriano take the Championship Trophy away ahead of time?"
"Is this another celebration you guys planned? Some kind of joke on everyone?"
No one had ever witnessed such a scene.
Nobody knew what had happened.
But the award ceremony was about to begin.
This was a set procedure, and many broadcasters had paid for the rights to air it. UEFA had to carry out this ritual at the specified time, or it would cost them a significant amount of money.
So, the award ceremony took place as scheduled.
First were the individual awards.
The Best Young Player of the season was Manchester City’s player, Torres.
He contributed three goals and three assists for the team in this tournament.
He won by a slight margin over his teammate Villa.
The latter had three goals and one assist.
The Best Goalkeeper was also from Manchester City, Cech.
His performance this season was astonishing.
In one season, he went from a third-rate European goalkeeper to a top-tier one.
Cech had created a miracle of his own.
His future was unimaginable.
Next, Deng Kai made three consecutive appearances.
He was crowned Assist King, Golden Boot, and Best Player of the tournament.
He scored a total of nineteen goals and delivered eight assists in this tournament.
Most of these goals came in the knockout stages.
He was truly crucial in the crucial moments.
The Best XI of the tournament was also announced:
Vicente, Adriano, Ribery
Deng Kai, Tu Lei, Baraja, Viana
Cannavaro, Thiago Silva, Maicon
Cech
=
Among them, Inter Milan’s Toldo was extremely disappointed.
If it weren’t for Cech’s explosive performance in the knockout stages, Toldo and Canizares would have been strong contenders for Best Goalkeeper.
But they both encountered the terrifying Blue Moon and were directly defeated by Cech.
Afterward, the Valencia players took the stage to receive their medals.
But not one of them could smile.
Then came the moment all eyes were on, as the Manchester City players went up to receive their awards.
The atmosphere at the venue reached a peak because of this.
The Manchester City players lifted... nothing but air.
They left behind a championship team photo that was missing both Adriano and the Championship Trophy.
