Chapter 744: Chapter 743: Searching for Deng Kai, by Guardiola
Fabregas: It’s such a pity that I couldn’t fight side by side with my brothers to defeat Deng Kai’s team. Otherwise, with the glory of eliminating Deng Kai’s team, I could have been crowned at Manchester City next season!
Blissful!
In the 71st minute, the Spanish team launched another counterattack.
Xavi Alonso still delivered his favorite pass.
Torres led the charge, broke through with the ball, and managed a football pass just before Pepe’s sliding tackle.
Villa followed up and successfully challenged Baia, scoring with a one-on-one.
Two to four!
The Manchester City duo showed a perfect understanding, helping their team pull back a goal once again.
They seemed to be challenging their own team Deng Kai.
The spirit of Manchester City’s unbeaten record in sixty-five matches all season had already permeated the blood of every Blue Moon player.
Travelers have wind in their blood.
Manchester City players have victory in their strength!
No matter when or where, no matter how difficult the situation, they always maintained a thirst for goals and victory!
"Ah! That’s a shame!"
"The Spanish team scores one goal with one Manchester City player, and two goals with two Manchester City players."
"If they didn’t substitute Alonso but brought Fabregas on instead, they might have leveled the score!"
Alonso: ???
Alonso: Are you guys freaking blind? I’ve made one assist and initiated the scoring for another goal, a definite contributor to both goals. And you suggest letting Fabregas come on? To perform a ’joining Barcelona’ act for you?
Meanwhile, Pepe, who slid into Torres, received a yellow card.
Torres was fine, however.
All of Manchester City’s fast players had attended the "Speed Dog Self-Protection Class."
If it wasn’t a serious foul by Premier League standards, they were unlikely to get injured.
82nd minute.
Deng Kai easily made his way down the left flank.
Puyol was too afraid of Deng Kai cutting inside, leaving him clear passage to the end line.
The Spaniards quickly gathered in the penalty area, ready to fight for the falling ball.
They assumed Deng Kai would cross it.
Bang!
Deng Kai’s left foot made a Backward Triangle Pass, faking all the Spaniards out.
The Portuguese defensive midfielder Maniche, who followed up from behind, fired a long-range world-class goal.
Swish!
That’s outrageous!
"GOAL! Maniche!"
"Five to two! The Portuguese have extinguished the Spaniards’ comeback!"
"Although Maniche doesn’t score many long-range goals, he has indeed made significant contributions to Porto this season!"
"Perhaps many remember that Deng Kai, while at Sporting Lisbon, had fierce conflicts with Porto’s Maniche."
"Back then, the talented winger Maniche was continuously schooled for two seasons by the younger star of Lisbon."
"At that time, Deng Kai stated that Maniche’s technical skills and temperament were not suited for playing as a forward, he should be playing in the midfield, or even defensive midfield."
"At that time, Maniche considered that the greatest insult to him."
"But somehow Mourinho caught wind of this. When he took charge of Porto, his first request was to have Maniche play as a defensive midfielder. Maniche resolutely opposed and the two nearly came to blows."
"But in the end, it turned out that Maniche was born to play as a defensive midfielder! He lifted his first Champions League trophy at that position in his career!"
"Oh! Deng Kai and Maniche embrace, smiling as they bury the hatchet."
"No, no, no... Maniche even made a gesture as if he’s polishing Deng Kai’s boots!"
"It seems he really respects Deng Kai."
"As a hardy soldier of the Porto faction, Maniche’s tactical status was far from that of Deco and others, but he was a product of the local youth training system, and his attitude more aptly represented the thoughts of the Porto people than Deco’s did."
"From top to bottom, there should be no one in this Portugal team who doesn’t respect Deng Kai now."
On the field, the scoreboard revealed one time after another.
It turned out that Deng Kai had completed a hat trick!
Even though he had given up an assist when Ronaldo had scored twice.
But what was meant to come, couldn’t be sent away.
In the decisive third match of Portugal’s European Championship group stage, The King of Alvalade, Deng Kai, announced his return with one goal and three assists.
He led the team to trample over the bodies of the Spaniards and powerfully enter the quarter-finals of the European Championship!
When the final whistle of the match sounded, the whole of Europe was chanting:
"Portugal has arrived!"
"Deng Kai has arrived!"
"Attention, please, attention... Deng Kai’s Portugal team has arrived!"
...
Bild: "Deng Kai returns! Portugal beats Spain with ease, entering the top eight!"
Kicker: "A perfect debut in the European Championship! Deng Kai with one goal and three assists, marking his sixty-sixth unbeaten game of the season!"
Sky Sports: "Bringing the unbeaten record from Manchester City to Portugal! The terrifying Blue Moon has turned into a Red and Green storm!"
Manchester Evening News: "Manchester City’s twin kings conquer Europe! Deng Kai and Ronaldo assisting each other, thrashing Spain!"
Marca: "Spain defeated at Alvalade! All the bad things in the world happened to us!"
AS Newspaper: "Apart from the Manchester City twins and Xavi Alonso, this Spanish team had no highlights!"
Record Report: "Feng Te handing out water, Sa Sheng stirring the pot, with heads held high in disbelief, Maniche kneeling to polish shoes. With a flick of his skilled foot, he represents half of Portugal... Poetry name, ’Seeking Deng Kai’. Author, Guardiola!"
Yu Guangzhong: ???
Compared to Portugal’s phoenix-like rebirth, several teams in this European Championship have been a huge disappointment.
Spain is definitely one of them, even though their competitor Greece also lost to Russia, they only lost by one goal and had a positive goal difference of one.
Spain’s goal difference, however, was minus two.
Thus, they missed out on the quarter-finals as the third-placed team in their group and had to head home.
And Greece, who before just needed one win to advance, ended up creating a Greek myth!
Yes, people think that’s quite mythical indeed.
The second disappointing team was Germany.
After 2000, they were once again eliminated in the group stage of the European Championship.
Even with a runner-up finish at the 2002 World Cup in between, looking at the squad, it’s not hard to see the missing sparkle.
That’s right.
Matthaus had retired.
German football had to admit they were facing a severe drought of talent.
Great players had retired one after another, and the best of the new generation was someone as young as Lahm.
Although they had Ballack and other pillars of support, there were too few players of such caliber, especially on the front line, where Germany consistently lacked reliable output.
The third disappointing team was even more heavyweight.
That was the Italian team from the ’little World Cup.’
They sat on one of the world’s most luxurious lineups but were too conservative, and in the end, due to goal difference, Denmark and Sweden colluded to knock them out.
As a result, Italy lodged a complaint with UEFA, claiming that Denmark and Sweden were match-fixing.
The controversy raged on, but the outcome was bound to be inconclusive.
After all, everyone is in the know, the unwritten rules are understood by all, practiced by all.
Being defeated by such tricks, in a sense, also means that you’re not strong enough.
Look at Deng Kai, he faced even darker stuff, but he still broke through.
True strength is the ultimate truth.
