Chapter 760: Chapter 759: This Kick, Fourteen Years Early
Deco walked to the corner flag area, and then took the corner kick.
But Vieira was first to clear the football to the far post.
Viana chased after the football.
The following Makelele didn’t press too closely.
He obviously knew Viana well.
None of these Portuguese attackers, damn it, are bad at dribbling past people.
If Makelele gets beaten by Viana in this spot, the threat would be too great.
It’s better to give Viana a chance to cross.
This is choosing the lesser of two evils.
To say you can completely deny Viana any chance is impossible.
Unless you can dominate with your abilities.
But Viana is really not weak.
The new Portuguese players in recent years are quite interesting.
Simon, Quaresma, Ronaldo.
Deco, Viana, Deng Kai.
Why arrange them in this way?
Because the first three are wingers, they are attackers.
If you look at it from a military rank perspective, they are the "generals."
"Soldiers" are the engineer players, the most fundamental players in the team, the team’s lower limit.
Generals are the spearhead players, distinctive players! They have strong capabilities to breach defenses, to score, and so on. They are also the "champion puzzle pieces."
It’s easy to find a thousand soldiers, but hard to find one general.
The "commander" is the core of the team’s system, the linchpin! More often it refers to the core of the offensive system, as they represent a team’s upper limit.
Most teams’ defense is left to others.
But "commanders," because they have a good sense of the overall game, can also participate in defense, or use their ability to pass to mitigate potential defensive threats in advance.
The skilled in battle achieve no great feats of heroism.
They always nip potential defensive crises in the bud.
When there is a real defensive crisis, it has to be handed over to the dedicated "defensive soldiers" to deal with.
The King, then, is the non-systemic player with his own system. They can play the role of core or spearhead within a system, appearing as either a "commander" or a "general."
But when the team’s system is countered, their system can come out and flourish.
Simon, Quaresma, Ronaldo, they are all generals.
Their degree as generals varies, though.
But Viana and Deco are commanders.
Their developmental paths are different.
And a general almost has no way of becoming a king.
But a commander, if capable enough, can become a king.
Like Zidane, he turned from a commander into a king.
Of course, there are exceptions.
Deng Kai started out in midfield, playing as a king.
This is also why he was not recognized early on.
Because his system was incompatible with the team’s, but his individual ability was not enough to perfectly integrate himself into the existing system.
The switch between the two was not smooth.
It manifested as his poor performance on the team, but he always managed to send some odd assists and score some difficult goals.
Bang!
Viana lofted the ball towards the central path.
The way he dealt with it was much as Makelele had anticipated.
In this regard, Makelele had suppressed Viana.
His navigational ability was still a tiny bit higher than that of the young Inter core.
Also, Makelele’s positioning was very precise, standing deeper, closer to the baseline.
This made Viana’s attempt to create an own goal by sweeping the ball in front of the goal nonexistent.
What followed would have to depend on other French players.
The football flew into the penalty area.
But most players from both sides were actually within the small box area at this moment.
Meanwhile, Deco and Deng Kai, who were charging from the outside preparing to shoot, were blocked dead by Thuram and Desailly.
Ronaldo turned around, his back to the goal, wanting to stretch his leg to control the ball, then pass to a teammate or turn around to make the shot himself.
This way of handling it was beyond reproach.
But he heard Deng Kai’s voice in his ear, "Ronaldo! Bicycle kick!"
For a moment, Ronaldo seemed to see the summer of 1998.
The young Ronaldo and Deng Kai had become good friends in the Sporting Lisbon youth team.
The two often trained together.
Back then, Ronaldo was crushing Deng Kai in every aspect.
With one exception...
He dared not attempt a bicycle kick!
He was afraid of getting hurt.
As a child, when he tried a bicycle kick, he fell to the ground in such pain that he grimaced and clenched his teeth, which left a psychological scar.
But Deng Kai dared.
It was one of the reasons Ronaldo admired, well, grudgingly respected Deng Kai.
Including the time when Deng Kai and Ronaldo, outnumbered, beat up their own teammates, it all reflected Deng Kai’s courage.
Watching the approaching football.
Thinking of the moment Deng Kai held the World Footballer of the Year trophy aloft.
Ronaldo exerted power with his right foot.
He arched his body backward, and suddenly he was hanging upside down in the air.
Bang!
Ronaldo’s right foot struck the football fiercely.
Then he crashed heavily to the ground.
When he turned over and knelt to look towards the goal.
A stunned Barthez was also kneeling rigid on the turf.
His face spelled "helplessness."
"GOAL!"
"It’s a goal! Ronaldo scores!"
"My God! That’s a world-class goal!"
"Bicycle kick!"
"Unbelievable! It’s like magic!"
"Ronaldo had never attempted a bicycle kick before, but this time he was divinely inspired!"
"One-nil! Portugal takes the lead!"
Estádio Alvalade erupted in an instant.
Regaining his composure, Ronaldo immediately rushed to the corner flag area.
"I did it! I did it!"
No one knew why Ronaldo was so excited.
Everyone thought it was because scoring in the European Championship final was of great significance.
But in fact, it was because Ronaldo had finally broken through himself.
He had overcome his fear.
He had overcome Deng Kai from six years ago!
Watching the ecstatically celebrating Ronaldo.
Deng Kai nodded.
Ronaldo’s bicycle kick... came fourteen years early!
What he also conquered was time.
Deng Kai turned around, his gaze meeting Zidane’s precisely.
Both saw seriousness in each other’s eyes.
...
That goal clearly triggered a reaction in the French team.
They fought harder.
The pace quickened.
Forty-second minute.
Trezeguet tried to set up Henry, but without an opportunity, he passed back.
Zidane took a direct cold shot from twenty-three meters outside the goal.
Ding!
The goalpost trembled continuously.
"Oh! So close!"
"Zidane hits the post with a long-range shot!"
"Just a bit off!"
"But Zidane’s shooting power is truly strong, that shot felt like a bolt from the blue."
"With such an offensive, even with Portugal one goal ahead, no one dares to be certain they can win this match."
Forty-fifth minute.
Vieira fouled Ronaldo when he dropped back to receive the ball, creating a free-kick in a decent position.
Deng Kai stood in front of the football to take the kick.
Though France’s wall jumped desperately,
Deng Kai’s crescent moon cutter still showed its cold edge, curving past the wall.
Ding!
What a pity!
The Kai-style curve hit the crossbar and bounced away.
Deng Kai missed the opportunity to extend Portugal’s lead.
The players from both sides kept alternating between feelings of "breaking out in cold sweat" and "such a pity" incessantly.
This continued until the end of the first half.
