I'm 198cm tall. Are you giving me a Maradona template?

Chapter 305: Another step forward!
In the stands.

Many fans wearing Kashima Antlers jerseys were cheering.

They cheered for Sunshine's goal, and many held up posters and banners in support of Sunshine.

This scene surprised the Chinese fans watching the game.

"They've completely switched sides?"

"It seems so."

"Aren't these Japanese people fans of Kashima Antlers?"

"They could also be Liverpool or Sunshine fans."

"This"

Don’t understand, but respect.

After a brief celebration with his teammates, Yang Guang returned to the court.

Generally speaking.

After Liverpool takes the lead, they will choose to drop back to midfield to lure the opponent forward, creating more space in the opponent's backfield and giving their attacking trident enough room to maneuver.

However, this method is used in leagues and the Champions League.

In this Club World Cup match.

The gap in strength between J-League champions Kashima Antlers and Liverpool is simply too great.

So Liverpool won't do that.

Instead, they continued to press forward and launch an attack.

He quickly made his opponents realize the huge gap between themselves and the Champions League winners.

Kashima Antlers are on edge in the restricted area.

The second goal conceded came quickly.

Mane received the ball in the penalty area and executed a rabona shot, sending the ball into the goal.

This way of scoring shows just how relaxed the Liverpool players are right now.

The match is in its thirtieth minute.

The third ball is coming.

The goal was scored by midfielder Wijnaldum.

Wijnaldum received the ball in the penalty area, dribbled past two players, and scored.

Such a performance is extremely rare to see in the Premier League or the Champions League.

The Dutch footwork was not bad.

But he certainly can't compare to Mane, Salah, or Sunshine.

As a result, he was able to play around even inside the penalty area.

At the end of the first half.

Sunshine scores another goal.

They extended the score to four-nil.

After the start of the second half.

Klopp desperately hopes that the Club World Cup can be like some of the preseason friendlies.

There is no limit to the number of substitutions.

This way he can substitute all eleven players on the field, allowing more players to take the field in visually appealing matches.

But a pity.

The Club World Cup may seem trivial.

However, since it's still an official match, the rules must still be followed according to FIFA's regulations.

Therefore, Liverpool can only make three substitutions.

And in the sixtieth minute of the match.

Those three substitution slots have been used up.

The score was now 5-0.

The rest of the game is garbage time.

Therefore, Klopp substituted three key players to give them a rest and prepare for the final three days later.

The opponent in the final is very likely to be River Plate.

This team is much stronger than Kashima Antlers.

finally.

Liverpool thrashed J-League champions Kashima Antlers 6-0.

After the game.

Japanese media outlets began to reflect on this.

"This was a match that showed us the huge gap between the J-League and the Premier League!"

"Liverpool is just too strong!"

This score also surprised many media outlets.

Liverpool's victory was a foregone conclusion.

But this score is indeed a bit high.

However, as fans who watched the game know...

Liverpool managed to achieve this scoreline by playing conservatively.

They only scored two goals in the second half.

If Liverpool play freely.

They might kick out a double-digit number.

Liverpool's thrashing of Kashima Antlers was expected to be met with a boycott from local fans.

After all, it really doesn't give the host any face.

But the opposite is true: the stronger Liverpool's performance, the more support they receive in Japan.

One obvious piece of evidence is...

The number of Japanese fans who came to watch Liverpool's training session was almost an order of magnitude higher than when they first arrived a few days ago.
the next day.

The match between AFC Champions League winners Al Ain and Copa Libertadores champions River Plate has ended.

Surprisingly
Ain defeated Riverplate!
An Asian team has made history by reaching the final of the Club World Cup.

Although no one believes Al Ain can beat Liverpool.

But this in itself has already made history for Asian teams.

Al Ain's victory over River Plate was a minor upset in the history of the Club World Cup.

River Plate is a team from Argentina.

In general.

The Argentine Primera División is a level above that of any other continent outside of Europe.

Even if the Argentine Primera División were placed in Europe, it would likely be among the top ten leagues.

FIFA wants to turn the Club World Cup into a "World Cup" for clubs.

But this is very difficult.

Because the gap in football levels between different continents is simply too large.

The development of football is extremely uneven around the world.

As various resources converge on European leagues.

This imbalance is even widening further.

Regarding the AFC Champions League winners defeating River Plate to meet Liverpool in the final.

FIFA would certainly be happy to see this happen.

because
The Club World Cup final is a battle between the European champions and the South American champions for the title.

It's already starting to look a bit repetitive.

This year's Club World Cup.

Ultimately, there was a certain novelty to it.

Al Ain's head coach, Zoran Mamic, brought the Croatian football tactical style to the team.

They place great emphasis on breakthroughs on the flanks and quick counter-attacks.

Create opportunities through rapid offensive and defensive transitions.

This holistic approach to play has made Al Ain a formidable force for the team from Asia.

After eliminating African champions Hope of Tunisia and South American champions River Plate, they finally reached the final.

Mamic certainly didn't expect his players to beat Liverpool.

In his final speech before the match.

The Croatian told his players: "Enjoy the game!"

He didn't make any specific targeted arrangements because he believed that with Al Ain's strength, any seemingly targeted tactics would ultimately become a joke due to the huge gap in individual player ability.

Of course.

Football is round.

Al Ain could certainly defeat Liverpool.

But that would require a miracle.

In Mamitch's view...

The only possibility for a miracle is that his players truly do as he says: enjoy the game and enjoy football, no matter what happens.

Only with this mindset.

Only then is it possible to create miracles.

Supported by this relaxed mindset.

Al Ain team did see a glimmer of hope at one point.

The seventh minute of the match.

They scored.

Brazilian winger Fernandez broke through on the wing and crossed the ball.

Within the restricted area.

Al Ain's number 9 striker, Swedish international Marcus Berg, whose market value is "as high as" 330 million euros, stretched out a foot during a tug-of-war with Van Dijk in the penalty area, and the ball hit his shin guard and bounced into the goal.

Al Ain was fortunate to take the lead. This goal thrilled Al Ain and its fans in the stands, who were all wearing white headscarves.

All the Al Ain players rushed up to celebrate in excitement.

The bench and coaching staff of Al Ain were in complete chaos.

"Al Ain has had a dream start! Although the goal came a bit early and isn't enough to win the game, scoring against Liverpool is something to be proud of!"

"The Al Ain players are as excited as if they've won a championship!"

Of course I'm excited.

They were able to break through Liverpool's defense and take the lead.

So why can't they win?
This goal gave Al Ain's players hope of winning the game.

Liverpool's players didn't overreact to the goal conceded.

Of course I'm depressed.

However, they will not let a single goal conceded affect their mindset during the game.

The game will continue as it was played.

Al Ain scored a goal.

But they are very pragmatic.

They didn't launch a full-scale attack because of this goal.

This is courting death.

Instead, they retreated to defense, waiting for a second opportunity to counterattack.

However, this opportunity did not come.

Their hopes were quickly crushed.

Liverpool did not speed up their attacking pace, but instead slowly passed the ball around the perimeter.

Just two minutes after conceding the goal.

Achraf Hakimi, the full-back who had made an attacking run, suddenly delivered a cross from a 45-degree angle.

When the football flew into the penalty area.

People turned to look.

All that could be seen was the sun already high in the sky inside the restricted area.

The three Al Ain center-backs around him seemed like insignificant blades of grass, completely unable to effectively interfere with the sunlight in the air.

boom!
Accompanied by a powerful header.

The soccer ball slammed into the net with a whoosh.

One to one!

Liverpool equalized.

The sunlight fell from the sky, and he simply clenched his fist and waved it slightly as if that was enough to celebrate the goal.

Then he turned around and ran back with his teammates, chatting and laughing.

Although they conceded the first goal.

But they were quite relaxed.

Liverpool's players are also enjoying football.

Croatian coach Mamic shook his head slightly.

He once thought he had seen a glimmer of hope.

We saw the dawn of a miracle.

It hasn't been long since then.

The tiny flame of dawn was extinguished with a whoosh.

And the opponent hasn't even gone all out yet.

He looked towards the stadium.

Liverpool players' jerseys were clean and tidy.

Many players didn't even have much sweat on their faces—which was certainly related to the cold weather.

But look at Al Ain's players.

Their breath turned into white mist when it met the near-zero temperature of the stadium, their chests heaving, and many of their white jerseys were already covered with patches of mud and grass.

This is the difference in strength.

The opponent is like a ruthless machine.

With a light touch.

Even with Al Ain's best efforts, they were unable to stop them.

Liverpool's attack gained momentum and became increasingly fierce.

It was like a colossal wave crashing down from above, completely engulfing and overwhelming them.

Liverpool relentlessly attacked Al Ain's crumbling defense.

Just before the end of the first half, Mane scored a goal to give Liverpool the lead.

After a 15-minute halftime break and adjustments, Al Ain's performance did not improve.

Liverpool continued to dominate in the second half.

The Club World Cup final looked like a half-game offensive and defensive drill.

Al Ain could only cower in their own penalty area, trembling under Liverpool's relentless attacks.

Many people shook their heads and sighed, deeply moved by what they saw.

Is Al Ain too weak?
Or is Liverpool just too strong?
After Liverpool took the lead, the outcome of the match was essentially decided.

In the second half, Sunshine scored two goals in a row, completely ending any suspense in the game.

Liverpool ultimately defeated Al Ain 4-1.

They won the Club World Cup.

When the referee blew the final whistle.

Liverpool's substitutes, who had been standing on the sidelines eagerly awaiting the end of the match, rushed onto the pitch.

They embraced their eleven teammates on the field with great enthusiasm.

They cheered with joy.

Klopp stands with his hands on his hips.

He felt a great sense of satisfaction.

This is Liverpool's sixth title this year!
This may be the first time since I became the head coach.

This was the most successful year yet.

Six-time champions!

Only Barcelona in the world has ever achieved the feat of winning six titles in a single year.

Now we need to add Liverpool.

It was achieved under Klopp's leadership.

He suddenly felt a sense of satisfaction he had never experienced since he began coaching. This satisfaction welled up in his nose, making it tingle, and then welled up in his eyes, making them moist.

That's when.

The sunlight came in.

I really don't know how he got to this point.

Sunlight is now the subject of media attention worldwide.

"You cried, boss."

"Sunshine said."

Klopp didn't respond, but looked at the sunlight and asked, "How did you get rid of them?"

Yang Guang laughed: "Boss, if those athletes can't catch me on the field, how can those reporters with cameras catch me?"

Klopp looked at the reporters panting on the pitch.

I couldn't help but laugh.

"Boss, we're only six-time champions, why are you so excited? What will you do when we win the seventh?"

Sunshine looked at Klopp in surprise.

For sunlight.

This Club World Cup was far too easy.

Therefore, he felt that this championship was somewhat commonplace.

It's not as challenging as the European Super Cup.

"Boss, let's go celebrate together. There will be a celebration like this every year from now on, so you'll have to get used to it."

Klopp grinned.

Something like that.

Who is the head coach now?

At the award ceremony.

Henderson is the team captain.

But he chose to let the sunshine lift the cup.

The sun also deserves this.

He received the Club World Cup trophy from FIFA President Gianni Infantino.

As the song "We Are the Champions" began to play.

The sunlight held the trophy high.

The fans in the stadium cheered.

"The sun has lifted the Club World Cup trophy! This is Liverpool's sixth trophy of the year in 2018, making them the sextuple champions!"

"This is also Liverpool's third trophy this season! Before the season started, Sundell made a bold statement, claiming he would lead Liverpool to seven trophies. While everyone thought he was just talking big, he has already won three trophies. What trophy will be next? The League Cup? The FA Cup? The Premier League? Or the Champions League?"

On the television screen.

The close-up of the sunlight lasted for a long time.

All the fans watching on TV could see him lift the trophy and celebrate with his teammates.

Winning the Club World Cup was not unexpected.

But it also means.

Liverpool has taken another step toward their ambitious goal!
(End of this chapter)