The perfect midfield: It starts with never passing the ball to Ronaldo.

"Joseph, don't pay attention to what the media is saying."

"These reporters are all after newspaper sales; we all know your capabilities."

"I'll pass you the ball when you get on the field, prove yourself with a goal!"

On the bus from downtown Porto to Condé, the first-team members, who had been training together for a long time, were comforting the 18-year-old young player.

Moutinho, in particular, experienced firsthand the media's manipulative tactics after missing a fatal penalty two months ago.

"Thank you all for your support, Porto will win!" Mario responded with a smile. The mature Mario was not the kind of guy who would be defeated by cyberbullying.

Pereira glanced at his nonchalant nephew and felt a little ashamed. He, who had been made famous by the media, was not as good as an eighteen-year-old boy.

We still need to practice!

A champion coach must remain calm and composed even in the face of a collapsing mountain.

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The 15-kilometer drive was quick; we arrived at the home team's stadium without even a chance to take a nap.

Newly promoted River Ave is located in Condé, a town under the jurisdiction of Porto. Their home stadium, Alcos Stadium, can only hold 5300 people, which is completely incomparable to the Estádio do Dragão.

One is a dominant force in the Portuguese league, and the other is a yo-yo club. The similarity is that both teams have been coached by Mourinho, one by his father and the other by his son.

Mourinho's father, Felix Mourinho, coached the team in the 1983/84 season and led them to the Portuguese Cup final, a historic achievement. Unfortunately, they lost 1-4 to Porto in that final.

Site visit.

warm up.

As night fell, Alcos Stadium became the focus of the entire town, with fans from both teams filling the community stadium.

Inside the locker room, Mario's phone inside his locker kept vibrating.

The linear motor in the iPhone feels much better than the pink dolphin and similar models.

【image】

I'm cheering you on from here!

I can't wait to witness Mario's Portuguese league debut!

By the way, Mr. Mendes replied to my email. They're probably watching your performance from the stands too!

With her exquisite makeup and playful outfit, the girl cheered Mario on with a vibrant selfie.

Ines, who wants to become the official wife, has already planned out the Instagram topics for the post-match discussion.

The power of love gave the boy a new lease on life: from a Lisbon outcast to a Porto superstar, all because of her!

Such storylines, which generate buzz and attract viewers, are the type of reports that all football media outlets love to broadcast.

As for the time difference in how long the two met, the general public wouldn't care about such details.

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"Boss, I'm already here. You don't need to personally intervene with such a young player, do you?"

"That was just a youth team game, and every player has highlights."

"Understood. I will remain unaffected by the media and make judgments from a professional scout's perspective."

"But to be honest, he doesn't seem to be very popular among fans!" The Mendes company employee shook his head with a smile as he looked at the poster made by the Ave River fans.

The baby bottle drawing is good, Pereira's beard is very lifelike, and the Mario being fed is also hilarious.

However, the world of sports won't open its doors to you just because you have a good father; everything still comes down to ability.

The poor scout was too young to understand the allure of fathers and sons competing together...

Soon, the players from both teams took their positions, with Porto adopting a 4-3-3 formation.

Goalkeeper: Elton

Defenders: Alex Sandro, Maicon, Otamendi, Miguel Lopez

Midfielders: Defort, Moutinho, Lucho González

Forwards: Atsu, Jackson Martinez, James Rodriguez

The team is centered around midfield metronome João Moutinho, a Portuguese international who controls the tempo and organizes the attack, serving as the link between the midfield, defense, and forward line.

On the other side, Ave River uses a more conservative five-defender formation.

Goalkeeper: Oblak

Defenders: Leon, Nivaldo, Wails, Edimar Ferreira, Marcelo

Midfielders: Tarantini, Filipe Augusto, Bruno Braga

Forwards: Ismail Gonçalves, João Thomas

Although most of the players in the newly promoted Portuguese league Ave are relatively unknown, there are some hidden talents in the squad.

Of course, it's not the version of Zhuge Liang and Feng Chu played by Shen Teng.

Oblak guarded the goal, with Ederson sitting on the bench behind him.

A starting goalkeeper with a market value of 110 million euros and a substitute goalkeeper with a market value of 30 euros – no one would have imagined that their market value would both exceed 8000 million euros at their peak.

Of course, small teams like Ave River don't really have the luck to make money.

In the summer of 2012, Ederson joined River Ave as a free agent from Riberaio.

Three years later, the club sold the Brazilian goalkeeper to Benfica, a traditional powerhouse in the Portuguese league, for a transfer fee of only 50 euros.

After a quick upgrade at the black market, Benfica sold Ederson to Manchester City for €4000 million, making a fortune.

With the referee's whistle, the match officially began.

The autumn night in Conde was slightly chilly, with a cold wind blowing towards the stands of the Alcos Stadium, but it did nothing to extinguish the enthusiasm of the Ave River players.

They cheered on their home team players with fervent shouts.

Meanwhile, Porto fans, confident of an easy victory over the newly promoted team, watched their home team besiege their opponents while discussing pre-match sentiment.

"As expected, Pereira didn't dare to put Mario on the field!"

"Get him back to the youth team right now! We have Rodriguez, we have Moutinho, get out of here!"

"Honestly, I suggest you watch some U19 match footage. Mario has a very strong attacking talent."

"Hehe, the first team doesn't need him at all, we'll easily take down the Ave River."

"Let him sit on the bench like a lackey until the end of the game!"

Unfortunately, this pleasant enjoyment did not last until the end.

Although Porto took the lead twice thanks to James Rodriguez's breakthroughs on the wing and Jackson's attack, Ave's midfield maestro Tarantini equalized twice with a header and a world-class goal.

After scoring two goals in the second half, Ave River was riding high, and all the home fans in the stadium were eager to witness a miracle.

A loud impact!

Shouts!

Mario, standing on the sidelines, felt himself becoming calmer in this environment.

They became more composed, and practiced each warm-up movement thoroughly.

"Don't be nervous, we are Porto, the champions of the Portuguese league!"

The assistant coach's voice came from beside him. Watching the young player warm up mechanically, he was a little worried about Mario's mentality.

"nervous?"

"I just can't wait!"

From the moment the system was activated until now, every long-range shooting practice flashes through my mind: left foot, right foot, the edge of the penalty area, thirty meters away!

The trajectory of the ball through the air, the stretch of the goalkeeper's save, the frequency of the net's trembling—these details repeated themselves in his mind thousands of times.

"Mario, get ready to enter the fray!"

Mario's reverie was interrupted by Pereira's voice, and he suddenly remembered the name Ines had been using!

Now, a genius has arrived!