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

After expressing his envy, the golden retriever still politely expressed his gratitude.

It wasn't just because of the text message, but also because Mario sent a very valuable gift after his daughter was born.

The two, both from fishermen's families, got along quite well and had a fairly good relationship.

Compared to Mario's successful career and Coentrao's new baby, their mutual friend Cristiano has been having some bad luck lately.

Failing to defeat Dortmund in the Champions League meant losing control of their chances of finishing first in their group.

Moreover, Real Madrid fans are very picky about the Portuguese superstar; sometimes, if he doesn't score in two games, he'll be labeled as having a goal drought.

Fortunately, at this time, Ronaldo was not yet the Saudi football king who would later be ridiculed for having excessive crying syndrome.

At his peak, he was ruthless and didn't talk much; he preferred to express himself through actions and consistently proved others wrong with goals.

Therefore, Cristiano is very confident that he will absolutely thrash Dortmund the next time they meet!

.....

After a short break and training, Porto will play in the 9th round of the Portuguese Primeira Liga.

Porto will host Académie Coimbra at home.

Although the name is "University," it doesn't mean that the opponents are school teams.

It's just that the city of Coimbra is known for the University of Coimbra.

The club originated from an amateur team formed by law students at the university in 1876.

Universidad de Coimbra achieved the highest honor in the club's history last year, defeating Sporting CP to become the champions of the 11-12 Portuguese domestic cup competition.

Three days ago, in the fourth round of the Europa League, they defeated Atlético Rojiblancos at home and won their first victory in European competition.

It's a pity that they didn't get a day of rest and played too hard, so they weren't in good form when they visited the Estádio do Dragão.

Porto secured a clean 3-0 victory thanks to a goal and an assist from Rodriguez, a close-range finish from Super Mario, and a free-kick goal from Moutinho, maintaining their lead at the top of the table.

A week later, in the fourth round of the Portuguese Cup, a heavily rotated Porto team visited Madeira and still advanced with a resounding victory.

In the midweek Champions League match, they will host Dinamo Zagreb.

The Croatian team, brimming with honors, failed to pose any threat to Porto.

The Dragons' attack was firing on all cylinders, resulting in a resounding 6-0 victory and their fifth win in the Champions League group stage.

With 15 points and an impressive goal difference, Ancelotti's team could only silently accept second place in the group.

For Porto, the final round of the Champions League was just a formality; only a nine-goal victory by Paris Saint-Germain would change their group ranking.

Mario felt a little disappointed. Ibrahimovic's home invitation had become a double-edged sword. Instead of putting in effort in matches that didn't affect the overall situation, he should focus on the league and try to pull away from Benfica as soon as possible to defend the Portuguese league title.

...

After the fifth round of the Champions League group stage, the rankings of most groups are set, and 13 teams have secured their places in the Champions League knockout stage.

Dortmund 4-1 Ajax, the Black and Yellows top their group ahead of Real Madrid.

Benzema and Ah Kun score as Manchester City draw 1-1 and are eliminated, Real Madrid advance to the next round.

New signing's header hits the crossbar, Manchester United suffer away defeat, ending their four-game winning streak in the group stage.

Schalke 04 delivers a fatal blow, securing first place in their group for both Ruhr teams.

Arsenal 2-0 Montpellier, second in group, advance to the knockout stage

Porto's rising star scores a goal and an assist, racking up 5 goals and 4 assists in four Champions League matches, leaving Paris with only a theoretical chance of finishing first!

Mario was very happy to see the praise he received from netizens.

The ability provided by a perfect midfield system is stability, and for Mario, the only possibility is fluctuations in form.

Unlike other star players who experience ups and downs at different times, this doesn't exist for players who rely on statistics to demonstrate their exceptional abilities.

Just like arrows in a game, Mario only has horizontal or upward arrows.

They capitalized on their sudden rise and leading points in the group stage to rack up impressive statistics; their unparalleled performance truly shone throughout Europe.

Continuing their return to the league, Porto faced a strong opponent in the tenth round: Braga, who are considered the fourth strongest team in the Portuguese league.

In the 10-11 season, they made history by reaching the Europa League final, where they faced Porto, led by Villas-Boas.

Although they didn't lift the trophy, Braga is definitely a strong team.

The team has a tough style and practical tactics, and is currently ranked third in the league standings.

2012 year 11 month 25 day,

Porto's blue and white bus brought the players to the city known as the "Rome of Portugal".

As the oldest Christian archdiocese in Portugal and even the world, this is a famous pilgrimage site.

Located in northern Portugal, Braga is a hilly area, and the breeze at the end of November casts a unique autumnal veil over it.

The mild, humid climate, combined with the warm golden hues, creates a very cozy atmosphere.

The atmosphere inside the Porto club bus was equally relaxed.

"José, Amorim said in an interview that he wants to give you the national team's number 10 jersey!"

You have to treat us tonight!

Moutinho, sitting on the bus, looked at the newspaper in his hand; it was something the Braga midfielder had mentioned a few days earlier.

"Brothers, whatever the prize money we get tonight, we'll treat you all to a restaurant of whatever price we're willing to go to~" Mario smiled and nodded in agreement.

The national team's number 10 jersey is still quite prestigious, and even if Amorim doesn't allow it, he should be able to get it next time.

After all, these are solid statistics right here; how could Ruben possibly compete with him?

As dusk fell, the afterglow of the setting sun lingered, and the clear, crisp air made the outlines of the distant mountains and buildings exceptionally sharp.

On the outskirts of the city, the heatwave is noticeably different at the Braga Municipal Stadium.

The stadium, nestled in the valley, is now packed to capacity, resembling a boiling red volcano.

The shouts of 30,000 people crashed and echoed among the rocky cliffs, the sound waves amplified by nature, as if the entire mountain range was trembling for the football.

This stadium, which hosted matches in the 2004 European Championship, can be described as Portugal's version of the legendary Yu Gong moving mountains.

It did not rise from flat ground, but was epically embedded in the quarry ruins of Montecaste Mountain.

To build this UEFA four-star stadium with a capacity of 30,000, approximately one million cubic meters of stone were quarried from the mountains.

The most impressive feature of the stadium is the huge elevation difference between its east and west sides.

On one side is a magnificent stone viewing platform built along the mountainside.

The other side is completely open, with only the top-floor grandstand suspended like a bridge, allowing the audience's view to be unobstructed towards the distant, continuous scenery of the city.

"Welcome, viewers, to the tenth round of the Portuguese Super League, Braga vs. Porto!"

"The two sides had very different circumstances in their midweek Champions League matches."

"The home team is already out of contention for the Champions League knockout stage and can only fight for a Europa League spot; while Porto has almost certainly secured first place in their group!"

"Historically, the away team has a significant psychological advantage; they've won six consecutive matches against Braga!!"

"Furthermore, Porto has achieved a 15-game winning streak across all competitions, and this season their Super Mario, unearthed from their youth academy, has amazed all of Europe!"

"It is reported that newly promoted Premier League powerhouse Manchester City is interested in signing this young player during the winter transfer window!!"