Ground football: Ronaldo thought I was going to assist him

"Ding! You have won a match. Your rating for this match is SS!"

"You have obtained 10 training stakes, a super training stake... a flash of inspiration from the star player Van der Vaart."

「范德法特的灵光一闪：作为欧洲金童奖的首位获奖者，范德法特的天赋母庸置疑，他的传球和射门极具想像力与威胁性。你的盘带+1、长传+1、短传+1、射门+1、灵活+1、解围+1。获得紫色球星级技能『蝎子摆尾』。」

By the way, the best app for reading aloud right now is Yeguo Reading (yeguoyuedu). Install the latest version.

"Scorpion Kick: Van der Vaart has many moments of brilliance, but this one cannot be replicated. Your scorpion kick is harder to block. Your ability to handle the ball with your heel has improved. Your ability to handle balls behind you has improved."

"You have used up... the blue player-level skills Inside Flick and One-Touch Pass."

"Inside crossover: Your foot sweeps over the ball from the outside in, then flicks it to change direction. This is a deceptive basic dribbling move. When you successfully dribble past someone with this move, your speed and explosiveness will be enhanced."

"One-touch passing: One-touch passing is an essential basic skill for all top midfielders. Your passing ability is slightly improved. When you pass the ball with one touch, the power and accuracy of the pass will be enhanced."

The match against Ajax brought Duncan another explosive performance.

In particular, Van der Vaart was very helpful, rewarding Duncan's star player for his drop.

In comparison, Sneijder was somewhat stingy.

I still haven't convinced them!

But what does it mean that "Van der Vaart's flash of inspiration" adds a little bit to the ability to get out of trouble?

A flash of genius, if it can't create a threat, then sometimes shooting and passing are just helping the opponent clear the ball.

This is so realistic!

The "Scorpion Tail" move itself is not enough to be a purple skill, but when it provides an enhancement to the handling of backheel and behind-the-back balls, it truly deserves the title.

The highlight of this move is the scorpion kick motion, but the real challenge lies in the use of the heel and the judgment of the ball behind the opponent.

It's easy to kick a football directly at you, but when the football flies behind you, it becomes twice as difficult to hook your leg and hit it.

So, if someone dares to show off their skills with a scorpion kick-like move, they're not only skilled but also have a ruthless mentality; they're definitely a wolf in sheep's clothing.

"Kai, come here for a second." Maxa interrupted Deng Kai's daydream during training.

Cristiano Ronaldo was also waiting for Deng Kai at the players' tunnel.

They then went into an office together.

Besides Trigra, there was another middle-aged man in the office.

"Deng Kai, Cristiano Ronaldo, and this is Mr. Antonio Viorante, the head coach of the Portuguese U16 team," Triguera introduced. "He will be leading the team in this summer's European U16 Championship."

Upon hearing this, Cristiano Ronaldo immediately became excited.

He knew very well what this meant.

The two quickly greeted Viorante.

Portuguese names are quite long, with most having three or four segments, but their name duplication rate is incredibly high.

The most common name is José, which is pronounced "Jose" in Spanish.

Then there's João, João, and a whole bunch of others.

This has caused great distress to football media workers.

Especially in the area of ​​football literature, which requires careful research.

This Viorante shares the same name as Veloso's father, Antonio.

He had previously stated in a media interview that he was following Cristiano Ronaldo and Duncan.

His visit today is clearly to have a talk with the two young players.

The facts were pretty much as Deng Kai had guessed.

Viorante mainly offered some encouragement to the two young players, hoping they would perform well in the UEFA Youth League final. He also stated that he would be monitoring their performance in the upcoming league matches.

If nothing goes wrong, then Deng Kai and Cristiano Ronaldo will be included in his squad.

At the same time, Viorante also intentionally or unintentionally tested Deng Kai's attitude.

The result made Trigra very happy.

Deng Kai showed great interest in the opportunity to join the Portuguese U16 team and made no attempt to refuse it.

Trigra's "boiling the frog in lukewarm water" plan has achieved a perfect first step.

Little did they know that at this very moment, Deng Kai and Trigra were feeling exactly the same way.

Being selected for the Portuguese national youth team was the most important step for Deng Kai before returning to China; he thought it would be two or three years before he had the opportunity.

I didn't expect it to come so soon.

It was like a perfect opportunity – I was just about to fall asleep when I went out, and it was a sunny day!

During the conversation, the topic of the match against Ajax inevitably came up.

Viorante praised Sporting Lisbon U15's resilience.

Of course, it's not hard to tell from Viorante's words that he also believes the Ajax duo might be stronger.

Cristiano Ronaldo was somewhat unhappy about this, feeling that he didn't receive 100% recognition, but he couldn't say anything.

Deng Kai hadn't originally planned to say anything.

Until he heard...

"Speaking of which, is Ugo Viana's foot alright?" Trigra asked Viorante as he saw her out.

Hugo Viana is a product of Sporting Lisbon's youth academy. He should be playing in the U15 team, but he is currently in the U17 team and should move to the U19 team next season.

It's normal for talented players to switch teams.

Cristiano Ronaldo even set a record by playing for five different levels of teams within a year before finally joining Sporting Lisbon's first team.

Sporting Lisbon will make a move for Simão this summer and then push Quaresma forward.

If nothing unexpected happens, once Quaresma becomes famous, they will pour all their resources into Hugo Viana.

This player is positioned as a midfield core in the team and can play in multiple positions such as midfielder, attacking midfielder, left winger, and left forward.

As mentioned before, the current focus of artificially created star players is primarily on wingers.

Hugo Viana's talent is beyond doubt; he has the potential to become Sporting Lisbon's next star in midfield.

He was once considered Portugal's most talented midfielder and left-winger.

It's easy to see from this that Cristiano Ronaldo wasn't really anything special at the beginning of Portugal's new golden generation.

Any well-known young star could outshine him.

"His right foot is all healed and he's in great shape right now! He's definitely a better choice than Ingo, Verela, and Mereles!" Trigra assured him, patting his chest.

Ingol, the midfield core of Porto U15, is an attacking player.

Verela, the midfield core of Benfica U15, is an all-around midfielder.

Raul Meireles, the midfield maestro for Boavista U17, is capable of both attacking and defending, and will likely leave a lasting mark on Liverpool and Chelsea in the future.

This is... Portugal U16's midfield configuration!

Not good!

Is this an attempt to establish Hugo Viana as the core of the midfield?

If that's the case, then Deng Kai is in trouble.

He'll most likely be relegated to the bench.

Although Viorante is one of the few managers who currently prefers the 4-3-3 formation, there are only three midfield positions.

Hugo Viana is an attacking midfielder/attacking midfielder, but his defense is poor.

If he is the midfield core, the team's midfield will have a great need for defense.

A defensive midfielder paired with the versatile Raul Meireles would be an ideal midfield combination.

Deng Kai has no chance of competing with Meirelas right now; Meirelas plays in the U17 team and is an all-around player in both attack and defense.

Deng Kai is an attacking midfielder with some impressive defensive performances, but his overall impression is definitely that he is strong in attack but weak in defense.

This ability chart overlaps with Viana's, so he can be Viana's substitute.

But as mentioned before, the worst off for a team is not the substitutes, but the substitutes for the core players.

If a key player has diarrhea, the team is bound to have diarrhea and be eliminated early.

With their key player, Wei Meng, the team is naturally even more reluctant to have him substituted.

In either case, Deng Kai won't get enough playing time.

He'd be better off as Meirelas's substitute.

When the time comes, some people in China will analyze the situation and find that Deng Kai's image as a powerful European football prodigy will be shattered.

This Portuguese U16 team either doesn't get selected, or they have to have outstanding performances and results to be selected.

"Um... Mr. Viorante, do you know why Ajax lost to us?" Deng Kai asked.

I like playing football on the ground: Ronaldo thought I was going to assist him.