Ground football: Ronaldo thought I was going to assist him

The names of the two youngest players on the team resounded throughout the stadium.

Meanwhile, Benfica fans wearing red jerseys booed loudly.

Especially when Deng Kai's name is called.

The Moreirense players all looked toward Duncan and Ronaldo.

Is this the status of the two supernovas at Sporting Lisbon?

They are still just youth players.

They were only loaned out for a little over two months, and on their first return to Sporting Lisbon, so many fans flocked to their arch-rivals' stadium to cheer on Duncan and Ronaldo!

What level of influence is this?

Simão and Quaresma weren't this popular during their youth academy days, were they?

Moreirense's players are worried that Ronaldo and Duncan might become overly nervous due to having so many supporters.

But the next moment, Deng Kai stretched out his arms in the queue, twirling as he walked, his eyes scanning the surrounding stands, and shouted, "Caesar!"

Then clap your hands twice.

"Caesar!"

clap clap!

"Caesar!"

clap clap!

The stadium erupted in unison applause and the sound of Caesar's voice.

This is Deng Kai's unique entrance ceremony for the U17 team in the first half of the season, which many Sporting Lisbon fans know.

Everyone loves the stuff Deng Kai makes.

A hint of disdain flashed in Cristiano Ronaldo's eyes.

They're doing all this nonsense while I'm away.

I'm definitely going to steal your entrance ceremony next time.

No, I'm going to clap one more time than you.

When Deng Kai turned around, he saw Ronaldo's eyes and immediately understood what Ronaldo was thinking.

Silly child, you will fail.

Because if you clap your hands three times, your novel won't pass censorship!

Of course, there was one player in Moreirense who was in an even worse mood than Ronaldo, and that was... Fonte, who also came from Sporting Lisbon.

He is also two levels above Cristiano Ronaldo and Duncan.

But no fans at the stadium chanted his name.

This is really...so heartbreaking.

"Fonte! I support you! Keep it up!"

One of the fans spotted Fonte.

Everyone, including the Benfica players, looked at Fonte with an expression that said, "Holy crap, there's another Sporting Lisbon player here!"

Fonte blushed deeply and was completely speechless.

He suddenly realized that it was actually better that no one had called him at all.

For those with social anxiety, being forgotten is not terrible; what is truly despairing is being forgotten by everyone and then remembered and re-examined.

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To that fan, thank you and your whole family!

……

With the sound of a whistle, the competition officially began.

Moreirense's formation today is 4-3-3.

=

Cristiano Ronaldo, Anderson, Flavio

Emerson, Macedo, and Duncan

Altino, Fonte, Kirop, Alex

Ricardo

=

The changes today were Emerson's return and Altino's starting position at left-back.

This is a targeted measure, proposed by Deng Kai.

Because Altino was directly matched up against the opposing right winger, Maniche.

Benfica's formation is also 4-3-3. Portugal has been focusing on developing wingers in recent years, and 4-3-3 is best suited for wingers to perform.

=

Abdulsatar Sabri, João Pinto, Maniche

Sergei Kandolf, Andrade, José Calado

Jorge Ribeiro, Feliciano García, Giàro, Samuel Ocunovo

Nuno Santos

=

Sabri is Benfica's most expensive signing this year, with a transfer fee of 2.5 million euros.

Benfica previously nurtured players along the central axis, such as Rui Costa, and now their rising star, Nuno Gomez, is a center forward. They have also sold some excellent midfielders and center-backs.

Their strategy differs from Portugal's current mainstream approach of developing star wingers.

But they were clearly also eyeing the lucrative opportunity of finding a star winger, so they recalled Maniche and brought in wingers like Sabri.

However, neither of these players performed well in the first team and could only serve as substitutes.

In addition, this team has good left and right backs.

Left-back Jorge Ribeiro is a teammate of Deng Kai and Cristiano Ronaldo in the Portuguese youth national team, and they won the UEFA U-16 Championship together last summer.

Ribeiro was one of the older players in that group.

Right-back Okunovo is a player Benfica brought back from Barcelona; he has excellent footwork.

A good winger needs a good full-back to help him, which once again proves Benfica's desire to cultivate winger superstars.

But like the two wingers, these two full-backs are also considered substitutes in Benfica's squad.

This also shows that their strategy of developing winger superstars is not going smoothly.

In this context, Sporting Lisbon has seen the emergence of top-tier wingers such as Quaresma, Viana, and Cristiano Ronaldo.

Benfica must have been incredibly jealous.

Although both sides are made up of substitutes, the team's central axis consists mostly of Benfica's starters.

Center forward João Pinto is a member of Portugal's golden generation.

Although he is far less famous than Figo, Ruyin Costa, and Pauleta, João Pinto has one achievement that is unique.

He is the only player in the world to have won the World Youth Championship twice, a feat that is unprecedented and unlikely to be repeated.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!

At the start of the game, both teams were very proactive, hoping to control possession of the ball.

But as time goes by, one side will eventually lose possession of the ball.

That is inevitable.

Even if both teams are possession-based teams, one of them will eventually lose possession.

Both teams are counter-attacking teams that don't prioritize possession of the ball, but one team can control it.

Besides tactical influences, this is also related to player ability.

The so-called "advantage" on the field is often achieved by players relying on their individual abilities.

Your players pass the ball faster, receive it more steadily, need less time to adjust, have a greater advantage when colliding with opponents, and provide more timely support. After doing this several times in a row, the opposing player will know whether or not they can beat the opponent.

If he can't win, he won't blindly rush forward to contest the ball next time the opponent receives it; instead, he will focus on retreating to defense.

This is also a basic rule in football: take the ball away from you, restrict your passing and dribbling, prevent you from shooting, or shut down your attackers who receive crosses.

The stronger your ability, the earlier your choices will be; the weaker your ability, the later your choices will be.

When several players in a match are unable to defeat their opponents, the overall situation on the field is completely changed.

Therefore, if we divide the outcome of a match into a war composed of multiple battles, then...

Whoever controls the ball better wins the first battle.

Today, Benfica has undoubtedly become the dominant force.

Their players are superior to Moreirense in every aspect of individual ability.

In the 15th minute, Benfica's left winger, Sabri, used his excellent speed to break through on the wing, getting past the defensive black hole Alex and delivering a cross.

The ball was still passed to the near post, because Benfica doesn't have a tall striker and rarely launches high balls.

Pinto's attacking positioning was excellent; he directly attacked the near post and swept the ball into the net with a swift motion.

One to zero!

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