Ground football: Ronaldo thought I was going to assist him

"But football is ultimately played by the players themselves. No matter how great the head coach is, there are some things that the players still have to face."

"In a few tough matches, Rio Ave's players will sometimes retreat after taking the lead."

"This has even become one of the reasons for their solid defense."

Deng Kai nodded, understanding what Trigra meant.

This sounds absurd, but in reality, there are countless examples of it in real life.

Many celebrities or top performers in various industries have expressed in-depth interviews that they are actually not confident, or even have low self-esteem.

This is mostly the truth.

Because as you become a top expert in a certain field, you will be more aware that the seemingly slight gap between you and other experts may actually be something that cannot be bridged by hard work, or something that requires even more effort than before to bridge.

At the same time, because you have reached the top level in a certain area, the other people you work with are basically also top-notch people of the same level in their respective fields.

You'll better understand how amazing and irreplaceable the top experts in every industry are, and how much you have to rely on others for many things.

For assists, look to Deng Kai; for goals, rely on Ronaldo; for defense, look to Gillopp and Fonte; for healing, look to Müller-Wohlfahrt; and for picking up girls, consult Matthäus… um…

If you are an ordinary person, you will often feel that you can do what the people around you do, and that it's nothing special.

Therefore, when everyone reaches their "upper limit bottleneck period," they generally understand their true level.

Cristiano Ronaldo is still a long way from that point, so he can now freely dream of becoming the world's strongest player.

At 22, Kilop has been the subject of interest from multiple clubs for two consecutive seasons. Not only the three giants of the Portuguese league, but also scouts from the Dutch Eredivisie, Russian Premier League, and Ligue 1 are reportedly interested in him. He still has a bright future ahead of him.

Therefore, Gillop is very much looking forward to joining a top Italian club in the future, becoming a key player in the team for ten years, wearing the captain's armband, becoming the soul of the team, and having an entire club's fans bid him farewell on the day he retires.

But he's stopped thinking about becoming the world's best center-back, because he knows it's impossible. His goal is to be world-class, irreplaceable at a particular club.

The team's backup goalkeeper, Sergio Gomez, is only 21 years old, but he has already felt the cruelty of the professional arena. He hopes to get playing time in the team's less important matches and then use that experience to become the starting goalkeeper for a team in a lower league.

The team's midfielder Emerson is 26 years old. His most outrageous idea right now is that he will receive a call from an Italian Serie A club in the next two or three years, even if it's just to be a substitute.

Orlando, the team's backup center-back, is 29 years old. He hopes to return to the Brazilian league, stay with the team for two or three years, and then successfully join the team's scouting or youth training department.

At 33, Altino's biggest wish and dream is to experience a year in the Portuguese league after achieving promotion, even if he doesn't start a single game, and then he will willingly retire.

Almost all of Rio Ave's players are below the level of Klopp.

Regardless of age, they all felt, to some extent, the limits of their abilities.

Therefore, when a team takes the lead, especially in a very difficult or important game, they will automatically become conservative, even giving up the midfield entirely to the opponent and retreating into a defensive posture.

It wasn't that they chose conservatism; it was that conservatism chose them.

Their abilities do not support them taking risks.

This made Deng Kai feel somewhat emotional.

His poor performance in the last game was related to a lack of self-awareness among players.

However, the conservative nature of Rio Ave and most of Moreirense's players stems from their overly accurate self-awareness.

There are always two sides to every coin.

If you want Cristiano Ronaldo and Kobe Bryant's obsessive pursuit of victory and their unwavering confidence in their ability to deliver a game-winning shot, you have to accept their stubbornness—their refusal to even glance at their teammates when they're at their lowest point and surrounded by enemies.

"Many people don't understand what a team's ceiling means. Rio Ave's performance is a testament to the team's ability reaching its ceiling," Triguera said. "So even though they've already secured promotion to the Portuguese league, they will definitely come back from there next year."

"Then the head coach resigned, and the team regained its dominance in the Portuguese Second Division... If they want to stay in the Portuguese Premier League, they have to abandon almost the entire current team structure... However, no one understands their approach. In everyone's eyes, wouldn't buying three or four star players improve the team's strength? Why dismantle and rebuild the team?"

Trigra seemed to be referring to Rio Ave, but Deng Kaitong hesitated, then asked, "Are we going back?"

Trigra was surprised. He hadn't let anything slip, so how did Deng Kai know?

"Hmm." Trigra nodded.

His backer has been released for some time now.

It may seem like there's no chance left, but in reality, they're preparing a fatal blow.

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, Sporting Lisbon's management is likely to encounter some major surprises this summer!

Serious problems will be exposed.

Triguera plans to rebuild Sporting Lisbon, as the team's current structure is only at the level of third, fourth, or fifth in the league. No matter how many new signings they make, they have no chance of winning the title.

"Huh? We're back? We haven't finished discussing this yet?" Ronaldo looked completely bewildered.

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

It was supposed to be a conversation between four people, but suddenly it seemed like it was just two people having a tacit understanding?

"Not every discussion needs to have a result; that's no longer important." Jiang Yunzhu not only understood, but more importantly, she also grasped a lot of information.

Some of the clues held by the boss behind Trigra were provided by Jiang Yunzhu.

As for the purpose... as a new era arrives, Sporting Lisbon will embark on an unprecedented collaboration with domestic clubs.

A collaboration unlike any other.

This is also a novel idea that Deng Kai proposed when he was discussing domestic football with Jiang Yunzhu.

To be honest, Jiang Yunzhu initially thought Deng Kai's suggestion was utter nonsense.

However, after careful consideration and consultation with experts, it was discovered that this may be the true path for the development of Chinese football.

This almost overturned the entire domestic approach to football development.

Provincial team model?

No!

Sports school model?

No!

Campus football model?

No!

Expanding youth training nationwide?

No!

Is the government investing heavily in infrastructure for grassroots football development?

No!

Naturalize foreign players?

No of no!

In Deng Kai's words, "Football should not be valued in China at all, nor does it have the basic conditions and tradition to be valued."

"If we develop it as a niche hobby for children from middle-class and above families, given the country's large population, that would be sufficient to select talent."

"Forcing it into a national movement will only provoke resentment, turning it from something positive into something negative, and causing it to lose its base."

"A niche market, at least, allows for survival, and even refinement. Forcing it will only breed toxic, corrupt, and decadent behavior!"

The collaboration between Sporting Lisbon and domestic partners will be an experiment.

If success is achieved here, then a conclusion will be reached regarding the development of football in China.

Good guy.

After Jiang Yunzhu said that, Cristiano Ronaldo became even more excited.

So in this conversation between four people, I was the only one who didn't join your private chat group?

Uh... then I'll leave?

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