Ground football: Ronaldo thought I was going to assist him

Zanetti eventually poked the ball out of bounds first.

After Viana took the throw-in, Ronaldo charged at Zanetti from the spot, but Seedorf, who was tracking back, poked the ball away.

Matthäus reacted quickly, bringing Seedorf down with a standard tactical foul to prevent the team from being caught on the counter-attack.

But this series of confrontations was enough to make Zanetti realize how troublesome Ronaldo was.

Forty-first minute.

Deng Kai, who was passing the ball in the backfield, suddenly launched a long pass to the left flank.

"Cristiano Ronaldo! It's Ronaldo again! Deng Kai's shot was clearly aimed at Ronaldo!"

"Zanetti moved too close to midfield when he was following Ronaldo, leaving a lot of space behind him."

"This is the second time Ronaldo has charged forward this match!"

"Zanetti is falling behind!"

"It's over! Ronaldo cut inside past Zanetti! He's not as agile as Viana, he's all about speed!"

"Shot... Sigh! That's a bit of a stretch for a shot."

"Corner kick, Ronaldo has won a corner kick for the team."

"If Ronaldo had passed the ball back to Viana, Viana could have passed it to either Drogba or Quaresma, and their shooting angles would have been much better than Ronaldo's."

"Cristiano Ronaldo is indeed not very good at passing. As a left winger, he has played almost thirty games this season, but hasn't recorded a single assist!"

"Viana is struggling to carry Ronaldo. If Viana were to team up with Quaresma, Viana could score at least five or six more goals this season!"

The stadium commentators clearly favored Viana.

Didn't they consider that without Cristiano Ronaldo, whose goal-scoring efficiency is higher than Quaresma's, Viana's assist count would be even lower?

Among the Inter Milan fans in the stands, there were quite a few scouts from the team.

AC Milan, Lazio, Atalanta, Parma, Florence... but not Florence, they are now facing a financial crisis and are considering selling Rui Costa to tide them over.

Most of these scouts came to see Viana, but some also wanted to see Inter Milan in trouble.

After watching the first half of the game, many veteran scouts had a question in their minds.

"Where did this Deng Kai come from?"

"Was it really Viana who led the team to victory against Inter Milan? Are you sure Inter Milan's sporting director isn't this Deng Kai?"

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"Deng Kai is really impressive! Although he's not particularly outstanding and plays deep, his style of play is unstoppable!"

"Most of Sporting Lisbon's most threatening attacks so far have originated from this Duncan's instigation."

"Although the most impactful players were Viana, Ronaldo, Quaresma, and even Drogba, Duncan played a crucial role in almost every attacking play."

"He knows where the ball should be, his style of play is very sophisticated, he is a true master strategist."

"Deng Kai's vision is amazing. Many of his passes seem simple and logical, but upon closer inspection, they seem incredible. How does he see those opportunities!"

"I even think that Inter Milan should have bought Duncan, not Viana?"

Many scouts were shocked by their own ideas.

This is too outrageous.

A boy who is not even sixteen years old?

This age directly discouraged them from pursuing their dreams.

For most teams, an 18-year-old player already seems unreliable, and they need to observe him further, no matter how well he performs.

Let alone a fifteen-year-old player?

These days, scratching lottery tickets isn't as lucrative as it used to be.

Most players only become starters on the team when they are in their twenties.

At the corner flag area, Deng Kai was gesturing to his teammates, arranging corner kick tactics.

His every move revealed his status on the team.

If it's just an ordinary player, they wouldn't actually make these arrangements proactively at this point; they would simply follow what they did in training.

They lacked that kind of initiative.

boom!

Deng Kai took the corner kick.

Inside the penalty area, people and horses were thrown into chaos.

Inter Milan's players had no idea who Deng Kai was targeting.

But the Sporting Lisbon players knew because Director Kai's instructions were very clear.

Everyone else's positioning is creating opportunities for one person.

boom!

Fonte leaped high, his square head heading the round football into the net.

The next moment, he rushed towards the corner flag area, but was tackled by Drogba halfway there.

"Oh! It's Fonte! He actually scored!"

"This is this player's first goal in the UEFA Cup! And he's scored against Inter Milan!"

"Fonte isn't a particularly talented player, this might even be the highlight of his career! He's incredibly lucky!"

"Most importantly, his mistake at the very beginning of the match led to Recoba's lightning-fast goal. Fonte has now redeemed himself!"

"That was a golden goal!"

"2-2! Sporting Lisbon has equalized. The aggregate score is now 6-5! Sporting Lisbon has overtaken Inter Milan and advanced to the next round!"

"Are they really going to eliminate Inter Milan at the San Siro? It's unbelievable!"

The Sporting Lisbon players celebrated wildly.

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They defeated Inter Milan!

Font was so moved he almost cried. He was pushed to the bottom by everyone and reached out his hand to Deng Kai, who was walking towards him from a distance.

It was Kai Shao who made it possible for him!

Deng Kai gestured for a corner kick, indicating that he was looking for Fonte and also asking his teammates to cover for Fonte's movement.

Is this the treatment a mediocre center-back should receive?

In terms of heading ability, Drogba and Barzagli are ranked higher than Fonte, as they are better at heading.

But when Deng Kai joined the human pyramid game, Fonte was in despair.

He was at the very bottom.

While pressing down on his teammates, Deng Kai questioned Ronaldo: "I didn't expect this, Ronaldo. I told you to look for me, and you just made a cover run. It's hard to imagine that you made that pull to create space for Fonte's goal."

Cristiano Ronaldo looked completely bewildered: "Huh? Isn't the number nine tactic supposed to target Fonte? Your gesture means you want me to pull him aside? I hate helping others pull people aside, I never like it!"

Deng Kai clenched his right fist, extended his index finger, then curled it up and bent it: "This is the real nine, I was fucking showing a seven!"

The whole team was stunned.

Drogba said with a wry face, "So the Chinese numbers and gestures that Ronaldo taught us are wrong? Ronaldo, your Chinese isn't fluent enough!"

Cristiano Ronaldo shook his head: "Impossible, I learned the standard version! The 'seven' should be the thumb, index finger, and middle finger pinched together!"

Deng Kai slapped his forehead: "Oh, that's my problem. In my hometown of Sichuan, many people make a bend in the number seven that looks similar to nine, but the bend isn't as pronounced."

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