Ground football: Ronaldo thought I was going to assist him

Deng Kai twirled his finger: "If you say that Ronaldinho replaced Quaresma, then many people also think that Kaká replaced Viana, but that's not actually the case."

"Viana is essentially Quaresma in central midfield; they are rotary players. Their lateral dribbling and spinning breakthroughs are much stronger than their vertical dribbling, which is a soft breakthrough."

"Part of the reason is that their absolute speed is not fast enough. Ronaldinho is also this type of player. Although Ronaldinho's absolute speed is not slow, he would feel ashamed to use his speed to beat others."

"Cristiano Ronaldo is a typical player who breaks through vertically; he's fast, simple yet unsolvable."

Guardiola offered a different perspective: "When two rotors work together, the pace becomes a bit sluggish. When two speedsters work together, they encroach on each other's space, leaving the defense completely empty."

"Therefore, a rotor paired with a speed dog is the most suitable combination."

Deng Kai looked at Guardiola: "I can see you have some complaints about speed players. Just because you can't be fast yourself, does that mean you can't stand fast players?"

Guardiola gave an awkward smile: "But Kaka, isn't he a speed player? He's a Brazilian player, and his playing style is quite Samba-like, but his dribbling and ball control skills are far inferior to Ronaldinho's; he's like a low-level spinner."

Deng Kai looked at Kaka, who was practicing on the training field outside, and said, "That's because he's still pretending."

Guardiola: "Pretending?"

Deng Kai: "Yeah, he's pretending! Pretending to be a traditional Brazilian player, pretending to be the kind of Brazilian player everyone imagines he should be! He doesn't know how he should play."

"But I know!"

……

In August, with the release of this year's Champions League group stage draw, fans can once again indulge in their fantasies about the highest honor in European football clubs.

Sporting Lisbon's luck can be described as quite bad.

They were placed in the group of death!

The least well-known team in this group is Galatasaray, an absolute powerhouse in the Turkish Super League.

According to UEFA's European league rankings, the Turkish Super League is ranked eleventh, which is not considered a strong league. It's significantly weaker than the Portuguese Super League, which is sixth in Europe.

But if you underestimate this team because of that, you would be making a big mistake.

If we were to say that the most impressive treble-winning team in recent years was Manchester United's treble of the Champions League, Premier League, and FA Cup in the 1998-1999 season, then...

Sporting Lisbon's treble win in the 2000-2001 season—the UEFA Cup, the Portuguese Primeira Liga, and the Portuguese Cup—was the most unexpected.

In between, there was actually a triple crown winner.

Galatasaray also won the treble in the 1999-2000 season, including the UEFA Cup, the Turkish Super League, and the domestic cup!

From their perspective, they are a strong team that is in no way inferior to Sporting Lisbon!

Last year, although they only won one championship, the impact they had on people was no less than that of the treble-winning season.

They were among the Champions League quarter-finalists last season!

They even defeated then-Champions League champions Real Madrid to win the European Super Cup before the season even started!

Therefore, this is definitely a strong team, even more difficult to deal with than the top teams in the five major leagues.

Of course, this is just the easiest opponent Sporting Lisbon has encountered in this group.

The second formidable opponent is PSV Eindhoven, one of the three giants of the Dutch Eredivisie.

Moreover, it is one of the most prominent giants in the past two years.

They won the Eredivisie title for two consecutive years, making them slightly stronger than Sporting Lisbon in the Portuguese league.

They have extensive Champions League experience, and their defensive specialist Mark van Bommel and Matia Kezman, the new signing and successor to Ruud van Nistelrooy, are both very strong players.

The latter reportedly scored a hat-trick in his first training match after joining the club, impressing his teammates.

At this point, both teams are stronger than Sporting Lisbon, after all, Sporting Lisbon has been away from the Champions League for too long.

If this isn't hopeless, then the last team is truly hopeless.

At least Cristiano Ronaldo is desperate.

Do you remember what Cristiano Ronaldo said during the transfer window?

He believes Lazio is a super team.

So now, this super team has appeared on his list of opponents.

The team with the overwhelming probability of advancing from this group is Lazio, the Serie A Biancocelesti!

The "group of death" refers to Sporting Lisbon, Galatasaray, and PSV Eindhoven.

The latter three teams, with similar strength, can only compete for one qualifying spot, which is quite brutal!

Mendieta, Crespo, Inzaghi, Salas, Simeone, Poborsky, Stankovic, Stam, Nesta, Mihajlovic, Peruzzi... Such a luxurious lineup, this is a super lineup that can win the Serie A title, the Champions League title, and the Italian Cup title!

If the skies over Europe turn blue this season, no one will be surprised.

This is Lazio right now.

Interestingly, they also brought in a player from São Caetano in Brazil this season, known simply as "Kaiser".

Immediately, the media began to consider Lazio's plans for the second group stage.

At that time, the Champions League format was still quite unique.

Last year, the Champions League expanded to include 32 teams that battled it out in the group stage, with the top two teams advancing to the round of 16.

Then the sixteen teams were regrouped into groups of four, with the top two teams advancing to the Champions League quarterfinals.

Therefore, there are two stages of group matches.

However, some teams are calling for the cancellation of the second stage group stage, turning the round of 16 into a knockout tournament, which would reduce the number of matches by four and lighten the burden on the teams.

This chapter is not finished yet. Please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content!

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, the second group stage of the 2003-2004 season will be cancelled and replaced by the knockout stage format of the Champions League that is now widely known.

This also shows the prestige of the future Champions League champion.

In an era with fewer matches, Ronaldo repeatedly broke Champions League goal records in a single season, which was certainly due to... the rise of attacking football.

Cristiano Ronaldo: ? ? ?

Cristiano Ronaldo: So you're saying it has nothing to do with me, right? How classic!

Lazio came first, then everything else; Galatasaray's treble win is still ahead of Sporting CP!

The Dutch and Portuguese leagues are roughly equal, but PSV Eindhoven's position is more secure than Sporting Lisbon's!

Mendieta: Looking forward to another clash with Guardiola, and also eager to experience the brilliance of Matthäus and Deschamps!

Crespo: I do have a problem with the Portuguese league; they stole my European Golden Boot.

Cristiano Ronaldo: I'm just a bronze boot winner in Europe. The one who stole your golden boot was Jardel. Go get revenge on Porto and the Brazilian national team!

Van Bommel: I can freeze Duncan, but limiting Ronaldinho is a higher priority!

Kezman: There are rumors that Ronaldo didn't go to Manchester United because they signed Van Nistelrooy. In my opinion, Manchester United made the right decision!

Deng Kai: When I first heard Van Bommel's name, I thought he was an attacking midfielder, because the only young Dutch midfielders I remember are Sneijder and Van der Vaart!

Deng Kai: Kezman is Van Nistelrooy's successor, and Ronaldo is Van Nistelrooy's competitor. It's already quite clear who is stronger!

Deng Kai engaged in a heated debate with a group of people on social media.

However, Sporting Lisbon does not have time to respond to each of them.

Because they are about to face a truly tough battle.

They are aiming for their fourth trophy in the still-ongoing season!

Portugal Super Cup!

Sporting Lisbon vs Porto!

Porto has only one task: to stop the Sporting Lisbon miracle from going any further.

Although they had long been part of this miracle, their role in it was far from honorable—they were merely pitiful background figures.

This time, they're going to be the main players in the Portuguese league again!

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