Ground football: Ronaldo thought I was going to assist him

"Hello everyone, this is Brick Radio! I'm your good friend Huang Jianxiang!"

"Hello everyone, I'm He Wei."

"Hello everyone, I'm Zhan Jun."

"Today is May 22, 2004. The scene before us is from Ulivay Stadium in Gothenburg, Sweden, where the UEFA Cup final is about to begin."

"The stadium is already full of fans."

"The stadium has a maximum capacity of 50,000, but according to rumors, there will be more than 60,000 fans in the stands today."

"UEFA has temporarily expanded the stadium seating capacity, of course, all under safe conditions."

Both teams in today's match are champions.

"Valencia, this year's La Liga champions, wearing white jerseys! They broke through the encirclement of Real Madrid and Barcelona."

"Wearing sky blue jerseys are this year's kings of England, Manchester City! They've swept all the titles in England this year, including the Premier League!"

"If they win this title, they will become only the second team in twenty years, after Sporting Lisbon, to win five UEFA Cups!"

"And the architect of Sporting Lisbon's five-trophy haul is none other than Manchester City's current team leader... Duncan!"

"My views differ from those of many people."

"Most people believe that the Sporting Lisbon miracle of that year belonged to a group of stars such as Duncan, Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaká, Ronaldinho, Drogba, and Ibrahimovic."

"After all, Deng Kai always says that in interviews."

"But I've always thought that Deng Kai is being too modest."

"I firmly believe that Duncan was the soul of that Sporting Lisbon team back then! Just like he is now at Manchester City! He's a high-profile player but a humble person, which makes his contributions underestimated worldwide!"

"At this moment, Deng Kai standing on the court undoubtedly proves my point of view."

"Otherwise, why isn't it Cristiano Ronaldo standing here? Why isn't it Ronaldinho? Why isn't it Kaká? Why isn't it Drogba?"

He Wei, unable to bear Huang Jianxiang's excessive praise of Drogba, interjected, "Drogba is playing in the Champions League final in three days."

The implication is... if you, Kai, are really that good, why don't you play in the Champions League?

"Hehe, the camera's on the audience. We have a lot of VIP guests here today!" Zhan Jun smoothed things over. "This is the family and friends section. Hathaway and Keira are here together. They're sitting together chatting and laughing, just like good friends."

"Victoria Beckham is also there; this is a group of football stars' wives!"

"Doesn't Hathaway know that Keira is her rival?"

"The Sun has long suspected that Duncan and Kayla have a relationship beyond friendship, but has been unable to find any evidence."

Huang Jianxiang was speechless. This was CTV Channel 5, not some tabloid: "Hey, Zhan Jun, stop reading those roadside tabloids. We journalists have to be truthful."

"Many players' relatives and friends also came to the scene. We can roughly judge them by their appearance because some players look so much like their parents."

"The camera panned to a few fans with yellow skin... These are... these must be Deng Kai and Sun Jihai's families! Yes, yes, I've even interviewed them!"

"There are also Hao Junmin and Yu Shihao, who play for Sporting Lisbon. They are both currently playing for Sporting Lisbon's first team and helped the team achieve a second-place finish this season."

"Keep in mind, their opponent was Porto, who made it to the Champions League final."

"Hey, is that Cristiano Ronaldo sitting next to Deng Kai's parents?"

"Yes, when Cristiano Ronaldo was playing in Sporting Lisbon's youth academy, he stayed at the Duncan family's house. He had a very good relationship with Duncan's parents, and the two families would often visit each other during holidays."

Wow! Beckham is here too! And sitting next to him is England manager Sven Eriksson. No wonder Victoria didn't sit over here; it's more of a work-related conversation.

"The fact that the England manager and captain were both present suggests they were conducting final reconnaissance for the team."

Manchester City's starting lineup has the lowest percentage of English players among all Premier League teams.

So the English weren't there to investigate.

They came to investigate, not to conduct reconnaissance.

Deng Kai is the core player of the Portuguese team, and Fonte is always by his side.

Desailly is the captain of the French team, and Ribery will also most likely be called up by the French team.

Fabregas, Torres, and Villa are all rumored to be potential additions to the Spanish national team.

Lahm may be called up to the German national team.

Chiellini will most likely be selected for the Italian national team.

Cech is also a preferred goalkeeper for the Czech national team.

Even Ashley Young could potentially make the England national team at the last minute.

Unbeknownst to many, Manchester City has become a major contributor of national team players.

This is only in Europe.

Including players from Africa, the Americas, and Asia, their team has very few players who aren't national team players!

Of course, most of these players were unremarkable when they arrived.

But now, each of them is a prominent figure in their own country and region.

Many players have even set local records for honors.

Manchester City's six titles in two years have propelled too many Manchester City players to the pinnacle of their careers... before they even realized it.

It's not just the English.

French national team coach Jacques Santini and the team's key player Zinedine Zidane were also present in the stands.

Spain's head coach Aragonés and Spain's captain, former Ballon d'Or winner Raúl, were also present.

In addition to reconnaissance, they are also conducting final investigations.

Valencia has many excellent Spanish players.

Moreover... Spain and Portugal are in the same group.

In addition, there are the coaching staff of the German team, the Italian team, and the Russian team.

Even the Greek national team coach Rehhagel was present.

This time, Greece and Portugal are in the same group, and their chances of advancing are very slim.

However, the Greeks had confidence in Rehhagel.

After all, this is the super coach who led the team to the Kaiserslautern miracle back then.

Do you know Trigra?

Have you ever heard of Maxa?

Rehhagel is one of these two from a few years ago!

"He hasn't changed at all." Rehhagel looked at Deng Kai, who was helping his teammates warm up on the court. "He cares about everything, and he pays close attention to the condition of every player on the team."

"He rarely falters in the competitions he participates in, which I think is largely due to his consideration for everyone."

"He won't make any player nervous."

Two years ago, in the Champions League, Duncan's Sporting Lisbon easily eliminated Rehhagel's Kaiserslautern by an incredibly large margin.

That battle completely shattered Kaiserslautern's dying struggle.

(End of this chapter)

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