Chapter 19: Want to Stay at My Place?

"Dad, Mom, this is my good friend from the team, just call him Chris."

"Oh, what happened to you guys? Covered in mud and with injuries too?"

"It's nothing. Some guys from the team picked on me, and Chris stood up for me. Don't worry, we didn't lose out—those guys are in even worse shape now! I'm so hungry, can we make something to eat, like your specialty dishes?"

Deng Kai's parents knew their child was rather independent; he would speak up about what he wanted to and remained silent on things he didn't want to discuss.

Dinner lightened everyone's mood quite a bit.

During the meal, Trigella called Deng Kai's father to explain what had happened that day and repeatedly apologized, saying he had let them down.

In the end, Trigella expressed that he had already communicated with the head of the youth training department and that the few young players who had attacked Deng Kai would definitely be punished severely.

Deng Kai's parents didn't make things difficult for Trigella; they understood his position.

Later, Deng Kai's mother quietly wiped away tears in the kitchen, regretting sending Deng Kai to play football.

Deng Kai's father was distressed too but still showed his support.

"A man's got to go through this at some point," said Deng Kai's father while he took out his bottle of Er Guo Tou, insisting on sharing a few drinks with Ronaldo.

With just one small sip, Ronaldo was knocked out on the spot.

The next day arose.

To his surprise, Deng Kai found his familiarity with Ronaldo had rocketed up to over twenty percent!

This...

Indeed, nothing promotes understanding quite like living together.

Deng Kai looked thoughtfully at Ronaldo lying on the makeshift bed on the floor.

What if... Ronaldo stayed at his house?

"Mom, can we make breakfast a bit more luxurious? Not Western-style, but steamed lamb, steamed bear paw, steamed deer tail... Ouch, stop hitting me—how about some twice-cooked pork then?"

...

On the bus.

Ronaldo couldn't stop thinking about the extraordinary Chinese breakfast he had, repeatedly telling Deng Kai it was the best food he had ever tasted.

He also tried hinting that Deng Kai could bring some to the training ground in the future.

Looking at the packed lunches his mother prepared for him and Ronaldo, Deng Kai said, "Chris, why don't you come live at my place?"

"Huh?" Ronaldo was startled.

Deng Kai seriously explained, "We took down Andoya yesterday, and he's a local. I heard his brother has some connections with the Lisbon Mafia, and he rose to the top of the U14 team because of that."

"If he wants to take revenge... the dorms at the academy obviously aren't as safe as my house."

"Our place is a Chinese community, Chinese don't harm each other. If a foreigner comes around, they'll get questioned by Uncle Wang and Aunt Huang."

"Plus, you like our food, right?"

"Give my parents the boarding fees you pay the school, and they'll make you delicious meals every day. You might even get one or two hundred back each month to send home and contribute to your family."

"Also, I've noticed you have a lot to learn about football theory. I'm good at academic subjects, and quite skilled in strategizing tactics on paper. I'll teach you tactics and positioning, and you can help me practice dribbling and shooting. We'll both grow faster."

"I know a path that goes straight from my house to the training ground. We can dribble the ball there together—it'll be so much fun!"

Deng Kai made his case vigorously.

After his last point, Ronaldo seemed quite tempted.

Boys will be boys until the end.

Some things may seem childish or meaningless, yet they can strike a chord in their hearts.

"But the team here…" Ronaldo lacked experience in bending the rules.

A young player living out of the dorms?

The rules of the academy were very strict.

"I'll handle it. I'll talk to Mr. Trigella, he'll agree," Deng Kai reassured, taking responsibility upon himself.

You might think the West is all about rules and contracts, but once you get to know it, you understand everything is negotiable—it's all about interpersonal skills in football.

Once they arrived at the training base, Maxa took them to the new team, Sporting Lisbon U15.

The place was the same, only the teammates had changed.

The teammates also welcomed the addition of Ronaldo and Deng Kai.

The welcome ceremony wasn't just because of their arrival; it was because the team had a new coach—Maxa!

He had been promoted!

From U14 to U15, climbing up the ranks step by step.

Deng Kai had every reason to believe that Maxa had come to the team with a mission.

That mission was assigned by Trigella.

The content of the mission was surely to do everything possible to train Ronaldo.

And this task likely had the support of the higher-ups, forming an important part of Sporting Lisbon's management strategy.

Perhaps this task also included nurturing and looking after himself.

But that may just be Trigella creating false imperial edicts for his own benefit.

After one training session, Ronaldo had conquered the team, at least most of them acknowledged his strength.

As for Deng Kai... he still needed time to adapt. His skills were currently the weakest on the team, after all, he was more than two years younger and much shorter in stature.

During the lunch break, Deng Kai was surprised to find a few players missing from the neighboring U14 team.

On inquiring, he learned that the seven U14 players who had fought with him yesterday had been expelled from the academy!

Ronaldo was very worried when he heard the news, fearing that the club would also hold him and Deng Kai accountable.

If they were labeled as "troublemakers", it would be very hard to find another team to take them on.

Indeed, few troublemakers ever made it to prominence.

Even if they did make it early on, they tended to fade away in their twenties.

Their talents would be squandered in nightclubs and alcohol, never reaching the heights they should.

Compared to Ronaldo's worries, Deng Kai was quite relieved.

Dealing with Andoya and the others naturally meant that they would not deal with Deng Kai and his group.

Only a fool would offend people on both sides.

Trigella was clever indeed.

His approach was quick, ruthless, and precise.

Seven academy players discarded just like that.

Such decisiveness.

He was bound to achieve great things in the future!

Deng Kai would believe it if someone said that he would one day become Sporting Lisbon's head honcho.

...

Three days later, Deng Kai had successfully shared in Ronaldo's talent bonus.

After that day's training, both his speed and dribbling had improved by a point.

Truly a "once-in-a-lifetime genius".

In comparison, "exceptional talent" seemed quite ordinary.

After researching the talent levels of other players in the academy, Deng Kai had a basic understanding of the system's evaluation standards.

Joao Moutinho, for example, who moved up from U13 to U14, had the same level of talent as Deng Kai, classified as "exceptional talent".

This level of talent, if exchanged for one's own potential normally, would basically make one a key midfielder for a second- or third-tier football nation in the world.

In clubs, they could likely be starters for a team in the top five leagues.

Anyone who makes it into one of the top five leagues, even just holding their ground in the lower divisions, must have "exceptional talent".

However, "exceptional talent" and "unprecedented genius" are basically the level of some stars whose names everyone knows, but they are certainly not considered to be the most talented stars by the masses.

Jordan Henderson, the future captain of the Reds, is a prime example.

In the future, no one would likely consider Henderson a talent-based player. His running, attitude during games, and commitment to defense were crucial for him to secure a spot in that strong Liverpool side.

Is his talent very ordinary?

But actually... his talent level is surprisingly "unprecedented genius"!

Not just him, many unknown players also have extremely high levels of talent.

Initially, Henderson was defined by The Guardian as England's U19 Super New Star of the year. He was seen as England's hope for winning Olympic gold, the European Championship, or even the World Cup in the decade to come!

So, any player who lands in the top five leagues or even just firmly establishes themselves in the second-tier leagues has significant talent.

Countless "unprecedented geniuses" and "once-in-a-lifetime geniuses" fall by the wayside.

The football world never lacks talented players.

But the success rate for talented players is incredibly low.

Media outlets have documented the top twenty hopeful stars from academy players within European football's top five leagues each year.

Looking back after a few years, out of these players, less than five per twenty could hold their ground in the lower divisions, and only a handful in the top five leagues.

No superstars were born.

The ceiling was just being a solid starter at a big club, not a star player, but the type who did grunt work.

And these weren't just any academy players; they were already one in a hundred talents, yet the rate of wastage was still so high.

Therefore, in the world of football, talent really isn't worth much, "exceptional talent" hardly amounts to anything.

Deng Kai: ???

Deng Kai: Who the hell are you cursing?