Chapter 24: I came, I saw, I conquered

As a country that fostered the Portuguese league, ranking fifth to eighth in the world by FIFA, Portugal naturally had a great football atmosphere.

Even in normal U15 league matches, there were thousands of fans in attendance.

Among them, a particular group stood out.

They were all gang members.

Waving the banners of Cada Sports in support.

Dressed in Cada Sports' youth team number sixteen jerseys.

That was Andoya's jersey.

These were Andoya's brother and his friends, who kept telling everyone around that "Cada Sports must win, Sporting Lisbon is trash," and the like.

Strictly speaking, these people are not fans, but football hooligans.

No club welcomes them.

Soon, the young players from both teams entered the field.

"Can't believe I'm running into you here. This time I'm going to beat you so bad your moms won't recognize you!" Andoya glared at Deng Kai and Ronaldo, visibly annoyed, "Come to think of it, I should actually thank you guys."

"If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have been kicked out of my team and wouldn't have jumped to Cada Sports' U15 to become a key player."

Deng Kai smirked, "Congratulations then, but there's a difference between U15 and U15. Cada Sports' U15... Sorry, how many people do you think would come to see you if you weren't playing against Sporting Lisbon? Two hundred or three hundred?"

"I heard that the best player in Cada Sports' U17 transferred to Benfica this year, yet here he is, back again."

"Cada Sports has no future. When I searched for it, the most results were actually about Qatar—can you believe it? I thought you'd joined some Middle Eastern tycoon team!"

"Oh right, speaking of tycoons, I hope your youth training subsidy hasn't decreased since you left Sporting, right?"

Sporting Lisbon, Benfica, and Porto, the three giants, offer the highest youth training subsidies in Portugal.

Ronaldo watched Deng Kai's relentless trash-talking to Andoya from the front row, his smile growing wider.

Deng Kai might lose in football, but he would definitely win in trash-talking.

He was indeed a master of verbal sparring!

"Hmph!" Andoya was so frustrated that he was lost for words.

...

With the referee's whistle, the match officially began.

Cada Sports kicked off first.

At the moment of the kickoff, Deng Kai gave Ronaldo a look, sending a clear signal.

Ronaldo got the message at once.

After Cada Sports' players started the play, the football was passed a couple of times, finally reaching Andoya's feet.

But at the same time, Deng Kai and Ronaldo charged at Andoya.

They were pressing right from kickoff!

This unexpected rhythm prompted many fans who were still holding popcorn and looking for better seats at the front to sit down quickly.

Many teams would take about ten minutes to see such an intense scene.

Andoya's pupils contracted.

He was not panicked, though, and he saw a good passing line.

Being able to secure a place quickly in another team after being dismissed, Andoya's skill and talent were actually quite good.

Deng Kai, as a midfielder, his press forward surely meant there was a gap in Sporting's central defense.

Andoya made a through pass, attempting to exploit the space behind Deng Kai.

The Cada Sports' forward also spotted the opportunity and made an off-the-ball movement to the center.

If Andoya's pass came through, he could flick it on and challenge Sporting's central defenders.

This was definitely a good chance.

He...

The Cada Sports forward's run came to an abrupt halt.

The football... had been intercepted!

"How is that possible!" Andoya's smile froze on his face.

How could this ball have been intercepted?

Especially by Deng Kai!

Andoya had specifically passed a ball beyond Deng Kai's range, banking on his short stature and lack of reach.

For a one-meter-seventy player, intercepting that ball might have been possible.

But Deng Kai... how could he?

"A beautiful sliding tackle interception! Sporting Lisbon's number twenty-four made a successful adventurous defense."

"His press caused a gap in the midfield, and Cada Sports' Andoya sharply spotted the weakness and sent a through ball."

"But Andoya could never have anticipated that Deng Kai, despite his shorter legs, would simply slide in to intercept."

"Deng Kai got up; His slide and trap were very skilled, keeping the football firmly under his control. Now he is well-placed at the junction between the attacking third and second third of the field."

"But he has Andoya and the entire Cada Sports defensive line in front of him and is about to face encirclement."

"Chris is nearby trying to offer support, but the passing lane is blocked."

"This is almost a situation of two against seven in the frontcourt, Deng Kai is bound to lose the ball."

"Other Sporting players have started to retract for defense to avoid conceding and then getting counterattacked by Cada Sports. This means Deng Kai and Chris have become disconnected from their team."

On the field, Sporting was ready to lose possession.

That was the sensible approach, showing good tactical awareness.

Even Ronaldo, in Deng Kai's surrounded situation, would certainly lose the ball.

There was no other possibility.

Yet Deng Kai continued to dribble the ball, heading straight for Andoya.

Andoya's position was in defensive midfield.

His long passes were known for their accuracy within Cada Sports.

For this very reason, Kada Sports had specially designed a tactic.

When the team's midfield faced pressure, Andoya would receive the pass from his teammates at the defensive midfield position, and then he'd send a long pass to a forward to complete the attack transition.

This also earned Andoya the nickname "Kada Sports' Guardiola" recently.

He even felt that with a bit more effort, he could replace the current number ten and become the new core of the midfield.

But for Sporting Lisbon, the position of Kada Sports' defensive midfielder meant… the attacking midfield area!

"Andoya moves up ready to make an interception on Deng Kai! He's very confident, and he towers over Deng Kai by quite a bit."

"There are Kada Sports players chasing back in defense behind Deng Kai, and one is already closing in on him."

"Kada Sports' center-back also pushes up, teaming up with Andoya for a pinch movement. Moreover, there's another center-back covering behind them, tightly surrounding Deng Kai."

"Up until now, Deng Kai shows no sign of slowing down his dribble, and as everyone knows, dribbling moves usually require slowing down. Is Deng Kai really planning to just stride past Andoya like this?"

"If it were Chris, there might be hope, but Deng Kai's speed is really..."

Bang!

Earth-shattering!

Deng Kai, while maintaining his fast dribble, suddenly kicks the ball.

A ferocious shot!

It was beyond everyone's expectation.

Dribble past?

No!

No need!

Deng Kai's dribble wasn't meant to get past Andoya, he didn't have that ability at the moment.

He was merely fulfilling the "Black Panther Hunt" triggering condition.

Change of ball possession within three seconds, in the attacking area… achieved!

The football whizzed past Andoya's face.

This surprise shot left him no time to react.

After all, this was from a distance of over thirty-five meters from the goal.

Even top scorers from the big five leagues rarely shoot from this position.

Because the chance of scoring is too low.

On one hand, long shots like this leave the goalkeeper with too much time to react.

On the other hand, the long flight of the ball can cause it to lose control, commonly referred to as failing to keep it down.

Only players with both great strength in their feet and excellent shooting technique can score such a long-range screamer.

However, from the stands, gasps of surprise could be heard.

Andoya quickly turned around.

Shit!

The goalkeeper is running from the penalty spot towards the goal!

Most goalkeepers stand outside the large penalty area during the kick-off phase, because threats to the goal are rare at this stage.

But now, that unlikely event was happening.

Some idiot had just taken a shot on goal from a position over thirty-five meters away.

In a U15 game, what's the difference between this distance and a midfield lob in the big five leagues?

Do you even know how to play football?

Clang!

The football goes over the leaping Kada Sports' goalkeeper but unfortunately hits the crossbar and then drops straight down… not bouncing over the line.

The Kada Sports' goalkeeper quickly scrambles to his feet, lunging for the ball with a second effort; he still has a chance to stop all this!

After hitting the ground, the football continues to roll toward the goal with the help of its spin.

The fingers of Kada Sports' goalkeeper come infinitely close to the ball, just a bit, just a bit more and...

Bang!

Kada Sports' goalkeeper completes his diving save, and then falls to the ground.

But when the camera focuses on him, his face is deathly pale.

Because he was always that tiny bit short!

The football ultimately bounces into the goal and slowly jumps towards the net.

The next moment, Sporting Lisbon's number twenty-four player points to the heavens with both hands!

From his own standing position, he surveys the entire stadium!

At the same time, he lets out an excited roar!

"Veni!"

The teammates who were initially coming over to celebrate paused, and everyone stopped in their tracks.

Was that... Latin?

Portuguese and Spanish both stem from Latin, so they could understand it.

Furthermore... this was such a famous phrase!

How dare he?

"Vidi!" Deng Kai utters the second word.

He really dares!

It was you who mocked me as Caesar first!

If that's how it is, then prepare to welcome a true Caesar!

The modest stadium instantly fell into silence.

Only the voice of the great emperor resounded through the skies!

"Vici!"