The First Step to Greatness

During the halftime interval, Aldrich stressed the importance of sticking to the counter-attacking approach in the second half. He highlighted the need to neutralize Riquelme, the opposition's creative hub, ensuring he couldn't orchestrate their attacks.

Cristiano Ronaldo and Villa were actively warming up on the sidelines during the break. Ronaldo was particularly focused this time, more than ever before. He knew that his family was in the stands. Before the match, his brother had secretly sent him a message through his phone.

He was shocked. His family had come to Tokyo too?

It was only after his brother had told him that Aldrich had arranged for them to be in Japan for a two-day trip.

Ronaldo had a feeling something might happen today, but there was no certainty. He had been placed on the substitute list, and whether Aldrich would fulfill his promise and bring him onto the pitch was still uncertain.

If the team were losing or struggling to break the deadlock, even if Millwall made a change, it was unlikely they would bet on him. Ronaldo was aware of that.

Millwall's tradition of developing young players was to avoid putting pressure on them during matches, ensuring they didn't carry too much weight when they finally played. For example, Alonso often entered the field only when the team was in a secure position, giving him room for mistakes, especially when the opponents were already demoralized.

As the second half neared, the players returned to the field. When Aldrich walked back to the coach's bench and stood still, Ronaldo, like a soldier waiting for his general's orders, walked over to Aldrich's side and stood at attention.

Aldrich hadn't noticed at first but turned his head and was startled to see Ronaldo standing there, serious, right behind him.

"What's up?"

"Boss, didn't you say you were going to put me in?"

"When did I say that?"

"You told me to warm up."

"It's not time yet. Keep warming up."

Ronaldo slumped his head and ran off to continue warming up. Villa, who was stretching at a distance, smiled and chuckled upon seeing the exchange.

In the second half, Boca Juniors ramped up their offensive efforts, but their attempts weren't very effective, especially since they seemed to be cautious, afraid of Millwall's counterattacks. While they tried to push forward, they hesitated at times, unable to fully commit to deeper, more dangerous areas.

Ten minutes into the second half, Millwall prepared to make a substitution.

Aldrich, with one arm around Ronaldo and the other around Villa, first explained Villa's role and assignment for when he would be subbed on. He then turned to Ronaldo and asked, "Do you know what to watch out for?"

Ronaldo immediately nodded, "Don't overcommit defensively, avoid being easily barged through. Offensively, I need to move more, find space, and release the ball quickly. I'll try not to let the opponents get too close."

Aldrich nodded, hoping this kid would follow through when he got on the pitch.

Even though players like Cesc Fàbregas had made their debut in the Premier League at just 16, every case needed to be considered individually. Not every 16-year-old was ready for the English top-flight, even if they were prodigies.

Fàbregas' position, for example, didn't require the same level of explosive speed as a forward. Forwards, when they sprint, have a speed advantage over midfielders. The intensity of defensive challenges and collisions was different too.

Thus, the main focus when putting Ronaldo on the field was to avoid excessive physical contact. Defensively, he needed to be proactive, as long as he didn't make mistakes in his positioning, but offensively, he needed to avoid close marking, find open space, and use his speed to his advantage.

Ultimately, it was about protecting the player—allowing him to experience the atmosphere of the match, to go through the crucible of competition, but without exposing him to unnecessary injuries.

When the fourth official held up the substitution board, there was a loud round of applause. Japanese fans stood to applaud the two Millwall players leaving the field.

Henry and Larsson, the two heroes who had scored and assisted, were subbed off.

Then, some of the Japanese fans became a little disappointed.

The substitutes, Villa and Ronaldo, both looked young and inexperienced. Even for fans who watched every Millwall match, while they might have known who Villa was, Ronaldo was a much more unfamiliar face.

Soon, some fans in the stands began to discuss.

Cristiano Ronaldo stirred memories for some of them from two years ago.

Cristiano Ronaldo brought back memories for some of the fans, memories from two years ago.

It was on this very pitch, just a few hours earlier on that day two years ago, when the Millwall youth team, hastily assembled, faced off against Japan's U-17 national team. Ronaldo was undoubtedly the standout player of that match. Despite infuriating the youth team's temporary manager, Richards, with his flashy skills, Ronaldo left a lasting impression on the Japanese fans. The most significant memory from that game was how Japan's U-17 team was utterly dismantled, with no mercy shown.

"We've just verified a fact after reviewing the data. Just now, during Millwall's substitution, the club set a new player record. Cristiano Ronaldo, who just came on, has become the youngest player ever to represent Millwall in an official match. He looks about 17, but in fact, he's only 15 years and 296 days old. This is a day that will be unforgettable for him, as he makes his professional debut on the grand stage of the Toyota Cup. Millwall is famous for its youth squad, with exceptional young players promoted to the first team every season. Coach Hall has an unparalleled ability to discover young talent, and we have every reason to believe that this Cristiano Ronaldo is a player worth remembering and watching closely. Let's see if he can carve out a place for himself in the football world."

Ronaldo's parents and siblings were already in the stands, excited and emotional.

The day had finally arrived!

But this was only the beginning, just the start. There was still a long way to go before he could truly make a name for himself.

Despite all the anticipation for his debut, Ronaldo had not touched the ball once in the first 10 minutes after coming on.

He ran back and forth on the left wing, constantly waving his arms, signaling to his teammates to pass him the ball. However, neither Pirlo, who was sitting deep in the midfield, nor Larmore or Klose, in the attacking midfield, passed the ball to him.

Ronaldo was getting frustrated, close to losing his temper.

After one attack ended, when Villa had missed a chance in the penalty box on the other side, Ronaldo jogged over to Larmore, asking, "Why didn't you pass the ball to me?"

Larmore, jogging back to defend, shouted back, "You didn't make the run into space. I only pass when there's no defender within three meters of you. This isn't my decision, it's the boss's. If you have a problem, take it up with him!"

The match continued fiercely, and Larmore didn't have time to argue with Ronaldo.

Cristiano Ronaldo, despite hearing plenty from Aldrich before the game, still played the way he always had. In the youth team, he was used to having the ball at his feet and wasn't afraid of opponents getting close. Today, it was the same—it wasn't that he wasn't making runs, but rather that he felt confident enough to collect the ball and simply signal for it when the opportunity arose.

The Boca Juniors full-back was genuinely terrified of letting Cristiano Ronaldo have the ball. If that guy caused trouble on his side, he'd be the laughingstock!

So he started watching Ronaldo closely, only to notice something pretty weird.

It looked like Ronaldo wasn't exactly the favorite at Millwall—his teammates just wouldn't pass him the ball!

Serves him right!

Bianchi seemed to have noticed the same thing. After Ronaldo, that young upstart, came on, Millwall's left wing was practically devoid of any threat.

2-0. Had the young coach, renowned across Europe, become too overconfident?

Did he really think just throwing any player onto the pitch would secure a win?

Bianchi glanced at the clock—it was almost the 70th minute. Time to go all-in!

Right back, get forward and support the attack!

It was this move that allowed Boca Juniors to pull one back.

In the 76th minute, it was the right-back's cross that caused chaos in the penalty box. Crazy Palermo used his physical strength to get to the ball, but under Materazzi's pressure, he couldn't get a clean shot. Instead, he made a clearance-type move with his head, but the ball hit the back of his head and fell into the penalty box. Another Boca player was right there and fired a shot from close range. By the time Butt reacted, it was too late to stop the ball.

Boca Juniors, having scored a goal back, wasted no time in sticking to their game plan.

The previous goal had been a lucky fluke, and Millwall wouldn't fall into the same trap twice.

With the space on the right side of the defense growing larger, Cristiano Ronaldo, after a brief moment of frustration, regained his composure.

In the 84th minute, Millwall launched a counterattack from their own half, and Pirlo, with his usual precision, played a ground pass to the right side.

Cristiano Ronaldo felt a strong urge to charge forward and give Pirlo a good piece of his mind.

He always admired how Pirlo could read the game and thread those passes into open spaces!

But now, with Ronaldo running into a massive gap, he couldn't figure out why Pirlo wasn't passing to him.

Why?

Pirlo, no doubt, saw Ronaldo's run, but he chose to play the ball to Villa instead.

The reason was simple: when the ball's in the air, it just takes too long to get there, especially with a long pass. If Pirlo had sent it straight to Ronaldo, Boca Juniors would have been all over him in no time. Ronaldo wasn't Thierry Henry, and he certainly wasn't Ronaldinho, so Pirlo knew better than to make that risky pass.

Cristiano was just 15, and Aldrich had specifically warned in the locker room to avoid situations where Ronaldo could be overwhelmed by a tight defense.

Pirlo was looking out for him. From a tactical standpoint, it made sense to play the ball wide to the right, drawing defenders away and creating the perfect space for Ronaldo to work with on the left, with Villa helping to keep the pressure off.

Pirlo's plan was already clear in his mind. As Millwall's orchestrator, his footballing intelligence is evident in even the simplest decisions.

Villa's first touch was a pass to Klose in the center. Klose initially intended to pass to Ronaldo, but with his body facing the right front and the defender slightly leaning toward the left, Klose had to play a through pass to Villa ahead of him. The two players executed a quick 2v1, and Villa's first touch was a bit heavy, which worked in his favor, as it allowed him to use his speed to break through the defense and head toward the byline.

Running toward the byline, Villa kept an eye on the field. Klose was moving forward, keeping the central defenders occupied. Villa, just before the byline, chipped the ball into the far side of the box. He fell out of bounds as the ball left his foot.

The ball sailed over the middle of the goal, unreachable by any defenders, and Cristiano was there to arrive at the far post in time.

Shoot it in! Shoot it in!

Cristiano kept telling himself in his mind, but the ball wasn't dropping quickly. This actually gave him time to calm down and adjust once he reached the position.

He abandoned the idea of volleying and controlled the ball with his chest, then looked up at the goal. The defender was sliding in to block his shot, but Cristiano feinted past him, then powered up and struck!

The goalkeeper didn't react in time. The ball Cristiano struck was much harder than expected, and from close range, it flew into the top right corner of the net in the blink of an eye.

Once he scored, Cristiano immediately turned into a wild beast, sprinting toward the sideline. He pounded his chest as his eyes scanned the stands.

Dad, Mom, did you see that?

Did you see?

On the sideline, Aldrich pulled his hands out of his pockets, smiling and clapping. He silently mouthed a few words.

"Kid, keep running, keep flying, don't stop!"