Chapter 76: The Fox in the Penalty Box

Flamengo, hailing from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, another footballing powerhouse, had won five national championships, one Copa Libertadores, and one Toyota Cup. They were undoubtedly a formidable force in Brazilian football.

However, no one expected them to be this dominant. Not only did they thrash the São Paulo team by five goals at home, but they maintained their explosive form even as the visitors, scoring within the opening minutes against São Paulo.

São Paulo began to grow restless, but they managed to hold on, as the match still had over eighty minutes remaining, making a comeback or even a turnaround not entirely impossible.

However, what awaited them was not a turning point but rather a compounding of their misfortunes.

Merely four minutes after Flamengo's goal, São Paulo had a golden opportunity, but Leonardo's pass appeared to be deflected by a Flamengo defender's arm.

The referee did not make a call, and the game continued.

Fabiano was visibly agitated, repeatedly gesturing that it was a handball, and then he was sent off for protesting against the referee.

Now playing with ten men against eleven and trailing 3-6, the São Paulo players seemed to have witnessed their fate's verdict.

Alvarez had no choice but to make an immediate adjustment.

The commentators from São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro provided different interpretations of this substitution.

"São Paulo needs to make a change, as they are still three goals behind... Is Alvarez crazy? He's bringing on Kaká, but what they need is a striker who can score goals, not a midfielder, even though this player just won the U-20 World Cup for us. But remember, Kaká won the Golden Ball, not the Golden Boot, in that tournament."

"Kaká is replacing the other Fabiano. Alvarez is substituting a defensive midfielder with a non-specialist striker. It looks like a questionable decision, but we all know that Kaká has played in this position before. His pace and shooting ability are no worse than any striker's."

With one Fabiano sent off and the other substituted, the most direct impact on the São Paulo team was that Baptista became the sole defensive midfielder.

Baptista had to curtail his forward runs and focus solely on defense, which not only affected São Paulo's defensive capabilities but also directly weakened their attacking threat.

Kaká found himself isolated at the front, feeling a bit unfamiliar with the situation.

Although he had played upfront before, it was mostly as a second striker, rarely facing the full brunt of defensive pressure alone.

But reality did not afford him the luxury of time to adapt.

Almost as soon as Kaká took his position, São Paulo gained another golden opportunity.

Again, it was a pass from Leonardo, but this time a lightning-fast grounded through ball.

Kaká displayed his inexperience as a striker, quickly latching onto the ball but falling into the opposition's offside trap.

Rather than futilely arguing with the referee, he simply gave Leonardo a thumbs-up, acknowledging the quality of the pass, and then spent five honor points to acquire an Inzaghi star player card.

Skill: Lightning Raid (increases shooting technique and offside trap success rate).

Talent: Striker's Instinct.

Kaká glanced at his attribute sheet.

Through training and match experience, his shooting technique had improved from an initial 76 to 78, and now, with the Lightning Raid buff, it had risen directly to 82.

Still on the low side.

But the term "shooting technique" was a broad one, encompassing various aspects like long shots, volleys, pokes, chips, and strikes. If broken down into specifics, Kaká's long-range shooting would easily be above 90, while his heading ability might not even reach 70. Moreover, scoring chances often depended more on timing than raw attributes, so the numbers did not fully represent his true shooting ability.

Flamengo did not let their guard down against Kaká despite his initial failed attack. In fact, they became even more wary due to the pace he had displayed, defending him as tightly as possible.

However, this tightness soon began to subconsciously loosen.

Firstly, their significant lead made them inevitably complacent. Secondly, Kaká's presence was too weak.

It was as if he had become invisible.

While he would occasionally drop back to support and assist his teammates, he posed no apparent threat, blending in like an ordinary player.

Flamengo's defenders developed a sense that São Paulo's rising star was nothing special. Intellectually, they knew better than to underestimate Kaká, but subconsciously, they tended to overlook him.

This unintentional disregard nearly cost them dearly.

In the eighth minute after Kaká's introduction, Baptista launched a clearance from the back, sending the ball directly into Flamengo's penalty area. All the Flamengo players, except for the goalkeeper casually preparing to collect the ball, seemed unconcerned.

Suddenly, Kaká appeared like a flash behind the ball, calmly slotting it past the bewildered goalkeeper.

As Kaká prepared to retrieve the ball from the net, the referee's whistle unexpectedly blew.

Not the goal signal, but a foul whistle.

"Kaká! He suddenly appeared in the penalty area and put the ball into Flamengo's net... Wait, offside again? Let's look at the replay... Is this offside? Kaká was almost level with the last defender when Baptista's... pass came through, and he immediately turned to chase the ball. Even with the replay, it's hard to determine whether he was offside or not. You can see the assistant referee was also conflicted and hesitated before raising the flag."

"Kaká's second offside, he's about to complete an offside hat-trick. We know Alvarez trusts him, but that trust shouldn't be unconditional. You can occasionally play a midfielder as a makeshift striker, but you can't place your hopes on a midfielder when your main striker has been sent off. Kaká certainly has the potential to become a striker, but he's clearly accustomed to lurking behind others..."

This time, Kaká protested the decision to the referee, with Leonardo also joining to apply pressure. However, learning from Fabiano's earlier experience, their approach was more measured, primarily aiming to instill a sense of "Perhaps I was mistaken" guilt in the referee.

The offside call was borderline, and the main referee couldn't see it clearly, relying mainly on the assistant's input. As a result, the main referee was not entirely confident and politely waved them away.

It was just an ordinary offside call, and while Flamengo celebrated with relief, São Paulo expressed disappointment before quickly moving on.

Only Flamengo's head coach, Zagallo, appeared pensive.

This legendary figure, who had won the European Cup as both a player and a coach, possessed exceptionally sharp insight. He had witnessed too many instances of the awareness Kaká displayed in the penalty area.

An amateur striker? Like hell! This enviously young lad was undoubtedly a sly fox.

A fox in the penalty box.

(End of chapter)