"Fried meatballs! Beautiful!" Triguera couldn't help but applaud.
"That's it? What happened to Chen Tao? Shoot! You can take two more steps before shooting. This position is perfect!" the assistant coach of the Wahaha team shouted again.
Boom!
Looks like I'll have to take him on myself.
After Kai got past Chen Tao, he suddenly chose to pass the ball.
Straight to the right.
But Sporting Lisbon's right winger Marcelino, who had just been marked by Zhao Peng, instantly slipped behind the entire defense.
One-on-one!
Marcelino cut inside without the ball and tried to finish from outside the box!
Kai's through ball was just a bit slow, and he was offside.
But Kai is never slow.
Boom!
Marcelino swayed twice, completely throwing off Zeng Cheng's center of gravity, then blasted in a powerful shot.
Two–zero!
"As I said before, Kai never misses any passing opportunity," Triguera said while applauding. "Sure, you can create a shooting chance just by holding the ball, but the center-back and goalkeeper have enough time to react."
"The necessary condition for scoring seems to be shooting, but what really matters is whether the ball can get past the keeper. In Kai's eyes, it's never about creating a shot. Every threatening pass he makes is aimed directly at a goal."
Maxa looked at Triguera's confident explanation with envy.
When will I be able to talk this boldly without getting beaten?
Seventeenth minute.
After receiving a pass from Veloso, Cristiano Ronaldo kept combining on the wing.
But when he clearly had a chance to pass, he didn't. Instead, he drove straight into the penalty area from the side.
The Wahaha coaches all shook their heads and sighed, praising Ronaldo as unstoppable — a true young superstar.
Yet none of them dared criticize him for missing the best passing option.
Boom!
Cristiano Ronaldo almost lost control of the ball, but at the last moment he squeezed out a pass.
"Kai is arriving! Cristiano Ronaldo with the cut-back!"
"Feng Xiaoting has great defensive awareness. He clearly anticipated the cut-back when Ronaldo was driving inside!"
"Feng Xiaoting rushes in! Kai just received the ball and has no time to adjust. He—"
"Fried meatballs! Kai dribbles past Feng Xiaoting at the top of the box! Incredible! One touch, one move, straight through!"
"Face-to-face with the keeper! Zeng Cheng moved early — why did he move first?"
"Pushes into the empty net! Kai scores with ease!"
Three–zero!
Even the Sporting Lisbon players felt this was getting ridiculous.
They respected the Wahaha team's strength.
They expected to win.
But 3–0 in just over ten minutes?
That was brutal.
It felt like Mr. Kai was especially fired up playing against his own countrymen.
Since it was a friendly, things weren't too strict.
While Sporting celebrated, the Wahaha assistant coach walked straight up to Zeng Cheng and started scolding him.
"What the hell are you doing? You moved before they even shot!"
"Don't guess blindly! You're not allowed to commit early!"
"For fuck's sake!"
Zeng Cheng looked depressed.
Triguera secretly shook his head.
What separates top goalkeepers?
Dribbling or passing?
No.
Saving technique?
No — that's basic.
It's instinct.
A mysterious sixth sense.
That's what produces miracle saves.
Every keeper has this instinct early on.
But forbidding Zeng Cheng from making anticipations?
That's just cutting off his growth.
Although he didn't know much about Chinese football, from youth training alone, Triguera already sensed how barren that football desert was.
And secretly, he felt lucky.
Because he had already recommended Ronaldo and Kai to a close friend.
The other man was the head coach of Portugal's National Youth Team.
After watching the footage, he said he would keep an eye on both players.
If nothing went wrong, after this season Ronaldo and Kai would likely be called up to Portugal U16 for the summer European Youth Championship.
Triguera knew how deeply Chinese players cared about their nationality.
He had discussed it with Kai before.
Kai said he planned to choose Chinese nationality at eighteen.
But Triguera believed that once Kai joined Portugal's youth team, it would be hard to walk away.
Because no football genius gives up national-team glory after tasting it…
…
Halftime whistle.
The Wahaha players walked into the tunnel silently.
Four–zero.
They had completely lost their fighting spirit.
This Sporting Lisbon side was stronger than any youth team they had faced in Europe.
But what crushed them more than the score was Kai's stats.
One steal, two interceptions, two assists, one goal, and two fouls.
Kai touched the ball 47 times in the first half.
31 passes, 26 completed.
83% success rate — not amazing.
But seven of those were key passes.
Plus six long switches, all successful.
He completely dominated the match.
Even more than Ronaldo, who scored twice.
It was hard for the Wahaha players to believe.
This guy is Chinese?
You can be good.
But how can a Chinese player be this good at football?
During halftime, Kai walked straight to Triguera and Lin Tao in front of the reporters from Sports Weekly.
"I want to switch teams and play."
Lin Tao thought he misheard.
Switch teams?
Is that even allowed?
Triguera's pupils shrank. He immediately understood Kai's intention and nodded.
"That's interesting, isn't it?"
Both coaches informed their teams.
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Maxa was extremely puzzled by Kai's actions.
Triguera whispered to him:
"As far as I know, some of your players' parents have recently been contacted by scouts from other clubs."
"Your results created false illusions. Outsiders, the players, even their parents — they all need to see the truth."
Maxa's face twitched.
"The truth is… our success… is because of Kai?"
Triguera nodded.
"Of course. It's Kai. And Ronaldo. Who else could it be?"
"Some people should know their limits before jumping ship. Sergio has talent — he'll develop better elsewhere."
"But the rest? They'll only get worse if they leave. Staying is better for them."
"This was my job, but Kai helped me do it. That kid is really smart."
Maxa's heart skipped a beat.
"If you follow Kai and lead this team well, you'll gain more than you can imagine."
Triguera patted his shoulder and walked toward the stands.
Maxa kept wiping the sweat from his forehead.
During the winter break, Braga's youth director had offered him their U17 head coach position.
He was tempted.
But now…
"Kids, we'll play like this in the second half…"
For the first time, Maxa laid out tactics that were completely his own.
This would decide everything.
Either he goes to Braga and becomes king…
Or he stays at Sporting Lisbon and continues assisting Kai.
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