"Wahaha team's record is outstanding! Chinese young players can lose to no one!"
"Legendary coach Bora Milutinović becomes the new head coach of the national team! China launches a full assault on the Asian Cup!"
"Milu: Chinese football has great hope — both now and in youth training! My friend Triguera has recently taken a liking to several young Chinese players!"
"Wahaha team 5–5 Sporting Lisbon U15! The opponent has already entered the Youth Champions League knockout stage!"
"Jiang Yunzhu: Domestic fans should not be overly optimistic. In youth training, we are still far behind Europe's top level!"
"Behind the 5–5 score was actually a 0–4 collapse! Sports Weekly reconstructs Wahaha's final European match — it was almost a disaster!"
Wahaha's dazzling results sparked heated discussion across China.
Then Sports Weekly revealed the full story of that final match.
"Damn it, is this fake? Is Kai really that insane?"
"At first I thought the stats were wrong. Three goals and four assists, but Sporting only scored five total. Where did the other two come from?"
"Turns out Kai scored one goal and two assists for Sporting in the first half, then switched teams and added two goals and two assists for Wahaha in the second half. That's abnormal!"
"Isn't that too plug-and-play?"
"Forget microwave level — this guy comes with his own operating system!"
"This was basically a one-man game by Kai. That's ridiculous."
"I used to think the Portuguese media were exaggerating. Now I realize they weren't hyping him enough. If this were China, he'd already be crowned the savior of Chinese football!"
"Have you heard? Sporting Lisbon's youth team wants to buy Gao Lin!"
"What? Real or fake?"
"Not just Gao Lin — several of them!"
Soon, news broke that Sporting Lisbon wanted to sign multiple young Chinese players.
There was no doubt — this was huge recognition.
At this stage, Chinese football desperately needed that kind of validation.
Fans were starving for good news.
And then the rumors were confirmed one by one.
Gao Lin, Hao Junmin, Feng Xiaoting, Chen Tao, Yu Shihao, Wu Xudong and others all received invitations from Sporting Lisbon.
But—
Gao Lin, Feng Xiaoting, and Chen Tao's clubs refused to release them.
Their demanded "transfer fees" were ridiculously high.
At least for youth players.
Ronaldo had only cost Sporting Lisbon $1,500.
Now they expected Sporting to spend hundreds of thousands of euros on teenagers?
Absolutely impossible.
Not even in their dreams.
Worse, those clubs didn't just want money.
They also demanded training equipment, coaching systems, and technical support.
That directly conflicted with Sporting's plan to build its own youth academy in mainland China.
So the deal was dead on arrival.
Meanwhile, Hao Junmin and Yu Shihao weren't tied to clubs.
But they still couldn't go.
Their families said no.
Honestly, it made sense.
At fourteen or fifteen, it's the age to enter a good high school.
Top schools were fighting over them and even promising future university placements.
How do you choose between Sichuan University and Sporting Lisbon?
Easy. Sichuan University.
How about Peking University and Sporting Lisbon?
You'd have to be brain-dead to pick football.
What parent would give that up just to send their kid to Portugal to chase a risky dream?
Compared to the college entrance exam, football loses almost every time.
So the players themselves couldn't make that decision either.
In the end, only Wu Xudong's prairie-born parents said:
"A real man belongs everywhere. If you want to go, go. We'll support you."
To be honest, it was also because Wu Xudong had already started hanging around with local troublemakers.
If he stayed, he might go completely off the rails.
Better send him abroad and cut those connections clean.
After Kai heard this, he finally understood.
No wonder he had never heard of Wu Xudong in his previous life.
With that speed and that aggression, if football failed, the guy might've ended up running the streets instead. Double buffs, wrong career path.
Before the winter break ended, Sporting Lisbon U15 officially signed Wu Xudong.
Food and accommodation included.
Enrolled in a local Chinese school in Lisbon.
Monthly allowance: 200 euros.
His "salary" instantly surpassed his parents'.
He accidentally became the breadwinner of the family.
However, many domestic media were pessimistic.
They believed China already had decent youth training.
Better to mature first, then go abroad at 18 or 20.
After all, Yang Chen, Fan Zhiyi, and Xie Hui only went overseas after proving themselves at home.
Wu Xudong leaving so early?
What if someone misled him abroad?
Kai couldn't even be bothered to argue.
Because with all the domestic bullshit — seniority culture, favoritism, cheating, clique politics, leg-breaking tackles —
Maybe you can't make it overseas.
But staying home? You might not even get the chance to play.
Kai quietly collected contact info for everyone — Yu Shihao, Hao Junmin, Feng Xiaoting, all of them.
If not this winter, then next summer.
If not next summer, then next year.
Get one, count one.
It was for their future.
But mostly… for his own.
Forget reforming the system or saving the national team.
First, you need your own brothers on the pitch.
Results are just stepping stones.
Without your own people, nothing else matters.
No matter what —
The "Kai Army" had to take shape in the next few years.
No Yu Shihao? Find another Shihao.
No Hao Junmin? Find another Junmin.
Talent must come out of China.
Must.
Winter break ended.
The Portuguese U15 League entered Stage Two — the North and South divisions.
Twelve teams were split into two groups for round robins.
Top two from each group advanced to the championship stage.
North: Porto, Chaves, Braga, Rio Ave, Académica Coimbra, Santa Clara.
South: Sporting Lisbon, Benfica, Oeiras, Estoril, Leiria, Marítimo.
That's right.
Benfica and Sporting Lisbon were grouped together again.
Pure drama.
Kai almost suspected the Portuguese FA did it on purpose.
These two clubs already had beef — and they still forced them to fight early?
And maybe to hype things even more—
They scheduled Benfica vs Sporting Lisbon as the very first match of the second half of the season.
January 26.
Alvalade Stadium.
Over 40,000 fans.
When Veloso stepped onto the pitch wearing a Sporting shirt, the stadium exploded with cheers.
Because he used to play for Benfica.
But Benfica's supporters were furious.
They screamed abuse at him nonstop, even dragging his family into it.
The atmosphere turned explosive in seconds.
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[Naruto: I Don't Want Recognition]
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