Due to the referee's timely intervention, the conflict ultimately didn't escalate.
The match then ended.
Related news flooded out immediately, sparking huge controversy.
"So Many Step-over Boys, But Only One Fried Meatball Boy! Football Kaiser Pulls New Tricks Again — Was It an Unfair Win?"
"Kai Shows Rare Skill! Four Fried Meatballs Over Sixty Meters, Dribbling Straight into the Opponent's Goal!"
"Dutch Supernova Robben's Brace Can't Save His Team! Groningen Eliminated at Home by Sporting Lisbon!"
"Cristiano Ronaldo, Robben, Kai Exchange Goals! Kai's Six Goals Make Him Sporting Lisbon's European Top Scorer!"
"Role Reversal? Cristiano Ronaldo's Five Assists Make Him Sporting Lisbon's Assist King! Their League Roles Completely Swapped!"
"Chinese Youngster Wu Xudong Suspended Next Round After One Red and One Yellow! Kai Says Post-Match: Wu Xudong Was Key to the Victory!"
"Wu Xudong Freezes Robben — Chinese Youth Players' Level Exceeds Expectations!"
"Five Fouls, Three Falls, One Yellow, One Red — Wu Xudong Destroyed by Robben! Chinese Player Quality Questioned!"
"Robben Tearfully Accuses After Match: We Can Accept Losing, But We Absolutely Cannot Accept Kai's Humiliating Behavior!"
"Kai Apologizes: 'I Never Meant to Humiliate Anyone. I Had My Reasons. I Needed the Fried Meatballs to Keep My Footwork at High Speed!'"
"Kai's Technical Moves Aren't Even That Good — His Showboating Actually Exposes His Weak Dribbling! Not a Single Proactive Elite Dribble!"
This Youth Champions League Round of 16 match went viral once again.
Mainly because of Kai's dribbling video in the final moments.
The views were insanely high.
Some people thought it looked cool as hell.
But more people replayed it over and over, trying to figure out whether Kai had intentionally shown off.
Opinions were completely divided.
Within the Netherlands, Kai's reputation basically tanked.
Ajax U15 player Rafael van der Vaart, who had also advanced, said:
"I don't know if Kai really meant to humiliate Groningen."
"But if it were me, I wouldn't do exaggerated tricks when the win is already secured. I think that kind of behavior is looked down upon."
"If he did it while losing or drawing, I'd admire him. But not when leading."
His teammate Wesley Sneijder also spoke bluntly:
"People often compare Kai with me and Van der Vaart recently. I believe we'll prove with results who the weaker player really is."
"I don't like players who show off, no matter the situation."
After that, several football figures publicly criticized Kai.
Even Guardiola, who had always supported him, accepted an interview:
"I don't think Kai was showing off. He's not that kind of person. I know him."
"Other than liking to resell signed football memorabilia, he barely has any bad habits."
"I studied the video carefully. It actually exposes his weaknesses. He was running very fast but clearly uncomfortable, and his dribbling broke down several times."
"I believe what he said about using fried meatballs to stabilize his footwork. Many players use that move during training."
"Also, from a purely aesthetic standpoint, I think the goal was beautiful. The Groningen youngsters were just emotional. That's understandable — losing feels terrible. I know that very well."
Watching Guardiola defend him like that, Kai almost believed it himself.
He had literally just made that excuse up.
He didn't expect someone to analyze it so seriously.
This Guardiola guy… not bad, maybe trustworthy.
No, no, no.
The moment he remembered Guardiola once inviting Gündoğan's wife to dinner before giving Gündoğan more minutes, Kai shook his head.
This man cannot be trusted.
Still, Kai wasn't worried.
Even if he ended up playing under Guardiola someday, he had dirt on him.
Maria, you wouldn't want your dad Guardiola's signed footballs mysteriously disappearing everywhere, right?
…
"Ding! Victory achieved! Match rating: SSS!"
Among the usual rewards, Kai immediately spotted something good.
Football Star Drop… Robben's Socks!
"Robben's Socks: Robben claims his high-tech socks are his dribbling secret weapon. When equipped, your success rate when cutting in from the right wing with your left foot increases, nutmeg probability slightly rises, and after a successful dribble, your left-footed shooting improves."
Tsk tsk.
Lots of restrictions.
Right wing only. Left foot only.
But damn, the effect was tempting.
It perfectly compensated for Kai's severe imbalance between his feet — his weak left and strong right.
And it gave him exactly what he lacked most: proactive attacking dribbles.
What is "proactive"?
It means attacking first.
The drag-back and fried meatballs were basically reactive — the defender moves first, then you respond.
If you move first… everyone already saw what happens.
It looks dumb as hell.
The media had roasted him for that before.
Kai immediately equipped "Robben's Socks," filling all three equipment slots.
Of course, if something better dropped, he'd instantly remove "Čech's Hockey Stick."
That thing was useless.
Next time he met Petr Čech, he'd tackle him harder.
When the hell are Čech's gloves going to drop?
Look at Robben and Van Persie — sensible guys. Their drops are all good stuff.
The Dutch really are reliable friends.
Over the next few days, Kai dragged Cristiano Ronaldo out for constant one-on-one training.
They often played these 1v1 battles.
Ronaldo's defending improved a lot because of it.
But this time, Ronaldo actually got dribbled past by Kai several times.
In the end, an annoyed Ronaldo retaliated by beating Kai ten different ways in a row.
And Kai calmly made a phone call:
"Hey Mom, no stir-fried pork with garlic tonight, okay?"
Cristiano Ronaldo immediately grabbed Kai's thigh and begged miserably.
He couldn't quit it.
Chinese food was too damn addictive.
…
February 22.
Sporting Lisbon played away at Oeiras.
Cristiano Ronaldo surprisingly didn't score, only providing one assist.
But Sporting still dominated, winning 4–1.
Kai scored and assisted.
March 9.
Sporting Lisbon played away at Benfica.
Benfica didn't even use Estádio da Luz and kept the match low-key.
Few Benfica fans showed up.
But the small training ground, with less than a thousand seats, was packed with Sporting fans.
In the end, thanks to Kai's assist for a header by center-back Manuel, Sporting defeated Benfica U15 1–0, completing a three-game sweep this season.
Meanwhile, Cristiano Ronaldo had now gone 180 minutes without scoring.
There was also a small interlude during this period — the Champions League matchday on March 3.
Manchester United defeated the heavily favored Inter Milan 2–0.
No one expected Inter, stacked with stars like Ronaldo, Roberto Baggio, Zanetti, Djorkaeff, Pirlo, and Frey, to lose to United — the so-called "final-level team," in the Football Kaiser's words.
Ronaldo and Kai's Ballon d'Or conversation was dragged out again and mocked by fans.
Ronaldo publicly declared he would score a hat-trick in the second leg to turn the tie around.
Most Inter fans believed him.
Because Ronaldo felt omnipotent.
A reporter asked Kai for his opinion.
Kai replied:
"The World Cup belongs to Ronaldo. But this cup doesn't."
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
You can visit my Patreon page:
Patreon.com/PhoeniXcel
I upload 2 chapters daily on Patreon!
There are 90+ advanced chapters available for you to read.
Your support would be greatly appreciated.
📢 Check out my new Naruto fanfic!
[Naruto: I Don't Want Recognition]