Ronaldo then took the initiative to call Triguera, hoping to get a ticket to Moreirense.
It was too late for Triguera to be happy, so how could he refuse?
Mr. Te just gave Mr. Kai a thumbs up in his mind—YYDS!
Later, through his own connections, Triguera loaned players from his own faction, such as Deng Kai, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Fonte, to Moreirense.
He was operating on both sides, so these loans went very smoothly.
It's impossible for Sporting Lisbon not to give Triguera some face.
In any case, Triguera is a veteran of the team and a hero of the youth academy.
In terms of core interests (the position of head coach), the top management would rather kill the wrong person than leave it to a competitor.
But where it doesn't matter, they are happy to do some face-saving projects.
For example…
When Moreirense officially announced that Triguera would become their head coach for the second half of the season, Sporting Lisbon's official website put up a grand banner to bid farewell to Triguera: "We wish Triguera can achieve greatness at Moreirense! Sporting Lisbon fans will always love you!"
Look, how touching it is.
This is a very "humane" club.
The top management of this club is so "well-organized."
As long as anyone really knows what happened, it is absolutely impossible to become a fan of the club.
But the reality is that players have peaks and slumps, and there are off-field influences, so player fans can easily collapse.
Therefore, some fans dare not look directly at what they love and instead say they are club fans. Because no matter how bad a club is, there are always some shining stars who can keep you from collapsing.
At the same time, many Sporting Lisbon fans noticed the loan of Deng Kai and Ronaldo.
They thought there was something wrong with this move.
For two 15-year-old players to play in the Portuguese Liga, wouldn't it be a bit of a stretch?
It's understandable that Triguera would bring his own people there, but why not find someone from the first team?
Even the reserve team would do.
Will Deng Kai and Ronaldo be ruined?
After all, the growth environment is too important for players.
In this era, seventeen or eighteen is almost the best age for a player to enter the professional arena.
Any earlier, and it looks like forcing the seedlings to grow.
Any later, and it means you might not be good enough.
Such small-scale discussions are fruitless.
But there is one person who is destined to be hurt in this discussion, and that is…
Fonte: Does that mean no one noticed that I was on loan?
…
Throughout the winter break, Deng Kai and Ronaldo did not stop training.
In fact, Deng Kai's training volume was slightly greater than Ronaldo's.
Because Ronaldo was doing rehabilitation and adaptive training.
Deng Kai, on the other hand, was doing heavier training.
Cristiano Ronaldo was very envious of this. He also wanted to do this kind of heavier strength training, but Deng Kai rejected it.
Ronaldo: "You are smaller than me and shorter than me. Why can you do it but I can't?"
Deng Kai was speechless: "Your description can easily create ambiguity. I am younger than you, and I am shorter than you—so what the hell do you mean by 'short'? But my development has been relatively stable, so I can add weight."
"But you're still growing, so you can't. You still have a chance to grow taller and run faster, do you understand?"
Ronaldo sighed: "Kai, you have to have confidence in your height. Why don't you also get a dozen injections like Messi?"
Deng Kai: "This cannot be solved by injections. And I won't stay 1.65 meters forever. Don't worry. This height is enough for me now. When it isn't, I'll have a way."
Cristiano Ronaldo's face was full of fear: "Cut your legs off and regrow them?"
Deng Kai slapped him backhandedly.
Thanks to the end of his growth phase and the adaptation over the past half season, Deng Kai's personal stats took off again before strength training.
=
Technical overall rating: 63.93
Attacking runs: 68 +3
Possession: 76 +1
Dribbling: 67 +4
Shots: 60 +5
Set pieces: 61 +4
Long pass: 64 +5
Short pass: 76 +2
Defensive runs: 63 +5
Interceptions: 61 +3
Steals: 49 +5
Blocks: 40 +4
Clearances: 45 +5
Headers: 51 +6
Curve: 58 +4
=
Overall physical rating: 66.75
Speed: 61 +6
Acceleration: 65 +5
Cadence: 73 +2
Foot strength: 58 +4
Jump: 55 +4
Strength: 55 +5
Flexibility: 73 +2
Stamina: 61 +5
=
Vision: 8
Left foot: 3
Right foot: 71
Injury resistance: 31
Consistency: 5
=
This improvement mainly came from physical development.
After adapting to his body, related technical attributes also improved.
Including Deng Kai's right foot and injury resistance, which also improved.
This kind of improvement is different from the kind obtained through long-term training. It is a natural result of physical development.
This is where many physically gifted players become abnormal.
They don't even need to train—just by growing, their abilities skyrocket.
As Deng Kai intensifies his training later on, some of his attributes will improve greatly.
But apart from that, the growth rate of his overall stats will slow down significantly for a period of time.
…
The winter break is over.
All major leagues are preparing to restart.
Deng Kai and Ronaldo rented an apartment in Moreirense early.
With all the teammates returning, everyone also got to know each other during training.
Deng Kai quickly figured out the details of this team.
Overall, this is a really bad team.
And without any enthusiasm, it is basically impossible to reach the top this season.
Because this team is not only at the bottom of the standings, but more importantly, the only two big-name players who could barely be called stars were transferred to Portuguese Super League teams during the winter break.
One of them even went just to be a substitute.
The oldest player in the team is the 33-year-old captain and center-back Manuel Altino.
Then there is the thirty-year-old goalkeeper João Ricardo.
The center-back Orlando is 29, and the midfielder Armando Macedo is 28.
There are several other players aged 26–27, and they have all been in the team for a long time.
A completely "salty fish" mentality.
Deng Kai was actually a little happy about this.
Because another meaning of being a salted fish is not competing or fighting.
Therefore, this team did not have any objection to Triguera's outrageous decision to directly appoint Deng Kai as the core of the midfield.
Support whoever you want, as long as it's not us—let us just chill.
Of course, Moreirense also has several younger players. Most of them were eliminated from the youth academies of big clubs and came to the Portuguese Liga to seize their last chance.
If they can't succeed after playing here for a year or two, then they might as well become like the group of old salted fish staying in Moreirense now.
Don't think being an old salted fish is bad—they've stayed in professional football for nearly ten years.
Most younger players don't even last more than four years.
Perhaps the only bright spot in this team is their own youth product, center-back Kirop, who is 19 this year.
He is a regular in the Portuguese national youth team and has even been teammates with Quaresma there.
However, Moreirense obviously cannot keep Kirop.
It is estimated that after this season, Kirop will join a Portuguese Super League team.
If he goes to a smaller club, he can become a starter.
If he goes to a big club, he may sit on the bench for a while, but he will definitely get opportunities.
The young players want to push forward, the old players want to chill—completely conflicting styles.
No wonder Moreirense is at the bottom of the league despite not having the worst squad on paper.
After Triguera joined, the first thing he needed to do was unify the team's mindset.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
You can visit my Patreon page:
Patreon.com/PhoeniXcel
I upload 2 chapters daily on Patreon!
There are 170+ advanced chapters available for you to read.
Your support would be greatly appreciated.
📢 Check out my new Naruto fanfic!
[One Piece: Pirate Chat Group]