Moreirense Football Club, head coach's office.
Although it was already late at night, Triguera, his assistants, and Deng Kai were still sorting out information.
"Center forward Anderson, 22 years old, 1.88 meters tall, is a perfect model for a big striker, but his footwork is poor and he cannot play a proper target-man role."
"At the same time, his shooting ability is not good enough. His wind-up is too long before shooting, and he is often dispossessed."
"His heading is okay—three of the four goals he has scored so far are headers. But apart from a few rare opportunities, Moreirense basically has no ability to cross, and they lack wingers who can beat defenders."
After the assistant finished speaking, Deng Kai nodded and said, "Okay. If his footwork isn't good, he can use his head and chest to act as a pivot. As for creating danger, I can handle that. I just need him to help me hold the ball in the frontcourt."
There was no disagreement, because this was not the first time Deng Kai had said this.
The entire team's lineup was being determined based on Deng Kai's playing style.
However, Mr. Triguera was very supportive and cooperative with Deng Kai.
The assistant coach, who had been at Moreirense for so long, swore he had never seen anything like this.
Did Triguera's kid get kidnapped by Deng Kai or something?
"Alex, 22 years old, 1.76 meters tall. It's not written here, but I know Alex is the fastest player in the team," the assistant coach said. "But due to the team's conservative tactics, except during counterattacks, he has almost no chance to get involved."
"In addition, his crossing is very good. I've always thought that if he had been properly trained since childhood, he might have had the potential to become someone like Beckham!"
"But he was eventually eliminated from Porto's youth system because his defense was too poor, his physicality wasn't good, and he lost the ball too easily."
Deng Kai thought for a moment: "Fast, good crossing, poor defense and physicality… these traits make him suitable for an attacking, even inverted, full-back role. He attacks but doesn't defend."
"It just so happens that the team's right winger, Flavio, has good ball control but lacks speed and cannot beat defenders down the flank. Alex can handle the overlapping runs and form a two-wing attack with Ronaldo on the left."
Assistant coach: "Ah? Then what about defense…?"
Deng Kai: "When Alex pushes forward, Kirop shifts to the right. His speed is an advantage. Macedo can drop back and act as a false center-back to protect the middle."
"Aren't Cordeiro and Macedo competing for a spot? Whoever can better cover the gap left by Kirop when he shifts will be the team's defensive midfielder."
"As an all-around midfielder, Emerson will be responsible for cleaning up behind me. Once the team gains more confidence, he can also join the attack."
Finally, Deng Kai and Triguera finalized the team's lineup.
=
Ronaldo, Anderson, Flavio
Emerson, Macedo, Deng Kai
Serafim, Fonte, Kirop, Alex
Ricardo
=
Cordeiro (midfielder), Altino (center-back), Orlando (center-back), Gómez (goalkeeper), and others are important substitutes.
The team will play in a 4-3-3 formation, mainly attacking from the wings. The left wing, where Ronaldo plays, is the strong side and the main attacking route.
In actual matches, Deng Kai's position is closer to central midfield and also leans heavily toward the left wing. The spacing is not as exaggerated as shown on paper.
This is also due to Deng Kai's improvement in stamina and speed.
Flavio on the right is mainly responsible for receiving the ball. He plays more centrally and will attack the half-spaces when opportunities arise. Alex is the true right-wing runner, responsible for advancing down the flank.
Alex's crosses come in two forms. Low crosses from the byline are aimed at the center of the goal—basically Anderson's territory.
If he doesn't reach the byline, he can deliver early crosses from around a 45-degree angle, targeting Ronaldo.
The defensive gaps created by Alex's forward runs will be covered by shifts in the backline.
However, this essentially leaves the team's original captain and main center-back Altino without a place.
The core of the defense is Kirop, whose role is irreplaceable.
Goalkeeper Ricardo is more stable and experienced than backup goalkeeper Sergio Gómez, so he is the starter.
But Gómez has stronger distribution and actually has more potential.
…
In fact, it didn't take long for Deng Kai, Ronaldo, and Fonte to become familiar with Anderson, Alex, Kirop, Gómez, and the others.
They were all young people, chatting about hobbies and life.
Triguera's tactics heavily rely on these younger players. As beneficiaries, they naturally wanted to maintain a good relationship with Triguera's "spokesperson," Deng Kai, and the others.
These are very realistic dynamics, something Cristiano Ronaldo didn't really experience in youth teams.
Because youth teams focus more on development, everyone grows their strengths under the coach's guidance.
But professional teams care about results, and it's normal to sacrifice personal style for results.
Anderson is poor with his feet, so he naturally hopes his teammates will deliver him more crosses.
Alex is fast, so he definitely wants to attack more.
Kirop no longer wants to remain a substitute behind Altino—he wants to start.
Now that their wishes have been fulfilled, they are naturally more motivated.
On January 27th, the sixteenth round of the Portuguese Liga kicked off.
Moreirense's opponent was Penafiel, who had just climbed out of the relegation zone.
This shows there is still a certain gap in strength between the two teams.
Before the match, the market favored Penafiel.
Triguera's arrival did not bring much confidence to Moreirense fans, because he was not accompanied by Jardel and Quaresma, but by Cristiano Ronaldo and Deng Kai.
Fonte: I'll say it again—I'm here too! Can you please stop ignoring me?
As it was Deng Kai and Ronaldo's first professional match—oh no, including Fonte, all three were extremely excited.
But soon, Ronaldo's enthusiasm for professional football cooled down a bit.
13th minute.
Ronaldo received a pass from Deng Kai on the left and tried to break through. After several feints, he started doing stepovers.
He felt like he was about to beat his defender.
He had already imagined his next move after getting past him.
Boom!
The opponent used a somewhat dangerous tackle to knock the ball away and brought Ronaldo down as well.
The key point—the opponent did not commit a foul.
Ronaldo lay on the ground, very dissatisfied. He believed that although the opponent touched the ball first, it was still a dangerous action and should have at least resulted in a card.
However, the referee ignored him.
In professional football, results matter more.
What's more, the referee even thought Ronaldo was too soft. He had a chance to stay on his feet after the contact, but instead went down—it looked like acting.
This is the difference in refereeing standards between professional matches and youth competitions.
Ronaldo felt he had been treated unfairly.
Little did he know, the opponent was also staring at him fiercely, cursing in his heart…
"Show off, huh? I'll cut that cock attitude down real quick!"
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