Chapter 48

When the match ended, Coelho got up from his seat. Instead of turning to leave, he walked straight to the other side of the media stand.

In the end, he stopped in front of Grayson's seat, under the surprised gazes of the other journalists. They didn't understand what Coelho was up to.

The two of them usually sat at opposite ends of the media stand, like two rivers that never meet, reflecting their not-so-friendly relationship. Grayson considered Coelho his enemy, and Coelho didn't like this guy who always argued with him.

This was the first time Coelho had actively sought out Grayson after a match!

The journalists from various media outlets watched this scene in surprise, unsure of what Coelho was doing.

Coelho looked down at Grayson, who was still sitting and had his back to him.

As he looked at Grayson's back, he thought about Rongguang's solitary training at the lakeside park. He must have fallen countless times and run countless laps to achieve those few seconds of brilliance on the field...

"Grayson, do you know what a genius is?" he said, looking at Grayson's back.

Without waiting for Grayson to respond, Coelho walked out of the media stand.

It wasn't a question but a rhetorical one, not requiring an answer from Grayson.

Grayson, with his back to Coelho, was still staring at the field, seemingly oblivious to Coelho's inquiry.

The other journalists from the "Lance" newspaper left with Coelho, giving Grayson a mocking look as they went.

It was as if they were looking at a clown.

The journalists who were on Grayson's side, however, looked awkward.

In the previous three matches, they had celebrated like it was a festival, watching Coelho be criticized to the point where he couldn't say a word—during that time, the "Lance" newspaper indeed had no reports about Rongguang and didn't engage in any debates with the "Scoreboard" over Rongguang's issues.

They all thought that under Grayson's fierce attacks, Coelho had finally been silenced.

Who would have thought that in this match, Rongguang, coming off the bench, would once again become a key player!

***

In the post-match mixed zone, Rongguang was stopped by the journalists again.

He hadn't received such treatment for three matches.

When he performed well, the journalists were always eager to surround him.

But once he performed poorly, they stayed away from him.

Although Rongguang had only played seven matches, he understood the fickle nature of the media very well.

This world is very realistic.

Just like how people like to be your friend when you have money, but hope you stay as far away as possible when you don't, and preferably don't come to them for a loan.

It's the same on the field.

When you perform well, everyone chases after you and makes you the focus. When you perform poorly... either you are completely ignored, or you are trampled into the mud.

"Was the goal that broke your scoring drought just luck?" a journalist asked bluntly.

Rongguang's inability to dribble was well-known, so when he suddenly displayed such ability, everyone naturally thought it was due to luck.

Rongguang chuckled, "You guess?"

The journalist didn't expect such a response and was taken aback—can't you be a bit more cooperative as the interviewee?

Fortunately, Rongguang then cooperated.

"It's not luck! It's the result of my special training!" Rongguang announced loudly.

"Special training?"

The journalists敏锐地捕捉到了这个特殊的词。

Rongguang saw their curious looks and grinned, "But I can't tell you, it's my secret!"

Saying that, he turned and ran, afraid that the journalists would continue to pester him...

I won't let you easily get my secret, hah!

***

As soon as Rongguang returned to the locker room, Baptista grabbed him by the neck with his arm and pulled him over.

"Great job, Rong! I have to thank you!" Baptista said happily. "I think we all have to thank you!"

It's no wonder he was so excited, because Rongguang's goal secured the win and deflated Santos' arrogance.

Because of this goal, São Paulo secured a top-four finish in the league and qualified for the semi-finals.

If the players of São Paulo wanted to continue in the Rio-São Paulo Championship, they should thank Rongguang. It was Rongguang who extended their life in this tournament.

This season's Rio-São Paulo Championship, if nothing unexpected happens, will be the last one.

Starting next year, there will be no more Rio-São Paulo Championship.

This tournament, which began in 1933, has a history of sixty-nine years.

As the defending champions, São Paulo naturally didn't want to be eliminated before the knockout stage.

Rongguang's goal was really important for the team, and Baptista's excitement was not exaggerated at all.

Even Renaldo, who usually had a grudge against Rongguang, wisely kept quiet at this moment.

Because if he provoked Rongguang now, he would almost be against the entire locker room...

Didn't he see that even the captain, Ceni, was patting Rongguang's shoulder in a show of affection?

Lugano, who was very dissatisfied with Rongguang in the first match, was now telling his teammates about his experience defending against Robinho: "... I looked up and saw Rong! I didn't even know when that kid came back, and he scared me, so I froze. I didn't expect Robinho to dash past me... but luckily, Rong chased after him... otherwise, if we had lost that goal, I would have blamed you, Rong!"

Although he said he would blame Rongguang, even a fool could tell he was actually praising Rongguang for his bravery under pressure.

Rongguang scratched his head and grinned.

Faced with all the praise, he could only maintain this posture and expression.

Kaka sat in his seat and didn't go up to praise or thank Rongguang like the other teammates.

He was quietly tidying up.

He ignored the praise for Rongguang.

In his mind, he was replaying the entire process from the moment Rongguang lost the ball to scoring the goal.

Rongguang's speed, his fighting spirit, his pursuit, his dribbling... these images left a deep impression on Kaka.

In just four months, the novice had grown to this level?

When he first heard that someone from the youth team was challenging him, he didn't take it seriously.

Everyone has the right to dream, and being someone else's goal is a good thing.

But he never thought he would be caught up by his pursuer.

When Rongguang pointed at his chest and said he would definitely beat him, Kaka still didn't take it seriously.

No normal person would take a random challenge seriously, right?

Not saying "Who are you, crazy?" already showed Kaka's politeness and demeanor.

But now... Kaka found it hard to maintain his composure.

Logically, he should go up and thank Rongguang, applauding his performance.

Because Rongguang kept him in the last Rio-São Paulo Championship, allowing him to retain the dream of defending the title.

But for some reason, he couldn't get up and walk to Rongguang, smiling and saying, "Thank you, Rong!"

The middle-class education he had received from childhood suddenly seemed ineffective at this moment.

He was confused and troubled—why had he become so petty?

This confusion made him fall silent.

***

While Rongguang was receiving thanks and praise from most of the first-team players in the locker room, and Kaka was troubled by his own changes, the head coach, Oswaldo, was boasting at the post-match press conference.

"This is why I included Rong in the eighteen-man squad. Does anyone still have objections?" Oswaldo sat on the high platform, looking down at the journalists.

Actually, it wasn't for this reason at all!

But it doesn't matter... no one knows what my original intention was!

The journalists, faced with this reality, had nothing to say.

He had proven Rongguang's value...

At this moment, Grayson raised his hand, "But I think it was just a lucky goal."

Coelho turned to look at him.

Oswaldo also looked at him.

The other journalists looked at him as well.

"Before this goal, Rong lost the ball while trying to dribble, almost causing São Paulo to lose points. This shows that he still isn't good at dribbling, just like before. So I think his later performance was just luck... throughout the goal, he only showed dribbling skills when chasing Robinho, otherwise he just relied on his speed, which is no different from before."

Grayson ignored the gazes and spoke confidently, analyzing Rongguang's goal in detail.

It has to be said, his analysis was very accurate and thorough.

But Oswaldo, of course, couldn't agree with Grayson, because this guy was clearly here to cause trouble!

"It's not like that. By luck, he might have dribbled well for one or two steps, but for the entire dozen meters, it was a dialogue between him and Robinho, and the ball was always at Rong's feet. Even Diego couldn't successfully tackle him. Luck can't achieve this level," Oswaldo countered.

"But that doesn't make sense. A player who couldn't dribble two weeks ago, how could he suddenly learn to dribble?" Grayson insisted.

Oswaldo smiled slightly, "Because Rong has been undergoing special training!"

The journalists' eyes lit up at the word "special training."

Because just a moment ago, Rongguang had mentioned this in the mixed zone.

Could it be that Rongguang wasn't lying but telling the truth?

But what kind of special training could make Rongguang improve so quickly?

A journalist raised this question.

Oswaldo smiled, reminiscent of Rongguang, "It's a secret."

When Grayson heard this answer, he was taken aback, not expecting Oswaldo to be so childish like a sixteen-year-old.

But Coelho smiled silently.

Special training?

***

翻页上AD开始

翻页上AD结束