Chapter 53

When Rongguang was sitting on the sidelines, feeling annoyed by the team's poor performance, a soccer ball rolled to his feet.

He lowered his head and looked at the ball that had rolled over.

Wan Peita got up from the ground and saw the soccer ball roll to the bench of São Paulo. He waved his hand at Rongguang, "Hey!"

He wanted the other side to throw the ball back to him, as if he were calling a ball boy.

However, Rongguang seemed not to hear his call. He bent down to pick up the ball and instead of throwing it back to Wan Peita, he walked to the sideline with the ball!

Wan Peita was stunned, staring at Rongguang in disbelief.

Rongguang could have simply thrown the ball back to him, but he walked straight to the sideline, completely ignoring Wan Peita, not even glancing at him.

Rongguang walked straight to Kaka's side.

At that moment, Kaka was still lying on the sideline.

Still dazed, he suddenly noticed the sky above him darkening.

He squinted and saw a dark figure. Because of the backlight, he couldn't see who it was at first...

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"What is that bastard doing?!" In the stands, Kaka's fans also noticed this scene. They naturally knew who São Paulo's number 33 was—the Chinese rookie they hated the most. The arrogant idiot who dared to challenge Kaka!

"Rong..." The head coach Osvaldo and assistant coach Mauro, standing in front of the coaching bench, were also startled by Rongguang's sudden action. They stood there, forgetting to stop him.

"What is he doing?" The São Paulo players on the bench and their coaches were just sitting there, staring at Rongguang's back in shock, not understanding what he was doing.

Faced with Rongguang's sudden action, everyone lost their ability to think.

※※※

Rongguang stood on the sideline, holding the soccer ball, and looked down at Kaka lying at his feet.

"Are you still okay?" he said, his tone very harsh. "If you're not, get off the field and let me play! Don't just occupy the position without doing anything!"

After Rongguang spoke, Kaka finally recognized the voice—it was the Chinese guy!

He was stunned for a moment, then clearly heard what Rongguang said.

"This is my first championship! Don't mess it up for me! Do you even know what you're doing? You're not even qualified to be my opponent!"

After saying this, Rongguang threw the ball on the ground. The ball bounced around Kaka and finally stopped at Wan Peita's feet.

Wan Peita didn't even try to pick up the ball; he was stunned by the conversation he had just heard!

The main referee was the first to react. He ran up to Rongguang and shouted, "You! What are you doing?"

Seeing the main referee run towards Rongguang, assistant coach Mauro also reacted. He rushed over and pulled Rongguang away, "Are you crazy?!"

At the same time, he turned to the main referee with a smile, "He's only been playing soccer for four months... He's just a rookie, he doesn't know the rules..."

The main referee said sternly, "One warning, and if you do it again, you'll be sent off!"

Mauro quickly thanked the referee for his leniency and pulled Rongguang away.

"Can you think of anything serious?" he scolded Rongguang.

Rongguang had a defiant look on his face—he was still annoyed by Kaka and the team's poor performance.

"Coach, can I come on?" Rongguang asked, pouting.

Mauro was taken aback.

"I want to win the championship!" Rongguang continued, firmly. "Kaka can't do it, I have to do it myself!"

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"Idiot, idiot, idiot, idiot!"

"Bastard, bastard, bastard, bastard!"

In the stands, Kaka's female fans were pointing at Rongguang and cursing.

They couldn't hear what Rongguang said to Kaka, but they knew it couldn't be anything good!

Maybe he was taking this opportunity to mock Kaka?

Given his relationship with Kaka and his petty nature, it was completely normal for him to do such a thing!

Correia also sneered and cursed, "This bastard! It's easy to talk when you're not the one playing, why don't you get on the field if you can do it better!"

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Eduardo Simoes, sitting in the VIP box, saw the scene with Rongguang and sneered.

At such a crucial moment, to cause internal strife with Kaka... What an idiot! I'm glad I rejected him back then! Otherwise, it would be Corinthians who would be the laughingstock now!

He felt even more convinced that his decision to reject Rongguang was right. What kind of eye for talent does Godo have? He said he's a genius? He probably thinks all his players are geniuses!

After Corinthians beat São Paulo and won the last Rio-São Paulo Championship, he believed that news about Rongguang would no longer bother him.

Duari wouldn't be interested in such a failure anymore...

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"Hey, something seems to be happening on the sideline... Rong walked to Kaka's side... Did they talk? Then he was pulled away by assistant coach Mauro, and the main referee warned him! There have always been rumors that Rong and Kaka don't get along. I wonder if he was criticizing Kaka... If there's internal strife at this moment, it would be a heavy blow to São Paulo! Their situation is really bad!"

Cafure speculated and analyzed.

"However, Kaka's performance is indeed terrible, no wonder even his teammates can't stand it... If he doesn't improve, he will likely be substituted. And the one who will replace him is probably this Rong who criticized him!"

"Kaka's poor performance seems to confirm the criticism he has received. Such a player doesn't deserve to play in the World Cup. Romario's performance is much better. A player who is affected by criticism can't be trusted to perform well on a big stage like the World Cup. Scolari is in the stands today, I wonder if he will regret selecting Kaka for the final 23-man squad after seeing his poor performance?"

Bueno, known for his passionate commentary and sharp tongue, criticized Kaka mercilessly, making it seem like he had a personal grudge against him...

The TV broadcast quickly gave a close-up of Brazil's national team coach Scolari in the box.

In the picture, Scolari was talking to CBF president Zattera.

"Big Phil must be explaining to Zattera why he chose Kaka over Romario!" Bueno joked.

And he was right!

Zattera was indeed worried about Kaka's performance.

After Scolari firmly rejected Romario, not only Kaka and Scolari were in the spotlight, but the CBF, which chose Scolari as the head coach, also faced criticism from the media.

Zattera was under a lot of pressure.

The CBF already had little credibility in Brazil, and this time the media found a reason to attack the CBF.

"This performance is hard to believe, Big Phil..." Zattera said, frowning.

Scolari replied, "Kaka's performance won't affect the Brazilian team. He is the core of São Paulo, but not of the national team. I chose him like Pereira chose Ronaldo to go to the USA. I believe that with Kaka's talent, it won't be long before he becomes a true superstar. Before that, letting him experience the World Cup will be beneficial for him to lead the Brazilian team in the future."

Although he valued Kaka's talent, his words also implied another meaning.

This meaning might make Kaka feel uncomfortable.

It means that Scolari doesn't really care about Kaka's performance and doesn't expect much from him. In Scolari's plan, Kaka is not an important player.

To put it bluntly, it's like when Rongguang was called up from the youth team to the first team by Osvaldo, just to fill a spot.

※※※

"Do you really want this championship?" Osvaldo asked Rongguang, who was standing in front of him.

Rongguang was pulled down by Mauro and brought to the coaching bench.

Osvaldo, the head coach, had heard the conversation between Rongguang and Mauro.

Rongguang nodded, "Of course!"

"Why?" Osvaldo continued.

Rongguang thought, of course, it's for the money! But he couldn't say that to the coach, right? Would saying it for the money make the coach reject him? So he asked, "Do you need a reason to want the championship?"

He couldn't think of any other reason besides money, so he just dodged the question.

Unexpectedly, after hearing his question, Osvaldo fell into a brief silence.

Then he nodded, "Go warm up, Rong. Try to get your body moving, because you only have three minutes."

Rongguang knew this meant he was going to play!

He nodded vigorously and loudly replied, "You'll see, sir!"

Then he turned and ran to the warm-up area.

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"Is this for real? Can he do this?" Renaldo, sitting on the bench, saw Rongguang run to warm up and knew he was going to play!

He was stunned—what was the coach thinking? To send out a rookie who has been studied through and through in such an important match?

Did he get the coach's favor just by scolding Kaka?

How could he get to play so easily?

If that's the case, what are we, the more skilled players, sitting on the bench for? We'll just be a joke!

※※※

Godo, watching Rongguang run to warm up, knew he was going to play. He clenched his fists.

The opportunity has come, Rong, you must seize it!

"Go, Rong! Go! Go and beat the Corinthians scum!" Lucas stood out in the youth team section, as he saw Rongguang run to warm up and stood up from his seat, shouting loudly. "I bet on São Paulo to win the championship!"

Among the youth team players who were worried about São Paulo's fate, he stood out because everyone else was silent, and only he was jumping around.

"Shut up, substitute!" Kleber, unable to bear it, turned and scolded Lucas. "In such an important match, what can that rookie do? I think you're going to lose big this time!"

Lucas grinned at Kleber, "Is that so? How about we make a bet, Angel of Wealth? Let's bet on whether São Paulo can win the championship?"

Kleber didn't say anything when he heard "bet."

He lost 5,000 reais to Lucas in one go last time, which made him very upset...

Seeing Kleber back down, Lucas laughed wickedly.

Clearly, he was reminding Kleber of the 5,000 reais he lost. Since that bet, Kleber has been given the nickname "Angel of Wealth" by Lucas, which made Kleber even more annoyed with him.

Hearing the laughter, Kleber, who was sitting in front of Lucas, gritted his teeth but couldn't do anything.

He could only curse Rongguang and Lucas in his heart, hoping São Paulo would lose the championship.

At that moment, he had forgotten that he was also a part of São Paulo and should share in its glory and losses.

Hatred clouded his reason, and he only wanted Rongguang and Lucas to be humiliated, more than the team's honor.

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"You're okay, right? Rong is like that, don't take it to heart. He's actually a good person, just too naive and doesn't understand many rules..."

Baptista tried to help Kaka up and said good things about Rongguang, not wanting Kaka to resent him.

But Kaka refused Baptista's hand and got up by himself.

"Thanks," he smiled at Baptista after standing up.

When Baptista saw Kaka's smile, he was stunned.

Kaka hadn't smiled like that in a long time!

Since Scolari announced the final 23-man squad, Kaka hadn't smiled.

A smile was Kaka's trademark, but in recent times, it had disappeared, and he had become just another player.

Baptista didn't understand why Kaka had suddenly changed.

But Kaka had figured it out.

When he was lying on the ground, being looked down upon by Rongguang, he suddenly remembered.

When Rongguang said he wanted to beat him, he must have heard all kinds of criticism and ridicule.

But he still trained hard and played seriously... There was no sign of the insults and ridicule affecting him.

If he could do it, why couldn't he?

Was he really inferior to Rongguang?

No!

Romario wasn't pushed out of the national team by him, but if you all think so... Fine, it was him who lost the chance to play in the World Cup.

So what?

He hadn't done anything wrong. He trained hard, performed well in matches, and maintained a good state from last year to this year... Why couldn't he be part of the Brazilian national team and play in the World Cup?!

Why should he make way for Romario?

Just because he was younger, less famous, and had a less glorious past?

Why?

He wasn't satisfied!

There were no rules that said he couldn't surpass Romario, and no one could decide that he had to wait for Romario to be satisfied before he could have his turn.

He would show them with his performance! He had enough reasons to be selected for the Brazilian national team!

At that moment, Kaka was like Rongguang, who was once mocked for setting Kaka as his goal.

He would break the rules, change everyone's fixed mindset.

He would challenge authority!

Whether he was qualified or not wasn't determined by his strength, fame, or age!