Chapter 56

The other players of São Paulo soon realized that it wasn't the time for a grand celebration yet. Although they had equalized the overall score, they were still at a disadvantage.

After Kaká scored, they were so excited, even losing themselves, because before Kaká's goal, they had been playing very poorly, and all the emotions in their hearts were released through this goal.

Even though they played poorly, they still hoped to win the championship in their hearts.

So, they were not content with this result.

However, discontent is one thing, but they lacked the strength to change it.

After Kaká finally scored, this discontent was released, directly clouding their minds, making them forget everything in that instant and just want to celebrate.

Naturally, they also forgot that even with Kaká's goal, they were still at a disadvantage.

It wasn't until they saw Rongguang that they came to their senses.

So, they hastily ended their celebration and ran back to their half of the field.

At this moment, no one blamed Rongguang for ruining the atmosphere. People like Fabiano and Baptista even thanked Kaká for the reminder.

Although celebrating a goal doesn't take much time, for the current São Paulo, they couldn't afford to waste a single second.

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"Goal! Beautiful! Yeah!" Leonardo jumped up, waving his fists in the box.

He didn't care if São Paulo could win the championship; he only cared about Kaká's performance.

Before scoring, Kaká had taken several shots that were very close to scoring, but as long as he didn't score, it was all for nothing.

One goal could significantly boost his persuasiveness.

Indeed, Galliani's expression became much more serious now, and his eyes became sharper.

One goal doesn't say much, but the impression it leaves is entirely different with or without that goal.

People always remember the goal scorers, while those who don't score are easily forgotten.

Kaká's goal and his performance before scoring showed that he was not overrated, and Leonardo's confidence in him was justified.

Of course, what Galliani was most concerned about was why Kaká had such a drastic change?

For the first sixty minutes, he seemed to be sleepwalking.

Then, he suddenly became a different person, very active, and his form recovered. His few times of turning and breaking free from Vampeta made Galliani's eyes light up.

But why did he have such a change?

Galliani noticed that when Kaká was pushed out of bounds, a São Paulo player walked up to him and seemed to say something.

"Who is that person?" Galliani pointed to Rongguang running on the field.

Leonardo didn't know much about Rongguang, but he had heard of him.

"Oh, him, a Chinese, sixteen years old..."

"Only sixteen?" Galliani's eyes widened at the age.

At sixteen, representing São Paulo's first team in such an important final, did this mean he was a prodigy?

Leonardo, of course, knew what Galliani was thinking.

He didn't want Galliani to be interested in Rongguang, as that would divert his attention from Kaká.

So, he said indifferently, "Yes, he only started playing football at sixteen. So now he's a rookie who has been playing for four months."

Hearing this, the light in Galliani's eyes dimmed.

Although starting football at sixteen doesn't mean he can't learn, starting at sixteen definitely means slower progress and limited growth potential. Even if he could play in Europe, AC Milan wouldn't be interested...

He shook his head, no longer interested in Rongguang.

Then he looked at his watch.

The time for the plane to take off was getting closer.

He stood up, preparing to leave.

"Are you not going to continue watching, Mr. Galliani?" Leonardo asked.

Galliani shook his head.

"I've seen Kaká's goal. I think that's enough. Kaká is an excellent young man, but we need more time to observe him." Galliani neither expressed liking nor disliking.

His attitude towards Kaká was ambiguous.

Leonardo naturally knew this was normal.

No one would make a decision based on just one game.

Especially someone like Galliani, to thoroughly convince him, Kaká needed to show more outstanding performances.

But not in this game.

So, Leonardo didn't try to retain Galliani. He knew the AC Milan general manager was very busy, and coming to Brazil to watch a Kaká game was already a big favor.

He stood up to see Galliani out. He even wanted to send Galliani to the airport, but Galliani politely declined.

"Someone will take me. You stay and continue watching the game."

Leonardo didn't insist.

After seeing Galliani off, he returned.

Before he entered the box, he heard a huge cheer from the stands.

He thought maybe Kaká had another outstanding performance, causing the Corinthians fans to panic...

If he scored another goal... How unfortunate that Galliani didn't see it!

Thinking of Kaká scoring twice, Leonardo became excited. He quickened his pace, pushed open the door, and through the floor-to-ceiling glass window, he saw everything happening on the field.

It wasn't Kaká, but São Paulo's number 33, who was charging at the Corinthians defense!

What was going on?!

Leonardo was stunned.

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Let's go back to when Galliani and Leonardo stood up and turned to leave.

After Kaká scored, Corinthians increased their focus on him.

Kaká's goal showed that he was in good form, completely different from the first sixty minutes, and they couldn't let him run free anymore.

One Vampeta wasn't enough.

So, when Kaká had the ball in a dangerous area, he faced two Corinthians defenders.

However, there were only so many players on the field, and each team could only have eleven players on the pitch.

With two Corinthians players defending Kaká, it meant they were less focused on other São Paulo players.

Rongguang was one such player.

In the ten minutes after he came on, Rongguang didn't have any outstanding performances. Instead, his presence gave Kaká opportunities. So, Pereira adjusted the strategy, defending Kaká strictly outside the penalty area while maintaining the defensive line to prevent Rongguang from getting opportunities.

This was a perfect defensive tactic to contain both Kaká and Rongguang.

As for the other São Paulo players, they were not a threat. As long as Corinthians maintained their defensive line, neither Fabiano nor Ricardinho could do much.

When Ricardinho had the ball, he wanted to pass it to Kaká, but Kaká always had two players around him, with Vampeta never leaving his side. Even when he didn't pass to Kaká, they still defended him. He had passed to Kaká twice, but both times the Corinthians players intercepted the ball and counterattacked. He couldn't pass to Kaká.

Ricardinho turned his body, trying to pass to Fabiano. But Fabiano was even worse off than Kaká. He was at the front, almost trapped in the Corinthians defense. It was impossible for him to receive the ball and threaten the goal.

Fabiano could also drop back to receive the ball, but the other Corinthians players would immediately mark him.

Corinthians were almost fully defending, and they could easily find extra players to mark Fabiano.

Currently, these were the only São Paulo players who could participate in the attack, but they were all marked. Should he try to break through with the ball himself?

Just as he was thinking, the Corinthians players rushed to tackle him because he had the ball for too long.

Ricardinho struggled to keep the ball with his skills, but he knew he couldn't protect it for long.

He had to pass the ball quickly.

But to whom?

Should he pass back? That would mean the attack was over, and São Paulo had no way to break through Corinthians' defense.

At that moment, he heard a voice on his left shouting, "Pass the ball over!!"

To avoid losing the ball, Ricardinho passed it in the direction of the voice.

The ball had just left his foot when the opponent collided with him. If he had been a half-second slower, the pass would have been intercepted.

But as soon as he passed the ball, he regretted it—why did he pass it to him?

The one preparing to receive the ball was Rongguang.

He quickly turned to shake off the Corinthians player纠缠 (entangling) him, ran forward, and shouted at Rongguang, "Pass the ball back!"

But at that moment, Rongguang couldn't hear his shouts anymore.

He looked down at the ball, stretched his foot to control it.

The ball finally came to his feet!

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"Oh no..." Seeing this, Mauro, who was on the sidelines, couldn't help but cover his head with his hands.

Because Rongguang had stopped the ball dead.

This left him with very little room to maneuver.

Rongguang's strength was his speed, and it was best when both he and the ball were in motion. That way, he could fully utilize his speed.

That's why everyone had been passing the ball ahead of him, letting him chase it.

Not like this.

By stopping the ball, he had put himself in a difficult situation.

Seeing Rongguang stop the ball, Corinthians' coach Pereira on the sidelines breathed a sigh of relief.

He had been worried that Rongguang would break through, but he stopped the ball instead.

As expected, a rookie couldn't control the ball skillfully...

It seemed that São Paulo's attack was over here.

Before the game, he had specifically made the Corinthians players study Rongguang's match videos to understand his strengths and weaknesses.

The Corinthians players knew what to do.

※※※

Sure enough, seeing Rongguang stop the ball, the Corinthians players immediately rushed to tackle it.

From the coach's analysis, they knew that Rongguang was harmless when the ball was stationary.

This was the moment to tackle!

The player coming to tackle was Corinthians' young defensive midfielder, Fabrício. He planned to kick the ball away while Rongguang was still controlling it.

Rongguang kept his head down, completely unaware that Fabrício was running up to him. This was a good opportunity!

He rushed to Rongguang, extending his foot to kick the ball!

Rongguang still had no reaction, and the ball was about to be kicked away!

But at that moment, the ball in front of Fabrício disappeared.

Rongguang suddenly moved, quickly pushing the ball forward with his right foot!

The ball rolled forward, and he stayed in place.

Fabrício completely missed!

As he slid past Rongguang, he was shocked to see Rongguang push him away with his hand and then start running!

Like a sports car suddenly releasing the brakes, Rongguang darted past him, chasing the ball!

"Did he get past?!" The commentator Bueno's exclamation was a mix of excitement and disbelief—He couldn't quite believe that Rongguang had so easily shaken off Fabrício! This was a stationary move!