Chapter 59

When he saw Rongguang score the crucial goal, Gordo, the fat man, jumped up from his seat. From his agile movements, it was hard to tell that he was a man weighing over 200 pounds.

"Great job—Rong!"

Rongguang had only joined São Paulo in January after coming from China, but his progress was even faster than Gordo had anticipated!

He originally thought Rongguang would need to spend three years, or even longer, in the youth team. He was prepared to wait, as he could afford to.

Cultivating a young player takes a long time, and he never expected to achieve success overnight.

In three or four years, when Rongguang would be around 20 years old, his body would be fully developed, and it would be time for him to start achieving results. At that time, his talent would blind the eyes of those with prejudices!

Although he had confidence in Rongguang's talent, he never imagined that Rongguang would far exceed his expectations.

Four months!

In just four months, he scored such a crucial goal in an important match like the Rio-São Paulo Championship final!

Before that, he had many other performances that saved the team!

Even if he had been following him closely, it was hard to believe... Was he really a complete novice?

His progress was faster than Gordo could have imagined.

Perhaps this time, he had really discovered a... once-in-a-century genius?!

Just thinking about this, Gordo's hands trembled with excitement.

If that were the case... Europe... Europe would not be far away!

None of the players Gordo had managed before had made it in Brazilian football, let alone in Europe.

Fijel, a giant in the agent world, controlled 90% of the Brazilian players who went to Europe, which made him a giant in the agent world.

Would he use Rongguang to achieve this once distant dream in the future?

***

Eduardo Simoes stood in front of his seat, leaning forward, watching Rongguang celebrating with his teammates on the field.

That kid... actually scored a goal? And this goal put Corinthians in a difficult situation!

Damn!

Why did it have to be him who scored?

He then remembered his own outburst and turned to look at the club president, Douralbi.

He noticed that Douralbi was also looking at him.

After noticing his gaze, Douralbi said with a stern face, "I think after the match, you won't mind explaining to me why this person is in São Paulo, right, Eduardo?"

Hearing Douralbi's icy voice, Simoes felt as if he had fallen into an ice cave.

Douralbi still remembered that the player who scored for São Paulo was originally supposed to be a Corinthians player!

Being defeated by a player he had personally rejected was a disgrace to Corinthians.

And Douralbi clearly could not tolerate the ridicule from the media and opposing fans.

When that time comes, the anger he would feel would be tenfold, and it would be vented on Simoes!

***

Seeing Rongguang score, the president of São Paulo, Gouvea, stood up and cheered for the goal.

He knew very well what this goal meant.

As long as São Paulo could hold onto this lead for the next ten minutes, they would win the final Rio-São Paulo Championship!

Next to Gouvea, the club's football director, Leco, was also clapping, but his mood was somewhat complex...

Previously, because of Rongguang's poor performance, he had rejected Gordo's request to discuss a new contract.

After that, Gordo never came to him again.

This silence made him very uneasy.

Since Rongguang had signed a youth contract, not a professional one, it meant that if Rongguang wanted to leave, he could do so without the club's permission.

When Rongguang was performing poorly, this didn't matter; São Paulo didn't care about a rookie.

But when Rongguang scored such a crucial goal in the final, Leco keenly realized that the rookie's fate had fundamentally changed.

He could no longer ignore it...

If São Paulo ultimately won the championship, Rongguang's name would quickly spread throughout Brazil, not just in the São Paulo region.

At that time, if any other team offered better terms to Rongguang's agent, he could leave the team and go elsewhere.

The thought of his team's defense facing such a fast and skilled player made Leco's head ache.

Did he really have to humble himself and approach them?

Leco didn't like Rongguang, even though Rongguang had shown his ability. This had nothing to do with Rongguang's skills; it was just personal.

During the trial, his first impression of Rongguang and Gordo was very bad, and this preconceived notion made him naturally dislike both of them.

At that moment, he heard the club president, Douralbi, who was also clapping, say, "Leco."

"What is it, Mr. President?" he quickly responded humbly.

"I heard that number 33 is still on a youth contract?"

Leco cursed inwardly—here it comes!

He nodded and replied, "Yes..."

"I think we should keep him," Douralbi said.

His words were few, his tone calm, but they carried great weight.

If the club president said to keep him, who would dare to say no?

Leco knew he had been given a tough task.

Did he have to initiate negotiations with Gordo again?

To humble himself to a nobody... it was really...

Leco lowered his head, trying to hide his clenched teeth.

***

When Rongguang was being celebrated by his teammates, Kaka did not join in the festivities.

He just clenched his fists and ran back.

From his expression, you couldn't tell what Kaka was thinking.

Actually, he was thinking about what his father had said to him before.

After Rongguang scored, Kaka felt the same way he did during the match against Santos.

He didn't rush to celebrate the goal.

"Personally, I prefer to call it competitiveness."

Competitiveness, huh?

***

Kore stood in the stands.

She stared at Rongguang, who was surrounded by his teammates, and noticed that Kaka was standing outside the group, not participating in the celebration.

The replay of Rongguang's goal in her mind made her admit that it was a beautiful goal.

If Kaka had scored such a goal, she would have found it normal and natural, and she would have cheered for Kaka. But seeing it from Rongguang... gave her a sense of unreality.

It was the rookie who had only been playing football for four months!

It was the outsider who had asked her, "Who is Kaka?"

It was the guy who had pointed at Kaka and said, "I want to beat you"!

These different identities merged into one person: Rongguang.

Kore shook her head, trying to shake off the image of Rongguang from her mind.

Beside her, her friends were talking.

"He should have passed at the last moment! Passed to Kaka!"

"Exactly, exactly. What he did was too risky! What if he hadn't scored? This time he was lucky, but next time it might not be! He just wants to show off, and that's really bad!"

She turned to look at them.

They asked her, "You think so too, right, Kore?"

Kore hesitated, "Uh... yeah, yeah..."

But in her heart, she didn't finish the sentence.

...right?

***

Rongguang's goal completely changed the game's momentum.

Previously, São Paulo was trailing in the aggregate score, and even if they had tied the score, they would still have lost the championship due to the away goal rule.

But now, Rongguang's goal put São Paulo ahead in the aggregate score.

His goal also erased Corinthians' advantage in goal difference!

They only needed to compare the scores; the goal difference didn't matter.

What if Corinthians had a hundred goal difference?

São Paulo was leading in the aggregate score!

Although Corinthians only needed one more goal to tie the aggregate score and regain the advantage in away goals, it wasn't easy for them to score now.

They were hesitant to push forward...

Actually, at the start of the second half, Corinthians had launched a fierce attack.

But they failed to break through the defense, and Ceni launched a counterattack with a long throw.

Rongguang used his speed to break through, and if not for the clearance by the center-back Luciano, he might have scored another goal.

Since then, Corinthians had become more cautious.

Their attacks were much weaker.

The Corinthians players were anxious, but their anxiety was useless.

Rongguang and Kaka were always ready to pounce on their mistakes, preventing them from attacking with full force.

Seeing this, Oswaldo returned to the bench, opened a bottle of water, took a sip, and said to his assistant coach Mauro, "We've got this."

Mauro nodded in agreement.

The other São Paulo substitutes stood up, crowded by the sidelines, eagerly waiting for the match to end so they could rush onto the field to celebrate.

The São Paulo fans in the stands started celebrating early.

In Corinthians' home stadium, this seemed to show a lack of respect for Corinthians.

But they had every reason to do so.

Just Rongguang on the field was enough to suppress Corinthians, let alone a Kaka who was suddenly in top form!

The Corinthians fans were on the verge of tears, shouting and whistling from the stands, hoping to disrupt São Paulo.

But they didn't get their wish.

After five minutes of stoppage time, the referee blew the final whistle.

The São Paulo players, who had been waiting impatiently, rushed onto the field, hugging their teammates in celebration.

Coach Oswaldo also hugged Mauro and the other coaches to celebrate the victory.

"The match is over! São Paulo won 2-0 away against Corinthians! The aggregate score is 4-3! They completed an incredible comeback away from home! With this score, they won the last Rio-São Paulo Championship!"

"Rong came on as a substitute, and this was the turning point of the match! He once again showed his crucial role, scoring the winning goal! Look at him, look at him..." As Bueno's voice narrated, the TV showed a close-up of Rongguang.

"Can you imagine that this young man only started playing football four months ago? Can you imagine that a complete novice helped São Paulo beat Corinthians in his first appearance? Can you imagine that São Paulo relied on him to turn the tide in match after match? Today, he scored the winning goal for São Paulo and intimidated Corinthians, preventing them from scoring... Can you imagine he's a rookie?"

"This is Rong's first championship trophy, and in just four months, his progress has been astonishing! Congratulations, Rong, you deserve it. You have the most right to lift the trophy!"

In the picture, Rongguang was tightly embraced by the captain Ceni, and other teammates came to ruffle his hair, hug him, and pat his back affectionately.

He had won the recognition and acceptance of the majority through his actions.

He was still a rookie who had only been playing football for four months.

But anyone who witnessed his transformation from a rookie to São Paulo's savior would surely be very excited about his future...

If he could make such progress in just four months, what could he achieve with more time?