Chapter 92

Rong Guang's goal dealt a significant blow to the opponents. Being scored against with such a beautiful goal, the morale of the International team plummeted.

Furthermore, after the game restarted, Nilmar seemed to be sleepwalking, completely out of sorts and unable to find his rhythm.

The International team's offense also became paralyzed.

The rest of the game was almost like garbage time.

For a long time, the Brazilian International team could not pose any threat to the goal of São Paulo.

São Paulo's head coach Oswaldo began to make substitutions, bringing players off to rest.

Of course, Rong Guang and Kaká remained on the field.

As long as they were on the field, the International team could not launch an all-out counterattack. Although it seemed that the International team no longer had such intentions, it was better to be prepared for the worst.

Before the end of the game, Kaká provided another assist, finally fulfilling his wish to assist Fabiano in scoring a goal.

Fabiano's goal locked the score at 3-0.

The International team, which had planned to show their prowess at home and defeat São Paulo, ended up being shut out.

In fact, the game was over after Rong Guang's goal.

Nilmar, the "Neymar of Southern Rio Grande," did not live up to his nickname at all.

São Paulo took the victory away from the away game.

They also avoided a losing streak.

After the game, Oswaldo, capitalizing on the mutual assists between Rong Guang and Kaká, lashed out at the journalists during the post-game press conference.

"Who said Rong and Kaká cannot coexist? Who said they absolutely cannot pass to each other?"

Oswaldo's series of rhetorical questions left the journalists at a loss for words.

Rong Guang and Kaká did indeed pass to each other... Rong Guang passed to Kaká for the first goal, and Kaká returned the favor with the second goal. Such a performance was a privilege only the best friends could enjoy!

Could it be that Rong Guang and Kaká are not as tense in their relationship as we thought?

Or perhaps they were initially tense, but after a few months of interaction, they became good friends?

But based on our observations during São Paulo's training, it doesn't seem to be the case...

Could it be a coincidence?

Is it possible for two coincidences to happen in one game?

Oswaldo enjoyed seeing the journalists frown and struggle to think.

He was too lazy to reveal the truth, so he let these people who liked to gossip guess for themselves!

At the same time, Rong Guang and Kaká's performance also reinforced Oswaldo's determination to continue his strategy.

In his view, having Rong Guang and Kaká live together before the game indeed helped to build their relationship and chemistry.

※※※

After the game against the International team, the media for the first time paired Rong Guang and Kaká together.

"Two Stars of São Paulo!"

This title was quite impressive.

But Kaká and Rong Guang almost simultaneously expressed their dislike...

Kaká saw the newspaper his father was holding, with the headline "Twin Stars of São Paulo!" facing him.

He pushed away the plate in front of him, said, "I'm done eating," and got up to leave.

"Ah, so quickly?" His father looked up and could only see Kaká's back.

"Son seems a bit strange today," his wife said. "He doesn't seem to be in a good mood..."

"Strange. He had a goal and an assist in yesterday's game. What could make him unhappy?" His father was puzzled.

"I know, I know!" Their youngest son, Digan, raised his hand. "It's all because of him!"

He pointed to the newspaper his father was holding.

Kaká's father turned the newspaper over and saw Kaká in the photo, and next to Kaká... Rong Guang.

※※※

"Hey, Rong, you're finally on par with Kaká!" Godo waved the newspaper. "Two Stars of São Paulo! Quite a formidable duo!"

Rong Guang rolled his eyes: "Who wants to be on par with him? I want to surpass him!"

Godo laughed: "Take it step by step. Seven months ago, who would have thought you'd be mentioned alongside Kaká?"

Rong Guang remembered the first time he heard Kaká's name seven months ago.

Then he laughed too.

That's right, I've already made many people start discussing my name!

※※※

Lucas Sutton, dressed in sports gear, ran past a newsstand but quickly turned back, bought a newspaper from the newsstand owner, and sat down on the roadside to read it.

"Two Stars of São Paulo!"

This title was very eye-catching.

Below the title were photos of Rong Guang and Kaká placed side by side.

Looking at Rong Guang's photo, Lucas remembered what the kid said to him on the second day of joining the team.

"One day, I will make everyone discuss me just like they discuss Kaká!"

At the time, everyone mocked him, ridiculed him, and even he himself didn't believe it.

But in just seven months... this kid was already on par with Kaká.

What about those who mocked him in the youth team? They no longer mention Rong Guang at all.

With Rong Guang's current performance, how could they ignore him?

They don't mention him because it would make them embarrassed, right?

The rookie they looked down upon is now a key player in the first team.

And those who claimed to be better than him? They are still in the youth team.

Ha!

Lucas suddenly laughed.

He also thought of the old man he met on the Santos beach.

"You say you want to get stronger? But in reality, you don't really want it, you just kind of want it... When your desire to get stronger is as strong as your desire to breathe, then you will get stronger."

Although his teammates always say they want to join the first team and achieve success like Kaká, Lucas felt that their desire for success was not as strong as their desire for partying. They wanted success just to have more capital to boast to women... How could such people possibly match Rong Guang?

If Rong Guang were to be surpassed by these people, it would be a huge joke!

I've been letting such people overshadow me all along, which is truly ridiculous...

Rong has already firmly established himself in the first team, and I need to work even harder! Because... I don't want to be associated with a bunch of losers!

Lucas folded the newspaper and casually threw it into the nearby trash can.

Then he pulled up the hood of his hoodie, put it over his head, and resumed his jog.

※※※

In the sixth round of the national championship, São Paulo drew 1-1 with the traditional strong team Goiás from northeastern Brazil at home.

In this game, the "Two Stars of São Paulo" that everyone was looking forward to did not perform outstandingly.

Kaká did score a goal in the game, but it was not assisted by Rong Guang. Rong Guang did not even participate in the goal.

Compared to the goal-scoring Kaká, Rong Guang's performance in this game was quite average, even mediocre. Without Kaká, his performance would have been acceptable. But compared to the tall, handsome, and rich Kaká, Rong Guang became a complete nobody.

After the game, the journalists who were mocked by Oswaldo in the previous game finally found an opportunity to retaliate. They asked Oswaldo why, if the two players had good chemistry, there was a disconnect in this game.

Oswaldo explained: "Isn't it normal for such instability to occur during the adaptation period? They are still in the adjustment phase, and anything that happens is normal. The fluctuations in performance are within my tolerance."

※※※

In the seventh round, São Paulo won 2-0 against Grêmio at home.

However, this victory had nothing to do with the "Two Stars."

Kaká scored in both games, but not assisted by Rong Guang.

Rong Guang's performance in this game was still average.

Kaká's outstanding performance made the media increasingly believe that the two players' performance against the International team was just a coincidence...

Compared to Kaká, Rong Guang was still a rookie, and his performance was unstable and lacked proof, making him more susceptible to criticism.

Whenever his performance was unstable, people would habitually doubt him. After all, he lacked experience.

It was reasonable to question a rookie.

※※※

Five days later, in the eighth round of the championship, São Paulo lost 1-3 to Cruzeiro away.

Kaká scored the only goal for São Paulo, and Rong Guang still had no standout performance.

However, Kaká's goal could not save São Paulo from defeat.

The 1-3 loss was São Paulo's most painful defeat of the season.

After this defeat, criticism of Oswaldo's stubbornness in the media intensified.

Among the criticism was also criticism of Rong Guang.

However, the criticism of Rong Guang was not as straightforward and brutal, as he had already proven his ability in the Rio-São Paulo championship.

Therefore, no article directly criticized Rong Guang's poor performance. Considering he had only been playing football for seven months, expecting him to perform as well as Kaká was itself a mistake.

The root of the problem lay with Oswaldo.

A famous journalist from "Scoreboard," Grayson, attacked Oswaldo, believing that his stubbornness would ultimately harm himself, São Paulo, and Rong Guang.

"Oswaldo's double attacking midfielder tactic sounds like a joke, and now it can be said without the 'like'... Although Rong and Kaká are both fast, their abilities and characteristics are different. Forcing them to play together results in this. When one performs well, the other performs poorly. There is no so-called chemistry or practice between them. I have done the statistics... Since the game against Juventude, Oswaldo has intentionally paired them as double attacking midfielders... What was the result? Apart from the two mutual assists against the International team, there has not been a single pass between them! Can this be called 'good chemistry' as Oswaldo claims? Don't be ridiculous!"

Grayson, who emphasized analyzing match videos, came out to challenge again.

What he said was indeed true.

Rong Guang and Kaká had not truly established a connection.

Of course, given the relationship between Kaká and Rong Guang, it was indeed difficult for them to establish a connection...

"Kaká can dominate the game on his own, so why put Rong next to him? Rong's technical characteristics and experience make him more suitable as a substitute. When the team is struggling, bringing Rong on as a substitute to increase the team's attacking power and variation is a good strategy. Rong has always done well in this role. But starting him and giving him the same responsibilities as Kaká is too much to ask of him..."

This statement sounded more reasonable than Grayson's previous claim that Rong Guang was not a genius. It seemed that Rong Guang's performance in the Rio-São Paulo championship had impressed him.

It made him less likely to make extreme statements.

But at heart, this statement still showed a disregard for Rong Guang—Grayson did not believe that Rong Guang could be on par with Kaká and have the same impact on the team.

This way of thinking was not unreasonable, as most people would think the same: how could a rookie who had only been playing football for seven months be compared to Kaká, who had already won the World Cup?