Chapter 107
This is Figo's last World Cup and Cristiano's first World Cup in this world.
The draw for the group stage was pretty good, at least we weren't thrown into any death group.
However, Cristiano never felt that the "death" of the group draw was so terrible. He had played many difficult games, and there was hope until the second the referee blew the whistle to end the game.
In the "death group" that has been widely discussed by the outside world, he only sees the results - Portugal has qualified for the World Cup in every session, and that is enough.
And now, they are standing in the player tunnel of the first game, about to have a head-on dialogue with the Angolan team.
Figo asked Cristiano to stand behind him and followed him out of the game.
"Chris, come here and stand closer." Figo waved.
He put his arm around Cristiano's shoulders. This was not the first time Cristiano played for the national team, nor was it the first time he stood on such an important field, but this was the first World Cup, and it was always so different.
"Are you nervous?" he asked. The theme song of the game and the singing of the fans were mixed together in his ears. Figo had to speak close to Cristiano's ear in order to make his voice clearly heard.
Cristiano smiled and nodded, "Of course, this is the World Cup."
He has always believed that being nervous is not a bad thing. The difference lies in whether he can turn nervousness into driving force - so far, he has always done a good job in this regard.
Deco and Nuno were standing behind Cristiano. They laughed when they heard what he said. They looked at each other. This was the World Cup.
This is not only Figo's last term, but also their last term. How can we not be nervous?
They looked at the court in front of them and took a deep breath.
Portugal has never been a strong team in the traditional sense. Even in the FIA World Rankings at the end of the last century, they could only be ranked outside the top 60. But the current team, with its golden generation and future legend Cristiano, is Portugal's strongest hope in decades.
Today's Portugal is more star-studded than ever before, and more important than the stars is that this Portugal has a terrifyingly strong cohesion, like a chariot, crushing thorns.
Figo patted Cristiano on the shoulder when he heard this. It was normal to be nervous before a big competition because they wanted to win so badly.
The noise around was too loud, so Figo had to shout to Cristiano: "Don't worry, this is your first World Cup, just try to play the way that suits you best, don't think about anything else."
He placed his hands on Cristiano's ears and asked Cristiano to look into his eyes.
He has said this to Cristiano more than once, but he still tells the young man in front of him again and again without getting tired of it -
This is his last World Cup. If there is anything he can do for Portugal and for the young man who will take over the helm from him in the future, it is now. He will tell Cristiano that as long as he is on the court, he will be the last line and don't be afraid of falling because he will hold the boy's feet firmly.
Figo said in a deep voice: "I will help you on the court. It doesn't matter if you make mistakes. I will cover you. You just have to try. Be brave, my child!"
He patted the boy's face as he spoke, then turned to his teammates behind him and waved his arms to encourage them.
Cristiano nodded. He turned with Figo to look at his teammates behind him. They raised their arms to cheer each other on. He smiled widely. This was Portugal, the best spirit he had learned from the golden generation.
Players from both sides entered the field to the sound of the high-spirited theme song. When all the players stood still on the field, the national anthem began to play.
Cristiano took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and sang along with the national anthem loudly. His hands were tightly on the shoulders of Figo and Deco. At the moment the national anthem sounded, all the tension turned into determination and ambition to win the World Cup for Portugal.
The referee blew the whistle to start the game.
"The most popular young player recently, Cristiano Ronaldo, started in this group match against Angola!"
"If I remember correctly, this was his first appearance in a World Cup match. I wonder if this game will bring him his first World Cup goal?"
The commentator and his partner in the broadcast room were explaining in unison.
Cristiano was like a gust of wind. The Angolan defenders couldn't stop him at all. The ball tossed back and forth under his feet like a flower.
Then, suddenly, just when the opponent thought he was going to dribble the ball into the front court, he suddenly kicked the ball with the outside of his foot. The ball quickly drew an arc on the grass and passed from the left side to the front court on the right side.
"Ronaldo made a long arc pass! The ball landed at Figo's feet! The right side is Figo's absolute dominant area!" said the commentator.
On the screen, Figo was seen dribbling the ball past two defensive players and into the penalty area.
The two defensive players who were broken through immediately turned around and caught up with Figo, and there was chaos in the penalty area for a while.
"Figo fell to the ground! Ronaldo and Nuno both raised their hands to indicate that there might be a foul!" His partner exclaimed softly, leaning forward slightly, "There won't be a penalty in the first group match, right?!"
"The referee came to the penalty area... He pointed to the penalty kick! The game was in the 39th minute and Portugal got the first penalty kick!"
There was a sudden cheer from the audience.
The Angolan players rushed to the referee and tried to explain something, and at the same time the broadcast room cut to the replay, which clearly showed that the Angolan defender slapped Figo in the face, with a very obvious pulling action.
"There is nothing wrong with the penalty decision. It was a very obvious foul. The Angolan players should not have argued with the referee anymore, otherwise it would have been even worse if they got another yellow card," said the commentator.
Figo stood next to the penalty spot holding the ball. Cristiano and other teammates stood beside him, waiting for the referee to blow the whistle.
"It looks like Figo will still be the one taking the penalty kick," his partner said. "Although Figo has missed two penalties in a row in the national team, he is still Portugal's top penalty taker. Especially in a big tournament like this, he should still be a veteran..."
Before the commentator's partner finished speaking, Figo handed the ball to Cristiano.
The two commentators in the broadcast room suddenly widened their eyes and gasped: "Wait, Figo seems to be indicating that Cristiano should take the penalty kick?"
The referee showed a yellow card to the arguing Angolan players and then pointed to the penalty spot.
Cristiano took the ball from Figo, who whispered in his ear, "Use it to start your national team record, Cristiano. I will watch you and I believe in you."
Cristiano responded, holding the ball, looking at the goal in front of him, taking a deep breath and exhaling.
He lowered his head and kissed the ball hard, bent down and placed the ball on the white dot, then took two steps back, his eyes fixed on the net.
"Cristiano Ronaldo takes the penalty!"
"This young player has a determined look in his eyes. If he scores, it will be his first goal in the World Cup...Ronaldo runs up! Shoots--"
"The ball went in!! So neat!!! The speed and power of the ball were amazing!! The angle of Ronaldo's penalty kick was also very tricky and high quality!! The ball went straight into the far corner below the crossbar! The Angolan goalkeeper couldn't save it at all!"
There was a loud cheer in the stadium. Cristiano jumped high with excitement, pointed his head towards the sky and roared.
Figo rushed towards him, clenched his fists and cheered, then hugged the boy who was about to run away.
He hugged Cristiano tightly and kept loudly encouraging the boy in his ear: "Great! Chris! Great! You played well! That's it!"
Cristiano only showed his two ears that were red with excitement. He nodded vigorously into Figo's chest and tightly grasped Figo's arm. He was as grateful and happy as in his previous life. With red eyes, he hugged his captain back vigorously: "Thank you, Luis."
Just like his first goal in his previous life, with the same penalty kick, Figo helped him score his first goal in the World Cup. This was of great significance and helped him, who was really young and confused in his previous life, to quickly build up his confidence.
Figo and Keane were the best national team and club captains he had ever encountered, and he was always extremely lucky to have them.
"I'll take care of you, I'll watch over you and help you, I said that." Figo smiled and kissed the young man on the top of his head before his teammates rushed over and pinned the two of them to the grass.
He thought to himself that Portugal would have to rely on this young man for who knows how many years, and he needed Cristiano to grow up as quickly as possible.
The big screen in the broadcast room was still replaying the penalty kick that had just been scored. The commentator quickly said, "Portugal is leading by one point! Ronaldo made a good debut and scored his first goal for the national team in the World Cup!"
As Figo said, this penalty kick started Cristiano's national team record.
In the final injury time of the first half, Cristiano dribbled the ball forward, with Figo and Deco on his left and right. He passed the ball to Deco under the pressing defense of two Angolan players.
Deco immediately attracted the attention of the defensive players, while Cristiano moved quickly, and the three of them were like three sharp blades on the field, rushing towards Angola's penalty area almost at the same time!
After Deco attracted the firepower point, he quickly passed the ball back and the ball returned to Cristiano's feet again!
"It's the last minute of injury time. It looks like this will be Portugal's last attack!" said the commentator. "In any case, Portugal is already leading by one point in the first half..."
Before he could finish his words, something suddenly changed on the screen!
After Cristiano got the ball, he trotted two steps to adjust his position, then kicked the ball without any hesitation!
He didn't even move the ball forward to the penalty area, which was more than thirty yards away!
The Angolan players who were originally defending Cristiano subconsciously retreated to their own penalty area after Cristiano got the ball. They never expected that Cristiano would turn around and shoot directly after getting the ball!
"GOAL!!!!!!!!! God!!!"
"Cristiano Ronaldo made a long-range shot near midfield in his World Cup debut! This is his specialty! This kick is very powerful! It is as fast as a rocket!" the commentator screamed.
Figo and his teammates almost ran too far, until they saw a ball suddenly shot into the net and heard the deafening cheers from the entire stadium, then they came to their senses - Portugal was leading by two points!
When the whistle blew to end the first half, the Angolan goalkeeper stood there as if he hadn't reacted.
Costa cheered and hugged Cristiano. Cristiano rushed to the sidelines and knelt down to shovel a long grass mark. All the players rushed over, one after another, pressing on Cristiano, and patting Chris's face with joy and excitement.
Only those on the court know how beautiful this ball is! Such a long distance! Such power and speed! With amazing visual impact! It’s really hard not to be excited!
It was unclear whether Cristiano's face turned red because of the slapping or excitement. When Figo rescued him from the bottom of the crowd, his whole face was red, especially the area around his eyes.
Scolari walked over quickly and hugged Cris who scored twice. When he saw Cristiano's look, he was stunned for a moment, and then glanced at the players around him - these guys didn't know how to hold back!
Two goals in the first half almost secured the victory of the group match. In the second half, Cristiano assisted Pauleta to score in the penalty area, giving Portugal a beautiful start with a three-goal advantage.
Cristiano, with his impressive statistics of two shots and one assist, far surpassed all the young players who appeared in the first round of the group stage.
Portugal finally won all three games and advanced to the round of 16 as the first in the group.
On the other hand, the Brazilian team also won all three games, took first place in the group and successfully advanced.
After qualifying, the team got nearly a week of rest. The main players who had been on high alert also got a rare day off from the head coach. However, they were still strictly required to travel and rest - no going to nightclubs, no returning to the hotel after 11pm, no drinking, no eating or drinking food and drinks other than those provided by the national team...
etc.
Cristiano didn't even leave the hotel. Although he and Kaka were both in Germany, their hotel was too far away. Instead of spending half of their time on the road, it would be better to meet in the system space, which would also allow for additional training.
Brazil is the favorite to win this World Cup. This Brazilian team is star-studded, with Ronaldo Luis, the most famous player in the current football world, and Ronaldinho, the last dancer of the samba. Kaka, the Brazilian golden boy who won the FIFA World Player of the Year and the Ballon d'Or, is the most anticipated rising star in the team.
Their head coach Pereira has built a main team with Ronaldinho as the core, but this dazzling team shines individually under the starlight.
Cristiano is well aware that they have the same strengths and weaknesses as the Brazilian team - they have the strongest main teams on paper in their respective history, but the average age of the main players is over 30 years old. For a tournament like the World Cup, the champion team has to play seven games in just one month, which is undoubtedly a big physical challenge for the veterans.
But what Cristiano knows better is that Portugal went further than Brazil in the last tournament because they were united enough, while Brazil had too many shining superstars and Pereira could not make everyone submit.
In the last tournament, Portugal was eliminated in the semi-finals. On the one hand, the reason was that they got too many cards in the match against the Netherlands. On the other hand, it was due to physical strength, and the German team itself was strong enough.
"Portugal's quarter-final match is still against the Netherlands," Kaka said on the phone.
He frowned slightly. This match from the previous life was always talked about by people even more than a decade later, because this match contributed the largest number of cards in history - sixteen yellow cards and four red cards. Football seemed to have become a free fight.
Cristiano, Portugal's most shining golden boy, made his debut on the international stage of the World Cup and became the target of his opponents as soon as he took the field.
"I know." Cristiano smiled helplessly, "Don't remind me, I'm more impressed than anyone else."
"Listen, I will try my best to protect myself, don't worry about me. I need you to concentrate on playing your eighth. I'm still thinking about meeting you in the World Cup." Cristiano walked to the balcony of the room as usual, and then saw Figo standing there enjoying the breeze.
He paused, and saw Figo rolled his eyes speechlessly, then rolled up a ball of paper and threw it at him.
A young couple who are on the phone all the time.
Cristiano laughed awkwardly and quickly hid back in his room.
Kaka responded: "I will, Cristiano, I will try my best. To be on the same World Cup stage with you - this is one of the wishes we didn't have time to realize, and I will always remember it."
Cristiano's ears turned red as he listened to the deep voice coming from the headphones. So obviously, his lover still remembered the naive promise they made when they were young?
God.
Kaka didn't say anything else because Ronaldo called from the other end of the phone and Cristiano quickly hung up.
"Kaka again?" Figo came back from the balcony, raised his eyebrows and looked at Cristiano.
"..." Cristiano winked sincerely at his captain, "We were just talking to each other in a friendly manner and encouraging each other. We didn't distract from the game."
"It's better this way." Figo pulled Cristiano's face and laughed, "Every game from now on will be a tough one, be prepared."
Cristiano nodded and let out a breath, and every subsequent game saw them approaching a new record.
…
Nuremberg's Frankfurt Stadium.
The Portuguese team, wearing red national team jerseys, and the Dutch team, wearing white national team jerseys, entered the quarter-finals.
"Welcome to the Frankenstadion in Nuremberg! It's a pleasure to broadcast the quarter-final match of this World Cup, Portugal vs. the Netherlands! The players have entered the stadium, and the players from both sides are shaking hands in a friendly manner!"
Van der Sar started as the Netherlands' national goalkeeper. He led his teammates to shake hands with the Portuguese players one by one.
He walked past Cristiano and winked at the kid he had trained hard at the club: "Hey Ronnie, don't cry if I throw you."
Cristiano's original nervousness was suddenly broken. He grinned and muttered under his breath: "Edwin!"
Van der Sar listened to Chris's complaints, smiled more obviously, and strode over.
Van Nistelrooy was unable to start in this game because his injury had not yet healed. He sat on the bench and watched the game.
After the schedule results came out, they made a careful tactical analysis and strategy for Portugal's lineup. Cristiano, who performed increasingly well in the group stage, naturally became the main target of the Orange Army.
Van Nistelrooy pinched his nose. He had always wanted to face Cristiano in the game and have a face-to-face conversation again. This unexpected injury forced him to miss the game, which made him extremely depressed.
But soon, not long after the game started, Van Nistelrooy began to be glad that he was not on the field, otherwise he would be even more troubled.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
