Chapter 120
"Tonight the Berlin Olympic Stadium will witness an unusual championship night!"
"Portugal, which has never entered the World Cup finals, has become a dark horse this year, competing with Italy for the World Cup trophy tonight! Regardless of the final result, Portugal has made history!"
The broadcast room on the night of the final was also very lively. Four or five commentators and critics sat around a semicircular table, staring at the broadcast screen in front of them.
Before the game officially started, they were all talking to each other about their opinions on the chances of winning the game.
"Okay, now it's the turn of the players from both sides to shake hands and greet each other. The game is about to begin!" The commentator coughed lightly, interrupting the various speculations.
On the screen, the Italian team, wearing away jerseys, and the Portuguese team, still wearing red home jerseys, shook hands with each other. The main players of the two teams could even be said to be friendly and familiar with each other.
Cristiano is indeed very familiar with this Italian team. Not long ago, he had met some of the players in this Italian starting lineup on the night of the Champions League final. Another group of players was also very familiar to him.
Juventus' goalkeeper is also Italy's national team's goalkeeper. Buffon smiled and shook the hand that Cristiano extended.
He leaned over and hugged Cristiano. As their bodies intertwined, he whispered in Chris's ear with a smile: "Cristiano, we meet again. I hope the last accident will not affect our friendship?"
"Of course." Cristiano smiled and hugged the man back. He knew that the man was referring to the scandalous relationship between the two that was previously fabricated by the tabloids. He patted the man's strong back muscles twice without caring and nodded, "Nice to see you, Gigi."
Buffon glanced at the generous smile in the young man's eyes and knew that the other party did not care or feel embarrassed at all.
Piero followed Buffon and walked forward. He curled his lips and nodded slightly towards Cristiano, jokingly saying, "Ronaldo, don't get kicked and cry again."
The last time they faced off was on the night of the Champions League final, in the final penalty shootout. Piero scored the winning penalty under the last pressure. That night, the Red Devils missed the Champions League.
Cristiano raised his eyebrows slightly when he heard this, and held Piero's outstretched hand, exerting a little force, and challenged back: "Let's see who will cry tonight."
Piero looked over with a little surprise, then shook his head in amusement.
Buffon, who was walking in front, looked back at his teammates, smiled, and said to Piero with his hands covering his mouth: "You provoke him, and I am the one who suffers."
"Don't I see that you are unhappy?" Piero sneered at him.
"Because there is no goalkeeper who doesn't like challenging shots. The more challenging it is, the more exciting it is." Buffon said to Piero, who raised his lips and nodded frankly, "So yes, there is also some expectation at the same time."
"The striker and the goalkeeper are like the spear and the shield. Sparks will fly when they collide, and that's when the adrenaline rushes the most," he said.
"No wonder I see you always have a special liking for certain forwards." Piero teased.
Buffon smiled.
Piero paused after looking at each other, and quickly crossed out the above sentence in his mind - Gigi has kissed many defenders.
The two men walked past Cristiano and then shook hands with Figo.
Buffon shook hands with Figo, who had faced him many times in the Apennines. "Good luck, my friend."
Figo nodded slightly. He was more curious about how Buffon and his boy were so familiar with each other.
Pirlo and Gattuso followed closely behind Buffon.
Gattuso stared at Buffon's back. His national team teammate was really emitting hormones to the good-looking player all the time. I really don't know how these two people became familiar with each other so quickly in just one game.
——This is probably a common question around the world.
"Hey! Gattuso, long time no see!" Cristiano curled the corners of his mouth and gently bumped Gattuso's shoulder.
Gattuso shook hands and patted Cristiano on the shoulder: "Long time no see."
Although he hadn't seen him for a long time, he had heard the name Cristiano Ronaldo quite often in the club group.
"Kaka's little friend." Pirlo covered his mouth and whispered, blinking as he shook hands with Cristiano, "Let me guess, Kaka is in the stands?"
Cristiano chuckled and didn't answer.
"Cristiano." Nesta walked past Cristiano, shook hands with him, and nodded slightly as a greeting as an acquaintance.
Costa also hugged his club and teammates one by one.
Sitting on the bench, Inzaghi watched the two starting players on the field shaking hands and greeting each other politely. Their goalkeeper, who had just been involved in a romance scandal with Cristiano Ronaldo on the field two months ago, continued to do his own thing without any hesitation, causing the media photographers who could only stand on the sidelines to go crazy. The shutter sounds in Inzaghi's ears were almost continuous.
He couldn't help but cover his face. Gigi, oh my god, he didn't want to return to the club after the World Cup and be asked some strange questions by Kaka. Does he have to say that their heroic goalkeeper just loves to release hormones indiscriminately?
"The game begins! Italy kicks off first!"
Kaka sat in the box stands, exhaled, gently pinched his fingers, and the game began.
Nesta and Gattuso cooperated tactically to kick off the game, and the ball stuck to the grass and quickly attacked the Portugal goal.
But Cristiano was faster. He intercepted the ball, and without waiting for Nesta and others to rush over, he immediately turned around, lifted the ball high and passed it to Deco.
"Ronaldo moved the ball immediately after touching it and did not choose to dribble forward himself. It seems that Ronaldo played very conservatively and cautiously in this game," said the commentator.
"I don't think it's conservative, I think it's quite smart." A retired player who was invited to participate in the commentary in the broadcast room said, "Ronaldo's hat trick in the last semi-final was very impressive. In this game, he will definitely become the main target of the Italian team's defense. Bringing the ball under his feet will only lead to a dead ball."
"That's true!"
After Cristiano passed the ball to Deco, he saw that Nesta and Gattuso were somewhat caught off guard. He grinned and winked at Nesta and Gattuso.
Italy's other full-back Materazzi immediately made a close tackle and cleared the ball from under Deco's feet.
"A free kick in the midfield! Give it to Ronaldo!" A voice in the broadcast room exclaimed, "Just five minutes into the game, Ronaldo got a free kick that was within his range! Will he score directly from the free kick like he did in the last game?!"
綺Ｖ葈Ｖ郑Ｖ理Ｂ
"If this free kick is scored, it will be Cristiano Ronaldo's ninth goal in this World Cup! Breaking the world record of eight goals in a single World Cup set by Ronaldo of the Brazilian team in the previous World Cup after modern football entered the era of emphasizing defense!"
"Ronaldo takes a run-up! The ball lands precisely in the small penalty area! Pauleta cuts in and shoots!!"
The guests in the broadcast room couldn't help but lean forward slightly, and then sighed again: "The ball brushed the goal post, just a little bit!"
"Ronaldo did not choose to shoot directly, but cooperated with his teammates on a free kick. It was a very good choice! The landing point of the free kick was also very accurate, but Pauleta was disturbed by the players on the Italian defense line and missed the goal post."
"A very successful attack attempt! Portugal is coming on strong!"
Pauleta shook his head regretfully, but soon let out a sigh of relief and gave Cristiano a thumbs up.
Only this kind of offensive momentum has the threat to launch an attack on the World Cup trophy.
Buffon also breathed a sigh of relief at the same time.
He couldn't help but look at Cristiano in the distance. The playing style of Cristiano in this Portugal national team seemed a little different from that of Cristiano in the club that night.
He didn't know if the boy was growing up too fast or if he had made great adjustments to the team he was in.
He jumped twice on the spot, took a deep breath, slightly arched his back, and stared at the field with sharper and deeper eyes.
Italy's counterattack came quickly. After a successful counter-attack, Pirlo received the pass from his teammate, dribbled past Carvalho and Miguel and rushed straight into the penalty area.
"Fernando was a little slow! Pirlo fell to the ground! Is this a foul in the penalty area?!" The commentator leaned forward and stared at the broadcast screen.
The referee came running up from behind, and Figo and Cristiano came up at the same time, explaining something to the referee quickly.
The broadcast screen also slowed down the replay of the fall, and saw a gap in the Portuguese defense. Pirlo seized the opportunity and dribbled straight into the penalty area.
Fernando, who was on the Portuguese defense line, immediately turned around to defend and tried to shovel the ball away from Pirlo's feet, but he failed to touch the ball and had no time to retract his feet.
"It looks like a penalty."
Figo, Cristiano and others were still surrounding the referee, but the referee made a gesture, blew the whistle, and raised his hand to signal the penalty spot.
"That's right! The referee gave Italy a penalty kick! In the 14th minute of the game, Italy got a penalty kick!"
"Pirlo made a penalty!"
Pirlo stood on the penalty spot.
approach.
Hit the door.
"The ball goes in! Pirlo scores with a powerful shot! First point for Italy!!"
There was an immediate wild cheer from the audience in the stands, and waves of people rose up, holding up a huge TIFO in the colors of the Italian flag, and the entire stadium sang the Italian national anthem in unison to cheer.
"Italy was the first to break the deadlock and put Portugal under great pressure!"
In the stand box, Dolores clenched her back teeth nervously. After Italy scored a penalty kick, she couldn't help but gasp and covered her eyes nervously, not daring to look again: "Oh my God..."
Alma and Hugo looked at their mother helplessly, which was why Cristiano didn't let Dolores watch his live competition.
Portugal quickly launched a counterattack. Costa and Deco organized the attack in the midfield. Cristiano received the ball and fired a shot from the left. Pauleta headed the ball into the net in the penalty area!
The field suddenly became excited!
However, before Cristiano could excitedly run towards Pauleta, he heard the linesman blew the whistle, indicating that it was an offside and invalid goal.
Scolari waved his hands heavily in frustration in the coaching booth.
"Looking at the replay, Pauleta was leading by nearly half a body length. It was indeed offside and very obvious," said the commentator in the broadcast room.
The Portuguese fans who had just become enthusiastic on the field suddenly felt as if they were poured with a bucket of cold water.
Cristiano pursed his lips and patted Pauleta on the back: "We still have plenty of time."
Pauletta responded, and couldn't help but clench his fists and then unclench them.
However, when the whistle blew to end the first half, Portugal was still one goal behind Italy.
The players on the field slowly walked back.
Compared to the relaxation of the Italian players, the Portuguese side was tense and Scolari shouted loudly to his players.
Ferguson didn't say anything, he looked at Cristiano on the field.
Cristiano is adapting to this kind of coordinated play. In just the first half, he has seen the changes in Cristiano - his effective ball control and passing, his assists and shots - he believes that if he gives Cristiano a little more time, Cristiano will soon show them his true threat.
When Cristiano walked to the sidelines, he looked up at the side of his box stands. He found Kaka at a glance, and then Sir Alex Ferguson who was sitting next to Kaka, and his family.
——Almost all of his important people were here. A sense of satisfaction rose in his heart. He grinned subconsciously and waved his arms vigorously towards the stands.
"This child is still laughing. He might get scolded again." Dolores waved her hand when she saw this, but she couldn't help but whispered with concern.
Kaka met his lover's brisk and tenacious gaze, he exhaled, laughed, and waved his arms vigorously. The silk scarf with Portugal No. 17 printed on it tied around his wrist was particularly eye-catching against his white shirt.
——That was what Degan bought before entering the venue, and now it was tied to his wrist.
Ferguson caught the bright red and green from the corner of his eye, turned his head to take a look, and raised his eyebrows slightly: "This scarf...?"
Kaka paused, and before he could speak, he heard Digan actively explain: "Sir, I bought this outside the stadium, it's the one Cristiano has!"
Ferguson nodded and smiled at Digan: "Very good choice, kid."
He withdrew his gaze.
Kaka slightly tensed his back and stroked the scarf inconspicuously with his fingers.
He dared to say that if it weren't for Degan, Ferguson would have become suspicious.
He wasn't sure if Sir Alex Ferguson suspected anything now, but he thought it would be best for him to wait and see.
During the half-time break, Ferguson stood up and left the box temporarily, which made Kaka relax immediately. Simeone noticed his eldest son's reaction and couldn't help but look over.
She lowered her voice: "Kaka?"
"It's nothing, Mom." Kaka shook his head slightly at Simeone, to prevent Simeone from being overly concerned after knowing the situation, which would make Sir Alex Ferguson more suspicious.
Ferguson returned before the start of the second half. He sat back in his seat and watched the game with a calm expression. Both teams returned to the field for a simple warm-up.
"Welcome back to the Olympic Stadium! The second half of the game begins now!"
"In the first half of the game, due to Portugal's defensive mistakes, Italy was awarded a penalty kick, which Pirlo made and scored, giving Italy a one-point advantage."
"Now let's take a look at the competition scene!"
After the two goal posts exchanged positions, Portugal launched an attack from left to right.
Portugal's attack was fierce and their counterattack was extremely resolute, but it was as if the goddess of victory did not fall on Portugal's half of the field tonight. They had as many as eight shots on target in the second half, but none of them failed to equalize the score.
The fans in the stands were almost in despair——
Sometimes the game is like this, with so many shots on target but missing by a hair's breadth, it's like a joke of fate.
Dolores watched her little son on the field wiping his face vigorously with his hands. The close-up on the big screen also focused on his face, as if everyone wanted to see what would happen to Cristiano.
But he just wiped his face and turned to Figo. The two communicated with each other at a distance of more than ten meters, constantly making gestures.
"Portugal is playing a bit conservatively now. I wonder if Scolari adjusted their tactics in the locker room at midfield?" the commentator in the broadcast room said. "Although there were several threatening shots, they were resolved consecutively, and the Italian team almost scored another goal on the spot. Portugal seems to be a bit hesitant in attacking now."
"If the score was further increased in the last 20 minutes, there would be no suspense in this game," said another commentator. "Portugal must take both offense and defense into consideration, but right now, their attacking duo of Pauleta and Nuno lacks the ability to finish in front of the goal."
"Or maybe the goddess of luck didn't want to favor the Portuguese team tonight."
Alma and Dolores, who were sitting in the box stands, were all emotionally affected by the game. In the second half, Italy played mainly on defense and counterattacks, and was very cautious, while Portugal's repeated attacks made people's emotions fluctuate like a roller coaster.
The Portuguese fans in the stadium were in low spirits, as if they had already determined the result.
After a defensive foul by Italy, Costa was tackled by Italy's defender Cannavaro. He fell to the ground and curled up in pain.
Figo and Cristiano immediately stepped forward, Figo pressed towards the referee, while Cristiano checked on Costa's situation.
Soon the team doctor came up and gave simple treatment, and Costa was still able to stay on the field. On the referee's side, no matter what Figo said, the referee only gave verbal warnings - one each to Cannavaro and Figo.
Cristiano frowned and shook his head helplessly with a smile.
He turned to the audience and raised his arms to the audience in the stands. He danced up and down vigorously a few times, indicating that all Portuguese fans should still give them confidence and strength.
"We can score! Hey! Did you hear that? We can score! Believe in us! Keep confident!" he shouted to the audience, repeating it several times tirelessly and unwaveringly.
Gradually, the Portuguese fans in the stadium waved the small flags in their hands, and I don’t know who took the lead in singing the Portuguese national anthem, and then the singing became louder and louder.
Figo looked at Cristiano and saw an unquenchable fire in the young boy's eyes. Even though his whole body was soaked in sweat, the fire was still burning wildly and passionately, as if he was never afraid that one day he would be burned to ashes by this fire.
"Ronaldo is encouraging, but the game has reached this point and it is almost a done deal."
"Portugal played a game like a trapped beast. It was a very difficult game."
"But there is one thing Ronaldo did right. The cheers of the fans sometimes put pressure on the referee. Like the foul just now, the referee can award a free kick or not. At this time, the reaction of the fans on the field will also add fuel to the fire." said the commentator in the broadcast room.
While the commentator was speaking, Portugal suddenly launched a counterattack -
Costa is a classic midfielder who can pass the ball wherever he wants.
After receiving Fernando's cross, he looked towards the front court.
Cristiano and Pauleta were both tightly guarded by Italian defenders. There was also one on Figo's side, but Figo gave him a look.
Costa then nodded slightly, pretended to jog two steps with the ball, and then made a straight pass with incredible accuracy to Figo's feet sixty meters away.
"Rui Costa! This long pass! It truly reflects the ability of a top midfield master! Low-key beauty! The power and judgment of this pass are incredibly beautiful!" the commentator exclaimed.
No one expected Costa's brilliant pass, which went straight over 60 meters to Figo on the right side!
Figo nimbly passed the defender in front of him.
"Figo takes the ball and breaks through the penalty area from the right flank!"
"Figo high cross!"
Everyone in the broadcast room became excited. Everyone knew that this was a high-quality counterattack, but they didn't know whether the goalkeeper could live up to expectations.
"Ronaldo and Pauleta advance!!"
Cristiano stared at the ball as it flew in a smooth parabola in the air. He jumped almost instinctively based on his intuition and absolute sense of the ball, then shook his head!
"The ball goes in! Ronaldo scores with a header!!!" The entire broadcast room suddenly exploded!
The final countdown of the regular season! ! No one expected that a reversal would happen at this moment!
"Figo assists!! Cristiano Ronaldo equalizes the score with a header!!! Portugal!! There is still hope!!!"
"This is Cristiano Ronaldo's ninth goal in this World Cup! Breaking Ronaldo's record of eight goals in a single tournament!! Setting a new world record!"
The entire Olympic Stadium erupted in a roar that was as loud as a roof-lifting roar. Dolores and her group sitting in the stands jumped up from their seats, screaming and cheering along with the crowd!
For the first time, Alma realized that football can make people experience strong emotions like watching a movie. She covered her mouth, pulled Katia and stomped her feet excitedly on the spot.
Amid the overwhelming cheers and celebrations on the field, Cristiano, who scored the goal, immediately ran towards the midfield with the ball in his arms.
Buffon only felt a gust of wind running past him, and the figure wearing the No. 17 jersey rushed straight to the midfield, as if he had no intention of celebrating the goal at all.
He wiped his face and took a deep breath. He failed to block the header. The header was like a hammer and went straight into the net. There was no time to make a save.
Cristiano was ecstatic after scoring the goal, but his body and reason preceded his emotions. He hugged the ball and rushed to the midfield, seizing every second to kick off.
"Three minutes of injury time were given on the sidelines. Whether it is Italy or Portugal, as long as they defend tightly in these three minutes and drag the game into overtime, the final result of the game will still be unknown!" the commentator said loudly.
This is almost what everyone has taken for granted - only in overtime or even a penalty shootout can it be decided which team will win the World Cup.
However, no one expected that Cristiano had no intention of retreating, and even the entire Portuguese team was like a shot arrow!
In overtime, as the team that made it all the way to the finals, the starting main team has played seven games in just over a month. For Portugal, a team with an older age structure, overtime has no advantage.
Cristiano's goal has never been to drag the game into overtime or penalty kicks. With three minutes left, he has to attack for the full three minutes.
"Cristiano Ronaldo dribbled into the penalty area! Italian defender Materazzi defended closely! Foul!!!!"
The commentator held his breath in disbelief, and the entire broadcast room gasped. No one expected that in the final injury time, the Italian team would be forced to commit a defensive foul in the penalty area at a critical moment!
Cristiano was kicked on the shin guard, lost his balance instantly and fell out.
All the Portuguese fans in the stadium were suddenly extremely angry, and the roars and curses almost deafened their ears.
Kaka and Ferguson grabbed the handrails almost at the same time. They even cursed at the same time. Kaka quickly murmured: "May God forgive me."
Ferguson turned his head to look at Kaka, then quickly looked back at the field.
This time the referee pointed to the penalty spot without any controversy.
"Portugal got a penalty!! In injury time! Portugal got a penalty!! Materazzi, this is too dangerous!" The commentator couldn't help but gasp.
The kick hit the shin guard. Although it was painful, fortunately no one was injured and Cristiano quickly got up from the ground.
Figo walked towards Cristiano with the ball.
"It seems that Figo still intends to give this penalty to young Ronaldo! Judging from the fact that he handed the captain's armband to the opponent in the last game, Figo has completely regarded Ronaldo as his successor."
"If Cristiano scores this penalty, Portugal will win the World Cup! He will also break his own record for the most goals scored in a single World Cup!"
However, there seemed to be some unexpected events on the field.
Cristiano firmly stuffed the ball into Figo's arms.
He hugged Figo with both hands and whispered in Figo's ear: "This penalty should be taken by you, Luis. No one is more suitable than you to lead this team to witness the moment of lifting the World Cup."
"You can do it."
Figo paused, and he whispered: "Cristiano..."
Cristiano interrupted him, smiled, and joked in a low voice: "Besides, it doesn't matter even if the ball misses. We can equalize the score in the last seconds and surpass them again in overtime."
"I believe we are the best, you are the best." He looked straight into Figo's eyes.
Figo was slightly startled.
Cristiano patted Figo's back twice, then solemnly put the ball into Figo's hands.
Figo took a deep breath, looked at Cristiano and nodded slightly.
Cristiano took two steps back.
"This penalty kick is taken by Figo!"
Figo lowered his head to calm his breathing, then left a deep kiss on the ball.
He bent down and placed the ball on the white spot, then looked at the opposing goalkeeper.
Buffon arched his back, held his breath and prepared with full concentration.
“Figo – run-up – shoot!!!”
"The ball goes in!!! The low, fast ball burst into the net!! Figo put the most perfect end to his last game for the national team!!!" The whole audience in the broadcast room went crazy!
"In the countdown of regular time, in the countdown of injury time! Portugal scored twice in a row! Incredibly! A miracle!! A milestone!!"
"In regular time, Figo made a cross from the right and assisted Ronaldo to score with a header! In injury time, Ronaldo made a penalty and Figo scored the goal! Portugal won 2-1! Finally, they successfully lifted the World Cup in the Olympic Stadium!!"
"This is the fateful inheritance of Portugal's golden generation and the young new coach!!"
"Congratulations to Portugal!!! Congratulations to the Golden Generation for the successful conclusion of the Ragnarok War!!"
Cristiano yelled, opened his arms and looked towards the audience stands, his eyes were red and tears were streaming down his face.
This is like a dream.
He didn't even know what to do for a moment. It was so wonderful, much better than all the Champions League titles he had ever won.
Before he could react, he was immediately knocked to the grass by a heavy weight, with Figo on top of him. He hugged Cristiano tightly and kissed the top of the boy's head hard, over and over again: "Cristiano, we won, God, we really won!! Thank you, Chris, we won!"
“We won!”
All the audience in the stands screamed and cheered again. In just less than five minutes, there was an almost dramatic turn of events!
All the Portuguese staff, substitute players, and coaches rushed into the stadium frantically. Even if they slipped and fell, they would get up and rush in to celebrate.
Portugal won! !
Cristiano was pressed at the bottom, his face, neck, and top of the head were kissed by countless people, covered with tears of ecstasy and sweat, it was impossible to tell whose kisses they were.
He opened his arms and hugged his teammates who rushed towards him completely. The tears and sweat stung his eyes so much that they were extremely painful, but also made him extremely happy.
“Portugal!!!” they shouted in unison amid the raucous celebration.
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