Chapter 203
Cristiano's ankle injury prevented Mourinho from starting him in the second leg of the Champions League.
This made Cristiano feel completely unbelievable. He rushed to Mourinho and said: "Why not me? I can play. My injury is completely healed. You have to trust me."
Mourinho glanced at him and said calmly: "The team doctor said your ankle is fine, but I don't think you are mentally ready. The time is too short and you need to recover."
Many players are like this. Their injuries have healed, but their bodies remember the pain of being attacked. Their mentality and spirit are not prepared, and during the game, these become invisible shackles that imprison their bodies. Their bodies cannot be fully stretched, and they dare not use their bodies freely.
In such a crucial match, Mourinho did not want to use this game as Cristiano's first trial match after his recovery from injury.
More importantly, in the first leg, they took the lead at home. Cristiano made an assist and shot one. Although Real Madrid's goal was still broken by Bayern, they still had a one-goal advantage.
The offensive pressure in the next game is not too great, they just need to do a good job of defense.
"It's not an injury at all, and there's no need to recover from it." Cristiano laughed angrily, "I've had much worse injuries than this..."
"But Ferguson also gave you more time to rest." Mourinho interrupted, "Boy, I know what you have been through and what you have done. I understand you. Maybe you think you are fine, but now you are in my hands, just listen to my arrangements."
"You are unreasonable!" Cristiano realized that he really couldn't play, he yelled at Mourinho angrily, turned around and strode away.
Mourinho crossed his chest indifferently. This brat was spoiled by Ferguson. He would never spoil the Portuguese like Ferguson did. He had to let this guy taste the punishment for talking back to the head coach.
Run at least three more laps in daily training.
The second leg of the Champions League semi-final kicked off at Bayern's home stadium.
Cristiano was sitting on the bench wearing a substitute vest, and any camera could clearly capture his obviously unhappy look.
"Cristiano Ronaldo is not in the starting lineup! This is a bit unexpected. Mourinho didn't continue to use Cristiano? Or did Mourinho find a lineup that can be used as a substitute in the previous two league games when the Portuguese was absent?"
The commentators were all very surprised, as this was the first time Cristiano missed such a big knockout match.
However, there was no time for the commentator to react and analyze further, as the game had already begun.
Bayern must win big at home to secure a ticket to the next final. This is not easy, but it is by no means a fantasy.
"Bayern took the lead in launching a fierce attack! Pepe blocked the attack! Ramos kicked the ball out!"
Cristiano couldn't help but lean forward slightly, nervously moving his head left and right to follow the game, keeping a close eye on the field.
Mourinho is naturally under a lot of pressure.
Florentino was very dissatisfied with his roster decision and believed that Cristiano should be on the field to win the game for the club, but Mourinho ignored him. He was the head coach and he would not ask his players to play just after they recovered from injury and were not ready. This would not be good for them.
What's more, in this game, Real Madrid only needs to defend well and hold on to the original fruits of victory, and they will win most of the game.
Mourinho kept his eyes on the field. Modric and Marcelo were sorting out the routes in the midfield. Marcelo immediately launched a counterattack after stealing the ball in the midfield and backcourt, and Modric cooperated to pass the ball to Van Nistelrooy.
Van Nistelrooy didn't have a good vision in front of him, so he passed the ball to Benzema. Benzema took the ball, made a slight adjustment and shot directly, but his shot was blocked by the opponent's defender.
Cristiano clenched his fist and hit the chair regretfully. He walked involuntarily to a position near the sidelines - he couldn't go any further, otherwise he would be warned - he shouted at Benzema, then called out to Van Nistelrooy loudly. When Ramos occasionally ran past him, he could hear Cristiano shouting his name and telling him to run faster.
Ramos: “…”
At the end of the first half, Bayern had not yet scored against Real Madrid. Mourinho was quite satisfied with the result that neither side had scored a goal. During the half-time break, he was the first to walk into the player tunnel.
Cristiano was waiting to return to the locker room with Kaka.
He waited patiently on the sidelines. When Van Nistelrooy walked past Cristiano, he reached out and patted the Portuguese on the head twice: "I just heard your voice, more excited than the coach."
Benzema was walking by behind Van Nistelrooy. Hearing this, he slowly looked at Cristiano and gently agreed: "I agree with this."
Cristiano coughed lightly and rubbed his nose awkwardly. He blinked and looked at Van Nistelrooy, grinning and revealing a soft smile: "I'm just a little anxious. Mourinho didn't let me play."
Van Nistelrooy let out a soft "tsk" and reached out with both hands to rub Cristiano's face and curly hair up and down: "Because he values you too much. Look, didn't he agree to let me play when I just recovered from my injury before?"
Cristiano did not dodge Van Nistelrooy's hand. He let the Dutchman pinch his face, but he was a little depressed: "But I am really fine, both physically and mentally."
"It takes time to build trust between players and coaches, Ronnie, don't be too impatient, you still have a lot of time." Van Nistelrooy glanced at Cristiano with amusement, "When I was your age, I always wanted to play in the game and wanted to be seen by everyone. This is normal."
Cristiano snorted, neither refuting nor agreeing.
He is no longer at the age of wanting to be seen or wanting to prove something. He may have something he wants to prove, but that is only for the people he cares about. He no longer cares about the eyes of the whole world.
He wanted football more than anything else, he just wanted to play.
But he knew that even if he said so, Fanny would not believe it. He would only pat his head and sneer at him for being a stubborn kid.
"Okay, why don't you leave?" Van Nistelrooy called Cristiano to follow him into the player tunnel.
"I'm waiting for someone." Cristiano winked.
"Waiting for someone?... Speechless." Fanny reacted quickly.
He rolled his eyes, turned around and stalked away.
Cristiano noticed that Benzema had not left yet, he looked over, then thought that he might have been a little emotional just now, he cleared his throat: "Hey Karim, I might have yelled at you just now..."
Benzema hastily looked away: "Oh nothing, Chris, that's nothing."
Cristiano scratched the back of his head.
Benzema patted Cristiano on the shoulder and he walked away quickly.
He was a little curious about what it felt like to pinch Cristiano's face. Van Nistelrooy always seemed to like doing this, regardless of the occasion, whether on the court or off the court, but he didn't dare to look the Portuguese in the eye. It was a little inappropriate.
Ramos also walked over slowly and breathlessly. His feet were cramped due to running in the first half, and he lay on the grass for a while before he recovered.
He walked towards Cristiano, bumped into him in anger and amusement: "Run faster Sergio? Sese is almost running the soles of your shoes flat!"
"Then you need to train more. You're not fast enough. This must be your problem." Cristiano rushed back without giving in and grinned at the other party viciously.
Upon hearing this, Ramos suddenly widened his eyes and looked at Cristiano, as if he was looking at someone who was making trouble for no reason.
Modric couldn't help but sneer as he walked past the two of them: "Are you two elementary school students?"
"Then he probably only has kindergarten." Ramos said, pointing at Cristiano who was about to crash back.
Modric rolled his eyes. In his eyes, there was not much difference between the two.
"Cristiano, why aren't you leaving yet?" Ramos asked Cristiano, who nodded his chin and said, "Let's go."
"In a moment." Cristiano waved his hand.
Ramos looked over in confusion, curious about what Cristiano was hesitating about.
Kaka was far away and had to cross most of the field to come back and Pepe walked over one after the other. Cristiano trotted forward, causing Ramos, who was wondering why the Portuguese was still here, to roll his eyes.
"Hey, do you two have to stick together?" Ramos shouted at Cristiano.
"What do Kaka and Pepe have to do with you?" Cristiano asked in confusion. He sighed and said, "Go practice your sprinting. Don't dawdle."
Ramos: “…”
Kaka laughed and took the water cup from Cristiano and took a few sips.
Pepe glanced at his friend and then at the Brazilian. He always felt like he was the superfluous one.
"Pepe, drink some water. The second half is the most intense." Cristiano did not forget his friend and reminded the reliable defender.
He stared at the other person with concern. Seeing that Pepe seemed to be absent-minded, he directly pushed the cup into his face and urged, "Hurry up."
Pepe wiped the splashed water off his face, and when he came to his senses, he was almost washed in the face by Cristiano with the water in the cup.
He twitched his lips and took it: "Okay Chris, thank you. Also, promise me not to be enthusiastic about logistics, you are not suitable."
"Then I'm afraid no club can afford me." Cristiano looked at the water splashed on Pepe's face and said with a face.
Pepe took a sip of water and shook his head with amusement when he heard this. He knew that Cristiano was right.
No club would be so extravagant. Even if Cristiano just stands at the door of the club, it is enough to bring huge benefits to the club. Even if his name just appears in the club's introduction, the club's fans will increase exponentially, like a rocket. This is the Cristiano effect. No other star can do it like Cristiano.
After the half-time break, the game changed sides.
Bayern got a corner kick in the seventh minute of the game.
Cristiano saw the opponent's center forward Van Bommel suddenly change direction very flexibly in the melee, picked up the ball that was bounced by Casillas, and kicked it hard, directly into the far corner of the goal!
"Bayern took the lead 1-0 and scored the first goal of the game! Van Bommel's follow-up shot in the penalty area! The ball hit the far corner! Casillas had no way to stop it!" the commentator said quickly.
The entire Allianz Arena suddenly cheered, and Cristiano turned his head away in annoyance.
The score gap is narrowing.
Mourinho still had no expression on his face. He glanced at the time, crossed his arms across his chest, tapping his arms inconspicuously with his fingers. He sucked the soft flesh in his mouth and scanned the court with a heavy gaze.
Their team quickly launched a counterattack.
Kaka seized the opportunity and passed the ball to Van Nistelrooy. Van Nistelrooy passed the ball to Raul and then quickly moved forward to the penalty area.
"Van Nistelrooy is very fast in advancing into the penalty area! Look at Raul!"
After Raul passed one player, he passed the ball to Van Nistelrooy again, and Van Nistelrooy shot with a push.
“The ball goes in!!”
Cristiano's eyes lit up, and he suddenly jumped up from his seat, wanting to run into the stadium. He covered his mouth with his hands and shouted loudly: "Luther! Beautiful! So beautiful!"
"Real Madrid quickly scored a goal! This counterattack was too fast!" The commentator shouted excitedly, "Real Madrid equalized the score!"
As soon as the commentator finished speaking, Bayern's goalkeeper and defender quickly raised their hands and ran towards the referee.
Cristiano paused when he saw this, and the smile on his face faded slightly.
"Wait, this ball seems to be a bit controversial? Bayern seems to be protesting to the referee!" Seeing this, the commentator slightly widened his eyes, leaned forward to stare at the screen, and carefully watched the changes on the field.
Not long after, the referee returned to the crowd and signaled again - the goal was invalid, offside.
There was an uproar on the field.
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