"This is a complete farce!"
"Get Deng Kai out of the Alcochet base!"
"He's just a football liar! He has no talent at all!"
"Why should Andoua be expelled? Just because Andoua is better than Deng Kai?"
"As the father of a U14 player, I can responsibly say that if Deng Kai can enter U15, then all U14 players should be promoted!"
"Andoua has always been Alcochet's talented midfielder. Sporting Lisbon firing him for Deng Kai is a huge loss!"
"Andoua has now joined Qatar Sports U15. He performed brilliantly in the first two rounds and even provided a beautiful assist!"
"We need an explanation! The glorious tradition of Sporting Lisbon's youth training cannot be interrupted by this liar!"
Public opinion began to ferment.
The situation was extremely unfavorable for Kai.
Even Kai's parents saw the overwhelming negative sentiment.
Mrs. Deng could not bear the accusations against Kai and cried every time she saw the news.
Even the usually strong Mr. Deng was distracted at work, causing a factory accident. His toe was crushed by a heavy object, requiring him to stay home for several months.
Everything seemed to be going wrong.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Trigla knocked on Kai's door.
"Please come in quickly," Mrs. Deng invited him.
Trigla then began discussing Kai's future with his family and Ronaldo, who lived with them.
"Andoua comes from a good family. His brother has connections with local gangs. The media will give someone like that a face," Trigla explained. "The public outrage will settle over time."
"But that's only public opinion. On the club side, senior officials have started paying attention."
"Sporting Lisbon's youth training has a stellar reputation. To put it bluntly, we are a wealthy powerhouse. Be it Figo, Simão, Quaresma, Leal… and even Chris, you will face criticism if the youth system seems compromised."
"But once the youth program's reputation suffers, the market value of these stars will fluctuate."
"Millions of dollars' worth of fluctuations are not something Kai can be responsible for."
"Ximang will be sold either in the winter window or next summer… Some senior officials want to fire Kai to minimize potential value losses."
Trigla laid out his intentions clearly.
The atmosphere was icy.
"No! No! There's nothing wrong with Kai! He's the most talented young midfielder I've ever seen!" Ronaldo stood up but was quickly pulled back by Kai.
Kai looked at Trigla, knowing the man wasn't finished.
Trigla continued: "I can shield you from top-level pressure, but only temporarily."
"It could be six months, or maybe three months—I don't know how long I can help."
"You must perform during this period."
"Kai, this is your first career crisis. It may be difficult, but I hope you survive it."
"You are my confidence against aggressive senior officials!"
Trigla spoke with sincerity and courage.
Mr. and Mrs. Deng had nothing to say.
There was simply no way to repay this.
But Kai shook his head: "It won't take that long, sir."
"Two months!"
"Give me two months, and I'll make those senior officials applaud your vision!"
"I promise!"
Trigla smiled in relief: "Okay!"
After Trigla left, Mr. and Mrs. Deng and Ronaldo were worried.
Could public opinion really change in two months?
Ronaldo didn't dare make predictions; he couldn't take responsibility.
Was Kai overconfident?
Kai didn't explain.
There was no way he could tell them that with the talent of a "Peerless Genius," plus the blessings of "Training Stake" and "Energy Drink," his key attributes would skyrocket in two months.
The next day, the Sporting Lisbon youth team announced that Kai had entered a special training period and would not participate in team matches for the next two months.
Only then did the fans' uproar subside.
Still, a few malicious fans continued stirring the pot, hoping to get the club to fire Kai.
Time flew.
Two months passed in the blink of an eye.
During this period, Sporting Lisbon U15 faced a very difficult situation.
The original defensive core, José Fonte, had been promoted to the U16 team after outstanding performances in the Diamond Generation Invitational Tournament.
The remaining players were mediocre in talent.
Even with superstar Ronaldo added, he was still young. Scoring eight goals in six games in a competition two years above his age was extraordinary, but it wasn't enough to earn Sporting Lisbon sufficient points.
In the third round, they defeated Iretek.
In the fourth, they hosted rivals Benfica in a Lisbon derby and lost 1-5.
This marked the team's first three-game losing streak of the season.
Next was the U15 Youth Champions League in Rotterdam, Netherlands, where they suffered a defeat at Feyenoord Stadium.
Feyenoord's striker had incredible shooting skills, scoring two world-class goals that frustrated Lisbon.
The player, Robin van Persie, fascinated Ronaldo with his endless volleys.
But during training, Kai called for an emergency stop.
"Van Persie's volleys may be world-class in the future," Kai said, "but if he doesn't improve other aspects, his threat level could rise by another 50%!"
On September 14, the team ended its losing streak with a draw against Cards away—a result far from fans' expectations.
On September 21, fans began to settle down after the third home game, losing to Aihuaca. After six games, the team ranked second-to-last with four points, essentially eliminating any chance to reach the top four regionally.
On September 27, they faced Turin in the second round of the U15 Youth Champions League.
Turin scored first through Quagliarella in the 22nd minute.
Sporting Lisbon equalized with Ronaldo's goal in the 76th minute, ending in a draw—each team gaining a valuable European point.
Ronaldo bluntly said afterward that Quagliarella's talent was limited compared to Van Persie.
Kai smiled quietly.
Nothing was wrong with Ronaldo's evaluation—but he couldn't tell him that this "limited" talent would later win the Serie A Golden Boot more than ten years in the future.
On October 11, Sporting Lisbon played the third round of the UEFA Youth League against Viktoria Plzen U15 away in the Czech Republic.
Sporting Lisbon had opportunities.
Ronaldo's dribbling and speed created two individual chances and three shots on target—but all were stopped by Plzen's goalkeeper.
In the end, relying on the goalkeeper's brilliance, Plzen won 1-0.
Lisbon U15 had now suffered two losses and a draw in three European matches—almost certain elimination.
After the game, the goalkeeper praised young Ronaldo: "He's incredible. Three years younger than me and already the best midfielder on the field."
Ronaldo was embarrassed.
During training, he wrote the goalkeeper's name, Petr Čech, on the net to help himself aim.
At this point, Sporting Lisbon U15 had experienced its worst season start in ten years.
Maxa's position as head coach was shaky.
But on the training ground at Alcochet base, Ronaldo looked at Kai standing confidently behind the ball.
The two-month period had arrived.
Respectfully, the Dragon King had returned.
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