"Be sure to drink some brown sugar and ginger soup after getting soaked in the rain. I'll send you the recipe—ask your family to prepare some."
"It's very easy to catch a cold after filming a rainy scene like that."
"I don't have anything here right now. I might have a tactical meeting later."
"Okay, thank you for the encouragement. I'll definitely keep working hard."
As Kai hung up the phone with a gentle smile, Cristiano Ronaldo pinched his nose and imitated both Kai and Hathaway in a dramatic tone:
"I have a tactical meeting later. You go and rest first… bleh!"
Kai immediately smacked him on the back of the head with a slipper.
"You still dare to say there's nothing between you two?" Ronaldo tossed the slipper back.
Kai shrugged and smiled.
"This was just a normal and polite greeting. When someone calls, I can't just hang up immediately, right? That's not my style."
At that moment, Miguel Veloso walked out of the dormitory.
"Kai, I just called you earlier. Why did you hang up the moment I said my name?"
Ronaldo looked at Kai, who suddenly looked a little embarrassed.
"Come on," Ronaldo grinned, "let's hear your excuse."
Kai spread his hands helplessly.
"Sorry, Veloso. The way you started the call made it hard for me to believe you weren't a scammer."
Then Kai repeated Veloso's opening line from the call:
"Kai… can you lend me some money?"
"My dad seems to have transferred to another club. My phone bill got suspended, and I can't contact him."
"Help me recharge my phone and I'll pay you back double!"
Ronaldo looked completely confused.
"What's wrong with that?"
Kai stared at him in disbelief.
"My god… with your level of anti-fraud awareness, it's a miracle you haven't been tricked by scammers from northern Myanmar already. You seriously need to learn some anti-fraud knowledge, or one day someone's going to scam the shit out of you."
Then Kai casually transferred one thousand euros to Veloso.
Veloso froze.
"Uh… that's way too much."
"Remember to pay back double," Kai said calmly. After all, he would never miss a business deal with a 100% return on investment.
After Veloso finally contacted his father, everyone learned the truth.
Veloso's father, António Veloso, captain of S.L. Benfica's first team and their main right back, had just transferred to FC Porto.
This was a huge blow to Benfica.
In the Primeira Liga, there are traditionally three giants: Sporting CP, Porto, and Benfica.
Top players moving between these three "royal families" always causes massive controversy.
No club wants to see their player suddenly wearing the jersey of their biggest rival the next season.
António Veloso essentially accepted the label of team traitor for the sake of his family.
This moved Veloso deeply.
"I will definitely repay my father with my best performances on the pitch!" Veloso said, wiping away tears.
Kai also cheered for the father and son.
"Come on, Veloso. Try to make the Portuguese national team before your father retires from international football."
"In that case, the two of you could become a rare father-and-son duo representing the national team together!"
Kai said it casually.
But Veloso took those words very seriously.
For the first time, besides his love for football, he found a clear motivation.
After that, everyone headed to the tactical meeting.
Coach Orlando Duarte Violante asked his assistant Triguera to help with the analysis.
They carefully studied the strength and playing style of Spain U16.
The conclusion was simple:
Spain's passing game must be suppressed.
"We only have two options," Triguera said.
"Either we defend deep for the entire match and play for a draw…"
"Or we press high early to create an opportunity, then fall back into a deep defensive shape."
Even Portugal's senior national team couldn't press an opponent for ninety minutes—let alone Portugal U16.
No team in the world had that kind of stamina.
But Kai expressed some concerns about the strategy.
"Spanish players are extremely good at passing. Their midfield core all comes from FC Barcelona's youth system. They understand each other very well."
"Most of their other players are from Barcelona or Real Madrid."
"It's possible to defend for the whole game—but we need a very specific defensive plan."
Triguera looked interested.
"For example?"
Kai explained:
"We can combine pressing with a deep defensive shape."
"You showed us Barcelona's youth results this season earlier. In more than half of their matches, they scored their first goal in the second half."
"That means they often face strong resistance early, but the opponent eventually collapses."
"I think that happens because opponents give them too much space on the ball."
"When the ball is still in their half, we should stay compact and not get dragged out of position. We must maintain stability in the midfield and defensive lines."
"But once they bring the ball past the halfway line, our midfielders and forwards should immediately press them—speed up the confrontation and fight aggressively for the ball."
"Force them to either pass backward or lose possession."
"We cannot allow them to comfortably control the ball in our half. If we do, their passing combinations will slice through our defense like a knife."
Kai's explanation gave Triguera's defensive concept a clear tactical entry point.
Violante and Triguera then refined the idea and developed a half-field pressing system.
The idea was simple:
Limit Spain's offense through aggressive pressing in Portugal's own half.
Defensive—but proactive.
Completely different from traditional bus-parking.
The team then began practicing the tactic.
Naturally, many problems appeared.
When a player presses aggressively, he leaves his position.
If he fails to force a backward pass or win the ball, the opponent can exploit the space he left behind.
Therefore, the rest of the team must quickly cover those gaps.
At the same time, Violante emphasized tactical fouls.
He even encouraged the players not to be afraid of yellow cards.
But there was one strict rule:
Anyone who receives a yellow card must control themselves afterward and never get sent off.
June 23rd.
On the eve of the Portugal–Spain clash, the Spanish team held a press interview.
Young Barcelona star Andrés Iniesta spoke with the calm authority of a future general.
"We have absolute confidence in our midfield."
"We will control the rhythm of the match and dictate the game."
"We are patient enough to slowly break down the Portuguese team."
"In the league we often face deep defensive tactics, and we have plenty of experience dealing with them."
When asked which Portuguese players worried him, Iniesta answered:
"Ricardo Quaresma. He's a true superstar. No one can ignore him."
"Cristiano Ronaldo is also dangerous. His speed can create problems."
"Kai is a very good midfielder, but a midfielder without the ball can't fully show his strength. So he's not our main concern."
But when the match actually began, everyone quickly realized something.
Iniesta had clearly been talking bullshit.
Because the moment Kai finally received the ball, Barcelona midfielder Mikel Arteta immediately hacked him down without hesitation.
Kai was obviously the player the Matadors feared the most.
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