"No, this is very important." Kai directly refuted Jiang Yunzhu's point of view. "Any championship matters to me!"
For a moment, Cristiano Ronaldo felt deeply moved.
As expected… only Kai actually cares about me.
Any championship matters to me, Ronaldo!
I'll never miss another trophy again. I swear it!
Kai hadn't forgotten his "Champion Predator Medal." He had already won three trophies last season, plus the U17 league title this season. His overall ability had increased by 12%!
A lot of his attributes were already hitting the cap—seventy-five!
Right now, he was starving for more trophies.
As for whether it was C or Ronaldo… he didn't even have time to think about that.
Ronaldo: ???
…
May 23rd.
The second UEFA Youth League and the European U19 Championship came to a close.
The champions of this year's UEFA Youth League were West Ham United U19 from the Premier League!
Joe Cole and Jermain Defoe both scored and shared the Player of the Tournament award.
Joining them in the Best XI was center-back Anton Ferdinand.
And of course, when Anton Ferdinand is mentioned, the media always brings up his brother—Rio Ferdinand.
This rising star, currently playing for West Ham's first team, had already caught the attention of several top clubs.
Rumor had it that both Leeds United and Manchester United were interested in him, with his valuation exceeding €25 million!
…
May 24th.
The Champions League final kicked off.
Two La Liga giants faced off—Real Madrid vs Valencia CF.
In the first half, Fernando Morientes controlled the ball with his chest and finished brilliantly to give his team the lead.
In the second half, Steve McManaman smashed in a stunning volley.
Then Raúl González made a solo run from midfield, scoring a beautiful goal to seal the match.
He also shared the Golden Boot with Rivaldo, both scoring ten goals.
After two years, Real Madrid lifted the Champions League trophy once again!
…
May 26th.
The final round of the Portuguese Liga officially began.
All matches kicked off simultaneously—no room for any shady "tacit understandings."
Before the match, Kai received a system notification: "Your jumping ability has slightly increased."
But he didn't give a damn.
He had learned his lesson—he wasn't going to build his entire game around some random buff again.
He would trust what he already knew he was good at.
That was real self-awareness.
9th minute.
Ronaldo fired a shot wide.
At the same time, the stadium erupted with noise.
Because Vizela had scored in their match, temporarily jumping to second place with 51 points, overtaking both Moreirense and Gil Vicente.
21st minute.
Rio Ave found the net against Moreirense—
—but the linesman's flag went up.
Clear offside.
Still 0–0.
However, another wave of noise came from the stands.
Gil Vicente had scored!
Now they were tied with Vizela on 51 points—but thanks to a better head-to-head record, they overtook both teams and moved into second place.
Live standings:
Rio Ave – 52 points (1st)
Gil Vicente – 51 points (2nd)
Vizela – 51 points (3rd)
Moreirense – 50 points (4th)
35th minute.
Kai chipped a through ball forward.
Ronaldo made a perfect run and finished it.
—but the referee blew the whistle.
Foul.
And honestly… it was fair.
Kai's pass had gone a bit too deep, drifting into the goalkeeper's control zone.
Ronaldo had barged into the keeper before touching the ball.
No goal.
Still, Moreirense's momentum was building.
40th minute.
Kai received a pass from Macedo and linked up with Alex on the right.
Alex dragged the defender wide.
Kai took on the defensive midfielder—one touch, burst forward, cut inside.
With "Robben's socks" active, his inside cut was dangerous as hell.
Nutmeg.
Straight through.
He reached the right edge of the box.
Facing the center-back, Kai started stepovers.
They looked stiff…
—but insanely fast.
Because if he slowed down even slightly, the midfielder behind him would catch up.
So screw it—he gambled.
Electric stepovers!
boom!
After building up momentum in the last match, his rhythm didn't collapse this time.
One move after another—smooth as flowing water.
With multiple buffs stacked—instep shooting, that "average winger" Bastian Schweinsteiger effect, and long-range shooting—
Kai unleashed a shot with a massive curve.
Rio Ave's goalkeeper swore he had never seen a shot like that in his life.
Absolutely insane!
CLANG!
The ball smashed off the junction of the post and crossbar—
—and flew into the net!
An unstoppable goal!
"GOAL!!! Kai!!! It had to be him!"
"After 19 shots in the last match, everything was building up to this moment!"
"1–0! Moreirense takes the lead!"
"If this score holds, they will be crowned champions of the 1999–2000 Portuguese Liga!"
"Kai meant it when he said—if you can fight for the title, why settle for promotion?"
"At this rate, no matter how many goals Gil Vicente or Vizela score, it won't matter! Rio Ave will only be the second team promoted!"
…
Halftime.
Triguera focused heavily on defensive issues.
He mentioned possibly substituting Flávio later—bringing on a midfielder or defender—and told him not to hold back physically.
This was all standard.
Nothing unusual.
But this match…
was too important.
So important that the players only heard one thing:
Defend.
Everything else?
Gone.
Second half.
Something felt off.
When Kai tried to organize attacks in midfield—
he suddenly felt alone.
Isolated.
Even when he pushed Emerson forward, Emerson instinctively dropped back after passing.
Flávio had practically turned into a defensive midfielder—despite being a right winger.
Kai and Ronaldo knew this feeling all too well.
Wasn't this exactly how the team played when they first joined?
A disease.
A weak mentality.
Back then, Kai and Triguera had cured it with a winning streak—forcing confidence into the team.
And it had worked.
But now?
This wasn't just another match.
This was a title decider.
A game that combined championship and promotion.
Moreirense could win.
But…
they had never won a trophy before.
Not really.
Sure, a few players had won things at youth level.
But as first-team players?
As key contributors?
Almost none.
Most of them had only ever been passengers.
Some had never experienced winning anything at all.
A weak mentality needs victories to cure it.
But a championship-level pressure?
That requires champion mentality.
Strong genes.
Winning DNA.
And this team…
didn't have it.
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