November 21st.
Still at the exaggerated Alvalade Stadium, the fifth round of the UEFA Youth League group stage officially kicked off.
This was also a super match.
There were as many as 35,000 fans in attendance!
Very few youth-team matches enjoy this level of popularity.
But Sporting Lisbon U15 happened to be in the right place at the right time.
Super rising star Cristiano Ronaldo, midfielder Kai with professional-level passing ability, a winning streak that restored morale, the controversy surrounding Andoua's duke issue, and the question of whether he could survive the European stage… all these elements had basically been assembled for this match.
Tens of thousands of spectators!
So where did the remaining 25,000 people come from?
When a ticket that usually costs one hundred dollars suddenly drops to five dollars, and it grants entry to Alvalade Stadium, who could refuse such a deal?
After all, the normal entrance fee to Alvalade alone is ten dollars!
Match tickets were cheaper than sightseeing tickets.
Anyone who didn't come was a fool.
This was also a hidden cost Sporting Lisbon paid to promote Ronaldo.
Only in this way could fans and other clubs truly believe it in the future when the club claimed Ronaldo was the next Luís Figo, the next Simão Sabrosa, or the next Ricardo Quaresma—giving him a solid reputation base.
Otherwise, if you just pushed out any random cat or dog, who would care?
Marketing in Europe is a very mature industry.
From the opening whistle, Ronaldo showed an extremely strong desire to attack.
In just fifteen minutes, he created three shooting chances and won two set pieces.
If Lady Luck hadn't been on her period today, scoring from those five opportunities wouldn't have been a problem.
This form made Hugo in the stands feel a little awkward.
Especially since he was sitting with friends.
"Fortunately," Feyenoord's youth team quality really was excellent.
In recent years, products from the Eredivisie had clearly been louder than those from Portugal.
Portugal's three famous "black shops" were well known, but compared to the Eredivisie's big three, they still fell short.
Although Feyenoord's ace youngster Robin van Persie had only joined the echelon this year, his ability had already surpassed the U15 level.
In the 29th minute, Van Persie muscled past Sporting Lisbon's center-back in the box and smashed a volley to break the deadlock.
One–nil!
Super striker Van Persie surged up the scorer charts.
"The Dutch Robin has conquered Alvalade Stadium in Lisbon! The home fans have fallen silent!"
"Oh! As expected, Robin van Persie is competing for the Golden Boot with Fernando Torres, another super striker from Atlético Madrid's youth academy. These two are clearly a level above the rest of the forwards in this Youth Champions League!"
"Although Cristiano Ronaldo, Torino's Quagliarella, and Groningen's Robben are considered outstanding among their peers, their performances are still weaker than those two due to overall team strength."
The commentator didn't even have time to fully introduce Van Persie and Torres before being forced to interrupt himself.
Because less than three minutes after the first goal, Van Persie once again unleashed his trademark volley from outside the penalty area, completing his brace.
Two–nil!
Feyenoord were far stronger than Sporting Lisbon in both overall quality and striking power.
This caused the stands to erupt in cheers for Van Persie, quickly drowning out the voices of the home fans.
Kai glanced at the tourists in the stands and couldn't help thinking—
Tourists and fans were still different.
Fans have their own home teams and rarely switch sides.
Tourists, on the other hand… as long as someone scores, they'll clap and cheer, no matter who it is.
Ronaldo's expression was extremely ugly.
He could clearly feel that he was being compared to Van Persie.
And he hated that feeling.
Meanwhile, in the stands, Hugo and his friends were hugging and celebrating.
They had bet right!
They were going to make a killing this time!
As long as Feyenoord won and the total goals scored by both sides stayed at three or fewer.
They would get rich instantly!
Hugo was ecstatic:
"Looks like Maxa had already seen this coming. That's normal. I said it before—betting on one goal isn't safe. Three goals is the most stable."
"Now that Sporting Lisbon are two goals down, Maxa will definitely have them drop back to avoid embarrassment. Against a defensive Sporting Lisbon, it won't be easy for Feyenoord to score more."
"Two–zero, three–zero, or two–one—those are basically the outcomes."
"Brothers! Time to harvest the rice, harvest the rice!"
They even started dancing in excitement.
Unfortunately, Hugo was wearing Ronaldo's jersey.
This time, he was caught by the big screen.
It was as if the camera was telling everyone:
"Even Ronaldo's own fans have surrendered. What are you still holding out for?"
Cheers for Feyenoord. Cheers for Van Persie!
When Hugo realized he was on the big screen, he immediately restrained himself.
Because he noticed Ronaldo looking up at it.
He hadn't betrayed his brother—he was just too happy about making so much money.
He swore that after the match, he'd buy his brother the best training equipment, boots endorsed by Figo, and a football signed by Pep Guardiola.
Those things were expensive, but as long as Hugo had money, he would never be stingy with his younger brother.
Among them, star autographs were the hardest to get—but thank God, a lot of Guardiola-signed footballs seemed to be circulating in Lisbon recently!
…
However, one minute before halftime, Hugo suddenly became nervous.
Because Sporting Lisbon midfielder Kai was clearly looking at Ronaldo, yet without even glancing elsewhere, he passed the ball to a teammate on the right flank.
Sporting Lisbon's right winger crossed from the wing.
Pulled away by Ronaldo's cutback run and Kai's forward movement, the Sporting Lisbon center-forward was left completely unmarked and rose to smash a header into Feyenoord's goal.
One–two!
Sporting Lisbon pulled one back.
"Three goals! There can't be any more goals!" Hugo's friends reminded him.
"Otherwise, we won't make big money!"
Hugo forced a smile.
"It's fine. At least we won't lose money."
"Unless Sporting Lisbon wins and the total goals exceed six, we'll all still earn something."
His friend nodded after hearing that.
True.
As long as Sporting Lisbon lost, profit was guaranteed—big or small.
And it was obviously impossible for the total goals to exceed six.
Sporting Lisbon had already proven they weren't a sieve—they still had some tricks.
In the second half, both teams' defensive intensity and targeting would definitely increase.
Whether it was Robin van Persie or Cristiano Ronaldo, scoring again wouldn't be easy.
Play resumed.
In the 50th minute, Kai once again made a no-look pass while holding the ball in the attacking half.
He appeared to be staring intently at the defender, but suddenly slipped a pass straight into the box.
Ronaldo, who had drifted toward the half-space, accelerated against the offside line, slicing straight through Feyenoord's entire defense and bursting into the penalty area.
Facing the onrushing goalkeeper, Cristiano Ronaldo stayed composed and chipped the ball delicately, lofting it into the net.
Two–two!
Sporting Lisbon clawed back from behind and equalized!
Some idiots dreaming of getting rich instantly were now completely screwed.
"That cut-cock bastard! I want to break his legs!" one of Hugo's friends cursed Ronaldo angrily.
Hugo frowned.
Even if you couldn't make a fortune, couldn't you still make some money?
Why were you cursing my brother?
But considering their friendship, Hugo held back and didn't lash out.
The match continued.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
You can visit my Patreon page:
Patreon.com/PhoeniXcel
There are 40+ advanced chapters available for you to read.
Your support would be greatly appreciated.
Check out my new Naruto fanfic!
[Naruto: I Don't Want Recognition]