i don't want to be king

Chapter 264 Summer in France

On the way back to Latubi, Mbappe introduced Ronaldo's previous European Cup records in detail.

Even Caldeira couldn't help but marvel at the young Mbappe who knew Ronaldo and the Portuguese team better than himself, a 43-year-old authentic Portuguese.

What impressed Li Liang the most was the European Cup in Portugal in 2004.

He was still in the summer vacation of junior high school at that time, and he remembered that the Greek team defeated the host Portugal team in the final and successfully created "Greek mythology".

Under Mbappe's description, Li Liang knew that it was the closest Portugal had been to winning the European Cup over the years.

That is also Portugal's "golden generation" with Rui Costa and Luis Figo as the core representatives, that is, the generation of players who were born between 1969 and 1974 and won two World Youth Championships in 1989 and 1991 The last swan song.

The "Golden Generation" has never been able to win the intercontinental championship for Portugal. The best results are the runner-up in the European Cup held in China in 2004 and the No.06 in the 4 World Cup in Germany.

In the opening game of that tournament, the Portuguese team lost 1:2 to the later champion Greece at the Porto Dragon Stadium. Ronaldo, who was only 19 years old, scored his first goal in the national team.

The final was held at the Stadium of Light in Lisbon. Portugal once again regretted losing to the Greek team and became the first host team in history to lose after entering the final.

The young Ronaldo also shed sad tears after the game.

Li Liang, who was fascinated by listening, suddenly asked: "Killian, if this final is between Portugal and France, who will you support?"

Mbappe was at a loss for words, and Caldeira, who was driving, laughed and said: "Killian, you will definitely have the opportunity to play at least 3 to 4 European Cups in the future!
The next champion will definitely belong to France——

This time the champion belongs to Portugal!

That `s a deal! "

On June 6th, Caldeira, Li Liang, and Mbappe came to the Geoffroy-Kichard Stadium in Saint-Etienne, where Group F Portugal will play against Iceland.

Soon after the start of the game, the Portuguese team firmly controlled the situation on the field by virtue of their superior strength.

In the 30th minute, Vierinha stepped in to instigate the offensive. Gomez swept the ball from the right and Nani followed up with a poke and scored the ball!
1:0 Portugal took the lead!
But in a good situation, in the 50th minute, Gudmundsen made a cross from the right, and the Portuguese defense missed Barnason and then succeeded in a volley shot. Iceland equalized the score 1:1!

最终全场比赛1:1的比分被顽强的冰岛人维持到了中场，在控球时间达到百分之72对28，射门比达到了惊人的26比4的情况下葡萄牙遗憾的只取得了1分。

What shocked Li Liang the most was that a group of bronze and silver card players of the Iceland team, led by the team's only gold card player with a total rating of 78, "Iceland Sniper" Gilfi Sigurdsson, faced The luxurious lineup led by Cristiano Ronaldo with an overall rating of 93 resisted tenaciously until the last moment.

Li Liang felt that his perception of football had been greatly changed again.

When they were about to leave, the players of the Icelandic team began to thank the field. They came to their fans, waved their hands and began to interact with the fans with a huge roar.

It was the first time for Li Liang to experience such a scene. More than 3 Icelandic fans and team members in the audience were doing uniform movements. The deafening majestic roar made Li Liang's blood boil!

He was very excited and very happy——

Although this path is difficult, I must have chosen the right one!
Just like the "Viking Battle Cry" in front of you, it is one of the inexhaustible motivations that drive me to keep striving forward!

Four days later they returned to the Parc des Princes in Paris.

Portugal ushered in the underdog Austria, which had previously lost to Hungary. For both teams, this game cannot be lost.

Portugal put on a strong offensive posture at the beginning of the previous game, but Austria's defense was almost flawless.

In the 77th minute of the game, Ronaldo was pulled down by Austrian defender Hinter Eiger in the penalty area. Referee Rizzoli decisively awarded a penalty kick.

The penalty kick was taken by Ronaldo himself.

He fooled the Austrian goalkeeper Aylmer, but hit the post!
The three of Caldeira, Li Liang, and Mbappe, like the Portuguese fans around them, hugged their heads in regret, and the audience let out a huge sigh.

Then Ronaldo scored with a header, but the goal was disallowed due to offside.

In the end, the two teams drew a goalless draw, and Portugal went from being one of the favorites to the brink of being eliminated in the group stage.

On June 6, in Lyon, the trio came to Monaco's sad Lyon Olympic Park Stadium to watch the final round of Group F, Portugal vs Hungary.

Before this game, all the games from Group A to Group D have ended. According to the qualifying rules, Portugal can qualify as long as they draw in this game.

Hungary took the lead with veteran Gera's long-range shot, and then Ronaldo assisted Nani to equalize the score.

In the second half, Juzak's deflected free kick put the Hungarians ahead of the score, but three minutes later Ronaldo equalized the score with a brilliant heel strike.

Then Ruzak scored again through refraction, but Ronaldo soon received a header from a cross from Quaresma who came off the bench, and the score became 3:3!

The score was maintained until the end, and the two teams advanced to the top 16 of the European Cup at the same time.

Caldeira regretted it, but he was still satisfied with Portugal's thrilling advancement.

He told Li Liang that such strong teams will slowly adjust their status, so he is more optimistic about Portugal's future performance.

Mbappe is also excited that his idol Ronaldo has regained his form. He will soon go to the Clairefontaine base to report, and he will no longer be able to continue to watch the idol's performance live.

The next day, Li Liang finally welcomed his good friend Falcao at the Latubi Base. He was happy to learn that Falcao passed the physical examination successfully.

And the medical examination photos he helped Falcao take quickly spread all over the world through the Internet-after two years of failed Premier League trips, Tiger finally returned.

After Mbappe left, Falcao became Li Liang's new training partner before the team was concentrated.

June 6, Lens, Stade Boral-Deleury.

Li Liang and the three Portuguese, Jardim, Caldeira and Barros, watched the 8/1 final match between Portugal and Croatia.

It was a dull game, neither side had a shot on goal until the end of the first half of extra time.

However, in the 117th minute of the game, Portugal's first and second consecutive shots on target killed the game!

—— Nani swept the ball into the penalty area, Ronaldo shot from a small angle was saved by Li Liang's teammate Subasic in Monaco, and Quaresma made a supplementary shot to complete the lore.

At the end of the game, Li Liang saw Ronaldo and Modric hugging each other tightly, and kept comforting the sad Real Madrid teammates.

Now even Li Liang believes that Portugal is getting closer and closer to the championship.

July 7, Marseille, Velodrome Stadium, Portugal vs Poland quarter-finals.

This game is also regarded by the outside world as the ultimate contest between Lewandowski and Ronaldo.

Jardim and his coaching staff watched the game with Li Liang and Falcao.

Less than 2 minutes into the game, Lewandowski blitzed and scored, and Portugal suffered a nightmare start.

In the 33rd minute of the game, the young rookie Renato Sanches, who started the game, broke through the goal of the Polish team with a long shot.

The game then dragged into a penalty shootout.

The Portuguese players all shot, and the penalty of the Polish Bwaszczykowski was saved, and Portugal was able to advance in a thrilling manner.

Li Liang congratulated several Portuguese coaches, and Jardim smiled: "Okay, our new central defender can also report in advance."

Sure enough, the Monaco team officially announced on July 7 the introduction of the Polish team's main central defender Kamil Glick, who had just completed the European Cup tour.

At the signing ceremony of Latubi, Li Liang saw Glick take over Monaco's No. 25 jersey, and he froze in place——

I always feel that I have seen this big Polish central defender who has just put on the No. 25 Monaco red and white jersey!
……

On July 7th, in Lyon, at the Olympic Park Stadium, Li Liang once again witnessed the wonderful match between Cristiano Ronaldo and Real Madrid teammate Bale.

The Welsh team had a big upset before and eliminated the luxurious Belgian team, which was very popular for winning the championship.

But in this game, Li Liang has always liked the Welsh star Aaron Ramsey who played for Arsenal very much. The Welsh team's strength was greatly reduced due to the accumulation of yellow cards and suspension.

Both teams had no achievements in the first half. Not long after the start of the second half, Ronaldo received a cross from his teammate, jumped high and scored with a header!

Just 3 minutes later, Ronaldo swept the ball towards the goal in the penalty area and Nani shoveled and scored!

After that, Wales was unable to organize an effective offense, and the score was maintained until the end of the game.

In the end, Portugal advanced to the European Cup final again after a lapse of 12 years.

——Like reincarnation, Portugal has become another team to challenge the hosts in the European Cup final.

……

On July 7th, Saint-Denis, Stade de France, Li Liang, the coaching staff and many teammates witnessed this extraordinary final together.

Portugal was hit hard just after the start of the game!
Captain Cristiano Ronaldo was hit hard by French star Dimitri Payette and injured his knee during the fight. After persisting for a while, he finally fell to the ground helplessly and was carried out of the field on a stretcher.

Looking at Ronaldo and Li Liang who covered his face and wept, his heart was also cast a shadow. Is Portugal going to repeat the mistakes of 12 years ago?
Portugal, which has lost Ronaldo, is obviously weak in offense and has been firmly suppressed by the French team.

But the Portuguese goalkeeper Patricio played bravely and contributed 7 saves to keep the goal.

Neither team scored anything in the 90 minutes and the game went into overtime.

Captain Cristiano Ronaldo, who was replaced due to injury, also returned to the sidelines and tried his best to encourage the team.

In the second half of extra time, Portuguese substitute Eder became the team's hero.

——After he won the physical confrontation with the French team defender Laurent Koscielny, he used a 25-meter heavy artillery long-range shot in front of the penalty area to break through the ten fingers of Lloris. Portugal finally defeated the host 1-0 France won the European Cup for the first time in history!

Li Liang, who witnessed Portugal's road to the championship, was very excited. He was very envious of these stars who stood at the pinnacle of honor.

For a long time thereafter, including watching Ronaldo unexpectedly win his fourth Golden Globe at the end of the year in front of the TV, Li Liang has been thinking——

What does it feel like to stand on top of Europe?
……

After the European Cup, Monaco has introduced many new aids. Except for the main players who participated in the European Cup, they are still on vacation, and everyone has started strict training at the Latubi base.

Li Liang has been positioned as an attacking midfielder by the coaching staff.

Yardim told him frankly that Li Liang must start as a substitute in the new season.

But Jardim also said that he also looks forward to Li Liang's early integration into the team and the regular lineup as soon as possible.

Mbappe also led the French U19 youth team all the way to the final, and defeated the Italian team 4:0 to win the final championship.

Mbappe also became an important contributor to the team's championship with the second most 5 goals in the team.

Since the start of the team's summer training, the friendly match against the Swiss Super League team Lugano on July 7, Li Liang has been placed on the bench.

But after four consecutive friendly matches, he didn't even get a chance to play for 1 minute.

Li Liang was very unwilling, and he took the initiative to find the coaches to communicate.

Yardim told Li Liang: "Don't worry, Li.

Please keep training hard, we have three friendlies before the start of the season -

In this new game, our lineup and style of play will undergo huge adjustments, and you must learn to wait patiently. "

(End of this chapter)