The Day I Played with Ronaldo

Chapter 159: Saint Denis

Inter Milan was eliminated. Although Fabiano and Riccardinho are regretful, they will not put too much emotion into it. For them, the game in Sao Paulo is really important.

Ricardo didn't let negative emotions bother him either. He has to play well in Sao Paulo before he is eligible to go to Ronaldo.

In the next game against Goias, Ricardo seemed to vent his anger and scored twice with a head kick to help the team win 4-0.

He has scored 25 goals in 19 appearances this season, which is a small milestone. The goal of 35 goals he set for himself is no longer far away; and Ronaldo's record is no longer far away.

On May 21, Sao Paulo drew the Mexican Blue Cross 2:2 in Mexico City.

For the second round, in the league match against Atletico Mineiro, Rojas hid Ricardo in the snow. In the end, the team shook hands with Atletico Mineiro 1:1.

On May 28th, Sao Paulo defeated the Blue Cross 1-0 at home and successfully entered the semi-finals of the Copa Libertadores. Ricardo assisted Fabiano to score the team's only goal.

Sao Paulo is also the only Brazilian team to advance to the semi-finals. Gremio encountered the Colombian powerhouse Medellin Independiente and was eliminated.

After this game, Ricardo received another call from Pereira: he was selected for the Brazilian squad for the Confederations Cup.

In addition to him, Luis Fabiano and Ricardinho of Sao Paulo were also selected.

Such a festive event is naturally worth going to a nightclub to celebrate. Licado, who has never participated in group activities, also went to a nightclub with his teammates for a night, and even drank a little beer as an exception.

For Ricardo, there are three events to fight for this year.

The first is the Brazilian League, the league is of course the most important and cannot be ignored; the second is the Copa Libertadores, since it has already reached the top 4, why not think about the finals, and even win the cup?

Then there's the Confederations Cup. The goal of the Brazilian team is not to win the championship, but to train and observe the state of some marginal international players. So my goal is to show a good competitive state in the Confederations Cup, impress Pereira, and let those wealthy scouts know that there is someone like me in the world.

For the first round of the Copa Libertadores semi-final on June 4, Ricardo took the initiative to ask for a rest in the next league. Rojas only agreed after a moment of pondering.

At the same time, Rojas did not put Kaka, who had just recovered from injury, into the squad.

Fabiano was also on the bench, but in the end Sao Paulo won 2:1 against Gremio, who had just been eliminated in the Copa Libertadores.

On June 4, at the Morombi Stadium, Rojas played with all his main players. Since the second round will be played on June 18, and this time the national team will assemble on June 14, Ricardo, Ricardinho and Fabiano are destined to be unable to participate in the second round , so in this first round, Sao Paulo must try to get as much goal difference as possible.

Facing the Medellin Independiente team that eliminated Gremio, Sao Paulo was not polite, and Ricardo assisted Rico to score in just 8 minutes of the opening.

Although Medellín has counterattacked independently, it is always stopped by Sao Paulo outside the key area, and it is difficult to form a real threat.

In the 33rd minute of the game, Ricardo and Rico made a switch, ran to the right to catch the ball, and shot suddenly from the corner of the penalty area. This time he shot with the outside instep, and the football went straight to the dead corner, making the opponent's goalkeeper sigh.

Then Sao Paulo shrank the line of defense and played a defensive counterattack comfortably.

Towards the end of the game, Rojas put Kaka on the court to find his feeling. Kaka scored the goal with the first touch of the ball, rewriting the score to 3:0, and this score was maintained until the end.

Sao Paulo successfully won the first round. As long as he does not collapse in the second round, he should be sure to enter the final.

However, in the next two Brazilian league matches, Sao Paulo had one draw and one loss, and the opponents were not strong teams, namely Paysandu and Parana (not Parana Atletico), which was surprising.

If Rojas hadn't won the state league championship this year and half-stepped into the final of the Copa Libertadores, it is estimated that many fans would call him out of class now.

After playing these two Brazilian matches, Ricardo, together with Ricardinho and Luis Fabiano, went to Rio de Janeiro to report to the national team.

More than half of the current national team are players who played in Brazil's domestic league. Only Dida (AC Milan), Belletti (Villarreal), Lucio (Leverkusen) played overseas. ), Juan (Leverkusen), Emerson (Roma), Ronaldinho (Paris Saint-Germain), Adriano (Parma), Eduardo Costa (Bordeaux) and Dudu (Guimaras) These 9 people were selected.

After three days of closed training in Rio de Janeiro, the team flew to France.

There are 8 participating teams in this Confederations Cup. They are the 2000 European Cup champion and host France, the 2000 Asian Cup champion Japan, the 2001 America’s Cup champion Colombia, and the 2002 Africa Cup of Nations champion Cameroon. , 2002 World Cup champion Brazil, World Cup runner-up Turkey, 2002 Oceania Nations Cup champion New Zealand, 2002 Central and North America and Caribbean Gold Cup champion US team.

Brazil, Turkey, Cameroon, and the United States are grouped together in Group B. These three teams are Brazil's underdogs, so the domestic media in Brazil are more optimistic about Brazil's prospects for qualifying.

And the team with the second overall strength in Group A should be Colombia. If Brazil qualify as the first in Group B, the next opponent is likely to be Colombia.

Winning Colombia is certainly not a problem. Brazil has not lost to Colombia for more than ten years.

Therefore, Brazil's domestic expectation for the Brazilian team is to at least reach the final.

Brazil's first stop in France is Saint-Denis, where they will face their first opponent in the group stage at the Stade de France.

They will then go to the Gerland Stadium in Lyon to play the second game.

The third game immediately after the group stage is going to be played at the Guichar Stadium in Saint-Etienne.

Three games and three places are changed, which is a test for the adaptability of the players and the organization and coordination of the team.

In Saint-Denis, the Brazilian team stayed in a hotel arranged by the tournament organizing committee. Pereira's rule of the army was relatively strict, and players were not allowed to enter and leave the hotel at will.

So during non-training hours, the players can only have fun in the hotel.

Ricardo brought his own PS player when he set off. In the hotel room, he and several other young people Adriano, Bordeaux midfielder Eduardo Costa, Guimaras midfielder Du In Dulian's live football match, Licado used his strength to win the title of "Little Ball King" for himself, and he was invincible all over the team.

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