Chapter 51: Chapter 51: The Prime of Youth
Goal! Adriano's trademark long-range thunderbolt strike! Australia's defense could only hold out for thirty-six minutes. While Adriano was undoubtedly the main contributor to the goal, we can't overlook Kaka's role. The origin of this free-kick opportunity was Kaka's through ball, and he provided the assist for the goal. He's an intelligent player who knows how to use his brain on the football pitch. More importantly, he has the rare and invaluable ability to elevate his teammates' performances – a crucial quality for a midfielder. Of course, Adriano deserves immense praise too. His dribbling and long-range shooting abilities are already world-class...
The Brazilian commentator showered praise on the duo, while commentators from other nations naturally drew comparisons with their own young talents, saying things like "Adriano's movement is slightly inferior to Huntelar" or "Kaka has already become the most promising new star after Savicevic" – a common occurrence.
Kaka relished such moments.
Although he didn't score the goal himself, he remained an indispensable protagonist.
In this team, he was the core, the leader, the most essential component. He reveled not just in the vanity of being the center of attention but in truly beginning to experience the allure of athletic competition.
Teamwork, displays of skill and courage, the victor reigning supreme – these were the things that captivated him.
Previously, football had been merely an interest, a hobby, a livelihood, a profession for him. But now, lofty notions like dreams, ambitions, and glory had finally started to take root within him.
Not quite reaching the level of faith, but certainly ascending to a spiritual plane.
Outwardly youthful, yet inwardly mature – having weathered storms and seen rainbows. He should have been touching upon the melancholic "vast rivers and low clouds, with the cries of passing geese in the west wind." Instead, he exuded a youthful vigor, as if having lived half a life and returned still a young man.
People habitually called Kaka a youth because he had just begun his professional career, giving an impression of immaturity. Kaka himself claimed to be a child because... he was shameless.
In reality, at nineteen years old, he could already be considered an adult from any perspective. But for those who have wandered through time, who doesn't harbor a past that can never be revisited?
Those once fanciful dreams of venturing forth with a sword, abandoned because a phone had no battery, were finally starting to resurface.
For some, the more complex their experiences, the more world-weary their mindset. For others, like Kaka, the opposite was true – the more storms they weathered, the more carefree their hearts became.
...
Australia had almost completely abandoned the midfield, parking the bus (defending deep) in their penalty area. Anyone who ventured in faced an arduous journey, inch by inch.
The first half ended that way.
The second half began with Australia kicking off. Just when everyone thought they would persist in their defensive approach, they launched a surprise attack.
It was a premeditated counter-attack.
As the ball was being played back, two Australian midfielders and a striker had already reached Brazil's half, one running into the box, the other two wide (towards the wings).
Then their wing-back played a long ball over the top, finding the attacking midfielder who had made a run to the left side of the box.
Naturally, he had beaten Maicon's offside trap.
Maicon and Leal were on the right flank, a wing-back and a full-back respectively, but Australia's defensive approach in the first half had allowed Leal to essentially become a winger, with Maicon operating as a wing-back.
Brazil's right corner was nearly unoccupied.
Although Maicon had pushed slightly higher, he was still within his defensive zone, so he wasn't flustered. He quickly tracked back, but the Australian had already floated a high ball into the box.
A deceptively simple tactic, but seemingly effective.
The Australian striker rose highest in his aerial duel with Anderson, glancing a header towards goal.
The few Australian fans on the touchline had already jumped to their feet in excitement, their manager's eyes bulging like cymbals, as if he wanted to take the field himself and complete that header.
The ball flew towards the top-right corner with decent curl but lacked power, allowing the Brazilian goalkeeper Rubinho from Corinthians to casually pluck it out of the air with a simple leap.
Kaka had retreated to his own half, and Rubinho, understanding the situation, advanced towards the edge of the box. As he prepared to exit the penalty area, he flung the ball with his right hand, launching it powerfully towards Kaka.
Kaka turned sideways, controlling the ball with the instep of his trailing foot, taking a touch forward. Just when everyone expected him to embark on a marauding run, he instead played a precise low through ball.
The ball traveled over twenty meters, arriving at the feet of Costa, the left-winger from Grêmio.
Costa wasn't particularly fast but technically incisive. He controlled the ball without breaking stride, nonchalantly nutmegging (passing the ball between the legs of) the approaching Australian defender before advancing a few steps towards the box. As the Australian defenders hesitated between closing him down or holding their positions, Costa simply squared the ball across the face of the goal.
Baptista had made a darting run from deep, and he unleashed a fierce strike at the ball as it rolled across his path.
The shot whistled past the Australian defender's ear, arrowing towards the center of the goal. The Australian goalkeeper, alert, calmly gathered the ball.
"Just two minutes into the second half, and we've already seen two transitions of play. Compared to the first half, Australia are more adventurous – it seems they're not satisfied with the 1-0 scoreline. This is the kind of competitive spirit football demands, especially in the knockout stages..."
But everyone had guessed wrong. Australia's attack was clearly just a speculative gamble rather than a tactical shift.
They were still playing defensive counter-attacking football.
Or rather, defensive without much counter-attacking.
The match seemed to revert to its initial pattern, except this time, Brazil's onslaught was far more potent than the first forty-five minutes.
In the 63rd minute, Brazil registered their eleventh shot of the match, a world-class strike not from the long-range specialist Adriano but from Roberto.
The ball arrowed into the top corner.
2-0.
After scoring, Roberto celebrated like a man avenged, jumping and roaring for a good half-hour, undoubtedly exorcising some inner demons.
Once the match restarted, Australia finally started venturing forward.
2-0 and 3-1 were both losses, but 3-1 sounded somewhat better.
However, the final scoreline Brazil handed them was 4-0.
In the 70th minute, Maicon's cross from the byline caused chaos in the Australian box, and Kaka bundled the ball into the net with his thigh amidst the melee.
Just six minutes after that third goal, Adriano scored again with another long-range effort, sealing the victory.
Brazil won all five of their matches, scoring 15 goals and conceding just one, progressing to the quarter-finals of the World Youth Championship with an undisputed dominant performance.
Kaka led his teammates in applauding the fans, and from the stands, Bosco and Simone watched their beaming son, finally sensing a long-absent youthful spirit emanating from him.
Spirited and soaring, the carefree musings of youth.
This was more like it. A kid not even twenty, carrying himself with a mature, unflappable demeanor – it just felt out of place.
(End of chapter)
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