He is My Target!

As December arrived, Portuguese football also welcomed a piece of major news.

Porto's change of manager had already been put on the agenda.

Machado's coaching results this season had failed to satisfy, and it seemed all but certain that Leiria's young manager Mourinho would head north. That also brought a new threat to the other teams in the Portuguese Super League.

As the hottest young manager in Portuguese football at the moment, Mourinho's coaching ability was still outstanding.

Porto's situation in the Portuguese Super League this season was not optimistic, while in the Champions League, although they had reached the second group stage and drawn a very favorable lot, being placed in the same group as Real Madrid, Panathinaikos, and Sparta Prague.

Before the draw, public opinion in Portugal had unanimously believed that Porto's advance to the Champions League quarterfinals was just around the corner.

Unexpectedly, they drew Panathinaikos nil-nil away in the first match, then lost one-nil at home to Sparta Prague in the second, almost ruining what had been an excellent position in the second group stage. This became the fuse that led to Machado's dismissal.

The situation of Portuguese Super League defending champions Boavista was not optimistic either.

Although they had beaten French Ligue 1 side Nantes one-nil in the first match, they suffered a crushing three-nil away defeat to the Red Devils, Manchester United, in the second.

The upcoming two group-stage matches against Bayern Munich would be crucial. If they did not play well, there would basically be no hope of qualifying from the group.

Portuguese Super League teams had fallen one after another on the Champions League stage, and their performances in the UEFA Cup had been equally poor.

The last remaining side, Sporting Lisbon, had drawn Serie A giants AC Milan in the third knockout round. The two sides played the first leg at the end of November, and Sporting Lisbon lost two-nil away to the Rossoneri.

The Ukrainian Nuclear Warhead Shevchenko, whom Su Dong liked very much, opened the scoring in the match, and Inzaghi added another in the second half.

After losing the first leg away, Sporting Lisbon had been forced to the brink.

Head coach Boloni talked tough, vowing to overturn the opponent at home.

It was worth mentioning that with the Winter Break approaching, Sporting Lisbon center forward Jardel was dissatisfied with the team's away performances in Europe. Rumors outside the club said the Brazilian striker was very likely to transfer away during the Winter Break.

Jardel himself also personally stated that he did not rule out that possibility.

This made Sporting Lisbon's already unfavorable situation even worse.

Under these circumstances, the two sides ushered in the second-leg match.

This was a rare Portuguese Super League clash against a giant club, and it was in Lisbon as well, so of course Su Dong could not miss it.

Rony managed to snatch a few tickets from the club and brought Su Dong, Jose Semedo, Mendes, and Manuel to Alvalade Stadium to watch the match.

It was a European competition after all. Although it was only the UEFA Cup, facing a giant like AC Milan filled Alvalade Stadium to capacity, drawing nearly fifty thousand fans to the venue and setting a new attendance high for the season.

Although they had won the first leg two-nil at home, Ancelotti played very conservatively away.

He did not use the two-striker setup from the home match and rested Inzaghi, which left Su Dong, who had obtained the starting lineup in the stands, somewhat disappointed.

Fortunately, Shevchenko, known as White Ronaldo, led the line as the lone striker.

It was a 4-4-1-1, or a 4-5-1. Rui Costa played as the attacking midfielder, Gattuso and Donati formed the double defensive midfielders, while Kaladze and Contra took the two wings in midfield.

There were no changes on Sporting Lisbon's side either. They still lined up in a 3-5-2.

This was Boloni's commonly used tactic this season.

Although they had beaten Porto in the league opener, Boloni's team then suffered consecutive defeats. It was not until he adopted two strikers and activated Jardel and Niculae that Sporting Lisbon's attacking firepower began to pose a threat.

But as a result, in order to ensure the defense and stability of the midfield, they had no choice but to adopt a 4-4-2 or 3-5-2 formation.

Unlike when they had previously played Porto, Rony was in quite a good mood, because his sworn enemy Quaresma was still not in the starting lineup.

Instead, the young midfielder who had performed well this season, Hugo Viana, known as Rui Costa II, continued to appear in the starting lineup as a defensive midfielder.

When the imitation met the real thing, who would come out on top?

At the start of the match, Sporting Lisbon did not launch a blind attack.

Against an opponent like AC Milan, no one dared to be careless.

The Rossoneri, playing away, had a two-goal advantage in hand and also sought stability.

The first half was extremely deadlocked. There was plenty of tension and intensity, but the match was truly hard to watch.

The only thing that left an impression was that Rui Costa's few passes truly showed his quality, Gattuso ran all over the pitch, and Viana accomplished nothing in the midfield duel.

As a forward, Su Dong spent more time observing Shevchenko.

He was hailed as White Ronaldo, but in reality, Shevchenko's characteristics were very different from Ronaldo's.

To a certain extent, Shevchenko was far more well-rounded than Ronaldo, such as in his heading.

He was fast, had strong explosive power, outstanding technique, excellent ability on the ball, and several of his late runs were very threatening. But what truly left an impression on Su Dong was that, as a lone striker, Shevchenko covered a large range.

He always actively took part in every attack by the team, even if the ball did not manage to reach his feet.

After the change of ends in the second half, Sporting Lisbon suddenly launched a pressing attack. From a pass out wide, after Jardel drew the center back's defense, he flicked on a header and assisted Niculae to score first, giving Sporting Lisbon the opening blow.

One-nil, two-one on aggregate!

In an instant, the entire Alvalade Stadium erupted.

All the home fans seemed to see the first light of victory.

But AC Milan were an established giant after all, and they quickly steadied themselves.

Soon after, Ancelotti made the first adjustment, bringing on the Spanish player Moreno for Rui Costa and switching to a 4-4-2.

It was this substitution at a crucial moment that produced an unbelievable effect in the dying stages of the match.

Shevchenko was still covering huge areas, pulling wide to receive the ball before suddenly bursting forward and forcing his way through to near the byline.

Sporting Lisbon were playing a 3-5-2, with the two wide midfielders dropping back into fullback positions when defending to turn it into a 5-3-2, but this time they failed to get back in time. After breaking through down the flank, Shevchenko crossed into the box, and Moreno calmly sent the ball into the net.

One-all, three-one on aggregate!

In the eighty-ninth minute, Shevchenko's crucial assist earned AC Milan a draw, preserved the fruits of their victory, and at the same time gave Su Dong, up in the stands, a tremendous shock.

"So this is what a world-class superstar is!"

Su Dong could hardly believe it.

Sporting Lisbon had focused on marking Shevchenko all match, and throughout the ninety minutes, the Ukrainian had kept making wide-ranging runs—runs that could even be called thankless, useless work.

That left the home team's defenders physically drained near the end of the match, and mentally, they had also grown a little complacent.

In the end, that tiny mistake was all Shevchenko needed to strike the fatal blow.

Moreno's finish was crucial, and his late run into the box was a pleasant surprise. Even Ancelotti's decision to take off Rui Costa and put on Moreno, who was stronger at making late runs, was a masterstroke.

But the key to all of it working was Shevchenko.

"Ninety minutes of running without sparing his strength, all for that one instant of brilliance." The richer Su Dong's experience in football became, the more he admired Shevchenko, to the point that he almost wanted to bow down in worship.

He had seized what was almost the only chance of the entire match.

What a terrifying ability that was.

"That's right. Many people say that among the generation of strikers born in the seventies, Ronaldo is one of a kind, with Shevchenko right behind him. Arsenal's Henry is still missing a little something for now, while Manchester United's Van Nistelrooy is a pure goalscorer."

When Mendes looked at Su Dong, his eyes were also filled with expectation.

In the eyes of many, Shevchenko was the most perfect top-class striker. Both feet were strong, his speed and explosive power were outstanding, and whether it was long solo runs, poaching in the box, or long shots from outside... he was supremely proficient at almost everything.

Even more precious was that his technique was complete. Whether fighting alone or linking up with teammates, he handled it with ease.

A player like that could practically be called a model.

And Su Dong should also work in that direction, because he, too, had his own distinctive traits.

More importantly, he was a little taller than Shevchenko.

"When he was twenty-one, he led Dynamo Kyiv into the Champions League semifinals and scored a hat trick at Camp Nou, becoming famous in one battle. When he was twenty-two, he scored twice at home to beat Real Madrid, then scored once away, helping his team eliminate Real Madrid three-one. After that, in the three-three draw with Bayern Munich, he scored twice again."

Rony was clearly able to recite Shevchenko's glorious deeds by heart.

These days, as long as someone was a football fan, who didn't know Shevchenko?

"He's my target!" Rony stood up and pointed toward the pitch in the distance. "At twenty-one, I'm going to accomplish the feat he once accomplished. I'm even going to surpass him!"

Su Dong listened and nodded again and again. His heart was filled with the same yearning.

"Then you'll have to work even harder. I believe that with your ability and potential, as long as you're willing to put in the effort, you'll definitely have a chance to make it happen. You can become stronger and better than Shevchenko." Mendes not only did not think the two of them arrogant for daring to challenge a world-class superstar, he actually encouraged them.

Su Dong and Rony exchanged a look, then smiled faintly in tacit understanding.

At the side, Jose Semedo watched them, and a hollow sense of loss rose in his heart.

Once upon a time, he had been Rony's only good friend in Lisbon. But now, in Rony's heart, there was only Su Dong.

What made him feel even more dejected was that just a few months ago, Su Dong had merely been an amateur who could not even get a game for the youth team of a semi-professional club. Yet now, he had become a hot commodity coveted by all the major teams in the Portuguese Super League.

At that moment, looking at Rony's ambitious declaration, then at the firmness and determination in Su Dong's eyes, Jose Semedo reflected on himself, and he could not help feeling even more lost and discouraged.

He wanted to continue being good friends with the two of them, but now he could only watch helplessly as they sprinted ahead, while he fell farther and farther behind.

Sometimes he even wondered whether, before long, he would no longer be able to be friends with them at all.

He badly wanted to work harder to catch up with them, and had even made up his mind countless times.

But in the end...