There, Antonios Nikopolidis was still crouched in a ready stance, hands slightly apart, prepared to explode in either direction.
Then he slowly turned his head.
And stared blankly at the ball resting inside the net.
“GOOOOOOOOOAL!!!”
“KAKA!!!
KAKA!!!”
“A world-class goal!
Absolutely world-class!”
“How did he do that?!
How did he do that?!”
“This isn’t Kaka’s usual style!
That’s the kind of close-control dribbling you’d expect from Ronaldinho, but Kaka has just done it himself!”
“He beats three defenders, breaks the deadlock, and Nikopolidis doesn’t even have time to react!”
“Unbelievable!”
“Absolutely unbelievable!”
“Hahaha!”
The instant the ball hit the net, Kaka looked up, pointed both hands toward the sky, and burst out laughing.
This was ridiculous.
This really was bullying with superior stats.
A combination of 95 Dribbling and 95 Physical against defenders at this level was practically unfair.
Facing that three-man trap just now, he hadn’t even used any famous tricks like an elastico or a roulette.
He’d simply reacted instinctively.
A touch with the left.
A flick with the right.
A quick shift of the ball.
Then a healthy dose of brute strength.
And Greece’s three-man defensive trap had fallen apart almost instantly.
No wonder everyone wanted to be a winger.
Running at defenders and slipping past them as though you were mowing grass…
This felt incredible!
The Zentralstadion erupted.
The goal had been too spectacular.
It completely overturned Kaka’s usual image as a long-striding, explosive runner.
Watching someone his size suddenly pull off delicate close-control dribbling in a tiny space was like seeing a heavyweight boxer thread a needle.
And Greece’s defence had just been made to look ridiculous.
Supporters in the stands leapt to their feet.
Brazil fans wearing Kaka’s number 8 shirt roared wildly, the noise shaking the stadium.
“That’s ridiculous, Ricardo!”
Ronaldinho, who had witnessed the entire move, burst out laughing and sprinted over.
He jumped onto Kaka’s back and shook his shoulders.
“How did you even do that?
That’s outrageous!”
Kaka could only grin.
He hugged and high-fived the teammates arriving to celebrate.
With this one goal, his future path suddenly became completely clear.
The facts spoke for themselves.
Cheating was unbeatable.
The system had not lied to him.
After several minutes of celebration, the match finally restarted.
Greece kicked off.
Within only a few passes, possession was back with Brazil.
After what Kaka had just done, Greece immediately tightened the centre.
More importantly, they began paying far more attention to him.
That naturally reduced some of the pressure on Ronaldinho, who had been receiving special treatment from the opening whistle.
In the 41st minute, Greece cautiously pushed forward.
Angelos Charisteas managed to get a shot away, but it was comfortably collected by Dida.
The Brazilian goalkeeper immediately launched the ball long.
It dropped toward Zé Roberto.
Brazil counter-attacked.
Fast.
Zé Roberto moved it into Kaka.
Kaka surged forward with long strides, repeatedly lifting his head to scan the movement ahead of him.
Before the Greek defenders could close him down, he used the outside of his right foot to slide the ball forward.
It skidded beautifully across the grass.
Ronaldinho accelerated onto it, controlled the ball and beat his defender in one fluid movement, then immediately returned the pass.
Kaka had already continued his run.
One touch.
Forward again.
“Brazil on the counter!”
“Zé Roberto finds Kaka!”
“Kaka drives forward!
Greece are trying to close him down!”
“Kaka finds Ronaldinho!”
“Wonderful touch!
Ronaldinho beats his man and returns it!”
“Kaka arriving in support…”
“Is he going to shoot?”
“Ronaldinho is through!”
“Squares it!”
“ADRIANO!!!”
“GOOOOOOOOOAL!!!”
“Two-nil!”
“Brazil lead by two before half-time!”
“Unselfish from Kaka!”
“Unselfish from Ronaldinho!”
“Brazil are completely controlling this match!”
“Greece simply cannot deal with this attack!”
“This could become a rout!”
After scoring, Adriano roared and charged toward the corner.
He dropped onto both knees and slid across the grass in celebration.
A second later, his teammates piled into him and knocked him flat.
Kaka walked over smiling and patted him on the shoulder.
He had absolutely no intention of joining another sweaty human pile.
“Great pass, Ricardo!”
Ronaldinho jogged over with his trademark grin.
Kaka high-fived him.
“I thought you were going to shoot.”
“Haha.
I saw Adriano was in a better position.
If I’d taken it myself, the keeper might have saved it.”
Kaka rolled his eyes.
Ronaldinho’s finishing was among the best in world football.
From a one-on-one like that, the chances of him missing were probably lower than the chances of someone making a complete fool of themselves on purpose.
Still, teammates being selfless with each other was obviously a good thing.
Seeing Kaka say nothing, Ronaldinho grinned and patted him on the shoulder.
“Ricardo, you feel different.”
Kaka raised an eyebrow and looked at the football magician in surprise.
“Me?
Different how?”
“Hmm…”
Ronaldinho rubbed his chin thoughtfully, then flashed another grin.
“I don’t know.
These last few days, you’ve just changed a lot.”
“Your personality’s more outgoing.
And your technique looks different too.”
“I’ve gotten stronger, Ronnie.” Kaka shrugged.
“Isn’t that a good thing?”
Then he raised a fist and lightly punched Ronaldinho on the shoulder.
“Haha, of course it’s a good thing, Ricardo.
Compared with the quiet, serious Ricardo from before, I definitely prefer this cheerful version!”
Kaka laughed and casually brushed the subject aside.
Ronaldinho’s instincts were frighteningly sharp.
He had clearly noticed the changes in Kaka, even if he had no idea what had caused them.
But Kaka wasn’t worried in the slightest.
If a little suspicion was enough to expose the fact that he’d transmigrated into another body with a system, then what kind of useless transmigration cheat would that be?
Besides, this world didn’t exactly operate on strict logic anyway.
So…
He was Kaka.
And as long as he was handsome, everything else could wait!
The match resumed.
Because of the lengthy celebrations after the two first-half goals, the referee added a generous amount of stoppage time.
Brazil continued moving the ball around Greece’s half, keeping the pressure high around the penalty area, but couldn’t add another goal before the break.
The teams went into half-time with Brazil leading 2-0.
With a two-goal advantage, Carlos Alberto Parreira was visibly more relaxed.
And once the second half began, Brazil’s attacking players started playing with even more freedom.
Robinho completely transformed into the step-over merchant everyone knew.
He tore down the left flank again and again, attacking defenders relentlessly.
The moment the ball reached him, passing seemed to disappear from his vocabulary.
Either he beat his man.
Lost the ball.
Or got kicked to the ground.
Those were apparently the only three options.
Adriano, meanwhile, charged from side to side with enormous enthusiasm.
With Ronaldo Nazário absent, he was desperate to establish himself as Brazil’s undisputed first-choice striker, and his desire to score was obvious.
By comparison, Kaka and Ronaldinho were much more relaxed.
Kaka had already scored once and, after confirming just how strong he’d become, was strangely calm.
Ronaldinho?
He simply couldn’t be bothered running more than necessary.
Brazil’s forwards looked lively enough, but the first goal of the second half still came from midfield.
In the 63rd minute, Robinho was brought down while trying to dribble past a defender on the left.
Brazil won a free kick.
Ronaldinho went directly for goal, but Nikopolidis pushed the shot away for a corner.
Ronaldinho took the resulting set piece and floated the ball toward the far post.
A Greek defender barely managed to glance it away.
Unfortunately for Greece, the clearance dropped almost perfectly for Kaka.
Standing near the edge of the penalty area, he happily accepted the gift.
One step forward.
Right foot back.
Bang!
The shot ripped through the crowd and flew straight into the top-right corner.
“GOOOOOAL!!!”
“Kaka again!”
“A brace!”
“Brazil lead Greece by three goals!”
“The Brazilian star is lighting up Leipzig!”
Perhaps it was the influence of the original Kaka’s personality.
Or perhaps the first goal had already released most of his excitement.
Either way, scoring again didn’t feel nearly as overwhelming.
Instead, it felt strangely natural.
As if this was simply what he was supposed to do.
He jogged away, pointed both hands toward the sky as usual, exchanged hugs with the teammates rushing over, then calmly returned toward the centre circle.
In the 78th minute, Robinho’s endless enthusiasm finally paid off.
He drifted toward the left flank and received a through ball from Kaka.
One touch took him past the defender.
Then, almost without looking, he fired toward goal.
Bang!
The Greek defence had already been battered into a daze, and Nikopolidis reacted half a second too slowly.
The ball slipped past him and into the net.
Brazil 4-0 Greece.
With the match effectively over, Carlos Alberto Parreira had already sent substitutes out to warm up, preparing to protect his key players.
But by this point, Greece were beginning to lose their composure.
Four goals down, their challenges became rougher.
And with nothing left to lose, they finally threw numbers forward in search of a consolation goal.
Unfortunately for them…
That only made things worse.
Roque Júnior intercepted the ball deep in Brazil’s half and immediately launched a long pass toward Kaka.
Kaka turned.
One heavy touch knocked the ball several metres ahead.
Then those long legs opened up.
The supercar had launched.
“Kaka!”
“Brazil on the counter!”
“He’s accelerating!”
“Look at that strength!”
The commentator rose from his seat.
So did half the stadium.
A Greek midfielder sprinted desperately after him.
For a few seconds, he thought he might catch up.
Then Kaka shifted gears.
The gap only grew larger.
Despair arrived quickly.
Kaka surged past one player.
Then another.
With his right foot, he pushed the ball diagonally toward the penalty area.
The defenders marking Robinho and Adriano immediately abandoned their assignments.
They didn’t care anymore.
This man had already scored twice.
There was no way they were allowing a hat-trick.
They charged toward him with clenched teeth.
Giourkas Seitaridis came in first.
The moment he got close enough, he threw himself into a sliding tackle.
Kaka reacted instantly.
“Pull it back…”
“And chip!”
He lifted the ball.
Then jumped.
Man and ball sailed cleanly over Seitaridis.
The ball clipped Kaka’s knee in mid-air and bounced forward, narrowly avoiding the outstretched foot of another defender.
Seitaridis’s body caught Kaka’s left foot on the way through.
He stumbled when he landed.
But somehow stayed upright.
Still moving and still charging.
The final Greek defender stretched desperately for the ball.
Kaka brushed shoulders with him.
The defender, already off balance from the challenge, toppled to the ground.
Now only Nikopolidis remained.
The goalkeeper rushed out grim-faced.
Two steps.
Then he dropped low.
Too late.
Kaka took another couple of strides, quickly shifted his centre of gravity, drew back his right foot, and struck.
Low.
Hard.
Fast.
Bang!
The ball skimmed across the grass like lightning…
Straight into the net!
“GOOOOOOAL!!!”
“He’s done it again!”
“Again!”
“KAKA HAT-TRICK!!!”
“The Prince of the San Siro has conquered Leipzig!”
The entire stadium erupted.