Chapter 463: The Confederations Cup
Manchester United's season has ended, but the European competition is not yet over because the most anticipated match has not started: the Champions League final!
This year's Champions League final is held at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, Wales, on the evening of June 3rd local time. Bruno did not attend the match in person, as the Portuguese national team had a friendly match on the same afternoon. This friendly was part of their preparation for the upcoming Confederations Cup in Russia.
However, when Bruno rushed back to Portugal from the UK, coach Santos did not arrange for him to play in the match. Even without core players like Ronaldo, Bruno, and Pepe, Portugal still thrashed the underdogs Cyprus 4-0 at home, with veteran Moutinho, standing in for Bruno, performing excellently and scoring twice from free kicks.
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After the match, the entire Portuguese team returned to their hotel and watched the Champions League final between Real Madrid and Juventus in the conference room. Ronaldo was outstanding in the game, scoring twice to help Real Madrid secure a 4-1 victory over Juventus. The Galacticos became the first team to defend their Champions League title since the competition's reformation, and this was their 12th Champions League win in the club's history.
Ronaldo became the seventh player in history to score twice in a Champions League final. The last person to do this was Bruno, who scored two goals in the final two years ago to help Udinese defeat Juventus 3-1.
Juventus is considered the most unfortunate team in the Champions League, having lost in the final for the seventh time, surpassing Bayern Munich and Benfica, who have each lost five times.
Ronaldo scored in three Champions League finals, the first player to achieve this since the competition's reformation. He has now scored four goals in Champions League finals, second only to Di Stefano and Puskás, who scored seven.
Buffon became the goalkeeper with the most goals conceded in Champions League finals, having let in ten goals, the only goalkeeper in history to have conceded in double digits in the finals.
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While watching the game, many Portuguese players kept a close eye on Bruno's reactions. They all knew that this season's FIFA World Player of the Year and Ballon d'Or would be contested between Bruno and Ronaldo. As for the Argentine, although his personal performance was impressive, comparable to Bruno and Ronaldo, he had already fallen out of the race due to team honors.
Bruno's Manchester United won the Premier League, FA Cup, League Cup, and Europa League this season, achieving both a grand slam and a full house of team honors. Meanwhile, Ronaldo's Real Madrid were equally impressive, winning the La Liga title ahead of Barcelona and now the Champions League.
Barcelona, on the other hand, only won the Copa del Rey. With personal performances being similar, Barcelona's team honors couldn't compare to those of Real Madrid and Manchester United, meaning the Argentine was out of the running.
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Initially, after leading his team to a quadruple, Bruno had taken the lead in the competition with Ronaldo. But now, with Ronaldo helping Real Madrid win the Champions League, the competition had turned. The Champions League has a massive influence!
Especially since Ronaldo performed exceptionally in the Champions League this season, scoring 12 goals to win the Golden Boot, including his brace in the final. Throughout the process, Bruno remained very natural. Every time Ronaldo performed brilliantly, Bruno cheered for him. Especially when Ronaldo scored, Bruno acted like a die-hard fan, making those who didn't know think he had scored himself.
His teammates couldn't figure out the real relationship between Bruno and Ronaldo. They didn't look like rivals at all!
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A week later, Portugal played their final match before the Confederations Cup, facing Latvia away. This was the sixth match in their World Cup qualifying group.
In this game, Bruno shone again, scoring a hat-trick to help Portugal thrash Latvia 6-0. Recently returned Ronaldo also performed brilliantly, scoring twice.
After securing six consecutive victories in the group stage, the Portuguese team, buoyed by their big win, headed to Russia to prepare for the upcoming Confederations Cup.
The Confederations Cup, originally the Intercontinental Championship, was proposed by the football associations of Asia, Africa, South America, and North America & the Caribbean in 1991. Hosted by FIFA, it became a quadrennial event in 2005. The participating teams include the next year's World Cup host, the reigning World Cup champion, and the champions of the six continental championships. If the World Cup champion is also a continental champion, the continental runner-up participates.
For example, in the 2013 Brazil Confederations Cup, both the 2010 World Cup and 2012 European Championship winners were Spain, so the European runners-up, Italy, participated.
The Confederations Cup is often called the "Mini World Cup," with its trophy modeled after the World Cup. FIFA regards it as the second most prestigious international tournament after the World Cup. However, recent reports suggest that FIFA is considering canceling the event, meaning this eighth Confederations Cup could be its swan song.
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In this year's Confederations Cup in Russia, the eight participating teams are the host Russia, the 2014 World Cup champions Germany, the 2016 European Championship champions Portugal, the 2015 Asian Cup champions Australia, the 2015 Copa America champions Chile, the 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup champions Mexico, the 2016 Oceania Nations Cup champions New Zealand, and the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations champions Cameroon.
According to the draw held at the end of last year, Portugal was placed in Group A alongside host Russia, Gold Cup champions Mexico, and Oceania champions New Zealand. This was considered a relatively weak group, with the media suggesting Portugal had received a favorable draw.
In this group, Portugal was undoubtedly the favorite to advance to the knockout stage, boasting stars like Bruno and Ronaldo, making them significantly stronger than Mexico, host Russia, and the minnows New Zealand. The other qualification spot was expected to be contested between Russia and Mexico.
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Portugal's first group match was against the strongest opponent, Mexico, considered the key battle for the top spot in the group.
The players stood in the tunnel, waiting to enter the field, while the loudspeaker introduced the participating players. Bruno stood at the front of the line, next to Mexico's striker Javier Hernández, known to Manchester United fans as Chicharito (Little Pea).
Before the match, the atmosphere was friendly. Bruno extended his hand to Chicharito, a player he admired for his ghostly movement in the box, which Bruno had studied.
In Ferguson's final years and during Moyes' tenure at Manchester United, Chicharito was a crucial player, making significant contributions. However, with Van Gaal's arrival, Hernández quickly lost his place. After a season on loan at Real Madrid in 2014, he performed well but still didn't fit into Van Gaal's plans and transferred to Bundesliga's Wolfsburg in the summer transfer window.
Despite Mexico's wealth of attacking talent and Hernández's inconsistent appearances for the national team, he remained a key weapon. With 49 goals in 100 appearances for Mexico, his efficiency made him a formidable goal-scoring threat.
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Bruno smiled and shook Chicharito's hand. "Good luck," Chicharito said.
"Thank you," Bruno replied. That was the extent of their pre-match exchange.
At that moment, Argentine referee Néstor Pitana, holding the match ball, emerged from the referees' room. He walked to the front and said to the players, "Time to go out, gentlemen."
As this Confederations Cup would use video replay technology, the officiating team included not just the main referee, two assistant referees, and a fourth official but also video assistant referees (VAR). The team captains clapped and shouted to their teammates, "Get ready to go out!"
After a brief opening ceremony, the captains gathered to exchange pennants and choose sides. Ronaldo won the coin toss, giving Mexico the kickoff.
The players took their positions, waiting for the kick-off. Referee Pitana checked his watch and, receiving a nod from the fourth official, blew the whistle.
"The match begins!"
"CCTV! CCTV! Dear viewers, you are now watching the second match of Group A in the 2017 Russia Confederations Cup, featuring Gold Cup champions Mexico against European champions Portugal!"
From the start, Mexico capitalized on their possession advantage to launch an aggressive attack on Portugal.
Chicharito passed the ball to Jiménez and ran forward. After a series of passes, the ball returned to him at the edge of the penalty area. Without giving the Portuguese defenders time to close him down, Javier Hernández took a shot!
(End of Chapter)
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