And Deng Kai hopes that Ronaldo can master these things earlier.
You don't have to use them—but you can't avoid them.
What's more… Kai's ability to pass quickly and handle the ball is something Ronaldo will eventually develop, but only after several years of polishing at Manchester United.
But what if Ronaldo polished those abilities in advance?
After that conversation, Ronaldo completely gave up weight training—for now—because experts believed his height would only stabilize after reaching around 1.83 meters.
Only then should he begin proper strength training.
Before that, he needed to focus mainly on nutrition—eat well, not train harder.
…
March 2nd, Round 20 of the Portuguese Liga.
Moreirense vs. Santa Clara.
A mid-table clash.
Ronaldo's performance in this match was inconsistent.
He scored a goal.
But he was clearly rushing things when passing and receiving. It looked like he was deliberately trying to speed up his play, but he simply couldn't adapt yet, and the quality of his passes dropped sharply.
To be honest, his passing wasn't great to begin with—so once it dropped further, it was basically like handing the ball straight to the opponent.
Luckily, Moreirense's right winger Flávio stepped up, scoring twice to help the team come from behind and secure their fifth consecutive league win.
After the match, Kai asked Triguera to buy an arcade-style joystick machine and place it in the training room—the kind you'd find in old gaming halls.
But instead of fighting games, it had a bullet-hell shooter.
The plane sits at the bottom of the screen, enemies swarm from above, and bullets fly everywhere. The difficulty is insane—no mercy at all.
At first, many players were interested.
But after dying dozens of times, no one wanted to touch it again.
Except two people.
Midfield all-rounder Emerson and right-back Alex performed the best.
Coincidentally, both had some of the best vision, passing, and ball-handling abilities in the team.
Emerson was the deputy core of the midfield. If Kai wasn't on the pitch, Emerson would take over that role.
As for Alex, his attacking awareness and movement were excellent. His defense? Let's just say… not so much.
Kai explained:
"The field of vision on a football pitch is complicated. Some players can't properly judge depth—they struggle to tell whether an opponent is fifteen or twenty meters away. Without clear visual reference, they even misjudge distance entirely."
"Others get tunnel vision. Once the game becomes intense, their vision shrinks—they can only see what's directly in front of them and completely lose awareness of their surroundings."
"Those kinds of players struggle in team sports. They play alone, miss opportunities, and can't be trained out of it."
"You're not like that. You have the talent—you just haven't developed it."
"This game is set to maximum difficulty. You need top-tier vision and forward thinking. What looks like an opportunity is often a trap—the outcome is decided the moment you act."
"Once you master this, your ball-handling and passing will improve significantly. After that, we'll work on real technique and movement."
From that moment on, Cristiano Ronaldo became the most addicted "gamer" in Moreirense.
He loved it.
Even when it made him rage.
Sometimes… it even made him cry.
Anderson couldn't take it anymore:
"Cristiano, we're both crying here—why are we still playing? This damn Level 6 boss is impossible! No one can beat this shit!"
Tears streaming down his face, Ronaldo kept smashing the buttons like they had personally offended him.
And this… was his real talent.
With his insane self-discipline, as long as someone pointed him in the right direction, he would grind it until he mastered it.
March 9th, Round 21 of the Portuguese Liga.
Moreirense vs. Portimonense.
Ronaldo was still a bit impatient with the ball.
After just one week, he had reduced his mistakes—but he still wasn't contributing much to the attack.
Even so, he relied on his striker's instinct to score from a rebound in front of goal.
Despite his poor form, Ronaldo still attracted defensive attention.
That opened space for others.
Kai delivered one goal and two assists.
Anderson had a goal and an assist.
Alex and Emerson each scored as well.
Moreirense won 4–2.
Six consecutive victories!
After the match, Ronaldo brought up a new problem.
"If I'm afraid of pressure, I speed up my play."
"But if I speed up, I need better vision and anticipation."
"But as an attacker, I can't just hide like you do and play football. I have to face defenders head-on."
"So what do I do when they increase physical intensity?"
Without strength training, he simply couldn't handle it.
Kai and Triguera discussed the issue and invited a basketball training expert the next day.
This coach had once worked in the NBA and had studied a certain player extensively—Allen Iverson.
The coach said:
"First, you need to show them you're fast. In the first few attacks, sprint at full speed."
"If your technique isn't ready, just ask for long balls and race them."
"Once they respect your speed, slow down—but when you slow down, use feints. That's your threat."
"The purpose of feints isn't always to beat the defender. In football, that's actually very hard."
"The real purpose is to force the defender to keep guessing. While they're thinking, they can't commit to a tackle or physical challenge."
"People are like machines—they need a signal before they act."
"Shoulder drops, stepovers, sudden stops, body feints, eye fakes—make all of these part of your natural movement."
"When your movements become instinct, you gain time—because your opponent has to think."
"When you're ready and they're not, you can win even against stronger players."
The coach then worked on Ronaldo's movement patterns, making his feints sharper and more deceptive.
Kai explained the underlying logic while training alongside him.
Triguera recorded everything carefully, adding his own insights.
He planned to turn this into future youth training material.
And this time, he made it very clear—
These ideas came from Kai.
He wasn't like certain people who steal credit and act like saints.
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