Trigella knew exactly who Deng Kai was talking about, as he was very familiar with Portugal's youth training: "Are you speaking of Benfica's Maniche? I don't recall much about this player, just that he has a bit of a temper and it seems he hasn't made any outstanding technical performances."
Maniche, formally known as Nuno Ricardo de Oliveira Ribeiro, yes, doesn't contain any part of the word 'Machini'—such is the Portuguese penchant for bizarre names.
Research related to their names could even make up a separate course.
Maniche was around twenty-two or twenty-three years old at that time, nothing more than an obscure, illegitimate son.
But in the future, he would become world-famous as Mourinho's first disciple.
Porto, Chelsea, Atlético Madrid, Inter Milan—he could indeed be considered a prodigal son of top clubs.
Yet his greatest strength wasn't here but in his stunning performances for the Portugal national team.
