I AM the Football Star-Chapter 422 - 120: Group of Death? Bring Out My Italian Cannon! (13k-Word Major - ) (Part 2)
The top star in Serie A, Izalelt, stated, "I think Lu Yang might need more rest. He surely hasn’t fully recovered yet. Although I haven’t experienced such an injury myself, I know that no one can recover from a torn cruciate ligament in less than two months."
The divine striker Gutierrez, who transferred to Chelsea: "Lu Yang is quite popular in England, and he knows how to seize chances. He wants to play more matches during this period. He is very determined, but human will can’t change reality. He must first focus on recovery."
Prince Zebra, Ancelotti: "Maniero is a very wise person. I believe there is a reason for his lineup decisions."
King of Purple Lilies, Carrel: "If Maniero consulted Lu Yang’s opinion, then I believe this arrangement is fine. However, I still don’t have high hopes for Italy’s journey in the European Youth Championship. The competition in this group is too fierce."
Wolf King Perrotta: "Even Mancini and Enriquez might face elimination in the European Youth Championship; the Italy National Youth Team indeed has it tough!"
Vice Captain of the Italy National Team, Drake: "I hope everyone can be more accommodating towards Maniero. The group division in this European Youth Championship is truly awful, and it’s hard for us to break through."
These are relatively polite.
As for fan comments, don’t doubt, they are even harsher.
Moreover, the criticism began with Maniero and later included Lu Yang.
The reasoning is... Did Lu Yang choose to risk playing while obviously injured, pursuing exposure at the expense of his career?
Does he think he will always be lucky and never suffer a truly career-ending injury?
Many online users believe that if Lu Yang continues to act so recklessly, his cruciate ligament and Achilles tendon will one day completely rupture.
By then, it’ll be his time to leave professional football, and that day won’t be far away.
...
On July 21st, the second round of group matches in the European Youth Championship kicked off.
Two days prior, in the first round of matches for the second half of the groups, Group A had a surprise result.
The team everyone thought was the underdog, Poland, unexpectedly drew 2-2 with seed team England!
As of now, the points in Group A are structured as 3-1-1-0: Spain with three points, England and Poland with one point each, and Italy at the bottom with zero points.
And it is quite coincidental that, apart from Italy, the other three teams have players who have each scored two goals.
Spain’s Enriquez scored twice.
England’s Mancini also scored two goals in a single match.
And the reason Poland managed to draw against England was because their key striker Pavovsky also scored twice to equalize!
In contrast, Italy’s performance was quite weak.
This is international competition, especially with fewer rounds; based on one or two matches alone, the gap between some teams and players can be huge.
But fans don’t care about that; they judge by one match alone, believing Italy is really terrible this year.
"How do you feel, nervous?" Morici asked Lu Yang, who was making his first appearance, in the players’ tunnel.
"Not really, having no experience of failure might give me better composure than someone like you, who has already led the team to lose once," Lu Yang replied.
Morici almost couldn’t hold back.
Goddammit!
If Naji weren’t here, and no one stopped me, I’d definitely beat up that Lu Head of yours!
"That guy is strong, practically a shooting machine!" Morici pointed at Pavovsky, who was beside them, "This guy only had three chances to shoot last match, yet he scored twice. His efficiency is frightening."
"I’ve heard that Bundesliga’s giant, Bayern Munich, fancy him and will try to recruit him within the coming one or two seasons."
"Considering no club in the Bundesliga can refuse Bayern’s poaching, he’s almost guaranteed to become a star player soon. So even though his market value in this cup seems outside the top five, within a year or two, he might turn out to be the best among us!"
Morici felt envious, jealous, and spiteful.
Bundesliga’s defense is notoriously weak, not in terms of intensity but genuine defensive quality.
So scoring and assisting in the Bundesliga is incredibly satisfying.
If Morici went to the Bundesliga, his stats would surely look impressive.
Of course, that’s provided he’s in a strong team.
If he went to a weak team, he’d just end up being a stepping stone for others.
"This player is just a player; what do you mean by this ’batch of players’? You speak quite crudely... But if we lose this match, that’s your responsibility!" Lu Yang said to Morici, "If we play our tactics successfully, theoretically, this driver shouldn’t have three shooting chances!"
Morici shrugged.
Goddammit!
Throwing blame before the match even starts?
You lot are truly despicable!
But Lu Yang’s words hold some truth.
Is the Italy Team’s defense really that bad?
Not exactly. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮
The goals conceded last match were due to formation flaws and strong opposition forwards.
All formations have flaws; it just depends on whether you choose players that can compensate for those flaws or avoid them.
Without Lu Yang, Italy’s players find it hard to cover wide gaps.
And even with Lu Yang on the field, wide gaps are difficult to cover. But... with Lu Yang as the wingman for Morici, Morici might manage to keep the ball in the opponent’s half.
Frontline possession play!
Core positioned forward!
Keep threats confined to the opponent’s half, effectively eliminating all defensive weaknesses on our side.
