I AM the Football Star-Chapter 594 - 158: If Anyone Can Save Italy, It’s Lu!
"Oh! What happened?"
"It’s the Italy bench! Drake and Vincent seem to be arguing about something!"
"We know there were already rumors of discord within the Italy Team before the match, allegedly involving some verbal clashes between players and the coaching staff. But..."
"But this is during the match!"
"Drake, as one of the captains of the Italy Team, has always been diligent. He’s not someone who plays with privilege. Even when Vincent replaced him with other players, Drake never complained."
"The voices are getting louder, some players have come over, but they haven’t separated the two."
"Drake is saying something, and his words seem to have affected the players of the Italy Team. The coaching staff was stopped by Italy Team’s players, the situation did not escalate further, but the two continued their conversation."
"Drake’s voice is very loud, we can already hear what he is yelling!"
The angry voice of Drake was heard through the television. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖
"Put me on? What do you want me on for? Why do you want me to go up?"
"Do you think I can score for Italy? What on earth are you thinking?"
"Victory! We need victory now, do you understand?"
"Italy needs offense, not defense!"
"He should be the one going up!"
"Top scorer in Serie B! Sixty goals in the whole season! Double golden boots for the Italian Cup and European Youth Championship!"
"Him, Lu! Put Lu on! Let him play!"
"If there’s anyone who can save Italy, I believe it’s Lu!"
Drake was hysterical, and the fourth referee was baffled by the situation.
This... should they intervene or not?
This seems like an internal issue of the Italy Team?
Moreover... no physical conflict erupted.
Logically, referees shouldn’t interfere.
But... the scene is somewhat worrying.
Would Drake suddenly snap and take action against Vincent, doing what every Italian wants to do?
Vincent turned pale.
He had never experienced such a scene.
This was a life-and-death match for Italy, under the watchful eyes of fans across all of Italy and even all of Europe. His substitution arrangement as a head coach was not only directly refused by the intended substitute, but he was also yelled at and instructed by the other party.
Is he still the head coach of this team?
Do these players still want to play?
No doubt, any player who goes against the will of a head coach, no matter what, the future will only get narrower, with few exceptions.
This disobedience is not about negotiating with the head coach but directly refuting them publicly.
Like when Sarri was coaching at Chelsea, wanting to substitute goalkeeper Kepa, who refused to come off.
That incident can be described as a double loss.
Sarri’s reputation was ruined, his prestige was gone, and he had to leave gloomily in the end.
Equally, Kepa was considered a difficult player internally within the industry, leading to a significant drop in his market value, with no interest from others.
And now Drake is much like Kepa.
Except Kepa didn’t want to come off the field, which is somewhat understandable.
But Drake didn’t want to go on, which is even rarer.
This incident is bound to affect Drake, and even after this, he may never be called up to the national team again, but Drake still made this relatively extreme choice.
Because he knows this may be the last hope.
Vincent, after experiencing Drake’s angry rebuke and refusal, will also find it hard for his coaching career to progress in the future since he can no longer maintain the most basic authority of a head coach.
This is a player issue, but it is also Vincent’s own problem.
Moreover, he has never won any solid championship awards before, unlike Mourinho or Guardiola, the championship machines, who can always start anew no matter how much adversity they face.
In any case, the substitution must continue.
The main referee will not give the Italy Team too much time.
Pellegrini’s injury requires him to come off; if your Italy Team doesn’t substitute, you’ll play ten against eleven, which would please the Sweden Team greatly.
At the critical moment, Maniero, who had not spoken from the bench, came over. He asked Drake to let go and told the fourth referee in front of both Drake and Vincent, "We have decided, use player number 22, Lu Yang, to replace player number 8, Pellegrini!"
The fourth referee looked at Vincent and saw that Vincent did not shake his head.
Thus, the substitution began.
Lu Yang, without warming up, was dramatically thrust onto the field at this critical moment.
The Italian fans at the scene erupted into a frenzy, shouting Lu Yang’s name in unison, as if the match had already been won.
This is Italy’s home ground, and the capacity of the Italian stadium was originally large, so there were more than fifty thousand Italian fans here!
When fifty thousand people shout the same name, the sense of awe is beyond what anyone who hasn’t been to a live game can imagine.
Lu Yang!
Lu Yang!
Lu Yang!
The Swedish fans were completely baffled by this atmosphere.
What does this mean?
Is a superstar about to take the stage?
Does Italy have a hidden weapon left?
"It’s that Lu! The player who just won the Puskas Award again!" Some Swedish fans who did their homework began explaining to everyone about the existence of Lu.
In fact, in the previous match, around the same period, the Italian fan expeditionary force was also calling this name.
But in the end, Vincent insisted on ignoring it, enduring illness and displaying an unyielding spirit, earning respect.
"Is he strong?"
