I AM the Football Star

Chapter 9: Chapter 4: Hidden Dragon and Phoenix Chick—Can He Really Play Center Back?

”Hey, Lu, you’re going to be famous this time!” Morici rushed towards Lu Yang and hugged him.

Morici is only 1.72 meters tall and weighs only 110 pounds, his physical condition is quite poor.

But his ball control and passing skills are extremely strong, making him the best midfielder in the Sanremo Youth Team.

The two have a great relationship, often practicing together and learning a lot from each other’s strengths.

Morici learned interception thinking from Lu Yang. Although he appears skinny, he is not a defensive liability, which has improved his competitiveness to some extent.

And Lu Yang practiced ball control with Morici, making him quite stable in ball control among the team’s defenders.

”You’ll definitely make it to the first team in the second half of the season, you’re just too damn strong!” Morici said enviously.

”Where, where.” Lu Yang responded modestly.

”Don’t be modest, buddy, this is the praise you deserve!” Morici lamented, Lu is just not confident enough, too reserved, which is the biggest character flaw of Eastern people.

”I’m asking, where am I too strong, can you elaborate?” Lu Yang showed a bright smile.

Morici was momentarily speechless.

Can he really elaborate?

This...

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”Italian D Division Youth Training, Shining Celebrity Match, One Goal and One Assist, Buzzer Beater!”

”Maniero Certifies, This Young Player is Remarkable!”

”The Most Unorthodox Defender Ever, Italian D Division Lu Yang, San Remo Production!”

”Teacher and Student Clash, Sotu Tragically Defeated by His Own Player’s Buzzer Beater!”

”Betting, Will Lu Yang be Retaliated by Sotu? After All, He Got His Own Coach a Yellow Card on the Field!”

”Is He an Eastern Divine Defender or an Eastern Divine Striker, Famous for His Lumberjack Shot!”

”Two Months Ago, He Could Have Won This Year’s Puskas Award!”

Proven true, Lu Yang indeed became famous.

Not just him, San Remo should be famous.

Sotu, a so-called destructor who doesn’t understand midfield art, actually attempted to become a team’s head coach.

This once triggered a major discussion in Italian football, and the conclusion of this discussion was that not all football legends have the qualifications to be head coaches, especially butcher-type midfielders like Sotu, who are clearly unsuitable.

Lu Yang, a skinny defender who couldn’t even make it to the Italian D Division first team at only 1.78 meters tall, became famous in the position of central forward.

Honestly, such an oddity, having one can settle the world, because the team will find it difficult to have a competitive edge, naturally becoming stable.

But a small San Remo unexpectedly has two talents labeled as Hidden Dragon and Phoenix Chick at the same time.

This undoubtedly piqued public curiosity.

So, will San Remo be relegated this season?

After all, at the end of the first half of the season, they ranked fifteenth out of twenty teams in the Italian D Division, firmly in the relegation zone.

They conceded 46 goals in half a season, nearly breaking the record for goals conceded in the Italian D Division in half a season.

Many teams don’t even concede that many goals throughout the whole season.

Consequently, countless reporters swarmed San Remo, attempting to obtain first-hand information.

San Remo also seized the opportunity to introduce themselves to the nation and became famous once.

Ironically, the initially attention-grabbing Sotu and Lu Yang both quietly disappeared from the public view.

The former is organizing the team, considering how to break through and lead San Remo to stable growth.

The latter is dragging Morici to the field every day to practice, eager to familiarize himself with those drawn player-level skills.

Morici and Lu Yang practiced one-on-one, alternating between offense and defense, thoroughly challenged.

Soon, the second half of the season begins.

Sotu took charge of San Remo.

His first task upon entering the first team was to bring Lu Yang, Morici, and a total of five youth players into the first team.

”In big clubs, youth players only need to perform well enough to occupy the main positions. Why can’t it be like this in the Italian D Division? I don’t think there are players here whose individual abilities are stronger than Serie A players, nor do I think the gap between main players, substitutes, and youth players is even greater than in Serie A!”

Sotu came with the reputation of a football legend, his toughness was able to completely command San Remo’s locker room.

Thus, Lu Yang, Morici and others successfully joined the first team.

In fact, San Remo’s lineup in the Italian D Division is not considered bad. At least they actually have a star left winger, Vedian.

The 19-year-old Vedian is rumored to be eyed by the Italian Third Division team Renat, and will leave next season.

He is a player with both passing and shooting capabilities, fast, and many people say that his future is not only at Renat.

But San Remo’s defense was indeed terrible, conceding 46 goals in half a season, placing them fifteenth in the league, under this rank they would have to play relegation playoffs.

This is mainly related to the team’s defender star Rondo being severely injured, missing the entire first half of the season.

On the training ground, players are doing warm-up exercises, with a training match scheduled in a while.

This will determine who starts in the first match of the second half of the season.

”I’ve watched Vedian’s game, he’s excellent, whether it is speed or dribbling on the Italian D Division field, he can easily beat his opponents. The fact that the team is only fifth from the bottom despite conceding 46 goals is largely due to him.” Sotu was communicating with his first assistant coach Tom, ”But he has two fatal weaknesses.”

”One is that he’s too skinny, as soon as there’s even a little physical confrontation, he wobbles and loses the ball, thus losing the chance to attack.”

”The second is that he lacks support from teammates. Whether it’s a midfielder passing good opportunities to him, a forward receiving ammunition from him, or teammates helping him distract enemies, he has none of them.”