I AM the Football Star

Chapter 24: Chapter 10: Born Conductor, Outstanding Ping-Pong Passing (Part 2)

This is something some players have studied their whole lives and have great insight into.

Isn’t that right, Ramos?

Soon, Bisceglie restarted the game.

This time they were more cautious, and Arnold’s ball possession was significantly reduced.

Bisceglie’s number ten player was clearly instructed by the head coach.

But this sparked Arnold’s dissatisfaction.

Although the team was leading two to one, Arnold hadn’t been involved in any of the goals.

He didn’t have any stats.

This did not match what the journalist behind him had told him.

He had to have stats.

Besides... he was frozen by Lu Yang!

This was absolutely intolerable for him.

Thus, Arnold frequently retreated to midfield, forcibly asking his teammates for the ball.

The number ten player can ignore Arnold once or twice, but can’t keep ignoring him.

Finally, under pressure, he passed the ball to Arnold who had retreated to support.

And this became the second explosive moment of the game.

The eighty-second minute of the match.

Arnold held the ball, using a flashy step-over move, suddenly accelerated, bypassing San Remo’s midfield, and drove forward.

And the direction he advanced in happened to be the area guarded by Lu Yang.

”Such enviable talent.” Watching Arnold’s sprint, Sotu sighed.

Sotu is known for his ferocity, stamina, strong tackling ability, and excellent defensive anticipation.

But his speed isn’t fast.

”I wonder if Arnold’s coach ever told him that when he feels fatigued, he should use sudden burst dribbling moves sparingly.” Sotu said with squinted eyes, ”Because that puts a lot of strain on muscles and tendons. And when fatigued, the body unconsciously relaxes, making injury very likely.”

This is a physics problem.

When you have strength, your strength counters some external forces, significantly reducing the pressure on your bones and muscles. Detailed equations are derived by specialized physics and sports experts.

And when you lack strength, your bones take on the external forces, relying on their physical sturdiness.

So the situation of standing weightlifters breaking their legs often stems from the lifter’s strength being insufficient to support the weight of the barbell. They withdraw their strength, trying to use the body’s structure to support the barbell, leading to being crushed.

While Sotu was speaking, Lu Yang beautifully completed another tackle during the retreat.

Arnold couldn’t get past Lu Yang at all.

”Thank you!” After intercepting, Lu Yang habitually controlled the ball, not choosing a breakout in panic, even though he was near the penalty area line.

It’s a risky move—if the opponent steals back, it’s basically a conceded goal.

But the furious Arnold, with a roar, rushed toward Lu Yang.

He extended his foot to counter-steal.

But in the next second, Lu Yang pulled the ball back, then pushed it to the other side.

V-shaped Pull!

Arnold’s left foot lunge missed, landing on the grass, but his body’s center of gravity had prematurely shifted towards the direction Lu Yang had pulled and released the ball.

In that instant, the physical inertia remained on the left side, but new force was being sent to the right side.

This was a violent conflict.

It often causes a person to stiffen.

If his body isn’t strong enough, it might result in a twist or strain.

”Ah!”

After Lu Yang left with the ball, Arnold lay on the ground.

He clutched his left thigh, painfully rolling on the grass.

It was a non-contact fall, often indicating the player was truly injured.

But Lu Yang paid no attention.

He dribbled the ball forward.

At the same time, Morici saw Lu Yang’s eyes and also started sprinting forward.

Having played this long, Morici already noticed the second weakness in the Bisceglie team. There is a midfielder whose ability is poor.

He’s a substitute, and because the starter in this position accumulated enough yellow cards, he was suspended for this match, allowing the substitute to start, but his positional sense is quite poor.

Bisceglie’s number ten player is an attacking midfielder and tends to be positioned more forward.

Thus, their midfield actually has large gaps.

But the weakness isn’t direct.

At least, Morici alone couldn’t fully exploit this weakness.

Unless someone could team up with him.

And that person...

”Ping pong ball!” Lu Yang shouted while running.

Morici immediately ran to the right front.

The two advanced along the central axis, one on the left and one on the right, one behind the other.

Bisceglie’s number nine player pressed up to tackle Lu Yang.

Lu Yang passed the ball to Morici, then continued moving forward.

Bisceglie’s number ten player pressed up to tackle Morici.

Morici passed the ball to Lu Yang, then continued moving forward.

Bisceglie’s substitute midfielder pressed up to tackle Lu Yang.

Because Lu Yang and Morici had shown an intention to advance, Bisceglie’s defenders had already closed in on them. They couldn’t have the space for holding and distributing the ball as they did earlier.

But no one knew Lu Yang wouldn’t stop the ball and immediately passed it.

Wall-pass cooperation!

The ball rolled toward Morici.

The opposing center-back pressed forward, while another person hung back to prevent Morici’s long shot.

Morici was already thirty-two meters outside the goal and had the ability to shoot from that spot.

Bam!

Bisceglie’s center-back failed in his tackle.

Had Morici adjusted a bit, he would have had the chance to block him.

Yet Morici didn’t adjust, but directly passed the ball.

Another wall-pass cooperation!