I AM the Football Star

Lu Yang turned his head, looking at his teammates on the training field, and motioned towards Talista: ”Do you know why he’s so annoying?”

Sotu was speechless.

Does anyone not know the reason?

He’s just a football rogue!

”Actually, many times, a bad person is just a normal person who made a certain mistake at the start. But once people know about his mistake, there’s no turning back for him. He gets pushed by society to conform to an image and path they’ve imagined for him,” Lu Yang said, ”So the emergence of a player like Talista is not his problem.”

”It’s all of our problem.”

Sotu felt like he was in a philosophy class with Lu Yang.

But damn it, aren’t we supposed to be talking about football?

”What exactly do you mean?” Sotu gave up pretending.

Lu Yang laughed: ”Tell Talista to put in 200% effort during training matches, treat them like real games... pull out all the stops!”

Sotu’s pupils shrank: ”You mean... use Talista to force the team into high-intensity training? But... what if it leads to player injuries? Talista he...”

Lu Yang said, ”No one wants to get injured, so everyone tends to hold back. But now, if Talista increases the risk of injury, then everyone must stay alert.”

”I believe that as long as everyone takes it seriously, the probability of injury is very small. Talista isn’t stupid, if you ask him to do this, he’ll understand the intention behind it.”

”He’s good at intimidating people, but when he really makes a move, he’s very measured. Otherwise, why do you think he gets so few red cards?”

Sotu nodded frequently, understanding, my dear Lu.

So, in the afternoon.

It was still team training, but everyone was surprised to find that even when it was just a game of keep-away, Talista was extremely serious.

When Canyes and Talista were fighting for the ball, Talista used his body to hold off Canyes, but just wouldn’t pass the ball away.

At the end of the fight, Canyes was so frustrated that he swept Talista to the ground with a kick.

Don’t think poorly of Canyes, physical confrontation naturally stimulates players’ adrenaline, so when emotions run high, it’s normal for actions to get rougher.

You could say, at this moment, Canyes was indeed very annoyed with Talista.

But it doesn’t mean that after all this ends, Canyes would still be upset with Talista, nor would it affect their cooperation in actual games.

Experience that adrenaline explosion a few times and you’ll begin to understand this playful kind of friendship.

It’s not that anyone is being mindless, nor is it that anyone is truly magnanimous.

It’s just that some things are really different depending on whether you’ve experienced them or not.

Just like how a man always feels flustered the first time he goes to a nightclub.

The second time, he’ll be more at ease and composed.

”Hey, what are you doing? If you want to fight, I’m all in!” Talista got up and bumped Canyes with his chest.

Canyes wasn’t going to get the better of Talista in a bump contest.

”This is just keep-away, what do you think you’re doing?” Canyes didn’t back down in spirit.

”I only know that this is training, and the boss asked us to train at 100% effort,” Talista said, ”In a real match, I would also protect the ball at my feet this way, is there a problem?”

Canyes: ”Training and matches are different!”

Talista: ”What’s different? Didn’t we always treat training as real matches? Who has an objection?”

Many people were about to speak but held back.

At this moment Lu Yang stepped forward, he patted Canyes on the shoulder, then also signaled Talista to step aside, and walked into the middle of the crowd.

Lu Yang said: ”In fact, San Remo is in trouble now, and everyone is aware of it.”

”I understand and fully empathize with the concerns in everyone’s hearts.”

”This summer, there will probably be many people leaving this team. Bai Zhami, I’ve heard that at least three Premier League teams have been in contact with your agent or family recently.”

Bai Zhami looked a bit embarrassed.

”It’s nothing, it’s a good thing,” Lu Yang laughed, ”I hope each person in this team can become someone significant in the football world in the future, being able to work with you is my honor.”

”Of course, I have even more respect for those willing to stay in San Remo. It’s not only the outside world that’s most suitable for our growth, I hope everyone can consider their career carefully and make rational decisions about transfers.”

”However, to be honest, as the instigator of the San Remo miracle... I’m actually quite unwilling.”

Lu Yang said self-deprecatingly, then looked at his teammates and said: ”This miracle started at the end of the Italian D Division, grew in the Italian Cup, flourished in the UEFA Europa League, and declined in Serie A.”

”It has been a wonderful journey, and it closely follows the growth pattern of things. No one can keep climbing peaks indefinitely, every miracle has a day to end.”

”But an ending like this season’s with a great start and poor finish... frankly, I can’t accept it.”

”At the beginning of the season, the team targets we set, we achieved them at one point. We advanced from the Champions League group stage, secured a Champions League spot in Serie A, we were even contending for the championship not long ago.”

”But it all collapsed suddenly, we unexpectedly fell behind in the league. Many people say we’re no longer good, but I don’t accept that.”