I AM the Football Star

”Hey...” Naji knew whose number this was.

”You’re doing great, Naji.” Lu Yang spoke, but his tone wasn’t hostile.

”Lu, it’s not like that, I actually...” Naji wanted to explain, but he found himself unable to because what the news said was true.

”You don’t need to explain anything, Naji.” Lu Yang said, ”I’m indeed very disappointed in you, but I don’t need your apology.”

”Do you remember the time you always scored own goals? Do you remember the time you had a tiff with Morici?”

”You’ve never been a mature player, you’re just San Remo’s own child... just a child.”

”But I want to tell you, the time has come.”

”This time, you need to grow up. Because from now on, whether San Remo can stay in Serie A depends only on you!”

It’s not news that Lu Yang is leaving this summer, most of his teammates knew about it last year.

Even Naji previously thought about whether he could refuse if Real Madrid, Barça, Manchester United, Juventus, Bayern, or Paris Saint-Germain offered him a forty million transfer fee and a six million euro salary this summer.

Of course, now it seems he was thinking too much.

Now no one is interested in him, not even for twenty million euros.

He has disappointed many people.

”I called Sotu.” Lu Yang spoke.

Naji instantly became nervous.

Although Brother Lu is leaving, it seems Sotu is still staying with San Remo.

Naji is still very afraid of Sotu.

What did Lu Yang tell Sotu?

To let Sotu keep him on the bench for a while to cool down in the new season?

Or to increase his training intensity, and be more strict with himself?

Naji had ten thousand guesses.

But he really didn’t expect what Lu Yang was going to say next.

”I asked him to hand the captain’s armband to you. Take care of yourself!” Lu Yang finished and hung up the phone.

At that moment, Naji was stunned, and his phone unconsciously slipped from his hand, the screen cracked into pieces.

But he didn’t look at the phone; instead, he looked up in the direction of San Remo.

”Captain... armband... sobbing...” Naji held his head and cried bitterly.

Time and again, he had let too many people down.

But why are those people always willing to trust him again?

Even if Naji is really not capable, but Lu Yang, Sotu, Morici, Bernulin, all San Remo teammates and fans, are their insights really that poor?

Being trusted by others is sometimes truly blissful.

”Thank you... thank you...” Naji cried uncontrollably.

The next day, Naji left the bustling Milan City and returned to San Remo.

With one month to go before the new season, there’s already a six-foot-three silhouette on the training ground of Sanremo Football Club.

He’s doing various training under the sun.

From this moment on, he is no longer just San Remo’s child.

He has become San Remo’s captain!

If the mission Captain Rondo carried was to stabilize San Remo’s position in lower-tier leagues and not let San Remo completely submerge while waiting for their savior.

If Captain Lu Yang’s mission was to bring miracles to San Remo, leading San Remo to win champion after champion, reaching the pinnacle of the world, and making San Remo’s name known worldwide.

Then the mission Captain Naji carries is to brace the flag of San Remo in a headwind after the glory, allowing it to still stand in Serie A until the next savior appears.

This is a mission destined to be full of hardship, much like Liverpool’s Gerrard, never being able to witness Liverpool’s Premier League win as a player!

When people used to say that Naji was San Remo’s child, he didn’t know how to respond.

Because he didn’t know whether his future self would leave San Remo.

But now, he can respond openly.

Because he has made up his mind.

He will not leave!

Because Lu Yang handed him the captain’s armband.

He is the backbone of San Remo!

...

”Good news, Real Madrid agrees to continue loaning Delarre to San Remo!”

”Delarre’s stay gives San Remo some confidence for the next season!”

”Sotu stated, Moriba is excellent, she will become a starter for the team next season!”

”Veteran Palacios announced his retirement, San Remo fans thank him for his contribution to the team! Palacios has accepted San Remo’s offer to join the coaching staff!”

”Calafiori: One more year, hope to retire at San Remo!”

”Alme continues to stay at San Remo, Barça still has no place for him.”

”Woodman is about to get an opportunity, likely becoming San Remo’s starting goalkeeper next season! Sanremo might buy him out!”

”Camihong refuses Atlanta’s offer of a four-million-euro salary, staying loyal to San Remo!”

”Fernandez refuses Villarreal’s purchase, says he prefers San Remo!”

Some leave, and some stay.

Some people stay because of the opportunity, and some stay because of love.

In any case, San Remo’s next season still has countless people watching.

And because they’ve already made a name, Sanremo received many self-recommendations from excellent young players this summer.

Many of them are truly outstanding.

San Remo bought a group of players cheaply, ranging from eleven to nineteen or twenty years old.

The person who accomplished this was Mr. Winter’s daughter, Lola.

Her data collection work has expanded throughout Europe.

A large portion of these outstanding ”young prospects” were identified through her data analysis.