I AM the Football Star

Chapter 59: Chapter 25: The Crown Prince of Purple Lily Emerges! (Part 2)

This will make a player lose himself, his intuition on the field will wither, and he will no longer possess offensive capability. It’s important to know that the young Sotu once had a certain ability to organize attacks, but later lost it.

Such a style even led Sotu, who is three years younger than Maniero, to retire almost simultaneously with him.

This is related to the style of play, Maniero, Gattuso’s notorious reputation, and his injuries.

He completely sacrificed himself.

Of course, Maniero never forgot about Sotu’s contribution at any time, always mentioning in every occasion that Sotu is his lifelong rival, thus maintaining Sotu’s status.

But if it were two other people instead, such selfless cooperation wouldn’t have been possible.

Nobody wants to lose themselves, nobody wants to become someone else’s satellite, and nobody can believe that their greatest rival in the league would stand alongside them.

Likewise, no one would refrain from seizing the opportunity to completely defeat their lifelong rival and trample them into the dust of history.

Except for Sotu.

Except for Maniero.

It is precisely because of this that the two became best friends after retirement.

Because they had long since entrusted their hearts and lives to each other!

”I will fight for Morici like Sotu did, I promise!” Lu Yang knew what he must do now; he is not Sotu, but Morici needs a Sotu at this moment.

Just like Morici does not necessarily have to stay in San Remo, but he is willing to stay for Lu Yang.

No other place would simultaneously offer both of them starting positions, especially in high-level leagues.

Therefore, both Lu Yang and Morici knew that the moment they left San Remo would be the moment they said goodbye.

When they meet again, they will each fight for their own masters and compete against each other.

”But that’s not enough!” Lu Yang said, ”I don’t have Sotu’s great fame or infamy, and the Italian D Division games are not national team matches that attract countless attention and indirect oversight.”

”I need greater influence, at least for the next match!”

Maniero was silent for a long time; he could see that Lu Yang’s concern for Morici surpassed his concern for the team’s performance.

Likewise, Maniero also hoped that his good brother Sotu could create his own miracle in his first year of coaching.

For this old turkey and that young turkey, he had to do something.

”That guy Carrel’s injury is reportedly getting better.” Maniero suddenly brought up a name.

Carrel, currently the main central forward of Purple Lily Florence in Serie A, and a superstar central forward known as the King of Purple Lilies.

His powerful right-footed shot can pierce any defense, his signature ability.

Now 31 years old, still in the late peak of his career.

Normally, the late peak is the time when a player’s influence, appeal, and fame are at their highest.

This season, Carrel suffered an injury and can now walk normally, but there’s still some time before he can train. Clearly, he doesn’t need to rush back this season as Serie A is about to be over.

Carrel played for Juventus when he was young, back when Maniero just became the core and star player of Juventus.

Carrel’s journey with Juventus was very unsuccessful; he was ridiculed by fans and even once wanted to give up on football and go home to inherit his millions.

It was Maniero who saved his career.

Maniero told Carrel that his shooting was strong, he just lacked a body that could sustain him until the shooting opportunity arises; it’s not a matter of physical strength, but of balance, exertion, core strength, etc.

Since then, Carrel has been intensely training his balance and core, and after transferring to Purple Lily Florence, he commenced a legendary rise! His strongest feature became his ability to score powerful goals despite interference from two or three defenders!

Thus, Carrel and Maniero have a close personal relationship.

”Tell your chairman to prepare the best viewing position; Carrel and I will be in the seats at the Sanremo City Stadium for the next match.” Maniero said, ”And the reason is that your team has a young guy who looks a lot like the young Carrel!”

Everyone widened their eyes.

The young Carrel?

Superstar central forward prospect?

Who?

Suddenly, Hans had a revelation: ”There was a news report once saying that Carrel started off as a central defender in the youth team?”

Sotu and Arthas looked at Lu Yang.

Central defender!

Central forward!

This...

”San Remo’s Crown Prince of Purple Lily, for the next game, don’t let me lose face in front of Carrel, okay!” Maniero smiled at Lu Yang.

The latter nodded solemnly.

...

The next day, the Italian football scene boiled over!

Because Hans from the Live Football Report, who often breaks major news, regained his flair for stirring up storms.

His article titled ”Purple Lily, Your Crown Prince, I Found Him!” appeared on the front page of the Live Football Report.

And then quickly reprinted by major football publications.

Because this report was substantial.

”This season, Carrel’s injury cost Purple Lily its strongest spear, and they exited the league’s championship contention early. I believe Florence’s management has seen the team’s problems; they don’t have any reliable backup central forward.”

”To put it more seriously, how long can 31-year-old Carrel maintain his peak form after recovering from injury? Purple Lily, it’s time to find your Crown Prince, and I’ve found him for you!”

”Perhaps many people don’t know that Carrel started his football career as a central defender. At Juventus, he was converted to a central forward, but that transition was very unsuccessful.”

”Thanks to Maniero’s guidance and Carrel’s hard work and self-discipline, Carrel, after transferring to Florence, finally found his correct style of play, transforming into one of Serie A’s greatest forwards.”

”And this season, just after Carrel’s injury made an impact, in the coastal region of Northwest Italy, in the Sunshine City of San Remo, a central defender named Lu Yang appeared on the Italian D League field.”

”Thirteen matches, twelve goals, nine assists! You might think this is a forward’s data; I’ll tell you, this is a central defender’s data!”

”Lu Yang only needed thirteen matches to become recognized as the strongest central defender in the Italian D League. Averaging 6.3 tackles and 4.6 interceptions per game, by the end of the season, he is highly likely to be crowned the intercept king and tackle king!”

”But what’s terrifying is not the defensive talent he exhibited in the Italian D, rather, what I noticed is precisely his offensive talent. His long shots are incredibly explosive; they might be somewhat different from Carrel’s, but equally capable of breaking the deadlock in matches.”

”I don’t know if he has the potential to become a superstar central forward, but his experiences are so similar to Carrel’s! So much so... that Carrel can’t resist wanting to see this former version of himself!”

”According to accurate information, on the 15th of this month, Italian D Division’s 34th round league match, San Remo’s home game against Potenza. The King of Purple Lilies Carrel and the brain of Juventus Maniero will jointly appear at the Sanremo City Stadium!”

”Whether the Crown Prince will come into existence, you and I will see! On the 15th of this month, let’s lock on to the Italian D San Remo match!”

This is an article extremely rich in infectiousness and enchantment.

And it contains a lot of substance.

Carrel’s past as a central defender, no one knows unless they are old fans.

Lu Yang’s explosive data, without Italian D Division fans, even fewer would know.

The whereabouts of Maniero and Carrel, outsiders clearly can’t know either.

All fans who have seen this report, at least 90% of Florence fans will go to watch that game, because it’s closely related to them, because their king will go.

And as Florence stands as one of Serie A’s current powerhouses, how will other teams react if their Crown Prince emerges?

Who can resist their curiosity?

Who dares not to take a look?

What if it’s really a rare talent?

Act early to gain advantage!

All of a sudden, the name Lu Yang once again dominated Serie A screens.

Everyone soon realized that the top two ranked shots for this year’s Puskas Award so far were actually created by this Lu Yang.

A lumberjack-like shot, a stunning 33-meter bicycle kick!

This further lends credibility to the claim of him being the Crown Prince of Purple Lily.