I AM the Football Star

Chapter 173: Chapter 67: San Remo’s Collapse! (Part 2)

Last season, there were several Serie A teams reportedly interested in him, but unfortunately, his age is a bit of a drawback, around twenty-five, or else he surely wouldn’t still be in the Italian Third Division now.

Even so, during this season’s winter window, he still has a chance to join Serie A.

This mainly depends on how the Serie A teams looking for a right winger perform in the first half of the season.

The team Rome, where Aguirre is, is one of Becher’s potential buyers.

And in fact, Becher proved his prowess in this match.

In the first half, Becher was positioned against Lu Yang, and was almost completely subdued by Lu Yang in one-on-one situations.

But Lu Yang wasn’t at all complacent.

Because to lock down Becher, he actually used some not-so-glamorous tactics.

Becher is too agile.

Agility and speed are two different concepts, and even explosiveness is not exactly the same component; it represents an overall feel.

In the first two face-offs, Lu Yang was on the losing side, and Becher even delivered a beautiful cross at one point.

But after that, Becher had no more room to perform.

Because when Lu Yang was defending him, he would... tug on his jersey.

That’s right!

Such small moves, seemingly insignificant and not enough to be a foul, effectively allowed Lu Yang to lock down Becher.

This kind of pulling is practically a nemesis for agile forwards like Becher.

In the 2021 Champions League final, aside from Guardiola’s Waistless Array, De Bruyne’s injury exit, Werner’s disruptive impact, and Mount and Havertz’s lethal combinations, there was another highlight: Chelsea’s young fullback Reece James’s lockdown defense against Manchester City’s star, Sterling.

Throughout the match, Sterling’s performance wasn’t poor; he did everything he was supposed to do, but under James’s pressing defense, his opportunities were limited.

A crucial element was James’s ”jersey tugging” defense.

This had a great effect on stifling the turning motion of agile players.

Unless Sterling violently turned and ripped his jersey, his turning would always be affected.

This wasn’t just about speed.

Players restricted in turning find their speed creates limited threat.

This is also why many speed-oriented players who can’t turn well haven’t fully flourished.

Because a distance gap from one turn can take many seconds of running to compensate for many players.

Lu Yang just relied on this technique to keep Becher slippery and immobile.

But in the second half, Becher voluntarily moved to the left winger position.

This was essentially telling everyone: I just can’t beat Lu Yang, so I’m going to play on the other side.

This switch gave Becher life, as he wreaked havoc on San Remo’s right flank.

The left-back position limited Lu Yang’s play, and he could only watch Becher make waves on the right.

San Remo’s right-back Matias and right midfielder Versachi each received a yellow card due to Becher.

Later, Becher cut inside from the right, played a half-ball pass against Palacios and Naji, and exposed the weaknesses of Palacios and Naji’s slow lateral movement and pivot speed, eventually breaking through their blockade.

Bam!

With a strike, Becher gave Imolese a one-to-zero lead.

Becher displayed star quality.

After losing this goal, Latu and Versachi switched positions, relying on Latu’s strong defensive capabilities to quiet Becher down.

And soon, Naji, who made an error in defense, made up for it in attack.

During a corner kick, Morici kicked the ball toward the middle point.

Naji jumped high, overpowering the opposing center-back, and scored with a header.

The score was one to one.

In the 82nd minute of the match.

Today, Lu Yang, focused on defense, began to exert his strength.

With the Perpetual Motion Machine effect, Lu Yang intercepted the switched Imolese left winger and immediately launched a strong surge forward.

Lu Yang kicked the ball forward and then collided with the opposing left winger, dominating in physical contact and successfully breaking through.

This was a spectacular Bell-style outside overtaking.

With the Side Road Fast Horse attribute, once surpassed, the opponent couldn’t catch up with Lu Yang.

With Bai Zhami pulling ahead, Lu Yang cut inside without hesitation.

Facing a joint trap of one midfielder and one defender, coupled with pursuers behind him.

Lu Yang made a large Rabona shift, slipping past the duo.

But he didn’t choose to continue dribbling, because such a shift involves deceleration, and continuing would only attract more surrounding defenders.

Lu Yang decided quickly, unleashing a powerful shot.

This was an outwardly hasty shot.

But... glancing at the area Lu Yang was in, the commentator didn’t voice criticism.

Because it was Lu Yang’s famous sweet spot.

The outer left side of the penalty box!

Bam!

The goalkeeper reached the ball, but because Lu Yang’s shot was sudden and forceful, the keeper moved slightly late. Hence, the ball that was touched still found its way into the net, successfully scoring.

Two to one!

San Remo overturned the score and maintained it until the end.

With Lu Yang’s comeback, San Remo seized four consecutive wins, appearing unstoppable!

After this match, Lu Yang also gained the player skill ”Overlapping Fullback.”

Compared to Offensive Fullback, Overlapping Fullback is more aggressive.

The term ’overlapping’ initially comes from overlapping assists.

The usual meaning is when a back-row player advances for an assist, the nearest player immediately covers position.

Layer upon layer, like overlapping tiles.

This kind of attack was seen at San Remo.

For example, Lu Yang’s advancement was protected by Latu’s position coverage.

But the Overlapping Fullback’s characteristics are even more distinct.

They often aren’t just linking up for flank combinations and cross passes, to some extent, Overlapping Fullbacks are like inside-cutting wingers, fond of drifting centrally and not returning once up.

This matches Lu Yang’s previous playstyle.

It can be said, Overlapping Fullback is almost like an attacking back playing left winger tactics.

This skill mainly provides offensive positional bonuses for Lu Yang.

San Remo is momentarily feeling quite unstoppable.

But sometimes, in football matches, anything can happen.

San Remo’s winning momentum faced a major challenge in the ninth league round.

Or, as many saw it, San Remo’s dreams of promotion this season ended prematurely after this match.

Because their midfield core, Morici, suffered a major injury in this match!

...

Italian Third Division Round 9, San Remo VS Italian Third Division powerhouse Fenya.

In the twenty-third minute of the match, Morici, during an ordinary contest with the opponent, was struck on the thigh. Upon landing, he quickly raised his leg for a firm pass-shot, which caused excessive muscle load and immediate damage.

When Morici fell, Lu Yang was the first to rush over.

Morici’s face was filled with pain.

Although he had never encountered severe injuries, he was wise with a rich theoretical understanding of injuries. The unprecedented pain reminded him of various injury situations he’s read about.

”Muscle strain on the back of the thigh!” The team doctor entered to conduct preliminary tests, confirming Morici could not continue the match.

If he had merely been struck, it wouldn’t have been too concerning, the annoying part was after the collision, he made a fast pass-shot.

The ’rocket’ pass-shot is characterized by speed.

From the motion to the ball passing, it’s a blink of an eye.

Such extremely speedy passes illustrate the strength applied by the passer.

In this twisted situation, the harder Morici exerted, the greater the muscle damage, creating this injury.

Morici was substituted and immediately taken to the hospital for further tests.

During halftime, Lu Yang found Sotu and learned about Morici’s injury details.

Preliminary estimates indicate he’ll be away from the team for around three months.

And it also depends on the recovery situation.

This is absolutely horrible news for San Remo.

Sotu himself lamented, saying it’s God joking with San Remo.

It seems God doesn’t want San Remo to bring its sunlight to Serie B!