I AM the Football Star

Chapter 186: Chapter 72: The True Lu Yang Zone_2

During the halftime break, three players from Brescia didn’t even enter the locker room.

They are the main players for Brescia this season.

Obviously, Brescia cannot accept being eliminated under such circumstances.

Fielding a substitute lineup doesn’t mean they have no interest in the Italian Cup; it’s just that they thought the substitutes would suffice.

But clearly, that wasn’t the case.

The San Remo team is a tough bone to crack.

In the away team’s locker room, Brescia players were feeling a bit down.

Because the head coach had just announced the personal statistics of the player who scored twice against them.

He had the highest tackles, interceptions, and the second-most aerial duels in the entire match, which was impressive enough.

But his running distance of eight kilometers in just half a match left many players speechless.

Is he even human?

In the past, many players ran somewhere between six to eight kilometers per match. Some leisurely players even recorded just over two kilometers for the entire match.

With the advancement in football’s technical and tactical play, teams have been increasing their running distances in recent years.

Several teams now have players who average close to or even exceed ten kilometers per match.

But eight kilometers in just a half... Truly worthy of being called Italy’s Best, running relentlessly.

In the home team locker room.

”Listen, Lu Yang has already proven his attacking power in the flank region, and next, they won’t let Lu Yang comfortably receive the ball there,” Sotu said as everyone gathered around him, ”But the flanks are a position that makes them very uncomfortable.”

”If they want to equalize, they can’t have everyone defending. So their flank will definitely have gaps, and someone in their defense must step up.”

”This is our opportunity, understand!”

”In the second half, I want Bai Zhami and Fernandez to cut inside desperately, try to cut inside without the ball as much as possible. Lu Yang will pass the ball to you at the right time. His imaginative direct passes make it impossible for the opponent to defend both his shots and his passes.”

The so-called flank region actually refers to dividing the width of the pitch into five evenly spaced areas: the outermost two are the wings, and the middle one is the center.

The two areas between the wings and the center are the flanks.

Typically, the flank refers more specifically to the areas near the opponent’s penalty box in these two regions.

Earlier, Lu Yang scored two brilliant goals from the left and right outside the opponent’s penalty area, each in the opponent’s flank.

That’s where he excels at scoring, and now many people call it Lu Yang’s zone.

However, the ”false Lu Yang zone” is the left flank outside the opponent’s penalty area, while the ”true Lu Yang zone” is on both flanks outside the penalty area!

He’s equally adept with both feet, dangerous from both sides!

That spot is often a blind spot in many teams’ tactical systems.

The same position is also very practical in basketball.

The extended two-point zone at the elbow area, while not as stable and precise as a layup or as high-scoring as a three-pointer, is the biggest flaw in the opponent’s tactical scheme and often the only stable scoring spot against strong defenses.

Stable and reliable, it’s often the most dependable means during critical assaults to invigorate the whole team.

...

The second half begins.

As Sotu predicted, the opponent intensified their defensive pressure.

Every time Lu Yang got the ball, they would apply significant physical pressure, especially denying him any space to turn.

Such pressure defense often causes many players to underperform as physical confrontations disrupt their technical actions or cause mental distress, leading to receiving and passing errors.

But Lu Yang adapted very well.

On one hand, his physical resilience is quite strong, so such confrontations don’t distort his technical actions.

On the other hand, his one-touch passing is perfect for this situation, limiting ball contact,

causing Brescia’s pressing defense to yield extremely low results.

And pressing defense visibly drains the stamina of Brescia’s players.

”We can see Brescia’s defensive intensity has suddenly increased, and Lu Yang can almost only play back-passes, struggling to link the offensive plays like before.”

”Brescia has started organizing attacks, substituting in two key midfielders and a main striker at the start of the second half, with clear intentions.”

”The true Serie B-level attacking power is about to unfold. Can San Remo’s ironclad defense withstand the attack from Serie B? Let’s wait and see!”

Just after the commentator finished speaking, Brescia launched a very threatening attack.

But the attack was ultimately interrupted by the retreating Lu Yang.

He used his speed to catch up from behind and altered the opponent’s forward path, forcing them into the area where Naji was positioned, where Naji quickly intercepted.

It was a perfect defensive collaboration in the backfield.

Looking at just this play, you might think Lu Yang is a defensive midfielder or center back.

The most commendable thing is that right after speeding up to chase back and thwart an attack, Lu Yang hooked the ball that Naji poked away and immediately began a new sprint.

Brescia’s players hadn’t anticipated this at all.

The speed of transition between attack and defense was astounding.

Lu Yang sprinted forward with the ball, as if passing through an empty field.

Counterattack vanguard, forward attacker, Perpetual Motion Machine’s second layer effect, all simultaneously activated!