I AM the Football Star

Chapter 191: Chapter 74: Morici’s Destination and Lu Yang’s Weakness

”Ding, you have acquired the player skill ’Surgical Pass’. Your passing has become sharper, capable of easily tearing through enemy defenses.”

”Ding, you have acquired the player skill ’Non-stop Shot’. Your shooting ability has improved, and the suddenness and precision of your shots will help you score more goals.”

In the hospital, Lu Yang was looking at the random gift pack revealed from the last match.

His offensive positioning, long pass, and foot power had reached 72.

Short pass reached 70.

Shooting reached 74.

”What are you laughing about?” Morici, who had already undergone surgery, was lying on the hospital bed watching a Premier League match next to Lu Yang, ”I’m still bedridden, and you’re actually laughing? Do you really think playing a good game solved the team’s offensive crisis?”

”Have you forgotten how embarrassing you looked in the past few league matches?”

Lu Yang smiled at Morici’s sarcastic remarks, ”Isn’t it true? As proven, even without you, I can lead San Remo to taste the joy of a big victory.”

”I just don’t get it, why some people can lead the team without winning for four matches!”

”Honestly, I suggest you stop watching top-tier events like the Premier League for a while, you won’t understand them. You’re more suited to watching Italian Third Division matches, like San Remo’s thrashing of Brescia this week, that’s more suited for you.”

If Morici wasn’t temporarily in a ”broken leg” state, he would definitely kick Lu Yang off his bed.

Too damn boastful!

Is a hat-trick that impressive?

Of course, the content above is just their usual banter.

They also discuss some more substantial topics.

For example, Lu Yang’s passing choices.

Although Lu Yang’s position is an attacking midfielder, his style isn’t actually the orthodox attacking midfielder style but rather a ”wide attacking midfielder” style.

What’s the difference between the two?

The difference lies in the pressure on traditional offensive areas.

As mentioned before, the area directly in front of the goal is the most threatening area in football, without exception.

The traditional attacking midfielder usually targets this area for threatening attacks, either by attacking directly, cooperating with the central forward, or breaking into the penalty area under the cover of the central forward.

But Lu Yang’s position, located at the flanks, actually poses less threat than the central area.

The greatest threat from his position is long-distance shooting.

Shots from the flank regions can be quite a menacing way of scoring.

But this wastes the golden role of the wide attacking midfielder position.

Especially before Lu Yang has mastered shooting with great curvature, his straight, violent shots theoretically can be easily defended.

The essence of shots from the flanks is not Lu Yang’s current shooting method but a hugely curved inside-foot shot.

So it’s justified that many media scoff at the notion of the ”Lu Yang area”.

The straight shot from the flank position usually has a smaller blocking angle, and both goalkeepers and central defenders have a greater chance of blocking it.

Lu Yang’s previous streak of goals was partly due to opponents not expecting such strong offensive capability from him, as a left-back frequently kicking from that area, which was quite surprising.

On the other hand, his shooting technique was indeed significantly better compared to ordinary Serie B forwards.

After all, shooting at 74 is considered quite strong for frontline players even in Serie B.

But as opponents become familiar with Lu Yang’s shooting routes from the flank regions, the threat of his shots from there will greatly diminish.

Therefore, before mastering curved shots, developing passing abilities from that position is necessary.

”Now I want to understand, if I want to pass to these two positions from here, what type of kicking should I use... or if you were in this position, what kind of pass would you make.” Lu Yang drew a diagram for Morici, illustrating three passing routes from the flank position and explaining them.

Morici couldn’t help but pause, looking at the routes Lu Yang drew.

Because although these routes appear simple, when they are presented as tactical choices in writing, they influence players of this era.

Passing choices seem the same, aimed at the three gaps between the four defenders.

But when the wide attacking midfielder makes a pass, they can use the same foot, almost the same angle, to pass to players on the two diagonal routes. Even, if foot control is good, they can pass to players on all three routes using the same foot and movement.

Whereas for an attacking midfielder positioned in the middle, such a maneuver is almost impossible.

A central attacking midfielder needing to pass to the areas between the left and right full-backs and central defenders must adjust their body angle. This is why classical attacking midfielders are required to have excellent dribbling and ball control skills.

You must use your technical advantage under defensive pressure to gain time to adjust your body direction to achieve your intended passing.

While players on the wide attacking midfielder position do not require this, as they can choose multiple passing paths even without adjusting their body direction.

Moreover, because the same angle of passing has at least two routes, it adds difficulty to the defenders’ judgment. For example, a left wide attacking midfielder passes to players in the middle of the penalty area and the right side of the penalty area, both from the same angle but with two potential threats, requiring defensive players to make a decision.