I AM the Football Star

Chapter 363: Chapter 107: Starters and Substitutes, Champagne at Halftime

”Has Lu Yang’s injury healed? Why is he included in the squad?”

”What’s the point? Even if he returns now, we can’t beat AC Milan. Their core players are all in the lineup.”

”Take it easy; Lu Yang may not necessarily play. Maybe he’s just there as a mascot.”

”I heard Lu Yang participated in the team’s practice match yesterday, so there shouldn’t be much of a problem.”

”But wasn’t it said before that his injury wouldn’t heal within two months? It’s been less than a month.”

”Conservative treatment, fast recovery, but easy to relapse. You can see it as healing on the outside but not on the inside.”

The question of whether Lu Yang will play has been fiercely debated among the fans.

For fans who have watched San Remo all the way, Lu Yang is the creator of miracles.

Only San Remo with Lu Yang is worth looking forward to.

The reason everyone keeps discussing is because subconsciously, all still harbor some unrealistic fantasy about the Italian Cup final.

But nobody dares to mention it because it sounds somewhat laughable.

One side is a Champions League finalist team, one of the strongest in all of Europe.

The other side is an Italian Third Division team, at best a Serie B level.

Is there any comparison?

Absolutely not!

On May 22nd, it will be exactly one month since Lu Yang’s injury.

Today, there was a practice match for San Remo, and Lu Yang participated.

In this game, Lu Yang performed well, contributing one goal and one assist.

But after the practice match, Morici and Sotu approached Lu Yang.

”Are you really planning to play in the Italian Cup final in this condition?” Morici spoke first.

Sotu stood by, clearly having noticed something, which is why he came with Morici.

”What condition? I think I’m quite okay now.” Lu Yang pretended to pack his things but was actually avoiding Morici’s gaze.

”Your right foot can’t shoot anymore? Why did all your shots today come from your left foot?” Morici asked.

”Didn’t I tell you? I’m the legendary double five-footer? Both feet balanced, two-footed... well, two smooth-footed!” Lu Yang said, ”Today, there were more opportunities to shoot with the left foot, so of course, I used my left foot.”

Morici shook his head: ”Then why did your left-foot shots become soft and weak too? Is it because your right leg, the supporting leg, doesn’t dare to exert force?”

Lu Yang argued: ”We’re all on the same team; who would I blame if I injure a teammate? Didn’t you guys tell me to hold back during the practice match?”

Morici: ”Then please don’t hold back, okay? If you can hit a shot that clocks over 100 km/h, I’ll concede defeat! Even if you insist that your shooting isn’t a problem, why did you suddenly change your playing style today? Focusing heavily on Latu Yidi’s rush, knowing this would lead to lots of turnovers, but still doing it.”

”Why?”

”Is it because compared to shooting, you find the knee pain during dribbling more tolerable, right?”

Lu Yang said: ”Maybe I feel my dribbling needs more practice? It’s not just one or two AC Milan players with Latu Yidi’s defensive abilities; I need to adapt in advance. And... didn’t you notice my breakthroughs have become stronger?”

Morici: ”Then why do your breakthroughs only go to the right? When you’re on the right, you only go down the wing, not cut inside. And when you’re on the left, you only cut inside, not go down the wing! What does this mean? Since when did you become so inflexible?”

Lu Yang: ”Because the Robben Region is on the... forget it, because AC Milan’s left-back has extremely strong defensive abilities, I judged that under his defense I could only go down the wing, with no chance to cut inside, hence on the right wing, I only went down the wing.”

Morici: ”Stop arguing, Lu! It’s because your right knee is still in pain! It’s reminding you that you haven’t fully recovered, so your right leg doesn’t dare to exert too much force.”

”You don’t dare to use your right foot at full strength because even one shot would be too much for the knee’s ligaments and muscles.”

”When dribbling, whether you’re on the left or right, you can only break to the right, because this way the right foot handles ball control and the left foot supports, reducing pressure on your right leg.”

”On the contrary, if you attempt to go to the left, your right leg becomes the main driving support foot. Moreover... when breaking or cutting to the right, it’s usually your left foot that initially exerts force to cover half a position, but equally, the leading force on the left foot results in increased pressure...”

”The same move, your left foot can handle, but your right foot cannot...”

Morici finally spelled it out; this was why during defense, Lu Yang only chose to go right.

At this point, Sotu added: ”Conservative treatment often makes players seem healed, but actually, it has strong misleading effects, so much so that sometimes players themselves don’t know if they’re healed.”

”The better scenario is... the player knows. Because every time they exert force, the formerly injured area still has pain, and the more they exert, the stronger the pain, serving as a reminder not to overexert and letting them know they’re still in the injury period.”

”But some recover better, and the player thinks they’re fine, begins to excessively exert force, and when they feel the pain, the injury often has already relapsed, and is worse than before.”

”I think you’re the former... you’re very lucky, so you shouldn’t keep squandering your body like this.”