I AM the Football Star

Bang!

With a flick of his toe, the soccer ball accurately drilled into the net, and though Dominic attempted a save, he could not reach this cunningly placed close-range shot!

The person able to cut into France’s penalty area from the right side is...

”GOAL! It’s a goal! Morici! It’s Morici!”

”A perfect lob pass! A perfect close-range shot! The San Remo connection has indeed emerged!”

”Canyes! Lu Yang! Morici! This group of young players with an average age of only nineteen scored a spectacular goal for Italy!”

”Two to three! Italy has another chance!”

”It’s so unexpected! They are full of energy! Maniero’s substitution clearly made an impact!”

”Barely three minutes after conceding a goal, Italy immediately pulled one back!”

”I didn’t expect him to squeeze in there,” Joseph remarked, acknowledging his defensive lapse.

Beside him, Zidane curled his lips and said, ”It’s this kid’s intuitive running. And... more than his brilliant close-range shot, what truly left us all dumbfounded was that brat’s lob pass!”

Joseph looked toward the person Zidane mentioned, Lu Yang.

”From the moment Turan went close, Lu Yang’s ball control showed a clear sequence of left and right foot touches. Initially, this was to avoid Turan from behind extending his foot to poke the ball.”

”But once Lu Yang completely neutralized Turan’s impact, this rhythmic left-right ball twiddling turned into a trap.”

”He created a specific rhythm for everyone, 121212, and everyone will fall into it. You will subconsciously think that Lu Yang’s pass will only happen at 1 or at 2.”

”But he used a Fried Meatball move to adjust the rhythm, passing the ball with a lob at 1.5!”

”At this moment, no one could react. That’s why at the instant Morici ran, everyone was frozen!”

”Two clever kids!”

The big screen began replaying the goal, and indeed, it was exactly as Zidane described.

In a wide shot view, at the moment Lu Yang lobbed the pass, only Morici was in motion, while everyone else in and around the penalty area, both from Italy Team and France Team, stood still like wooden stakes.

This bizarre situation occurred once in the first half.

That was... Zidane’s lob pass, Robben at the far post volleying to score.

This is truly a masterful pass!

This rhythm manipulation is very cunning, to put it in musical terms, it’s about dynamic rhythm control.

Xue Zhiqian’s chorus is catchy, but the timing of the entry in the earlier parts can be quite challenging for some non-professional fans. This is because many of his songs come in on weak or half beats.

Leaving people in limbo, extremely awkward.

”What’s that?” Joseph watched the big screen and had an unexpected discovery.

Only to see after the goal, Morici rushed directly to the Corner Flag Area, excitedly lifting his jersey.

Beneath his blue jersey was a layer of white undershirt.

But on the undershirt was written a message.

”Croatia, want peace, not war!”

In English and Chinese!

Connecting this to the local skirmishes that erupted in Croatia before the start of the European Cup, everyone already knew what Morici wanted to express.

”Oh! Morici’s shirt has words saying ’Croatia wants peace, not war.’ He’s calling for peace!” the commentator explained after a slight pause, ”Many people might not know, but this European Cup is a harsh challenge for Morici.”

”The challenge is not the match itself, but... two days before the match, Morici’s godfather’s family in Croatia tragically perished due to local conflict!”

”We can’t imagine the immense pain Morici endured to persist in staying with the national team for training and matches.”

”Through his persistence, Morici scored for Italy and did everything he could to commemorate his godfather. I think we should support him, want peace, not war!”

The commentator’s words moved the Italian fans in the audience, and their voices gradually synchronized, becoming the sole sound at the Stade de France at that moment.

”Want peace, not war!”

”Want peace, not war!”

The match continued, but the situation in Croatia had already been learned by more viewers.

Almost the whole world was discussing Croatia, not just a match in the European Cup.

Morici did everything he could for his homeland.

Even the players of France Team, who faced off with Italy Team, looked at Morici’s silhouette and felt an inexplicable surge of emotion.

After all... it’s well known that France Team is also dubbed the International Team or the Black Team, because many of their players are dual-nationality black players, which is related to their external strategy.

The advantage is that France Team’s strength visibly improved.

The downside, well... everyone knows.

The Main Referee did not interrupt this moment, only resuming the match two minutes later.

During the center circle kickoff, Zidane suddenly looked at Lu Yang, ready to kick off, and said, ”This is an unbeatable France Team!”

Though Lu Yang had communicated with Zidane many times, it seemed like this was their first face-to-face meeting, right?

Lu Yang smiled, ”But as you can see, for us, this is also a match we cannot afford to lose!”

They both chuckled, and then Lu Yang kicked off the ball.

France Team’s tactics visibly changed from before.