I AM the Football Star

”This is ridiculous. Because of this, I now fully support Lu Yang!”

”To be honest, English players also suffer such injustices in major selections. But why can’t we see other English players speaking up for their peers?”

”The Italy Team wasn’t this united before, but after Lu Yang appeared, everything changed. Perhaps this is their secret to winning the European Cup. I think it’s time for the England Team to become more united too!”

”Hmm, I support your view. Let the England Team become more united, starting by supporting Lu Yang!”

...

November 5th.

Less than 48 hours after Lu Yang’s name was added to the Golden Ball Award’s list of 100 nominees, San Remo faced league match day 12 against relegation team Brescia.

In Brescia, there’s an old friend of the San Remo fans.

Arnold.

Arnold, once the top star of Italy’s lower leagues, has actually developed quite well.

He moved from the Italian D Division to Serie A, and is a stable starter for the team.

This is definitely a model of becoming famous with one goal.

But let’s not compare him with the likes of Lu Yang and Morici, even when compared to Vedian, who spent just half a season in the San Remo miracle, Arnold falls short.

Vedian is now one of Atlanta’s trident.

And Atlanta currently ranks in the top four in the league, definitely a Champions League zone team!

Serie A has four Champions League spots, and teams ranking first to fourth in the league qualify to participate in the following year’s Champions League, known as the Champions League zone.

The fifth and sixth place teams qualify for the following year’s Europa League, known as the Europa League zone.

Sometimes the seventh-place team also qualifies for the Europa League.

Collectively, the Champions League zone and the Europa League zone are known as the European competition zone.

Teams that participate in European competitions earn extra bonuses, just participating earns a bonus, and winning even more so.

The bonuses for the Champions League exceed those of other competitions, so many teams aim to enter the Champions League.

Not to mention regular teams, even strong contenders in the league find their financial income greatly enhanced when they make it to the Champions League.

As for many of the football giants, due to hefty investments, they must achieve certain results in the Champions League to break even or profit.

Some teams even suffer losses if they don’t win the championship.

Currently, Real Madrid, Chelsea, and Paris Saint-Germain are in this situation.

For Bayern, Manchester United, Barça, and Juventus, not making the semi-finals means a loss.

AC Milan, Inter Milan, Arsenal, Liverpool, Florence, Atletico Madrid, Tottenham, and Rome will also find it difficult if they don’t reach the quarter-finals.

Moreover, these teams must ensure top four league placements while ensuring Champions League performance, otherwise, the losses are still significant.

Thus, although teams in the European competition zone and non-European competition zone may not seem far apart in ranking, they are in entirely different worlds.

In this match, all eyes were on Lu Yang.

Because everyone knew, time was running out for Lu Yang.

French Football had already spread the word.

If he cannot score twenty goals, it is likely Lu Yang won’t make the thirty-man shortlist.

Many surely think this is unfair, but supporters of French Football have their say too.

The opportunity was given to you, it’s your incompetence!

Not to mention twenty goals in the league, even twenty goals in the league and Champions League combined are fine.

But Lu Yang currently has only seventeen goals combined.

There are just one or two matches left, with three goals to go. It sounds easy enough; many divine strikers can achieve this in one match.

But it’s also incredibly difficult.

Even someone as strong as Lionel Messi, with seven Golden Balls to his name, has only scored one goal in half a season in Ligue 1.

Is there an issue with Messi’s ability?

Absolutely not.

No matter what others say, widely speaking, he’s very likely the only player currently maintaining a divine-level performance.

And Ronaldo, once also a divine-level player, in many people’s eyes, has long fallen from that level. But even at a lowered level, Ronaldo is still top-tier among current forwards.

This isn’t to belittle anyone, but Ronaldo is significantly older, and Messi will likely fall from the divine level as he reaches that age.

Their rivalry isn’t about levels.

Even if Messi remains divine and Ronaldo isn’t even one level, Ronaldo will always be Messi’s lifelong rival.

And vice versa.

Scoring goals is indeed very challenging sometimes.

”Alright, welcome everyone to the match. We’ve just introduced both teams’ starting lineups, and now... Oh! Kaint suddenly unleashed a surprise long shot that almost hit the mark!”

”Since joining San Remo last year, Kaint not only integrated quickly into the team but has also been continuously patching gaps for the team. During this process, he’s gradually developed some abilities he previously didn’t possess.”

”This long shot was particularly outstanding, something he definitely couldn’t have achieved last year.”

”Morici is taking this corner kick.”

”Morici delivers the corner, with excellent curvature. But Brescia’s center-back anticipated the drop point early. Lu Yang is positioned outside, and no one challenges this near-point corner.”

”Header clearance, the ball speeds quickly towards the edge of the penalty area.”

”Lu Yang is lurking outside the penalty area, facing Brescia’s goal, is he preparing to shoot directly?”

”Too many players, it’s hard for the ball to cut through the crowd to threaten the goal.”

Bam!

Lu Yang powered a strong instep shot!

While kicking the ball, he intentionally added a lifting force, allowing his instep to stay on the ball a bit longer.