I AM the Football Star

But now, after his departure, Paris Saint-Germain’s front line has lost such a core to the system, turning into a scattered mess.

Miguel’s crosses remain consistent and even beautiful.

But Paris Saint-Germain’s substitute striker couldn’t suppress Naji. Even with the same number of crosses, the success rate in heading is much lower than Stiepelman’s.

Even the headers that were reached resulted in poor quality shots.

Not to mention high-end headers and transfers like a flick-on.

Without Stiepelman’s restraint, Bernulin, Naji, and Lam have the time to strike and proactively handle the ball-holder.

Boe’s survival environment instantly became harsher.

The initial scenes of him and Miguel soaring on the wings no longer appeared.

This faux-flying wing of his was forcibly broken by San Remo.

Paris Saint-Germain, only has one wing that can still flap.

San Remo gained a breather.

”Oh! Lost the ball again! Miguel’s cross was beautiful enough, but Naji cleared the football out in advance.” The commentator began, ”Stiepelman previously made Naji look like a little brother.”

”But now, facing Paris Saint-Germain’s substitute center-forward, Naji seems like the world’s number one defender, omnipotent!”

”So to see if a player is strong or not, you can’t just look at highlights; you have to see their performance against strong opponents.”

Even more extreme, like the super clubs aiming for the Champions League such as Real Madrid, Bayern, and Chelsea, they’re not even looking at how the player performs against strong opponents.

It’s about how they perform against their hypothetical rivals.

For instance, if Real Madrid thinks their biggest Champions League rival is Bayern or, more specifically, Bayern’s Robben, then they might even specifically look for players who have previously faced and effectively limited Robben.

Even if that player has no special features and performs very ordinarily against other teams.

Of course, such clear targeting can only be done by super clubs.

Which general team would specifically buy a player who can only defend against one particular person?

Moreover, it requires relatively fewer strong teams during that era for such an operation to be possible.

Otherwise, you buy players targeting Bayern, Chelsea, and a few others, but next year’s Champions League contenders are Bumblebee, Wolverhampton Wanderers, then your targeting just becomes pointless.

Morici controlled the ball first, then passed it back to the awaiting Lu Yang.

Lu Yang immediately launched an attack, but Paris Saint-Germain’s defenders were not lacking, blocking timely.

After a pretend dribble, Lu Yang made a high pass.

Canyes almost simultaneously passed by, chasing the football.

Flank combination!

Clear levels!

However, Canyes did not complete the final move to the baseline; the opponent’s defense was indeed good.

Bang!

Canyes cleverly flicked the football with his heel, then cut inside without the ball himself.

Lu Yang received the ball and continued heading towards the baseline.

At that moment, Paris Saint-Germain’s defenders finally seemed a bit flustered.

Bang!

Feigning to go to the baseline, Lu Yang, after attracting the opponent’s attention, passed to the cutting-in Canyes.

The killing move immediately appeared.

Canyes, on the right edge of the large penalty area, lifted his leg.

He indeed possesses a knack for long shots!

Although shooting with the right foot from this angle offers little room.

But Canyes has scored many similar goals.

Bang!

Canyes touched the ball with his right foot.

Lande raised his leg to defend, but midway realized something was wrong.

This is... a fake shot and a real pass!

The football did not fly towards the goal.

Under Canyes’ adjustment, this seemingly shooting kick sent the ball horizontally to the left.

At the top position of the big penalty area arc, Morici who kept advancing after passing appeared here.

Bang!

Mo’s Long Shot!

Paris Saint-Germain’s other central defender tried to use his body to block.

But he never expected, Morici in such a situation chose an extremely challenging outside-foot shot!

The outside foot, if used well, is divine.

Used poorly, then it’s madness, with results completely opposite.

However, Morici demonstrated through facts to the opponent, his outside foot... is divine-level!

”GOAL! Momo Morici!”

”A stunning outside-foot shot! This is a fantastic strike! The curve of the football is so exquisite!”

”Canyes’ fake shot and real pass, exquisite to the finest point!”

”Canyes’ right-foot pass, I must say, is irresistible!”

”Canyes’ attacking awareness seems just like that of a right winger, I always feel he could redefine the position of right-back!”

”The chain play between Lu Yang and Canyes was very strong, directly baffling Paris Saint-Germain’s left-back!”

”Overall, this was a successful counter-attack. Paris Saint-Germain gave San Remo too many counter-attacking opportunities; such a loss was inevitable!”

”They must quickly adapt to a life without Stiepelman; this is the main focus for Paris Saint-Germain to adjust during halftime!”

”One to one! The sides are tied, back to the same starting line.”

”Ok, the main referee blows the whistle, marking the end of the first half. Ladies and gentlemen, don’t leave, please stay tuned to this channel. After fifteen minutes of exciting commercials, we’ll continue watching football together!”