I AM the Football Star

”Ding! The match is over. The injury is an Achilles tendon rupture, but the Ironman injury exemption effect has been activated, reducing the injury to an Achilles tendon strain. Estimated recovery time is twenty days.”

”Ding! You led the team into the Champions League semifinals, earning a random Moment Card and acquiring the star skill: Goalkeeper Mastery.”

Looking at the system prompt, Lu Yang felt both sad and happy.

Sad because it’s the damned Goalkeeper Mastery.

What the hell is this?

There’s no way he’ll play as a goalkeeper in the upcoming matches.

Because San Remo definitely won’t be facing penalty shootouts with the other three teams.

It’s too difficult.

Bayern is notorious for creating disasters; if they can score eight, they won’t settle for seven, completely clueless about being courteous.

Real Madrid is the Galaxy Battleship, even if half the team is injured, the remaining half is more than enough to explode against any non-top team.

Even defensive-minded Chelsea, with Divine Striker Gutierrez and Premier League Golden Boot-level midfielder Dreiklap, isn’t something you can easily defend against.

Additionally, this twenty-day complete recovery period is quite awkward.

This means Lu Yang can make it to the second leg of the semifinals but is destined to miss the first leg.

The happy part is that Lu Yang has gained another Moment Card.

Currently, he has three Moment Cards available for use.

The reason he didn’t use them earlier was because Lu Yang didn’t want to waste them on previous stages.

Using Moment Cards to get to the quarterfinals or semifinals is meaningless for Lu Yang.

For others, leading a team to the quarterfinals or semifinals seems to greatly enhance their reputation.

But for Lu Yang, if there’s no hope of winning the championship, he absolutely won’t use a Moment Card lightly.

This thing gets harder and harder to obtain as you go further, so it must be used carefully.

That’s why Lu Yang never used a Moment Card when facing Florence or Paris Saint-Germain.

But he’s resilient and surprisingly made it through.

So once it was certain they could defeat Paris Saint-Germain, Lu Yang couldn’t help but announce to the entire world that their goal was the championship.

Now it seems that as long as the team doesn’t lose too badly in the first leg, they have a very good chance to make it to the Champions League finals.

So, lying in the hospital bed, Lu Yang was completely excited this time.

”Hey!” Lu Yang immediately dialed someone’s number.

”I’m surprised to get your call, especially now.” Zidane was a bit puzzled, though with his increasingly bald head, he quickly guessed the reason.

”Can you help me keep this news from spreading? Don’t let this hospital leak my examination records. At least... it can’t spread before the semifinals!” Lu Yang said.

This is France.

Zidane’s influence in France is enormous; only he has the power to accomplish this.

If not, Lu Yang’s injury specifics would be all over the world before he’s even discharged.

An Achilles tendon strain typically requires three to five months to heal, which would mean the season is over.

Once that news spreads, it would be devastating for San Remo’s players and fans.

Lu Yang doesn’t want everyone’s supercharged confidence from beating Florence and Paris Saint-Germain to crumble.

This is crucial for their subsequent matches.

Only by working hard with a group of people with ideals can those ideals become reality.

”We might be your opponents in the semifinals.” Zidane said.

Lu Yang laughed: ”Even if we play Real Madrid, it doesn’t concern you, does it? Aren’t you on crutches right now? Must be difficult answering calls, otherwise why did it take you over ten rings to pick up?”

Zidane was speechless.

Darn it!

Did you install surveillance at my house?

”Okay, I can help you, but I’m not sure how effective it’ll be,” Zidane replied. ”You’ve done a lot for the team and the fans, some even unnoticed. You’re great.”

”By the way, have you chosen your next team? I’d personally recommend the Premier League, since in the next two or three years, Real Madrid is unbeatable.”

”We’re too strong, but you won’t join us, so if you go to La Liga, you’ll fall. Three years without a title would be miserable, and you might not even make it to the top hundred Golden Ball Award candidates.”

Lu Yang was speechless: ”Did you have this syndrome earlier, or did it just show up today?”

Zidane: ”What do you mean?”

Lu Yang: ”Your narcissism mixed with delusions is really terrifying. Even with Barça without Moreira, you lost two core players, and playing Atletico Madrid, how many guys would survive?”

Zidane was speechless: ”You’re thinking of Atletico Madrid? That’s not a good choice. Apart from the head coach, Atletico Madrid doesn’t have top-tier players in any position!”

Lu Yang laughed: ”Who knows? Everything’s still uncertain.”

...

An hour later, Lu Yang’s hospital room was packed with teammates.

Everyone came to visit Lu Yang promptly.

”Lu!”

Many players had red eyes in an instant.

Related to Lu Yang’s injury, and the thought that all the hard work this season might ultimately be in vain.

So close.

Why!

”I wish it were me who got injured!” Fernandez cried the hardest.

To replace a main player when injured is the maximum contribution he can make as a substitute.

”Don’t say that, I’ll recover quickly,” Lu Yang smiled.

Morici frowned slightly, recalling the matter.

Previously, Lu Yang’s cruciate ligament injury was also severe, but he miraculously made it back for the European Youth Championship.