I AM the Football Star

Camp Nou, visitor’s locker room.

The atmosphere among the San Remo team was somewhat oppressive.

Sotu was communicating with Naji.

Sotu: ”Listen, kid, I have to take you off. It might be hard for you to accept this, and I know you don’t want to leave a bad performance in such a crucial match... but there’s no choice.”

”We have to find a way to win, we have to make every possible attempt.”

Naji nodded, but said nothing.

He understood.

He was not in good form today and was indeed overwhelmed by the opponent.

Maybe others wouldn’t have a better performance, but... what if?

Though he understood, accepting it was another matter.

On the other side, Assistant Coach Lola also delivered some materials.

Lu Yang sighed after reviewing them.

Indeed.

The world underestimated Apple.

He wasn’t just one of the world’s top defenders; he was a phenomenal top defender.

Perhaps... a bit stronger than Liverpool’s Van Dijk on Earth.

After all, during this era that Apple was in, Van Dijk’s style didn’t exist yet. He was like a time-space warrior playing with future tactics, which was advantageous.

”These are the offside numbers for all teams in this season’s five major leagues, with Bayern Munich being in a league of their own, having the most successful offside attempts this season!” Lu Yang said, ”The key to this is Apple.”

”His ability to create offsides has been underestimated worldwide.”

”We have never encountered such an opponent, so even I was frequently offside today.”

”This demands very high movement from our forward players and passing from our midfielders.”

”So when conditions allow, everyone should observe more.”

”Additionally, compared to Apple, Bayern’s other centre-back Santos is substantially weaker in hard skills, be it passing or breaking through, it’s recommended to go past him or hit behind him.”

”Of course, Apple’s defense range is vast, he’s excellent at cover defense, and Bayern’s goalkeeper Bauer also likes to charge out, so when hitting behind Santos, don’t overextend.”

”Finally, Bayern’s left-back rookie Nikluci might be the weakest in the team, Talista remember to swap positions with me more often, let’s take turns playing against him to create sufficient threats.”

Generally speaking, there’s little room for adjustment from the San Remo side.

And Bayern’s shortcomings are few.

Fifteen minutes later, both sides switched ends and resumed the match.

Sure enough, San Remo adjusted just as everyone expected.

Naji sat on the bench, looking sorrowful.

Delarre appeared in the left midfield position.

Kaint played as a defensive midfielder.

The original defensive midfielder Lam moved to the center-back position.

At this moment, Lam’s superiority was evident.

Both defensive midfield and center-back skills were superb.

In fact, not considering height, Lam was much better than Naji at the center-back position.

In the second half, the anticipated Lu Yang’s eruption did not come.

He seemed to have forgotten he was a right winger and instead was stationed in midfield, making significant contributions on defense.

In the 53rd minute, Lu Yang followed Robben back to the rear, and when Robben passed the ball to Ludwig, he suddenly rushed out and completed the steal.

In the 59th minute, Bayern launched a massive attack, pushing aggressively.

Lu Yang successfully blocked the left-back Nikluci’s cross.

Otherwise, Lam and Bernulin might not have held off Pavovsky and Ludwig.

Bayern’s forward height was consistent with the two center-backs of San Remo currently.

If Melcan advanced, his height of 1.90 meters would crush the San Remo defense line.

With Kaint, who was 1.68 meters tall, nearly useless in such moments.

This was the only downside of Naji’s substitution.

Bayern also discovered San Remo’s weakness in aerial defense.

They began frequent bottom crosses or 45-degree crosses.

Their attack fluidity greatly reduced but threats increased unstoppably.

Fortunately, Bayern’s right midfielder David, left midfielder Robben, attacking midfielder Ludwig, and left-back Nikluci all had average cross abilities.

Only right-back Gatman and defensive midfielder Tiger had precise crosses.

Otherwise, San Remo’s goal would again be broken.

Until the 70th minute, except for relying on Bai Zhami for two counterattacks and Talista for one offensive foul, San Remo had no formed attack.

Fans were bewildered.

What was San Remo waiting for?

What was Lu Yang defending?

Were they satisfied with holding a three-nil?

Consider a loss as a win?

Without attacking, how would they turn the tables?

Had San Remo resigned themselves?

No one knew what this San Remo was thinking.

Including many players from the San Remo themselves.

Lu Yang was outside the San Remo tactical framework, yet he could create chemistry with every player in the team during offense.

However, today, he seemed to have no intention to attack.

Observing offsides shouldn’t require this much caution, right?

In the 72nd minute, Bayern unleashed a super threat.

They suddenly abandoned wing play.

Melcan bypassed the defending and splitting Delarre, directly pushing forward in the middle.

In front of Bayern, all four arrows were launched, if Melcan’s pass succeeded, Bayern would likely score another goal.

Bam!

Lu Yang slide-tackled.

Whistle!

A whistle sounded, and the main referee showed Lu Yang a yellow card.

Melcan was taken down by Lu Yang.

Therefore, Lu Yang had to return to the frontline position from the midfield.

He could no longer contribute significantly on defense for the team.