I AM the Football Star

Chapter 1232: Chapter 291: Barça Player Ratings—Not the King, but the Minister? (2)

As for the two midfield cores of the Spain National Team we just mentioned, they’re also the two current super midfielders of Barça.

The man with unrivaled vision and absolute control of the tempo, Esia Hernandez, has a rating as high as 93.

One of the strongest final-pass masters and a super attacking core, Valle Ortiz, also has a rating of 93.

But Lu Yang has watched their games; when the two of them are on the pitch at the same time, there seems to be a synergy bonus, a kind of chemistry.

The level they show on the field might actually be higher than their numbers on paper.

Up front, Mancini, England’s super rookie, has already transformed into a true Top Star in two years at Barça, with an overall rating of 90.

And finally, there’s Barça’s new king, Mateo…

But Mateo’s rating really surprised Lu Yang, because his rating is “only” 93!

The same as Ortiz and Hernandez.

He hasn’t stepped into the true superstar tier yet.

By comparison, the old king, the football Elf Moreira who was kicked out by Barça, definitely has a rating above 95, and at his peak he very likely reached 99!

Barça’s new king clearly hasn’t fully matured yet.

The local clique really is in a bit of a rush.

It’s not that this level of Mateo isn’t strong, but he’s still far from being so strong that even when multiple players of his own level gang up on him and mark him out, he can still put up explosive performances.

The difference between “hard to defend” and “impossible to defend” looks tiny, but on the pitch it’s a huge deal.

In this starting lineup, Lu Yang, a 90-point player, can only be tied for fourth in the team with Mebarak and Mancini.

This shows just how strong a super club really is.

However!

Among all the top-tier super clubs right now, in terms of signings, number of stars, and actual performances, Barça is basically bringing up the rear.

So just imagine how terrifying Real Madrid’s paper strength is, sitting on four Ballon d’Ors and eight superstars.

In that squad, players rated 95 must be everywhere, and 90s aren’t worth a thing.

Against teams like that, how could San Remo possibly not get beaten senseless?

It’s only because football is a sport where scoring is so hard and miracles are everywhere.

If this were basketball, with a gap this big in strength, the weaker team would never be able to turn it around!

This is also one of the big reasons why basketball has been getting more and more boring in recent years, and its influence is visibly shrinking.

Under the suppression of the strong, the weak have no chance at all.

The top powerhouses can even precisely control point spreads and win totals, lining up their entire playoff path in advance.

A sport without suspense just isn’t watchable.

A game where the stronger side always wins, nobody likes that.

Because in real life, most people are the weaker side.

…

On July 19, the North America box office rankings were announced.

Sofia’s When Happiness Knocks at Your Door only pulled in Fifteen Million dollars on its first day, far from being considered high.

But in terms of word of mouth, it was excellent.

So over the next two days, its box office didn’t really drop much.

Its first-week North America box office reached 33 million dollars, ranking second in the July release slot.

The gap from first place wasn’t that big either.

“It’s really surprising that an Italy woman can tell a United States story this well.”

“The single mom Sofia portrays rips open the scars of that era! Her acting is incredible!”

“When Sofia takes her son to the church for food and shelter, it really stabbed me in the heart.”

“It reminded me of my own childhood.”

“In the United States, kids only have moms, no dads!”

“The kid’s acting is great too.”

“This story is just too moving.”

As everyone knows, in the United States, most successful people either come from already privileged backgrounds, or they fought their way up from the slums.

And for the latter, it’s basically all “there’s a mom but no dad.”

The original When Happiness Knocks at Your Door focused on the hardships of life during the Great Depression and on tireless effort and hope; it was very uplifting.

But Lu Yang’s female-lead version of When Happiness Knocks at Your Door might dig even deeper.

The reason movements over there about women’s rights are so intense is because over there, a lot of women really are pulling double duty as both mom and dad.

If you’ve paid what needed to be paid, then of course you deserve the corresponding rights.

But in places where women haven’t actually paid that much and still make a fuss to create conflict, that’s a bit…

Anyway, this version of When Happiness Knocks at Your Door comes with the power of twenty years’ worth of punches; it seems the Americans can’t quite handle it.

On the fourth day of release, some related movements broke out over in the United States.

Nobody saw that coming.

Thanks to this, the film’s box office skyrocketed even further.

It actually went up against the weekday trend, drawing a box office curve that looked downright bizarre.

July 22, 6 p.m.

The Barcelona team chartered flight landed in Shanghai and checked into the Paradise Continental Hotel.

As the Host, Lu Yang had long since reserved a VIP lounge at the hotel, ready to treat his teammates and give them a proper welcome.

However, after going upstairs to rest for a bit, quite a few teammates said they were too tired and wouldn’t go out.

In the end, in the luxurious hall that could seat thirty, fewer than ten people trickled in.

Gudiola, Ortiz, Mancini, Matt Kahn, Canisell, Pirola, and a few bench players.

Only four starting players actually showed up.

“They’re a bit tired; this flight was really long this time, Lu.” Ortiz, pale-skinned and with very high Emotional Intelligence, gave a quick explanation on behalf of his local-clique brothers.

But everyone knew the real reason.

Barça does not welcome Lu Yang.

Just like Lu Yang has no feelings for Barça beyond the job itself.

Lu Yang didn’t mind at all.

This wasn’t him going out of his way to curry favor or anything; it was simply because Barça had come all this way to play three friendly matches in the country.