I AM the Football Star

This is the standard practice of a country known for its etiquette.

On the day of the match, Lu Yang even picked up a San Remo jersey to wave.

His gesture of waving the jersey during the match displeased some Barça fans.

“Is he crazy? He’s already a Barça player!”

“Still waving a San Remo jersey, that’s just too much!”

“Is he betraying us?”

“Dude, Lu Yang hasn’t officially reported to the team yet. When you’re on leave, do you have to wear your company’s uniform all the time?”

“To be fair, Lu Yang didn’t directly wear the San Remo jersey, he’s already restrained, he thought carefully before doing this. I don’t think it’s a big deal, you’re just too sensitive.”

“Not everyone treats the club as their life. You have to go through a lot together before genuine emotions develop. Those who immediately say this club is my lifeline and soul, which of them haven’t ultimately had a falling out with the club?”

“Can’t handle something real after seeing too much fake stuff? Let me tell you, a player like Lu Yang is much more reliable and down-to-earth than those players you think highly of!”

A small-scale debate started, but it won’t affect Lu Yang’s choice.

Moreover, Barça didn’t need Lu Yang’s cheering for this match.

Because Barça ended up winning 2-0.

But this match already began to serve as a warm-up for Barça.

Though they still played easily, with a ball possession rate exceeding sixty-eight percent, their goal count decreased.

Naji, Camihong, and Moriba’s defense against Mateo wasn’t completely successful, but they indeed caused significant trouble for Mateo.

As a result, Mateo only scored a free kick in this match.

It’s important to know this is the bankrupt version of San Remo.

It’s the San Remo that sold players worth three hundred million euros this summer!

What would Barça be like after selling players worth three hundred million euros?

San Remo’s performance is really commendable.

This stand also reinforced San Remo fans’ confidence in the team completing the relegation task this season.

On July 31st, Barça flew to Manchester, England, to complete a friendly match with Manchester United.

This match was truly blood-pumping.

The entire match ended in a 2-2 draw, with Mateo scoring twice.

English star Mike Loring and Manchester United’s new signing Averro assisted each other in scoring!

Among them, Averro scored the equalizer!

Overall, this match was quite beyond Barça fans’ expectations.

Barça without Moreira could still match Manchester United, who reinforced their squad?

This…is quite strong!

Fans who consider things might think, how terrifying will Barça be once Lu Yang recovers?

But fans who don’t consider might think, then why did we spend so much money to buy Lu Yang?

So.

You’ve spent the money, just think about happy things.

This is simply creating unpleasantness for yourself.

On August 4th, Barça flew to Los Angeles, United States.

Their second last warm-up match opponent was the LA Galaxy from Major League Soccer!

Four to one!

Barça easily secured a victory.

Mateo scored twice, with Mancini and Mebarak each scoring a goal.

Ortiz completed a hat trick of assists!

This is the second time during this period Barça players have achieved assist hat tricks!

It’s actually quite uncommon because Barça’s assists are usually distributed.

They might concentrate on the front line but rarely on midfielders.

Because when Barça finally solves problems, Mateo is definitely involved.

Most of the time, midfielders pass the ball to the forwards, forwards pass to Mateo, and Mateo scores.

Or midfielders pass to Mateo, Mateo passes to front-line teammates, they pass back to Mateo, and Mateo scores.

The scenario where midfield directly passes to Mateo and Mateo scores is relatively fewer.

But now it’s more frequent.

It looks more direct and efficient, but that’s mostly because the opponents are too weak.

Facing strong opponents, such passes hardly lead to goals.

This change is undoubtedly due to Moreira’s departure.

Don’t think Moreira didn’t fully integrate into Barça’s extreme ball control tactics, yet he could still rely on his boundless imagination to deliver the passes Barça needed or position himself where Barça needed.

Without him, Barça’s substitute forwards couldn’t complete this task.

Even Mancini, who previously assimilated well, couldn’t maintain his state after Moreira left.

Simply put, even if he doesn’t want to, he automatically becomes the next Moreira on the field because Mateo now definitely needs a counterpart.

But Mancini can be a great winger, a passing point, but he can’t be a counterpart, at least not as well as Moreira.

Barça’s front-line chemistry disappeared.

So they could only rely on their powerful midfield to directly deliver passes.

Coincidentally, Ortiz and Hernandez also have the ability to directly feed assists.

This is a hidden danger, and Gudiola has already noticed it.

On August 7th, Barça’s final friendly match.

Barça vs Flamenco from Brasileirão.

In this match, Gudiola reduced the rotation and clearly requested players to play in his style, minimizing direct assist passes from midfield to Mateo.

Simply put, it’s “put down your scalpel” and no cheating!