The First Star Player Skill, Gift of the Moment Card

"You and Hans... are in cahoots!" Lu Yang's gaze was sharp.

"The same as your relationship with Hans," Soto did not shy away. "And Maniero... in fact, it was Maniero who recommended me to Hans. He truly is a wise man, both on and off the pitch."

Lu Yang nodded. "I knew it. Live Football News always has those stories about your grudges and entanglements that no one else can get their hands on. You guys have truly mastered the art of maximizing a player's fame through off-field factors and the bonds between players."

Soto said, "But we have never had any fake performances in our matches. Every time we met, we gave it our all."

Lu Yang said, "I believe that."

Soto asked, "Why? You trust my word just like that? What if..."

Lu Yang said, "Because I have played football with you, and I believe in football!"

Soto pondered for a long time; Lu Yang's words had moved him deeply.

In fact, Soto did not start out working with Hans, and back then, he wasn't some top-tier star; he was just an ordinary Milan midfield enforcer.

It was Maniero who felt that Soto put too much pressure and trouble on him during their matches.

Maniero believed that such an excellent player should not be buried; Milan's fans needed to know what kind of contribution a great man in their team had made for them.

Just as Juventus fans needed to clearly know how important Maniero was to them.

On the other hand, Maniero also needed an opponent to maintain his own relevance.

He knew very early on that you need topics to be noticed by more media and fans, and only then can you stay popular for longer. Fans and supporters will be more tolerant of you, and every player needs a tolerant public opinion environment.

Because no matter how strong you are, there will always be times when you lose and times when you don't perform well.

If you don't even have the margin for error to play a bad game, how can you expect to grow into a superstar?

In this football world, there are no players born as superstars.

So, Maniero helped Soto establish the image of being Maniero's lifelong rival, and both of their reputations soared as a result.

And Soto didn't need to sacrifice anything.

Maniero didn't need him to throw matches; they both had extremely high loyalty to their respective teams, and they both had extremely high expectations for themselves and for football.

The fact that Hans's influence began to decline after Maniero and Soto retired shows that this pair of lifelong Serie A rivals was truly orchestrated by Maniero.

Without Maniero, Hans gradually lost his footing in the news media industry.

It wasn't that Hans hadn't thought about re-operating according to Maniero's original plan, trying to cultivate the next Brain vs. Butcher duo.

But he failed.

Arnold was his third failure.

Perhaps it was because of uneven development between the two sides, leading one to become jealous of the other and refuse to continue their harmonious hype.

Or perhaps it was because one of them faded into obscurity, losing the space and value for manipulation.

Or perhaps it was because some idiot among them kicked Hans out for three hundred euros.

Arnold would never know what he had lost.

He lost a chance to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Soto and Maniero.

In short, Hans could not accomplish this.

He had no initiative; he was merely a channel for sound, a middleman, with too little participation in the core of it all.

Only the participants themselves could truly control all the joints to create a god.

Which is to say, only the players themselves could do it.

Hans could only play a supporting role.

And some time ago, Hans told Soto excitedly that he had found another ADC of his own, perhaps no worse than Maniero.

Soto scoffed at this.

Not just anyone is worthy of being compared to Maniero!

But when Hans mentioned Lu Yang's name, Soto fell silent.

Because in his eyes, although Lu Yang and Maniero were completely different types of players, they both possessed the same magical quality, which was... a knack for creating miracles.

So...

"Tell me your thoughts. I need to confirm if we are working toward the same goal." Soto was very direct, but implicitly, he used a tone of voice as if speaking to an equal.

Sixteen years old?

To hell with sixteen years old!

Anyone who treats Lu Yang like a sixteen-year-old kid is going to suffer a huge loss.

"It's simple. Vedian is definitely leaving next season. The team can't keep him, and they have neither the reason nor the ability to do so," Lu Yang said. "Since that's the case, why not make him look more valuable?"

"We need a certain amount of transfer funds next season, and Vedian can make all of this simple. Otherwise, even with your Milan resources, we wouldn't be able to afford the price."

Lu Yang's last sentence made the hair on Soto's arms stand up.

He even knew that?

"Don't look at me with that expression," Lu Yang laughed. "I can even guess that the person you're planning to bring over is either the veteran Juventus midfielder Chiellini or the old Juventus captain Latuidi!"

Soto could no longer sit still after that.

"Damn it! When did you tap my phone? Tell me, how many cameras did you install in my place? Did you record me hooking up with those female fans?" Soto looked like a lion ready to devour someone.

Lu Yang... gaped: "Now that is some explosive news. You actually sleep with fans!"

"Shh, shh, shh!" Soto covered Lu Yang's mouth to prevent the players in front from hearing them. "I'm a man too, I have needs. I'm thirty-eight and unmarried; there are things that need handling, you understand?"

Lu Yang nodded, signaling my brother, you are impressive.

"Back to business. I can accept Vedian leaving next season because I know of a winger with top-tier speed—the kind even faster than Vedian!" Soto revealed the bombshell.

Sitting in the front row, Vedian seemed to hear his own name. He turned to look at Lu Yang and Soto, who were in a serious discussion, knowing that Lu Yang was arguing with Soto on his behalf.

Perhaps the head coach would bench him later, keeping him off the pitch.

Many teams did this to players wanting a transfer: forcing them to stay by any means necessary!

Young, unproven players were at a disadvantage.

However, the truth was that Lu Yang and Soto had engaged in a twenty-thousand-word exchange on how to pad stats.

When it came to underhanded tactics, Lu Yang wasn't bragging, but the footballers of this era couldn't compare to him!

After all, he was a man who had watched the later years of the NBA.

What kind of insane stat-padding methods hadn't he seen?

And those "black shops" in the football world—why was it that ordinary players could put up explosive numbers there, only to fade into obscurity once they left?

Adaptation was one thing, but stat-padding in those shops was an undeniable fact.

It was just a bit difficult to pull off.

But then again, as the primary finisher for San Remo, the team couldn't avoid helping Vedian pad his stats even if they wanted to; everyone needed Vedian to score, and his speed remained the ultimate weapon in the lower leagues.

Lu Yang didn't have a Moment Card for every match.

And... not every opponent was worthy of Lu Yang using a Moment Card.

How could he waste a legendary moment on some nobody?

The conversation ended quickly, not as long as everyone imagined. Soto spent most of the remaining time sleeping; he couldn't possibly blame Lu Yang, because Lu Yang had said exactly what he intended to say.

Let the Serie B teams take a good look at Vedian's quality; he was more worth betting on for those wealthy clubs than Arnold.

Especially since Lu Yang's exaggerated thirty-three-meter bicycle kick had amplified the influence of San Remo's matches.

With words and actions complementing each other, it wouldn't be hard to send Vedian to a wealthy household.

After Soto fell asleep, Lu Yang began to accept the gift package for this match.

Because this was his first match with a brace, he received two random gift packages.

Following the old routine, he opened them directly.

"Ding! You have obtained the player skill, Lion's Header."

"Ding! You have obtained the star skill, Marcelo's Instep Trap!"

Lu Yang almost jumped out of his seat.

Marcelo?

Is that you, Afro-head?

Marcelo was a Brazilian international, a mainstay left-back for Real Madrid, and a member of the three-peat Champions League squad; he had won almost every club honor. The reason for that caveat was that his international honors were relatively sparse.

He had never lifted the World Cup, nor had he ever won the Copa América.

But one had to admit that Marcelo was, for a certain period, the most formidable candidate for the world's best left-back.

He was most famous for his miraculous ball control and trapping technique; he was a quintessential showman of a player from South America.

In one match, he received a long-range pass from a teammate, and the moment he trapped the ball, the entire stadium went quiet.

Because from start to finish, the ball never seemed to bounce; it was as if it had been firmly sucked onto his instep.

The reason Lu Yang was so excited wasn't because this star skill would help him score, but because it would allow him to go further and further on the path of showtime.

No player dared to trap the ball easily near their own penalty area because the moment of trapping was when one was most prone to errors and being dispossessed, especially with high balls.

Therefore, for the sake of safety, defenders were forced to clear the ball with long kicks or head it away, not daring to let it touch their feet.

But whether trapping or clearing, errors were easy to make.

The countless low-level mistakes and various own goals we see from defenders often stem from this.

But once Lu Yang had Marcelo's Instep Trap, he would have a reliable option when receiving the ball in the penalty area.

And this would definitely catch those pressers off guard.

Just like the V-Pull, it would give Lu Yang more room and leeway to maneuver, and even assist the team's offense.

Additionally, Lion's Header was a heading action; as the name implied, it improved Lu Yang's heading ability.

This wasn't just about attacking headers.

It also included defensive headers, flick-ons, and more.

After receiving these two skills, Lu Yang opened his panel to take a look.

His stats had seen a fairly significant improvement.

Beyond the various skills, the reason for this was also his use of the Ibrahimovic Moment Card, which had granted him Ibrahimovic's gift. That experience remained forever etched in his body, adding bricks and mortar to his natural talent.

Lu Yang

Height: 178cm

Weight: 75kg

Attacking:

Off the ball: 50

Dribbling: 50

Ball control: 60

Finishing: 55

Heading: 55

Defending:

Tackling: 55

Interceptions: 50

Physical:

Speed: 60

Acceleration: 55

Jumping: 50

Strength: 50

Balance: 60

Close control: 55

Vision: 99

Mental:

Aggression: 99

Concentration: 99

Consistency: 99

Teamwork: 55

Leadership: 55

Stats between 50-59 fall within the range of a professional player. With multiple stats reaching 55 or even 60, it meant that some of Lu Yang's attributes were at an above-average level even in Serie C.

This was why he had played with relative ease in both of his Serie D matches.

The only difficult part was the number nine target man for Bisceglie. Lu Yang indeed found it hard to defend against that heavy-tank type of player in a direct confrontation, but he could utilize his agility, speed, and coordination with Moric to offset some of the disadvantages.

As long as it wasn't a heavy tank, Lu Yang could defend against anyone.

Speed-based strikers, in particular, were the type Lu Yang could restrict the most effectively.

In lower-tier leagues, it was often the speed-based players who ran rampant.

Because the quality of defense was poorer, speed-based players could find many more opportunities than others, making it easier for them to shine.

As for top-tier teams with strong passing and control, they wouldn't give you a single chance for a speed-based counterattack all match; that was an entirely different level.

<Freezing Arnold, he did exactly what he said he would!>

<Arnold finishes with zero goals and zero assists before leaving injured; his tormentor turns out to be a complete unknown!>

<Soto leads the team to two consecutive wins, defeating the league leaders and showing magic!>

<Another sudden drop! Attention all units, the cannon-wielding defender is on the attack!>

San Remo legend, setting sail!

<Ping-pong wall passes, Serie D also has beautiful team play!>

<One goal and one assist, Vedian is only one goal away from being the top scorer in Serie D! Is a new king about to be crowned?>

<Two goals and one assist, dominating the match; you wouldn't believe he is actually a center-back!>

<A stunning 33-meter bicycle kick goal, the lumberjack shooter has a new masterpiece; no matter how you judge it, this year's Puskas Award is his!>

<The furthest bicycle kick goal in football history, created by a Serie D genius center-back! He once blew away the Milan Butcher, Soto!>

<Maniero: It seems I need to get used to seeing Lu Yang's news and goals in the media. He is a very excellent player with unlimited potential!>

<Serie B's Benevento: We are very optimistic about San Remo's Vedian. He is full of talent and very suitable for our tactical system!>

[Serie B Empoli: We have been tracking Vedian for a long time; he belongs in Serie B!]

[Serie B Perugia: Vedian was once our youth player; now, it is time to bring the boy home! Perugia will always welcome you!]

Headline after headline seized the newspapers across the Liguria region.

San Remo had not been this exciting in a long time.

Fans expressed their willingness to return to the stadium to watch the matches.

Even Brownie, the die-hard fan and owner of GOAL Bistro, stated that he would be in the South Stand of the San Remo Municipal Stadium for the next home game against the fifth-placed league team, Catania.

That was the territory of the San Remo die-hards!

Everyone was impatient to see San Remo's next match.

Because everyone was impatient to win again, and again, and again!