"My God, what did I just see? Lu Yang just toyed with the opposing defender! And he didn't even use a V-Pull—he passed with a Rabona!"
"What a beautiful Rabona assist! What can't Lu Yang do?"
"I thought that attack was over, but Lu Yang fooled his opponent. He feinted to the right, but instead of pushing the ball with his left foot, he swung his right foot behind his left and sent in a brilliant pass!"
"That pass was a joy to watch. Lu Yang's football is always this beautiful!"
"It's three-nil at halftime, and Foggia's players have completely fallen apart. And with the break just around the corner, that's a devastating blow to their morale!"
"Let's hope their coach can make some adjustments at halftime. Otherwise, these youngsters might not have the courage to keep playing."
"San Remo are too strong. Is the gap really this big between seventh and tenth in the standings? They might actually have a chance to reach the promotion playoff spots."
During halftime, Soto praised everyone in the locker room.
Then he stressed the defensive problems at the back.
He told Lu Yang to help out the defense more. He also told Rondo not to play too aggressively, especially not to get into more hard challenges like he had in the first half.
The team couldn't afford to lose Rondo.
Rondo said he understood.
The second half kicked off.
In the seventy-first minute, Rondo, who had only just returned from injury, was substituted for Nagy, the team's backup center-back.
Soto truly cared about Rondo's fitness.
After all, once you'd seen Lu Yang play in defensive midfield, you'd never miss having him at center-back again.
That was men for you: always pining for the new and forgetting the old.
But before long, the time bomb in San Remo's back line went off.
Even with Lu Yang covering for them, they still let Foggia score.
There was a huge difference between having a leader marshal the defense and not having one.
Take Manchester City in the 2021 season, for example. After Dias joined the back line, he even brought the long-forgotten Stones back to life, helping him put in some brilliant performances.
So when San Remo had neither Rondo nor Lu Yang in defense, they really couldn't keep the opposition out.
Forty-six goals conceded in the first half of the season wasn't a joke.
"Hey, buddy, we need to talk." Moric approached Lu Yang. "I like playing alongside you. I don't want to be on my own, responsible for defending and organizing the play, while also having to watch out for the opposition doubling up on me."
"We need to help our defenders look reliable."
"You chose your words well," Lu Yang said with a nod. Once you'd played a free role, no one wanted to go back to a fixed position. It was human nature.
Everyone longed for wind and freedom.
"Let's step up the attack and crush them!" Moric said.
Lu Yang got the message.
After that, Lu Yang kept pushing forward and led one attack after another.
That might have left San Remo's back line looking exposed, but Foggia didn't have the energy to exploit those weaknesses.
Lu Yang and Vedian's forward runs kept them on edge.
The seventy-ninth minute of the match.
Lu Yang made another forward run, but he'd done it so many times already that Foggia had started to let their guard down.
And then... Moric sent the ball to the right winger again. The winger tried to dribble past his marker, found no opening, and passed it back to Moric.
Moric could use both feet. This time, he played the ball out to Vedian.
Vedian had space, so he crossed it right away.
The opposing right-back got a touch on the ball with his foot. It kept moving forward, but flew high into the air.
Lu Yang had already charged into Foggia's penalty area.
The opposing center-back went shoulder to shoulder with Lu Yang, but since they were inside the box, he didn't dare get too rough.
That gave Lu Yang his chance.
At the same time, San Remo's center-forward and right winger were charging into the box too, drawing some of the defenders' attention.
Lu Yang looked as if he was going to bring the ball down with his foot again.
That made the center-back marking him even more confident.
Unlike the team's center-forward, he was a defender and knew plenty of tricks.
The moment Lu Yang tried to bring it down, the defender only had to put him under a little pressure, and the ball would fly away from his feet.
Lu Yang's earlier trick of cushioning the ball with the top of his foot had been memorable, but no one believed it was something he could do regularly.
If even Moric couldn't pull it off, what made Lu Yang think he could?
"We can see Lu Yang trying to bring the ball down. That's not a very sensible choice."
"Attacking opportunities are often there for just a moment. How can you afford to control the ball and set yourself up inside the penalty area?"
"Perhaps this is the difference between Lu Yang and a forward. Earlier, some people said they wanted to see Lu Yang play up front. This moment proves that's never going to happen."
The commentator didn't look down on Lu Yang. It was just that his decision really hadn't been the best one.
The best option was to try to head the ball down to a teammate outside the box. Even an idiot knew that. Why didn't Lu Yang?
Lu Yang was completely baffled.
You just said only an idiot would know that. I'm no idiot, so why should I know?
But soon, history repeated itself.
The ball fell directly onto Lu Yang's instep without bouncing.
It was like waiting for something to fall and bounce back up, only for the "bounce back up" part not to happen.
That split-second gap gave Lu Yang the chance to nudge the ball into an unoccupied space beside him.
Then Lu Yang turned and unleashed a fierce shot—
Foggia's center-back was a seasoned veteran. He'd missed his chance to stop Lu Yang from controlling the ball, but he didn't miss his chance to block the shot.
He threw himself down to block it.
At the same time, Foggia's goalkeeper dived to his right.
But... Lu Yang hadn't touched the ball with his first step.
He had only feinted over it, planting his foot beside the ball. Then his other foot swung behind him, and he used another Rabona to flick the ball into the air.
The ball sailed over Foggia's center-back and slowly drifted toward the left side of the goal, right in front of the goalkeeper's eyes.
The next moment, it hit the back of the net!
"Genius! You're a goddamn genius!"
Vedian ran over, though he'd thought Lu Yang would pass the ball back to him. He'd already found a shooting opportunity just outside the penalty area.
"That was incredible, but I'm honestly worried you're going to snap your own ankle with all those feints." Moric was thrilled, but he was also a little worried Lu Yang would attract too much attention and get targeted by dirty challenges.
That was the difference between defenders and other players.
Defenders rarely had their ankles targeted by opponents.
Usually, they were the ones going after other people's ankles.
"Can't help it. I'm feeling it today." Lu Yang smiled. "I'll be careful. From now on, I'll seal away both my feet."
Moric was speechless.
What the hell was the point of playing if he sealed away both feet?
There was no denying it: Lu Yang's goal had completely crushed Foggia's hopes of equalizing.
If three-one wasn't enough to make them give up, four-one certainly was. There was no point playing on.
And because Moric was worried about Lu Yang, he started passing the ball around once they regained possession.
That was more or less a signal to Foggia's players: We're done attacking, so don't get too worked up, okay?
After all, Lu Yang's Rabona assist and goal had been infuriating enough.
And the player who'd pulled them off was a center-back, for crying out loud.
The first minute of stoppage time.
San Remo won a corner.
Moric took it casually. The match was about to end.
But Lu Yang charged to the near post, leaped high, and powered a Lion's Header toward the middle.
Nagy, the young center-back who'd come on as a substitute and conceded a goal, landed and used his height advantage to head the ball straight toward Foggia's goal.
Five-one!
This was one of the biggest wins in San Remo's history!
It was also the highest-scoring result of the round in Serie D.
Foggia's players were all stunned.
Hadn't they agreed to play along and take it easy?
Why had San Remo suddenly started attacking again?
All Moric could do was offer his apologies.
As a veteran Pro Evolution Soccer player, he was used to scoring Kick-off Kills and last-minute goals. Sorry about that.
Tweet, tweet, tweet!
The referee blew the final whistle.
Lu Yang and Moric walked along chatting. As they passed Nagy, Lu Yang patted him on the shoulder.
Nagy turned around and saw Lu Yang. He was thrilled.
His eyes were red because he'd cried when he scored just now.
Lu Yang had saved him.
Without that goal, he couldn't imagine how much criticism he would have faced.
After Rondo's injury, Nagy had become one of San Remo's starting center-backs, but his performances had been awful.
He was 1.93 meters tall, but he wasn't strong or tough.
When Lu Yang had burst onto the scene and taken his starting spot, Nagy had lost his playing time for a while. The team's other towering center-back was just as useless, but at least he had more experience than Nagy.
With Rondo recovered from his injury and Lu Yang moved further forward, Nagy had a chance to become Rondo's backup.
But the moment he came on, he'd messed everything up.
Until... Lu Yang's Lion's Header sent the ball flying onto his head.
He'd redeemed himself.
"There you go! Keep it up!" Lu Yang said to Nagy.
Nagy nodded.
"You've got real talent. At your height, put on a little muscle and you'll be an essential part of the defense." Lu Yang gave Nagy a few words of encouragement.
In truth, compared with the other lumbering center-back, Lu Yang had more faith in Nagy because... he was young!
The other center-back was already thirty-five, a year older than the team captain, Rondo. There was no telling whether he'd even be playing next year.
After Nagy left, Moric said, exasperated, "Why are you acting like a veteran? He's almost five years older than you!"
Lu Yang spread his hands. "So what? Don't you see the leader in me?"
Moric stared at him in surprise. "You want to be captain?"
Lu Yang made no effort to hide it. "Either you lead others or they lead you. I'm used to being free, so..."
Moric glanced at the people around them, then lowered his voice. "But how long do you think you can play for San Remo? At the rate you're going, some team is bound to buy you during the transfer window!"
"What kind of team?" Lu Yang asked calmly.
"A Serie C team!" Moric blurted out, then was the first to pause.
There was a chance San Remo could play in Serie C next season!
"Or maybe Serie B? Mr. Arthas must have connections," Moric said.
"Then if we make it to Serie B, what kind of role do you think we'll be given?" Lu Yang asked him in return.
He'd said "we," not "I."
In truth, Lu Yang wasn't the one who really wanted to play in Serie B. It was... Moric!
"Would the coaching staff still give me this much freedom? Let me push forward when I want and drop back to cover when I want? No way. I'd become a workhorse in midfield. Even if I had the occasional flash of inspiration, the only thing I'd earn would be disapproval from the coach, the staff, my teammates, and the fans."
"The ambitious teams in Serie B are all there to earn promotion. They don't want any X factors! And I'm the biggest X factor in Italian football."
Moric nodded as if he accepted what Lu Yang had said, but there was still a strange gleam in his eyes.
It was about his own future.
"And you..." Lu Yang said, turning to Moric. "Do you think a team like that would treat and develop you like their key player? Sorry, but Serie B doesn't produce stars. Weak teams can't hold on to young players who could be their key players, and strong teams already have their own."
"Maybe Portugal or the Netherlands could offer that kind of opportunity, but your influence doesn't reach that far. Would you really be willing to leave me and play in the Netherlands?"
Moric was quiet for a long time.
"What do you think we should do, Lu? You know I trust you more than anyone. I'll follow your lead." Moric made up his mind.
Lu Yang put an arm around his shoulders and leaned in. "When the club president hired Soto, he already made his intentions clear. He's ready to go all in. Of course, there's a condition: we players have to show him what we can do first. For example..."
"Take the team into Serie C!"
"If we make it into Serie C, we'll definitely get some strong reinforcements during the summer transfer window. Soto and Arthas will make it happen. And with players who can compete in Serie A backing us up, we won't stay in Serie C for long. Serie B won't be far away!"
"There's no reason to leave the best place for us to grow just to spend that one year somewhere else. Countless talented players have missed out on their best years of development because they wanted to join a big club. San Remo isn't a big club, but since you and I have become its core players, it's the best home we could have asked for!"
"Vedian's leaving this season, but soon enough we'll meet him again in Serie B. By then, he might not be doing any better than us. That'll be a surprise for him."
Moric was a smart man. What Lu Yang was saying sounded crazy, but... if a San Remo legend was just beginning, then it all made sense.
A legend was, after all, someone who managed to do what most people thought was impossible.
"Then why didn't you tell Vedian all this?" Moric asked curiously.
"Do you really need me to spell it out, Moric?" Lu Yang looked at him. "You're my best friend. I want us to fight side by side and see how far we can go together."
Moric's eyes reddened. "You sure it's not because Vedian can fetch a higher transfer fee?"
Lu Yang replied, "That's part of it, but not a big part. Maybe ninety-five percent."
San Remo might not have known it, but without realizing it, they'd earned the approval of two core players.
Of course, the team received far more recognition than that after this match.
The Italian star Maniero had clearly watched the game. Right after it ended, he shared clips of all five goals and commented, "As everyone knows, the Italy National Team is known as Little San Remo!"
"They've found the perfect pairing in midfield. If they keep playing like this, they'll get out of Serie D this season!"
Just how popular and influential was Maniero in Italian football?
With a single comment, he sent the whole Italian football scene into a frenzy!