"You..." Aguilar was furious. He got to his feet, regained control of the ball, and charged at Lu Yang.
He only had to keep the ball out of his opponent's control for one minute to win.
Under normal circumstances, Aguilar would keep dribbling, dodging, and weaving around to avoid being dispossessed.
But Lu Yang had just "stolen" the ball from him, and he felt humiliated.
So he was going to humiliate him in return.
He was going to get past Lu Yang!
But no one expected Lu Yang's shoulders to sway rapidly from side to side, making it impossible to tell what he was about to do.
Right!
Aguilar keenly sensed what Lu Yang was thinking. Lu Yang seemed more inclined to defend his right... He was about to make his move... What a chance!
Aguilar dribbled past him on the left.
But the instant he nudged the ball forward, a foot appeared in its path and hooked it away.
A perfect tackle!
It looked as if Aguilar had deliberately passed the ball straight to Lu Yang.
Twice now!
Lam, Liverpool's young academy center-back, frowned.
Lu Yang was a strong defender, nowhere near Serie D or Serie C level. Even in the lower leagues, this kind of clean, precise defending would be among the very best.
Lam even wondered whether he could make tackles and interceptions like Lu Yang.
Soon, ten minutes had passed.
Aguilar was no longer as arrogant as before.
He had lost this one-on-one, and he had lost badly!
He had controlled the ball five times, and Lu Yang had dispossessed him every time!
Perhaps if he had run all over the field with the ball, he could have made Lu Yang fail once or twice, but he simply couldn't bring himself to do that.
Lu Yang had controlled the ball five times, and aside from the one time Aguilar dispossessed him, he had successfully held on for a full minute the other four times.
His approach was simple and direct. Most of the time, he relied on his powerful physique.
As long as Lu Yang used his body to shield the ball from Aguilar, it was difficult for Aguilar to win it back.
Among young players, Lu Yang's physical strength was practically second to none.
He looked only 1.83 meters tall, but when it came to physical contests, only big strikers and tall defenders could hope to overpower him.
Aguilar was clearly a technical player, not a physical one.
He could muscle Baizami off the ball, but Lu Yang could muscle him off it!
That was the food chain in competitive sports!
Even if someone was only a little better than you, they could still be an insurmountable mountain.
Lu Yang also had good footwork. He performed the V-Pull, Rabona, Knee-Tap Lift, and other moves smoothly. Several times, he toyed with Aguilar and drew jeers from the crowd.
Before anyone realized it, every camera was pointed at Lu Yang.
After defeating Aguilar, Lu Yang didn't go over to gloat. He ignored him and walked straight to Baizami, offering his hand. "I'm Lu Yang, San Remo's starting defensive midfielder. Unless something unexpected happens, we'll be playing alongside each other next season."
"You're a forward. You just need to run and score goals."
"I'm a defensive player, so it's my job to protect the team and its players."
"With me around, no one can bully you, on or off the pitch, no matter how they try!"
"Of course, I hope that one day you'll be able to teach those people a lesson yourself... preferably with a football. That would mean our team had gained a formidable player! I'm eager to win more honors alongside my teammates!"
"Welcome to the team, Baizami!"
Baizami stared at Lu Yang's outstretched hand, frozen for a long moment.
For some reason, he thought of the first time he'd left home to join Inter Milan's youth academy.
Maybe those kids hadn't meant any harm. Maybe the coaches there thought it was just kids joking around.
But the words the others had used to call Baizami a "darkie" had still hurt him.
From then on, Baizami, the Senegalese boy who had once been talkative and cheerful, had become the cool, aloof person who barely responded to anyone.
He wasn't rejecting kindness. He was just trying to protect himself from the hurt the world might bring him.
That was also why he couldn't bring himself to share the ball with anyone.
Whenever he got possession, he no longer wanted to pass it to anyone else.
That style of play worked for a while, especially when he was far better than everyone else on the pitch.
But once he grew up and began playing at a higher level, it stopped working.
After a season and a half of trying, Inter Milan gave up on him completely and sold him to San Remo.
For a time, Baizami thought his life was over.
But when Lu Yang held out his hand, he began to feel that San Remo might not be such a bad choice after all.
At least the people here didn't seem so unpleasant.
Baizami took Lu Yang's right hand. "Hello, I'm Baizami."
Lu Yang smiled. "This is Moric, the absolute heart of our team. He's a terrific passer. Trust me, he'll send you through on goal plenty of times..."
"Don't listen to him. Forwards create those chances themselves with their outstanding individual ability. But now that we're talking about passing, I'm all ears..."
The three of them walked off to one side of the pitch, chatting and laughing, and gradually formed a little group.
Watching Lu Yang's constant smiles from behind the cameras, the head director sighed. "He has such a bright, handsome smile. But when he gets angry, why is he so terrifying? Can someone really be both an angel and a devil?"
A staff member beside him asked, "Director, what should we do with this footage? If we release it, it could have a negative impact on Aguilar."
The director answered without hesitation. "Just broadcast it. And make sure the edit looks good, with plenty of suspense. Edit Aguilar like a major villain. After all, nobody would expect Lu Yang, a player from Serie D, to be the one who saves Baizami."
"Aguilar's remarks were pretty ordinary. They weren't serious discrimination. At worst, he can apologize afterward and say he misspoke. It won't have that bad an impact."
The staff member was speechless.
He called a public apology "not that bad"?
The staff member said, "But won't this affect his standing in the team? I mean Roma. He's competing with the other players for the starting right-wing position this year, but then he got shut down by a player from Serie D. He—"
The director smiled. "Roma will only thank us. We've helped them expose Aguilar's major weakness. Otherwise, why do you think Aguilar came on the show?"
The staff member was stunned. "So... Roma sent him here?"
The director smiled without answering.
Those who understood, understood!
Aguilar was keeping his options open, but wasn't Roma giving him one last chance, too?
Less than half an hour after Baizami and Aguilar's confrontation, Maniero and the others arrived at the pitch.
They had already heard about the earlier conflict and knew how it had ended.
Wolf King of Roma, Perotta, looked a little embarrassed.
After all, Aguilar was a backup forward for Roma, and the coaching staff were even planning to make him their starting right winger next season to give him room to develop.
Honestly, that was bad news for Perotta, who was trying to win the league title.
He needed a powerful partner to help him compete for honors, not a young prospect whose career he'd have to sacrifice to help develop.
Besides, Perotta didn't particularly like Aguilar.
The guy had no sense of priorities.
He didn't even like passing to Perotta, the Wolf King.
Aguilar's current ability didn't match his role as the focal point of the attack, yet he still didn't know how to change his game.
Carlisle, who had come with them, was feeling pretty pleased.
Wolf King, my friend, see that? This is the heir to the King of the Violets!
He's better than your young hotshot, isn't he? Haha!
Prince of Zebras, Ancarelli, and Italian legend Taji, the celebrated left-back, also kept their eyes on Lu Yang and Moric. Maniero had just spent far too long talking about them in front of the two of them.
He'd sounded like a parent bragging about his own kids.
Were they really that good?
Maniero, the first to take the initiative, stood on the pitch and addressed everyone. "Welcome to the Star of Italy Training Camp. We've brought together many young players who play in Italy or are Italian."
"I hope that years from now, when we look back, we'll discover that this training camp was full of the youthful memories of so many legendary stars!"
"I won't dwell on discipline. I have only one requirement: settle football matters with football."
At that, everyone looked at Lu Yang and Aguilar.
The remark was clearly pointed. The five mentors probably already knew what had happened.
That made Aguilar's expression even worse.
Maniero continued, "Today, we'll be holding the comprehensive trials. I know some players aren't happy with the player rankings the program announced. This is your chance."
"Your rankings will be reassessed after the trials, and they'll be reassessed every few days from then on. The higher your ranking, the more likely you are to advance to the next stage. Of course... we'll also consider other factors, such as potential, performances on the pitch, and public support, when deciding whether a player advances."
"All right, boys. Let's begin your trials!"
After Maniero finished speaking, the camera turned to the trial stations that had already been set up.
There were many events, including keep-ups, passing with both feet, shooting with both feet, sprints without the ball, dribbling sprints, shot power, and long-distance running.
The results were usually clear.
First up were the five S-ranked players. They lived up to their rankings, excelling at nearly all the basic skills and earning high scores in most events.
The A-ranked players weren't bad either. In fact, their stats often looked no different from those of the S-ranked players.
Take Versace, a young midfielder from the Viola academy. His stats were no worse than Aguilar's, yet Aguilar was ranked S while he was ranked A.
"Clubs don't ask much of academy players. In fact, for any club, reaching A-level ability is usually enough. The key is whether a player can prove his worth during a loan spell or in the first team and show how he differs from everyone else." Carlisle stood beside Lu Yang, explaining it to the young players nearby.
Only then did everyone understand.
The five S-ranked players had all played in proper league matches, without a doubt.
They either had experience as substitutes in a top-flight league or as starters in a lower league. In any case, they had been tested in real matches, and their rankings more or less matched everyone's expectations.
The A-ranked players, on the other hand, hadn't yet been tested.
Soguer from Milan was one of them.
But one player had stood out, posting numbers just as good as those of the S- and A-ranked players.
That was... Moric!
"Perfect keep-up score—first-rate ball control! He's balanced with both feet, a rare ambidextrous player. Maybe his left foot is slightly weaker, but his precise outside-of-the-foot passes with his right more than make up for that so-called flaw." Prince of Zebras, Ancarelli, was a technical forward, and he was astonished by Moric's performance. "His passing and shooting are excellent, and his long-range shots are already very good!"
"His outside-of-the-foot curling shots are terrifyingly strong. He'll score plenty of goals that way! That powerful shot is completely at odds with his seemingly frail frame!"
"No, he isn't frail. His off-the-ball and dribbling sprints are both faster than those of a typical midfielder. He even has the potential to play as a second striker! That would let him make the most of his strengths while minimizing his defensive weaknesses."
Maniero cut in. "Sorry, Ancarelli, but if you've watched him play, you'll know that defense isn't one of his weak points. Unlike me, he's very good at covering for his teammates, and he's especially skilled at sneaking in from the side to win the ball!"
"Besides, he's a number ten. He won't play as a second striker. He's my heir, not yours!"
Ancarelli laughed, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.
There was no doubt that Moric's rating would change.
Lu Yang, by contrast, had posted trial results that seemed... surprisingly consistent with his rating.
Apart from his terrifying stamina, which left him conspicuously full of energy after running laps, he had no technical advantage over the other players.
His abilities were as balanced as Versace's, but Versace's skills were all close to a high Serie B standard, while Lu Yang's were all somewhere between Serie C and Serie B.
The former was an all-rounder. Lu Yang, by contrast, looked more like he couldn't do anything at all.
"This..." The mentors didn't know how to rate Lu Yang. After all, Maniero and Carlisle had both thought highly of him.
"Some players may have strong mental attributes and plenty of memorable moments, but when it comes to the basics, they're a little..." Perotta forced out a few words.
"He's a player whose ability and importance can't be captured by trial stats." Maniero said, his face perfectly straight. "He's a big-game player, a player with nerves of steel. Once the matches begin, you'll see what makes him different."
Carlisle strongly agreed, but the other three remained skeptical.
There were plenty of players who excelled in every area during training but failed to perform in matches.
But they'd hardly ever heard of players who were awful in training and brilliant in matches.
It didn't make sense.
A flash of inspiration only worked when it was built on a certain foundation.
Lu Yang's fundamentals were clearly a level below those of these talented young players.
In fact, that was an accurate reflection of Lu Yang's abilities.
As mentioned before, Lu Yang's all-around abilities might let him dominate in Serie C.
But in Serie B, he could easily fade into the crowd.
And among these players billed as prodigies, there were more than a few whose signature techniques had impressed Serie A clubs!
The gap was real.
But... as Maniero had said, many of Lu Yang's strengths couldn't be shown in stats.
He needed to prove himself in a match!