Switching to Left Back, San Remo's New-Season Goal Is Actually the Italian Cup? (Bonus Chapter)
<Star of Italy Shines Across Europe! Blue Lions Millwall Fall in the Apennines!>
<Knuckleball Slays the Blue Lions! Two Goals and an Assist from a Player in Italy's Fourth Tier Defeat a Strong Team from England's Second Tier!>
<An FA Cup Rematch! Italy's Best Bursts onto the Scene, Bringing Back Millwall's Heartbreaking Memories!>
<Copy the Lineup and You'll Win! Italy's Future National Team Has Already Appeared!>
<The Italian Football Federation Is in Talks with Moric's Agent, Arthas. Is a Plan for Moric's Future Underway?>
<Youthful Fury! Is This Finally Italy's True Golden Generation?>
<Italy vs. England, in Three Days! Live Across Europe! Don't Miss It!>
Star of Italy's show aired the day after the match. They had to edit the footage; it was entertainment, and entertainment had to be more exciting than reality.
That was how many people who hadn't attended in person or watched the live broadcast learned about the match through the show.
Even those who had watched it in person couldn't wait to see the program and find out more.
Shows that broke the inside story of major matches had a huge audience.
After all, everyone wanted to know what those players had been thinking before scoring that goal.
Just as people had spent decades asking what Materazzi had said to Zidane.
On the show,
when Lu Yang collided with Millwall's number eight, Ceballos appeared on camera, still shaken. "I play in Ligue 1, and I've never seen football that... rough. I admit that's one style of football, but I doubt many young players are ready for that kind of impact."
"I was stunned. If you look closely, you'll see I was afraid to dribble with the ball for quite a while afterward. I was even afraid of receiving a pass. That's an unacceptable mindset for a team's attacking playmaker, because it means I was scared, and I'd lead our attack into a dead end."
"It was Lu Yang! He bravely stepped forward to help me. He even dared to collide with their player for my sake. He told him that if he kept fouling me violently, he'd give as good as he got—and then some!"
"After that, they stopped attacking me so aggressively. I could feel the difference."
"If my teammate could be so selfless and brave for me, then why shouldn't I do the same?"
"You can see that I had an angle to shoot for my first assist, but then I saw Lu Yang. I knew he had a better chance of scoring at that moment, so I passed. I trusted him, and I was happy to share the chance with him."
When Moric scored, he appeared on camera too. "I knew he'd pass it to me. I just knew. He has that kind of ability."
"Lu Yang is the sort of guy who looks ordinary, hardworking, and handsome most of the time, but when it matters, you can trust him with all your heart. He never lets anyone down. The more important the moment, the more reliable he is!"
"Haha, you mean that free kick? Yeah, we talked it over, and Lu Yang said he wanted to try. Whatever he wants to do, I'll support him, because I know he'll never betray my trust!"
"And wasn't that exactly what happened?"
Soguer: "As a target man, I can accept drifting wide or dropping back. That's part of my job. But I can't accept pulling wide and having no teammate make a run into the space. It makes me feel like I ran for nothing."
"But Lu Yang is different. He never stops running, as if he'll never get tired. No matter what I do, he gets into position every time. He made me realize that I still wasn't doing enough and that I should learn from him."
Canyes: "Moric is a born midfield conductor. His ability to read the game is practically at a coach's level. During halftime, he correctly predicted every change the opposition would make. Unfortunately, I didn't carry out my part well enough, and they scored."
"But for some reason, our whole team believed we could win. I can't put that confidence into words. I'd never experienced it at any other club."
It was clear that the show was deliberately building up Lu Yang.
For one thing, Lu Yang had been the best player on the pitch in every major match. He deserved the honor, and his teammates had every reason to believe in him.
For another, Lu Yang had come from Serie D, yet now he was leading a group of young stars to defeat an EFL Championship team. It made for a compelling story: a youth player from a big club couldn't even measure up to Lu Yang.
Finally, Lu Yang also benefited from Sophia's fame. Among the group, he already had the most attention outside football. It was the best way to get the show in front of more people who didn't watch much football.
As it turned out, Star of Italy had made the right decision.
The show's ratings in Italy had already gone through the roof.
It hadn't just broken records for sports channels; it had even beaten the ratings records of entertainment channels.
The show was also hugely popular across Europe, and it had already sparked a surge in viewership in England.
The English weren't convinced.
They didn't think Millwall represented their football.
They believed the England U19 boys could beat the Italians next time.
"Ding! You have acquired a player-level skill: Defensive Full-back."
The match against Millwall had earned Lu Yang a new skill. It was only a player-level skill, but it still boosted his attributes significantly.
Defensive Positioning 60–63
Tackling 72–74
Interceptions 72–74
Clearance 60–63
Blocking 60–63
It was an all-around improvement to his defensive abilities.
After the match, both Lu Yang and Moric agreed that Lu Yang should play left back in the upcoming games.
A three-center-back formation wasn't impossible, but with Star of Italy's lineup, they couldn't make it work.
Their best center-back, Lam, was only 1.85 meters tall.
Their other two tall players weren't good enough.
A traditional three-center-back formation placed fewer demands on the central defenders, because the two wing-backs could track back to form a back five.
But Ceballos offered almost nothing defensively.
Canyes also wasn't yet capable of balancing attack and defense perfectly; once he pushed forward, he often left his position exposed.
Their two wing-backs weren't up to the task, so they couldn't play a three-center-back system.
Millwall had also proved that Star of Italy couldn't keep possession against the English players' physical onslaught, which made a 3-5-2 even less worthwhile.
So they changed their lineup and decided to play a 4-2-1-3!
They would give up possession, play quick transitions, and reduce the risk of mistakes.
After discussing it, they settled on a lineup of Baizami at left wing, Soguer at center-forward, and Parrott as the Right Shadow Striker.
Ceballos would play as the attacking midfielder.
Versace and Moric would be the two defensive midfielders.
Lu Yang would play left back, Canyes right back, and Lam would partner a tall player at center-back.
Ceballos would be the focal point of the attack, a role he was capable of handling.
The team's strong side would be the right, where they would focus their attacks.
Canyes would surge forward and combine with Parrott to attack down the right. With Soguer dropping back to link up and Ceballos making forward runs and distributing the ball in the attacking third, they should be hard to stop.
Lu Yang and the others would focus more on helping out defensively on the left.
When Canyes pushed forward, Lam would shift right to cover the space, while Lu Yang would move right too, taking up the position of a third center-back and forming a three-man defensive line. That way, the back line wouldn't be left exposed.
If they couldn't break through on the right, they'd just launch a long ball to Baizami on the left and let him chase it down on his own. Who knew—maybe that would lead to a miracle.
On the eve of the match against England U19, Lu Yang received a call from Soto.
"Kid, do you know how much Star of Italy just boosted your and Moric's market value?" Soto asked dramatically.
"What happened? Does the club want to sell us?" Lu Yang asked.
"Not yet. The offers are only three or five hundred thousand. They're not taking you seriously enough!" Soto laughed. "Anyway, back to business. You know about the club's new signings, right? Any thoughts?"
Lu Yang was taken aback. "What thoughts could I have? I'm just a nobody."
Soto said, "You're allowed to have an opinion."
The two of them fell silent for a moment.
Those words meant a lot.
Normally, players had no say in transfers or a club's signings.
Even some head coaches had no decision-making power, only the right to make recommendations.
The club bought whoever it wanted. You just had to make the best of the players you were given.
But Soto had clearly taken charge of San Remo's recruitment—and was also... trying to win Lu Yang over.
"The players in the Star of Italy Team are all pretty good: Canyes, Lam, Versace, Soguer..." Lu Yang didn't mention Ceballos or Parrott. They were both close to making it. Why would they come to Serie C?
Besides, both were worth more than five million, and Ceballos in particular was probably worth close to ten million. San Remo couldn't afford him.
Not just a temporary team like Star of Italy—even at a genuine selling club like Monaco, players of the same age and similar talent could be worth several million, or only a few hundred thousand.
The difference came down to their performances.
Not one or two matches with a team like Star of Italy, but a long, consistent run in a high-level league.
That was what determined a player's market value.
Of course, the World Cup was an exception.
But even at the World Cup, there was a high chance of a player turning out to be a flop. That was the risk of not having been tested in a high-level league.
That was why Lu Yang and Moric's market values couldn't rise. Until they played in a higher division, neither of them could be worth more than a million.
They didn't have the kind of standout speed that Vedian had.
Speed was practically the only attribute that could earn a young player a huge market value.
Besides, Vedian's club, Benevento, was preparing to push for promotion next season. Even if he could increase their chances of going up by just one percent, they were willing to pay a premium for him.
Otherwise, Vedian would have had a hard time selling for 1.5 million!
"You really do have an eye for talent. So the Star of Italy Training Camp was basically put together for your sake, huh?" Soto laughed at Lu Yang's joke.
"So you can't sign them, right?" Lu Yang knew it wasn't very realistic. Everyone he'd mentioned had come through a big club's youth academy.
Then again, low-level players didn't command high fees, but prospects from big clubs were different.
If they showed even a little promise, academy players from big clubs could still fetch two or three million. That was the added value of having a strong starting point and a big platform.
As for Baizami's 250,000... honestly, that punch he'd thrown at the youth director had probably knocked at least 500,000 off his value!
Inter Milan's youth director wanted him gone so badly that he'd accept a loss just to get rid of him.
Seven hundred and fifty thousand was probably Baizami's true value, but nobody would pay that much for a player who couldn't get along with others, hit his superiors, and couldn't work within a tactical system.
Even with the Star of Italy Team, Baizami's performance had been quite poor.
His only goal had come from a counterattack that took advantage of his speed—better than nothing.
He played like he was apart from the rest of the team.
Otherwise, in Star of Italy's upcoming 4-2-1-3, they wouldn't have assigned the left side to defense alone.
Even if the right was their strong side, the left still needed to make a few decoy attacks. They couldn't simply leave it with no independent attacking role, as the Star of Italy Team planned to do.
That was like cutting off one of their own arms!
That was the price of using Baizami.
Whether or not they could hurt the opposition, they'd first be hurting themselves!
"It's not entirely impossible," Soto said vaguely, as if he had another plan. "We'll do our best to sign one or two of them and give you and Moric some help for your Serie C campaign."
"Also, once the Star of Italy Training Camp ends, tell Moric to work on his fitness. Next season, we might be competing on two fronts!" Soto's words set Lu Yang alight.
It wasn't the question of signing players. From Soto's words and Maniero's performance earlier, Lu Yang had already guessed who might join San Remo next season.
What excited him were the words "competing on two fronts"!
Besides the Serie C league, that meant... the Italian Cup!
This Italian Cup was the domestic cup competition, with modified rules that made it more like England's FA Cup.
Every team in Italy could take part in the Italian Cup, including amateur clubs.
That was one of the main reasons the Italian Cup was so exciting: it could produce a genuine grassroots miracle.
Of course, in all those years, no amateur team had ever made it to the third round.
The twenty Serie A teams went straight into the third round.
All the other professional clubs started in the first round.
Amateur teams had to get through four qualifying rounds before reaching the first round proper.
By the fourth round, there were basically only Serie A and Serie B teams left.
And so far, no team below Serie B had ever reached the fifth round.
That proved just how strong and consistent Italian football was.
England's FA Cup had the same format, yet third-tier teams had made it to the sixth round.
"I admire your ambition, Coach. I didn't expect you to set such an ambitious goal as the Italian Cup! Don't worry; Moric and I will be ready for anything!" Lu Yang said confidently. He craved every kind of honor.
After hanging up, Soto was a little puzzled. Was aiming for the fifth round of the Italian Cup and making history really such a lofty goal? Had Lu Yang misunderstood something?
An Italian Cup title was beyond the reach of a Serie C team.
Historically, even Serie B teams had won the Italian Cup only eight times—and the most recent was thirty years ago!
Thanks, everyone, for the tips, monthly votes, and recommendations! Here's an extra chapter today.
This week is crucial for our bid to make the Sanjiang list. I hope everyone can show your support and help spread the word. Football groups, basketball groups, football forums, social media—everywhere helps!
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