Lu Yang’s gaze, Lu Yang’s actions, Lu Yang’s words, everything about Lu Yang made Becher’s feel scared.
In Lu Yang’s eyes, he saw Lu Yang’s desire for victory.
Beneath that desire lay mountains of corpses and seas of bones.
Amongst the pale bones, Becher’s found... his own.
That’s why he was afraid!
In contrast, the impulsive Lu Yang today was actually the one with a better sense of the bigger picture.
He was indeed acting rashly, but if there were other methods, he certainly wouldn’t choose such a terrible way to handle things.
If possible, Lu Yang absolutely wouldn’t risk getting a red card to lay hands on his own teammate.
Lu Yang did so only because that was the last resort.
This is also why although Lu Yang initiated the conflict, he did not take the first swing. His last roar was not just recklessness, but a kind of restraint!
Restraint from the urge to really beat up Becher’s.
This is another dimension of a player’s professionalism.
Similarly, Lu Yang’s professionalism and calmness were not only reflected in his self-control but also in his focus and control over others during the conflict.
He stopped his teammates from intervening prematurely, thus achieving the effect he wanted and avoiding unnecessary work.
Think about it, what if everyone intervened early?
Lu Yang would have been stopped, Becher’s would continue to speak rudely, and even appear ready to duel with Lu Yang amid the pulling by others.
The situation would become more tense.
Lu Yang and Becher’s might have ended up receiving red cards.
Even if there were no red cards, Becher’s still wouldn’t back down to Lu Yang, nor would he pass the ball.
Then that equalizing goal wouldn’t have happened.
And among those trying to break up the fight, someone might have been angered by Becher’s and lashed out, leading to new conflicts.
The same incident allows some to see Lu Yang as a ball tyrant.
But others can see traits in Lu Yang such as "professionalism," "leadership," "team prestige," "calm wisdom and strategy," "strength," "restraint," "authority," "insight," and so on.
People have different opinions, that’s all.
"The wise find joy in water, the benevolent find joy in mountains."
Sometimes Lu Yang takes the direct approach, while other times he finds the straight path through the curved.
His choice might just be his greatest talent.
...
Ninety minutes are up.
The match ended with a score of one to one.
Both sides prepared for extra time.
Chievo substituted two midfielders and added a striker and a midfielder.
Judging by the line-up, they were still aiming for victory in extra time.
But those substituted in were bench players from the first team.
Especially the midfielder who was taken off was their number ten player.
This was for protection, to avoid injury.
It also, deeply, showed that Chievo thought the players were more important than this match; they were unwilling to risk everything, and their primary goal was promotion.
If not for Talista’s insistence, the head coach would have also substituted him.
For San Remo, Rondo replaced Palacios, Belletti replaced Becher’s whose legs were bruised.
Matias played awkwardly today, consumed too much energy, and was substituted by the team’s backup right-back.
If possible, Sotu most wanted to replace Bai Zhami.
Today Bai Zhami performed astoundingly, constantly running back and forth, with obvious containment effect, and contributed an assist.
But he was also young and shouldn’t always play the full match, let alone play the full extra time three times in a row.
Unfortunately, even though the winter transfers for San Remo were considered successful, there were still neglected areas.
This is a problem that even big clubs have.
No team has excellent substitutes for every position.
"Ding! Ninety minutes of regular time are over, and you’ve received a gift from Sun Jihai!"
For Lu Yang, as soon as the regular time ended, the Chinese Sun Jihai delivered his benefit package.
As a versatile player able to swing between full-back, center-back, and defensive midfield, Sun Jihai provided great help to Lu Yang.
Defensive Positioning 67
Breakout 67
Blocking 67
Jumping 65
If it weren’t for his already maxed-out stamina, Lu Yang estimated his stamina would have increased too.
His data panel now equates to an excellent player in the lower leagues.
At the end of the season, his overall rating might see a leap, certainly not just in the sixties.
Soon, the extra time started.
In the first half of extra time, Belletti perfectly inherited Becher’s tactical threat, making Chievo nervous with the same style of play.
On the other side, Talista’s energy finally started to wane.
He started every game in the league, never subbed unless unexpected, like an Ironman.
Moreover, his playing style involved plenty of physical contact with defending players, extremely consuming stamina.
In the second half of extra time, he could no longer charge as before.
At this moment, he had to look towards Naji.
And what do you know, even though this tall guy had mediocre individual skills, Talista could eat him alive in minutes, but his stamina was surprisingly good, still able to barely hold on in confrontations until now.
Talista had to slightly raise his opinion of Naji.
Of course, this was also related to Rondo’s substitute appearances; his experienced presence effectively contained Talista.
Meanwhile, Chievo’s substitute striker failed to show strong individual ability.
At least they were not as dazzling as Belletti’s performance.
The whole match reached the 116th minute.
Lu Yang had the ball near midfield.
Chievo’s substitute midfielder aggressively charged forward.
Only to be bypassed by Lu Yang with a Rabona.
Lu Yang drove forward, advancing swiftly.
Chievo’s defensive line quickly contracted, one stepped up, and three fell back.
Sogel was unable to compete for position in the penalty area, so he pulled out, but they didn’t follow him.
They knew who was more threatening.
Belletti and Bai Zhami cut inside simultaneously, stirring up the penalty area.
Lu Yang once again wobbled left and right outside the big box.
He did this move the last time he scored.
At that time, he made a lob pass, giving Bai Zhami a great goal-scoring opportunity.
This was still fresh in people’s memories.
Therefore, a central defender turned to follow Bai Zhami.
Bai Zhami ran from left to right, still without a chance.
Similarly, Belletti ran from right to left.
Lu Yang then suddenly lunged forward with his left foot, and his right foot swung high.
Shooting!
Two defensive players simultaneously blocked.
But Lu Yang’s right foot did not hit the soccer ball; instead, it swept over the top of the ball quickly falling down, heel smacking the ball hard.
The ball moved like a rabbit, a white light flashing, rolling to the left side of the penalty area.
Where the defenders had followed Bai Zhami to the right.
Bam!
Belletti, who had just run from the right to the left, shot a swivel volley at the ball!
He was naturally a right-footed player.
This shot from the left side of the penalty area was incredibly comfortable for him.
As an experienced veteran, he knew exactly where the goal was, hardly likely to make the mistake Lukaku made, causing Mourinho distress.
The next moment, the ball pierced through the goal.
San Remo leads two to one!
The veteran Belletti sealed the match with a clutch goal!
But the key point is, the way Lu Yang assisted this goal was exactly the same as when Belletti assisted him in the previous match.
Both using a half-heel to nutmeg players, leaving a path open for the ball.
"Roar!"
Even a veteran like Belletti excitedly charged towards Lu Yang, pointing at his own back as he ran.
Lu Yang understood immediately, and leapt onto Belletti’s back.
Belletti carried Lu Yang and ran wildly!
A big group of people rushed towards the corner flag area, shouting, "Legend, legend, legend!"
Even veterans like Belletti excitedly rushed to Lu Yang, running while pointing at his own back.
Lu Yang, catching on quickly, leapt onto Belletti’s back.
Belletti carried Lu Yang and ran madly!
A large group of people ran towards the corner, shouting, "Legend, legend, legend!"
Back when these boys said "The legend of San Remo is setting sail" at the Municipal Stadium, everyone thought it was just innocent young boys’ talk with excitement.
But deep down, everyone knew that these boys were not naive.
San Remo’s legend has truly set sail for distant lands!
There lies the glory and the trophy of the championship!
They made history!
They took down the top team in Serie B!
They made it to the Italian Cup quarterfinals!
They are the first lower league team in history to reach the Italian Cup quarterfinals!
They are unique!
Lu Yang shouted wildly on Belletti’s back: "San Remo Legend!"