"Of course, we also can’t overlook Morici’s significant contribution to this goal. His collaboration with Lu Yang completely penetrated Catania’s defense!"
...
In the second half, both teams improved their defensive work.
By the end of regular time, the score was still one-to-one.
Even without a victory, San Remo fans wouldn’t be dissatisfied.
After all, Catania is the fifth team on the leaderboard, and they scored first.
Equalizing the score was not easy.
There were two minutes of extra time.
And San Remo got a corner kick opportunity.Fresh chapters posted on novelFirｅ.net
But everyone noticed that Lu Yang, who normally wouldn’t participate in corner kicks, ran up from the backfield and entered the opponent’s penalty area.
Lu Yang is not tall, at 1.78 meters.
So during corner kick attacks, it’s usually his partner, a 1.90-meter-tall center-back, who goes for the header.
Lu Yang is fast and defends well, intercepting potential counterattacks in the backfield.
This is a good arrangement.
But this time, Lu Yang went up.
This didn’t align with the tasks assigned to him by the team.
However, considering that after this corner kick, the match might very well be over, no one thought Lu Yang’s actions were wrong.
In major match’s last corner kick opportunities, sometimes even goalkeepers participate in heading attempts and attacks.
Believe it or not, goalkeepers have scored in similar situations, like Sevilla’s goalkeeper Palop and Inter’s Santo Toldo, who have created such miracles.
And the most recent instance was Liverpool’s goalkeeper Alisson’s header, which retained the theoretical possibility of the team playing in next season’s Champions League.
Entering the penalty area, Lu Yang charged straight to the near post, started contesting with the opposing center-back, and gave Morici a look.
Morici was taken aback.
Lu Yang meant to direct the ball to the near post?
But could he...get to the ball?
After all, the opposing center-back beside Lu Yang was 1.85 meters tall, had a height advantage, and appeared a lot more robust than Lu Yang.
Let alone whether Lu Yang could jump up under the opponent’s pressure, even if he did jump, he wouldn’t be as tall as the opponent.
For some reason, Morici suddenly recalled Lu Yang’s jump in defense during a corner kick in the last round.
His jumping ability and physical confrontation seemed to have improved?
Morici thought about it and made up his mind.
Bang!
The corner kick was taken, a high ball to the near post!
"Oh, this time Morici chose the near post, surprising Catania, as they have more than two players defending the tall center-backs in the middle from San Remo, leaving only one defender at the near post."
"Lu Yang is competing against the opposing center-back; he shouldn’t be able to jump, he’s being suppressed."
"What? Lu Yang jumped!"
"In the air, Lu Yang continues to compete with the opponent!"
"What’s happening, how is Lu Yang higher than the opponent? Did he actually win the confrontation?"
"A pity, they both jumped too early, the ball hasn’t arrived yet, and they will be landing soon."
"Sure enough, the opposing center-back is already descending, and Lu Yang is...what! He’s not descending!"
"Hang time! Lu Yang has incredible hang time! It’s as if he’s defying gravity! His physical attributes are beyond everyone’s imagination!"
Bang!
"A beautiful Lion’s Head Shake! It’s a goal!"
"Header seal of victory! Lu Yang did it!"
"GOAL! Victory, Lu Yang brings another win to the team!"
"My God! Three consecutive matches, Lu Yang has scored last-minute winners! He’s simply the king of last-minute goals!"
"No one has ever performed so crazily! Who would have thought a 1.78-meter center-back would have such heading ability?"
Lu Yang, Morici, and Vedian celebrated wildly together.
The South Stand echoed with cheers comparable to that of a thousand people celebrating, though there were actually only two hundred people present.
In the coach’s seat, Sotu picked up his notepad again to record.
Lu Yang’s ability to compete and jump is impressive.
Is he naturally this strong, or... is he developing?
Considering Lu Yang’s age of sixteen, Sotu believed it was the latter.
And if that’s the case, then Lu Yang’s talent is terrifying.
The only slightly unfortunate aspect is Lu Yang’s height.
At 1.78 meters, he’s certainly not short for an average person.
Even in football, it’s not considered short.
But... the future trend in football leans toward taller players, at least defensively.
This is evident from historical data on the heights of defensive players in the midfield and defense.
Previously, being 1.82 or 1.83 meters wasn’t an issue for a center-back, and 1.88 meters was already considered quite tall.
Yet now, the entry height requirement for center-backs is nearing 1.90 meters.
Midfield defensive players also generally need to be over 1.80 meters, ideally 1.85 meters.
And frustratingly, there are now many players over 1.85 meters with excellent ball skills, meaning the stereotype of tall players being inflexible is gradually losing validity.
If you had two players with the same skills, one tall and one short, regardless if they were offensive or defensive players, you would choose the taller one.
Because height is also an advantage on the field.
"If only Lu could grow a bit taller," Sotu offered a sincere wish.
"He will. He’s only sixteen, although he’s already had a growth spurt," Tom replied. "In the East, there’s a saying that men grow until twenty, so he can reach at least 1.80 meters!"
Sotu shook his head, as 1.80 meters still wouldn’t be enough.
What can those extra two centimeters do?
...
The news of San Remo’s three consecutive wins quickly spread in the Italian D Division.
Everyone knew San Remo was different from before.
And all of this was related to that small Eastern center-back.
In three matches, four goals, two assists.
An average of two goal contributions per game!
Is this a center-back?
These statistics are hard to achieve for forwards or midfielders, let alone Lu Yang, who is just a center-back.
This is undoubtedly the most attacking center-back in the Italian D Division, second to none.
The feat of three consecutive last-minute wins also successfully made it to authoritative reports in Italian Football.
Many were stunned when they saw this on the news.
Previously, it was always news about Serie A, rarely Serie B; how has even Italian D Division news made it this time?
But upon closer inspection, everyone agreed it was indeed newsworthy.
After all, there were three consecutive matches where they won at the last minute.
Moreover, their opponents were ranked 14th, 1st, and 5th on the leaderboard, respectively!
Not to mention, all three matches were won beautifully, especially the second match’s stunning 33-meter overhead kick, which had some recognition across European Football.
And those Serie B and Italian Third Division teams previously attracted by the competition between Lu Yang and Arnold were now even more coveted of Vedian.
He scored again!
Despite being in a defensively weak relegation team, Vedian was at the top of the scorers’ list with fourteen goals, which had much more value than Arnold’s fourteen goals.
Bisceglie was averaging two goals per game, but Arnold’s contribution didn’t even account for a third, making that a large issue.
Conversely, Vedian had previously accounted for seventy percent of the goals for the San Remo Team.
Weak teams produce goalkeepers, strong teams produce star performers.
Vedian’s goals weren’t easily achieved in strong teams; each one was achieved through immense effort.
Vedian was becoming increasingly popular in the Transfer Market.
...
After the match against Catania, Lu Yang only received a random pack, and it wasn’t even a football-related or victory pack but rather a pack for achieving three consecutive last-minute wins.
This suffices to show that not every match or victory will yield rewards from the system.
It’s quite picky.
"Ding! You received a special reward: height increased by three centimeters."
When Lu Yang saw the reward, he was a bit stunned.
There’s actually a reward for height?
It’s worth noting that height has always been Lu Yang’s weak spot.
Even though he’s only sixteen and might still grow.
He had already had one growth spurt. Growing from 1.60 meters to 1.78 meters was already astonishing, saving Lu Yang’s career.
Barring any future growth, it’s typically slow-paced, growing two to three centimeters at most over three to five years.
Unless Lu Yang experiences a second growth spurt.
And it’s really rare for people to grow again.
But now, the system’s reward has suddenly given him a height increase?
For a moment, Lu Yang was thrilled.
Never expected a height reward!
After all, height had been a chronic weak point for Lu Yang.
And now, a system reward has directly given him a height increase?
It’s like magic!
Who would’ve thought that at the young age of sixteen, this promising player would have a so-called second growth spurt! His future in European Football looked brighter than ever.