But the goalkeeper from Chitadella wasn’t backing down, even throwing out words like "F*ck".
In fact, this was his tactic.
The same tactic was highly mastered by a West Ham United goalkeeper named Martin.
He always managed to gain an advantage in penalties by riling up opposing players.
Of course, he didn’t just anger them aimlessly; he did so strategically.
For example, this time the Chitadella goalkeeper actually used psychological analysis to target Lu Yang.
The first penalty taker for San Remo is Morici, so undoubtedly, even if Morici isn’t the best at penalties, he’s at least in the top two on the team.
When he takes the penalty, the hit rate is likely to be very high.
At this time, the goalkeeper has to mess with Morici’s mood.
For instance, find a player with a bigger profile than Morici, someone who is close in penalty pecking order, and call them out to take the penalty.
If the opponent gets angry and decides to take the penalty, then they might argue about who should take it, leading to a mental breakdown.
Even if they don’t take it, this request from the goalkeeper might make it seem like he’s looking down on Morici, filling Morici with anger.
Given that Lu Yang is more famous than Morici, if Morici doesn’t score, there will be a lot of talk after the game about how having Morici as the first penalty taker isn’t as good as letting Lu Yang do it.
This would add even more pressure on Morici.
And at that point, Morici is very likely to choose a powerful shot.
Even out of a sense of revenge, this powerful shot is likely to go straight down the middle.
During his professional football career, the Chitadella goalkeeper even obtained a bachelor’s degree in psychology.
Bernulin, being an experienced veteran, clearly understands how to handle this situation.
The best approach is to have the designated penalty taker and the one the goalkeeper called out discuss, and no matter who takes it, the other should offer their blessing, essentially minimizing the impact.
The same scenario happened in the last match, where the player Martin called out, C Luo, had a conversation with the actual taker, B Fee.
B Fee still took the penalty, but C Luo should have given his blessing to B Fee.
"Brother! Help me take him down!"
"B Fee, play well, I always support you!"
"Brother, you’re Manchester United’s first penalty taker, you should take this penalty, don’t mind what others say."
This way, B Fee could take the field with ease, making different choices for the penalty shot.
But unfortunately... Pogba, out of good intentions, blocked the argument between C Luo and Martin, making it so C Luo didn’t have the chance to ease or charge his emotions, thus causing B Fee to miss the penalty.
Bernulin had foresight and quickly ran to the front from the backfield.
This penalty, if not handled well, could cause some internal issues within San Remo.
A team on the rise is most afraid of internal strife among teammates leading to a change in team atmosphere.
But Bernulin was still a bit late.
As he just crossed the halfway line, Lu Yang had already walked to the penalty area, finding Morici who’s holding the football.
"He cursed at me!" Lu Yang said.
Momo was furious: "What? Don’t worry, I’ll get back at him for you, I’ll definitely score this penalty!"
Lu Yang frowned slightly, Momo got smart, huh, not even letting this go?
"How about I do it myself? There’s nothing more satisfying than revenge with your own hands." Lu Yang continued.
"Why use a sledgehammer to crack a nut? Such an insignificant nobody, I’ll take care of it!" Morici even threw in some classic language, didn’t waste his summer in the inland.
"You’re a midfielder, just focus on assists, scoring would be a waste." Lu Yang finally laid bare his intentions.
"Hahaha! I’ve heard that some people had the team act out in the last game of the season to stop me from getting assists, which cost me the assist king title." Morici spoke with hidden intentions, implying that he knew Lu Yang’s tricks.
Seeing through and speaking out, both brothers were quite embarrassed.
Until...
"Then how about I tell Tia that from the beginning, you actually..." Lu Yang covered his mouth, only halfway through his words, almost making Morici kneel.
"Bro, please, you must take this penalty! You must crush their arrogance!" Morici handed the football to Lu Yang, then helped Brother Lu adjust his jersey, and even squatted down to tie Brother Lu’s shoelaces again.
Service was absolutely thoughtful.
"I just said, from the very beginning, you saw Tia as your soulmate! You’re a perfect match, you’ll surely grow old together." Lu Yang patted Morici on the shoulder.
Morici smiled and retreated from the penalty area.
As he walked, he clapped his hands, indicating for the home crowd to cheer for Brother Lu.
Oh, what a sportsman!
But in his heart, Morici was dying to kill Naji.
He knew that as long as Brother Lu scored this penalty, for this season, his role as the first penalty taker was over.
Ah!
Damn Naji!
You’re destroying my goal tally!
Although assists are one of the core statistics for midfielders, especially for the midfield playmaker, who wouldn’t want goals too?
Even the center-back Ramos demands penalty rights, scoring double digits in a season, and Morici’s position is more advanced than a center-back, so why shouldn’t he want goals?
Meanwhile, Lu Yang had already started preparing for the penalty.
The opposing goalkeeper was still cursing, trying to disrupt Lu Yang.
Bang!
Lu Yang took a powerful shot, and the goalkeeper didn’t even have time to react.