"If all goes well, his name will appear on the UEFA Europa League top scorer list after this match, possibly even at the top!"
"A natural-born killer! Let’s give this young man the most enthusiastic applause!"
"Oh, I just learned an interesting tidbit. Lu Yang, in the distant East, has a very famous nickname - ’Lu at the End of the Road’!"
"It means that whenever a team is in trouble, at the end of its rope, you’ll see Lu Yang step forward to save the team!"
Seven minutes later.
"Three whistles from the main referee, the match is over! Congratulations to San Remo, who came from behind to score three goals and achieve a great victory over the top seed of Group C, Ness!"
"This is absolutely good news for the young San Remo!"
"Ah! The result of the other Group C match is out! Salzburg Red Bull and Zenit St. Petersburg have drawn one to one! San Remo tops the Group C standings with three points!"
"These young people are incredible! I just checked the data. Only five teams in the entire Europa League have managed to achieve victory in their first-ever European competition match after making their debut!"
San Remo fans were in a frenzy.
This season’s start felt almost unreal.
Too fantastical.
On the green field, Lu Yang found Kaint on the Ness bench and exchanged jerseys with him.
Kaint smiled slightly.
Although the team lost, he still experienced his first jersey exchange since joining a professional team, which meant a lot to him.
But Kaint’s smile was not understood by the fans or even his teammates.
"Your defense is strong, you will certainly become one of the most dominant defenders in football in the future!" Lu Yang offered his blessing.
"But I’m terrible at everything else, my dribbling, passing, shooting..." Kaint was not confident, except for his defense.
"No one is perfect, look at me, I..." Lu Yang was embarrassed, realizing that he might be quite versatile, so he pointed at Morici, "Look at him, his physical confrontation and speed aren’t great, his defense can only be sneaky, but I think he might become the best attacking midfielder in football!"
"Additionally, the shortcomings you mentioned are all areas that can be trained, it’s not easy to reach top levels, but it’s possible to be good enough. Then you won’t have any weaknesses!"
"Keep it up, little guy, oh no, Kaint!"
Kaint was deeply moved and took the initiative to hug Lu Yang.
But all of this, coupled with the previous behavior of explaining for Lu Yang, made Kaint become the "culprit" for the team’s loss after this match!
...
"Traitor! Why defend Lu Yang?"
"UEFA Europa League moral player? But your team lost the match!"
"Offensive obstructor! Those below 1.7 meters aren’t suitable for playing football!"
"Go back to your Mali, France doesn’t welcome you!"
"Ness’s disgrace! Talking and laughing with the opponent’s player after the match!"
"Is Lu Yang’s jersey really worth your admiration that much? Is he your Sofia in football?"
Ness local newspapers began a large-scale attack on Kaint, taking measures that matched public opinion.
The entire Ness disliked this incompetent player immensely.
Many people didn’t understand why the Ness coach put such a player with poor dribbling, passing, shooting, and ball control on the field, just because of his highest interception numbers in Ligue 1?
It’s not much more than the second-ranked player either.
In response, the Ness coach actually wanted to say, "I don’t really want to use him either, but when this little guy is on the field, our defense data is like a strong defensive team. Without him, our defense data drops significantly. What can I do?"
This is a puzzle that the Ness coaching staff hasn’t been able to crack.
A player’s presence or absence causing such a dramatic change in the team’s defensive quality is hard to explain scientifically.
It’s not as if, when Kaint is on the field, the defensive abilities of other players automatically increase, right?
But in fact, that’s exactly how the data reflects.
Meanwhile, San Remo, who achieved their first European victory, received praise from the entire Italian media.
Especially since they’re currently leading Group C, which is a glory for Italy.
Italy’s secondary league hammering Ligue 1, one of the five major leagues, you say, what level does that make Serie A?
In response, French media also began quoting references.
What? It’s one thing for our fifth place in Ligue 1 last season to lose to San Remo, but your champions from last season also lost to San Remo. Doesn’t that mean your champion couldn’t even play in the Champions League if they came to Ligue 1?
The two sides erupted in a certain scale of public opinion battle.
Fortunately, this is just the beginning, and there is room for both sides.
San Remo head coach’s office.
"Is what you’re saying true?" Sotu looked at Lu Yang and Morici sitting in front of him.
"Of course, he is definitely a defensive core, even more core than me!" Lu Yang said enthusiastically, "Quickly find all the information you can about him, you will agree with my assessment."
Sotu pondered, looking at the computer screen with the bald and black head.
After playing Ness, Lu Yang and Morici had high praise for Kaint, hoping Sotu could push for a transaction for this player.
This is a player that can significantly enhance the entire team’s defensive quality.
The last such player was Lu Yang.
But because Lu Yang had to take on offensive duties, Lu Yang didn’t perform as well as Kaint in this position.