In terms of side effects, he’s not as good as a regular winger.
The all-rounder ends up being a non-specialist, which is very evident in his role as a shadow forward.
With the increasing strength and functionality of wingers in modern football, there’s basically no room for shadow forwards anymore.
The things that shadow forwards could do two years ago, the wingers now can do; the things shadow forwards couldn’t do, the wingers can also do.
This has been a significant reason for Italy Team’s prior lack of offensive power.
They seemed to have a luxurious double-arrow formation, but actually, they only had one and a half forwards!
When they needed Ancelotti, the Prince Zebra couldn’t step up.
And this time, can he step up?
"Ancelotti, your chance has come." Lu Yang found an opportunity to talk with Ancelotti.
Fortunately, it is now. If the Peak Card had been effective for Ancelotti the first two times, Lu Yang might have wasted a card.
Because at that time, he and Ancelotti hadn’t completely reconciled.
But after several penalty incidents where Lu Yang conceded, Perrotta conceded, and then Lu Yang conceded again, Ancelotti had long let go of it.
If there was any regret for him in this European Cup, it was that he hadn’t made much of a positive contribution to Italy reaching this point.
Ancelotti’s mindset finally adjusted.
Decline is something all aging players must face.
But whether or not to accept this rightly is what players of this age need to deal with.
The stronger they were before, the higher their peak, the more difficulties they face on this issue.
Ancelotti is different from Perrotta.
Shadow forwards are absolute opportunists. They’re like assassins who always only focus on themselves. They don’t need to, and can’t consider the whole picture.
Perrotta is a central forward, a pivot forward, inherently having the basic quality of sacrificing his offensive desires for the team’s greater good.
Plus, though Perrotta tasted the sweetness of championships in Rome, it was rare.
Whereas Ancelotti at Juventus nearly won championships yearly.
This made it even harder for Ancelotti to accept the arrival of "menopause."
But Lu Yang taught Ancelotti how to accept it all.
When the "menopause" passed, Ancelotti’s thinking returned to a normal level, and he finally began contemplating his effective contributions instead of being stuck on his personal state and statistics.
"What opportunity?" Ancelotti asked, puzzled.
"Before dawn is the darkest," Lu Yang said, "And there are players who are most adept at conquering during absolute darkness. They’re born killers, striking only to kill when they do!"
Ancelotti’s eyes lit up.
This was what he used to do most often.
Many people complained about Ancelotti’s inefficiency over the past two years.
But they had mistaken Ancelotti for a traditional scavenger central forward.
In fact, Ancelotti was considered abnormal among shadow forwards.
He played the shadow forward with the efficiency of a central forward during his peak, raising people’s expectations for shadow forwards significantly.
In the end, the suffering Ancelotti faced these past two years was all because he was too strong when he was young.
It’s normal for a regular shadow forward to score one or two seemingly insignificant goals every three or five games, or a dozen goals in a season.
But a shadow forward scoring almost in every game, with many crucial goals and more than thirty in a season, is not normal.
Ancelotti was such an abnormal shadow forward.
This is akin to the misunderstanding caused by the Mei Luo era for fans.
Before Mei Luo, the top strikers in the football world had an attacking efficiency of about 0.5 goals per game, with peaks reaching 0.7 or 0.8.
But Mei Luo consistently scored about one goal per game, so that people later found 0.6 or 0.7 unimpressive, even thinking ’Is that it?’
"I’ll try my best, but I don’t know if I’m still as fast as before." Ancelotti nodded.
The decline in explosiveness is a key reason for his efficiency drop.
"If you want to, you can." Lu Yang turned and participated in the defense.
Talista witnessed their exchange and sneered. He walked to Lu Yang’s side: "Stop struggling, Lu. You’ve won so many times, this time should be mine."
"Playing well is not as good as being born well, that’s the only truth in international tournaments."
"Your defense line is making more and more mistakes. The moment when we break through your goal again won’t be far away."
Lu Yang responded in kind: "What? Did you bribe the main referee again, planning for another ghost goal?"
Talista was instantly speechless.
He had only beaten Lu Yang once, and that time there was an unjustified goal.
A lot of incidents revolved around this goal at the time.
To the extent that this European Cup had to helplessly introduce goal-line technology for the first time.
Much earlier than FIFA in popularizing this technology.
No one knows how much UEFA lost because of this.
"With such remarks, I’ll report you post-match, and you’re done." Talista said despicably.
He was adept at such moves that affect a player’s mindset.
Indeed, some players would be influenced by the "post-match additional punishment" and "off-field threats."
Some might be tough on the field, but not so off-field.
"You have that authority." Lu Yang agreed completely, "The complaint channels are supposed for players like you who’ve lost. Meanwhile, I’m a victor, sipping champagne, enjoying your performance."