Of course, in the analysis class at San Remo, the main lecturer Lu Yang had a completely different view.
"Did everyone understand this?" Lu Yang asked, holding a pen, looking at his teammates sitting below.
"Understood." The teammates all nodded.
Lu Yang was very satisfied: "Captain, please wipe the blackboard. Next, we will talk about Juventus’s tactics. In fact, Juventus’s significant improvement in offensive ability this season is not because..."
Sotu eagerly started wiping the blackboard.
Revealed!
No more pretending!
Since Maniero went to the national team, he has been too focused on studying various national team opponents and so hasn’t had time to draw tactics diagrams for Sotu.
Sotu can’t copy, naturally losing the ability to explain tactical changes.
So now, he generally only announces the team’s tactics. When it involves changes, it’s mostly Lu Yang and Morici who explain.
Sotu euphemistically calls this exercising the core players’ understanding of tactics.
We must say, Sotu deserves the name of a master of tactical persuasion.
Under Lu Yang’s explanation, San Remo players focused their attention on Ancelotti.
"Last season, the biggest reason for Juventus’s weak offensive line was the significant drop in Ancelotti’s efficiency!" Lu Yang said, "Statistically, Ancelotti doesn’t seem to have declined much. But his shots per game, turnovers, touches, errors, etc., are all higher than in previous seasons."
"Last season, you could say Juventus relied on Ancelotti as their finisher, but his performance as the finisher wasn’t good. This was partly due to some issues with his contract renewal with Juventus and also related to his physical decline with age."
"Yet, for various reasons, this issue wasn’t brought to light. Instead, the ever-dedicated central forward Manzuyovich became the scapegoat, criticized for his lacking finishing ability."
"In fact, Manzuyovich was never a finisher."
"To take a big step back, if Manzuyovich were really made the finisher, his efficiency might have been higher than Ancelotti’s last season. Juventus might not have been on the verge of losing the league championship."
"But this issue has changed this year!"
Lu Yang redirected the line to Kolber.
This year, the finisher for Juventus isn’t Ancelotti.
It’s Kolber!
And while Kolber may not match Manzuyovich in overall strength, in finishing ability and personal speed, he surpasses Manzuyovich.
Thus, Juventus’s firepower problem this season was instantly solved.
Looking again at Ancelotti’s personal data: three league games, one goal, four assists—simply extraordinary!
The majority of Kolber’s goals come from Ancelotti’s assists.
What does this tell us?
Ancelotti has transformed from a finisher into a front-line offensive core, returning to his former position.
Kolber can solve problems, and Ancelotti provides the conditions for Kolber to solve them.
When Kolber can’t solve problems, Ancelotti steps in again.
The combination of Kolber’s finishing ability and Ancelotti’s mysterious assassin attribute is perfect.
This is the scenario Juventus’s upper management always wanted.
But in the past two or three years, Ancelotti always refused to do it; he refused to be just a supporting player and only help others score.
It wasn’t until this year that Ancelotti transformed, or rather, changed dramatically.
The Juventus management thought their high-salary renewal gave Ancelotti the substance he wanted, allowing him to put down his pride.
But...
Only those Italian veterans who went through this year’s European Cup know that the real reason is probably still... Lu Yang!
It was Lu Yang who allowed these veterans to feel that even though they were old, they were never ignored by fans and juniors.
With a strong sense of presence, they naturally wouldn’t fear being eliminated by the times and desperately cling to every lifeline.
It was also Lu Yang who showed these veterans just how outstanding the younger generation of players is, not needing the veterans to sacrifice themselves. Such strong young people could gain recognition and support from the veterans simply through their strength.
Lastly, it was still Lu Yang who helped Ancelotti achieve his dream of the European Cup.
Ancelotti’s life was fulfilled, leaving him with no desires, and he rediscovered his original, joyful way of playing soccer.
Coupled with the residual effects of the Peak Card from the European Cup, Ancelotti returned to his high-standard period, which is why Juventus made such great progress this year without much roster change.
You could say Lu Yang created a challenge for himself!
Perhaps, this is the European Cup aftermath!
Playing these few games, many teams felt half-defeated.
Juventus is still the same Juventus.
Is this year’s Serie A championship still destined for Juventus?
Influenced by this, teams like Florence and Rome are playing like mad against their opponents.
This year, they can’t let Juventus win the championship again.
This is their last one or two chances!
"So in the next game, our biggest task is to properly restrict Ancelotti," Lu Yang said, circling three people on the board, "Naji, Lam, Kaint, you three... and possibly substitutes Moriba and Alme must remember this! Ancelotti is the primary target you need to pay attention to."
"His positioning ability and shooting skills are extremely strong. Don’t give him any chance. If you need to foul, do it early. Don’t hesitate! Otherwise, you might get carded and still not stop him!"