The internet tightly connects the entire world, amplifying joy and expanding sorrow.
This has been vividly demonstrated over the past century, in the twenty-first century.
On November 25, 2020, Argentine football superstar Diego Maradona passed away, and the world mourned.
But as time passed, people gradually realized that the final destination of all superstars is death.
Zidane, Ronaldinho, Ronaldo, Kaká, Robben, Rooney, Pirlo, Lewandowski, Neymar…
This pain reached its peak after Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo departed.
No fan could accept a world without these stars.
If there truly was a football world without these superstars, then Lu Yang's existence would be to let them know that there is a kind of football called Messi, called Cristiano Ronaldo, called Pelé, called Ibrahimović, called Cruyff, called Rummenigge, called Kahn, called Buffon, called Mbappé, called Haaland…
…
"Lu, it's you, it's really you! My God! You're so lucky, buddy!"
Lu Yang was shaken awake by his friend Morich, and countless people around him cast envious glances.
Suddenly, too many memories flooded back.
He had transmigrated, into a parallel universe, into the body of someone else also named Lu Yang.
Lu Yang, sixteen years old, an Italian-Chinese, a youth player for Sanremo FC in the Italian Serie D, playing as a center-back, 1.78 meters tall.
He was currently in the East Stand of the Marassi Stadium, watching this year's "Italian Football Legends Invitational Tournament."
As per tradition, the director would randomly switch cameras to select a lucky audience member to participate in the match, signifying that they were the luckiest person in the world that day.
This gimmick made the annual celebrity match exceptionally popular.
And this year, Lu Yang became that lucky boy.
But at this moment, Lu Yang showed no excitement at all.
He kept muttering, "There's Real Madrid, but no Cristiano Ronaldo? There's Barcelona, but no Messi? There's San Siro Stadium, but no Kaká? No Ronaldinho, no Batistuta, no Adriano, no Shevchenko, no Ibrahimović, no Lukaku…"
"The Zebra Prince isn't Del Piero, but Ancarelli? The Wolf King isn't Totti, but Perrotta? Milan doesn't have the Three Musketeers but four butchers? Inter doesn't have the three-horse carriage, but Juventus has one star and four arrows?"
It's all messed up, so many things are messed up.
Lu Yang came back to his senses, looked around, listening to the surrounding noise and cheers, watching the fans who were crazy about football.
But many things weren't messed up.
Soon, Lu Yang entered the pitch under the envious, jealous, and hateful gazes of countless people.
He was assigned to the "Star Arrow Team" because this team had the biggest Italian football legend today, Magniero!
As the absolute mastermind of Juventus's one star and four arrows back then, Magniero's deep-lying playmaker style had a huge impact on the entire football world. His long black hair still flowed freely.
"Hey, kid, don't be nervous, just treat it as a game." Magniero kindly patted Lu Yang's shoulder. He had a very good personality, and his eyes, which always seemed half-closed, were his trademark.
Lu Yang nodded, "Thank you, Magniero, you are one of my favorite midfielders. I love your precise and fast long-range passes, like missiles, hitting wherever you aim."
"Hahaha!" Magniero laughed happily, "You don't seem like an ordinary fan, have you played football before?"
Lu Yang said, "I'm a youth player at Sanremo."
"Oh, my God, really?" Magniero was even more surprised. He put an arm around Lu Yang and pointed to a bearded man in the Butcher Team opposite, saying, "See that man? His name is Soto, a very annoying defensive midfielder with absolutely no football talent."
"Unfortunately, this annoying guy will become the head coach of Sanremo's first team in the second half of the season. He's a devil, only capable of destruction, never understanding the art of creation. He won't bring good luck to Sanremo."
"As a member of Sanremo, you should show him what you're made of. How about scoring a goal against him?"
Magniero talked endlessly.
The man named Soto was the leader of Milan's four butchers, doing the work of a disruptor, like a persistent plaster, destroying the opponent's midfield.
Magniero was once frozen by this man and was eventually forced to adopt a deep-lying playmaker role. However, this turned out to be a blessing in disguise, as he led Juventus to the pinnacle of Europe.
The two were arch-rivals when playing for clubs, but a match made in heaven in the national team.
After retirement, their relationship became even better.
Lu Yang smiled faintly, "Are you sure? He was once a world-class defensive midfielder, even though he's been retired for several years, but... I play as a center-back in the team."
Magniero paused, then laughed, "Modern football no longer has a place for a 1.78-meter center-back, kid. Although I don't know your skill level, don't you people in the East have a saying, 'A tree dies when it's moved, but a person thrives'?"
"Go play as a striker, at least for this game you can play as a striker. I need a partner who can still run and is willing to run!"
Magniero spoke his mind.
Even retired, even if Soto was a good friend, Magniero was absolutely unwilling to lose to that guy on the pitch.
He needed a player who could keep up with his passes.
And the Italian legendary players on the field were basically all in their forties or fifties. Could they outrun a teenager?
"Alright, it's settled then. Be smart later, I might pass you the ball at any time. As long as you can catch up to the ball and gently poke it in, you'll be able to tell your future first-team coach right in front of him that he's a midfield rookie, and he can't defend you at all!"
Magniero and Lu Yang had a great conversation.
The live stadium commentator obviously noticed this scene and quickly zoomed in, saying, "Oh, we can see that Juventus's mastermind Magniero and this young man are having a great chat. They're even embracing, like old friends reunited after a long time…"
"Wow, Soto looked over. Is his expression one of jealousy? After all, everyone knows that after retirement, his relationship with Magniero is the best…"
…
Beep!
With a whistle, the match began.
Around the stadium, tens of thousands cheered.
But at the same time, the long-awaited system's voice appeared in Lu Yang's mind: "Ding!"
"Legendary Star System activated, detecting host data… Offensive data too low, unable to detect… Defensive data too low, unable to detect…"
"Mental Data,
Aggression: 99
Focus: 99
Stamina: 99
Affinity: 50
Leadership: 50"
"Physical Data,
Speed: 55
Acceleration: 50
Shot Power,
Jumping,
Strength,
Balance: 50
Tight Ball Control: 50
Stamina: 50
Injury Resistance,
Preferred Foot: Left/Right
Vision"
Two virtual panels appeared, and Lu Yang was quite shocked.
On one hand, he was shocked that all his professional offensive and defensive abilities were below 50, so much so that the system couldn't even detect them. On the other hand, he was shocked by how powerful his mental qualities were.
Any mental attribute that didn't require cooperation was at maximum.
This was practically a "Kobe-type" personality.
According to this pattern, 50 should be a threshold, possibly the dividing line between professional and amateur players.
"Ding! Detected that the host has three abilities at max level, gaining 3 random gift packs. Do you want to open the gift packs?"
Opening blind boxes?
Lu Yang didn't hesitate, opening three in a row.
"Ding! Obtained Player-level Quality * 1, Backline Defensive Coordination."
"Ding! Obtained Superstar-level Talent * 1, 'Xavi — God's Eye View'!".
"Ding! Obtained Moment Card * 1, Lionel Messi!"
Instantly, Lu Yang's mind became clear. Many things about backline defense that he couldn't understand in the youth team suddenly made sense to him.
Back passes should avoid going towards the goal to prevent own goals.
One center-back pushes up, one drops back.
Center-back closing tactics.
Offside trap tactics for the defensive line.
Back pass route map for the defensive line.
Lu Yang wasn't unaware of these things before, but he never understood them as thoroughly as he did now.
Lu Yang guaranteed that, in his current state, he was confident he would become the best center-back in the youth team.
No, he could even become the best center-back in the Sanremo team!
"Hmm?" Lu Yang stared at his vision data and found that this column had jumped directly from nothing to 99.
This is…
"Xavi — God's Eye View", a superstar-level talent, allowing you to perceive everything on the pitch, see everything, grasp everything, and become the master of the green field!
Just by glancing around, Lu Yang felt the difference.
He could truly sense everything around him.
It wasn't like a video game's God's Eye View, but he could remember everything he saw with a quick glance, and even deduce some changes, achieving an effect as if he had eyes in the back of his head.
This required immense brain capacity, calculation ability, a wide field of vision, and good visual habits.
Any player with God's Eye View would constantly turn their head to observe their surroundings during their downtime. Only by being attentive in daily life could they perceive everything in a flash and deliver a decisive blow!
As for the last card floating on the interface, one side showed Messi's portrait, and the other side showed Messi dribbling at the edge of the penalty area, surrounded by several people.
This was a one-time item that needed to be actively used, and it would have special effects for three to ten minutes after use.
"Hey, kid, catch!"
It's a long story, but in the real world, it was just an instant from kickoff.
The Butcher Soto was indeed quite rough. After getting the ball, he was shown up by the long-planned Magniero. Magniero not only didn't retreat to the midfield, but instead pushed forward to press Soto.
Soto turned to shield the ball, but was dispossessed by an old star from the Star Arrow Team. After winning the ball, the opponent immediately made a short pass, sending the ball to the team's only "striker," Lu Yang.
But perhaps due to excitement, Lu Yang stood rooted to the spot, unresponsive.
The ball was about to hit Lu Yang's back.
Suddenly, Lu Yang started to move, and in the process of charging forward, he not only avoided being hit by the ball, but also let the ball pass between his calves, attempting to bring the ball from behind to the front without turning around.
This was a basic trap-and-dribble step, combining trapping and carrying, simple yet very effective. Many stars use this method in matches to seize the fleeting moment of a counterattack.
However, unfortunately, Lu Yang's ball control attribute was at an amateur level. Although he eventually managed to bring the ball over, he stumbled a bit, swaying from side to side.
And so, Soto, who had just lost the ball, quickly caught up and fiercely dispossessed him.
Though described as fierce, Lu Yang could actually feel that Soto made no foul. The tackle was so clean it was like an art form.
If Magniero's offense was the art of killing a game, then Soto's defense was equally the art of disrupting a game.
It's hard to say which was superior.
Coincidentally, their honors were also on par, truly a pair of brilliant rivals.
These two Italian twin stars brought many fond memories to the fans of their era.
"GOAL! A goal! Two minutes into the game, Soto stole the ball from Lu of the Star Arrow Team, then delivered an assist. Now the Butcher Team is leading the Star Arrow Team one-nil. The pressure is on Magniero! His old rival has achieved perfect stats of one tackle and one assist!"
Lu Yang was stunned, a goal already?
But he quickly understood. Looking at the other twenty-one people running on the field, the worst among them had once been professional Serie A players, and the strong ones, like Magniero and Soto, were national team stalwarts.
They had won countless trophies and honors, and even after many years of retirement, they still possessed extraordinary skill.
To put it bluntly, most of them could still play in Serie C, and even Magniero and Soto could still compete in Serie B.
So, as long as they had the opportunity, they could kill the game. The only thing limiting them was their aging bodies.
This was the charm of legendary stars.
Old soldiers never die, they just fade away!
"Don't be discouraged, Lu, it's not your fault." Magniero walked over and patted Lu Yang's shoulder, "Your idea amazed me, even though your ball control and trapping technique aren't mature enough."
"You're really suited to play as a striker, because the blood of offense flows in your veins."
"Later, I'll reduce the number of passes I send behind you, and try to put the ball in places where you can run. Use your youth to defeat us old guys, Lu!"
Magniero truly lived up to his reputation as the mastermind of Juventus. With just one touch of the ball, he discerned Lu Yang's playing style and thinking.
Lu Yang felt greatly encouraged, nodded, and then looked at the Butcher Team stars who were celebrating.
Coincidentally, Soto also looked at Lu Yang.
"He actually saw it just now!" Soto glanced at Lu Yang, who was standing with Magniero, and couldn't help but feel a surge of emotion in his heart.
If Lu Yang hadn't made a mistake when he brought the ball over just now, Soto wouldn't have been able to catch up to Lu Yang at all.
Furthermore, due to Soto's dereliction of duty, a loophole would have appeared in the Butcher Team's midfield. At that point, Lu Yang could have either dribbled or passed, and both would have created considerable threats.
Was that really just a coincidence?
Or did he, like that guy Magniero, have eyes in the back of his head?
Soon, the match continued.
The Star Arrow Team kicked off.
This time, neither team made any more elementary mistakes.
Magniero seized the opportunity and delivered a through ball. The Star Arrow Team's attacking midfielder took the ball and immediately fired a shot, equalizing the score.
But soon, Soto made another tackle and, in front of the retreating Lu Yang, completed the final shot. The Butcher Team once again took the lead, 2-1.
"Your defense isn't bad, but unfortunately, you're not fast enough." Soto said to Lu Yang, "If you were playing as a center-back, you might have been able to stop me on that shot, but unfortunately, you're a striker."
Lu Yang nodded, not disheartened.
It was just a celebrity match, winning or losing wasn't important.
Besides…
"Ding! You have received praise from legendary star Magniero, gaining a random Player-level Skill * 1."
"Ding! You have received praise from legendary star Soto, gaining a random Player-level Skill * 1."
Lu Yang smiled!
Getting stronger with every kick!
That's how it should be!
