I AM the Football Star

Chapter 346 - 103: The Fall of a Legend, the Curtain Closes on a Miracle?

Because the pressure on him was too great.

As a top goalkeeper, he must be a player with a big heart.

But today, he felt that his heart had reached the limit of its capacity.

Lu Yang had already pierced through the goal he guarded three times.

Moreover, he had shut out Rome’s first four penalty shooters.

What does this mean?

In history, the number of players who can keep the opponent to only one goal in a five-penalty shootout is very few!

And if Ameluci doesn’t score, then Lu Yang would create a miracle never seen before in the history of world football.

A five-penalty shutout miracle!

From a probability standpoint, the chance of all five penalty kicks not going in is only two percent. The probability is even lower when three or four of these penalties are saved by the goalkeeper!

But in fact, for various reasons, even though there have already been thousands of penalty kicks, the situation where all five penalty kicks don’t go in has never occurred in an official match.

Ameluci, as a goalkeeper, knew these stats by heart.

Thus, at this moment, he knew what kind of environment he was facing.

Perhaps the fans believed that this match concerned the Italian Cup’s glory.

But to Ameluci, who had won multiple major championships, at this moment, he was defending the dignity of all goalkeepers in world football!

If Lu Yang, a midfield swinger, achieves what all great goalkeepers have failed to...

This would be the biggest mockery of all diligent and excellent goalkeepers!

Ameluci didn’t mean to look down on Lu Yang; he even admired him a lot, but... in terms of professionalism, he had to maintain his professionalism.

A person who does not respect their own profession and business cannot become great because of it.

Ameluci had been guarding the goal all his life; he didn’t want the goalkeeper profession to be mocked as "it doesn’t matter if you’re there or not", "I can do it too, after all, five to zero", "this job, even a dog could do it", etc.

As the most unique position in football, goalkeepers must receive the respect and attention they deserve.

"Roar!" Ameluci let out a low growl from his throat, slowly running towards the football.

Lu Yang didn’t make any extra moves.

Because he knew where Ameluci would shoot.

The top left corner of the goal—a dead-end area!

This place was Ameluci’s Achilles’ heel!

Similarly, it’s also the sigh area for all goalkeepers.

Once the opponent aims for this spot, the goalkeeper can basically only sigh.

Before kicking, Ameluci’s gaze quickly shifted to Lu Yang’s right knee.

There, it was already swollen and red.

The missed shot had caused great harm to Lu Yang’s knee.

And his subsequent movements worsened the injury.

Of course, most seriously, was when Lu Yang used the Batigoal again during penalties!

This shooting method is extremely aggressive; its aggressiveness not only shows in its difficulty to save but also in the burden it places on the shooter’s body.

In real life, Batistuta had already undergone ankle surgery and was fitted with an artificial implant early, even before his late career.

This had a great deal to do with his aggressive shooting style.

And the Batigoal not only places a heavy burden on the ankle but also on the knee.

If your groin is injured, this shooting can also constantly aggravate your groin injury.

In short, if you have any issues with the leg you’re shooting with, Batigoal can help diagnose it and make it more severe.

Extreme shooting requires extreme power and skill, which requires an extremely strong body to support it.

Lu Yang, even with a knee injury, resolutely used the Batigoal, which directly caused his knee to swell and redden in less than ten minutes afterward.

It’s just that Lu Yang’s saves were really too brilliant before, making people ignore this point.

But Ameluci wouldn’t ignore it.

He knew the impact of pain and injury on a goalkeeper all too well.

Moreover... why did Lu Yang make most of his saves to his right side? Why?

His directing moves were all on his left hand and left side, aiming to guide Rome’s players to shoot to his right.

Why?

Two left, one right; two right, one left—this is the truth in saving directions!

Why did Lu Yang always save to the right?

Because under normal circumstances, the dominant leg for right-side saves is the left leg!

This fully demonstrates Lu Yang’s right leg having big trouble; he was reluctant to save towards the left.

Yet similarly, Ameluci chose to shoot to Lu Yang’s right dead corner rather than the left dead corner, because to save the dead-end area like the goal’s left side, which is above Lu Yang’s right hand... although it seems that the left leg is the main force, it actually shifts to the right leg.

Second force application is required for the goalkeeper to fly higher and farther.

This is the difference between ordinary and extreme saves.

This principle can be felt by trying it yourself.

If aiming for speed and saving to the right, the left foot is the force, with one application of force.

But for jumping high and fully extending the body, the left foot will first exert force once, followed by the right foot with more force for a second application.

These are all part of goalkeeper knowledge.

Ameluci could tactically say he analyzed Lu Yang thoroughly.

Bang!

Ameluci’s foot technique was shockingly good.

The ball flew directly towards the top left corner dead-end, of high quality!

And Lu Yang...

Lu Yang’s right foot exerted force!

Body stretching as much as possible.