I AM the Football Star

Chapter 683 176: Champions League Semifinalists, Sanremo Music Festival

"One to zero doesn't prove anything. When we return to Amsterdam Arena, we will win it back!" said Rafael Vante, the brightest star within Ajax and the first-ever football Golden Boy.

"They made many mistakes, but unfortunately, our players couldn't play an effective attack in this match. We squandered too many chances." Ajax's Head Coach was also dissatisfied with the result, "The score does not reflect our strength."

"Today's victory for San Remo was due to them being luckier than us!"

Their statements actually explained everything that happened in the match very well.

San Remo's numerous mistakes led to Ajax having plenty of chances for counterattacks.

Can the all-out attacking and defending Dutch team play counterattacks and quick attacks?

Are you kidding!

They're absolutely capable!

But Ajax in this match couldn't deliver satisfactory counterattacks.

If San Remo was wasting time and ball control, then Ajax was certainly wasting opportunities today.

The number of times their counterattacks truly threatened San Remo's goal was very limited.

However, Hans from Live Football Report does not believe this to be Ajax squandering chances.

He believes this is actually a reflection of Ajax's current strength.

Ajax, at present, cannot seize opportunities!

Hans: "The performance of Ajax in quick attack counterattacks seems like bad luck, but in fact, it's an inevitable result of insufficient strength. This season, their advancement to the Europa League quarterfinals was only for one reason, that their midfield core Vante was suspended with a red card in the previous round of qualifiers."

"That's right! Vante has already become a burden to Ajax."

"Though saying this is hurtful, we can draw similar conclusions from the data statistics after the match. Vante's total running distance was merely eight kilometers, which is not bad for a technical midfielder, but you must know Ajax usually does all-out attack and defense!"

"Most of their players can run over ten kilometers, so Vante is significantly lagging behind them."

"Moreover, Vante's activity heat map on the field is concentrated between midfield and the front. The range is not large, common for a technical attacking midfielder."

"But let's look at San Remo's Morici, who is also a technical attacking midfielder! See, his activity heat range is fifty percent larger than Vante's!"

"Even excluding the influence of San Remo having better ball control, Morici's control range is still far greater than Vante's. This relates to tactics, player stamina, movement ability, movement willingness, speed, eruption, etc."

"For many balls, if your speed is sufficient, you can still interfere even if the opponent has the football because you can make it in time. But for many balls, if your speed and eruption are inadequate, you won't move a step because you know it's too late!"

"And the lack of speed and eruption is the third piece of evidence we need to mention. Due to recurrent injuries, Vante's speed is no longer what it was in his younger years, his eruption has even further declined."

"Yet, as the team's offensive core, under favorable conditions, even during counterattacks, the team will still prioritize him. But at this point, Vante lacks the ability to dribble and advance, having to slow down instead."

"And when Vante slows down, San Remo's defense line virtually catches up. This is a major reason for Ajax's lack of counterattacking ability."

"And San Remo's Kaint has been closely marking Vante, indicating that San Remo was not unprepared. While Ajax was studying how to curb their midfield passing tactics, they also researched Ajax's offensive core!"

An analysis, incisive.

Of course, Hans did not mention any sensitive terms like chain swapping.

What should be exposed, he can expose, but concepts that shouldn't be, it's not yet time for him to reveal them.

The first inventor of many things is not always the most favored.

The one who can truly benefit from such concepts often steps forward to educate people after the concept is accepted, finishing with a remark like "I've known all along."

Hans knows how to manage his reputation as a "Gold Medal Journalist."

...

April 16th, Serie B Round 32 match.

The team arranged a rotation, but Lu Yang did not rest.

Because their league opponent is not weak; it's one of the current top five Serie B teams.

In this match, San Remo's mistakes remained numerous, but their opponent capitalized on such opportunities delivering quality counterattacks, once leading by two to one.

But in the end, both sides ended with a three to three score, concluding in a draw.

Lu Yang performed steadily, with two goals and one assist.

Versachi scored and assisted.

Fernandez had an assist.

Despite Naji's own goals having reduced significantly this season, he hasn't completely cured the problem yet, gifting an equalizing own goal in this match turning San Remo's three points into one, a case of righteous generosity, heroic justice!

Thus, Lu Yang's league goals reached thirty-nine!

Pushing Serie B goal record a notch higher.

It is likely that his fortieth league goal is also not far away.

The same topic, repeated.

Just like when Lu Yang scored eighteen goals in half a season in Italian D Division, countless people said it would be difficult for him to score double digits in a single season in Italian Third Division.

Then Lu Yang scored forty-three goals in the Italian Third Division in a single season, breaking the single-season goal record in the Italian Third Division!

And at that time, many people said the Italian Third Division was merely a low-level league, that there's an insurmountable gap between Serie B and lower-level leagues.