The perfect center forward: Becoming a soccer king from the corner of Chuanu Chapter 100

“Lucia, the cleaning lady found a diamond earring on the training ground and is looking for the owner. Did you lose this?” Lucia shook her head, indicating she didn’t know anything about it.

“You can ask Carol about it, that narcissistic playboy always wears earrings when he goes out to pick up girls!”

Teammates who didn’t have national team matches were full of energy after the long weekend and enthusiastically searched for the owner.

It wasn’t clear about training, but wearing accessories was definitely not allowed in official matches, yet this world was a makeshift operation.

Wang Shenchao was banned from the national team for a year for wearing a necklace, while Jules Kounde, who strutted around with a big gold chain for half a game at the Qatar World Cup, got away with it.

In ancient times, many star players carried extra weight, showing off their wealth during matches, with accessories on their hands adding a kilogram to improve their physical confrontation ability.

Under the new rules, these accessories were no longer allowed on the field. If Raul lived in this era, he would never have had the chance to earn the moniker “The Lord of the Rings.”

…

Time quickly moved to April 1, 2017. On April Fool’s Day, West Ham United geared up to face Hull City.

Sitting in the car, Carroll touched his earring and educated everyone on its value. Besides showing off that a certain girlfriend gave it to him, he also talked about its exorbitant price.

This was the income gap. Losing something worth ten or eight thousand euros would still make one feel bad, but in the future, my brother Luo wouldn’t even care if he just threw one away.

Lucia shook his head and closed his eyes to rest, thinking that improving his strength and earning a high salary was important. Then, if he lost something, the time it took to find it would allow him to earn that ten thousand euros back directly, which would be truly satisfying~

The scenery outside the car changed from the highway to a tranquil river. Hull City, located in Yorkshire, eastern England, was a city with a well-developed water system.

The city was built along the river, with many promenades and parks along both banks of the River Hull, appearing to have a slower pace compared to London.

Georgian and Edwardian architectural styles showcased Hull City’s historical charm.

Unlike the quiet streets, the atmosphere inside the KCOM Stadium was vibrant. At a critical moment for the team’s relegation battle, the fans of the newly promoted team showed boundless enthusiasm and support.

Just one more year in the Premier League could bring significant revenue to the club; otherwise, the Championship play-off final wouldn’t be called the most expensive game.

Hull City, known as the Tigers, had a typical Championship style of play: direct and tough.

The team performed quite resiliently in defense, focusing on collective defense, limiting opponents’ attacks through active pressing and tight defensive lines.

In attack, Hull City had a certain counter-attacking ability. Players would quickly launch fast breaks when given the opportunity, trying to threaten the opponent’s goal with simple and efficient attacking methods.

However, the team’s overall strength was not outstanding in the Premier League, and their squad depth was relatively limited.

This led to their rather dismal performance in the 2016- 17 season, with their only highlight being a dual bicycle kick goal against Leicester City in the first league match.

Even more unlucky today was that the overpowered “Old Man Lu” was going to make this newly promoted team the backdrop for creating a Premier League goal-scoring record.

Sunlight shone on Hull City’s KCOM Stadium. Lucia glanced at the stadium’s logo and suddenly worried about his BTC cold wallet made with a Kingston USB drive.

What if he made the sponsor look too bad at home? Would offline tools like USB drives also have backdoors?

In the stands, Hull City fans wore yellow and black team jerseys. Unfortunately, the stadium was too small, leading to insufficient numbers and a less intense atmosphere.

Lucia’s “King’s Landing” flag was already flying in the away fans’ stand. The Hammer fans, holding scarves and cheering, were fewer in number but no less spirited than the home fans.

One side was fighting for relegation, the other for the championship, but both teams excelled at long ball football and defensive counter-attacks.

Maguire, who had been sternly instructed by the coach before the match to tightly mark Lucia, glared fiercely at the Italian.

‘Last time, it was because you came on as a substitute and I was low on stamina. This time, I’m going in with full power. I’ll show you what an English heavy central defender can do.’

“Welcome to the 30th round of the Premier League. The Hammers, currently sitting comfortably at the top of the table, are visiting Hull City. This is Sky Sports bringing you the match broadcast.”

“Although their league performance has been poor, the home fans are still very supportive and enthusiastic. Even before the match begins, you can hear the cheers of over 20, 000 fans in the stadium.”

“Hull City is deploying a 3- 5- 2 formation for this match, with Ranocchia, Davies, and Maguire forming the defensive line.”

Specific information as follows:

“On the other side, West Ham is lining up in a 4- 2- 3- 1 formation. Kouyate in the defensive midfield position needs to provide strong interception capabilities, with Lucia lurking upfront.”

Specific information as follows:

With a whistle from the referee, the match officially began.

Hull City, playing at home, launched the first attack, threatening Randolph’s West Ham United goal just 14 seconds into the match.

The home team’s forward shared a name with the former West Ham United player Chicharito, also called Hernandez.

Two completely different styles of play. This South American veteran was all about speed and precision, making a quick run deep before unleashing a powerful shot that almost pierced West Ham United’s unsettled goal.

Fortunately, Collins on the defensive line made a crucial clearance, preventing the home team from having a dream start.

In the following few minutes, Hull City began to besiege West Ham. Compared to West Ham United, the Tigers were more eager to gain points to escape the relegation zone.

Physical confrontations combined with high balls put immense pressure on the two central defenders. Hull City seized a transition opportunity, and simple passes quickly reached the Hammers’ half.

Fonte, the main central defender for the European Championship, made an overly aggressive defensive move and unfortunately received a yellow card.

Lucia quickly dropped back to act as a central defender, helping to relieve some of the defensive pressure on the Portuguese player who was already on a yellow card.

“Hull City’s corner kick! Lucia’s heading ability can both attack and defend by himself!”

“This is the charm of a big center forward, and one must commend the Italian’s tactical discipline.”

“Despite scoring 33 goals in the league, the young Lucia hasn’t become arrogant. His diligent presence can always be seen in defense!”

Lucia’s cleared ball went to Kouyate’s feet, who then launched a high and long kick.

A classic rough-and-tumble approach, identical to the Chinese national team’s style of play.

Lucia didn’t mock him, because his own footwork and on-ball ability were just as abysmal.

Now, his talent was locked and couldn’t be improved through practice. Maybe he could unlock a related trait and awaken the talent of a skilled player.

Moreover, judging by the phenomenon of improved shooting leading to an increased free-kick accuracy ceiling, even a weakly related trait might allow Lucia to break through his original talent and improve slowly on his own.

Run!

Lucia, who spared no effort, was a typical desperate worker, always charging forward to find every possible scoring opportunity.

The central defender Ranocchia was contemplating how to receive the ball when he noticed the goalkeeper had come out, so he slowed his pace, ready to yield to the advancing goalkeeper.

Suddenly, a gust of wind swept from behind. The Italian compatriot on loan from Inter Milan to Hull City instantly felt as if his shoulder had been grazed by a dump truck.

Intense pain surged, but even more unbearable than the physical pain was witnessing the goal about to fall.

Goalkeeper Jakupović was about to cushion the ball with his foot but found someone appearing before him like a thousand-horsepower souped-up muscle car.

He jumped, challenged for the ball, and headed it into an empty space in front of him.

The Hull City goalkeeper, unable to use his hands, watched helplessly as Lucia snatched the ball, then gritted his teeth and chased desperately!

“Effort has paid off! Lucia flashes across the broadcast screen like a bolt of lightning!”

“A one-on-one opportunity! Let’s see if the Italian can equal the Premier League goal-scoring record!”

“He’s starting to slow down; it’s clear Lucia’s absolute speed isn’t particularly fast!”

Lucia, breathing heavily from running, looked left and right. His tank was empty, and there were no teammates nearby.

Footsteps behind him were already closing in. After another touch, he could distinctly feel the heat behind him.

His peripheral vision still couldn’t spot a jersey of the same color. As defenders began to interfere, Lucia’s wish to simply dribble the ball into the net was dashed.

He forced a shot, hoping to create an own goal, but luck was not with the young Italian.

“Unbelievable! Why didn’t he just tap it into the empty net earlier?!”

“If you don’t have an advantage in absolute speed, you should shoot early! What a waste of an opportunity!”

“This shot is harder to miss than to score! As expected of Lucia, who often scores incredible goals, he doesn’t want to play easy games!!”

-[This shot looks simple, but it’s actually not difficult at all!]

-[This shot is ridiculous! So much time to adjust, and he kicks it like that!!]

-[This shot has a certain angle, it’s not easy to score. Don’t ask me how I know.]

-[Missing in amateur games is normal, but this is a professional player! And Lucia has no weak foot, how could he miss this?!]

-[Betway is going to eat people again! Brothers, if you haven’t bet, run!!]

Lucia, making the best of a bad situation, could only reflect on the feeling of pushing the shot wide, hoping to avoid such mistakes in the future.

After all, the causality of “must miss” was about to say goodbye to him. Once he became a complete player, he had to become a steady man whose one-on-one chances made fans celebrate early.

He couldn’t be like some Asian star who got mocked for one-on-one chances that didn’t even require betting to be closed!

“Have Lucia, Always Lose Heart!!”

The nearby Hull City fans had already started mocking him, saying they could score such a goal themselves. With this level, did he still want to break the Premier League goal-scoring record?

Maguire was applauding Ranocchia, and then glanced at the calm Lucia.

‘This guy’s mental fortitude is really strong. All the boos and missing a certain goal, yet he shows no emotional fluctuation!’

‘His shooting is just a bit poor. I should have defended against the shot, not the dribble, during our first encounter!’

Big Head Mag, remembering the scene where he was constantly dribbled past and beaten during their first encounter, began to summarize his experience.

Just give him a little space, don’t be afraid of him shooting. What can he do with that kind of shooting!

In the following moments, the intelligent Maguire verified his mathematical formula.

In the 16th minute of the match, during a West Ham United counter-attack, Lucia received a pass from a teammate and noticed Maguire wasn’t pressing him tightly.

He brought the ball down, made a precise layoff, and then burst forward. Big Head Mag, retreating, still maintained a considerable distance, preventing the Italian forward from dribbling past him in the wide areas and creating danger.

“Perhaps with the Premier League record, which has been dormant for years, within reach, Lucia is being a bit selfish.”

“Andre Ayew is already asking for the ball. Lucia’s choice this time isn’t great; the Italian seems a bit off today.”

“Although he’s very active in tracking back to defend, you must always remember that you are a forward, and helping the team score goals is your most important duty!”

The Hull City fans in the stands grew even louder, with continuous chants mocking Lucia.

This, however, stimulated old John, who waved his flag with even more vigor, and the away fans responded defiantly.

Maguire’s open-space temptation was very effective. Lucia, who had only one miss from outside the box, directly shot the ball into the stands.

But the mathematician Maguire found it strange: who could possibly have a faint smile on their face after consecutively missing opportunities?

The more he was booed, the stronger his combat power?

‘Kid, I, Uncle Mag, have seen through you!’

Maguire, who had volunteered to man-mark Lucia, was full of confidence. Today was the day his golden body would break, and the day Harry would rise.

England’s best central defender stopping Scotland’s best forward—Maguire’s fantasy already had him as the MVP of the team’s victory.

But Maguire’s sweet dream didn’t last long, because Lucia soon delivered a critical blow to the aircraft carrier that didn’t need to turn today.

In the 18th minute of the match, Lucia received a pass from Feghouli at the edge of the penalty area.

Looking at Harry Maguire, who was two steps away, Lucia couldn’t help but lament that he truly deserved to be recognized as a good-natured person within Manchester United and the England national team in the future.

Not only was he considerate to his teammates, but he also treated his opponents very well. Lucia, with his poor footwork, loved defenders who didn’t press him tightly and gave him space to shoot.

Small