The perfect center forward: Becoming a soccer king from the corner of Chuanu Chapter 186

—[Who is it? Who is the other teammate he cooperated with? Sharing gossip and only telling half is immoral!]

—[Van Nistelrooy, probably. National team teammate. I heard Van Nistelrooy always says, “I need to score~”]

—[Hahaha, can’t the upstairs one hear it? Obviously, the other one is talking about Diving Ronaldo!]

—[Are Dutch people schizophrenic? One says scoring goals harms the team, and the other says Brother Lu’s assists make his teammates unhappy??]

—[Brother Lu was clearly smiling so brightly during the celebration just now. I’m really fed up with these football legends.]

The regular post-match press conference failed to grab headlines. Van der Vaart’s outrageous comments, which mocked everyone, instantly swept across the globe.

Van der Vaart: Although Lucia trains hard, he is also selfish. He’s unhappy even after a 4- 0 win because he didn’t score!

—[Cold knowledge: Brother Lu has never lost a game where he scored twice. Please check the data before you start flaming!]

—[Watching football for so many years, who, besides a deadbeat, would be happy when their team loses? Even when blacking out, you need some logic!]

Who exactly is the other person? They cooperated at Real Madrid during the 2009- 10 season!

—[Confirmed. I think Van der Vaart is right!]

—[Messi fans, go away. You’re happy blacking out my Brother Lu and Brother Luo, aren’t you~]

—[Sorry, qualifying for the quarterfinals made the two round-of- 16 losers sad. Let me hog the remaining traffic~]

No wonder the Oranje didn’t make it to the World Cup. Do Dutch forwards want to score goals or not?

It was fortunate that Lucia had suspended his social media. Otherwise, he would have had to reply.

“Who is this person???”

Ignoring the boring commentators who were trying to ride on his fame, Lucia lay on his hotel bed, watching the last round-of- 16 match while tallying his system progress.

Sole Superstar

[Training progress 36% + Match progress 14.4]

Total progress reached 50.4%. In two days, he would be able to unlock the sixth upgradeable perk.

Moreover, the team had a day off after the round-of- 16 match, allowing time for family and friends to visit.

It was truly a double blessing. With beautiful aspirations, Lucia focused his gaze on the TV screen.

Group H leader Colombia versus Group G runner-up England.

Both teams failed to score in the first half. It wasn’t until the second half that the Three Lions broke the deadlock.

England’s star player, Harry Kane, scored from the penalty spot, giving England the lead.

The Tottenham striker scored his 6th goal of the tournament, second only to Lucia’s 8 goals in the top scorer list.

Time ticked by, and just when everyone thought England would narrowly defeat Colombia by one goal and advance to the quarterfinals, a miracle appeared on the pitch!

In the 93rd minute of the match, Colombia equalized. Uribe’s long-range shot was parried by Pickford. Cuadrado took a corner kick, and Mina headed a bouncing ball from the edge of the six-yard box. Trippier failed to clear it with a header, and the ball hit the underside of the crossbar and bounced into the goal.

The match went into extra time. Both teams had to regroup and restart. The 30 minutes passed quickly, but the score remained unchanged.

“The cruel twelve-yard roulette, another penalty shootout at the Russia World Cup!”

“England has lost all three of their previous World Cup penalty shootouts, while this is Colombia’s first World Cup penalty shootout.”

England, who had never won a World Cup penalty shootout, gained the upper hand this time thanks to their repeated failures and Southgate’s foresight in special pre-match training.

After 120 minutes of grueling play and a penalty shootout, the Three Lions ultimately emerged victorious. However, this was good news for Italy.

They were already playing three hours later than Italy and had gone into extra time and penalties. Although there was a boost in morale, the physical exertion was real.

Seeing England win the penalty shootout, Lucia decided to give Kelly the honor of sleeping over tomorrow.

Teaching the England national team a lesson would start with defeating the England women’s national team.

…

The next day, scorching news broke out. Lucia had many headlines from both matches, truly deserving of the title “Son of Traffic” after Messi and Ronaldo’s departure.

The Last Two Quarterfinal Spots: Italy and England Meet in the Quarterfinals!

The Azzurri Easily Defeat Their Opponent, England Advances with Difficulty. Who Will Reach the World Cup Semifinals?

The Premier League Is Indeed the Top League: Manchester United’s Star Striker Lucia Is Top Scorer, Tottenham’s Core Harry Kane Is Second!

Lucia the Great Prophet: Southgate Is Truly Strong!

Manchester United Fans’ Anguish: Quarterfinal Match Lucia vs. England!

Lucia, who was under intense media scrutiny, increased his daily training progress by 0.5% before enjoying the Italian team’s family open day.

Besides his children’s mother, Maria Guardiola, and his childhood sweetheart, Kelly, Ancelotti’s stepdaughter and several young models also came to express their concern and support.

Since these were relatively stable relationships, under the immense spotlight of the World Cup, he had to give his long-term girlfriends some exposure.

It was also a way to please the young models.

“I hope to welcome the birth of our first child with the World Cup trophy~” The love-struck Maria Guardiola arrived the next day with a flock of beauties.

Pregnant and glowing with maternal radiance, she was also incredibly supportive of Lucia’s career, even using her own savings to help Lucia acquire AC Milan shares.

“Good luck, I hope I can also appear on the World Cup stage next time~”

“Received! Beautiful Miss Kelly has spoken, we must win the next match! Can I say this blessing at the pre-match press conference?”

“You’re so annoying!”

Kelly, who was more career-oriented, focused more on football, but between the national team and her boyfriend, she chose her more intimate lover.

Ancelotti’s stepdaughter came with her mother. Considering the genetic connection, Lucia felt that the team’s head coach might miss tomorrow’s morning training.

If a daughter in her twenties, who was happy to share, was so enthusiastic, one could only imagine how wild a nearly fifty-year-old mother who could “eat dirt” would be. Fortunately, Ancelotti didn’t have to play in a few days.

That night, Lucia chose to have an early practice with the England team, alternating between whip-like maneuvers, powerful body movements, precise headers, and varying rhythms in the defensive line.

On one side were the England team, surrendering and eating cream puffs; on the other side were the refreshed Azzurri.

A perfect practice session!

Italian WAGs Appear at Hotel, Lucia Occupies 6 Seats Alone!

What Charm Makes So Many Women Loyal to Manchester United’s Striker?

The Sun: England Spy Infiltrates Italian Camp, Kelly Successfully Defends Italy’s Strongest Arrow!

If England Reaches the Semifinals, We Recommend Giving Kelly an Honorary Medal~

Not only did he dominate on match days, but on the rest days of the 4th and 5th, Lucia was also a hot topic for sports journalists.

The swirling news did not affect the Manchester United striker’s mood. After an early morning cardio session, Lucia continued his assault on the final 0.1% progress for the new perk.

Ding! Sole Superstar has reached 51%. Congratulations, Host, you can unlock a new perk.

After showering and changing, Lucia didn’t complete the remaining 0.4% training progress. Instead, he chose to unlock the sixth upgradeable perk.

His vision immersed in the system interface, after unlocking the perk, the animation began to transition.

The perks triggered during the World Cup seemed to become national team exclusive. The figures of many football stars on the international stage began to flash.

First, Miroslav Klose, the World Cup’s all-time leading scorer; then, the bomber Gerd Müller; the big-headed Ronaldo; and Fontaine, the holder of the World Cup single-tournament goal record.

In addition, there were stars like Kempes, Paolo Rossi, Batistuta, Careca, and many others.

The system’s activation also had a sense of opening a blind box, which perfectly coincided with the LM company created by Lucia.

After a brief animation, a tall figure, like a medieval knight, stood on the green battlefield.

Markus Bierhoff.

He was not only the king of the air but also a symbol of German football’s golden age.

He was not just a striker who elevated the art of heading to its peak but also the key player who scored the first-ever golden goal.

After the figure flickered, several large golden-bordered characters officially appeared.

Congratulations, Host, you have obtained the perk: Clutch Player.

He was reluctantly called up as a fourth striker and sat on the bench for 3 consecutive games before the final.

In the final, he was called upon in a crisis, coming on as a substitute and equalizing the score four minutes later. In the fifth minute of extra time, he scored a golden goal to win the match, lifting the Henri Delaunay Trophy for Germany.

[As an absolute protagonist, you must not only perform brilliantly in the group stage but also take responsibility in crucial matches. Slightly increases the host’s overall ability in key matches.]

Damn, a perk that provides an overall boost, and specifically in key matches.

Lucia, who was already a big-game player, felt like he had wings. The bigger the spotlight, the more spectacular his performance would be. Wasn’t this forcing him to become the number one football fan favorite?!

Sorry, Brother Luo, the title of the world’s number one fan base might soon be taken by Lucia.

And with his previous five perks, as long as he reached the final, he could perform at a superhuman level. Even if he didn’t win the championship, it would at least be a perfect performance like Mbappé’s in the 2022 Qatar World Cup.

Continuing to look down, good, no side effects, and there was a small line of text explaining it.

Due to the difficulty of increasing match progress, this perk has no side effects. Please use it with confidence, Host.

Note: Key matches refer to domestic cup finals (including the UEFA Super Cup, Club World Cup), league rival matches, and Champions League, European Championship, and World Cup matches from the semifinals onwards.

An absolutely powerful boost. The only downside is that it might get stuck, and the match progress for this perk will definitely increase very slowly.

In non-tournament years, if all domestic cup finals in the Premier League are played, that’s just the Community Shield, League Cup, FA Cup, and UEFA Super Cup – four finals.

For the league, the North-West Derby definitely counts as a rival match. I don’t know if matches against Manchester City or Arsenal count. It’s a pity Leeds United isn’t in the Premier League, otherwise, there would definitely be four league matches.

When making a budget, it’s better to leave some room for error. According to the strictest calculation, that’s two matches.

If the Champions League reaches the semifinals and then the final, that’s a total of three matches.

Damn, 4+ 2+ 3= 9. Even if I perform brilliantly in every match, I can only get about 18% progress.

The perk system has entered a slow upgrade period. But thankfully, this isn’t a dead end. Once Sole Superstar is maxed out, as long as Clutch Player also reaches 51% or more, a new skill can still be unlocked.

I can only pray that during the upgrade of Clutch Player, I don’t randomly get a new perk with slow progress.

As long as the new perks after Sole Superstar is maxed out still have efficient progress, I will be able to continuously obtain the eighth and ninth upgradeable perks.

Unable to test the perk’s effect, Lucia could only continue to increase Sole Superstar’s progress. After hard training, he found that Clutch Player’s training progress had also increased.

The perfect center-forward system, which combines metaphysics and science, needs daily accumulation to perform well at critical moments. Since it’s an overall ability improvement, any training will have an effect on it.

Glancing at the current system interface, Lucia’s armament was already very complete.

Upgradeable Perks

Push Angle ( 100%): [Next shot in the box Goal, Next shot outside the box Goal]

Three-Stripe Captain ( 100%)

World’s Best Left-Back ( 100%)

Henry’s Ball Control is Like Mine ( 100%)

Sole Superstar [Training progress 37% + Match progress 14.4%]

Clutch Player [Training progress 0.5% + Match progress 0%]

Easter Egg Perks:

Disease Immunity

Variable Hairstyles (Three stages active)

Social Striker

Salary King (Active from July 2018 – June 2019, limited to club matches)

An absolute goal-scoring machine, his link-up play in the box was also gradually improving. His shortcomings were still the previously mentioned lack of wide passing vision, inability to act as an offensive organizing core, and dribbling in tight spaces.

However, with time, these would all be rectified. What he needed to do now was to perform well in the quarterfinals and successfully advance to the semifinals to experience the power of the Clutch Player.

…

After a brief two-day break, the World Cup reignited, and all the quarterfinal matchups were set.

The upper bracket was filled with title favorites: Brazil, France, Belgium, and Uruguay. Strong teams were abundant, with two South American teams and two European powerhouses battling it out.

The lower bracket saw two dark horses emerge: Croatia and Russia broke through. The only two remaining traditional teams had to face each other first.

On the evening of July 6, 2018, the upper bracket matches kicked off first, with Uruguay facing France.

Amusingly, Uruguay had defeated Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal, and France had overcome Messi’s Argentina.

The highly anticipated Messi vs. Ronaldo showdown was dashed. Fans of both superstars stood on the side of their round-of- 16 opponents: Portuguese fans cheered for France, and Argentinian fans rooted for Uruguay.

Uruguay, heavily depleted by the Five Shields Legion, lacked their key player Cavani. His injury significantly weakened the team’s attacking power.

Ultimately, France, relying on their strong midfield control, brought the battle to Uruguay’s goal, defeating them 2- 0 and smoothly advancing to the semifinals.

The exquisite cooperation of France’s midfield trio and Mbappé’s individual explosive power were deadly.

Four hours later, a battle proclaimed as an early final arrived.

The world’s second-ranked Samba Legion faced the world’s third-ranked European Red Devils.

Previous supercomputer simulations had deemed these two teams almost perfect, second only to Italy as title favorites.

The Red Devils, who had pulled off a comeback, successfully defeated a higher-ranked opponent. Belgium’s golden generation looked to be on the verge of reaping their rewards.

In the first half, Kompany’s header led to Fernandinho’s own goal, and then De Bruyne extended the lead.

In the second half, a Chinese Super League player from the golden age stepped up. Substitute Augusto, the Beijing Guoan foreign player, pulled one back, but it wasn’t enough to turn the tide. Brazil was eliminated.

The Burger King defeated the Texas Brother and successfully advanced to the semifinals.

Fans who hadn’t yet fully digested the spectacular football feast were treated to another focal match the next day in Samara, Russia.

Italy versus England!

Blue and white colors had converged in the Soviet Union’s second capital. Only one of the Azzurri and the Three Lions could continue fighting in Russia.

Outside the stadium, the most eye-catching sight was the flags held by England fans. It was clear these individuals were from Manchester, and even more, they were Red Devils supporters.

[Lucia, the people of Manchester love you, but our homeland is England!]

The giant flag proved Lucia’s brilliant performance for Manchester United this season. The honor