However, Lu Yang's position on the list was no longer marked as CB-central back, but as DMF-defensive midfielder.
Lu Yang's position changed.
He and Morici formed a double defensive midfield.
San Remo previously played a 433 formation.
Or rather a 4123 formation, with Morici organizing from the back.
The team's right forward often helped defensively in the midfield, making it look more like an irregular 4132 setup.
Additionally, the team's central forward was still focused on distributing the ball, with limited attacking prowess.
This made the midfield relatively congested, yet these midfielders were all workhorses, lacking creativity, which greatly wasted the team's configuration in attack.
And now, if Lu Yang played left defensive midfielder, the team's formation could shift to 4213, or be a true 433.
Lu Yang's sweeping interceptions protected central midfielder Morici, immediately ensuring midfield strength.
The right midfielder had a similar function to Lu Yang, but positioned slightly more forward.
The right forward didn't need to fall back, and the left back could advance to help Vedian launch a positional attack. San Remo, therefore, had the ability to play positional football, no longer needing to wait solely for counterattacks.
Especially since Lu Yang and Morici had already shown a tacit understanding in previous matches, allowing Morici, the midfield engine, to directly enter high-speed operation mode.
This adjustment, if Lu Yang could adapt, would not only free Lu Yang from positional constraints but also relieve Morici of defensive duties to focus purely on organizing play, thereby reducing Vedian's offensive pressure.
It can be said that this brought a revolutionary change to San Remo's attacking side.
But the precondition for all this was Lu Yang's ability to adapt.
"Of course it's true, buddy. You no longer have to cover my position; I've become your personal bodyguard." Lu Yang high-fived Morici.
The training match began quickly.
Even the coaching staff, who had already had some predictions, were surprised by the 5-0 halftime score, ending the training match early.
Continuing was meaningless.
The first team's offensive power truly underwent a transformation.
With fewer midfield players, Morici, instead, had more room to move, and more receiving points upfront, greatly increasing the threat of his passes.
The advances by the right forward and left back gave Vedian cover, making it difficult for opponents to target him, as he had two teammates drawing attention. The opportunities he received seemed slightly less, but the threats he created were far greater than before.
Similarly, Lu Yang's sweeping in midfield was exceptionally effective.
His subtle ball control techniques no longer induced fear, only applause.
Among the five goals, Morici's wonderful pass to the right forward, through return interplay with Morici, enabled Morici to dummy the ball to Lu Yang, who scored from a distance.
Morici's precise pass to Vedian allowed Vedian to speed past the defense, scoring two goals.
Morici's clever pass to the left back, who crossed to Vedian, let Vedian's cut-back assist the central forward for a goal.
The ping pong wall-pass between Morici and Lu Yang, followed by Lu Yang's exquisite pass, led to a Vedian goal.
The team displayed diverse scoring, highlighting Morici's core influence further.
This was no longer just a team that could only play defensively on the counterattack.
This was crucial for San Remo.
As they were already seventh on the standings, many teams they faced would adopt a defensive counterattack strategy.
San Remo could no longer wait for other teams to attack.
They had to proactively increase their possession-based aggression.
This is a necessary path from being a weak team to a strong one.
Many teams, to achieve this transformation, heavily invest in players with ball-holding attacking abilities or invite coaches who excel in offensive football.
But Sotu accomplished all this by doing just one thing.
By promoting Lu Yang from central back to defensive midfield.
This is the chemistry and charm of the football world.
On the sidelines.
"His positional sense is exceptional, something we couldn't discern when he played central back." Sotu shook his head in appreciation, thinking he had already valued Lu Yang's talent enough, but Lu Yang exceeded his expectations.
The term "positional sense" is often used by commentators and coaches, but it's sometimes hard for fans to grasp.
Simply put, it's when a player always understands the team's current formation and chooses appropriately whether to hold their position or cover for others.
433, 442, 352, 4231, these are team formations, but when players move during a game, it's hard to clearly define their shape.
In such cases, some players easily lose their positions, especially defenders.
This is extremely detrimental to a team.
A good counterattack or a deadly pass often capitalizes on this positional loss. Opposing defense players stepping up aim to disrupt your defensive setup to find opportunities.
To minimize these errors, players must possess great positional sense.
Many believe positional sense is innate, but that's not entirely true.
Analyzing its origins and contributing factors, you'll discover positional sense relates to three aspects.
First is football intelligence.
This aspect is enigmatic, as some desperately seek it without success, while for others, it's a sudden realization, with no traceable pattern.
The second is defensive awareness.
When a head coach tells a player not to move up or beyond a certain player's position and to stay defensive behind them, the player is less likely to lose position due to aggressive runs.
This seemingly enhances their positional sense.
This is also a change a coach can bring to a team.
But this is not the core.
The core factor for a player's positional sense is... vision!
When your field of vision is wide enough to know where all players are, you also know where you should be.
This is the strongest and most scientifically-based positional sense.
And Lu Yang... possesses the most terrifying vision on the football field.
His vision attribute is a staggering 99, granting him a Harvey-like God's Perspective, enabling him to perceive and remember the positions of 16 out of 22 players on the field at a glance, while an average professional player can only recall six.
This gives Lu Yang unparalleled positional sense on the field.
When to sweep, when Morici is in danger, when Morici needs an outlet rather than teammates crowding him, when to advance—it was in this training match that Lu Yang showcased many outstanding qualities.
Of course, this doesn't mean Lu Yang is without flaws.
"His interceptions can be smarter, his passing ability seems relatively weak, with short passes barely adequate, but struggling with long passes." Sotu's face showed palpable regret.
This regret wasn't solely directed at Lu Yang but also at himself.
Because when Sotu played, he played a role similar to Lu Yang's.
Especially in the national team, he and Maniero were just like Lu Yang and Morici now.
A defensive-minded fierce bodyguard and a team's brain.
But if this bodyguard possessed some attacking ability to temporarily undertake playmaking tasks when the brain stalls, playing a small cerebellum role, then this team would be fearsome.
But Sotu failed to achieve this, being a superstar often at a loss offensively. This was the biggest regret for him and Maniero's national team at that time.
Otherwise, they wouldn't possess only one World Cup, nor would they miss the European Cup.
By the time Sotu realized this, it was too late, as he no longer had potential.
But fortunately, Lu Yang is only sixteen years old.
...
"Lu, this is something the head coach left for you." Tom handed a small box to Lu Yang and also gave him a report. "This is some insights our coaching team derived from revisiting today's training match. Hope it's useful to you. We'll provide such feedback reports for your future matches... Morici, too."
Lu Yang took the box and report, nodding solemnly: "Thank you, Tom."
"For the legend of San Remo!" Tom clenched his fist, turned, and left.
Undoubtedly, this was San Remo's most sincere attempt to win over and show favor.
They were truly grooming Lu Yang and Morici as team cores. Maybe they couldn't offer them the salaries of top club players, but they could allow them to grow freely here.
At least, such treatment wasn't afforded to Vedian.
Afterward, Lu Yang opened the box.
"Ding! You've activated a superstar legacy—Midfield Butcher, Sotu!"