Green Field Eunuch

Chapter 49 What is defense?
Soon, match day arrived again, with Roma playing away against Siena.

Shan Yongzhuo continued to start, but the defense he faced in this game was easier than in the previous game. He scored a goal in the first half with his powerful Golden Leg, but unfortunately his shot after breaking through with a Whirlwind Ground Leg was miraculously saved by the opposing goalkeeper.

Moreover, Roma's defensive squad also performed "outstandingly," with Mexes making a spectacular clearance, only to unfortunately find the ball in his own net.

Fortunately, in the second half, Totti scored a goal with a long-range shot, which allowed the team to win 1-2 away from home.

After the match, Shan Yongzhuo remained low-key in front of the media, saying that he encountered strong defense from the opponent, was not yet used to Serie A, and that a goal drought was likely to begin soon.

This time, the Italian media still chose to believe his statement, because Shan Yongzhuo's performance on the field was indeed almost transparent, with nothing noteworthy except for one goal.

However, they did not publicize or question it further, because Shan Yongzhuo had scored 5 goals in three consecutive matches. With such a performance, any argument against him seemed to lack persuasiveness.

So they decided to wait until Shan Yongzhuo actually experienced a goal drought before bringing up all these doubts at once.

Three days later, Roma played their first Europa League group stage match, an away game against Swiss team Basel.

Shan Yongzhuo was unable to travel with the team for this match because his physical condition had not recovered to an ideal level, and Spalletti ultimately did not take him with him.

Moreover, Auxerre's strength is not very strong, and Spalletti did not take his opponent seriously. He not only did not bring Shan Yongzhuo, but he also did not bring Totti. He only brought Vucinic, Taddei and Cerci in the attacking line.

In comparison, Roma's squad is too thin, and they can't use their key players too heavily.

Shan Yongzhuo expressed some regret, but there was nothing he could do. His stamina was indeed not very good. After the match against Auxerre, he had to play a league match just three days later. Playing three matches in nine consecutive days was something he could hardly handle with his current physical condition.

Moreover, with the fourth-round opponent being the strong team Fiorentina, Spalletti decided to make some rotations in the Europa League and focus on the match against Fiorentina.

However, in this match, Roma suffered a crushing defeat in Switzerland, losing 2-0 to their opponents.

This defeat left the whole team feeling frustrated. Everyone had been boasting during the group stage, especially De Rossi and Mexes, who didn't take Basel, an opponent, seriously at all.

However, reality proved cruel; both players made significant mistakes during the match, directly leading to two goals conceded.

De Rossi and Mexes were speechless with frustration, especially after seeing Shan Yongzhuo's somewhat provocative behavior.

"See? You can't do without me."

The two men really wanted to pin Shan Yongzhuo to the ground and give him a good beating.

However, Mexes immediately reminded De Rossi that even if the two of them attacked together, it would be difficult for Shan Yongzhuo to gain the upper hand.

So De Rossi and Mexes decided to let it go.

“He’s just a kid, we’re adults.”

This defeat made Spalletti even stricter in training, especially with Mexes, who had made frequent mistakes since the start of the season. This led to Spalletti paying special attention to him in training. If he slacked off even slightly, he was punished with five laps. If he was distracted even slightly during tactical lessons, he was scolded severely.

Mexes was very frustrated because of his poor performance, and was subsequently excluded from the starting lineup for the next game.

"Damn it, if I learn magic, this will never happen again."

Mexes came up with a solution, so he was very friendly to Shan Yongzhuo during training and took the initiative to be in Shan Yongzhuo's group during free training.

"Shan, you must know magic, right? Teach me."

Mexes' attitude was very sincere, leaving Shan Yongzhu somewhat speechless, because he realized that this guy was going a bit astray.

"Philip, you're a center-back."

"so what?"

"My magic is all about scoring goals, it has nothing to do with center-backs." "So you do have magic?"

"No, there isn't."

"But……"

"No buts."

Dan Yongzhuo was so annoyed by Mexes that he had no choice but to resort to force to threaten him, and only then did Mexes behave himself a little.

In Shan Yongzhuo's opinion, Mexes' defensive ability is quite good. Even if he is slightly worse than Chiellini, he is definitely an excellent center-back. At least in training, he can't gain any advantage when he faces him.

Mexes' problem is his mindset.

This guy is a bit too impulsive, often making rash mistakes and losing his position. He also has an aggressive mindset, always wanting to step forward.

If Shan Yongzhuo has a way, he wouldn't mind helping Mexes. Although the two of them met through a fight, Mexes is actually a nice person and easy to get along with.

Unfortunately, Shan Yongzhuo had no way to solve this problem; it was one he couldn't handle.

All Shan Yongzhuo can think about right now is the next match, where he wants to score a goal.

Through continuous training, my strength, endurance, defense, and dribbling all improved a little. My strength reached 55, my dribbling reached 53, and my defense reached 16.

The improvement in defense puzzled Shan Yongzhuo.

On second thought, however, it's understandable. The training courses on positioning and winning positions are not only offensive training, but also defensive training, and it's entirely possible to add more.

That's what Shan Yongzhuo himself guessed.

Most importantly, my stamina has reached 69, which is the threshold for acquiring the skill.

He has now accumulated 0.8 points, and he only needs one more goal to gain one more point.

Shan Yongzhuo has a very clear understanding of his own abilities. If he wants to score goals, he must rely more on his skills. With his current skill level, it is simply impossible for him to establish himself in Serie A on his own.

Maybe in the future, when all other attribute points are increased, I can rely on myself, but that's a matter for the future.

The most important thing right now is definitely skills.

Shan Yongzhuo has already made up his mind. Speed ​​skills seem far away, so he doesn't need to consider them for the time being. Besides, his playing style doesn't rely heavily on speed.

Defensive skills—I don't know what they are, but I guess they're related to defense. That means they're irrelevant to me; my job is to score goals.

Defense?

What it is?
As for the charm skill, Shan Yongzhuo automatically ignored it.

If there are no other skills to add, then I should be able to increase my stamina for future goals, right?

After much deliberation, Shan Yongzhuo decided to do it this way.

Anyway, after getting one more skill, my skills will be barely enough, so there's no need to rush to add others.

It's time for things to start recovering.

After all, I'm 19 years old now...

(End of this chapter)