Starter -2
“I dropped him off without any issues. Gino.”
“Yeah, okay. Good work.”
At Coach Luca’s words, Coach Tony nodded and replied.
Gino Calvani, who had served as the ace of the U17 team for nearly two years, had left the team as of today.
Ah, saying he “left” might be a bit off.
Since he was called up to the U19 team.
He was a kid who played well and listened well; perhaps because he’d grown on me, I felt somewhat bittersweet despite it being something to celebrate.
“He’ll adapt well, right?”
“What’s he incapable of? He’s a kid who plays better than the guys two or three years older than him.”
“That’s true, but it’s because he’s going earlier than planned.”
“Nothing to worry about. He should have gone even earlier. It’s only because they weren’t making room for him upstairs.”
“Well, that’s true.”
In fact, Gino Calvani’s call-up had been carried out ahead of the initial schedule.
Originally, they had planned to send him off around the end of this year or early next year, after he’d fully built up his experience.
These days, forcing early promotions wasn’t even trendy like it used to be.
The senior teams weren’t in desperate need of player recruitment either.
They had intended to let him accumulate as much experience as possible and manage him carefully before sending him off.
But things in this world never go according to plan. Gino ended up leaving for the U19 team a bit early.
It was because of I Jian.
“Wasn’t it good to send him out in the match like I said? His expression was good. He looked motivated too.”
“I get it, so stop talking about it. It’s annoying.”
Now that I Jian had opened up and started showing motivation, it was time to focus on him.
It was a sorry thing to say for Gino, but if one looked at it objectively and compared who had higher potential between I Jian and Gino,
Coach Tony had no choice but to side with I Jian.
Therefore, it was now time to invest most of the resources in I Jian.
Real-match experience, that is.
If there was one thing I Jian lacked right now, it was real-match experience.
In other words, they needed to force-feed him experience points. In the meantime, since they couldn’t keep Gino, who was a year older, as a backup, they had sent him up.
“I’m already looking forward to it.”
“To what?”
“To a year from now. That kid wasted two years without even properly playing, yet he’s at that level. How much will he grow if we raise him properly from now on? Isn’t it exciting?”
Coach Tony snickered and nodded.
He had a point.
When it came to a youth player developing his skills, nothing was better than playing in matches.
Nothing was more efficient than playing in real games.
But I Jian hadn’t been able to benefit from that most efficient method.
For about two years, at that.
If you compared it to a triathlon, it was like he had been running alone during the cycling segment while everyone else was on bikes.
But, talent.
I Jian had this unreasonable starting line.
So what if he couldn’t ride a bike?
He had started ahead of others, and running itself was much faster for him than for others.
Even after wasting two years, I Jian was still ahead.
But if they now let such an I Jian ride a bicycle,
how far ahead could he go?
It was only natural to be excited.
“But still.”
“Yeah.”
“I am a bit worried.”
“Worried?”
“For one, our opponent this week is Napoli. I’m afraid his confidence might be crushed.”
“Hmm.”
This time too, Coach Tony nodded.
Truthfully, he was still in a state of slight uncertainty.
He had said they shouldn’t rush, yet he couldn’t help but feel that he himself had rushed things.
Sending Gino off today meant that they intended to use I Jian as a starter starting this weekend’s match.
Their opponent this week was none other than Napoli.
Although only a few matches had been played, Napoli was a strong team currently sitting in 2nd place in the group.
They had also recorded good results last season.
Having him make his debut as a starter against such a strong team certainly carried risk.
Even if it weren’t I Jian, young players tended not to be mentally strong.
It was common to see kids shrink back greatly from minor, insignificant mistakes.
Moreover, I Jian was the type who was vulnerable mentally, especially with low self-esteem.
If they fielded him against Napoli and the result wasn’t very good, Coach Tony’s choice could very well become a bad move.
“But if you think about it the other way, isn’t this also an opportunity like no other?”
But that was Coach Tony’s thought: the greater the risk, the greater the potential return.
I Jian’s lacking self-esteem.
Was there any better way to fill that up at once than taking down a strong team like Napoli?
Maybe.
There might be, but he couldn’t think of one right now.
Moreover, Coach Tony didn’t think the risk was as great as Coach Luca worried it was.
“He’ll do well.”
At best, Napoli’s kids were U17 level. But I Jian? He had talent beyond that.
If they just created an environment where he could display his abilities without pressure, I Jian would definitely do well.
Talent was the basis for that confidence.
“Well, of course, it’s also because the recontracting period is approaching.”
The fact that it was time to talk about the contract was also one of the reasons they couldn’t delay further.
Honestly, at this point, the team wouldn’t have much to say even if they didn’t offer I Jian a pro contract.
Because he hadn’t been able to play in matches.
They could take their time during the youth contract period, but it was a different story now when talk of a pro contract was coming up.
No matter how much he, as the head coach, appealed to I Jian’s potential, the team would lack grounds from their perspective.
But if they started piling up results one by one, the team would have no reason to hesitate.
They’d probably struggle to hold onto him.
This match against Napoli would be a powerful blow above all else.
“Luca.”
“Yes.”
“This week, we need to be on our toes too.”
“Of course.”
“Let’s just say we’re taking down Napoli.”
“Is there any question?”
Coach Tony and Coach Luca nodded.
...
“...So, in the end, the movement has to happen like this. Understood?”
“Yes. I understand.”
I nodded at Coach Luca’s long explanation.
“Good. Let’s go.”
“Yes.”
Unlike yesterday, which had ended simply with recovery training.
From today, Tuesday, our team had begun full-fledged match preparations.
We were currently in the middle of tactical training.
I performed the sequences while recalling what the coach had said.
I had now naturally started training with the first team group. It seemed to be because Gino had been called up to the U19 team.
In the end, the tactical training was conducted with me and Andrea taking turns,
but if there was anything different from last week, it was that today the coach was giving me more detailed tactical instructions.
From the comprehensive role of my position, the second striker, to the minute tactical details in various situations.
I focused on training while listening to the detailed explanations.
However, he also said I could do as I pleased when the situation wasn’t favorable, so it wasn’t all that difficult.
“Left–!”
“Move, move! Take the space!”
More than anything, I had actually played in a match once, at least.
My mind was much more at ease.
Thanks to that, my vision felt a bit wider too.
Perhaps because I had become a bit more familiar to my teammates, coordinating with them was much smoother than last week.
Of course, that didn’t mean I was completely comfortable.
Just because Gino was gone didn’t mean his spot was mine. After Gino, it was clearly Andrea.
Andrea was a friend who had consistently played matches over the past few months. It wasn’t comparable to me, who had played only one match, and only ten minutes at that.
Even I could see that Andrea had a much higher chance of starting in the weekend match.
But since I absolutely had to earn that spot, I just did my best in training.
“Hoo, hoo–”
Come to think of it, it’s a bit strange.
I used to wish someone would play in my place. Now it was the exact opposite.
Even now, I was thinking this:
that I wished I were actually a genius.
I used to hate hearing that I was a genius.
Because I knew I wasn’t.
I hated that pressure.
But now, I was thinking, what if I actually was a genius all along?
Goodness me.
To think I’m this desperate.
At the same time, I felt like I was still far from being an adult.
Because an adult wouldn’t waver back and forth like me.
“Jian! Nice–! Good movement!”
Well, thanks to that,
training was going well.
...
“Hey, don’t you have a bigger pot than this?”
“Probably not.”
“What, this tiny thing is all you have? You don’t cook at home? You don’t have the basics. The basics.”
“Dad–! Jiu says Dad doesn’t have the basics... Mmph!”
“You wanna die? Be quiet.”
“Mmph-mmph!”
I laughed heartily, pulling away Jiu’s hand that was trying to cover my mouth.
Look at her.
It’s fun to see someone who doesn’t normally get flustered all worked up.
“Goodness. You’re acting up because Dad’s here? You’ll get scolded later?”
“Dad–! Jiu is...”
“Okay, okay! Sheesh.”
Seeing Jiu puffing out her cheeks with a frown, I felt like I understood why she teased me so much.
This is fun.
Today was Friday.
Dad had the day off, and so did I, so Jiu came over to our house.
She said she would cook for us or something.
Both of us had been busy during the weekdays.
Me with training, Jiu with preparing for school.
So we hadn’t met separately; we’d just talked on the phone.
Unlike Korea, you can’t comfortably wander around here once evening sets in.
It’s a bit dangerous, and there isn’t much to do in the first place.
Maybe that’s why Jiu had looked to be in a good mood since we met earlier to go grocery shopping.
Even though we hadn’t met, we’d talked every day.
Even so, she talked so much as if she had so many things left unsaid.
It was the most hectic grocery shopping of my life.
“Okay. I’ll boil water here, and stir-fry the ingredients here.”
“Are you all ready?”
“Yeah!”
“Then I’ll go to my room?”
“What are you saying. Stay there.”
“Why. There’s nothing to do.”
“Want me to make something for you to do?”
“No.”
“Then stand next to me so the chef doesn’t get bored.”
“Huu...”
Hey, no one asked her to.
She said she’d do it herself.
And her intentions weren’t even pure.
If I had come to Italy for soccer, Jiu had come for cooking.
There was a specialized school nearby famous for cooking, and she was going to attend it.
So she wanted to practice a bit before school started, but said it was a bit awkward to cook recklessly at her host family’s house.
That’s why she was doing this here.
Of course, Dad had told her to come over anytime... but this, isn’t she using me and Dad as test subjects?
“Now, the noodles go in. Right now!! Swoosh–”
...Somehow, I don’t feel assured.
As I was watching Jiu cook with eyes full of doubt, I felt a presence behind me and turned my head.
Dad was standing there...
“...?”
Dad looked at me, gave a thumbs-up, and left again.
...What does that mean?
*
“How is it? How is it?”
Dad and I, who had each taken a bite of the pasta Jiu served, looked at each other.
“...”
“...”
Then we nodded at the same time.
What the heck.
It’s delicious.
“It’s delicious. That’s amazing, Jiu.”
“Really? Phew—thank goodness.”
Wow, strange.
It didn’t look particularly different from Dad’s pasta.
Was pasta always this delicious?
“Eat lots, lots more. I can make more.”
As Jiu watched us with a pleased expression, we voraciously inhaled the pasta.
When was the last time I’d eaten food this delicious at home? If Dad’s cooking skills were at this level, I probably wouldn’t have such a skinny build.
“You guys are eating well? It must really be delicious?”
Jiu said, beaming.
As I chewed with puffed cheeks instead of answering, Jiu spoke.
“Since I made you pasta and all, you have to score a goal this time too, right?”
“...”
...Who talks about work while eating?
As I narrowed my eyes and looked at Jiu, Dad patted my back and spoke.
“I want to go too. But there’s nothing I can do. Sorry.”
“It’s fine.”
Earlier, during the day.
I had received a message from the team.
That I was called up for Sunday’s match.
But it wasn’t just a call-up.
Good heavens.
I was actually a starter.
I had hoped for it, but hadn’t expected it.
A starter.
And for an important match against a strong team at that.
I felt pressure along with the surprise, but more than that, I was grateful.
Thankfully, I hadn’t been caught in another lie.
But of course, it was too early to be relieved.
Because what mattered more than simply starting was what kind of performance I showed in the match.
“So, how many goals this time? Three? Four?”
“I’m not telling you.”
“Then what about the celebration? Last time...”
“Hey, hey. Stop.”
“Ah, why?”
“Dad. She talks too much.”
“That’s what’s good about her, why. Jiu. Come over often from now on. Think of it as your own home.”
“Really? I will! Hehe.”
Hmm.
Anyway, this time I’m ready too.
Ready to turn my bluster into reality.
Honestly, even I don’t know where this confidence is coming from.
But I felt like I could do it.
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