Not Yet -4
"Um, but··· why are we going?"
"Huh?"
"Why are we suddenly training at the first team training ground···"
On the way to the first team training ground following Coach Luca.
When I asked, the coach answered.
"Well, it's like an observation visit."
"Observation?"
"Yeah. You just go for a day and train with the first team players, then come back. It's no big deal."
"Ah··· I see."
"Everyone does it once. Just to get a taste of first team training. So don't be nervous or anything."
"I understand."
At the coach's words, I scratched my head and calmed my surprised heart.
Whew. So that's what it was. I got worked up for nothing.
No, I thought··· they called me up to the first team or something. I couldn't help it. They suddenly said I'd be training at the first team ground.
But it wasn't that; it seems to be just one of the courses everyone goes through once. Go and train together, learn what first team training is like.
Hearing that, my steps felt a little lighter.
···But when did the other kids go?
I've never seen it.
Well, anyway.
"Working hard—"
"Yes, you're here. Go on in."
Even though everyone does it once, there's no helping the nerves.
When we arrived at the first team training ground, the players I had seen from afar at the stadium were in the middle of training.
It meant people who had seemed to be in a different world from me until just yesterday were right before my eyes.
How could I not be nervous?
And even··· that person with the gleaming head over there seemed to be the first team coach, Coach Vincenzo.
He looks scary. Incredibly scary.
Even from afar, my body naturally tensed up.
"Coach, I'm here."
"Oh, yes. Luca. How have you been?"
"Yes. I've been well. You don't seem to be doing so well, judging by your face."
"···Have you been infected by that friend Tony too?"
"Wasn't it Coach Tony who was infected by me?"
···He's even scarier up close.
To be honest, Coach Luca and Coach Tony had felt a bit scary when I first saw them too.
But looking at Coach Vincenzo, I couldn't help but think those two were just angels.
I doubt even the mafia would dare show their faces around here···
"Jian?"
"···Ah, yes?"
"You should greet him."
"Ah, yes···"
Coach Luca put a hand on my shoulder and spoke.
Come to think of it, without realizing it, I had been hiding right behind the coach.
I bowed, looking only at the ground.
"Hello."
"Oh, yes. So you're the one. I've heard a lot. Well, don't feel burdened just because it's first team training. It'll be similar anyway."
"Ah, yes."
"Good. Let's get ready."
Hmm··· Still, when he smiles, he looks quite kind. Maybe he's a warmer person than he looks.
Right. You shouldn't judge a person by their appearance alone.
"Let's get ready."
"Yes."
I let out a deep breath and took out my football boots from my bag.
*
"Slooow!!!"
"Slow! I said slow! How many times do I have to say it for you to understand!"
"Move with foresight! Damn it!"
You shouldn't judge a person by first impressions alone, but I began to think perhaps nothing is as accurate as first impressions.
In the brief time it took to change my boots and warm up lightly, I couldn't help but flinch several times in surprise. It was because Coach Vincenzo was shouting at the first team seniors in the middle of training.
"Quick, quick, quick, quick, quick!"
···Does the coach have Korean blood in him?
The coach, his head flushed red as he shouted, looked almost like a perfectly cooked octopus.
Coach Tony had said he was under a lot of stress lately.
He seems absolutely furious even now. He's scarier when angry. Of all times to come observe the first team, I have terrible luck.
Well, anyway.
Even if it's an observation and training, I feel like I can't let my guard down.
Coach Vincenzo is scary, but today I'm also like the representative of the U17 team.
I have to do my best to keep up with the training so I don't bring shame to Coach Luca and Coach Tony's faces.
"Slooow!!!"
···I'll do my best, but it doesn't seem like it'll be easy. To my eyes, everyone seems incredibly fast; I don't know what's so slow about them.
Honestly, it's almost embarrassing.
It's because of how I went on about this being lacking and that being lacking after watching the seniors' match last time.
It might have looked like that from the stands, but watching them on the training ground, everyone is Messi and Mbappé.
For me to think I could··· I've really lost my mind.
Sigh. I feel like everything is going dark.
If even those seniors can't show that form in actual matches, and the opponents back then were a second division team at that?
Then what level must Serie A teams be, and among them the strong teams, and furthermore Europe's top teams?
It's really one obstacle after another.
It's so distant that I can't even dare to guess.
···Will I really be able to see my genius act through to the end without getting caught?
"Good. That should be enough warming up?"
"Huh? Ah, yes."
"Take it easy out there."
"Yes."
I nodded at Coach Luca's words as he helped me warm up.
I wanted to go home like this, but··· I steadied my mind, recalling what Coach Tony had told me.
Right. I have nothing to lose.
I'm just a visitor here, and it's not like Jiu is here either.
So what if I can't do it?
No, it's natural that I can't do it.
So don't be scared, and since I'm here anyway, I'll approach this with the mindset to learn as much as possible.
"Slooooow!!!"
···Even after resolving myself like that, I couldn't help but hesitate several times, but anyway, I headed toward the training ground.
None of that matters right now.
Let's just answer quickly.
He seems to hate anything being slow, no matter what it is.
*
"So···"
"Yes, I understand."
"···You understand?"
"Yes."
At the sharp answer from the 16-year-old kid, Coach Vincenzo's words briefly stalled.
Hmm. He likes the intensely focused posture and bright eyes. But it's confusing when he says he understands before the explanation is even done.
This isn't some simple training either. Is he really understanding and answering, or is he just saying what sounds right?
"Yes. Well then, let's give it a try."
"Yes, sir!"
Well, he'll see soon enough.
Whether he really understood it all, or if his answer just sounded plausible.
"Positions!"
At Coach Vincenzo's command, the players scattered to their places.
Today's training was focused partial tactics in attacking situations.
This season, Fiorentina had received much criticism for the excessive simplicity of their attacking patterns.
Coach Vincenzo acknowledged that criticism.
Even when he wanted to try something, it always ended with sending the ball to the sides and crossing.
It wasn't an exaggeration to say 8 out of 10 times was a cross.
It was natural that watching fans were shouting they couldn't stand it anymore.
But the problem wasn't just that it was boring to watch; the opponents were also blatantly reading that pattern.
As the season was racing past its midway point.
Every team facing Fiorentina defended exactly the same way. Either cutting off passes to the sides at the source, or packing the box tightly to deflect crosses.
Since the attack was always the same, there was no need for varied defense. Yet even when the opponent defended so obviously, this side had no other options. They had no choice but to blindly cross again, hoping it would work.
Then, what was the fundamental cause?
They didn't have the players. There was no one to display creativity in the final third.
They were all too crude; there was no one who knew how to strike the ball with finesse.
So they had no choice but to keep it simple.
Therefore.
The one Coach Tony had recommended was that child.
I Jian.
He had said that child could solve all these problems. He had even said that in the future, that child would become the team's center.
However, unfortunately, Coach Vincenzo was not in a position with abundant time.
Coach Vincenzo had to make a decision by this winter, with only a few months remaining.
He might even be beheaded before then.
The current situation was such that 'Vincenzo OUT!' placards might appear at the stadium before long.
As such.
Coach Vincenzo could not afford to view I Jian merely as a promising youth player.
He would set his standard on whether the boy could be used as immediate strength within a few months at the latest.
Because this was not a situation where they could spare a seat in the first team squad for a prospect.
"Ready!"
Coach Vincenzo fixed a sharp gaze on I Jian and put a whistle to his lips.
From now on, he would observe with true coldness. It couldn't be helped even if Coach Tony had recommended him so highly.
"Beep-!"
With the whistle, training began.
First, the initial situation was simple. The opponent drops their line back and narrows the central gaps to defend.
From here, connect to a shot without using crosses.
He had originally intended to set detailed movements for I Jian, but since he roughly listened and said he got it, well.
He decided to leave it with a let's-see attitude.
Let's see.
Swish-
Swish-!
The midfielders exchanged horizontal passes, looking for gaps. In the meantime, Coach Vincenzo watched sharply to see what kind of movement I Jian would make.
"···."
Hmm. He constantly turns his head to check his surroundings, so he has good habits there.
But what matters is the movement.
If he moves the same as everyone else, no gaps will be created···
"···!"
Coach Vincenzo's brow twitched.
It was when Vlahovic, the lone striker, made a movement to pull out to the outside of the box.
At the same time, I Jian moved.
In the direction crossing Vlahovic's path.
As their movements intersected, the defenders marking them both visibly flinched.
A very brief moment of confusion.
But a gap had clearly opened.
Vlahovic didn't miss it and shouted.
"Hey!"
Swish-!
A pass headed toward Vlahovic.
He laid it off with a one-touch pass.
After passing to I Jian, Vlahovic surged back into the box.
It seemed he wanted a one-touch combination··· Would a 16-year-old kid be able to deliver a pass to Vlahovic's demanding taste in that narrow gap?
Swish-!
"···!"
This time, Coach Vincenzo's eyes widened.
He··· hit it.
The notoriously finicky Vlahovic's taste.
I Jian scooped up the short incoming pass with the outside of his foot, lifting it slightly to flick it behind.
The pass, lofted to an ambiguous height around the defenders' waists, was impossible to intercept without using hands,
Thump-!
And that pass fell precisely in the direction Vlahovic was penetrating.
Vlahovic, who had been complaining all this time that there was nothing to feed on, now seemed to say a delicious pass had finally arrived.
Tat-tat-!
He pounced greedily and took the shot.
Vrooooom-!
Swoooooosh-
Splaash-!!
"···"
First the eyebrows. Then the eyes.
This time, Coach Vincenzo's mouth fell open.
It was a more creative piece than the picture Coach Vincenzo had wanted to draw.
*
No matter how much Coach Tony had recommended him, Coach Vincenzo's expectations had initially been low.
So he was surprised. At first.
Instantly reading Vlahovic's movement, making the best judgment quickly, positioning himself.
Movement that created a shooting chance through a combination without any unnecessary touches.
It was sense and wit worthy of admiration, but the surprise was that a 16-year-old youth kid had pulled it off.
If another first team player had done it, it might not have been so surprising.
But as the training continued.
Moving to the second situation, then the third.
The surprise Coach Vincenzo felt watching I Jian wasn't simply because he was 16 years old.
Even viewing him as a first team player just like the rest, it was surprising. That sense, that creativity, that tactical understanding.
Tat-tat-!
Look, even now.
Though no particular instruction was given, when the ball circulated around, he dropped down on his own to find an opening.
Then he moved with the ball, forcing the defense to move,
Swish-!
And the moment a gap appeared, he stabbed in like an awl.
"Nice!"
Vlahovic shouted "Nice!" before even receiving the pass, showing just how exquisite the pass was.
Vlahovic had been fired up since earlier.
Because until now, he had never had a partner who suited his taste so well.
Vrooooom-!
The chemistry those two were displaying right now was quite a beautiful picture, one that had never been seen in Fiorentina before.
Scratch-scratch-
Coach Vincenzo scratched his reddened scalp.
Yes··· this is it.
The feeling of scratching an itch.
A place that had been itching madly all this time but couldn't be scratched because his hand couldn't reach it—I Jian was scratching it for him.
So refreshingly.
"···."
Coach Vincenzo kept his eyes fixed on the field while fumbling in his pocket to take out his phone.
And he dialed somewhere.
Shortly after, Coach Tony answered that call.
"Yeah. I'm watching right now. Let's wrap up the paperwork by next week."
-Yes? What do you mean?
"I said send him up to the first team. You were right."
-···What? Send him to the first team by next week?
"Yes. By next week."
-That won't do, Coach. Isn't that too early? Not yet.
"What do you mean not yet?"
-He's still a child with much to teach. I need to keep him longer.
"Don't be ridiculous. I'll keep him. I have much more to teach him."
-I told you I need to keep him! Not yet!
The two coaches began to squabble childishly over I Jian.
────────────────────────────────────
────────────────────────────────────