27 save. New Recruit
‘So that’s him.’
Sin Uison looked at Emmanuel Maili.
He was a black man with an impressive mohawk gathered down the center like a rooster’s comb, sporting a buzz cut nearly as short as a shaved head.
And.
‘He’s big.’
Even from a distance, it was clear that he was quite tall. Capello, who stood at 178cm, couldn’t be called short, yet Maili looked at least a head taller. He was probably around Sin Uison’s height, if not taller.
“So you’ve come.”
As Sin Uison walked over to where they were, Fabio Capello spoke.
“Yes. It’s an honor to meet you, Manager. I’m Sin Uison.”
“I know.”
Capello cast him an indifferent sidelong glance before turning his gaze back to the documents in his hand. At the colder-than-expected reaction, Sin Uison shrugged.
Fabio Capello was a stereotypical authoritarian-style manager.
If anything, even players notorious for being troublemakers had been terrified of him.
That was Sin Uison’s first impression of Capello.
Cold-blooded.
It seemed as though he wouldn’t bat an eye even if you stabbed him with a needle.
“Phew, he seems worse than I heard.”
Once Capello finished inspecting the training ground and went into his office, one of the coaches finally let out a sigh and wiped away cold sweat.
“Is he famous?”
“Of course he is. His fiery temper is notorious, after all.”
The coach continued, looking utterly drained.
“One of my friends was a coach for the England national team during Capello’s era, and he said Capello was a terrifying man.”
It was clear that such a reputation didn’t spread for no reason.
Sin Uison felt a mix of anticipation and worry for what lay ahead.
It’ll be fine.
Or will it?
For now, today was their first meeting. There was still much they didn’t know about each other, and no matter what, surely he couldn’t be as bad as Brian McDermott, right?
Sin Uison pushed his worries into a corner of his mind.
At the same time.
He felt an intense gaze fixed on him.
[Do you know him?]
‘No, it’s my first time seeing him, too.’
To the point that she asked.
From earlier, Maili hadn’t taken his eyes off Sin Uison. No, ‘glaring’ might be the more fitting description. His eyes blazed like a predator eyeing its prey.
For Sin Uison himself, it was a situation he couldn’t quite understand.
What the hell is with this guy?
He rummaged through old memories, wondering if they had met somewhere before, but he had never encountered anyone who left such an intense impression.
‘Ah, forget it.’
Sin Uison roughly ignored the gaze.
***
Pre-season had begun.
Leeds departed for the Netherlands for a training camp.
Matches were scheduled here against teams from the Dutch league, the Eredivisie, as well as other teams they had arranged to meet in the Netherlands.
“Hmm.”
“.......”
“Ahem.”
Having unpacked at the hotel, Sin Uison let out an awkward cough.
It was stifling. The reason it was stifling was because of the guy beside him staring holes into him.
To make matters worse, Emmanuel Maili had been assigned as his hotel roommate.
“Phew.”
In that suffocating situation, Sin Uison finally sighed and scratched his head.
He couldn’t stand it anymore.
“Hey.”
“.......”
Maili didn’t answer.
Sin Uison didn’t care and kept asking.
“Have we met somewhere before?”
“No.”
Maili finally opened his mouth. As Sin Uison had suspected, it wasn’t his imagination—the pronunciation was awkward again.
But that answer only made Sin Uison even more confused.
“Then why do you keep staring at me?”
“.......Was it that obvious?”
“Don’t tell me you thought you were looking secretly......?”
In that instant, a drop of sweat ran down Maili’s forehead. At the same time, he averted his eyes and began avoiding eye contact.
[He really is someone who can’t hide his emotions.]
‘Right?’
Sin Uison sighed and sat down on a chair.
“So? Did you need something from me?”
“I was just curious who the punk was that Mr. Raiola cherishes so much.”
“Raiola?”
At the mention of a third party’s name, Sin Uison blinked.
Why was Raiola coming up here?
Well, it was a known fact that Maili also had Raiola as his agent. But Sin Uison couldn’t quite find the connection between that and Maili glaring at him.
[I know.]
‘What?’
[Perhaps he was bothered that Mr. Raiola was more worried about you than about him?]
‘No way.’
Sin Uison was doubtful. There was no way a big, wild-looking guy like him would care about that.
“Why’s that old man like that?”
“You don’t need to know.”
“.......”
In that instant, Sin Uison instinctively held back a laugh that was about to burst out.
The gap between that appearance and that pronunciation was too great.
But perhaps because he noticed, Maili’s expression turned even more vicious.
“Why you laughing?”
“No. I wasn’t laughing.”
“Don’t lie, punk. Your English pronunciation is shit too.”
Perhaps because it was a complex he himself was quite sensitive about, seeing Sin Uison’s shoulders tremble slightly, Maili’s anger exploded.
Somehow.
The two had gotten off on the wrong foot.
Of course, regardless of their relationship, Leeds’ pre-season schedule was fast approaching.
Their first opponent was FC Twente of the Eredivisie.
Not a traditional powerhouse, but a team that had risen as a new force in the Dutch league, having won the Eredivisie a few years prior.
“Alright, as I said, entirely different players will play the first and second halves today.”
As it was the first pre-season match, Capello had announced that he would field completely different squads in each half to evaluate as many players as possible.
“.......”
“.......”
Sin Uison looked at Maili standing in front of him and needlessly stretched his neck.
First half.
Both Sin Uison and Maili were in the starting lineup.
[Why don’t you go over and talk to him?]
‘Shut up.’
Since that commotion, an awkward silence had settled between them.
“Did you two fight?”
“No, not at all.”
Teammates who had picked up on the atmosphere asked in secret, but Sin Uison shook his head. Why bother talking about something like that?
The Leeds players, having shaken hands with the FC Twente players, took their positions.
Capello was a manager who greatly preferred playing two defensive midfielders.
Perhaps looking to experiment with such tactics at Leeds as well, today Leeds fielded two defensive midfielders in the starting lineup.
‘Overall, they’re passive.’
Sin Uison thought as he watched his teammates play.
It was probably partly for tactical experimentation, but considering it was pre-season, it was passive play.
Against defensive-minded Leeds, Twente kept pushing their line up.
In this situation of constant pressure, they were forced to test their defensive organization, whether they liked it or not.
“Piss off, bastard!”
Standing out among them was Emmanuel Maili.
He darted here and there, displaying powerful defense; it was like watching a beast unleashed into the wild.
‘He’s fluent in French.’
It seemed his awkward English pronunciation was simply due to unfamiliarity.
Come to think of it, Sin Uison was quick to pick up other languages.
He had been praised for reaching a high level when he learned English.
Since communication with defenders was one of the most important things for a goalkeeper, that was fortunate.
Meanwhile, the first half ended without much to show for it. As the manager had said, Sin Uison was substituted for Paddy Kenny, and he watched the rest of the match from the bench.
‘He’s still here.’
Sin Uison’s gaze was directed at El Hadji Diouf at the front.
Even though he was clearly the top candidate for release, he had participated in this training camp.
Whether Capello was trying to rehabilitate him, or whether it was to showcase him to other clubs, he didn’t know.
‘He’s not great.’
Watching him play, it seemed more likely to kill any purchasing motivation. For Leeds fans, it was a performance that made them crave signing a striker.
It was while looking at Diouf with cold, soured eyes that—
“That guy’s a real dumbass bastard.”
“.......?”
Sin Uison turned his head with a slightly surprised face. It was a curse from Maili, who was sitting behind him.
Perhaps feeling that gaze, Maili lowered his head and looked at Sin Uison.
“What. I’m talking about Diouf, okay?”
“No, nothing.”
Sin Uison shrugged and looked ahead again.
Truthfully, he was a bit surprised. Because he had been thinking the same thing.
In the end.
That day’s match ended in a draw after Diouf wasted his chance.
***
The first match against Twente drew mixed reactions from Leeds fans.
Some said it was a realistic choice, while others questioned whether they really had to use defensive tactics from pre-season.
Of course, Capello was not one to heed such opinions. Capello continued to build the team’s tactics around the defensive midfielder.
[Leeds Live] El Hadji Diouf Remains Unsold!
Meanwhile, the Leeds board had been suffering from one particular headache.
El Hadji Diouf.
Even Manager Capello had contacted them telling them to sell him quickly, and they had decided to release this player who would only harm the team if kept around.
However, when they proposed him to other teams, the response had been extremely poor.
El Hadji Diouf had eventually become the club’s white elephant.
[Yorkshire Evening] El Hadji Diouf Expelled from Training Camp!
In that situation, another ruthless piece of news broke.
News that Fabio Capello had kicked El Hadji Diouf out.
“It was terrifying.”
Recalling that moment, Sin Uison scratched his arm. Goosebumps had risen.
It had happened during training.
Suddenly, a shout rang out, and Capello tore into El Hadji Diouf with a terrifying face.
‘Piss off, you piece of trash! There won’t even be a place for you on the reserve team!’
It was the final notice for El Hadji Diouf. That day, one player’s name was erased from the training camp roster.
“Don’t think you can take it easy just because it’s pre-season. The ones who seize their chances here will have their names in the starting lineup for the proper season.”
Ahead of the match against AZ Alkmaar, Capello issued a stern warning.
He wasn’t particularly angry.
But the ruthless aura emanating from him constricted the players’ throats.
“Shit, McDermott was dumb, but at least we didn’t suffocate.”
“His stupidity suffocated us more than a few times, though.”
The Leeds players sighed and reminisced about McDermott. Of course, that didn’t mean they missed him. Because now, they were definitely feeling the change.
Organization was the biggest change. At least, there had been meaningful progress in defensive organization.
‘Though it’s not perfect.’
Sin Uison put on his goalkeeper gloves and looked at Maili.
Whenever Capello sent Sin Uison out as a starter, he always included Maili as well.
They were roommates, so it probably meant he wanted the two to build chemistry, but that was easier said than done.
‘There’s definitely something awkward about it.’
[Are you children?]
He could feel Voice sighing.
Including what happened on the first day of the training camp, there had been a few more clashes with Maili.
The guy really hated having his pride hurt.
For example, the reason he usually kept his mouth shut was because he hated showing his clumsy pronunciation.
However, as seen when he cursed at El Hadji Diouf, he possessed a basic sense of professionalism.
‘He’s like a wild horse.’
Sin Uison was reminded of a wild horse when he saw Maili.
He was unrestrained. He covered the opposing team’s strikers with tremendous stamina, and with that speed and physicality, he was truly no different from a warhorse.
‘If the manager intends for me to build chemistry with that guy.’
Could he really tame that rampaging wild horse?
Sin Uison felt a headache coming on.