29 save. Newcomer
“What is it?”
Sin Uison, seated across from Capello, quietly swallowed.
He had tensed up without even realizing it.
This man exuded that kind of atmosphere.
“Don’t be so nervous. With the season approaching, I simply wish to have a brief conversation.”
Capello crossed his legs and leaned back against the sofa. The sight was strikingly similar to a scene from a mafia movie.
Removing his glasses and placing them on the table, he let his eyes gleam sharply.
“Your role in the coming season will be significant.”
“Thank you.”
“And I don’t mean merely as a goalkeeper.”
There was no one who didn’t know that Capello favored defense-oriented tactics. He himself was firm in that philosophy.
Premier League teams were no fools.
They would have already drawn up counter-strategies against Leeds, and needless to say, the same was true for Capello, who had extensive data at his disposal.
“Like in the match against Celtic, your passes can be the answer.”
If Sin Uison provided playmaking from the very back when the team dropped its line defensively, that alone would change the tactical flexibility.
Sin Uison nodded as if he understood what was being said.
“To be honest, I had many concerns before coming here.”
He had led Russia to the World Cup. And having been eliminated in third place in the group stage, he became a laughingstock. Capello himself had practically been named the worst manager of the tournament.
For Capello, who had been called the best manager in the world, it was quite a difficult ordeal.
“I even considered going to China or America to see out the rest of my managerial career.”
*Chuckle.*
Capello laughed quietly.
Sin Uison thought it looked like he was suppressing his anger.
“But I couldn’t do it.”
A final chance.
The last chance to restore his honor.
“At least in Europe, this team will be my last. If I were to be relegated with it, wouldn’t I remain a loser until the very end?”
Capello put his glasses back on and continued.
“You know what?”
“What do you mean?”
“For popularity, you need brilliant attack. For championships, solid defense. And for survival, you need the best goalkeeper. These are things I’ve learned during my managerial career.”
Until now, he had been the best manager, taken charge of the best teams, and never had to struggle for survival.
But now it was different.
He was called a has-been, Leeds was a weak team, and realistically, he had to prepare for a relegation battle.
“Are you the best goalkeeper?”
His gaze was fierce.
If the answer were no, he seemed ready to sign a new goalkeeper immediately.
Enduring the pressure with his entire body.
Sin Uison opened his mouth.
“At least, we won’t be relegated.”
“Hm.”
Perhaps it was an answer he liked; Capello burst into a short laugh. He soon took something out from beneath the table.
It was a kit.
“Take it.”
The 2014/15 season Leeds United kit.
The design had changed.
The most noticeable difference was the Premier League emblem.
“...Why this now?”
Sin Uison looked at Capello with a puzzled expression.
In fact, he had already worn this kit during the preseason.
Had there really been a need to call him here just to hand it over like this?
As Sin Uison received the kit, his eyes went wide.
“This...!”
One more thing had changed.
Sin Uison.
1.
His squad number had changed.
“You’re my team’s number one.”
Capello stated definitively. That Sin Uison would be the one guarding the goal for his team.
Sin Uison gazed at it, overcome with emotion.
During his time in the West Ham reserves, he had a number but had never once worn a Premier League kit.
Now.
He had returned as a confident starting player.
***
[BBC] Countdown to the 2014/15 Premier League opening.
[Sky Sports] Who do the experts vote as league title contenders?
They were articles showing that a new season was approaching.
Although some teams had yet to close the transfer window, most teams had finished assembling their squads, so the media had begun recruiting retired players and managers to forecast the upcoming season.
“There are two teams targeting the title: City and Chelsea.”
“You’ve left out Liverpool, last season’s runners-up?”
“That’s an easy question. Suárez is gone.”
Suárez, who had been responsible for Liverpool’s goals last season, had ultimately left for Barcelona. With a huge void expected and that gap not easily filled, experts predicted Liverpool would struggle.
“Then let’s look at the new managers. Starting with the two who made headlines.”
“After the World Cup, two managers came to the Premier League, didn’t they?”
After David Moyes was sacked.
Louis van Gaal was appointed as Manchester United’s new manager.
And Fabio Capello had taken over as manager of Leeds.
“Looking only at what they achieved at this World Cup...”
“It’s obviously Louis van Gaal.”
“Yes. In Capello’s case, after all, he produced disappointing results at this World Cup.”
As they said, Louis van Gaal, who had led the Netherlands at this World Cup, had succeeded in taking his country to the semifinals. His overall record was third place at the World Cup. It was incomparable to Capello, who had been eliminated in third place in his group.
“And those two managers just had to go to the two most bitter rivals.”
“Since the two managers had different tactical styles even in their prime, I think that’s quite interesting.”
“Already looking forward to this season’s War of the Roses.”
Either way, an element for people to look forward to had been added.
They moved on to the next topic.
***
[Leeds Live] Leeds to clash with Everton in Round 1.
Mid-August.
The time to finally open the league had come.
For Leeds, returning to the Premier League after a long time, it was also an important homecoming.
Their first opponent was Everton FC.
They had once been mocked for the club’s poor finances, but this summer they showed quite a different look.
First, there were permanent signings of loan players.
They had succeeded in bringing in loan players who had shown tremendous performances last season, like Romelu Lukaku, Gareth Barry, and James McCarthy.
[Liverpool Echo] Everton break club record!
[Sky Sports] Everton bring in Gareth Barry for just 0 pounds!
Particularly in Lukaku’s case, he broke the club’s all-time transfer fee record, showing Everton’s changed appearance. As if to say they would no longer tolerate losing players because they had no money.
Having finished fifth in the Premier League last season, the Champions League didn’t seem impossible at this rate.
Everton fans waited for the upcoming season with happy hearts.
[Mirror] Leeds United targeting QPR’s Charlie Austin?
[Yorkshire Evening Post] Capello must sign the positions Leeds needs.
Meanwhile, Leeds still showed a flustered, wandering appearance regarding signings.
There were a few promising young players brought in on loan, but they weren’t exactly solid reinforcements.
Above all, the problem was the attack.
They did have Ross McCormack as the team’s main striker, but getting through a long season with just one forward was a very dangerous gamble.
Therefore, Leeds wanted to bring in additional strikers.
Among the signing targets was Charlie Austin.
In fact, this was a signing suggested by Capello while watching Leeds’ promotion playoff videos.
“This lad can cut it in the top flight too.”
As expected from someone who hadn’t simply come to a newly promoted team, Leeds’ transfer team moved immediately at those words. He seemed to have gained quite strong authority.
Of course, QPR, who desperately wanted Premier League promotion, couldn’t simply hand over their core striker.
At least a decision would be made somehow by the end of August, but for now, it didn’t look easy.
Anyway.
Even while the two clubs haggled over the transfer fee.
The season begins.
“The Leeds of today is not the Leeds of that time. Likewise, the Capello of today is not the Capello of that time. I think everyone knows that.”
Roberto Martínez, manager of Everton, opened the first salvo.
After rubbing his closely cropped hair once, he continued.
“Right now, Everton is the much stronger team.”
It was more provocative than expected.
Martínez had dragged Everton, considered a weak team last season, up to fifth place, and having made proper signings this season, he was overflowing with confidence.
“Impudent.”
Having heard this, Capello showed his displeasure.
“Let me make this clear: Leeds will not finish below Everton this season.”
“Oooo!”
The reporters cried out in delight. Who would have thought such a fiery interview would come right from the league opener—this was always welcome.
“That old fogey is really angry.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. If we lose, whew.”
In the locker room, Sin Uison, changing clothes, smiled bitterly as he watched his teammates sighing.
Football old fogey.
A nickname for Capello that floated around Leeds United.
If he ever found out, an enormous storm would likely break out.
*By the way.*
Sin Uison, now changed into his kit, subtly turned his head.
Emmanuel Maili.
As if it were his own routine to relieve tension, he sat quietly in the corner with headphones on, eyes closed.
[Does it still bother you?]
*Of course it does.*
Sin Uison recalled the shadow he had seen in his previous dream.
Could that shadow be Maili, with the similar build, the similar jumping form?
It was a question Sin Uison had harbored recently.
It didn’t make sense logically.
But wasn’t it strange to look for common sense in a dream training ground?
“...What?”
Perhaps sensing his gaze, Maili took off his headphones and asked as if puzzled.
At first, Sin Uison had tried to gloss over it.
But as if changing his mind, he changed his words.
“Do you happen to have strange dreams lately?”
“What? Dreams?”
“Yeah. Like a training ground appearing.”
“No, never.”
Maili looked at Sin Uison as if he were looking at a madman.
*He doesn’t seem to be lying.*
Since that expression looked so genuine, Sin Uison nodded that he understood.
Afterward, Capello came in and finished a brief locker room talk.
The players now stood in the tunnel before entering the ground.
“Hoo.”
Sin Uison let out a long breath as he looked at the Everton players standing opposite him. The moment he saw star players, it made him realize this was the Premier League, not the Championship.
*Why is this happening?*
Was he nervous?
Honestly, it would have been strange not to be nervous.
He had to do well, it was his debut match, he had to fight for a starting spot.
Perhaps.
He didn’t know if that would be decided through this one match.
Sin Uison suddenly felt breathless.
Realizing that, his shoulders stiffened.
“You.”
It was then.
Capello, walking up from behind, grabbed Sin Uison’s shoulder.
“Your shoulders are stiff. Nervous?”
He certainly hadn’t earned his experience for nothing. To think he could grasp a player’s mental state from just his back.
“Have a debut match not for others, but for yourself.”
“...I will take that to heart.”
Sin Uison quietly nodded.
Hoo.
That’s right.
The important thing is me.
Thinking so, his strangely constricted heart loosened.
“Let’s go, everyone!”
At someone’s shout, the players began to move.
Premier League debut.
It was soon becoming reality.