The sound wasn’t quiet; staff passing by the office all turned back to take a look.
Gil ignored them.
He stared at Sculli, his tone becoming a bit more urgent.
“Mr.
Sculli, if the club really does what they ask, then we will be the ones destroying a child with our own hands.”
“A sixteen-year-old player, returning from China, carrying injuries, bearing a tarnished reputation, yet delivering this kind of performance on the training ground.”
“His professional career shouldn’t be ruined by this sort of thing.”
Sculli looked at Gil.
After a long while, he spoke: “Do you think I’m the kind of person to be scared by a fax like this?”
Gil froze for a moment.
Sculli took back the fax and folded it casually: “I’ve already rejected it.”
Gil was stunned: “You rejected it?”
“Of course.”
Sculli’s tone was firm: “River Plate is not a subordinate organization of the Chinese Football Association.
Who we sign, who we use, who we develop—it’s not their place to point fingers.”
He paused, emphasizing his tone: “They can manage their own league, even if they manage it into a complete mess, that’s their own business.”
“But they have no right to demand that River Plate expel a player, let alone the right to forbid a River Plate youth team player from participating in the South American league.”
The stifled feeling in Gil’s chest finally eased a little.
Sculli continued: “I wrote it very clearly in the reply.
Tobías is a registered player for River Plate.
As long as he follows club discipline and his training performance meets requirements, the club will not impose penalties due to unreasonable external demands.”
Gil breathed a sigh of relief.
“That’s good.”
Sculli looked toward the training ground: “However, if you want me to renew his contract, it can’t just rely on sympathy.”
“Of course,” Gil said quickly, “I recommended him because he truly has value.”
Sculli unbuttoned his coat and walked toward the training ground.
“Then let me see.”
On the training ground, the players had already split into several groups.
The group Tobías was in was doing the most basic rondo training.
Three players formed a small circle, with Tobías standing in the middle.
This kind of training was too common.
Three versus one: the outer circle passes the ball, the inner circle tries to intercept.
Under normal circumstances, the defensive player would be moved around by the outer circle, sweating profusely, and might not even touch the ball a few times.
Especially at the level of the youth team, when three people open up angles and pass with one touch, it is very difficult for the person in the inner circle to intercept.
Sculli stood on the sidelines, hands in his coat pockets.
“Just watching this?”
Gil didn’t speak, just raised his chin: “Just keep watching.”
As the whistle blew, the three players in the outer circle began passing.
The first ball went from the left side to the right.
Tobías didn’t lunge; he only took half a step forward.
The second player had just received the ball and was preparing to pass it back to the teammate behind him.
However, Tobías shifted laterally in advance, placing his toe directly on the passing lane.
Thwack.
The football was gently blocked by him and rolled out of the circle.
All three on the outer circle were stunned.
One of them spread his hands: “Hey, Tobías, how are you so fast?”
Tobías bent down to pick up the ball and said: “Again.”
The second round began.
This time, the three were much more cautious.
The first pass was faster, and the second pass was a one-touch transfer.
Tobías still didn’t run much.
He stood in the middle, half a beat slower, but just before the third player lifted his foot, he had already blocked the opponent’s most comfortable passing direction.
That player flicked his ankle, trying to change the route at the last minute.
It was too late.
Tobías extended his right foot, and the ball was blocked again.
“No way?”
A young player on the outer circle shouted directly: “I haven’t even passed yet, how are you already standing there?”
The person next to him also frowned: “Again, I don’t believe it.”
The third round.
The three on the outer circle accelerated the rhythm, increasing the passing distance.
This time, Tobías didn’t chase the first pass; he only stared at the ball-carrier’s body orientation.
The ball-carrier’s shoulders opened slightly, and his supporting foot leaned to the right.
The next second, the passing direction was already exposed.
Tobías cut diagonally two steps early.
The ball had only rolled half a meter when his foot was already blocking the path.
Thwack.
Intercepted again.
Three rounds, three times.
The training was interrupted repeatedly.
Several players warming up on the sideline all looked over.
“What’s going on?”
“Did Tobías intercept again?”
“Isn’t this three-on-one?
Why is it like one-on-one?”
The faces of the two young players on the outer circle became increasingly ugly.
One of them couldn’t help but complain: “Tobías, this isn’t right.
You weren’t this ruthless in rondo before.”
The other nodded, gasping for air: “Really, he’s blocking the path in advance now.
Just as we think about passing, he’s already there.”
The casualness on Sculli’s face slowly faded.
He stared at Tobías’s footwork.
It wasn’t fast, at least not the kind of interception style that relies on explosive power to charge hard.
Every one of Tobías’s movements was short, small in range, and looked somewhat relaxed.
Yet, somehow, he managed to appear at the most critical point every single time.
It wasn’t the ball arriving and then the person; it was the person arriving first, and then the ball crashing into him.
Sculli looked at Gil: “Was he like this in the training match yesterday?”
Gil nodded: “His judgment of defensive lines was even more accurate than this.”
Sculli was silent for a few seconds, then suddenly said: “Three-on-one is too simple.”
Sculli shouted directly at the training ground: “Add two more people, five-on-one.”
Hearing the sporting director speak, all the players stopped.
Five-on-one?
The young players looked at each other, their expressions changing.
Three-on-one and five-on-one were not the same difficulty at all.
Five people opened up space, creating more passing angles.
With one person in the middle defending, the only way to intercept the ball was to rely on the opponent making a mistake.
Under normal circumstances, the person in the inner circle would be played around until they doubted their life.
Gil looked at Tobías: “Can you do it?”
Tobías nodded: “Yes.”
Giovanni happened to be passing by, heard this, and came over.
“Let me take a look.”
He held a ball and stood on the sidelines, watching the excitement.
Several other teammates also gathered around.
The five players repositioned, forming a larger circle.
Tobías stood alone in the middle.
Someone whispered: “Five-on-one, he can’t still be that relaxed, right?”
“If he can still intercept it, that would be too absurd.”
“Unless we pass it away ourselves.”
The whistle blew.
The first pass, the player on the left of the outer circle sent the ball straight ahead.
Tobías didn’t move.
The second pass, the player in front passed it back diagonally without stopping the ball.
Tobías still didn’t chase significantly.
The third pass was prepared to go to the right.
Just at the instant before the ball was passed, Tobías suddenly started.
He didn’t rush the ball-carrier, but sprinted toward the line between the player on the right and the player diagonally behind.
The ball-carrier had already lifted his foot, but seeing Tobías move, he changed to pass to the further end.
But he changed it too hastily, and the ball speed was a bit slow.
Tobías poked it with his toe, and the ball was directly intercepted.
The whole field went quiet.
Giovanni’s mouth fell open: “Intercepted in the first round?”
The five on the outer circle were embarrassed.
“Again!”
This time they passed faster, while Tobías made small adjustments in the middle, not being dragged around into running aimlessly.
Just as the third pass was about to be made, he suddenly took a step back.
This step looked very strange, and everyone thought he had backed up in the wrong direction.
But the next second, the ball was sent from the foot of the outer circle player, rolling exactly toward the direction he had stepped back to.
Thwack.
Tobías blocked it gently.
Intercepted again.
/c/DRUNK_TL(remove space between)