Sculli said, “This does not conflict with River Plate’s development philosophy.”
“We are training you, not to lock you here for a lifetime.”
“As long as the offer is reasonable and it aligns with the club’s interests, I will not stop a player from going to Europe.”
He pushed the pen over, “Of course, the premise is that you truly make a name for yourself.”
Tobías picked up the pen, “I will.”
He signed the document.
Sculli stood up on the spot and shook hands with Tobías, “Welcome to the River Plate key development list, Tobías.”
Subsequently, he called over the club’s media department directly.
“Take a few sets of photos.”
“I want them in the training ground, the office, and in front of the team badge.”
“Focus the copy on: River Plate youth academy rising star, balanced in attack and defense, in hot form before the derby.”
The staff acted immediately.
Tobías stood in front of the River Plate team badge, wearing his red and white training jacket, his expression calm.
The camera shutters clicked.
Sculli stood to the side, watching this scene with satisfaction.
From this moment on, River Plate’s promotional campaign for Tobías officially began.
That night, on social media platforms.
A piece of news from South American sports media was translated and brought back to China.
[River Plate youth academy midfielder Tobías receives key contract renewal from the club, annual salary increases significantly, release clause rises to 12 million Euros, expected to receive opportunities for first-team trials.]
The news didn’t gain much traction at first.
But the name Tobías still carried controversy in the Chinese football circle.
The label of “assaulting captain Gu Fei within the national youth team” was too glaring.
Less than two hours later, this news hit the bottom of the trending topics.
The comment section was immediately split into two sides.
“Is River Plate crazy?
They dare to invest in a player who beats his teammates?”
“A 12 million Euro release clause?
What are you bragging about?
A troublemaker rejected by the national youth team is treated like a treasure in South America?”
“Hilarious.
The person banned by the Chinese Football Association gets a pay raise and contract renewal from River Plate.
Isn’t that a loud slap in the face?”
“Is there a possibility that it’s not that Tobías is bad, but that the people in the national youth team are incompetent?”
“Do I even need to mention Gu Fei’s background?
The original leaks were all deleted; we still don’t know who showed their studs first.”
“Don’t defend him, hitting a teammate is just wrong.”
Would you endure that if it were you?”
“River Plate’s youth academy is willing to pay an annual salary of 400,000 Euros, which shows they really saw his ability.
Over here, we only know how to issue bans.
No wonder football is so rotten.”
“If Tobías really makes it, then the Chinese national football team didn’t just miss out on a talent, they personally pushed a talent away.”
“A young player expelled by the national youth team turns around and becomes a key prospect for River Plate; this plot is too ironic.”
Outside the Boca Juniors training base, it has been much livelier than usual in the last few days.
Media vans were parked at the entrance one after another, reporters carrying cameras, with lenses almost entirely focused on one name.
Paredes, the genius midfielder of Boca Juniors U18.
Not even seventeen years old, yet he is already regarded within Boca Juniors as the core prospect for the next generation of the first team.
Even more exaggerated, people in Europe can no longer sit still.
People from Roma have come, and people from Paris Saint-Germain have also come.
Juventus scouts have even watched him in three consecutive training matches, with reports being sent back to Turin one after another.
The local Argentine media even made the headlines very bold.
“Boca Juniors’ New Number Ten, Three European Giants Paying Attention Simultaneously!”
“Paredes’ Popularity Explodes, Overshadowing Former River Plate Genius Lamela!”
When this news reached the River Plate youth training center, many people’s expressions were not good.
River Plate and Boca Juniors are natural mortal enemies.
Now that Boca Juniors has produced a genius midfielder, and the media is using former River Plate player Lamela for comparison, what is this if not a slap in the face?
In the locker room, Giovanni slapped the newspaper onto the bench.
“These reporters really know how to write.”
He pointed at the headline, his tone very unhappy, “What do they mean by ‘far overshadowing Lamela’?
When Lamela was making his name at River Plate back then, why didn’t they say that?”
A teammate next to him sneered, “Because Paredes is a Boca Juniors man.”
“Boca Juniors is desperate to package him as the next Riquelme.”
As soon as this sentence came out, the locker room went quiet for a moment.
Riquelme.
For River Plate players, hearing this name is uncomfortable.
But no one can deny that he was one of the top classical midfield masters in the history of Argentine football.
Tobías was sitting in the corner tying his shoelaces; hearing this name, his movements paused for a moment.
Paredes.
Of course, he remembered this name.
In his past life, Paredes was indeed a genius midfielder who emerged from the Boca Juniors youth academy.
He became famous at a young age, studied under Riquelme, had refined footwork, was stable in shielding the ball, and his turns and escapes had the unique flavor of a South American midfielder.
Early on, he went to Serie A and made a name for himself at Roma.
Later, he moved around the Russian Premier League and played for Zenit.
Further on, his position moved backward little by little, from attacking midfielder to central midfielder, slowly transforming into a defensive midfielder. You are reading on g.com, the official source.
When he arrived at Paris Saint-Germain, he even became a first-team level midfielder for a time.
But what left the deepest impression on Tobías was not this resume.
It was the perpetually awkward coordination between him and Messi.
Logically speaking, both were Argentina players, both had good footwork, one was responsible for playing the ball from the back, and the other was responsible for creation in the front, so it should have been easy for them to play together.
But the facts were not like that.
Paredes liked to control the first point of passing, liking to use his own rhythm to decide where the ball went.
Messi, on the other hand, needed the midfield to give him the most comfortable space to receive the ball and needed his teammates to understand his movements in advance.
Neither of their ideas was wrong.
But when put on the same team, it was often just a little bit off.
Especially with set pieces.
Paredes was very confident in his footwork; for long-distance free kicks, corners, and tactical plays, he had his own understanding.
Not to mention Messi.
The two had many disagreements on set-piece philosophy; fans couldn’t see all the details, but from those brief hesitations and changes in positioning during matches, one could see they didn’t have natural chemistry.
Tobías looked up at the red and white team badge of River Plate on the locker room wall.
In his past life, Paredes was not a loser.
Being able to stand his ground at giants in Serie A, the Russian Premier League, and Ligue 1, he was definitely a top-tier player.
But he also had very obvious problems.
Coming from a classical Number 10 background, his technique was too good, and his sense of rhythm was too strong.
If such a player encounters a suitable system, he is the midfield brain.
If he encounters a system that requires extreme running, fast pressing, and off-the-ball sacrifice, he must change himself.
Paredes later switched to playing as a defensive midfielder, which was adapting to the times.
But in his youth, he was not yet the later Paris Saint-Germain defensive midfielder.
Currently, he was still the sharpest classical Number 10 in the Boca Juniors youth academy.
Giovanni leaned over to Tobías’s side, lowering his voice, “Tobías, what do you think of him?”
Tobías looked up, “Paredes?”
“Yes.”
The playful look on Giovanni’s face faded quite a bit, “Don’t look at me like that, I hate Boca Juniors, but that guy is really strong.”
A River Plate midfielder next to him also nodded, “He is the hardest person to deal with in the Boca Juniors U18, bar none.”
This teammate usually didn’t talk much; that he could take the initiative to speak meant that Paredes put a lot of pressure on him.
“He is too stable when he has the ball.”
The teammate said with a frown, “If you stick close to him, he can use his body to block you.
If you don’t stick close, the moment he looks up, he can pass behind you.
If you want to steal the ball from him, he pulls and flicks with his feet, and he’s past you.”
Giovanni added, “Ball control, escaping, passing—they are all a level higher than his peers.”
“Not just one level,” that teammate shook his head, “it’s several levels.”
/c/DRUNK_TL(remove space between)