Tobías slowly retracted his foot.
Gu Fei curled up on the ground, clutching his face, his nose still bleeding.
Coach Li hurriedly crouched down to check on him: “Gu Fei!
Gu Fei!
Are you alright?”
Gu Fei gasped for air, mumbling: “Expel… expel him… I want him gone…”
Coach Chen stood up immediately and pointed at Tobías, roaring: “Lawless!
You dare to beat a teammate during inner-squad training?
The national youth team will never accept a player like you!”
Tobías looked at him: “He came from behind with his studs up to tackle me.
Didn’t you see that?”
Coach Chen’s face stiffened, and Coach Li remained silent for half a second.
Of course they had seen it, but so what if they had?
One was the son of Team Leader Gu, and the other was just an overseas player brought in to make up the numbers.
Anyone could do that math.
Coach Chen quickly regained his stern demeanor: “Stop making excuses!
Physical contact is normal in a match.
You came up and hit him, and even stepped on his face—this is a serious disciplinary violation!”
Coach Li also stood up, his voice tight: “Tobías, we will report this truthfully to the Football Association.
Just wait for your punishment!”
Coach Chen added: “It won’t be as simple as a few matches of suspension.
Let me tell you, the national youth team doesn’t want a troublemaker like you, and neither will the Chinese national football team system!
Permanently expelled, understand?”
The players on the pitch didn’t dare to speak.
When Gu Fei committed the foul earlier, no one blew the whistle, but now that Tobías had retaliated, the coaches were the first to jump in.
Tobías looked at the two coaches, then at his teammates who were bowing their heads in silence.
He suddenly chuckled.
He had seen too much over the past few days.
Training rosters could be based on connections, starting positions could be based on background, and the captain’s armband could be based on one’s father.
A useless player on the pitch, and coaches who could turn a blind eye.
When the person being targeted retaliated, they were the ones to be permanently expelled.
This was the Chinese football they spoke of.
Tobías turned and walked toward the sidelines.
Coach Chen was still yelling from behind: “Where are you going?
The matter isn’t settled yet.
Who gave you permission to leave?”
Tobías did not look back.
Coach Li panicked: “Tobías!
It’s not too late to admit your mistake!
Otherwise, we will call Team Leader Wu immediately!”
Team Leader Wu was one of the direct connections above Gu Fei’s father, Gu Jianguo.
He was also the key to whether the national youth team’s funding and overseas training arrangements would be approved.
If something happened to Gu Fei under their watch, both of them would be held accountable.
At best, they would be scolded; at worst, funding would be cut, and they would lose their positions, so they had to pin the blame on Tobías.
Tobías walked to the bench and picked up his jacket.
The B-team striker couldn’t help but call out: “Brother Tobías…”
Tobías glanced at him without saying much, threw his jacket over his shoulder, and walked toward the base exit.
Behind him, Coach Chen was still making threats: “You’re finished!
I’m reporting this right now!
Don’t even think about joining the Chinese national football team for the rest of your life!”
Tobías didn’t stop.
Join the Chinese national football team?
He had indeed thought about it.
Even if the system was rotten, he had wanted to try and see if he could change something with his own ability.
But now, he didn’t want to anymore.
Such a team, such people, such an environment.
It wasn’t worth it.
The gates of the Phoenix Mountain Training Base slowly receded behind him.
As Tobías walked out of the gate, the sunlight was so blinding he couldn’t open his eyes.
He raised his hand to shield his eyes, and the nausea that had been weighing on his chest for days slowly dissipated.
At that very moment, a cold and clear voice rang out in his mind.
[Host has been detected as having completely abandoned the intention to join the Chinese national football team system.]
[Super Football System successfully bound.]
[Novice Talent Unlocked: God-Level Perspective.]
That evening, Phoenix Mountain International Airport.
Tobías dragged his suitcase into the terminal, with the direction of the hotel where the national youth team was staying behind him.
He did not look back.
Since leaving the Phoenix Mountain Training Base, not a single coach from the national youth team had called to ask about his injury, nor had anyone asked if Gu Fei’s studs-up tackle had been aimed at injuring him.
All there was were threats, expulsions, reports, and permanent blacklisting.
Tobías sat in the waiting area, looking down at the bloody scratch on his calf caused by the studs, the last bit of attachment in his heart severed.
He had grown up in South America, but his family had never forgotten their roots.
When his grandfather was young, he traveled to Southeast Asia, then eventually to the Pampas, where he did business and put down roots.
Generations of his family had worked hard in Buenos Aires, but they had never forgotten where they came from.
His father, Xavier, had opened a large supermarket in a local affluent area, running a big business and knowing many local overseas Chinese.
When he was a child, his father always said: “Tobías, if you can really make it as a player and go back to play for the Chinese national football team, that would bring honor to our ancestors.”
Tobías had thought so too; he had even planned his path early on.
Naturalize as a Chinese citizen at eighteen, wear the jersey of the Chinese national football team, play in the Asian Cup, and aim for the World Cup.
Even if Chinese football was rotten, he felt that someone had to step up.
But this national youth team training camp had shattered all his fantasies.
It wasn’t just that the players’ skill levels were poor; it was rotten from top to bottom.
Those with connections could arrive late and leave early, bully teammates, and use studs-up tackles in training matches to injure others.
Those without connections, no matter how well they played, had to bow their heads and call them “brother.”
Tobías opened his phone, and a message from his father just popped up.
[Dad: Tobías, I’ve heard a little about what happened.
Don’t worry, we’ll talk when you get home.
Your mom is waiting for you at home.]
Tobías looked at the text, remained silent for a moment, and replied.
[I’m going back to Buenos Aires.
As for the Chinese national football team, I’m not going.]
After sending the message, Tobías locked his phone.
The boarding announcement sounded.
“Passengers traveling to Buenos Aires, please proceed to the boarding gate…”
Tobías stood up and dragged his suitcase toward the boarding gate.
Half an hour after he passed through security, the official website of the Chinese Football Association released a disciplinary notice.
[Decision on the Disciplinary Action Regarding Serious Misconduct by National Youth Team Player Tobías]
The notice was written in high-sounding terms.
“During the national youth team training camp, Tobías assaulted teammate Gu Fei without cause, with egregious circumstances and a severely negative impact.”
“Tobías repeatedly showed contempt for coaching management, refused to comply with team arrangements, and severely undermined team unity.”
“After deliberation, it has been decided to cancel Tobías’s eligibility as a future naturalized player and permanently ban him from participating in all football matches under the Chinese Football Association.”
As soon as this notice was released, Chinese sports media immediately followed suit.
“Overseas Talent’s Persona Collapses!
Tobías Assaults Teammate Within the National Youth Team”
“Identifying with the Motherland?
Tobías Refuses to Comply with Management, Risks Becoming a Negative Example of Naturalization Policy”
“Chinese Football Needs Talent, But Needs Character Even More”
On short-video platforms, a group of sports bloggers began ranting overnight.
“I’ve said it before, overseas youth training doesn’t mean good character!”
“A player like this dares to hit a teammate before even naturalizing; what would happen if he actually entered the national team?”
“The Football Association’s punishment this time is spot on; they must make an example of him!”
The comment section exploded quickly.
Some people were swayed by the narrative.
“What’s there to defend when he hit a teammate?
Get lost.”
“Even if someone like this has talent, they shouldn’t be accepted.”
“He’s so arrogant before even reaching adulthood; he’ll definitely be harder to manage in the future.”