However, some people noticed that something was wrong.
“Wait, why doesn’t the announcement mention what Gu Fei did?”
“My friend is at the national youth team base.
He said Gu Fei was the one who tackled him from behind with his studs showing first, and that’s why Tobías retaliated.”
“Who is Gu Fei?
He’s Gu Jianguo’s son.
Those who know, know.”
“In the training match, Tobías nutmegged Gu Fei and even provided an assist.
Gu Fei got angry and wanted to cripple him.
Many people at the base saw it.”
An anonymous tip was quickly pushed to the top.
[I am a staff member for this training camp.
Tobías did not hit anyone without reason.]
[Gu Fei has been bullying substitutes in the team for a long time.
Cursing and pushing are the norm.]
[In today’s training match, Tobías led Team B to break through Team A.
Gu Fei couldn’t save face, so he tackled his standing leg from behind with his studs showing.]
[The coach pretended to be blind the whole time and only jumped out to handle it after Tobías retaliated.]
Not long after this comment was posted, it was deleted.
But the screenshot had already spread, and public opinion split into two sides.
One side cursed Tobías for “not knowing the rules,” while the other cursed the Football Association for “twisting black and white.”
Meanwhile, Tobías had already boarded a flight to South America.
The cabin lights were dimmed, leaving only the pitch-black night sky outside the window.
Tobías leaned back in his seat, eyes closed.
The passengers next to him were still scrolling through their phones, whispering.
“Look at this Tobías, he’s only sixteen, and his temper is huge.”
“That might not be true.
I saw someone say that Gu Fei was the one who tried to cripple him first.”
“Gu Fei?
Isn’t that Team Leader Gu’s son?
Then it’s hard to say.”
Tobías didn’t interject; these voices sounded like they were behind a layer of glass.
He used to explain himself, but now there was no need.
He switched his phone to airplane mode, and only one thought remained in his mind.
Return to River Plate, play football.
Use his performance on the pitch to crush all the mudslinging.
More than ten hours later, the plane landed in Buenos Aires.
The cabin door opened, and a damp, cold wind blew in.
It was raining outside, the sky was gloomy, and the airport runway was glistening from the rain.
Tobías dragged his luggage out of the arrival hall and immediately saw a teenager waving at the exit.
The other person was wearing a River Plate training jacket, had slightly curly hair, and wore a familiar smile on his face.
“Hey!
Tobías!”
Giovanni walked up quickly and gave him a hug directly.
Tobías patted his back: “Giovanni, why are you here?”
“If I don’t come, should I let you take a taxi back alone?”
Giovanni looked him up and down, his brows furrowed: “You don’t look so good.
What exactly happened over in China?
I read the news; it was all rubbish.”
Tobías pulled his suitcase to his side, his tone flat: “Someone wanted to cripple my leg, so I beat him up.
Then they said I assaulted a teammate without reason.”
Giovanni was stunned for a moment, then cursed in Spanish: “Are they crazy?
Tackling you from behind?
Then you didn’t hit him hard enough.”
Tobías smiled: “You’re certainly direct.”
“Does that even need thinking about?”
Giovanni spread his hands: “In Argentina, whoever dares to cripple a teammate in training gets dealt with by the locker room first.
Football is about competition, not assassination.”
The two walked toward the parking lot.
Raindrops hit the glass roof, making a pitter-patter sound.
Giovanni tossed the car keys up and caught them, then suddenly said: “But you’ve come back at just the right time.”
Tobías turned his head to look at him: “What’s up?”
“Juan is injured.”
Tobías paused his steps: “Juan?”
“Yeah, he strained his hamstring in yesterday’s training.
He’ll be out for at least a month.”
The smile on Giovanni’s face faded: “The coaching staff held a meeting today.
For the derby against the Boca Juniors Youth Team in three days, you’re taking his spot.”
Tobías was silent for two seconds.
Boca Juniors, River Plate’s mortal enemy.
In Buenos Aires, when these two names are put together, peace is impossible.
A century of grudges, from the first team to the youth team, from the Monumental Stadium to small street pitches—whenever River Plate meets Boca Juniors, there are no friendly matches.
Giovanni looked at him: “You’re playing a derby right after coming back; the pressure won’t be small.
Not to mention you didn’t have much playing time in the team before; many people still think you’re just on the edge of the rotation.”
Tobías opened the car door and put his luggage inside: “Then I’ll let them get to know me all over again.”
Giovanni grinned: “That’s more like you.”
The car drove out of the airport, passing through streets washed by the rain.
The night in Buenos Aires hung low; the roadside neon lights reflected in the puddles, and the sound of car horns came from afar.
Giovanni drove while saying: “Tomorrow—no, to be precise, this afternoon—you need to return to the team for training.
The coach wants to see your condition.”
“No problem.”
“Are you sure?
You just flew for over ten hours.”
Tobías leaned back against the seat, closing his eyes to rest: “I’ve been bottling up a belly full of anger over in China; training is the perfect way to digest it.”
Giovanni laughed out loud: “Those guys from Boca Juniors are in for some bad luck.”
Half an hour later, the car drove into the River Plate Youth Academy center.
Compared to the national youth team base, which looked orderly on the surface but was loose on the inside, this place was more direct.
In the rainy night, the training building was still lit up.
The red and white River Plate club emblem hung on the wall, and photos of the first team’s legendary players were posted in the corridor.
Tobías dragged his luggage into the dormitory area, and the familiar smell of turf, sweat, and soccer shoe rubber rushed to greet him.
No one here asked if he knew how to conduct himself.
There was only one standard here: whether or not you could play.
The next afternoon, the rain hadn’t completely stopped.
On the side of the training field, several River Plate youth team players had already started warming up.
Tobías changed into his training gear and walked out of the locker room.
Someone saw him and whispered.
“Tobías is back?”
“I heard he got into trouble over in China.”
“Trouble?
I saw in a video that he hit a teammate.”
“Really?
He usually doesn’t talk much.”
“Juan is injured, he might fill in for the derby.”
As soon as this was said, the expressions of several players changed immediately.
Fill in for Juan?
That’s a key midfield position.
A derby match is not an ordinary game; whoever drops the ball in such a match will be cursed to the heavens by the fans the next day.
A sturdy youth team midfielder glanced at Tobías, didn’t speak, but the meaning in his eyes was very clear.
Can you handle it?
Giovanni walked to Tobías’s side and lowered his voice: “Don’t mind them.
Do your talking with the ball in training.”
Tobías nodded.
Just as he tightened his shoelaces, a familiar mechanical prompt sounded in his mind.
[Host has left the Chinese national football team system and returned to a professional youth training environment.]
[Super Football System attribute panel officially unlocked.]
Tobías stopped in his tracks.
The next second, a translucent panel appeared in his field of vision.
[Host: Tobías]
[Age: 16]
[Affiliation: River Plate Youth Team]
[Position: Midfield]
[Overall Rating: 72]
[Speed: 73]
[Explosiveness: 71]
[Stamina: 69]
[Strength: 64]
[Dribbling: 74]
[Short Passing: 78]
[Long Passing: 76]
[Vision: 82]
[Ball Control: 77]
[Shooting: 63]
[Defensive Positioning: 66]
[Interception: 62]
[Blocking: 65]
[Physicality: 61]
[Mental: 80]
[Talent: God-Level Vision]