Tobías looked at the panel, his breath hitching slightly.
Overall rating: 72.
Among sixteen-year-old youth team players, this figure was definitely not low.
Especially Vision 82, Short Passing 78, and Long Passing 76; these perfectly corresponded to his midfield playmaking ability.
But his weaknesses were also obvious: strength, physical duels, and interception were not tough enough.
In the South American arena, especially in derbies like River Plate versus Boca Juniors, the midfield was not a place where one could survive just by knowing how to pass.
Those guys from the Boca Juniors Youth Team wouldn’t give him comfortable space to receive the ball like in a training match.
They would bump, tackle, and press tightly.
Seeing Tobías standing still, Giovanni reached out and waved his hand in front of him: “Hey, Tobías, what’s wrong with you?”
Tobías snapped back to reality: “It’s nothing.”
The system prompt appeared again.
[Newbie task triggered: Break free from the status of a fringe player.]
[Task requirements: Prove your value in the upcoming training and official matches, gain recognition from the coaching staff and teammates, and enter the stable rotation or higher position in the River Plate Youth Team.]
[Task reward: Top-tier midfielder Kanté’s Interception module.]
[Module description: After unlocking, the host’s interception premonition, timing of tackles, and close-marking defensive efficiency will be significantly improved.]
Tobías stared at the last line, his heart skipping a beat.
Kanté, that was a true midfield monster.
Running all over the pitch, with terrifying coverage, and interceptions so clean it was as if he had seen through the opponent’s next move in advance.
If he could obtain this module, his biggest current weakness would be directly remedied.
By then, he wouldn’t just be a playmaker who could pass; he could also become a midfield meat grinder that left opponents gasping for air.
On the sidelines, the youth team assistant coach blew his whistle.
“Assemble!”
The players ran over one after another.
The head coach stood by the post-rain pitch, his gaze sweeping over everyone before finally stopping on Tobías.
“Juan is injured; for the next month, the midfield position will be open for competition again.”
The head coach’s voice was not loud, but it was firm.
“In three days, we play Boca Juniors.
Whoever is in good form plays.
Whoever is afraid to fight sits on the bench.”
No one in the team was joking.
River Plate versus Boca Juniors needed no mobilization.
Giovanni gently bumped Tobías with his shoulder: “Did you hear that?
The opportunity is here.”
Tobías looked toward the center of the training field.
The damp turf, the rolling football, the skeptical gazes cast from around him, and the derby three days later.
The Chinese Football Association’s ban notice was still hanging online, and those media outlets were still scolding him.
People like Gu Fei were still being held up in the Chinese football system.
But from this moment on, all those things were left behind by Tobías.
He lowered his head to adjust his shin guards and tightened his shoelaces; when he raised his head again, he had fully entered match state.
Raindrops pelted the training field, and the River Plate youth team’s internal scrimmage was about to begin.
Head coach Gil stood on the sidelines, holding a tactical board, and glanced at the player list.
“Team A: Tobías, Giovanni.”
As soon as these words came out, many people on the field looked over.
Giovanni was not surprised; he was already the core of the forward line.
But Tobías?
He had always been a fringe player before.
His body wasn’t strong, his speed wasn’t explosive enough, and defense was definitely not his strong suit.
In a youth training system like River Plate’s, if a midfielder couldn’t run, couldn’t tackle, and couldn’t press, it was hard to get a stable opportunity.
Especially in the Argentine Youth League, defense was valued the most.
No matter how fancy your passing was or how refined your dribbling, as long as you were a liability on the defensive end, the coaching staff wouldn’t be reassured, not to mention it was already 2013.
The era of the classic attacking midfielder was about to be swept into history.
Players who used to stand in the attacking midfield position, waiting slowly for the ball, and making a living off a single through ball were finding it increasingly difficult to get by in Europe and South America.
The River Plate youth teams advocated high-pressure pressing.
Forwards had to press, wingers had to tackle, and midfielders had to provide coverage.
A player like Tobías might have been called “talented” in the past.
But put in the present, it was easy to be killed off by one sentence.
“Not suitable for modern football.”
On the Team B side, a midfielder looked at Tobías and whispered: “Gil actually put him on Team A?
Can he keep up with the rhythm?”
The person next to him shrugged: “Probably just testing him out.
Juan is injured; someone has to fill the training numbers.”
“His passing is good, but he’s at too much of a disadvantage in physical duels.”
“It’s even harder to play in the rain; the ball is fast, and he’ll be gone with one body collision.”
These voices were not loud, but Tobías could hear them, and he did not refute them.
Giovanni walked over to his side and patted his shoulder: “Tobías, don’t mind them.”
Tobías tightened his shoelaces and looked up at the opposite half.
Rainwater dripped down from his forehead hair, and he only said one thing: “Start running.”
Giovanni grinned: “As long as you can pass it, I will definitely run.”
The whistle blew, and the match officially kicked off.
Team B kicked off first.
The rain was heavy, and as soon as the football rolled out, water splashes from the turf were kicked up.
As soon as the Team B midfielder received the ball, the Team A forward immediately pressed up.
River Plate’s training duels were never gentle; even if it was just an internal scrimmage, the pressing intensity would not be low.
Giovanni rushed towards the ball carrier immediately, and the right winger followed to press.
Tobías’s position did not blindly rush forward; he stood in the left-center position, his footsteps light, not rushing to make a move.
The next second, the Team B midfielder was forced to pass horizontally.
As soon as the ball rolled out, a bird’s-eye view suddenly appeared in Tobías’s mind.
The entire pitch seemed to be laid out from high above.
The position of every player, the passing lanes, the gaps, and the direction of the press were all crystal clear.
The Team B left-back was preparing to receive the ball.
The Team A right winger had rushed too hard, leaving a gap behind him.
If Tobías continued to press forward, Team B only needed one through ball to penetrate Team A’s central midfield.
Under normal circumstances, Tobías might have been half a beat slow.
But this time, he moved in advance.
He didn’t rush for the ball; instead, he moved laterally to block the line between the Team B midfielder and the forward.
The Team B left-back looked up, just about to send a through ball, when his expression suddenly changed.
The route was gone.
“Pass it!”
The Team B forward reached out anxiously.
The left-back gritted his teeth, changed direction, and sent the ball to the flank.
But the Team A full-back had already closed in and cleared the ball with one kick, returning possession to Team A.
On the sidelines, the assistant coach raised an eyebrow: “Was that his own judgment?”
Gil didn’t speak, his gaze fixed on Tobías; that covering move just now wasn’t flashy.
No flying tackles, no physical duels, and no fancy interceptions.
But in the coach’s eyes, this kind of pre-emptive lane blocking was more valuable than a single interception.
Because he didn’t chase it back with his body; he was already standing there in advance, making it impossible for the opponent to even pass.
The match continued.
In the 3rd minute, Team B advanced down the right flank.
The Team A left winger had pressed too far forward, and a gap appeared behind the full-back.
Just as the Team B winger was about to lift his foot to send it through, Tobías retreated two steps in advance again.
His position was strange, neither up nor down, as if he hadn’t chosen a defensive target.
Seeing this scene, the Team B winger immediately pushed the ball toward the half-space.
“Got it!”
The Team B player making the run started moving.
But as soon as the ball rolled in, Tobías had already turned.
He didn’t make a sliding tackle; he simply used his body to block the run, and with the momentum, flicked the ball with his right foot.
The ball landed at the feet of the Team A defensive midfielder; it was clean, effortless, and didn’t even result in a foul.