After the match restarted, the attitude of the Team A players toward Tobías changed completely.
Before, they had just treated Tobías as an ordinary teammate, but now it was different.
When in doubt, look for Tobías.
When under pressure, look for Tobías.
When there was no space in the front court, look for Tobías too.
In the 13th minute, a Team A defender was forced to the sideline and nearly lost the ball.
“Tobías!”
He kicked the ball into the middle.
The pass wasn’t comfortable—it was neither high nor low, and it was wet.
Tobías met the ball, gently cushioned it with his right foot, and brought it down in front of him.
The Team B midfielder rushed up, and he immediately played a diagonal pass.
The ball skidded across the grass, slipped between two players, and found the winger charging up the right flank.
The winger dribbled forward and crossed the ball.
Giovanni went for the ball, but it went just over the crossbar.
Giovanni slapped his head: “So close!”
Tobías pointed to the back post: “Don’t go for the front post next time; the defender will be drawn away by me.”
Giovanni nodded immediately: “Understood!”
In the 18th minute, Tobías got the ball again.
Team B had learned their lesson this time; three people surrounded him, giving him no space to look up.
“Press him!”
“Don’t let him pass!”
Tobías didn’t use any fancy footwork.
He tapped it back first, then moved laterally, and after receiving a return pass from a teammate, he sent the ball into the left channel.
The Team A winger made a forward run and played a cutback pass.
The midfielder followed up and pushed it into the net.
2–0!
Someone on the sidelines couldn’t help but shout: “That was started by Tobías again!”
The Team B players began to get agitated.
They were clearly the same group of teammates, but now facing Tobías, it was like facing a midfielder who already played for the senior team.
Every one of his actions wasn’t complex, but it was just fast.
Fast enough that before the defense could form a wall, the ball had already gone to the most painful spot.
In the 22nd minute, the Team B defensive midfielder pressed too aggressively.
Tobías didn’t take the ball; instead, he intentionally let it slip past him.
The Team A midfielder behind him received the ball and went straight forward, and the Team B defense was frozen by the dummy.
Giovanni made a diagonal run and slotted it home in a one-on-one.
3–0!
Giovanni rushed to Tobías’s side and nearly tackled him to the ground.
“Tobías!
That dummy was so devious!
They were all fooled!”
Tobías smiled: “You were fast, too.”
“Keep giving it to me; I want a hat-trick today!”
The Team A players all laughed, but no one on Team B could smile; they had been completely stunned.
The rain fell harder and the situation became more chaotic, but Tobías only became steadier.
He looked as if he were standing outside the curtain of rain, watching the entire field in operation.
Where to accelerate, where to slow down, where the gaps were, and where the traps were.
As long as his teammates ran, he could send the ball to them.
In the 26th minute, after a series of combinations on the right, Team A crossed the ball, and the Team B goalkeeper fumbled the save.
Giovanni’s follow-up shot was blocked, and the Team A winger followed up to shoot again.
4–0!
Giovanni knelt on the grass, clutching his head and shouting: “So close!
My hat-trick!”
Tobías walked over and pulled him up: “There’s still time.”
Giovanni’s eyes lit up: “Then give me another one!”
In the 29th minute, it was Team A’s last attack.
Everyone thought Tobías would look for Giovanni.
Team B also crowded both their center backs around Giovanni.
Tobías got the ball in the center circle and looked up.
Giovanni was being double-teamed, and the left winger was unmarked.
Tobías didn’t hesitate and played a long-range switch.
The ball arced across the half-field and landed at the left winger’s feet.
The left winger controlled the ball, cut inside, and fired a low shot into the net.
5–0!
The whistle blew soon after.
The 30-minute training match ended.
Team A crushed Team B 5–0.
Giovanni had two goals and one assist, falling just short of a hat-trick.
But everyone knew who the real core of this match was.
Tobías.
From defensive positioning to offensive coordination, and then to that long, arcing pass that tore through the entire defense, he had almost held the rhythm of the match in his hands.
Giovanni walked over, wrapped his arm around Tobías’s shoulder, and panted: “You were outrageous today!
Tell me, did you secretly do extra training?”
The Team A defensive midfielder nearby also leaned in: “Tobías, you didn’t defend like this before.
During those few times you covered, I thought you were going to tackle, but you just cut off the passing lane completely.”
The right winger nodded in agreement: “And that long pass—I didn’t even believe the ball could reach me halfway through my run.”
A Team B center back smiled bitterly: “Don’t say you didn’t believe it; I was standing right behind, thinking I could head it, but the ball just curved over my head.”
Giovanni stared at Tobías: “Seriously, what’s going on?”
Tobías wiped the rain from his face and only replied: “I figured some things out.”
“It’s that simple?” You are reading on g.com, the official source.
“It’s that simple.”
Giovanni clearly didn’t believe it, but he didn’t press further, just smiling and punching Tobías lightly.
“Then you better keep figuring things out.
Three days from now against Boca Juniors, I’ll want passes like that again.”
On the other side, the assistant coach couldn’t be bothered to tidy up the tactical board.
He hurried over to Gil and spoke quickly: “I’m going to find the sporting director right now.”
Gil looked at him.
The assistant coach lowered his voice but couldn’t hide his excitement: “We must report this immediately; Tobías’s performance cannot be treated as just a normal training match.”
“His positioning, vision, and long-passing quality are all characteristics of a top-tier prospect.”
“We need to promote him, give him more playing time, and handle his contract immediately.”
Gil was silent for two seconds, then nodded: “Go.”
The assistant coach turned and left, not even putting on his raincoat properly.
On the training field, the players were still surrounding Tobías, asking questions non-stop.
Giovanni was gesturing the trajectory of that pass while talking loudly about something.
Tobías stood in the crowd, his Team A vest soaked with rain, his hair sticking to his forehead; he still looked like that quiet young man.
The rain was heavier than before.
The white lines on the sidelines were blurred by the rain, and there were puddles everywhere on the grass from being stepped on.
But the mood of the River Plate youth team head coach, Gil, couldn’t be better.
He stood on the sidelines, his tactical board long soaked by the rain, the corners of the paper curling up, but he didn’t care at all.
In the thirty-minute training match just now, Team A had shredded Team B 5–0.
On the surface, it looked like Giovanni had scored a brace and the front-court players were firing on all cylinders.
But the one person who truly made Gil’s heart heat up was only one person.
Tobías.
Defensive positioning, cutting off lanes in advance, sending long passes after shaking off markers, and rhythm control.
A sixteen-year-old midfielder, conducting the match in the rain like a senior team core.
This was no ordinary flash in the pan.
Gil looked at the players and blew his whistle directly: “Gather!”
The players ran over, splashing through the water.
Many were still panting, and Giovanni was full of reluctance, muttering: “Just one more, just one more for a hat-trick.”
Gil glanced at him, rarely not keeping a straight face: “That’s it for today.”
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone was stunned.
“It’s over?”
“So early?”
“Isn’t there still strength training?”
The usual Gil was not this easy to talk to.
Especially with the derby approaching, training intensity would only increase; there was no reason to let them go early.
Gil tucked the tactical board under his arm and said firmly: “The rain is too heavy; there’s no point in continuing to train.
Go back, shower, recover, and don’t catch a cold.”
After speaking, he scanned the group again.
“The U18 match is in two days, and against Boca Juniors, I don’t want anyone getting injured today by pushing themselves too hard.”