Back in his dorm, Theo checked the points he had earned today: 13 points.
Adding the 1 point remaining from before, he now had 14 points, which he immediately invested into his weaknesses: Rushing Out, Goal Line, and Free Kick Saving.
Although his overall rating didn’t increase after the additions, he was content as long as he kept making progress.
Name: Theo Age: 18 Height: 190cm Wingspan: 198cm Weight: 81kg Position: Goalkeeper (Locked) Team: Charlton Athletic (EFL League One) Attribute Points: 0 Points: 0 Overall Rating: 55 (EFL League One Reserve Team) — — — — Physical (56) — — — — Strength: 55 | Speed: 51 | Reaction: 60 Explosiveness: 50 | Jumping: 57 | Stamina: 61 — — — — Goalkeeper Ability (54) — — — — Saves: 61 | Positioning: 62 | One-on-One: 60 Rushing Out: 55 (6) | Aerial Ability: 56 | Goal Line: 55 (5) Handling: 55 | Goal Kicks: 45 | Throwing: 48 Penalty Saving: 47 | Free Kick Saving: 49 (3) — — — — Associated Ability (55) — — — — Balance: 56 | Anticipation: 56 | Composure: 54 Sunday was a rest day, but Theo didn’t relax at all.
He continued to train according to his own rhythm.
Early morning run, then off to the training base.
Throughout the day, his training volume was even higher than his usual routine.
Soon, the new week’s training began.
Theo stuck to his rhythm of training on his own in the morning and joining the team in the afternoon.
Mondays were usually for high-intensity training, while Tuesdays focused on tactical coordination and strength training.
Wednesdays were generally for analyzing the previous week’s match and addressing deficiencies.
Everything was normal until Thursday afternoon.
During the team’s offense-defense drill, Jack Binks returned to the starting lineup, and the previously injured backup goalkeeper, Connor Gough, remained as the second-choice goalkeeper.
Theo, however, could only watch quietly from the sidelines.
Theo stood on the sidelines thinking quietly.
The players on the field didn’t really care whether Theo was there or not; for them, it was just back to how things were before.
But no one knew what Theo was thinking that afternoon beside the Charlton Athletic training ground.
After the team’s offense-defense drill ended, Binks came up to Theo and gave a smug smile.
“Trash Theo, see that?
In the Charlton Athletic youth academy, you’ll never get ahead.” Theo smiled disdainfully.
Only someone like him would treat this fourth-rate youth academy like a treasure.
“Just you wait.” After saying that, he picked up his equipment and started training even harder.
March 13, another U18 League match day.
Charlton Athletic U18 was playing away against Watford U18.
Theo was not named in the match squad, and he didn’t intend to travel with the team.
He stayed at the training base to train with the Reserve Team.
However, the match results came back in the afternoon.
Charlton Athletic U18 lost 1-2 to Watford U18.
The first goal came from a corner kick where Binks made a mistake rushing out, allowing an empty-net goal.
Then Pell equalized with a long-range shot during open play.
But in the second half, when Binks passed back to Ajayi, he made a mistake.
The opposing forward intercepted the ball and scored, piercing the goal Binks was guarding once again.
The score was overturned.
They ultimately lost the match, and this incident left Head Coach Damian Matthew with a dark face for several days.
When tactical training resumed on Tuesday, everyone discovered the starting goalkeeper had been changed to Connor Gough, while Theo became the backup goalkeeper.
As for Binks, he took Theo’s spot, becoming the third-choice goalkeeper.
After training, Theo declined invitations from Cousins and Jenkinson to play video games in the dorms.
He had something very important to do today.
At 7:40 PM on March 16, 2010, Theo didn’t prepare to rest as usual.
Instead, he dressed up a bit and went to a nearby bar.
Today was the second leg of the Champions League Round of 16, Chelsea versus Inter Milan.
There were many fans watching the game in the bar, with supporters for both sides.
Some supported Chelsea, while others supported Inter Milan simply because Chelsea was their former city derby rival.
Since it had little to do with Charlton Athletic, both sides could watch the game relatively peacefully in the same bar.
Theo only ordered a glass of juice; he didn’t order any alcohol.
Although he was already 18, as an athlete, he tried to avoid drinking during the league season.
Theo didn’t cheer for every attack or defense like the other fans; he just wanted to watch the result of this predetermined match quietly.
Throughout the match, Chelsea dominated possession at home and bombarded Inter Milan’s defense, but under the guidance of Jose Mourinho, Inter Milan’s defense became increasingly tight.
The defensive line led by Samuel and Lúcio neutralized danger time and again.
Their much-mocked “park the bus” tactic was fully realized in this match.
But the strategy of counter-attacking is simple: if you can’t score, I only need to score one goal to finish you off.
In the 78th minute of the second half, Wesley Sneijder delivered a precise left-footed diagonal pass, and Eto’o shook off his defender, broke into the penalty area, and calmly shot into the far corner to break the deadlock.
In the final moments of the game, Chelsea’s Didier Drogba was shown a straight red card by the referee for a retaliatory foul, completely ending Chelsea’s hopes of a comeback.
The moment the final whistle blew, Theo clenched his fists in excitement.
While happy for Inter Milan, he was even happier for himself.
Four bets of £1,000 each, with odds of 1 to 400, meant £1.6 million.
In the UK, personal gambling winnings are tax-free; the gambling companies pay the tax.
He loved this place.
After leaving the bar, Theo went to an internet cafe and rented a private room.
He needed to process those betting winnings overnight.
He withdrew the £1.6 million from four accounts into Skrill in batches.
By the time Theo returned to his accommodation, it was already 12:00 AM.
The next morning, he didn’t go to the training base to train alone.
Instead, he took his supporting documents—ID, professional contract, salary proof, gambling winnings proof, etc.—to the bank.
After paying some fees, when the £1.6 million was finally safely in his account, Theo finally breathed a sigh of relief.
At the very least, he now had the greatest foundation to live here.
Of course, looking at it from the perspective of later generations, there were many investment opportunities in this era, which Theo would deal with slowly in the future.
But for now, his main goal was to play football well and improve himself.
He set his sights on the U18 League this weekend.