By the time he reached the Plaine Saint-Symphorien, the clouds above Metz had begun separating.
He changed inside the academy dressing room, where burgundy shirts hung from hooks and the tiled floor carried the smell of damp towels and boot polish. Players talked across benches while taping their ankles, adjusting shin guards and arguing over whose music should be playing.
Rafael dressed without joining the argument.
Outside, the academy pitches stretched toward the fencing. Groups from different age categories occupied separate areas, while coaches carried poles, cones and bags of footballs from the technical buildings. The upper structure of Stade Saint-Symphorien remained visible beyond the complex.
Rafael stopped beside the nearest grass pitch and breathed deeply.
The air carried damp grass, churned soil and the faint rubber smell coming from the artificial surface nearby. Footballs struck advertising boards while whistles cut through the French conversations around him.
His studs pressed into the soft turf.
"I missed this," Rafael said quietly.
"Missed what?"
He turned.
Yanis Bensaïd approached with a ball tucked beneath one arm. The right winger was still narrow through the shoulders, with closely cropped hair and a grin that usually appeared seconds before he said something irritating.
"The pitch," Rafael replied.
Yanis looked from him to the grass. "You trained on it yesterday."
"I know."
"Then how could you miss it?"
Rafael took the ball from beneath his arm. "Can’t I appreciate good grass?"
"Not without sounding strange."
"You spend ten minutes talking to your boots before every match."
"They need encouragement."
Rafael laughed and walked toward the rest of the squad with the ball.
"Give that back," Yanis said.
"Catch me."
Yanis reached for his shoulder, but Rafael moved away and carried the ball toward the others.
The players gathered near the halfway line. Several boys discussed new boots, agents and the two unfamiliar men standing beyond the fence. One midfielder claimed both men were scouts, while another insisted one was merely somebody’s father.
Rafael listened without contributing.
A strength coach called them into two lines, and the squad began with a controlled jog around the marked area. They moved into dynamic stretches, opening their hips, lifting their knees and alternating lunges before completing short accelerations over fifteen metres.
The movements exposed how unfamiliar Rafael remained with his healthy body.
His left knee rose without resistance. His hips opened fully, and he could drive off either leg without preparing for pain. During the third acceleration, he pushed harder than intended and reached the final cone ahead of the player beside him.
"Saving nothing for the session?" Yanis asked.
Rafael slowed into the return jog. "You could try running faster."
The strength coach ended the activation with changes of direction and three short sprints. Only then did the players move toward the ball work.
The coaching staff divided the squad into groups for five-against-two rondos inside marked squares. The outside players were limited to two touches, while any misplaced pass sent the responsible player into the middle.
Rafael took his place on one side of the square.
The first pass came toward his right foot. He checked over his shoulder before it arrived, opened his body and redirected it toward the next player with one touch.
The defender changed direction and pressed.
When possession returned, Rafael had already seen Yanis standing two places away. He shaped as though returning the ball to the midfielder beside him, then passed through the narrow lane before the defender could close it.
Yanis received safely and moved the ball on.
"Again," the coach called. "Check before the ball travels. Don’t wait until it reaches you."
The rondo accelerated. Passes moved along the edge of the square, accompanied by calls for the ball and warnings about pressure. Rafael did not attempt unnecessary turns or hold possession long enough to invite a tackle. He adjusted his body before each reception and released the ball whenever the defender committed.
His teammates noticed.
"Since when do you move it that quickly?" Yanis asked after the defender intercepted someone else’s pass.
"Do you want me to hold it until you’re marked?"
"No."
"Then stop complaining."
The whistle sounded before Yanis could answer.
The staff widened the working area and arranged a positional possession exercise. Two teams of four occupied three connected zones, while three neutral players supported whichever side had the ball. The objective was to transfer possession from one end player to the other without forcing passes through blocked lanes.
Rafael operated as the central forward in the middle zone.
A centre-back stayed tight behind him whenever he approached the ball. At seventeen, Rafael had often fought to receive directly to his feet, believing that protecting the ball proved he was strong enough to play against older defenders.
Now he watched the defender’s position.
When the midfielder lifted his head, Rafael stepped toward the ball. The centre-back followed. Instead of demanding the pass, Rafael allowed the movement to pull the defender out of the central lane.
The midfielder played beyond them into Yanis.
On the next sequence, Rafael made the same checking movement. This time, the defender held his position, expecting another decoy. Rafael received between the zones, used one touch to set the ball back and turned as the opposite end player received the next pass.
"Better," the coach said, directing the comment toward the entire group. "Don’t stand on the same line. Move him before you ask for the ball."
The exercise continued in short blocks. After each block, the coach stopped them for less than a minute to correct their spacing or change the touch restriction.
Rafael did not dominate the drill. One pass struck his heel when he moved too early, and a midfielder intercepted another after he underestimated how quickly his teenage teammate would close the lane.
However, he adjusted after each mistake.
When Yanis drifted wide in the final block, Rafael moved toward the opposite side and pulled the centre-back with him. The next pass travelled through the gap to Yanis, allowing the winger to carry possession into the final zone.
The coach watched Rafael for another moment before writing something on his pad.
After a water break, the squad divided by position.
Defenders worked with the assistant coach on stepping forward and recovering toward goal, while the attacking players moved toward the penalty area. Two mannequins represented centre-backs, and poles marked channels on both wings.
The pattern began with a midfielder feeding the striker. The striker laid the ball off, spun away from the nearest mannequin and attacked the box while the midfielder released a winger. The winger then delivered either a low cutback or a cross between the goalkeeper and defensive line.
Rafael watched two repetitions before joining the line.
On his first turn, he checked toward the midfielder, set the pass and turned toward goal. Yanis received on the right and drove a low ball toward the penalty spot.
Rafael planted his left foot and struck.
The shot flew over the crossbar.
Someone behind him laughed.
Rafael stared after the ball.
His knee had accepted his weight without pain, while his younger leg produced more force than the damaged one his movement had been built around. He had driven through the strike when he only needed to guide it.
"Keep it down," the assistant coach called. "The work has already been done. Finish the move."
Rafael returned to the line.
On his next attempt, he shortened his final stride and placed his standing foot slightly farther from the ball. The cutback arrived, and he guided it low across the goalkeeper into the far corner.
The net snapped.
During the following repetition, the winger crossed from the left. Rafael began between the two mannequins, delayed his run and attacked the space in front of the nearest one only after the ball had been delivered.
He met it with the inside of his right foot.
The goalkeeper blocked the first attempt, but Rafael followed the shot and finished the rebound before the ball could escape the six-yard box.
"React after the finish," the assistant coach said. "Don’t admire the first shot."
The drill continued until each attacker had completed several repetitions from both sides.
The session ended with an eight-against-eight match played across roughly two-thirds of the pitch. Both teams had goalkeepers, and the coaching staff marked wide channels with flat cones. The team in possession had to use one of those channels before scoring, encouraging the wingers to stretch the pitch and the striker to coordinate his movements with them.
Rafael played centrally, with Yanis starting on the right.
During the opening minutes, the opposing centre-back followed Rafael whenever he dropped toward midfield. Rafael tested him twice, checking short without receiving, and the defender remained close enough to press against his back.
On the third movement, Rafael drifted toward the left and dropped again.
The defender followed.
Rafael did not ask for the ball. His movement opened the central lane, and Yanis immediately sprinted diagonally from the right wing into the space the centre-back had abandoned.
The midfielder saw the run and played through.
Yanis reached the pass before the covering defender and finished beneath the goalkeeper.
He turned and pointed at Rafael.
"You meant that?"
Rafael jogged back toward halfway. "You scored, didn’t you?"
"You never touched the ball."
"You’re welcome."
On the sideline, the coach wrote something else on his pad.
The opposing team adjusted by instructing the centre-back to stop following Rafael so far from goal. Rafael responded by receiving short, setting passes into midfield and turning to attack the penalty area.
Not every movement worked. A defender stepped across him and cleared one cross, while another pass arrived behind him after he changed direction too quickly. Rafael also lost possession when he attempted to turn between two players instead of returning the ball.
He did not force the next opportunity.
When the left winger received near the byline, Rafael stood behind the centre-back’s far shoulder. He waited until the defender turned his head toward the ball before stepping across his blind side.
The winger cut the pass backward.
Rafael reached it between the penalty spot and the six-yard box and finished with one touch.
The ball travelled inside the far post before the goalkeeper could set himself.
There was no celebration beyond a raised hand toward the winger. The coach had already placed another ball near the halfway line, and both teams returned to their positions.
Several minutes later, the final whistle ended the game.
Players collected the footballs, cones and training bibs before gathering around the coaching staff. Sweat cooled beneath Rafael’s burgundy shirt, and damp hair clung to his forehead. His thighs felt heavier than expected after the session, reminding him that a younger body still required conditioning.
The coach waited for the conversations to stop.
"Our next league match is on Sunday," the coach said. "The squad list goes up after Friday’s session. Those selected report here at twelve forty-five."
His gaze moved across the players before settling on Rafael.
Blue light appeared at the edge of Rafael’s vision.
[New Mission: Return to Competition.]
[Objective: Make your first competitive appearance after regression.]
[Bonus Objective: Register one goal contribution.]
[Reward: 1 Free Attribute Point.]
Rafael read the mission as the players shifted around him.
The panel faded.
The coach had not looked away.
"Morales, you’re leading the line on Sunday."