"Welcome to Brescia," Giampaolo said, shaking hands with both father and son before clapping Macado heavily on the shoulder. "Thank you for the surprise."
"Indeed. He'll be our greatest surprise."
Giampaolo gestured for them to sit, offering another warm welcome. "I'm thrilled that Sandro chose Brescia for the first stop of his professional career. I believe this will be a wonderful start."
They expressed their thanks, then Xiao Zhe spoke up. "So, what's our next step? Apologies—as you know, this is my first time too. I'm completely out of my element here."
Giampaolo and Macado shared a good-natured laugh. "My first suggestion is to find an agent," Giampaolo said. "A rational, experienced one, of course. And not too greedy."
Xiao Zhe couldn't resist a dry quip. "Is there even such a thing as a non-greedy agent?"
The others chuckled in agreement. After a few more lighthearted comments, they steered the conversation back on track.
"I think we can now discuss Xiao... or Sandro? What do you prefer we call you? We can start talking about your first professional contract."
"Sandro is fine," Sandro said, playing the part of a naive rookie. "Aren't I going to have a trial first?"
"A trial? No need, I trust Macado's eye." Giampaolo waved off the suggestion, then paused. "Of course, if you want to show off a little, we certainly wouldn't mind..."
Video footage was just video, after all. The manager naturally wanted to evaluate Sandro's true ability in person. It would directly impact their upcoming contract negotiations.
Macado clearly wasn't a man who hid his emotions well. His brow smoothed for a brief second before knitting into a frown. "But he just played a match yesterday, and today isn't a scheduled training day. Who would we even bring in for a trial?"
Giampaolo shot him an impassive look, as if questioning whose side the scout was really on, before turning back with a beaming smile. "If I recall correctly, he played for less than a half. Perfect timing, really. Our youth team boys finished their match the day before yesterday and are out training right now. They've probably heard about his performance yesterday, too... You must know most of them, right?"
The AC Milan youth squad and the Brescia youth squad were in the same group in the Campionato Primavera, facing each other twice a season. Giampaolo assumed Sandro and the Brescia U19 players had at least crossed paths on the pitch. Unexpectedly, Sandro shook his head. "No, I was only promoted to the U19s this season. I was with the U17s before that."
"Ah, my apologies. I completely forgot your age, because your performance on the pitch doesn't resemble a seventeen-year-old's in the slightest." Giampaolo stood up. "Come on, then. Let's see what you've got. Let me get a clearer picture of who you are."
He quickly had an assistant coach notify the youth team and arranged for a staff member to lead Sandro to the locker room to change. They were to meet out on the training pitch.
Truth be told, he thought highly of Sandro. That was why he held off on tossing him straight into the deep end. Testing his mettle against players his own age was a safer bet; if he threw the kid straight to the seasoned brutes on the first team, he might end up battered and broken before the season even began.
In his mind, signing the loan was a foregone conclusion. Even if Sandro played like absolute shit in today's trial, Giampaolo was going to sign him. No manager in their right mind could ignore the sheer potential the boy had displayed during the Milan Derby. The plan was to let Sandro ease in with the youth squad for a week or two, then pull him up to the first team. He would start on the bench and be nurtured step by step. As long as he developed into a first-team regular by mid-season, the loan deal would be a massive win.
As for whether he would still be in the manager's seat by then... remarkably, the thought hadn't even crossed his mind.
When Sandro stepped out to the sidelines, the Brescia youth players immediately cast curious glances his way.
"Hey, isn't that the guy? The one who bagged two goals and an assist yesterday?"
"AC Milan's number 11. Sandro Xiao. What's he doing here?"
"Are you dense? He transferred."
"Huh? Transferring from Milan to us? Is he right in the head?"
"Are you an idiot? Look over there. See Macado and the boss?"
"Fuck!"
Being escorted by the club's chief scout and the first-team manager made his status crystal clear.
This lucky bastard was headed straight for the first team.
Even the youth team's manager glared at Sandro with obvious displeasure.
They had a whole crop of their own talented youngsters, but apparently that wasn't enough to satisfy the higher-ups. They just had to go poaching from the outside?
Naturally, the Brescia players found this even harder to stomach.
Fine then. If that was how they wanted to play it...
Watching the fierce, predatory glares sweeping across the young players' faces, Giampaolo let a satisfied smile curl the corners of his mouth.
The moment Sandro stepped onto the pitch, a sharp chime rang out in his mind.
Was the System up to something again?
"Side Quest triggered. Please ensure completion."
"Side Quest 1: Give them a little shock. Task Requirements: Pass Brescia's trial. Task Reward: Hubner Template Fragment x1 (Collect five fragments to synthesize the complete Template)."
It was dealing in fragments now?
What was next? Character skins? First-top-up bonuses? Auto-grinding bots?
Hubner... now that was an absolute beast of a player.
At twenty-one, he was just a carpenter who played football as a hobby. It wasn't until a Serie D squad took a chance on him that his professional career began, and from then on, his rise was unstoppable.
Of course, the man's most iconic moment was smoking a cigarette right on the substitutes' bench, getting caught dead to rights by the broadcast cameras.
The craziest part was that he wasn't just a casual smoker—he was a chain-smoker who went through a pack a day. On top of that, he was an absolute drunkard, the kind of eccentric madman who would bring booze to the training pitch and chug it like water.
But even with all those debuffs stacked against him, nothing could suppress his sheer talent for scoring goals.
1991–1992 season, 25 years old, Serie D Golden Boot.
1995–1996 season, 29 years old, Serie B Golden Boot.
2001–2002 season, 35 years old, Serie A Golden Boot.
Smoking, drinking, and snatching up golden boots...
If the System's rewards were truly linked to whichever club its host played for, then Brescia was a literal gold mine for Sandro.
A whistle blew, and the match began.
One side of the pitch wore Brescia's standard blue jerseys, while the other side wore yellow training pinnies over theirs.
Sandro was assigned to the yellow team.
It was a seven-on-seven small-sided game, with both teams playing a 3-2-1 formation.
Sandro played as the lone striker.
Truth be told, playing as a striker while equipping the Kaka Template felt a bit awkward. His ideal position right now was as an attacking midfielder, or at the very least, a shadow striker. Fortunately, he was a striker by trade, so the position was hardly unfamiliar territory.
The yellow team kicked off. Sandro passed the ball back and immediately pushed forward.
A few of his teammates slowly knocked the ball back and forth in their own half, making absolutely no effort to pass it up to him.
That was until Giampaolo barked in dissatisfaction, "Pass him the ball!"
Only then did the yellow number 5 reluctantly send a pass up the pitch.
And that was the last time they had anything to do with the play...