At midnight on September 2, 2013, the European summer transfer window officially closed.
This summer's transfer market had been a whirlwind, filled with an unprecedented number of unexpected and far-reaching moves.
Neymar went to Barcelona for 88 million euros, Bale moved to Real Madrid for 101 million, Gotze joined Bayern for 37 million, Ozil signed with Arsenal, Kaka returned to Milan...
Elsewhere, Real Madrid bought back Carvajal from Leverkusen, Falcao left Atletico for Monaco, Cavani moved from Napoli to Paris Saint-Germain, Higuain left Real Madrid for Napoli, and Son Heung-min transferred from Hamburg to Leverkusen. The major European giants were recruiting heavily, preparing to make a splash in the new season.
Buried beneath those thrilling headlines lay a minor piece of news that barely anyone noticed.
AC Milan youth academy player Sandro Xiao had been loaned to the Serie B club Brescia...
Milan's official website posted a brief message of good luck, and Brescia's official website welcomed his arrival. Aside from that, the move didn't make a single ripple.
Sandro didn't let anyone see him off; he traveled to Brescia alone.
He still had half a year before he could get his driver's license, so he took the train by himself.
Located in the Lombardy region of Italy, Brescia had a population of 190,000. Numerous medieval churches, museums, and art galleries were scattered throughout the city, along with over 70 natural springs. It was a famous city of art and a popular tourist destination. More importantly, it was only 84 kilometers from Milan—the train ride was so short that Sandro had to get off before his playlist was even halfway finished. He had visited a few times before, so he was no stranger to the area.
There was no welcome ceremony. Macado simply drove his beat-up secondhand Alfa Romeo to the station to pick him up and bring him back to the Mario Rigamonti training center.
For the next year, he would likely be living in the players' dormitories here.
As the only minor in the first team, he was also the only senior squad member still living in the dorms.
Though he was mixed in with the youth squad, he had his own private room.
After his insane four goals and four assists two days prior, the youth-team brats didn't dare show even a shred of jealousy. Instead, they lined up to pay their respects and took the initiative to clean his room. Two particularly sensible kids even offered up their prized personal collections as a tribute.
"A one-year loan, a 200,000-euro annual salary..." Macado muttered over the contract, looking rather dissatisfied. "If it were up to me, I'd buy you outright, sign you for five years, and hand you a massive salary... Trust me, you'll become the next Baggio here."
Sandro chuckled. "The next Baggio sounds great, but why emphasize 'here'? If I remember correctly, Baggio was already in his thirties when he arrived at Brescia, right?"
"Thirty-three, but that didn't stop him from becoming a legend here," Macado said. "If he had come here at your age, he would have been our Maradona."
Sandro shook his head. "I like Baggio a lot too, but I definitely don't want to be dragging a busted leg around the pitch at eighteen."
"In that case..." Macado thought for a moment. "I'll just wish for you to become a healthy Baggio."
"That's the best wish I've received all year..."
"I'm serious," Macado suddenly said, his tone turning earnest. "If, and I mean if, we actually make it back to Serie A this season, would you choose to stay?"
Although Sandro was here on loan, Brescia had a right of first refusal clause. If Milan decided to sell him later, they had the first option to buy.
Sandro found it amusing. "You really have that much faith in me?"
"Of course," Macado said. "I'm not exactly a great scout. At least, since taking the job, I haven't brought any particularly outstanding players to Brescia. But this time, I trust my instincts more than anything. You will be the greatest masterpiece of my career! Brescia will thank me! Trust me, we are going to walk right into the club's history!"
"Now you're just getting carried away," Sandro said. "If I could, I'd also love to be Brescia's Maradona and lead this team to the top of Italy or even the top of Europe. But we both know that isn't realistic."
He paused for a moment. "As for the future, let's talk about it when it comes."
At the end of the day, Brescia was only his first stop. It would be hard for them to satisfy his championship ambitions...
After seeing Macado off, Sandro opened the System.
A few new messages had appeared on the interface.
Main Quest 1: Beginning of a Legend (In Progress).
Quest Description: Lead Brescia back to Serie A.
Quest Reward: Roberto Baggio Template.
Side Quest 1: Give Them a Little Shock (Overcompleted).
Quest Description: Pass Brescia's trial.
Quest Reward: Hubner Template Fragment x2 (Claimed).
Side Quest 2 has been issued. Please check your inbox.
Side Quest 2: A Stunning Debut.
Quest Objective: Score the first goal of your professional career during your debut.
Quest Reward: Hubner Template Fragment (5 fragments can be combined into a complete template. Current fragments: 2).
Scoring on his debut... It would certainly be difficult, but it wasn't an impossible task.
After all, he was currently using Kaka's template. Kaka had scored 10 goals in a single Champions League season to win the Golden Boot, and throughout his Milan career, he had racked up 96 goals in 270 matches. By any metric, that was a highly prolific return—keeping in mind that Kaka was merely a midfielder.
Now, Sandro was playing closer to the goal, and he was doing it in Serie B. His opponents probably wouldn't pay him much attention during his debut, either. Taking all these factors into account, the probability of completing this side quest was actually quite high.
Of course, on the flip side, Kaka's style was much better suited for an attacking midfielder. Deploying it as a striker meant it definitely wouldn't be utilized to its maximum effect. So, how things would actually turn out still had to be tested on the pitch.
Meanwhile, by the time Sandro arrived at Brescia, the club had already finished the first two rounds of the league.
Their first match ended in a 2-2 draw with Lanciano, and their second match was a 0-0 away draw against Bari.
Two consecutive draws to open the season.
In keeping with Brescia's fine tradition, head coach Giampaolo immediately faced a crisis of confidence.
Serie B had a massive 22 teams, meaning each club had to play 42 matches a season. A few draws at the start were actually harmless. This was especially true this season, as Serie B's promotion rules had undergone further reforms, making them even more bizarre—even the eighth-placed team in the league had a chance at promotion. Because of this, there really was no need to panic, yet everyone from the executives to the owner seemed burdened by a sense of urgency.
Either way, if they didn't win, it was all the manager's fault.
Their next match would be against Novara, a team that finished fifth in the league last season. Giampaolo was already finding it hard to resist the urge to try some wild, unorthodox tactics...