As Villard ate his snack, Kristina told her brother what she had seen and heard during and after watching the game, mainly the shift in comments from the casual Hurricane fans about Villard when he first stepped on the field, and after the game.
As we talked, Kristina said sadly, "If mom and dad were there, they would have been able to go to the game together, and then they would have been happy to see you play such a great game."
Velarde nodded, "They should be able to see it from heaven."
Kristina nodded, a little sad, but no tears this time, having gradually moved on from the grief of losing her parents.
The next day, July 28, the Hurricane Athletics team had the day off and did not practice.
It was also a Monday, so Velarde was able to improve his skill attributes. He spent 2 skill points to raise his "Defense" from 69 to 70, then 3 skill points to raise his "Fitness" from 73 to 74, then 3 skill points to raise his "Awareness" from 76 to 77, and finally 3 skill points to raise his "Speed" from 59 to 60 and "Heading" from 59 to 60 respectively. 76 to 77, and finally spent 3 skill points to raise "speed" from 59 to 60, "header" from 54 to 55, and "technique" from 51 to 52, leaving 78 skill points. This leaves 78 skill points.
Though the team was on vacation, Velarde couldn't give himself a break. He followed the extra practice schedule provided by the coaching staff and took extra practice on his own near his home.
However, the training equipment was also incomplete, not to mention the lack of group training, and at the end of the extra training that night, he only received a C grade training evaluation with an increase of 2000 experience points.
And on that day, the biggest news on Argentina's major TV stations and sports newspapers and soccer websites was naturally the first night when second division side Hurricanes blew out Boca Juniors 2-0 at the Candy Box Stadium to advance to the last 16 of the Copa Argentina.
The whole of Buenos Aires was talking about this game, and the Hurricanes really came out of it like a hurricane, in a big way.
And the substitutes gave a save in goal, as well as the Hurricanes' second goal which was the result of Velarde breaking the ball at the back and launching a counter-attack. As a result, Velarde also got a few mentions from some of the media.
Here's what one media outlet said:
"Alan Velarde, 21, has come a long way from last season, far beyond the average League Two defender in terms of physique or defensive technique, or showing an awareness that doesn't match his age, and received rave reviews in this confrontation with Boca Juniors."
"It is said that Velarde's parents just passed away during the World Cup in Brazil, leaving him and his sister to fend for themselves, and perhaps that's why he's become more mature and stable than the average youngster."
"According to interviews with reporters, some die-hard Hurricane Athletics fans have revealed that Velarde is also the first of the team to arrive at the training ground every morning and the last to leave the base at night."
"The sky's the limit and we could potentially see the rise of a rising star in the back four, so let's wait and see."
Kristina had made a point of buying several of the newspapers that had reviewed Villard, saying that she wanted to make a collection.
Next, the days returned to routine as Velarde continued to train hard and earnestly, earning increasing recognition from his coaches and teammates. Friends Dalia and Bonifacio followed him in the extra training also produced some results and started to get more chances to play in the team's training matches.
Hurricanes victory over Boca Juniors although attracted people shocked for a while, but the Cup has always been the hotbed of cold, Boca Juniors such as the giants of the occasional cartwheel is not once or twice, the results of the first time out of the time when everyone surprised a little, and then after a couple of days, and then all forgotten. In addition to the industry, the ordinary fans should be as they are.
Of course, for those who know Velarde, such a win and Velarde's performance when he took the field still deserves some praise, whether it's from the neighbors in our neighborhood or on the morning and evening buses, Velarde has gained a lot of praise and encouragement from people.
On August 4, the Argentine National Academy of the Arts opened, Velarde sent Kristina, who had just enrolled in college, along to enroll, and saw so many young, beautiful girls with great bodies.
Kristina also joked, "Brother, look, there are so many beautiful women in our school, when I poke around, I'll introduce you to a girlfriend."
Velarde laughed, "Then brother wait oh!"
On this day, also another Monday, Velarde spent another 13 skill points, adding defense to 71, physical fitness to 75, awareness to 78, speed to 61, headers to 56, and technique to 53, leaving him with a skill point balance of 65.
The last match day was Sunday, which itself added one skill attribute for 8 consecutive levels, another one the next day on Monday, and another one today, which amounted to 3 points of attributes for 8 days for a couple of new skills, and 2 points of attributes for two old skills.
And so, during this period of daily practice, coaches and teammates such as Mario Binko and Andres Yarin could clearly feel Velarde's rapid rate of improvement.
Especially his awareness, has reached 78, close to 80, even the average player in the A-League is at this level, which is a very big advantage over the Hurricanes' B players in terms of jamming, judgment, teamwork, and so on.
In a training match before the start of the first round of the A-League, Mario Binko put Velarde in the starting back of the substitute team, essentially shutting down the middle of the attack on the main team's side of the field, and finally only managed to score a corner through a cross from the side of the field.
And the substitutes scored a goal on a quick counterattack with Velarde playing solid defense.
In the end, the starters and subs played to a 1-1 draw, with Velarde outplaying, and even slightly outplaying, even starter back Federico Bismara.
Only, limited to reasons such as experience, seniority, and preconceived impressions, Binko, Yarin, and the others trusted Bismara a bit more.
So when the next day's roster was announced after the Aug. 8 practice, it was still Federico Bismarra who made the starting roster and served as the primary back.
And Lucas Villarruel, who was the original main replacement at the back, for once is not on the bench, but in the starting lineup as a center forward.
In the end, Velarde was unquestionably on the bench. Whenever there was a need to replace Federico Bismara in a match, Velarde was undoubtedly the first to go.
As for the other two backs, Rolon and Carrizo, they were once again dropped from the roster after the last Copa Argentina.
With Alan Villard coming on strong, I'm afraid that in the future, both Rolon and Carrizo are going to have a hard time raking in starting games like Villard did last season.
On Saturday, August 9, 2014, the first round of the first round of Group B of the Argentina Men's Football Second Division Playoffs was opened by Salmiento vs. Mendoza Independiente.
After 90 minutes, the teams exchanged a 0-0 draw.
It gives other teams a chance.
And it was Hurricane Athletics who hosted CA Tampolli in the second game of the round.
Game time was 18:00 pm, but many enthusiastic die-hard Hurricanes fans, still arrived outside the stadium early to be the first to enter the arena after the opening of the ticket check.
Although the Hurricanes are now a second-division team, they were once a first-division team, and have won the A-League title, and in the just-concluded Argentine Cup 1/16 finals, they toppled the super giant Boca Juniors 2-0 away from home, advancing to the Cup's round of 16.
Coupled with the fact that there are plenty of places available for promotion this season, the Hurricanes have a good chance of succeeding in the promotion process. As a result, not only is the morale of the team high, but the fans are also quite active, with the Hurricanes' home stadium, the Thomas Duke Stadium, which is big enough to hold 48,000, filled with nearly 40,000 people before the start of the match.
The better seats were filled with fans, except for a few edges that were farther away from the center of the field and didn't have great sightlines or locations.
And these fans were quite enthusiastic, waving team flags, scarves, banners, slogans, spray-painted graphics, etc., and singing the Hurricane Athletic team song from the moment they entered the stadium for the first league game of the new season.
Kristina also brought her two roommates into the stadium with her, and instead of being seated by seat number, she went to sit in the section where there were more female fans among the casual fans of the home team. There were still plenty of empty seats in the stadium anyway, and most people wouldn't be seated by number.
Velarde had told her not to enter the areas occupied by those die-hard fan organizations, much less join them. In the event of a riot or even a physical confrontation with rival fans, the odds were that these fan organizations would be the ones rushing to the front line, and there might even be bloodshed.
Velarde didn't want his sister to be in danger, he had given the original host a promise to take care of Kristina.
The best thing to do is to sit with the players or family members who didn't make the big roster, or move with the hordes of casual home team fans. If there is any kind of disturbance, don't crowd around, evacuate and go home immediately.
The two roommates didn't have welfare tickets and couldn't enter the players' family section, which is why Kristina brought them along to find this relatively safe location.
Both roommates were beautiful, one named Heidi Alisa and one named Reece Bertha. Coincidentally, Heidi Alisa has the same birthday as Villard, May 19th. Only, Villard is from 1993 and Alyssa is from 1996, three years younger than Villard.
But it's a kind of fate.
Thus, after learning of Heidi Alisa's birthday, Kristina was interested in introducing her to her brother. With a little deliberate currying of favor, she soon hit it off with Alisa.
Together with Reece Bertha, the three had developed into good girlfriends in just a few days of school. It was Saturday and there were no classes, so Kristina invited the two to join her to watch her brother's game, and they agreed.
As a result, when the time came to 18:00 and the referee blew the opening whistle, the game had already started, and Heidi Alisa asked which one of the players on the field was Kristina's brother and what his jersey number was, before Kristina stifled a laugh and said, "My brother's on the bench, and he hasn't even played yet!"
Alyssa slapped Kristina and snapped, "So your brother is just a substitute, and you're rushing around dragging us over to watch him play, afraid of being late."
Kristina raised her eyebrows and said, "What's wrong with being a substitute? My brother was only promoted from the reserve team to the first team last season, isn't it normal for him to play on the bench? However, he has been working very hard, coming out early and coming home late every day, practicing after the team training, and now he has already secured the position of the team's back bench, so he can easily get a chance to play. You guys just wait, my brother will definitely be able to play today and will perform well."
Reece Bertha, who was sitting on Kristina's other side, took Kristina's hand and said, "Nana, I believe you!"
Kristina hugged the petite and adorable Reece Bertha and gave her a kiss on the cheek, saying, "I knew you were the best."
Heidi Alisa on the other side rolled her eyes and said, "Well, I'll just wait and see. If your brother can't make it out today, it'll be a wasted trip for Bertha and I. It'll be on you siblings then."
Kristina begged, saying, "Yeah, it's a deal."