Izan walked alongside Olivia as they made it back home. They were both quiet until Olivia took the initiative to break the silence.
"You know its been a while since I've been here and I've forgotten a lot of things. If only someone would show me around"she said while tapping her cheek innocently.
Izan who knew what she meant laughed before speaking "Then I'll take you around sometime when I'm free"
"Then its a date then" Olivia said before turning back and walking inside the house. Izan looked on as she walked inside.Izan after Olivia walked inside decided to get some rest because tomorrow's training was going to be hell as Coach Moreno had said.
Izan entered the house before heading upstairs to his room. He bought a conditioning drug and recovery potion from the system before using both of them simultaneously. After that, Izan played a bit of games.
The days went by as Izan trained with the team. His abilities increased by each passing day. Although stat points were needed to upgrade attributes and stats. Training also added a bit of stat points to your attributes.
Izan trained very hard,coming to training very early and clocking in late. Izan after finding out he could earn stat points from extra training didn't throw away that chance and grinded hard.
He would stay for at least one hour after training and would train some more before he would leave. Coach Moreno who would occasionally stare at Izan from his office was very happy that Izan wasn't getting complacent.
"The season will be ending soon. If he was a bit older,I would've recommended him to the senior team. Hahaha, funny how he's just 14. His age is a gift and also a bit of hindrance" Coach Moreno thought as he stood there.
Izan oblivious to everything packed up after he finished training.
********
School was a bit of hustle as the final years in middle school were about to graduate. The school was a bit hectic as the kids were scrambling to study so they can pass their final exams. Izan, however found it funny. He was already prepared even with all the football training and matches and was currently revising.
Izan's sitting pal,Christian saw that Izan was calm amidst the chaos. "No pressure right" he said as he looked at Izan. Izan just smiled without talking before returning to his book.
After school, Izan found himself in the under-19s training grounds. There was going to be a match tomorrow and today was the last training session before the match as they would have to travel away to the other teams home ground.
Valencia U19 was playing Atletico madrileño U19 so the match had drew a bit of traction even before the match had started. Coach Moreno walked up to the team after they had finished training.
"Tomorrow will be playing 2nd place team Atletico madrileño U19 and this is a chance to widen the gap a bit.Villareal U19 lost yesterday so if we win tomorrow's match,we can widen the gap with Atletico madrileño to 4 points and Villareal's gap to 5 points also" he said." So let's go out Tomorrow and win" he added.
His speech was well received by the players. Izan felt happy to be apart of this group. "Izan " Coach Moreno said prompting Izan to turn back.
"I'm starting you tomorrow so I hope you get some rest and be in your best shape for tomorrow". Izan who stood there stupefied by Coach Moreno's words finally spoke" Thank you coach,I wasn't disappoint " Izan said. "I know you won't " Coach Moreno said before turning to go.
Izan turned to go and was feeling very happy for the Coach's trust.
Izan got home and found Komi, together with Hori and Olivia in the living room. He greeted them before heading upstairs to take a bath as he wasn't satisfied with the one he took at the Academy.
Izan after training heard a system prompt from Max. He opened the system interface before a smile appeared on his face.
[Maiden appearance]
'Get your first start on your new team'
Rewards: 5 stat points and 1 recovery drug.
Izan didn't waste time and quickly consumed the recovery drug as he needed to be in his best shape for tomorrow.
Izan went down for dinner and Olivia this time decided to stay for dinner. The dining table was lively than usual as Hori who didn't like to speak was unusually chatty at the table. Izan told her mother about tomorrow's match.
"Ow miura,Mum can't watch this time" Komi said. "Its okay,I know you can't watch every game of mine for now but wait till I get to the senior team. I'm going to retire you" Izan said prompting a giggle from Olivia and Komi.
"After all he's still a child" Komi thought while looking at Izan. The loss of his father forced Izan to mature a bit early. Komi thought Izan had grown up too early but it seemed he still had a childish side to him.
Izan after dinner chatted a bit with Olivia as they planned their outing. Afterwards Izan went upstairs and was about to play a game before he remembered that he had to rest for tomorrow's game.
Izan put his phone away before he slept.
**********
Izan who was in the team bus which was currently heading to madrid. The team had about 3 to 4 hours before the reached Madrid. Izan decided to continue his revision for the upcoming exams.
"What are you doing" Juan asked as he was seated by Izan. Izan raised his head before replying. "I'm studying for my finals".
"Finals,aren't you supposed to be in the 2nd year of middle school at most" Juan a final year in high school at the Academy's school said.
Izan didn't say anything and left Juan to his thoughts. About 3 hours later, the team bus arrived at the home ground of Atletico madrileño U19's .
The players got out and made their way to the locker room as the match was going to begin in an hour.
They stretched a bit to get rid of any tense muscles that might have surfaced due to the number of hours the spent sitting in the bus.
The players gradually came out to do a bit of shooting and passing session just trying to get a good feel for the ball before they started the match.
Whiles on the pitch, the home crowd cheered for the home team. The noise they made was very loud.
The home ground of Atletico madrileño U19 seemed to be about 3 times larger than Valencia's own.
The players went inside the locker room after the official signaled that the match was to begin In 15 minutes.
"Hear that sound. That's the sound of people who want us to bottle it today. Don't let it get to you. Play like men possessed and let's win this match. Are you with me" Coach Moreno said as the boys erupted into cheers.
The players came out and the grounds was packed. The match was a fight between table leaders and had attracted a bit of attention as some small and medium sized news stations were here.
The players after the pleasantries got into their positions. The refree after he looked at his watch blew the whistle to signal the start of the match.
The Atletico madrileño players started to attack just then. With lightning fast passes,they had already breached the midfield of the valencia team. Izan who tried to get back to help the team defend was held back by a player of the opposition team who chose to grab Izan to prevent him from going back.
The refree who was blindsided let the match continue. Coach Moreno and the other players who saw this were livid. They kept shouting but the referee didn't mind.
The Atletico madrileño players got into the box of the valencia U19 team as the waited for a cross from their winger.The winger with a low driven cross sent the ball into the box. One of the madrileño players lost his marker and squeezed the ball inside the goal.
The players celebrated frantically. The refree accepted the goal and moved on before he was called by his assistant. The assistant told him what had transpired between Izan and Carlos,the madrileño player who held him back.
The refree gave Carlos a yellow card but decided that the goal still stands. Coach Moreno was fuming on the touchline. Bad refereeing had just cost his team a goal.
The Valencia players quickly passed the ball after the refree had restarted the match. They tried to give an early reply but the madrileño team were compact and were not giving anything away.
The goal by the madrileño team was scored just after the match had started. 30 minutes after the first goal was scored,Valencia got a chance. Izan with his very good skillset went solo and breached the midfield of the madrileño team. He continued his run before laying the ball of to Pablo neri who didn't look back after receiving the ball. He came across the right back of the opposition team. Neri slowed down causing the right back to also slow down before he knocked the ball around him and sped up to catch up to it.
He went with the ball before crossing it to the edge of the 18 yard box. The Atletico madrileño players briefed a sigh of relief thinking the ball was safe. Izan with lightning fast pace got to the ball before smacking the ball with all his frustration.The ball went in a knuckeball movement before it rustled the net.
The Valencia players all celebrated after the goal. The match was not going so well for them as the refree decided to ignore the blatant fouls of the opposition team and the goal had given them the opportunityto vent. Coach Moreno on the sidelines breathed a sigh of relief.
The refree restarted the match after the Valencia U19 players got to their position. The valencia players taking advantage of their momentum quickly pressed and got the ball back.
40'
Through constant pressure,the Atletico madrileño team lost the ball to the valencia team. After they got the ball,the valencia u19 decided to pass around a bit. The match was currently moving to fast for their possession style football.
Izan serving as a conductor controlled the game's tempo and gave out a bit of instruction. With a quick one-two pass with Andranik,they both initiated an attack. Andranik with the ball quickly looked for Izan who was a bit farther ahead and layed the ball off to him before he continued moving forward.
Izan with a quick released,passed the ball back to Andranik. Andranik sensing that there was a player behind him jumped over the ball letting it continue its journey to the flanks. Wissam who had been quiet all day took the ball and started running. He looked up before laying the ball off to Andranik once again. Andranik latched unto the ball perfectly and was about to shoot before he felt his posture falter. The Atletico madrileño player had just tackled him.
The refree blew for a foul but didn't punish the player with a card. He just gave out a warning and let the player off.
The Valencia players tried to protest especially Javier buèso who was behind andranik when the tackle was made and had seen everything that occurred. The refree however didn't listen but rather carded buèso for bad misconduct.
Izan came forward and pushed back the Valencia players together with team captain, Mark trying to prevent any more cards.
After the players had dispersed, the refree pointed to the spot where the tackle had occurred. The spot where he pointed was a bit further from where the tackle actually occurred. Andranik was about to talk but Izan signalled him to keep quiet.
Andranik listened to Izan and kept quiet.
Izan stepped up to the ball and took 4 steps back. The players on the Atletico bench laughed a bit at Izan. "Bro thinks he's messi" one player said drawing laughs from the others.
The freekick was in a position where Izan had to use his left leg and the distance was about 28 metres from the goalpost. Coach Moreno who stood on the touchline knew Izan was right footed. Izan however stood in a position indicating that he was going to use his left leg
"Can he use his left leg as well" thought Coach Moreno. Izan with the run up carefully placed his right leg beside the ball. He remembered Coach Moreno's advice and placed the side of his boot under the ball as he struck it.
With a maddening curve, the ball flew over the wall the Atletico madrileño players had set up before homing into the back of the net.
Izan who was sure the ball would score had already started running towards the corner flag. He got to the area where the valencia fans were and he bowed in celebration.
"What a monster " Coach Moreno muttered as he stood on the touchline with his hands in the air.