It was 5:00 PM. The Champions League Group Stage Draw.
Usually, this room was used for video analysis or Michael Sterling's chaotic press conferences. Today, it looked like the control room at NASA before a rocket launch.
Every player was there. The old guard—Kaito, Victor, Diego—sat in the front row, wearing their new training kits that felt suspiciously like silk. The new signings—Lars, Enzo, Jax—sat at the back.
Lars Jensen (The Wall) was sharpening a pencil with a pocket knife. Why he had a knife, nobody asked. Why he was sharpening a pencil, nobody knew.
Enzo Moretti (The Magician) was sipping his fifth espresso of the hour, staring at the screen with disdain. "Why is the man talking so much?" Enzo muttered in Italian. "Just pick the balls. Mamma mia, I could have cooked a risotto by now."
