"What did you do that for?" the left striker demanded, storming toward Ryo. "You intercepted that pass! It could've led to a goal!"
Ryo stared at him, dumbfounded. Are you serious? You expected something good from that awful pass?
Keeping himself composed, he shrugged. "I saw an opening in the field. I thought it was a better option than your original pass."
The striker's brows furrowed, lips tightening. "You cocky… This isn't over," he declared, turning to get into position for the corner kick.
Ryo stayed further back, keeping true to his position as a defender, though he was still quite far upfield. I'm sure I can get back fast enough if the situation gets critical.
Once everyone seemed to be in position, Ryo's teammate took the corner kick, sending it high into the box. Honestly, that's a pretty nice corner.
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A few minutes before the corner, the coaches had been discussing the match on the sidelines.
"What do you think, Takigawa?" Matsumoto asked, eyes fixed on the field. The game had been rather stagnant. Both sides are losing possession too easily, and with the match so short, wasting chances so carelessly could be costly.
Was it a mistake to put him in a defensive position? Although he seems to be good at defending, if he is truly as exceptional as Ren said, he should be able to make an impact offensively as well.
Takigawa followed Ryo with his gaze. "The game has become rather uninspiring. Team 9 is struggling because there's no one to finish the attacks. And it's clear some discord exists within the team, seeing as how they're ignoring one player. That kind of behavior is unbecoming of a football team."
"I agree, the team can't just ignore one player," Matsumoto said, "however, Team 9 already has a finisher."
Takigawa raised an eyebrow. He was about to respond when Ryo finally broke free. It was a beautiful play. He read the field perfectly, dribbled past two defenders, and—despite being ignored by his teammates—delivered a flawless pass to a teammate in a better position.
Matsumoto's lips turned upwards into a proud smile. Putting aside personal grudges for the good of the team—that's the kind of decision a player must make. But the ball sailed just over the goal, denying a perfect finish, and his smile faded.
"Wasn't that player on the second team last year?" Matsumoto asked, nodding toward the striker who had ignored Ryo's setup.
"Yes, that's right," Takigawa replied.
"Demote him to the reserves until he learns to play as part of a team," Matsumoto said coldly. It's good to want to score, but players must recognize when they have no chance of scoring and pass to their teammates, especially when a teammate initiated the entire attack.
"Yes, sir," Takigawa muttered. So brutal…
Fweeet
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The corner kick flew through the air toward the middle of the box, where a cluster of players from both teams scrambled to reach it. Unfortunately, nobody from Ryo's team was able to get a hit on the ball as it fell into the box, bouncing at the feet of the opposing center back. He quickly looked up to see if his teammates were open, preparing to clear it.
Situated in the midfield, Ryo scanned for possible threats. Most of the opposition was well-covered, making a pass risky, but one player—the midfielder—was breaking free from the penalty box. The center back, seeing the opportunity, lobbed the ball toward his midfielder. However, Ryo was already moving, having burst into a sprint the moment the ball was launched.
The midfielder froze, surprised to see Ryo dashing towards him so soon. With the ball dropping straight towards him, Ryo leapt, using his chest to guide the ball to his right.
Then in one fluid motion, he landed, controlled the ball, and planted his left foot. Though the box was crowded, Ryo remained unbothered, his right foot striking the ball dead-on, threading it through the chaos. The goalkeeper, with his vision blocked by the commotion in the box, reacted too late. Despite diving in a last, desperate effort, he couldn't reach it; the ball curving beautifully into the top right corner of the net.
For a moment, the entire pitch was frozen in shock. Ryo had just scored a goal, threading his shot through a dozen players and placing it perfectly into the corner of the goal—all before thirty seconds had passed since the corner kick.
Even Coach Matsumoto, who had seen countless talented players, couldn't hide his surprise. The moment he saw the center back receive the ball, Ryo analyzed where the ball would go and ran to intercept. On top of it, he controlled the ball nicely and shot it only half a second later. I expected him to be good… but this surpasses everything I imagined.
Ryo, meanwhile, watched the ball as it bounced at the back of the goal. Ah, it feels really nice to score… but we still have a game to win. I will score more goals than that. Without a word, he turned around and went back to his position, ready for the game to resume.
When he started moving, both the spectators and players slowly reacted, murmuring among themselves.
"Did you see that? He… just scored out of nowhere! It all happened so fast!"
"Wait, did he predict where the pass was headed before the center back touched it?"
"Why isn't he celebrating? It must have been a fluke since he's not celebrating."
"Should we celebrate the goal?"
A few doubted his skill, denying the validity of his goal, insisting it had been luck, but Ryo didn't care. They probably think I just got lucky. When they see me score another goal, they won't know what to think anymore.
I'll make it onto the first team. With or without my team's help.