Chapter 41: Strengths
"Izan,can you pass me the water bottle" Pietro said with his hand stretched out.
Izan picked up the water bottle and threw it at him.
"Listen up guys" Coach Moreno said drawing all the attention of the players. Pietro who was in the act of catching the thrown water bottle from Izan got interrupted leading to the water bottle smacking him on the face.
This act brought sudden laughter to the players who couldn't stop laughing at pietro. Even Assistant Coach Moreno had to join in on the laughter.
"Okay guys,thats enough " Assistamt Coach Moreno said after the players had laughed for a bit.
"You've played well today but you have to keep it in your mind that the club expects more from you" he said whiles looking at the players.
After a moment,he continued " keep it up in the second half and let's see this game through. Now we wait for Coach Baraja."
Coach Baraja entered as soon as Moreno finished. "Okay guys,you've played well but you have to understand that our opponent is of a lower class than what we are used to in the league so don't relax and keep improving " Coach Baraja said.
After his speech,he left the players to do whatever they liked with the remaining 10 minutes. Izan with ten minutes to do whatever he wanted decided to enter the system's simulation.
With a thought,the translucent screen that only he could see came up. Izan navigated to the simulation hub before entering it.
[ Would host like to enter the simulation for 1 hour simulation time]
Cost:100 sp Balance: 2300sp
Yes/No
Izan immediately chose 'yes' and was sent to the simulation. To the players outside,it looked as if Izan was just asleep.
Izan after going through the system's catalog in the simulation hub chose the match he played against Sevilla.
Izan decided to replay a bit of that match to improve his match sharpness.
After Izan chose his option,the simulation immediately replicated the stadium and atmosphere of the match played against Sevilla.
All the players and everything from that match was replicated. "Really worth the huge upgrade" Izan said.
Izan immediately got into the match and started doing his thing. Izan played this match without any restrictions as his teamates and opponents in the simulation played their utmost best.
After the one hour simulation time was up, Izan was ejected out of the simulation hub. Izan had had a fruitful simulation game as he scored once and assisted twice in the simulation game.
Izan checked his phone only to see that just 5 minutes had passed after he entered the simulation for an hour.
Izan quickly got up and started wearing his boots and a few minutes after that,the players were in the tunnel again.
The Yokohama F Marinos players started staring at Izan. Some with genuine surprise and admiration.
Others with envy and jealousy as Izan had probably done what most of them won't be able to do in their careers and that's playing for a club like Valencia.
The players started going onto the pitch again and the fans who saw the players coming back started cheering loudly once more.
Izan who was coming from the tunnel looked at the Yokohama bench and made eye contact with Shuu while smiling.
"Why is he smiling at me " thought shuu. The referee after looking at his watch decided to blow the whistle to begin the second half.
The Yokohama players immediately got into the offense and immediately sent a long ball forward to one of their wingers.
It seemed they intended to make it count this time. Their winger immediately after controlling the ball sent a pass to the full back who had sprinted behind him.
The fast attack had surprised the Valencia players but they had reorganised themselves and had coped well with the attack.
Izan who was currently helping out in the defense decided to mark one of the Yokohama players standing alone near the edge of the penalty box.
The fullback who currently held possession of the ball decided to make a cross after seeing his numbers in the opponent's box.
Unfortunately for him, the ball was headed out by Mark and this was the start of something good.
Izan who was marking the player outside of the penalty box saw the headed ball from Mark coming his way.
He immediately rushed to take possession of the ball with the opponent trying to do the same.
Izan without looking back used the outside of his left leg to send a ball around the player behind him before turning around to chase the ball.
Izan looked like a beast possessed after he got possession of the ball. With his World class pace,Izan immediately nudged the ball ahead before running to catch up with the ball.
Izan after he got up to the ball immediately began dribbling across the pitch with the ball at his feet.
Izan dribbled gracefully across the pitch with the ball bending to his will. None of the Yokohama F Marinos players were catching up to Izan.
All except for one Yokohama player who had decided not to give up. Izan who was about to be in a one on one situation with the keeper in a few seconds saw himself being brought to the ground.
The Yokohama player had tried to take the ball away but had failed successfully. Izan felt a sharp pain in his ankle before it immediately Vanished.
"What was that" Izan thought. The referee after seeing this immediately blew his whistle for a foul before awarding the players red card for a last man tackle.
Izan got up and saw that the ball was about 39 metres from the goalpost. "It looked a bit closer when I had the ball" he muttered.
"Try crossing it in" Mark said as he ran past Izan into the 18-yard box.
The position was awkward and Izan also intended to send a cross into the box.
Izan with his mind set took 4 steps back and looked into the box only to find the keeper's positioning all wrong.
Izan immediately had a change of mind and took an extra 2 steps back. Pietro and Mark who saw this had only one thought in their minds.
"He's going to try and score".
Izan looked at the goalkeeper once more before being finally ready.
The referee blew the whistle and Izan with a speedy run-up smacked the ball with all the raw power he could muster in his right leg.
The ball took off from the ground and seemed to be off target until it began its sudden descent. The Yokohama goal keeper who's eyes were locked on ball couldn't believe what he was seeing.
The ball seemed to be moving all over the place. The crowd,the players,the bench and the whole stadium looked on as the ball smacked the left top corner of the goalpost before shaking the net.
The fans and the players were all stunned by the goal from Izan. Everyone turned to face Izan who also stood still not believing it had actually worked out.
Izan tried to run and celebrate but found out soon enough that he couldn't as his right leg was throbbing fervently.
Izan sat on the ground as his teammates ran towards him. Gaya who was near got to him first after he saw Izan sit on the ground.
After noticing that Izan was injured,he immediately,stopped his teammates from jumping on him.
Coach Baraja's heart sank after he saw Izan sit on the ground. *sigh* "let's hope it's not serious" he said as he signaled the medical team to go and check him out.
The medical team immediately ran onto the pitch after the match was paused. After the inspection,the medics concluded that it wasn't that serious but it would be advisable to take him off.
The medics immediately helped Izan off the ground as they saw Coach Baraja making a change.
The Whole stadium both friend or foe started clapping for Izan as he got subbed off for the wholesome performance he had given throughout the match.
[Announcer]
'Number 21, Izan Miura Hernandéz comes off for Number 18 Pepelu'
The fans were a bit surprised to find out that Izan's middle name was japanese.
"Wait is he japanese " a spectator in the Yokohama shirt said. "Sounds like it. I mean his middle name is Miura so probably yeah" another fan contributed.
As the conversation in the stands and among the fans continued Izan got off the pitch and was replaced by Spanish midfielder, pepelu.
The referee continued the match after the substitution with the score now being 3 to 1 for Valencia.
Pietro moved to occupy Izan's position whiles Pepelu filled his. Pietro in the absence of Izan didn't falter and showed what he was capable of.
After the match resumed, Pietro started acting like a conductor. Changing the pace and tempo of the game when it was required and playing very good passes.
The match eventually became a back and forth as one side was trying to score and cement its lead with the other trying to score and get back into the game.
This continued till the 74th minute and was only stopped by a change from the Yokohama F Marinos team.
Shuu who was on the bench watching the match was surprised when he was told to warm up.
And now he was being subbed in.
[Shuu Pov]
'Okay calm down. Its just a regular match against a team from Spain. But how can I calm down,when I'm about to play against Valencia.
Wow I'm nervous. How was he able to play through this. He's coming,he's coming. I'm finally being subbed in. Calm down and let's make the most of this'
Izan after seeing Shuu being subbed on couldn't help but smile. "Everyone gets a chance,it's up to you to make it count" he thought as he looked at Shuu.
Shuu after coming on Immediately settled into the match. All the nervousness had vanished like it was never there in the first place.
Shuu immediately got to work and started playing a maestro role. Passing here and there and trying to set his teammates free.
His passes were being squandered by his teammates but Shuu was relentless as kept on doing what he does best,football.
He was eventually rewarded in the 85th minute when he received a pass from Nam Tae-hee, a Yokohama midfielder.
Shuu after getting the ball immediately looked to find Yan souza on the right wing.
Yan being a Brazilian born player used the Brazilian flair and got away from his opponent before sending a pass backwards.
Shuu who had followed up after the pass didn't even control the ball and immediately sent a cross from the right flank into the box.
Elber,one of the Yokahama players jumped and headed the ball into the net for Yokohama's second goal of the night.
The goal sent the Yokohama fans into a frantic state as the cheers and jubilation continued.
Elber quickly went to the goal and took the ball from the net before running to center line.
Unfortunately for them, the Valencia defense proved tough for them after their 2nd goal and the match ended in a 3-2 win for Valencia.
The fans at the stadium clapped for the players as they had given them a 5 goal thriller of a match.
A match where there was never a dull moment.
Izan who was already able to limp on his own walked over to Shuu.
"Hey,you played well" Izan said as Shuu turned back to find Izan behind him.
"Thanks, I'd say you too but that would be a bit funny" Shuu said.
Izan smiled and the two talked for a while. Finally as Shuu turned to leave,Izan asked if they could swap shirts.
Shuu hurriedly agreed and the 2 exchanged shirts. "This is going to sell for a lot in the near future" shuu said.
"Probably yours too" Izan said as they both stood there laughing.
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A/N: hello guys,another one for you. Have fun. The next chapters will be fun so stay tuned.
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