Chapitre 28: A Chat With Xavier

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"What a goal from Alexis Butcher! And what a time to score as well. The last kick of the first half, and he has given Charles Patterson the lead. Fantastic cross from Harry, but it's cleared out by Clifford Academy's defense. It only goes as far as Alexis Butcher, and he lets it rip from the edge of the box!"

"Fantastic goal from Alexis Butcher, and he's had it coming. He had a good half so far, and he'll be looking to follow up on it in the second half."

"Shitty fucking football," Xavier was addressing the team during halftime. Even though he was shouting at them, the smile on his face made it a very confusing affair. They didn't know whether he was actually angry. "You lot played shitty fucking football. I know I said the results don't matter, but fucking hell!"

"Butcher, you selfish fuck," Xavier turned to Alexis. "You saw a bunch of shitty players and decided to use them to show off, didn't ya? Well, too bad, I'm taking you off. You couldn't even do it properly. David, go in and show him what showboating is."

Alexis was a bit stunned when he heard Xavier's statement. He expected Xavier to be angry at him for his selfish play in the first half. What he did not expect was for Xavier to be angry at him because he wasn't selfish enough. It came as a bit of a shock to him. Another thing that shocked him was David's response to Xavier.

"I've told you to call me Dave, sir," David said lightly. "But sure, I'll teach the new kid how to showboat properly."

"Harry, you're really starting to make me think you're fucking shit. Because what the fuck were you doing out there?" Xavier turned his attention to Harry.

And like that, Xavier screamed at every single person that played in the first half while subbing out the entire team in the process. Alexis and the rest were completely shocked after he finished talking.

A few minutes later, the referee came to call them, and an entirely different team stepped out for the second half while the starting team made their way to the bench.

"And it looks like Charles Patterson is fielding an entirely different eleven from the ones that played in the first half."

"Now we can see a few well-known figures there. Archie Black and David Archer, the midfield duo, being two out of the only four remaining starters from last year's success. Trey Hamilton, who's had a fantastic preseason, and Andy Callohven, who's proving himself to be quite a presence in goal."

The referee blew his whistle after some small comments from the commentators, and the second half began.

"Butcher, come over," Xavier, who was standing at the touchline, called Alexis from the bench. Alexis stood up and walked beside him.

"Now, I want you to monitor Archie and Dave. Watch how they play," Xavier said. "I played the three of you together a bunch of times in training, and I just can't see the chemistry between the three of you. That's why I haven't started you three in midfield yet. I can't put a bomb out there if I haven't finished building it."

"It's not my fault, sir," Alexis said. "The two of them have built a good partnership, and they just don't allow me to join in."

"And that's where you're being a fucking piece of shit," Xavier said. "Have you actually taken time to watch how the two of them play?"

"No, sir."

"See, the two of them believe in retaining possession. You like to take risks—lots of rash forward passes. They believe in controlling the risk, reducing it to a minimum. They keep the ball moving, drawing out the opposition to leave a pocket of space open in front of them. That's where you're supposed to come in, but almost all the time, you're moving with them because you're expecting them to let you in on the possession spell."

"So I'm just supposed to watch them kick the ball around and not contribute to ball retention?" Alexis was beginning to feel confused.

"See, that's where you're wrong. It's not ball retention; watch the match," Xavier said.

Archie and David were casually passing the ball between each other. The Clifford Academy players started to come out and abandon their originally compact shape in a bid to get the ball away from Archie and David.

All of a sudden, David played a line-breaking pass to Joshua, who was playing as a second striker. When Joshua got the ball, he found an abundance of space between the midfield and the defense. He had time to pick out his man and play a proper pass to him.

The target of his pass was Trey, who had made a run on the left. Trey got the ball and, after consecutive stepovers and a nutmeg, got past the defender marking him. He sent a left-footed cross into the box, and Michael rose above all the defenders to head it into the post, scoring Charles Patterson's third goal of the match.

"Did you see that?" Xavier said. He didn't have a reaction to the goal, just like it was something normal. Even Alexis, who was standing beside him, pumped his fists in excitement, although it was just because it increased the chances of him accomplishing the mission that the system gave him.

Alexis abruptly ended his small celebration and nodded his head in response.

Xavier smiled. "Now tell me what they did."

"They drew out the midfielders and increased the gap between the midfield players and their defenders. As a compatible ten, I'm supposed to be lurking in that space, waiting for their pass rather than trying to help them in retaining the ball."

Xavier smiled and nodded. "You're a smarter cunt than you look. Now go sit down, and tell Harry to come meet me. I'd shout, but I don't quite feel like it."

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