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59.45% 40 Yards / Chapter 17: Game plan

Capítulo 17: Game plan

The sun glistened and so did the pitch, the wind blew to the south and the sounds of raging footsteps overcrowded the senses of everyone nearby.

Each team could use the Statham pitch but in order to maximize its use, they shared the pitch in half and practiced in turns meaning every team could get a decent warm-up before the first-round matches.

The matches had been announced and they were as follows for each team. The A bracket's first matches were Marion high vs. Luthervale high, Finreef academy vs. Union academy, TynRose high vs. Marigold high and Bastet academy vs. All peak high.

While the first-round matches for the B bracket were, Wrenchester high vs. Goldbridge prep, Coral dune vs. Daniel Fred's high, Honeycomb institute vs. E-Cille academy and Tracksprint high vs. Flintslot foundation.

Two matches would happen on the same day and others would happen on the days after, the players of the team that progressed would be given a two-day recess to recuperate and would have a match on the third day that followed and since this was a tournament played on a one-out format. Nobody was in a hurry to play the next match.

It was finally Marion's turn and they had the half pitch they played on for about 30 minutes. Byron shot the ball at Yuri and even though the goalkeeper read its direction the accurate shot still found its way into the net. They did light training all through, exhausting themselves would do them no good since they had a game against Luthervale in two days.

Paul looked at his squad from the sidelines, they were exhibiting exactly what Cory told them to train and against any team he could bet on his team's odds but something wasn't sitting well with him. "Hmm," Paul had re-watched some of Luthervale's old clips, dug into the specialties of their players and also looked into their coach but he didn't see what his gut was telling him to avoid.

"2-1, that's what the scores should end in but I might be wrong." Paul said and Cory stopped what he was doing.

"Wrong? big words coming from someone of your..." Cory paused.

"Pride?" Paul completed.

"I was looking for the more subtle way to word it."

"It's true, I hate admitting I could be wrong but." Paul looked at Byron. "Somethings missing in our game plan, someone's missing."

"You want us to spitball?"

"No, it's fine, focus on their fitness. I'll figure it out myself sooner or later." Paul walked onto the pitch, he looked at all the players then thought about how Luthervale played. They focused on everything a footballer could, none of their players had exceptional speed or anything like that. They moved and played like one single organism and that was the opposite of how Marion functioned at this time.

Of course, he knew Marion had the upper hand when it came down to it but he knew that Marion didn't have anyone to bring them together. Glue for the team. They had Danny who could take control of the offense and defense as well as Arthur who seemed to be a good captain for the squad but that wasn't enough to bond them together.

Byron passed the ball using the outer part of his foot, the ball got sent outside the box and landed spaces away from Xavier who caught up with the ball and volleyed it into the goal from a ways out. "Sorry, my pass was a bit off." Byron apologized.

"Get your stuff together man, the cheerleaders are watching." Xavier grabbed a ball and passed it to Byron. "Don't make me look bad in front of them."

"Xavier Leon Frederick, what were his strengths again?" Paul looked at the midfielder. "An average player through and through, loves volleying and heading but doesn't have anything that makes him special. A jack of all trades."

Byron passed the ball to Liam and Liam crossed over to Xavier who tried a bicycle kick to impress the girls who stood on the sidelines but failed.

"He didn't even flip over." Byron and Liam laughed as Xavier fell.

"I really hope he can focus if he's played." Paul facepalmed. "Hmm, I have an idea." Paul walked to his office and Cory took over.

They practiced till their 30 minutes were up and they made way for the next team which just happened to be Statham. "Don't lose to Luthervale," Christopher said while looking at Xiao.

"Don't injure yourself while stretching." Xiao wanted to flip him off at the end but there was no need.

Byron wanted to look at Luthervale's warm-ups but their opponents for the next match never showed up so he watched Statham and the remaining teams instead.

The teams were being weary and weren't showing off their full capabilities and that was to be expected, it was the same advice Paul gave them so it wouldn't be a surprise that other coaches would do the same.

They retreated to their hotel rooms and Paul gave them their tasks for tomorrow. "Rest." The team was shocked but it was necessary, they had a game in two days and they needed to be at the top of their game if they wanted to start the game at their best,

Byron, Xavier, and Max walked around the streets near Statham. They wanted to visit Yellowstone park again but it was too far and they didn't have the slightest idea how to get there, they window-shopped, bought some ice cream then tried to hit on some girls. Or rather Xavier tried to hit on some girls. An attempt that he wished he didn't make.

They had passed Benjamin, Arthur and Silvestre earlier and the only reason they left them was because Xavier was jealous of the attention random girls gave the group. "Pretty boys."

They finally returned to their dorms after having dinner and had a good night's rest for the match ahead, just like normal Byron could hardly sleep and the sheep weren't doing it this time. If he wanted to continue getting played he needed to show Paul that he was needed. "Max... Max, you up?"

Max didn't respond despite being awake because he more or less knew what Byron wanted to ask. If he had answered, Byron would've proposed going to train until they fell sleepy and that was something he wasn't going to be a part of.

Though Byron thought he was the only one awake, that couldn't have been farther away from the actual truth. In reality everyone in the Marion team was awake, even Cory, Paul and Annabel. Each person counted the seconds leading up to tomorrow's game. Anxiety, excitement, fear, joy. There was a mixture of feelings from everyone on the team but the only time these feelings would matter would be tomorrow on the pitch.

Marion dressed up in their orange and black patterned strips and walked into the tunnel alongside Luthervale, this was probably the first time they had been in a tunnel and hopefully it wouldn't be their last. Fans who were 90% made up of school students screamed as the teams made their way unto the pitch, camera flashes blinded them, the commentators shocked them. There might have been only 150 people in the stands but to the players, it felt like eighty thousand.

"Win," Paul told his team only one word and that was all he needed to say, this wasn't like the time against Tenzin. He was ready and so was his team. "Show them how much you've improved, show me how much you've improved. Show yourself how much you've improved."

"YES SIR!." The entire team said in unison.


PENSAMENTOS DOS CRIADORES
Jeffery_XXVI Jeffery_XXVI

I'd recommend you'd read Xavier's auxiliary chapter before the next chapter.

Capítulo 18: First touch

The crowd cheered for their respective teams, the commentators talked about the lineups as well as the more popular players which the public followed from middle school up to this point.

It was shaping up to be a good game and all Paul could do was watch, somehow at first when Joseph asked him to take the job. He felt like it was an easy task. A no-brainer. But he's not the one on the field, his job is to make the people going onto the field ready for the task they were about to take on and that was harder than anyone could imagine.

The camera flashes were new to some, Byron for one had seen them before most noticeably in the preliminary match against Horace. Though the camera flashes were for the other team's ace. "So big."

"I know what you mean." Arthur tried loosening him up. Which didn't work by the way.

Byron stared at the pitch as both teams got into formation, he was about to walk toward the kick-off line but he remembered he wasn't picked for this match as a striker. He looked at Nagisa who seemed to be in what came off like another world. "Was he always that focused?"

The team lineups for both teams are as stated:

Marion

Formation: 4-4-2

Coach: Paul Siegfried.

***********************

Goalkeeper (1) Yuri Petrov.

*****************************

Left back (3) Mark Birch.

Center back(6) Everest Wallflower.

Center Back(4) Kyle Fitzgerald.

Right back(2) Silvestre Perkins.

*******************************

Left MF(54) Nagisa Aoto.

Center MF(43) Byron Whitaker.

Attacking MF(23) Liam Briar

Right MF(17) Arthur Posey

*******************************

Center forward(19) Xiao Haoyu.

Center forward(31) Max Basil.

*******************************

Subs. GK(1) Jeremiah Clinton, CB(8) Trevor Garrison, CB(65) Gregory West, CMF(10) Xavier Leon Frederick, CF(84) Benjamin Parker, CF(27) Afeez Afolabi.

********************************

Reserves. Danny Friedman, Shin Ha-jun.

The team lineup for Luthervale is as stated:

Luthervale

Coach: Joe Tristan

Formation: 4-3-3

***************

Goalkeeper(1): Gilbert Sidesaddle.

****************

Left back(3): Harrison Camber

Center(6): Samson N'gull

Center(4): Brian Alessi

Right(2): Jonah Campbell

*****************

Left MF(23): Tony Harper

Defensive MF(51) Cody Stillen

Right MF(98): Ivanovic Tehran

*****************

Left winger(29): Hal Jimstone.

Centre forward(56): Zack Young.

Right Winger(14): Roy Walker.

Subs. Cory Gillingham, GK(1), Randy Reeves, CB(7) Harry Eldan, RB(13) Umar Bennett, DMF(68)Felix Edmund, CMF(79)King Palfrey Jr. CF(45)

Reserves: Connor Dickinson and James Budds.

"Two very stacked lineups so far, with one team being more stacked than the other don't you think Joe?" The first commentator said to his partner who sat by him.

"Yes Terry, Marion's squad has players that the media called 'The next legends' and I can't wait to see if they can live up to the claims," Joe responded.

"It's only a matter of time at this point, the match would soon begin and from then on it'll be a battle of perspectives. Luthervale has always agreed that teamwork is dreamwork and while Marion agrees with that as well, I doubt that they would have been able to make a team with the caliber of players on board." Terry looked at some papers.

"Especially after their friendly loss to Tenzin, their confidence might be low but this is the best chance for revenge they could have."

"Let's see as they do," Terry dropped his papers and looked at the players.

Byron stretched as everyone assumed their positions, for some reason he had never seen this view before. The pitch was so much wider and it stunned him. He didn't like that he wasn't playing up front but right now. He wouldn't trade this view for the world.

Luthervale won the coin toss so their strikers started the match, Ivanovic passed to Zack before going back to his own position.

Paul and the others had made Luthervale seem like this singular organism that performs using the same brain and he wanted to see it in action. Their so-called perfected 'teamwork'.

Zack ran with the ball and once Max came up he passed it over to Roy who ran down the wing, a 4-3-3 formation put a lot more bodies into the fray than other formations did, it's well-balanced and accepts the kind of play that Luthervale wanted to create.

Arthur pressed Roy on the wing and managed to snatch the ball from him, a careless mistake by Roy gave Marion the chance to attack and they were going to take it. Xiao ran in alongside Max and some midfielders trying to link up for a pass or a lob into the box.

Arthur was about to be pressed by Luthervale's midfield so he looked into the box and spotted Max. "Take it forward," Arthur said as he crossed the ball to Max who was still outside the box.

"Unrealistic expectations to be honest." Max looked behind him trying to make sure he covered the ball from any poachers. The ball dropped down and Max ran with it, but immediately Max saw a defender he passed it to Xiao.

"Too fast," Byron said as he ran trying to catch up to Liam who already cemented himself in a nice position where he could receive a pass and start a play.

"Liam," Xiao passed the ball to Liam and ran toward the defender, he was trying to stay behind him for a quick run inside but the defenders counteracted and went up a little bit more.

"Crap." Liam was about to lob the ball so Xiao could score a volley but it would seem Luthervale knew that was the case. "Byron." Liam passed to Byron and backed away trying to create space between Byron and him.

The Luthervale defense came up, standing a few meters away from the box and that was where they stood their ground. An offside trap was best used while the ball was in play but with the way Luthervale used it. It was almost like a wall that had a hole in the middle, a big hole anyone could pass through but if your timing wasn't spot on. The hole would close and swallow you up.

Byron received the ball and it was the first time he touched the ball during the match, he wasn't skilled enough to hit the pass just well enough that it would pass the defense and allow Xiao to score. So what would he do?

Cody came and tackled Byron but he didn't lose the ball this time, Byron passed the ball back to Liam and examined the defense of Luthervale.

Liam didn't want to waste the attack with a bad ball in so he passed to Silvestre who already came up, he knew Nagisa was on the left and could possibly run down to create a chance via cross-in but Luthervale guarded him tighter than they did Arthur.

"Complete shut down." Cory looked at his papers and then ticked something off on them. "Ha-Jun might've been a good pick for this match, no?"

"Regardless of severity, they are still recovering from

injury. The only reason they were put in the main lineup was due to the fact their skills would become needed in the second and third stages." Paul said looking at the state of the match.

"We have to win this stage first." Cory sighed.

"Don't worry, it might take him some time but I believe he'll show up."

"Who?" Cory asked and Paul didn't respond. "Watch the match I guess."

Arthur passed the ball to Liam and Liam passed to Silvestre and Silvestre passed to Byron. They were in Luthervale's half but due to the offside trap they put up, they couldn't go any further. "I'll just go for it!" Liam prepped himself for a pass but right before he passed he saw Byron running toward the defense.

"What's he doing?" Xiao looked at Byron as he was coming forward and for some reason, the defender behind him went backward.

"Oh...Now I see what you're planning." Liam crossed the ball into the box and with Byron already making a beeline for it, the defenders were conflicted.

"Crap, Brian get the ball!" Harrison said and immediately Brian moved out of his position to get the ball, Byron stopped and both Xiao and Max pressed on forward.

"They got us!" Samson and the other defenders chased the strikers who got in behind but there was no way they could stop them.

Brian tried making a clearance without turning back but just before his boot made contact with the ball, Max jostled him off it and hit the ball toward Xiao who made sure he blasted it into the top corner.

"Goooooallllll!!!!" Terry shouted. "Marion has the first laugh! And they're leading by 1. We expected this but for it to come within the first 20 minutes of the game,"

"It's just brilliant Terry, the midfielder made a dummy run in and once the defenders backed off the two strikers in front pounced and created a spectacular goal. Hopefully, this is just one of the many that will come into this match."

Cory and Annabel celebrated and although Paul didn't let his emotions show, he was happy on the inside. "Now I see why Joseph was so adamant."

"You cheeky boy." Liam jumped on Byron. "Timing it perfectly with my cross so it would seem like a planned move."

Byron laughed as he returned to his position, he had never made a dummy run with the intentions he just had before. As a striker whenever he made a dummy run, he was always upfront and kept himself in a position where he could still put the ball back in if the player missed but that wasn't what he did just now. He stopped after making the run and he let the strikers do their job.

"I'm not making my case any easier, if you want to be a striker you have to score. Assisting will only prove Joseph's point." Byron spoke to himself but not even he could deny the amount of joy he felt right now. The amount of freedom he felt.

Golden patterned feathers sprouted from his back and it was as if he could go anywhere on the pitch, he had never felt this before, he had never felt anything like this before. Is this what a midfielder feels like?

Luthervale came up with the ball and Marion attacked with confidence and the confidence wasn't just on the pitch, Paul, Cory and the bench players could also feel the confidence with them being one up but the spirits of Luthervale weren't down.

It seemed like this was what they wanted as if they were testing Marion so they could grasp how they played and that was when it began. Gilbert passed to Samson and from there. They passed and passed until it reached Zack who scored to equalize the game.

Marion started their attack but once they got in deep, Cody nicked the ball and from there. They passed and passed again until they managed to make Yuri come out and another goal was scored by Zack. It wasn't halftime yet and the scores had already turned on their head. With the team that started the match hot, being the team that was down 2 goals to 1.

"This is unbelievable," Joe said as he watched the match unfold in front of him.

In the span of ten minutes Luthervale took the lead over Marion using passing that no midfielder or defender could interrupt, even when a pass went awry there was always a player there to receive it.

"Crud...." Byron said panting as the referee restarted the match. "It's not so much their passing but,"

"Their coordination." Nagisa came close to Byron. "The reason their so coordinated is Cody Stillen, his work rate is just absurd. He doesn't stick to his position, he drops in low and comes up high. That's why we couldn't pick the ball off them, it's because he was always there. He's an exceptional all-round player just like Danny."

"So should the coach have put Danny in the subs then?" Byron wiped the sweat on his forehead.

"It doesn't matter who we sub in, if we don't find a way to take care of Cody we'll lose." Nagisa walked back to his wing as the game restarted.

"Works like a horse, is a jack of all trades and he's as flexible as spandex. Never knew Tristan was hiding such a player." Cory said as he and Annabel prepped the water bottles.

Paul didn't need to look at his bench, he already knew who he needed to sub in for the match but he wasn't going to sub him in unless he asked for it. "You know this is what your skillset entails so what's it gonna be? Are you gonna watch and wait till another goal is added to their tally or are you gonna speak up and show me what the team was missing out on, Xavier."

Xavier sat on the bench amidst the chatter from the subs but he heard nothing, he focused on Cody's play style like it was a test. He was enchanted at first because the Luthervale player was everything he wanted to be and more. "What do you lack," Xavier asked himself as he watched Cody run back and front on the pitch. Covering distance, providing support and picking up loose balls. "This is gonna be a hard one."


PENSAMENTOS DOS CRIADORES
Jeffery_XXVI Jeffery_XXVI

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