Chapter 7: Coming from the bench

"Oii!! You kid with curly hair?" "Are you paying any attention?" A middle-aged man who stood in the middle of the center half half-dressed in a tracksuit, called out for him. However, he was extremely distracted by the sight of Kurosawa Taki that he couldn't hear the voice of a middle-aged man. Seeing him distracted, a kid who stood beside him tapped his shoulder. "Ye- Yes!! Yes, sir!!" He stammered, coming back to his senses. "Try not to get too distracted. Pay attention now, I'm going to arrange the teams." The man shrugged his behaviour. That middle-aged man was one of the few coaches signed by the organiser for the event. Just like him, there were 3 more coaches signed for the event standing beside him. The man then started to inquire the kids about the position the kids liked to play. Most of the kids replied forward while only a few replied defensively. Almost nobody, except 2 kids, exclaimed that they could play keeper. Witnessing the response of the kids, the man smacked his head in disappointment. Since most of the kids preferred to play forward, the man started to sort the kids on his own. Luckily, Hiro got to play as a midfielder. However, most of the kids who couldn't play in their desired position rebelled against his decision and started to create a ruckus. They were dissatisfied with the coach's decision. "Those who are dissatisfied with my decision can leave." He yelled in fury. After seeing his angry face, nobody dared to complain a single word. While there were still some kids who left after his announcement, most of the kids remained. And because of that, the parents of the kids who left made their way towards the field to complain about the coach's behaviour. To minimise the ruckus, the organiser stepped in. "We apologize for his behaviour." To appease the irritated parents, the organiser started to apologize. However, the man who turned away those kids didn't say a single word. He sternly believed in his judgment and refused to apologize. Seeing the man's unwillingness to bow down, the organiser pleaded with the coach to take in those kids as reserves. And just like that, a situation was prevented. After that, the other 3 coaches hired by the organiser started to pick their respective players and created a team of 8. After the four coaches picked their respective players, 4 teams of 8 starting players were formed, and every other remaining player was used as a substitute. Due to Hiro's earlier behaviour, he was placed in the reserve as well. Finally, the team was allocated as such: four teams made up of individual players who showed up alone, and four teams of players who showed up in teams. The individual players who showed up alone were at a disadvantage than those who showed up in teams. The tournament was played in a knockout style. The winning team would move forward while the losing team would go home. A random lottery was drawn to divide the 8 teams into two groups, Group A and Group B. Group A contained four teams, and Group B contained four as well. Hiro was placed in the team of the middle-aged coach. The names of the four teams formed by the individual players were named as such: Team 1, Team 2, Team 3, and Team 4. However, the other four teams were Sakura FC youth club, Little Boys Youth Club, Tokushima City FC youth club, and Nakamura FC youth club. As suggested by their names, all four of those clubs were the youth clubs of reputed football clubs that played professionally. The result of the lottery came as such; Group A: Sakura FC youth club, Nakamura FC youth club, Team 3, and Team 4 Group B: Little boys youth club, Tokushima FC youth club, Team 1, and Team 2 Due to the group's composition, Hiro could only face Kurosawa Taki if his team made it to the final. Kurosawa Taki was placed in Group A while Hiro was placed in Group B. The first match was played between the host team and Team 3. Just minutes after the whistle blew, the host's team scored a goal. In another 5 minutes, the host scored a second goal. In another 7 minutes, the host scored a third goal. By the end of the first half, the host scored 4 goals against the opponent team. The player of Team 4 looked extremely tired and hopeless. Their eyes were screaming for help. Their eyes were telling the referee to stop the match. However, there were still another 20 minutes left. Since it was a children's game, the game was played in 20-10-20. The first half was of 20 minutes, 10 m10-minutebreak, and the second half was another 20 minutes. By the end of the full time, the score read as such: Sakura FC youth club- 10, Team 3- 0. It was an overwhelming victory for the host team. Similarly, Nakamura FC completely obliterated Team 4 as well. They won 7-1 against Team 4. It wasn't much different for the team in group B as well. Tokushima FC youth club won 8-2 against Team 2. The scores 7-1 and 8-2 reminded him of the traumatic loss of Brazil against Germany in the 2014 World Cup and Barcelona against Bayern Munich in the Champions League. Finally, after those humiliating defeats of Team 2, 3, and 4, everybody expected that it would be one of those four youth clubs who'd win the tournament. And many spectators began to leave the field. The match between Team 1 and Little Boys Youth Club commenced with the referee's whistle. It was finally Hiro's team's turn to play. However, he was benched by the middle-aged coach. Just within 7 minutes into the first half, the little boy's youth club took the lead as they scored the opening goal. "Oh, what are you doing? Don't leave your mark." The coach shouted furiously at the player who cost them the goal. The opponent team didn't stop at one goal and continued to charge vigorously, giving them no time to rest. The keeper in Hiro's team made countless saves. Luckily, the keeper in Hiro's team was more experienced than the rest of the keepers of the team, who lost against youth clubs. But he couldn't handle all those pounds by himself. The defenders in Hiro's team dodged the ball whenever the opponent made a shot. Their cowardice cost them 3 goals before half time. Even the coach was getting frustrated by their behaviour, and in the second half, he decided to switch players. "Boy with curly hair. You're up." He exclaimed. "M e, sir?" Hiro replied, pointing his finger towards himself. "What? Don't you want to go? Then leave it." The coach replied furiously. "No, Sir, that's not what I meant." "Argh- whatever, get ready." The coach exasperated. Beep!! {Player change for team 1} What is the coach thinking? Just after two minutes of the second half, the coach of team 1decidedd to use his first substitution. But the match looks as good as lost even after the substitution.} The commentator announced. Finally, he was about to enter the pitch after 2 minutes in the second half. As he made his way towards the pitch, he looked around him. A lot of spectators were leaving their places, and the stadium was almost empty. Except for the supporters of the youth clubs, almost nobody was present at the stands. Far in the right corner, he noticed his parents cheering. They were overjoyed by his presence. He waved his hands towards his parents as he entered the pitch. 'Heh! Your team is 3 down and you still dare to wave your hand?' The opponent player mocked his gesture and looked at him as if they would swallow him in a single gulp. Because every kid in their team was dressed in different jerseys, they were given green bibs by the organiser. As he took his position, the referee blew the whistle, commencing the continuation of the match. {ball is with the keeper, and he passes the ball towards the defender. It doesn't seem like Team 1 could turn around the match.} The ball was with his team's goalkeeper. The keeper played the ball towards the defender with number 2 on his back, who looked extremely tired. Number 2 seems extremely exhausted, and the opponent players are making use of his exhaustion.} Taking advantage of his exhaustion, the opponent players charged towards him. Now what will he do? Will he pass the ball or will he dribble the ball?} {Wait... No, he kicked the ball. But it seems that the ball will go out of bounds. Was it a mistake? Perhaps he was anxious? But whatever it is, the ball will go out of bounds. Number 2 got anxious and kicked the ball hard towards the opponent's goal post. Everybody assumed that the ball would go out of play. Even the opponent keeper assumed the same and stuck to his post. {Wait!! Wait!! Number 19 is running towards the ball. The same number 19, who was the first substitution of the team 1} However, shattering everybody's expectations, Hiro made his run towards the ball with lightning speed. The opponent was a coughing guard. Will he make it? Or will he not?} {Hmm.... He traps the ball in his chest. Magnificent, absolutely magnificent. What a speed!! What a touch!! Where was team 1's coach hiding such an amazing talent?} At the far right corner of the opponent's post, he trapped the ball in his chest and prevented the ball from going out of bounds. But now that he has, what will he do? There's nobody in sight for passing. His teammates are all gathered on one half. The opponent defenders are charging towards him. What will he do now?}