Chapter 72 71 - Coach Jimenez

"Ah... yes. I mean, sort of. He's... that's Aidan. He was based in Watford.Very agile. Even famous in youth circles. I've seen him play in a few leagues, and well... you can imagine why everyone talks about him."

"Is he a striker?"

"Actually, oddly enough, he's a left-back. He's skilled, like a few others. His style of play reminds me a bit of Marcelo from Real Madrid."

The player Raphael was referring to was Marcelo Vieira da Silva Junior, a left-back who made his career in Europe playing for Real Madrid, who won three Champions Leagues in a row. Lucas knew this because he stopped following soccer a few years later, when he went to college.

"In other words, he's more of an attacking left-back than a defensive one." Lucas concluded.

"Exactly, and although he doesn't have Marcelo's finesse, he makes up for it with speed."

As Lucas looked at the young Englishman Aidan, he felt a strange sensation, and his eyes immediately went to Aidan's right side, and he saw that he was also being stared at by one of the competitors. The one who was staring at him was the boy with the disheveled pose and almost no hair.

When he saw that Lucas had noticed, he didn't look away but continued to stare, showing that he wasn't afraid of Lucas.

"I think that guy likes me." Lucas pointed at the boy as he said this to Raphael. "Is he one of those guys who like to watch his teammates in the shower?"

Raphael put a hand to his mouth and started laughing. Lucas didn't even smile, as it was a sincere question. However, Lucas noticed in that second that Raphael seemed much more "open" now than at the beginning, and decided to ask.

"By the way, I have to say that you surprised me." Searᴄh the Novelƒire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

"What? How?" Raphael asked.

"Hmm... You seemed like someone who would be more difficult to deal with."

Raphael put a hand on his waist and laughed a little, humorlessly. "Well, it was because at first I was trying to intimidate the other contestants with a more, shall we say, villainous pose."

"So you're the type to get into character?" Lucas asked with a wry smile. "Like those boys who like anime and try to look more 'dark'?"

Raphael was shy. "Something like that. If you look confident, you intimidate. And intimidation can go a long way to winning, right?"

"Yeah, I guess that makes sense. But I think you look better without the villain pose."

Raphael gave a short laugh. "Maybe."

Soon, other players began to arrive. Of course, they all looked very strong.

Lucas realized that the level of English soccer, even school soccer, was very high. Probably the influence of having the most competitive league in the world was what influenced such young players to take the sport very seriously.

Raphael crossed his arms and looked at the pitch. His eyes moved from one competitor to the next.

"Raphael, is everything all right?" Lucas asked.

"There are a lot of good players here. I didn't expect that." He said it seriously, looking at the players who continued to arrive. "I mean, I knew there would be competition, but... these guys are some of the best in the whole region."

Lucas watched Raphael in silence for a moment, trying to better understand what was going on. That sudden insecurity seemed completely at odds with the personality Raphael had shown until then. Perhaps, deep down, Raphael was still feeling like that boy who tried to impose himself with a villainous pose to intimidate others.

And now, faced with more skilled competitors, that mask of confidence was beginning to crack.

"Well, if it's any consolation, everyone here seems to be in the same boat, trying to prove something. Just do your best." Lucas gave Raphael a weak slap on the back.

Others, like Raphael, disguised their nervousness with forced smiles and attempts to make friends.

Among the candidates who attracted the most attention was a tall, white-skinned boy with curly green hair and a smile. He walked from group to group, trying to make friends.

"Who's that guy?" asked Lucas.

Raphael looked at the young player, then back at Lucas. "Him? Oh, that's Luiz Fernando, a Brazilian. He used to play at the youth level for a big team in Brazil, but he had to move with his family to England and since then he's been going from school to school. He's very good. They say he's one of the best midfielders of our generation.

He doesn't miss a pass and has an absurd vision of the game."

Lucas whistled softly. "You seem to know everyone here."

Raphael gave a mirthless laugh. "I do my research. When you play soccer, especially in a competition like this, you need to know who your competitors are. Information is power."

Luis Fernando approached a group of players and began to stretch, exchanging a few casual words with them. His calm, confident, and friendly manner told everyone that he knew exactly what he was doing there, as if he had been through hundreds of moments like this before.

Another competitor who caught Lucas's eye was a tall, thin boy with the right side of his normally black hair dyed red. He was alone and didn't seem very open to conversation.

"What about that one over there?" Lucas pointed with his chin in the boy's direction.

Raphael followed Lucas' gaze and sighed heavily. "Hillebrand Graumans. He's fast, like, really fast. He plays as a winger, but he's so versatile that he can drop anywhere on the pitch. Hmm... what a boring guy to compete against."

"Hey, relax, man. It's not about who has the biggest name or reputation. When the ball rolls, everyone starts from scratch."

At that moment, the door through which the monitor who was supervising group E came out was opened, and a tall man in a long-sleeved black shirt and a dark blue baseball cap walked towards the monitors. His gaze was hard, but he didn't look very old. Clearly, he wasn't just anyone inside Brighton FC.

"All right, everyone, listen up. I'm the coach of Brighton's Under-20s B Team. My name is Jimenez. We're going to divide you into two groups. It's an 11 vs. 11 game, two 25-minute halves.

Whoever impresses gets into the team; whoever doesn't, well... try better next time."

Until that moment, this was the most objective man Lucas had seen in his entire life.

Coach Jimenez then began to read out the names he had on a clipboard, pointing to different players as he divided them into two teams.

Aidan was the first to be pointed out, followed by Luiz Fernando and Hillebrand. All in Team A. Raphael was then called up to Team A as well, but Lucas himself had not yet been mentioned. However, this didn't take long.

"Lucas Tanaka." The monitor finally called his name, pointing to the second team.

The first familiar face he recognized in the new group was Daniel, the defender he had played with in a previous tryout.

"Looks like we're together this time." Daniel said with a smile at the corner of his mouth.

"It's nice to have a familiar face around." Lucas replied.

Next to Daniel, there was a group of players talking to another boy, who was clearly attracting attention. They were all looking at him, asking him questions about tactics, positioning, and the opposing team. The boy had an expression that bordered on boredom, as if he wasn't the least bit interested in anything that was going on around him.

His dark hair fell over his eyes carelessly, and he seemed to be the type who was there out of obligation, not passion.

"Hey, William, what do you think? Should we play further back at first?" One boy asked him, and so Lucas found out the name of the bored boy.

William just shrugged. "I don't know... Do what you think is best."

Lucas frowned. He didn't know William yet, but he was curious. Why did someone with such an indifferent attitude seem to attract so much attention?

Before he could think too much about it, another player approached him.

"Hi, you must be Lucas, right? I'm Anton." The player had a pair of goalkeeper gloves under his arms, was tall, and had blond hair combed to one side.

"Ah, yes, I am. Nice to meet you, Anton," he replied, shaking the goalkeeper's hand. "How did you know my name?"

"Earlier, when my individual test was over, I overheard two guys near the exit talking about you."

"About me?"

"Yes. I'm a bit too curious, so I approached them and asked who they were talking about. They told me that you were amazing in the physical tests, and, you know, people of other nationalities attract attention around here."

'Now that he's mentioning it, that girl with the pink hair said something about foreigners getting into trouble, didn't she? Well, it must be nothing.' Lucas thought as he shook Anton's hand.