In 1977, to make football more international and to give young players a stage to showcase themselves, the first-ever U20 World Cup was held in Tunisia.
However, although its name also contains the words "World Cup," the influence of the U20 World Cup is worlds apart from the senior tournament. Never mind non-football fans; even a large portion of football fans don't pay much attention to this top-tier youth event.
But one thing is certain: the U20 World Cup does indeed provide a stage for young players to display their talents. Stars like Xavi, Messi, and others have all participated in this tournament, which brought them into the public eye.
Although scouts from the top five major leagues claim to be spread all over the world, most people know the truth. The majority of Europeans still view others with a biased lens, and their scouting activities are largely confined to Europe. The furthest they might venture is to South America, to football powerhouses like Argentina and Brazil.
Beyond that, in places like Asia and Africa, it's rare to see a European scout. Take Tottenham's Son Heung-min, for example. He wasn't discovered by a scout; he was part of South Korea's talent development program, first sent to Germany, and only then was he noticed by European scouts. This includes Tendou's current teammate, the super poacher Mané. He also first went to France, and only after gradually showing his talent was he scouted by a major club.
So, the reach of European clubs doesn't truly extend to the entire world.
Therefore, the U20 World Cup has become a platform for these clubs to find "players who slipped through the net." They don't care who wins or loses; they just hope to find some talented youngsters and sign them for a bargain price. With good luck, they could sign someone for tens or hundreds of thousands, and in a few years, that player could be worth tens of millions.
Even Tendou's current employer, Liverpool, has this idea and has sent scouts to watch the U20 World Cup.
When Tendou arrived at the stadium, the players were just walking onto the pitch. He took a seat in a private box and heard the Japanese commentators' introductions from nearby.
"Here we go, we've waited a long time for this, the U20 World Cup!"
"We will now announce the starting lineup for the Japan team!"
"First up is our goalkeeper, Gagamaru Gin!"
As these words were spoken, the Japanese fans erupted.
"We're counting on you, our guardian god, Gagamaru-sama..."
Cheers like this rang out not far from Tendou's box.
Yep. Still the same vibe.
"Next are the three core center-backs: captain Oliver Aiku, the slender, long-haired hipster Aryu Jubei, and the brain of the last line of defense, Niko Ikki!"
"Then the two wing-backs: the speed demon black panther Chigiri Hyoma, and the calm, left-footed artist at left-back, Hiori Yo!"
"In midfield: the killer Karasu Tabito, the versatile and ever-changing all-rounder Mikage Reo, and the yellow acrobat Bachira Meguru!"
"And finally, Blue Lock's strongest striker, the beast Itoshi Rin, and his partner up front, the king Barou Shoei!"
Impressive.
As the season entered its final stretch, Tendou hadn't paid much attention to Blue Lock for a while. He hadn't expected these guys to have earned such awesome nicknames.
But...
"Does this make my 'Magician' nickname seem a bit plain?" Tendou looked at his former teammates on the field with great interest.
It was at this moment that the camera finally found him, and his face suddenly appeared on the screen.
In an instant, the Japanese fans became excited, screaming at the top of their lungs.
"SON OF GOD!"
"SON OF GOD!"
"TENDOU-SAMA!!!"
"..."
Huh?
Son of God?
Tendou was taken aback for a moment. Before he could even wonder where that nickname came from, the commentators beside him were already shouting with excitement.
"Viewers, he has appeared!"
"The pride of our young generation, the strongest, the Son of God, Tendou Kageyoshi!"
"Although he is not participating in the U20 World Cup, he has still come to the stadium to cheer on his teammates!"
The other commentator chimed in, "That's right, after all, they are all talented players who emerged from Blue Lock together. It's just a bit of a pity that Tendou-senshu is not participating in the U20 World Cup."
"Hahaha, well, for Tendou-senshu, the intensity of this level of competition is a bit lacking. Plus, Liverpool has a very important Champions League final to play!"
"That's right, let me remind our viewers again: not long ago, the Liverpool team that Tendou plays for won the Premier League title with a record 100 points."
"And our Son of God won both the Premier League Golden Boot and the Young Player of the Year awards. Remember, he only joined Liverpool midway through the season, starting from the 17th round..."
"..."
The two commentators went back and forth, recapping all of Tendou's glorious achievements during this period. This made the Japanese fans even more frenzied.
A moment ago, Tendou was thinking his own nickname wasn't cool enough; now, he was overwhelmed with cringe. To have tens of thousands of people chanting "Son of God" in front of the whole world... the feeling was simply indescribable. He really didn't know how Yukimura Seiichi managed to do it with a straight face!
Isn't it really awkward?
However, seeing his popularity points skyrocketing, Tendou decided to forgive them. He watched the field with a composed expression, though in his mind, he had already dived into the livestream to read the bullet comments.
"Holy sh*t, my youth is back, I finally get to see Tendou again!"
"Neko-chan is so handsome!"
"Son of God, freaking awesome!"
"I still can't accept that the production team just randomly wrote Tendou out of the show!"
"What's not to accept? In several official polls, Tendou beat the protagonist for first place. Obviously, they had to write Tendou out of the show!"
"Damn you, officials, give me back my Neko-chan!"
Seeing Tendou after such a long time, the audience was clearly delighted. He had been off-screen for far too long. After the Neo Egoist League arc, the plot had shifted to the individual training of the starting players. Isagi Yoichi went on a tour of the five major leagues, Barou Shoei was thrown into American football, and Bachira Meguru was sent to a kindergarten to teach kids how to play, supposedly to "rediscover the joy of football," and so on. In short, the training plans arranged by Ego Jinpachi were not scientific at all; in fact, they were ridiculously over-the-top.
As expected. In the world of 2D, science can never defeat metaphysics.
Tendou's sudden appearance ignited the passion of the entire stadium, including the neutral fans who had come to watch the spectacle. Today, Tendou's name was renowned throughout Europe. The battle at Camp Nou had caused his social media followers to surge to 70 million. Now, he was an out-and-out star player.
An 18-year-old Premier League champion, the youngest Premier League Golden Boot winner, the youngest to score a hat-trick in the Champions League... Various titles had made his fame soar.
Down on the pitch, Isagi Yoichi and the others also noticed Tendou's arrival and all looked over.
"Tendou..."