Bonus for the reviews as promised
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August was a good month.
The temperature stayed around a cool 20 degrees, and there was almost no rain.
Under a string of clear days, São Paulo FC U13 continued their strong run.
With four consecutive wins, they reclaimed third place in the league and greatly increased their chances of securing a playoff spot.
It was the result of the debut of the dark horse, Ho-young.
After recording one goal and one assist against CA Paulistaano, he scored five more goals in the following three matches, securing his place as a regular starter.
Some wondered if Carlos had kept him on the training ground for too long, but Carlos firmly insisted that this was the perfect time.
The squad, which had been playing since February, needed someone to bring fresh energy.
And Ho-young had become exactly that.
Whether on the pitch or in training, he brought life to the team and, despite his young age, helped lead them like an older brother figure.
The winning streak continued into September.
Ho-young appeared in all three matches and scored five goals, then added a brace in the final round, the 30th match.
In summary, he finished with 13 goals and 3 assists in eight games.
He was undeniably the biggest contributor to the team finishing second in the league.
There was no debate.
Not only did he score, his overall performances were consistently excellent.
With that, the team finished second and advanced to the playoffs.
They would face the winner of the preliminary playoff between third and fourth place.
If they won that match, they would reach the Campeonato Paulista Championship.
And waiting in the championship final was the league's first-place team, SC Corinthians.
In other words, they were two steps away from lifting the league trophy.
Late September.
Before entering special training for the playoffs, the players were given three days of rest.
Since it was his first real break, Ho-young made the most of every moment.
He woke up early and took over the living room sofa.
The first thing he did was watch the 03-04 Premier League season, enjoying Arsenal's run toward an unbeaten title.
"Wow, kings really are different."
Arsenal.
People joked and mocked them, but at that time they were the kings of the EPL.
Even early in the season, Henry already had eight goals.
Yes, this is Arsenal.
He had once been an Arsenal fan, though he later stopped supporting them out of frustration with Arsène Wenger.
But the King remained his idol.
Thierry Henry.
In terms of football ability, he wanted to be like him.
He wanted to meet him someday.
Because of that...
He suddenly sprang up from the sofa.
"Whoa! Where are you going?"
Monica, who had been watching football with him, asked.
Ho-young answered casually.
"Where else?"
He ended his three-day vacation in half a day and headed straight to the Barra Funda training ground.
If he rested too long, he felt like his sharpened instincts would fade and he would get restless.
That was just who he was.
Even before coming back in time, he used to go out to kick a ball on days off from part-time work.
Static rest never suited him.
Thankfully, he could use the U13 training ground freely at any time.
"Aren't you overdoing it?"
"I'm still full of energy. I should work hard while I can."
"You really are something."
It was Emily, whom he met in the lobby.
It made sense. In the U13 squad, no one trained as obsessively as Ho-young.
"Oh, and here. Have some."
"What is this?"
He handed her roasted chestnuts wrapped in foil. He had bought them earlier with his lunch box.
They were cheap and one of his favorites, so he often carried them around.
"You're so sweet, Ho-young."
"Hehe. I'll get going now!"
"Alright, work hard."
After he left, Emily went back to the desk, eating the chestnuts.
Right then.
"Director?"
"Ah, Emily."
Walking down the hall was the São Paulo FC director, recognizable by his curly hair.
Because of security reasons, the first team's training facilities were completely separate, so the director had little reason to visit this annex building.
Even his office was off-site, so it was unusual for him to show up here.
"What brings you here, sir?"
"I stopped by the main building and was cutting through to my office. What is this, roasted chestnuts?"
"One of the U13 kids, Ho-young, gave them to me."
"Popular kid. Let me have one too."
The director took a chestnut and continued speaking.
"Isn't the U13 squad in their warm-up period right now?"
"Yes. He's just unusually diligent."
"Wait, his name is Ho-young? I think I saw that in a scouting report."
"You probably did. I heard he's very good."
"Really? If they reach the championship, I should take a look. Alright, keep up the good work."
Looking somewhat carefree, he walked out of the building and headed toward the director's office.
Meanwhile, Ho-young, who had just arrived at the U13 training ground, began warming up as usual.
"Heup, two, three, four!"
Two months had passed since his league debut.
With his fundamentals solidified, his skills were improving rapidly.
And over the last eight matches, he met talented prospects whose abilities had helped him grow even more.
He had obtained the talent Fairly Sharp One-two Pass (C-), and especially improved the rhythmic flexibility and flashy footwork commonly found in Brazilian players.
Naturally, his talent list had changed significantly.
[Ho-young]
[Possessed Talents: Football Prodigy (B+2), Powerful Long Shot (C+), Fitness Enthusiast's Muscular Build (C+), Stylish Curved Free Kick (C+), Chaminator's Run and Drive (U), Legs Faster than a Lamborghini (A+), Sharp Interceptions (B+), Delicate Ball Touch (C+), Rhythmic Flexibility (C+2), Fairly Flashy Footwork (C+2), Reliable Ball Stopping (C+), Precise Ball Distribution (C), Fairly Sharp One-two Pass (C-)]
And he discovered something interesting.
For example, (C+)+(C+) became (C+2), but
(C+2)+(C+) did not become (C+3).
It wasn't enough to move from second tier to third tier with just one.
I probably need to obtain one more to figure this out.
But he had a more urgent concern.
Thirty long-range goals.
To acquire Cha Bum-kun's L-grade talent later, he needed to score many shots from beyond 30 meters.
Thirty meters was like a marathon for a youth player.
"Well, if I have to do it, I'll do it."
All he could rely on was effort.
In the last few months, aside from the basic training, he spent extra time practicing free kicks and long-range shots.
Today was no different.
Bang.
An hour passed.
Thud.
Two hours passed.
Bang!
His leg muscles were starting to tire.
[Powerful Long Shot (C+2) ↑]
"Oh!"
It finally increased.
He didn't expect training alone to improve the talent without devouring another, but it worked.
Intensive training really pays off.
If he used the preseason starting in October well, he could raise many of his talents to higher levels.
But until then, the priority was the playoffs.
September 27.
The preliminary playoff between third-place CA Paulistaano and fourth-place SE Palmeiras kicked off.
It was a clash between spear and shield.
CA Paulistaano, led by Fabinho, successfully held off Palmeiras's fierce attack and won 1-0 after a close battle.
But their shield faced a real test a week later against São Paulo FC.
October 4, playoff round.
From the referee's first whistle, São Paulo FC launched an intense assault with Ho-young's dribbling at the forefront.
"Hold them! Drop the line!"
"Block from the back!"
CA Paulistaano's players shouted, reorganizing their defense.
They deployed five midfielders across the middle to apply heavy pressing.
The goal was to prevent the ball from reaching Ho-young.
If that pressing was broken, they fell back immediately to defend cooperatively.
They knew well how terrifying his dribbling was, so they put everything into defense.
Their defensive shape was much tighter than last time.
But São Paulo had developed too.
Their teamwork, especially the link-up between Ho-young and Douglas, had reached a higher level.
"Ah!"
Receiving a short pass from the flank, Ho-young used flashy footwork to beat the first defender, who could only groan helplessly.
It was already too late.
Ho-young had broken into the defensive line, forcing open space with his monstrous acceleration.
"Cover!"
"Mark him!"
But CA Paulistaano was not going to fall for the same move again.
They had trained for this exact situation.
Two centre-backs stepped in at the perfect moment, moving to block his path.
Since they were already ahead of him, all they needed to do was cut off the lane.
That was their task.
But they overlooked something.
The difference in level.
Why do even the best defenders struggle to stop Ronaldo's dribbles, even when they know what he will do?
Why do they get beaten by Kaká's blistering runs, even when they see them coming?
It is simple.
Their dribbling is so fast that the body cannot react in time, even if the mind anticipates it.
In U13 football, Ho-young was on that level.
Tap.
Ho-young pushed the ball forward with a long touch.
Then he sprinted.
The space opened and, before he knew it, he was right in front of the goal.
The defenders who had rushed in were now behind him.
He only used full sprinting speed at crucial moments to avoid overstraining his knees.
The only reason it wasn't a goal was because the well-trained goalkeeper had come out early.
But that single breakthrough changed the game.
Even if they didn't show it outwardly, CA Paulistaano's defenders were crushed psychologically, and from that point on, they were dragged around the entire match.
Fabinho and the other defenders all felt the same.
How were they supposed to stop a kid running around like a madman?
If they dropped their line too far, his long-range shot would become a problem.
They had no idea how to stop him.
Beep.
The match ended with Ho-young scoring a brace in the second half, giving São Paulo FC the win.
Led by Ho-young, they advanced to the Campeonato Paulista Championship.
But Carlos did not look relieved.
Worry appeared on his face.
They had climbed nine-tenths of the mountain, but the final peak was extremely high.
The opponent in the final, SC Corinthians, was that strong.
More importantly, there was one exceptional youth player who could decide the match.
When I get home, I need to review the data on Alexandre.
Brazil's top youth prospect, who would one day be called the second Pelé.
Alexandre Pato.
They would have to defeat this genius.
(To be continued.)
◇◇◇
◇ I'll be dropping two bonus chapters for every 10 reviews.
◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 100 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)