The only scenario where Noelle would have immediately included Adrian in the starting lineup as soon as he appeared was if the team was packing good legs in any of the midfield or forward positions.
Although the players she had called so far couldn't compare to Adrian in pure footballing ability, they were all good players in their own right with their own strengths.
Also, leaving Adrian on the bench meant that she had some sort of backup in case things went out of control on the pitch.
"For defence, we'll have Leo on the left and Nino on the right. Fredines and Normer will be the centre-backs, and of course, Eric will be in goal.
"Anyone whose name wasn't mentioned will be on the bench."
That was the full starting lineup, and with that out of the way, it was time to talk about more serious things, their opponent.
"Miran High School currently sits in twelfth place, two places below us, but that doesn't mean they can be underestimated." Noelle's expression turned serious the moment she started talking about their opponent.
The reason why Miran High School could not be underestimated was that they had played four matches so far, all of which had been against the current top ten on the table, but they had only lost once.
They drew against ninth-place Nalmin Academy, almost winning that match. After that, they shocked everyone with a last-minute equaliser to drag the current third-place No.1 high school to a draw.
Then there was the match against sixth-place Peaceborn Academy, which they dominated for most of, but got tired in the last few minutes and allowed Peaceborn to get the equaliser.
The only team that has managed to beat them so far is second-place Florence Academy, but they had to work very hard to get that one goal, which ended up deciding everything.
This was the reason why many had their votes on Miran High School coming out on top; the current stats had them at thirty per cent, with Sino High School being only at 23 per cent. However, most of the voters believed the match would most likely end in a draw, as could be seen by the whopping forty-seven per cent.
This wasn't the first time Noelle had told them not to underestimate Miran High School.
They had spent most of the day after their last match watching highlights from Miran's last matches.
"Miran's biggest strength isn't that they tend to play low block when they encounter opponents that they feel might be stronger. No, it's the fact that they are one of the only teams in this competition that can competently hold a low block over a long period of time.
"It worked against almost all the teams they've played so far and it would have worked against Florence Academy if they didn't have a demon like Mike Melo."
"Yeah, that guy is really a demon," Oscar muttered with his head lowered.
"Mm, other than our currently absent Junior, I don't think there's anyone in this competition who comes close to his level of vision and passing ability," Henry commented.
Adrian was sitting between the two, so he heard everything they said.
'This Junior of theirs sure chose the right time to be absent…Doesn't matter, I'll meet him sooner or later anyway. And this Mike Melo…..'
With that thought in mind, he shifted his attention back to Noelle.
"If they only focused on playing low block, they wouldn't be much of a threat, but their ability to counterattack the moment their opponents lose the ball on the attack is almost on the same level as Supreme Academy."
Supreme Academy was the current team at the top of the table, known for their super deadly counterattack style of play.
Hearing what Noelle just said, Adrian couldn't help but rub his chin in thought.
"So, they're just like Atletico Madrid." He uttered.
His voice was loud enough for Noelle and everyone else to hear what he just said.
"Yeah, that's why everyone calls them Atletico Madrid, 'Highschool version'," Savi said matter-of-factly.
"Well, you could say they have a similar style of play, but that's not the point here," Noelle said, before taking a deep breath. "Whether they play like Atletico Madrid or not, we have to do everything to win tomorrow's game."
After that, she went on to list the key players in Miran's squad and her strategy in handling those players.
"Yeah, that Riley is a very slippery snake." Oscar couldn't help but comment after hearing Noelle's idea on how to contain Miran High School's left winger and star player.
"Yes, but no matter how slippery he is, he won't be much of a problem if he doesn't get to see much of the ball," Noelle said, maintaining a calm expression. "However, this is only in theory, we'll have to see how good you guys can execute it on the pitch."
"Even if he manages to get the ball on one or two occasions, there's no way he's outrunning Nino," Oscar said as he put his hand over Nino's shoulder, pulling him closer.
Noelle didn't say anything and just shifted her gaze to the younger of the twins in the team who was struggling to get away from Oscar at the moment.
True, the main reason why she had the twins take up positions as fullbacks was because they had superb pace, they had good decision making and were very good on offence.
The only downside was that they were not that good defensively and could be liabilities at times, especially Nino.
Well, it couldn't be helped, they were the best fullback options at the moment.
Noelle didn't comment on what Oscar just said and just continued enlightening her players on the strategies she had planned for the match.
The core of her whole strategy was the style she found most comfortable using, and that was playing possession football.
Noelle liked it when her team had most of the ball, because that meant that they would have more chances to take the initiative.
Adrian watched Noelle explain everything to them and couldn't help but smile.
'I see this part of you hasn't changed.'
The part that takes every responsibility entrusted to her very seriously.