After Van der Gaag delivered his customary speech, the training session commenced in an orderly fashion. Despite his preoccupation, Van der Gaag diligently observed the players' training. His gaze swept past Sean, and Van der Gaag initially paid him little mind, but suddenly feeling something was amiss, he sharply turned his head, fixing his eyes on Sean, who was engaged in Y-pass training with his teammates:
'Is it just my imagination? Why does it feel like this kid's passing and receiving have become much more refined?!'
On the training ground, Sean immediately moved into position after passing. When the ball, after several passes, came back to Sean, he calmly controlled it. Without waiting for a pressing teammate to get close, he immediately passed the ball away. Then, he moved into position again, with continuous passing and receiving.
'It's not my imagination!'
Van der Gaag quickly confirmed his judgment. Six consecutive passes and receptions without a mistake was not remarkable in itself. However, if it was passing and receiving while running at high speed and under intense pressure, with each touch being a one-touch stop followed by a one-touch pass, then that was truly commendable.
In such situations, to stably stop the ball in the right place in an instant, neither giving the rushing opponent a chance to steal it nor preventing oneself from immediately connecting with the next pass, was not something an ordinary person could do.
Now, Sean was actually doing it, which was incredibly unbelievable! These actions looked simple, but they were extremely difficult to execute perfectly. Ball control, mental fortitude, judgment, and decisiveness were all indispensable. Of course, the most fundamental requirement was superb ball feel! Without a strong ball feel as a foundation, even if other aspects were strong, it would be a futile effort, always appearing clumsy.
...
Guys, join my p/tr+-n to read 30 chapter ahead
Search Not_Thor on p/tr+-n
.....
The original Sean was limited by this very point.His ball feel was insufficient, so he couldn't control the stopping distance well during matches, always needing to make further adjustments before completing subsequent passes or shots. Fortunately, now he could complete his adjustments before an opponent's press arrived.
Therefore, his performance in low-pressure environments was decent, but it undoubtedly severely impacted his development prospects. Defenders in lower Leagues lacked skill and would give you room to adjust, but would defenders in higher Leagues indulge you in the same way?
Of course not! This effectively capped Sean's development potential. In Van der Gaag's view, if Sean was diligent enough and lucky enough, after several seasons of experience, he might find a substitute position in an Eredivisie relegation team, but a higher professional future was unlikely.
Therefore, Van der Gaag had not paid much attention to Sean before. Now, however, things were different. If Sean's ball feel had truly reawakened and improved significantly, then with his years of accumulated experience, he would have a high probability of becoming a super-prospect, instantly making up for the regret of this youth team lacking a super-talent!
At that point, the situation would be entirely different. Being outclassed by Eindhoven II and Feyenoord II? On the brink of relegation? In front of an emerging super-prospect, these were not problems! Ajax II was, after all, a reserve team, merely an affiliate of the first team. Its most important duty was to bridge the first team and the youth academy, not its own performance.
The emergence of a super-prospect was far more important than the team's performance in the Eerste Divisie. If a world-class prospect was truly developed, even if the team was relegated, his KPI assessment would still be excellent. It was no joke; cultivating a player originally valued at 300,000 euros to 30 million euros meant that even if Ajax II was relegated, the chairman would only give the head coach a thumbs up and a hefty bonus. Of course, super-prospects were not so easy to come by; timing, location, and human harmony were all indispensable, and it was not solely determined by talent.
Van der Gaag shook his head, then immediately regained his spirits: It was indeed unlikely for someone to go from being an ordinary player to a super-prospect, but it would still be great if Sean could become a regular star! Raising his market value to tens of millions was very difficult, but wouldn't reaching several millions still be progress? From barely being able to establish himself in an Eredivisie relegation team to becoming a key player in a mid-table team, that leap was already significant enough!
If Sean could maintain his current performance, this prospect should still be very optimistic! Of course, it was impossible to determine a player's potential based solely on one training session. His performance in matches would also need to be observed. What good was performing well in training if he couldn't replicate it on the field?
The more Van der Gaag thought about it, the more excited he became, quietly changing the afternoon's training schedule... Ajax II's morning schedule was relatively simple. Training, rest, training, lunch, rest. In the afternoon, the originally scheduled offensive and defensive training was canceled and replaced with a practice match. The main players of Ajax II formed one team, wearing yellow bibs. The substitute players and several youth team players formed the other team, wearing blue bibs.
Sean excitedly put on a blue bib, eagerly anticipating what was, in a sense, the first practice match of his life. From arriving at the training ground more than an hour early in the morning, through various training sessions, to now, Sean had been consistently happy. It wasn't because of the occasional compliments and surprise from his teammates; Sean felt he wasn't that shallow. It was simply because of the feeling of controlling the ball as he pleased. Such satisfaction!
It was incredibly satisfying! So much so that Sean successfully pushed his past life to the back of his mind, wholeheartedly enjoying the present. His previous self had, of course, participated in many matches, even playing at the first team's home ground, Cruyff Arena, but wasn't he no longer entirely his current self?
"Hey, Sean."
A slightly frivolous voice interrupted Sean's thoughts; it was Fischer, the youth team's main striker. Fischer's face was all smiles, but Sean's mood was somewhat subtle. When Sean had seen this guy earlier, he remembered why his account balance was only 942 euros.
In a youth team match a few days ago, his previous self had a rare brace, and it was this guy who led the teasing, demanding Sean treat everyone. His previous self, being young, couldn't refuse, so what followed was natural. A night of eating, drinking, and clubbing successfully cost over a thousand euros. Sean wasn't entirely blaming Fischer. Although he now faced some unexpected difficulties due to his depleted wallet, treating people to a meal was fine, and more activities and more expenses were also fine. Necessary socializing was, after all, important!
However, spending money and not getting anything good in return, that was unacceptable. Sean was all too familiar with Fischer's expression. It was exactly like those guys in his past life who would call a 'sugar daddy' to pay the bill!
"We're asking you to pay because we respect you, so why are you complaining?"
Sean didn't think he was being overly sensitive. It was important to know that in neither Belgium nor the Netherlands, including Finland where Fischer was from, was the custom of treating others popular. Everyone went Dutch, emphasizing fairness. So, Sean was certain his feeling was correct.
This guy, deep down, didn't think Sean was his equal, merely extending a polite gesture on the surface. The reason Sean received this treatment was probably because this was Ajax. Ajax placed a relatively high emphasis on its football culture, which all players had to be familiar with.
Like Sean, who was a Belgian, Fischer had joined the Ajax youth academy midway. Although he was Danish and white, it wasn't good to openly trample on Ajax's football culture. Teamwork and inclusivity still had to be preached, and overt hostility was impossible. This level of arrogance and disdain was already considered very mild, nothing compared to what his previous self had encountered during his growth.
His previous self might not have been completely unaware of these hidden contempts, but he forced himself to ignore them, acting as if he didn't care, and even earnestly wanted to be friends with them. Of course, it was useless! The previous easy splurge on treating everyone was clearly an attempt to curry favor, and he couldn't expect the imagined reciprocity. Sean understood instantly but had no intention of playing along. He simply raised an eyebrow, looking at the guy, wanting to hear what he had to say: Damn it, before I was reborn, I was subservient. If I'm still going to be indecisive after being reborn, then wasn't my rebirth for nothing?!