The day of the game, after school.
Sato walked through the schoolyard, chatting with another girl, until they passed the soccer field.
She stopped when she noticed that no one was practicing.
"Do you know why the boys' soccer team doesn't practice?" Sato asked her friend, curious.
"Why, are you interested in someone?" her friend replied with a mischievous tone.
Sato blushed slightly. "No, no... I always pass by here at this time, and they're usually practicing."
Another girl approached the two of them.
"Excuse me, are you guys going to the athletics area? Could you help me carry those boxes to your storage room?"
She pointed to the boxes on the ground near a door.
"Sure!" Sato's friend said, smiling at her.
The three of them each took one.
As they walked, Sato glanced at the field, a thoughtful look on his face.
The boys got off the team bus, which had stopped in front of the gates of Maebashi Ikuei High School.
As the last player got off, Coach Ishii approached Coach Suzuki.
"I'm going..." Coach Ishii whispered to Coach Suzuki.
Then he turned to the team.
"I'm going to talk to the principal to let him know we're coming and thank him for organizing this game. In the meantime, warm up with Coach Suzuki."
Coach Ishii walked away.
Coach Suzuki also started to move.
"Let's go, boys."
The team followed him.
They arrived at the field, where the home team was already warming up.
Riccardo noticed about ten people in the stands, including a few students and what looked like three scouts.
"There are scouts here too..." Riccardo said to Nishimura.
"As usual, they're not here for us."
Coach Suzuki stopped at the gate of the field.
"Let's ask permission to enter the field."
Then he entered with the entire team.
The opposing coach noticed the entrance of the visiting team.
He approached Coach Suzuki and offered him a handshake.
"You must be Coach Yamamoto, right?"
"Yes, that's me. Are you Coach Ishii?"
Coach Suzuki smiled sincerely when he was mistaken for Ishii.
"No, you're wrong. Coach Ishii went to talk to his principal. He should be here shortly. I'm the assistant coach, Coach Suzuki."
"I see... well, thank you for coming," he continued with a touch of irony, "it's always an honor to play against the great and historic Shūdan-teki."
"He was great..." Coach Suzuki replied with a hint of sarcasm.
The two coaches laughed lightly, leaving the Shūdan-teki players slightly perplexed.
Coach Suzuki regained his composure after laughing.
"Well, then I'll lead the team in warming up."
The players warmed up for a while.
Then Coach Ishii entered the field and approached Coach Yamamoto, introducing himself.
Noguchi saw him approaching.
"Guys, let's go to the coach!"
The team stopped warming up and gathered around Coach Ishii.
"Coach Suzuki, they're underestimating us... right?"
With a confident expression, Coach Suzuki replied, "One hundred percent."
Coach Ishii sighed.
"Well, guys, you heard Coach Suzuki: they're underestimating us. For them, this is just a friendly. But for us, this is the starting point. So, give it your all. No matter the final score, show me that you're at least on their level. Because as we say at Shūdan-teki... every challenge is more than just a game. Got it?"
"Yes, Coach!" the team shouted in unison, their energy surprising both the opposing players and the spectators.
The number 7 player of Maebashi Ikuei turned to the number 10.
The number 7 was about 1.65 meters tall, with short red hair and red eyes.
The number 10 was about 1.70 meters tall, with short dark hair and deep blue eyes.
"They're really pumped up..." said the number 7, a little perplexed.
"A bit too much for a friendly..." replied number 10.
Their goalkeeper, number 1, approached them.
He was about 2 meters tall, with curly brown hair and light brown eyes.
"And we will be even more excited and crush them!" he said enthusiastically.
Then number 4, with the captain's armband on his arm, approached him with a smile.
Number 4 was 1.97 meters tall, with long dark hair tied in a low ponytail and eyes between brown and black.
"Kobayashi is right. Even if it is a friendly, we give it our all!"
Number 10 smiled and added: "It's true, both Kobayashi and captain Takahashi are right. We are the reigning champions... let's prove it!"
Riccardo looked at his opponents and noticed Takahashi, watching him with curiosity.
After the usual pre-match rituals, players and referees took their positions on the field, ready for the match to begin.
Nishimura looked at the opponents' formation on the pitch.
Just as Coach Ishii had said... they were using their usual 4-3-3, but with an offensive twist: one of the midfielders had moved forward to play as an attacking midfielder...
Then his gaze shifted to Maebashi Ikuei's number 10.
Now that's one of Maebashi Ikuei's jewels... Souta Ito, a third-year student, the one who plays as a "false attacking midfielder" in this formation...
The referee blew the whistle to start the match.
Maebashi Ikuei kicked off.
Number 9 passed the ball directly to Ito, who immediately threw a first-time pass wide to number 7 on the left flank.
Number 7 tried to advance, but Shimizu quickly closed in, forcing him to retreat and pass back to number 6.
Number 6 avoided Riccardo's initial pressure and passed further back to Takahashi in defense.
Takahashi saw space in front of him and began to advance.
But Riccardo stepped forward to press him.
Seeing this, Takahashi suddenly accelerated, catching Riccardo by surprise as he lunged past, carrying the ball slightly outside the area.
He's fast for his size...
Riccardo quickly turned and sprinted after him.
But I'm fast too!
Number 5 saw Riccardo approaching Takahashi again.
"Man!"
Takahashi looked at Riccardo.
Just as I expected, he's fast. But I'll win as usual with my physical strength!
Takahashi put his left leg to pivot and turned to the right, trying to shield the ball with his body.
But as soon as they made contact, Takahashi felt his confidence shatter: Riccardo's strength overwhelmed him.
What the hell kind of strength does he have?!
Riccardo grazed the ball, but Takahashi barely managed to turn to the left and passed a quick, instinctive pass to the left back, number 12.
But the pass was purely from memory: Takahashi hadn't seen Shimizu's rapid pressure, because of Riccardo.
Shimizu intercepted it clearly.
Damn!
After the collision, both Riccardo and Takahashi fell to the ground, although it was Takahashi who accidentally hit Riccardo's right leg. The referee gave the all-clear.
Shimizu took a couple of steps, then raised his head.
Before the left back could catch him, he threw a pass right behind the two players who were still getting up: Riccardo and Takahashi.
The ball came to Nishimura, who made a firm first touch and found himself on the edge of the area.
The number 3 immediately launched himself at him, ready to block any shot attempt.
But Nishimura used the inside of his left foot to pass into the area, aiming for Tanaka's run. The number 6, the right back, tried to keep up.
Tanaka, however, was much faster and passed him on the right flank.
Kobayashi moved to cover the near post, but Tanaka fired a powerful shot high into the far corner.
Kobayashi somehow reached out with his long right arm and managed to deflect the ball, leaving Tanaka speechless.
But the ball was still loose in the box.
Nishimura was getting closer, chasing the number 3 to get to it first.
He was one step away from scoring, but Kobayashi pounced on the ball like a wildcat, blocking it.
Nishimura couldn't stop his momentum and crashed into the goalkeeper. The referee immediately blew his whistle: a foul for charging the goalkeeper.
As the Maebashi Ikuei players crowded around Kobayashi to congratulate him, the observers watching from the stands were visibly impressed.
"There you go: our first miracle from the new jewel of Maebashi Ikuei!" one of them exclaimed, excited.
Tanaka clenched his fist and punched the air in frustration.
"Fuck!"
Nishimura approached him.
"You made the right choice... but we already knew their new goalie is basically a wall."
"I know... I won't waste your assist next time."