Chapter 10: Not enough
After that brilliant panenka goal from Hiro, the game was tied. And as the players got into their respective position to continue the match, the referee blew the final whistle and ended the match.
Unable to decide the victor in full 40 minutes, the game went into penalty shootout to decide the victor. Since it was a kid's game, there was no extra time as it would be too much for the kids.
{What an amazing match it was. At first the game looked pretty much one sided. But just with the appearance of number 19 kid, the whole rhythm of the match changed. What an unbelievable player.}
{Since the game has ended with a tie, the victor will be decided by the penalty shootout. And it looks like little boys youth club will be the first one to take the shootout.}
The opponent player with number 2 on his back stood infront of the ball to take the first penalty.
beep!!
Number 2 ran towards the ball and kicked the ball at the lower left corner of the post. Their keeper predicted correctly and jumped towards the left while stretching his arms.
{Save!!! The keeper has saved the penalty. What an unbelievable save by the team 1's keeper. If this continues they might pull out a win}
From his team's side, he was the first one to take the penalty. The skill focus was still in effect and this time too the opponent keeper looked extremely nervous to face against him.
{From team 1 , it's number 19 who'll be taking the first shot. If it's this kid, then he'll definitely put the ball inside the net.}
beep!!
As soon as the referee blew the whistle, he charged towards the ball. Due to his speed, the opponent keeper got even more anxious. He didn't give the keeper a single moment to fortify his mind.
Before, when he scored the freekick he focused more on his technique but this time around it was all about power. He hit the ball hard in the top right corner. Due to the rapid velocity of the ball, the keeper couldn't react at all.
Swoosh!!!
{Gooooaaaaallllllll!!! The shot went like a missile, the keeper couldn't even react. Look at him, he's still frozen at his place.}
{His touches were already deadly due to his technique. But what's with this power?? He's like the combination of Messi and Romero.}
{And with this goal team 1 has taken the lead.}
But that goal was the only goal team 1 scored in that whole penalty shootout. After that goal, everybody in his team missed their shots. While the keeper did save one more shot. But that wasn't enough to move to the next match.
In the end they lost the penalty shootout 3-1. And the only goal they scored in the shootout was his sole goal.
Little boys youth club defeated the next opponent 2-1 and went on to the finals from group B. While from group A, it was no surprise. Sakura FC youth club went on to the finals.
And thus in the final match of the tournament, little boys youth club faced Sakura FC youth club for the glory. Despite hitting hard and shooting frequently, Kurosawa Taki didn't let in even a single goal.
He completely blocked every shot taken by little boys youth club's player and denied them from scoring a single goal.
At that single match, little boy's youth club performed 17 shots on target. But they couldn't score a single goal past Kurosawa Taki. However Sakura FC youth club struggled to score against team 1 as well. The game was scoreless for 39 minutes.
And at the final minute of the match, number 7 from Sakura FC youth club scored a goal past the keeper of little boys youth club and won the tournament.
And finally the intense match between Sakura FC youth club and little boys youth club ended with Sakura FC youth club's victory.
Despite being knocked out in the first round, Hiro spectated the whole tournament as a spectator from the sidelines. Time and again the commentator mentioned his name as well.
He thought that he could win the tournament because he was much older than the other kids but somehow he had forgotten that he himself had a body of 5 year old. Despite being 27 year old from inside, his outer body was that of a 5 year old kid.
And that 5 year old body didn't have the strength like his 27 year old body. That tournament made him realise about his lack of strength.
If he wanted to perform according to his will, he was required to increase his strength and train himself. Just by relying on his IQ, he wouldn't be able to win the match.
[Ding!! Daily mission unlocked]
[Go to status window to see more about daily missions]
'Huh? Daily mission at this time? This system won't even let me grieve over my loss'
He mumbled.
"Whatever!! Status window"
[Daily mission]
[Run: 5km]
[Sit-up: 50]
[Squats: 50]
[Push-up: 50]
[Juggle: 500]
[Head movements: 500]
[Freekick: 500]
[Penalty: 500]
[Note: The given objective should be completed by the end of the day.]
[Reward on completion: Random attribute point]
[Penalty: Electrocution]
"Yoh!!! Wtf?? Electrocution?? Will it give me electric shock every time I fail to accomplish this task?? Isn't it too demanding for a kid??"
"I may be 27 year old but my body is that of 5 year old. How the hell am I supposed to complete all this task?? Run 5km?? Let alone 5km, I can barely run 3 km. And what's with this juggle, freekick, push-up and penalty?"
"Though I used to do more than 1000 shots a day but dude I'm a 5 year old. So how the hell am I supposed to complete all this objectives??"
Even though he didn't voice his words, his face clearly reflected all his frustration. He was extremely agitated by the task given by the system.
[The system has detected extreme anger in host]
[The host's BP is rising rapidly]
[It's suggested that the host to calm down or else the situation could escalate into stroke and the host's life may be in danger]
"Huh?? You want me to calm down?? Just how am I supposed to do that after your ridiculous tasks?"
Hiro exasperated.
[It's all up to you, whether you want to become a world class player or remain a mediocre.]
[However given the host's condition, he can skip the mission for today and start the mission from tomorrow.]
"___________"
Hiro couldn't reply anything, he was speechless. Afterall the system was speaking the truth and he himself was aware of it. He couldn't argue against the system.
Even though most Athlete wouldn't show their hardships, almost all of them have put in utmost effort to reach the top. Every year countless kids undergo trials to become pro. And every year a lot of them fail as well.
One couldn't simply become pro just because he/she wants to become a pro. They need to put in the required effort to achieve their wishes.
And just because one is talented doesn't mean he/she could make it to pro. Talent may be one of the element required for success. However no talent would thrive without the effort.
And just like Hiro, there are countless talented individual scattered all across the globe. In Brazil alone, there are countless kids who are like him or even better than him.
And thus at that moment Hiro realised that just because he had the knowledge of future and talent, he wouldn't be able to make it to pro without training himself everyday and dedicating himself for the cause of being the GOAT.
While he was making his mind, his father looked at him and saw a burning spark in his eyes. His father was about to inquire him about his well-being and console him for the loss.
However after seeing the determined look on his son's face, he shut his mouth and left Hiro all by himself.
From the futsal to his home, he didn't speak anything. Neither did he show sadness nor did he complain about the unfairness of the match.
Despite scoring 3 goals in less than 20 minutes, he couldn't get the chance to face against Kurosawa Taki. Kurosawa Taki didn't concede a single goal in that whole tournament.
While on his way he wondered if the result would be different if he faced against him. Even the commentator mentioned about him that during the final match.
It was the same result in his previous life as well. However at that time, the match didn't go into shootout. They had lost the match 6-2 against little boys youth club. And at that time too, he had scored 2 goals for his team.
While walking to his home, he analyzed all his strengths and weaknesses. Not only his own strengths and weaknesses, he analyzed the strength and weaknesses of the best players of the tournament.
He finished in the 3rd of the scoring list, despite playing a single game. The score list went as such;
Ryu Ito (Sakura FC) - 7 goals
Natsu Nakamura (little boys) - 5 goals
Takahashi Hiro (Team 1) - 3 goals
Although he didn't get any reward for finishing 3rd in the scoring list, he still got a certificate of appreciation for his achievement.
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