Chapter 434: A Game Time!
After the lunch break was over, it was finally time for the real serious shit. They were going to have a matchup against each other, with the team determined by Kageyama-sensei himself.
Even before the coach stepped onto the pitch, the atmosphere was already heavy, with each player looking like they were about to go to war. Only a few are still chatting around, probably those who came from the same team.
They all knew one thing here. While regular training was important, a real match like this would be able to showcase their ability better. After all, there were so many players who excelled in training, but once they entered a real match, the nervousness started to overwhelm them.
This was going to be their chance to impress the coaching team, showing them that they deserved to be on the main team.
"So, you all have gathered here, eh? I hope you didn’t overeat, because you will puke them all later." Kageyama-sensei smirked wickedly.
No one really said anything about it, but all the players just stood there with a perfect posture, waiting for an instruction. Their gaze was enough to tell the coaching team that they were ready for everything.
"Good! Then, let’s begin the first sparring game of the camp! I will announce the two teams and their players, and the rest also get ready, because everyone will have a fair chance today! First name, Ryusuke Higo!"
Higo was taken aback when his name was mentioned first. However, he still stepped forward and shouted, "YES, SIR!" Showing that he was ready for everything.
Then, more names started to get called, and Higo also had more time to observe his temporary teammates. Somehow, he got into the same team as Makino, the national team’s captain, Hiroki Ito, and Shimizu Higashi’s captain, Miki Yamane.
At that point, the boy had already guessed what had happened, and when Naoya’s name was announced to be on his team, Higo was convinced about something here.
’Yeah, we are the defensive team.’ He grumbled secretly. ’That means our opponent will be those who excel in offense? Damn, this is going to be troublesome.’
True enough, when the second team was announced, Higo could see so many powerhouse names in offense there. They had Koki Morita, the best player in the national tournament, combined with Mamoru and Kawabe together, which meant they only had one purpose here: Break the toughest wall that the team could form.
This was going to be a big test for the national team overall, allowing them to see which approach would give the best result.
After the announcement was made, two teams started to gather on their own side. For Higo’s team, the leadership was assumed instantly by Hiroki Ito, the team’s captain. He was a tall boy with lazy eyes, but the moment the game was about to start, the boy took out a small bandage from his pocket before placing it straight above his eyes immediately.
"To keep my eyes open during the game." He said as a matter of fact. "Anyway, you guys should have a hunch about this, right? Especially after looking at our team’s composition."
The others nodded immediately. They were not stupid here. Out of them all, none of them could be compared to the opponent’s players in terms of offensive talent.
"Yeah, this is Kageyama-sensei’s favorite matchup to open the camp. Defense versus offense, talent versus grit. Not to say that you are not talented, but... You can see it as well here." Ito shrugged nonchalantly.
"So, what are we going to do, Hiroki?" Another player, one with a goatee like a samurai, asked. The man was Yukinari Sugawara, the team’s right back, who was also Hiroki Ito’s teammate back in Nagoya Grampus.
Hiroki Ito was quiet for a moment while everyone was waiting for him. In the end, though, the man just let out a small, excited grin. "Well, we don’t have any choice, right? Let’s show them all that grit overcomes talent!"
The same grin spread across the group as they all nodded simultaneously. "Hell, yeah!"
Soon enough, they all went to their side of the pitch immediately. Fortunately, the coaching team had already set everything in order, so that both teams had all the players from each position while no one with the same position was on the same team.
That would be a disaster, considering they hadn’t even bonded with each other, and this was the first time they played together.
Higo stood in front of the goal, taking a deep breath while also narrowing his eyes slightly. The sun was quite nice this evening, still giving a little bit of shine without bothering his eyesight at all.
In front of him stood four players. The first one was Miki Yamane, then he also had Hiroki Ito and Makino, before, on the right side, Yukinari Sugawara was guarding the flank. Higo still didn’t know how capable those guys were, but one thing he was sure of was that, besides him and Makino, the rest of the players in front of him were veterans.
"Oi, Teme, don’t be too nervous, okay? Don’t embarrass yourself right now!" Higo shouted, couldn’t help but tease his friend.
"Shut up, Chibi! Don’t distract me with your stupid remark!" Makino shouted back. Still, the boy couldn’t hide the cold sweat rolling down his face. It was clear that he was on the edge of the cliff right now.
The rest of the players just shook their heads, amused. Fortunately, they were quite understanding, knowing that this was the first big matchup for those two in the national camp. Everyone knew that those two needed something to unwind themselves.
Once the referee blew the whistle, though...
FWEEE!
"Come on, everyone! Concentrate!"
"Keep the shape tight! Don’t give any room in the middle!"
The playfulness before was gone immediately, especially the moment Hiroki Ito opened his mouth. The boy showcased his leadership straight off the bat by taking over the command, instructing each one of his teammates to move in a unit.
Of course, this didn’t intimidate the B team at all. If anything, this only made them feel excited, as Mamoru suddenly sent a through ball to escape from Naoya’s defensive area and arrived straight at Kawabe’s left foot.
"Oh! What a pass, Mamoru!" Kawabe grinned, ready to cut back while also looking up to Higo’s position on the goal. "Well, let’s steal the first goal quickly!"
Unfortunately, before the boy could take an action, someone moved first, pouncing at him like a starving cheetah. Kawabe didn’t know anything here, but the last thing he recognized was a foot getting on the ball on his foot, and in the end...
BRUGH!
Comments