Chapter 444: A Drastic Change!
"Okay, I have seen enough from the first half, and I have to say that I am not impressed here."
All the main players who were still sweating on their bench clenched their fists secretly, knowing that this was a big slap on their face. Unfortunately, no matter how frustrated they were, the head coach was right. Their performance was something that no one would be impressed with.
Kageyama-sensei scanned the whole locker room for a moment, observing each expression one by one. He didn’t say anything else, not trying to motivate them or something like that. No, with how the camp was going so far, this was a wake-up call that the team needed the most right now.
Then, his eyes wandered to those who still wore the vest, the bench players. After pondering in a tense silence for a few seconds, the man finally opened his mouth. "Tagawa-kun, Kobayashi-kun, Suzuki-kun, both Mamoru and Toichi, Nagai-kun, Makino-kun, and Kota-kun, start warming up outside. You eight will go for us in the second half."
The temperature dropped further as he announced that. The main players wanted to complain, but words seemed to stick in their throats at that moment.
Eight players... Besides the goalkeeper and Yuta Goke, who had just come in the middle of the first half, eight of the nine main players remaining would be replaced in the second half. That meant only one survived, enough to impress Kageyama-sensei for that man to be patient with him for the second half.
"Miyashiro-kun, you will continue to lead the team in the second half." The man continued again without missing a heartbeat, as if the tension inside the room had nothing to do with him.
"...Yes, Sensei."
Well, this was an understandable decision. The man was basically the team’s best player in the second half. Not only was he the only one close enough to score the goal, but his presence and ball movement were always dangerous, opening more space for his teammates to create something.
It was such a pity that none of them could take advantage of it.
"I know that some of you guys are unwilling." Kageyama-sensei’s gaze swapped to the main players once again; his stare was sharp. "Your pride will never accept that you can be this bad, and your first thought coming to mind is probably blaming me, wondering if there is something wrong with my system."
Silence followed, but the flinches from some of the players basically told the man that he was right.
"What you forget, though, is that today’s game is just a friendly match, time for me to experiment. So, if I see something doesn’t work, especially because you don’t show any effort in playing your role, you can just sit your ass down on the bench."
The tone was far from being harsh, but the content was definitely hurtful. This made the main players clench their fists once again, ready to blow up at any second.
Still, this worked quite well for the bench players who were about to come. Fire ignited in their eyes as Kageyama-sensei basically announced one thing: As long as they worked well in the role they were given, chances would always come their way later.
As they were about to leave the locker room to warm up, Makino, who was somehow also getting included in that list, gave Higo a little smug smirk. "I will leave first, Chibi. Just enjoy your time being a bench warmer."
Higo scowled, knowing that his friend should be laughing his ass off secretly. He also lamented the fact that, out of anyone else, how could the goalkeeper still stay? Hell, Zion conceded one goal on the near post, which was really bad!
Not that he hated Zion, but Higo felt like that mistake alone was enough to let him be on the pitch later.
Fortunately, though, Norio-sensei also noticed his reaction, so he came with barely a whisper. "You also need to get ready, because later, around the 60th minute, you will come to replace Suzuki-kun in front of the goal."
Higo’s eyes lit up in a heartbeat as he nodded eagerly. "Yes, Sir!"
Soon enough, the second half finally started, and the move made by the national team definitely caught the opponent off guard. They were basically coming in with a new whole squad, just leaving the striker alone to lead the entire team.
Still, this was the essence of the friendly match. The coach had the freedom to mismatch the whole squad until he found the most suitable one for the team. The formation was still the same, 4-3-3, but the players who fought for it would be different.
On the backline, Makino took a deep breath, stretching up his upper body for a moment to ease the tension building up inside. Next to him, Taiga Nagai from Vissel Kobe, the defender he fought when Hakodate Nishi played against Hannan University High from Osaka in the Winter Tournament a few months ago, was also ready for the game.
This was going to be their first-ever partnership, and while Makino was slightly nervous, he kept reminding himself inwardly, ’He is just a bigger and stronger version of Jun, not something I should be worried about. He will cover my back, and I will do the same for him. We are going to be awesome just like that.’
Seeing Makino slapping his own face on the pitch, Higo, who still sat on the bench, couldn’t help but have the corner of his lips twitching. ’Yeah, he is trying to hype himself up.’
Not that it didn’t work, of course, because right after that, the boy’s gaze was sharper than ever. Then, in the first minute of the second half, when everything was still quite chaotic for the national team, who tried to adjust with their squad, Makino finally took action.
The boy saw a mistake from his teammate on the left flank, and soon enough, the ball went to the Brazilian striker who scored the first goal earlier. The man received the pass casually, turning around as if he had all the time and space in the world to manipulate.
Without hesitation, though, Makino rushed forward, sending a flying tackle straight to the ball.
BAM!
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