Recognition

Coach Bano decided to split the regulars and the reserves into two teams of 11 players each. After making the divisions, he realized that six players were left, as Izan's addition had brought the squad number to 26. 

To balance the teams, he assigned three substitutes to each side.

"Okay, gather around and look at the lineup for the starting eleven and the reserve eleven," Coach Bano announced.

Izan walked over to the chart to check the teams.

Starting Lineup (Blue Bibs)

Formation: 4-3-3

• Goalkeeper: Raúl Jiménez

• Left Back: David Nunez

• Right Back: Lucas Téna

• Center Backs: Alejandro Pana, Mark Montes

• Midfielders: Javier Buéso, Jan Martínez, 

Andranik Chust

Left Wing: Marc Juardo

• Right Wing: Pablo Neri

• Striker: Hugo de Marc

• Substitutes: Juan Soldado, Gaia Palo, Louis Gurendal

After reviewing the starters, Izan turned to check the reserve team, expecting to find his name among the substitutes.

Reserve Team (Red Bibs)

Formation: 4-2-1-3

• Goalkeeper: Vic Abril

• Left Back: José Palermo

• Right Back: Nico Paz

• Center Backs: Kike Reyes, Nico Giles 

• Midfielders: Juanda Terrano, Enrique Sautin

• Attacking Midfield: Izan Miura Hernández

• Left Wing: Pedro Fontaine

• Right Wing: Wissam Andrich

• Striker: Sam Kalo

• Substitutes: Ian Riggs, Mark Barai, Juan Barsi

Izan was surprised to see his name in the reserve team's starting lineup. He had expected to start from the bench.

Coach Bano continued, "By now, you should know which team you belong to. Those starting the match should get onto the pitch, and the substitutes should sit on the bench."

He then pulled out a whistle to officiate the training match.

Unbeknownst to the players, Coach Patricio Moreno had arrived at the pitch and was silently observing. Coach Bano met his gaze, nodded in acknowledgment, and blew the whistle.

Kickoff

The reserve team's striker kicked off, passing the ball to Izan, who took a nervous first touch. Playing it safe, he passed backward to a midfielder, who then moved the ball to the left back.

The reserves used one-touch and two-touch passes to move the ball around, keeping possession even as the regulars advanced into their half. 

The right-back, Nico Paz, received the ball and sent it to Pedro Fontin.

Pedro looked for passing options but found none, as the regulars had pressed high up the pitch. Izan noticed his teammate's predicament and freed himself from his marker, making himself available for a pass.

However, Pedro refused to pass. Does he think I'm going to pass to him? he scoffed internally, deciding to go solo instead.

Unfortunately, his selfish play led to him being tackled cleanly by the regulars' right back. 

The defender quickly looked up and sent a diagonal lob to the left winger, who controlled the ball beautifully before sprinting forward.

Spotting his striker with a slight aerial advantage over the defenders, the winger whipped in a cross. Hugo de Marc leaped high and powered a header into the net.

He ran off, performing an over-the-top celebration to rub salt in the wound.

Even though it was just a training match, conceding was never fun. The reserve team players turned toward Pedro, some glaring at him for his mistake.

Pedro, feeling the weight of their stares, slowly lowered his head in defeat.

Coach Moreno, who had been quietly observing, finally spoke. "Pedro, keep playing like that, and you're out of the squad for the next match."

Everyone turned to look at him.

Despite knowing Pedro's egoistic tendencies, Coach Moreno tolerated them because of the player's connection to the club's sporting director. But even he was getting fed up.

Why dig your own grave? Izan thought, watching Pedro with mild amusement.

The match restarted, and this time, the striker passed the ball directly to Izan. Izan looked at Pedro and, despite everything, passed him the ball.

Realizing that all eyes were on him, Pedro took a touch and played the ball back to Izan.

Izan trapped it and scanned for passing options. Spotting their right winger in a good position, he sent a raking pass across the field.

Wissam Andrich, the right winger, took off down the flank. Though his technical ability was limited, his speed and explosiveness made him dangerous.

However, he quickly found himself surrounded by three defenders. Panicking, he sent a poor pass toward Izan.

The ball came in awkwardly, but Izan adjusted his body and controlled it with the side of his boot before flicking it over an incoming opponent. 

He followed up by controlling it on his thigh and continuing toward the box.

Seeing Pedro making a run, Izan executed a left-footed travel pass, curving the ball beautifully into Pedro's path.

All Pedro had to do was stretch out his leg— Pa! The ball deflected off his foot and into the net.

Pedro stood frozen, watching his teammates rush toward him in celebration. Even Izan was running toward him, making him question why he hated him in the first place.

The players jumped on Pedro, sending him crashing under a pile of sweaty bodies.

Bano blew the whistle, dispersing the players. Checking his watch, he saw that 22 minutes had passed and decided to call halftime.

When play resumed, Coach Moreno made a surprising decision—he moved Izan to the regulars' team and adjusted their formation to a 4-2-1-3 to accommodate him.

Both teams also made three substitutions.

On the sidelines, a recently subbed-out player muttered, "Okay, I admit it—he's really good."

"Yeah," another agreed. "I tried taking the ball from him so many times, but I couldn't. That flick and trivela pass were crazy."

"Geniuses really have it easy," a third player sighed.

Pedro, now on the bench, quietly thought, At this rate, it won't be long before he makes his senior team debut.

Coach Bano restarted the match with the regulars kicking off.

Izan played just behind the striker, serving as the link between midfield and attack while controlling the game's tempo. 

He slowed things down when his team got too aggressive and sped things up when they needed to attack.

At first, some players ignored his instructions. But after following them once and noticing how much sharper their play became, they started listening more.

However, the match was dragging out. Realizing this, Izan dropped deeper into defense to collect the ball himself.

He then initiated an attack.

Accelerating into midfield, he held onto the ball before laying it off to Gaia, who immediately returned it.

With a quick one-two, Izan burst forward. The reserves' midfielders tried to close him down, but he slipped through with a simple knock-on and used his acceleration to recover the ball.

Approaching the final third, he saw the striker was marked, so he went alone.

One of the center-backs forced him wide to the left side of the box. Izan feigned a cross, tricking the defender into lunging. 

Instead, he dragged the ball back in a Cruyff turn and moved toward the edge of the penalty area.

When more defenders recovered, he faked a shot, making them throw their bodies in the way—only to sidestep and continue.

Finally, with space in front of him, he pulled back his right leg—BAM!

A curling finesse shot soared into the top right corner. The goalkeeper didn't stand a chance.

Izan bowed to the imaginary crowd at the corner flag before being swarmed by teammates.

The match ended 3-1, with Izan scoring again from a rebound.

On the sidelines, Ferran, watching alongside Coach Moreno, grinned. "That kid's really good."

Coach Moreno sighed. "Yeah… I suppose he is."

In the restroom, Izan checked his system rewards.

Ding! [System Quest Completed]

• +20 Stat Points

• +5000 LP

• +1 Growth Potion

His eyes gleamed.

"It's about to go down," he muttered, rubbing his hands together.