Chapter 2 - Chapter 2: Waiting in the Youth Team

Looking around at the eerie atmosphere, José began to shake his head frantically.

"You're smart enough to not make trouble for us. There's always a reward for people like you," said the Bull-headed figure with satisfaction, flipping through a small booklet in his hands. "You guys love the idea of crossing over, right? Here's your chance: you can cross into the body of someone who died where you want, keeping your memories. How does that sound? But remember—if you so much as mention a word about your crossing to anyone, well, I don't have to tell you what happens next."

"I won't say a word, not even if I die," José said obediently.

"You'll definitely die, but not in the way you think," the Bull-headed figure snorted. "Now, tell me—who would you want to cross into? As long as it's not too ridiculous, we can make it happen... special treatment, even. You know, 'postage included,' as they say."

José was stunned. He had heard that phrase somewhere before...

"Oh, I used to run a Taobao shop in my past life," the Bull-headed figure said sheepishly.

José nodded in understanding. It made sense. Before he died, he'd done his time as a Taobao seller, and the constant "dear" here and "dear" there didn't bother him anymore.

"Can I cross over anytime?" José asked.

"Of course," the Bull-headed figure replied. "But you have to be careful. If you stay in that body too long, you might just end up back in the Stone Age... Or how well do you know Spanish history? Or the history of Mallorca?"

José shook his head in confusion. He had been a shut-in before his death, attending a half-assed university for a few years and struggling to find work. He had dabbled in Taobao selling for a bit, made a little money, and then traveled to Mallorca, where he witnessed the most amazing scene of his life—before dying under bizarre circumstances.

"Well, the choice is yours. Just remember, once the deal's done, no returns. And, by the way, leave a good review…" The Bull-headed figure trailed off, noticing the strange look José gave him. His face turned slightly red. "Sorry, habit."

José nodded, beginning to recall everything he knew—he'd read plenty of "crossing-over" novels, so he knew the drill. After crossing over, he'd probably have to stick with what he knew best...

His memory only went back about ten years, and anything beyond that was fuzzy. But he'd read a lot of novels about crossing over and knew of some business opportunities. Most importantly—he was familiar with football.

José's thoughts immediately turned to the fact that Mallorca had a La Liga team. This team had produced great coaches like Cooper and Aragonés, and legendary players like Eto'o. He was a football fan, too—at least familiar with the Spanish league and its stars. He'd been watching football for over a decade, so why not try his hand at coaching?

"Let me cross to the mid-90s—around 1994—and into the body of someone involved with football, preferably a club owner," José said, drifting into fantasy—Rebirth of 1994: Football Glory III.

"Oh, I've got the perfect candidate," the Bull-headed figure said, flipping through records excitedly. "In 1992, a young guy named José Alemany drowned at the age of 18. He was the only son of Mateo Alemany, future president of Mallorca. He loved football and wanted to be a great coach someday... This is your guy."

"Wait, he's also named José?" José blinked in surprise.

"Yep, and he's your age, a perfect match," the Bull-headed figure confirmed.

"Hey, that's someone from the '70s. I'm a '80s guy," José protested.

"Fine, this one's perfect," the Bull-headed figure said impatiently. "You're smart enough to cross into someone like him. If you tried someone else, they'd probably expose your secrets... Want to run a club? Here's some startup money to get you started. You can be a 'handsome, rich guy,' at least don't end up like a total loser... After you cross over, go study in the U.S. and in two years, you'll have more than $200 million. Maybe even date a pretty American girl... But don't be greedy. The startup money is limited, so don't try investing elsewhere or you might end up a real loser."

José was completely speechless after hearing the Bull-headed figure babble so many internet memes.

The "special power-up" given to him was reminiscent of a football game cheat, and José eagerly tried to experiment with it. But he quickly realized it didn't work—maybe it would only activate once he truly became a coach. He was frustrated that he couldn't test it out beforehand.

Worse yet, the starting funds were a joke. At first, everything he invested in went up. What started as a few thousand dollars snowballed into nearly $200 million. But once he crossed that threshold, every investment turned into a loss. Fortunately, he pulled out before he lost everything and was left with around $180 million.

José quickly abandoned any plans to invest further—he was too worried about going from "rich" to "real loser" if things went wrong.

With $200 million, he could buy Mallorca's club, but the problem was... no one was selling. Mallorca wasn't a public company, and its shares were held by a few key stakeholders. Buying everyone out without raising suspicion was nearly impossible—what if those stakeholders demanded an outrageous price? Even if he managed to acquire the club, he wouldn't have enough money to make it work. Football clubs devoured money, after all.

"If I had $2 billion, I'd buy the club right away," José muttered. "I'd build a new stadium, too—Mallorca has potential, but it's not being developed properly. I'll just have to wait for the right opportunity."

As expected, events unfolded as José had predicted.

Before stepping down, Asensio sold off several top players—just as he had the year before. Argentine player Amato went to Glasgow Rangers, Spanish player Romero went to Deportivo La Coruña, and others moved to Atletico Madrid. Fortunately, Cooper had an eye for talent, signing players like Dani from Real Madrid, Biazzini from Atletico Madrid, and the Argentine Ibagaza. This squad took Mallorca to the top of the La Liga standings, but eventually dropped to third due to a lack of depth.

Of course, Asensio wasn't just selling players for profit. After Cooper left, his assistant, Gomez, took over as head coach, and Alemany used the funds from the sales to buy two new strikers, Ginteros and Carlos, to replace Dani, and signed Argentine goalkeeper Bogus to fill in for Roa.

At this point, José approached his father with a request.

"What? You want to go back to the youth team?" Alemany asked, surprised at his son's request.

José nodded. He had his reasons—this season wasn't looking good for Mallorca, and his relationship with Gomez was less than ideal. He didn't want to be an assistant under a coach he didn't get along with. It would be better to return to the youth team for now.

Besides, he had a couple of promising young players he was keen to develop, and one in particular had only just joined months ago, snatched away by other teams. That was a loss he couldn't afford.

"Why go back to the youth team? You know the difference between being a youth coach and a first-team assistant coach. You spent three years in the youth team, and only a year and a half in the first team. Now you want to go back?" Alemany asked, frowning.

"Sometimes taking a small step back today is for a much bigger leap tomorrow," José smiled. "Dad, I learned a lot from Coach Cooper last year, but right now, I don't think I can learn much from Gomez. Besides, in the youth team, I have important work to do."

"Is that really the reason?" Alemany asked, his expression softening. "There won't be any problem. Youth team coaches and first-team assistants can be swapped around. If you want to go back, it can be arranged... You know, José, you did well in the youth team. Diego Tristan was promoted to the first team—that's an achievement of the youth team, too."

José chuckled. "He was already outstanding, and he'd been in the youth team for years before I joined. It's not my credit."

"Alright, anything else?" Alemany asked.

"I've heard that Francisco is retiring. I'd like to take over his position as the second-team coach," José said softly.

"The second-team coach?" Alemany paused, then nodded. "That shouldn't be a problem. You did well in the second team before. When Francisco retires, you can take over... Go for it, José. I'm looking forward to the day you become the head coach of Mallorca!"

"That day will come, Father," José nodded deeply, leaving Alemany's office.

"Great coaches always start as youth coaches... Well, let me follow in their footsteps, and I'll be even greater!"

Stepping outside, José looked up at the blue sky, watching the clouds drift by, and gazed at the distant sea. Taking a deep breath, he made his declaration to the world.