The Malmö FF Youth Academy Trials X

The game resumed some moments after Sebastian's goal that made the score 1-2, with Team D in the lead. Straight after kick-off, the players on Team C went on the offensive, trying to get a goal that would tie the score, but apart from a shot off target, nothing came out of it, and the referee blew the whistle to end the first half a few minutes later.

The boys from both teams stepped off the pitch, their shirts clinging to their backs with sweat. Many of them were panting, their faces red from the effort. Some of Team D's players dropped down onto the grass, sitting with their legs stretched out, while others stayed standing, hands on hips or bent over with their hands on their knees as they tried to catch their breath.

They gathered near the sidelines where Coach Andreas stood waiting with a pack of water bottles at his feet.

Andreas clapped his hands, getting their attention. "Good work, boys. That was a solid first half. You stayed disciplined, passed when you needed to, and took your chances. The reason you're in the lead is because you worked together as a team and gave it your best."

"But that doesn't mean you can relax. There's still a whole thirty minutes to play in the second half. So keep that same attitude and focus if you want to win this match."

He looked at them all for a moment before continuing. "But I will be making some changes. I want fresh legs for the second half so I'm taking out Viktor Holm, Oli Svensson and Theo Dahl for Emil Larsson, Jesper Lund and Viktor Svensson."

As the three substitutes stepped forward and started pulling on their bibs, Theo scowled and stepped closer to Andreas. "Coach, why am I coming off? I can still play."

Andreas furrowed his brow, staring down at him. "Because I believe that is what's best for the team. Also, I don't remember needing to explain to you why I make changes to the team I was assigned to coach." He turned from Theo and addressed everyone. "Rest up and hydrate." He pointed at the pack of water. "But don't drink too much so it doesn't affect your performance. The second half starts in about..." he glanced at his watch "...six minutes. That's all for now." He walked away, leaving the boys to recover.

Sebastian and the others moved toward the water. Sebastian picked up a bottle and started sipping, the cool liquid easing his dry throat. But as he lowered the bottle, he saw Theo approaching, anger written all over his face. Theo came right up to him and jabbed his finger hard into Sebastian's chest.

"This is all your fault."

What? Sebastian thought, frowning.

"You're the reason I was taken off," Theo snapped.

Sebastian slapped the finger away with the back of his hand. "For one, stop jabbing me with your finger. Secondly, what the hell are you on about? How am I the reason you got taken off?"

Theo's eyes blazed as he leaned in even closer. "Because you never passed to me, that's how. There were a lot of times that we were on the attack and I was free, calling out for the ball, but you kept ignoring me. I would have scored if you'd just given me the ball instead of trying to show off."

Sebastian stared at him, stunned for a moment at the outburst, then opened his mouth to reply but before he could, Kalle stepped between them.

"What are you even saying, Theo?" Kalle said, his voice firm. "You're just looking for someone to blame because you got taken off. That's not on Sebastian and you know it."

Theo's face twisted with frustration, and he pointed at Kalle now. "Of course you're defending him. You've scored, so everything's great for you, isn't it? You don't care about the rest of us."

Sebastian stepped forward, his brows furrowed. "Okay, that's enough, Theo. We get that you're angry that you got subbed off, but don't act like it's not your fault. You know what, I'll do the coach a favor and I'll tell you why I believe you got taken out of the match."

He raised both hands, using the index finger of his left hand to pull down the index finger of his right hand. "One. You don't communicate with your teammates at all, well, apart from when you're shouting at us to pass you the ball."

Then he pulled down his index and middle fingers together. "Two. When you do get the ball, you never pass it. You just try to go score on your own like you're Messi, which, to my knowledge, you're not."

He paused, lifted three fingers, and emphasized the next point. "And three. When you do lose the ball, you never come back on defense. I mean, come on, at least try to track back for god's sake. That's your job as a winger, and even more so when you're the one who lost the ball."

"Also, in case you forgot, the goal we conceded came from the chance YOU missed and the ball YOU lost. So yeah, who's at fault now?"

There was silence. Even some of the other players nearby turned to look, surprised that there was an argument breaking out among the team that was winning.

Sebastian turned and began to walk away. But before he got far, he stopped, drew a visible deep breath, his shoulders rising and falling, then turned back around, his facial expression in all seriousness staring at Theo.

"But yeah. I believe in second chances. And who knows, maybe the coaches do too. So here's what's going to happen. I'm going to make sure we win this match, and maybe the coaches will bring you on during the match against Team A. Maybe then you can show us how someone fighting to get selected by Malmö Academy can play."

Without waiting for a reply, he turned and walked off, leaving the moment hanging heavy in the air as the players prepared for the second half.