Guess

"Hey, Lukas. What are you gazing out so intensely?" Javi's voice cut through Lukas' thoughts.

"Nothing, Dad. I was just thinking about yesterday's training session."

"Oh? Hope it went well?"

"Yes, Dad. It went really well. Not to sound cocky, but I have a feeling I'd be getting a contract soon."

"Hahahaha. I like how confident you sound, Luke. I believe in you."

"Thanks, Dad." Lukas flashed a warm smile as they both turned their attention to the TV now replaying highlights of yesterday's match.

* * *

Two days later. Monday, June 17th, 2024.

At the Riederwald Academy.

The Academy Manager's office was relatively quiet. On the TV screen, some highlights from several matches of Matchday 1 of Euro 24 were playing on mute.

The scribbling of a pen on paper and the low buzz of the air conditioning unit were the only sounds made in the office.

Alexander Richter — the Academy Manager — was seated at his desk as he reviewed and signed some documents.

RING*

The telephone on his desk rang a couple of times before he put down his pen and answered the call.

"Hello, Mr. Richter. Mr. Schmitt is here to see you." The receptionist's voice came through the phone.

"Yes, please send him in. Thank you." Richter responded before ending his call.

A few seconds later.

KNOCK KNOCK*

"Please come in."

The door opened as a red-haired lady, who seemed to be in her late 20s, stepped in—she was Richter's secretary.

"Hello, sir. Mr. Schmitt is here."

Following closely behind her was Dennis Schmitt. He was dressed in black trousers and a white T-shirt.

"Hello, Mr. Richter. I am Dennis Schmitt. It's nice to meet you."

"Mr. Schmitt, welcome. Please come in, have a seat." Richter said as he stood up from his chair and walked over to the sofa in the middle of the office, where Dennis was standing.

The men shook hands as they exchanged pleasantries.

"Mr. Schmitt, will you have a cup of tea or coffee?" Richter asked Dennis.

"No, thank you. A cold glass of water would be great, please."

Richter turned to his secretary, still standing by the door.

"A glass of water for him, and a cup of tea for me. Thank you."

The lady turned around and left the room.

"Mr. Schmitt, sorry for calling you here when you must be busy preparing to officially take over the team."

"It's alright, sir. I'll be taking over the team in a couple of weeks anyway. And I'll be needing all the help I can get from Riederwald if we are to succeed.

The academy is where majority of our players will be coming from. So it's good to get acquainted with the place and the people who have been running it so well as soon as possible."

"Thanks for your kind words," Richter responded with a smile.

"I mean it. Also, I have to come if there's a player so good that you want me to see even before I officially took charge."

KNOCK KNOCK*

The lady came back with a glass of water and a cup of tea for the men, before leaving again.

"So, who's this player that you wanted me to take a look at?" Schmitt asked as he drank from his glass.

"He's not yet our player. He's currently having tryouts with the U17 team. But we plan to offer him a contract as soon as possible. He will be officially registered immediately the summer window opens."

"He's only having tryouts with the U17s, and they're already thinking about getting him to the reserve team? Is this a joke?" Dennis thought, obviously confused by what he was hearing.

"Is he really that good?" He asked as he looked straight at Richter.

Without responding, Richter brought out his phone and sent a message to Dennis' phone.

DING*

Dennis took his phone out of his pocket and opened the message—a Dropbox link to a video file.

"It's a match played on Friday last week. The U17 team against the U19 team. I called you immediately after it ended. I won't tell you exactly who it is we are talking about. You'll be able to tell as soon as you start watching it. Please watch it when you can, and give me a call."

Dennis stared at the file he had already started downloading before looking back at Richter.

"I guess it wouldn't hurt to watch it. At worst, I can at least roughly gauge the level of the academy's elites from it." He thought.

"Alright then. I'll watch it tonight and give you a call when I'm done."

"Take your time."

Richter stood up from the sofa after the conversation.

"Alright then. I won't take up any more of your time." He said as he extended his hand to shake Dennis'.

"No problem, sir. Expect to hear from me soon." Dennis said as Richter walked him to the door.

"You'll be calling me real soon, I promise."

"I hope so, too."

Dennis walked out of the office as he headed to the elevator.

"If he's trying out with the U17 and not the U19, how good could he really be? And he will probably be very young too. To recommend someone like that to the reserve team? It's weird."

Dennis was only one thought away from thinking that the conversation with Richter was to push a 'nepo-baby' into the ranks.

That made no sense though because pushing someone who is clearly not ready for a higher level, is just going to become a recipe for disaster with the amount of scrutiny and pressure that will be on them to deliver.

"There's no harm in watching. It's just an hour long anyway." Dennis Schmitt concluded as he stepped out of the administrative building and headed to his car.

Meanwhile, back in Richter's office.

"I can't wait to see how long it'll take for him to reach back to me," Richter thought as he twirled on his spinning chair.

He reached for the telephone on his desk and dialed a number.

"Oh, hello, Mr Richter. What a pleasant surprise." A very familiar voice answered enthusiastically.

"Marco, it's been a while since we spoke, hasn't it?" Richter responded with a grin.

"Yes, it has. To what do I owe the pleasure of Academy Manager Alexander Richter himself contacting me?"

"I'm guessing you already have a very good idea why I'd be calling you Marco."

"Huh? No, I don't. Whatever might you be talking about, sir?"

"Hahaha.. You're never gonna change, are you? We want the kid, Marco, seriously."

"I understand what you mean. They have their next training tomorrow right? I will speak to him and his father and we can discuss it with them when they come tomorrow." Marco responded. This time, with a more business-like tone.

"Alright, Marco. Let's talk tomorrow."

* * *

Later that night, at Javi's apartment.

The family had just finished a late dinner as they sat together to watch France take on Austria in a match that wasn't really a nail-biter.

"You have to go to school tomorrow you know that right?" Javi asked as the pre-match scenery unfolded on the screen.

"Yeah. I'll just watch the first half, dad." Lukas responded as he got comfortable on the couch.

"By the way, I got a call from Marco while on my way back from work. He said he had been trying to, but couldn't reach you."

"Really? I don't think there's anything wrong with my phone." Lukas got up and looked around him for his phone.

After searching the living and dining rooms, he couldn't find it. He found it in his bedroom on 'do not disturb'.

"It was in the bedroom," Lukas said as he walked back into the living room.

"So what did he want?"

"He didn't say. He just said the club needed us there with you tomorrow for a discussion."

"Really? That's great. Can you make it?"

"Of course I can, Luke. I only have morning lectures at the University tomorrow. I'll pick you up from school, and we can head there together. We'll meet Marco there."

"Alright, dad," Lukas responded as they both quietly watched the game.

After Austria conceded an own goal to make the score 1-0 to France in the 38th minute, Lukas got up.

"I'll be going to bed now. Goodnight, Dad."

"Okay. You won't watch the rest of the match?"

"No, I don't think there'll be another goal in this match with the way it's going. I'm getting sleepy." Lukas responded.

"Alright, son. Have a good night."

As Lukas lay on his bed, he thought about the reason for the meeting with Marco. He already had a very good idea why, but he couldn't predict the level he was being signed to debut in.

After his performance against the U19 team, he felt he was good enough to play at the U19 level. But a single game doesn't prove much. And since that game was a friendly between teams of the same academy, it proves even less.

At least he was sure he could get a chance to start on the U19 team, but what awaited him the next day was far more surprising.

A/N: Oliver27 with 6 GTs. Wow! Thanks a whole lot. I really appreciate it.

Pandaontop with 1 more. I'm grateful

Afsoares, I see you. Thank you so much

I have a feeling we'll be getting to our GT goal for an extra chapter today or tomorrow, so I'm trying to get one ready ahead of time. Thanks for all the support.

I see you all.

-Writ