"Thanks, but no," said Lucas with his head held high as he looked at Jinez.
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Jinez's dark brown eyes, slightly shaded by his blue baseball cap, went wide, as Lucas had never seen a pair of eyes go wide before.
"W-what did you say?" Jinez asked after a few seconds in silence.
Lucas didn't back down. "I don't want to go to A-Team."
At that mont, Coach Eddie abruptly turned Lucas' chair, who was sitting next to him. Eddie looked at him seriously and said:
"Lucas, what are you doing? This isn't a ti for jokes. It's your future we're talking about." Eddie was worried, and it was the first ti he had shown anything like this.
Lucas looked reassuringly at him with his eyes. "I know, Eddie."
When Lucas turned to look at Jinez again, his chin was still down, his mouth ajar and his brow furrowed. Then Jinez raised his eyebrows and shook his head a little, as if he still didn't understand.
"What is it, Lucas? Why don't you want to go into A-Team?" Jinez asked, placing both hands on the table. "Look, if it's sothing that I or soone on our team has said and it's upset you, please tell us. Oh, don't tell it's because we didn't select you for the first team from the start. If that's the case, I want you to understand that it was purely a professional decision aid at your-"
"No, not that. In fact, nobody bothered . Everyone here at the club has always treated very well." Raising his right hand, Lucas interrupted him.
"So, what made you take that decision?"
"Actually, if you'll allow , I haven't decided yet."
Eddie blinked twice, confused. "What do you an? You just said no."
"Yes, but... sort of. I'm going to get straight to the point with you here: I want to stay with the team that's best for my career. Before you say it, you don't have to tell . I know that, theoretically, Team-A is the best at the mont because they compete at a high level, they have talent from all over Europe, they're the best technically speaking and also psychologically."
"However, I believe that we in Team-B are also an excellent team. We have few tactical options, and Coach Eddie is well aware of that. Still, we perford well against Liverpool and even beat Chelsea's first team, which is one of the best U20 teams we have this year."
"Anyway, what I'm trying to say is that we have two good teams at Brighton. In one I'm integrated. I'm a starter and we play well. In the other, I'm not going to start, not at first, I don't know anyone and we're starting the season next week. We'll also be playing in the qualifiers for the sa tournants, as far as I know. So what do you think is best for ?"
Lucas' argunts seed to have so effect on them, and they fell silent. When Eddie started to speak, he was a little hesitant, but he still said what was really on his mind.
"If I were you, kid, I'd choose Team-B. Players like you want to play in the important gas, so you don't want to have a better chance of winning if you're on the bench." Eddie said, being very asured.
Jinez laughed briefly. "Lucas, I have to say. That's surprising. When I first saw you in training, I thought you'd be a typical shy kid, who plays whatever position they ask you to play and does what's best for the team. You know, that's the type of Japanese player. Yet here you are, going beyond what I expected."
Lucas scratched the back of his head, a little awkwardly. "Sorry, sir, but that's what I think." "However, Eddie, you still haven't told the boys on your team, have you?" Jinez looked at Eddie, who looked away. "You haven't told them that you won't be taking part in the FA Youth Cup qualifiers, nor the Youth League and, of course, let alone the Youth Premier League."
"What? What do you an?" asked Lucas, surprised.
"Because of the conflict of interest, it's not possible to register two different teams from the sa team in the sa competition. Although in the past teams didn't do this because of the money needed to move two teams, money is no longer an issue for most Premier League teams these days. Therefore, at the ti of formal registration, only one team of up to 25 players can be entered the competitions," announced Jinez.
Lucas looked at Eddie for confirmation, and he nodded. "I intended to tell them tomorrow, when I also told them about your move to the A-Team," said Eddie with a low look.
"You should have told us that from the start, really. What will we play then?"
"Smaller leagues and with non-professional teams. As you develop, we'll integrate you into Team-A in the Youth Premier League."
"But if only 25 players can be registered, and you already have 16 in the A-Team... That ans that another three from our team would have to be left out of the initial registration." Lucas got up from the table abruptly. "Who did you intend to leave out?"
"Anton, because there are already two goalkeepers in Team-A, then Hillebrand and Daniel."
"That's...!"
"Lucas, please sit down and calm down," said Jinez, and Lucas obeyed.
Eddie's lack of consideration outraged Lucas for the players. Signing players, giving them hope, only to leave them on the sidelines.
Seconds of awkward silence perpetuated in that eting room until he himself broke the silence. "So, how are we going to resolve this situation?" he asked, looking at Jinez.
"Resolve it? There's nothing to resolve. I an, unless you all won the A-Team and proved yourselves superior, we could swap places. You know, it would be like turning the tables." Jinez laughed, as if what he had said was funny and impossible.
At that mont, Lucas understood what the objective of the mission he had got ant by 'make a counter-proposal'.
"And why not?" he asked seriously.
The amused smile on Jinez's face vanished. "You don't think I was serious, do you?"
"Why? Are you afraid that our team, which was ford a few months ago, will beat the team you coach, sir? Let's go. We're Team-A and Team-B and we haven't played against each other yet. Put us on the pitch, give us a ball, a referee, two goals, and then we can see which team is better." Lucas spoke calmly, more cold than he had ever been in marketing etings at his old job.
Jinez looked at Lucas with lowered eyebrows, a frown, and a tense expression. Finally, he sighed, easing so of the tension in the room as well.
"Lucas, you faithfully believe that your team can beat Team-A, right? I like that, I like that confidence in a player. But confidence is a trap sotis. You played against two good opponents, but you had problems with both gas. Do you really think my players wouldn't know how to exploit those dangers?"
"So of them could go up to the pros this year. It just depends on the first-team coach watching more gas, and I'm sure so of them will. So, what do you say?" continued Jinez.
Lucas crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair.
"One ga. 90 minutes. If Team-B wins, we win Team-A's place in the competitions they'll be playing in this year. If we don't, I'll go to Team-A without complaining, without blinking an eye, and I'll do whatever punishnt you want. Do the laundry for six months, I'll do it. Tidying up the cones after training for a year, too. Whatever you ask."
"You're smart, kid. This is a win-win situation for you. On both occasions, you play on the best team. However, I take that back. You're exactly the person I expected. A kind kid who's willing to take a lot of punishnt to bring his current teammates up to the next level." Jinez said with a smile at the corner of his mouth. And turned to look at Eddie. "What do you say, partner? You want to try that?"
"I don't know if it's a good idea... If they lost, they'd be so sad about it and the other news that it could shake up this whole year for them, maybe even their entire career," Eddie replied.
"But if we win, Coach, it will be the greatest joy of their lives up to that point. Both for the rookies and for those who used to belong to the A-Team."
"If I may say so, I'm excited about the idea," said Jinez. "I don't think my players would be too excited, but they're also very self-centered at tis for such young players. If they lose, it will be a great life lesson for them, and Brighton won't be losing anything. We'll have a competitive team anyway, and that's the most important thing."
"All right, I'm convinced."
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