The next few days passed very quickly for Tyler. He had settled in so more and got closer to other mbers in the squad other than Tiago and George.
It turned out that being a young foreigner was a soft spot for all the other mbers in the squad. That and the fact that he was also hardworking. All of them treated him like a younger brother and were quite protective over him.
It was the last training session before the matchday and Adi Hutter severely reduced the intensity of training so that his players wouldn’t be too burnt out. Unfortunately, Tyler wouldn’t get to be a part of that training session. While everyone else was warming up, he and Tiago had been called into the manager’s office.
"Alright boys, as I said previously, I intended for the both of you to train with the under eighteens to develop further. But this past week, you’ve shown that playing with the under eighteens won’t do much for your developnt, and at the sa ti I don’t feel like you’re ready to play with the first team yet so you see, I’m in quite a dilemma".
Tyler and Tiago nodded slowly as Adi Hutter talked. He might have been rambling, but Tyler knew that he had sothing to say to them. He wouldn’t have called them into his office just to tell them what he just said.
After a few seconds of silence, the gaffer continued talking.
"And that’s why after much deliberation, I’ve decided that you’ll be playing with Monaco B in the Championnat National 2. You’ll train with the first team as usual but you’ll start the gas with them. And rember, I’ll be monitoring your progress. Your performances with them will determine whether or not you’ll be relegated to train with them for so ti or you’ll keep playing with us".
"This is the world of professional football, you either keep improving or you get binned. It’s the sa as in every other club. There’s no sentint here. Do you understand?"
The two teenagers nodded their head before leaving the manager’s office. After that, they continued training with the group, but they already knew that they would be playing with the reserve team the next day.
Normally, almost all young players would have been a little bit upset at not being included in the squad. But it was the opposite for Tyler. The coach went from thinking he was under eighteens material to placing him in the reserve team. It was progress, however small it was.
After the training session, Tyler went straight ho. Luckily for him, he only had his private classes three days a week so he could rest straightaway.
The next day, he reported to the reserve squad. Everyone arrived early to warm up before the match.
"Alright everyone, we have two newcors in our midst". The reserve coach said as Tyler and Tiago arrived to start training with them. "Adi doesn’t think them ready so he dumped them to to babysit. There’s Tyler and Tiago".
Tyler chuckled awkwardly when he heard the coach’s introduction. It seed like he was a bit sour about having two youngsters randomly dumped on his team. What would have made it worse was the fact that they were to start according to what Adi Hutter told Tyler and Tiago.
’No worries, I’ll just blow him away with my football skills’ Tyler thought as he stepped into the locker room to change into the training wear. He had played football for long enough to know how the football world worked. Nobody really liked you until you showed them that you were very good.
In the next hour or so, everyone gathered inside the locker room, surrounding the coach who shot Tyler and Tiago a glare before he started with his pep talk.
"Alright lads, listen up, we’ve got a tough opponent today. They’re quick, they press hard, and they’ll try to bully you off the ball. I don’t care if they’re top of the table or bottom, we will play our football. No panic, no sloppy passes, and no switching off. If you lose the ball, you win it back in two seconds or less. Do you fucking understand!?"
"Yes coach!" Everyone shouted, including Tyler and Tiago. They had already established that the coach didn’t like them. They didn’t want to give him an actual reason not to.
He continued, "I want energy from the first whistle. Not after ten minutes, not after they score, straight from kick-off. We set the tone. And for those of you starting today," his eyes flickered briefly toward Tyler and Tiago once again, "this is your chance to make a statent. People are watching."
The group broke up after his words, so players heading back to their lockers, others starting light stretches. Tyler sat down next to Tiago, who was lacing up his boots. He seed fine, but his eyes and the aggressiveness with which he tied his shoelace said otherwise.
"You alright?" Tyler asked.
Tiago scoffed. "No. I’m still pissed. I should be in the senior squad. I’ve been training like a madman and they dump here instead? Feels like a slap in the face."
Tyler chuckled and stared in front of him. "I didn’t know you were a pussy".
"What?" Tiago who was tying his shoelace, imdiately faced Tyler. "What did you say?"
"You’re a pussy. Why are you here sulking because you weren’t in the squad. The coach sent you here because he wants you to prove to him that you’re ready. If you’re pissed then you should make you should make". Tyler stuttered trying to rember the na of the team they were playing against. In the end, he gave up and settled in using a general term. "You should make our opponents feel your anger instead".
Tiago smirked faintly, shaking his head. "Thanks man. I needed that".
"Alright then, let’s move".
He stood, peeling off his training top and pulling the match jersey from the hook. Number eleven. There wasn’t a na on the back. The reserves didn’t get to have nas on the back of their shirt. Jersey numbers were given based on who was starting in what position. As for Tyler, he was starting on the left wing so he had the number eleven.
Still, as he slipped it over his head, feeling the fabric settle against his shoulders, it felt right, and a lot more comfortable than whatever jersey he wore before. He was starting on the left. Number eleven
A small sigh escaped his lips. Today, he’d make sure everyone rembered the number eleven.
A/N:
Twenty power stones once again! That’s two extra Chapters on the tab and they will be updated in the next few days
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