The final whistle was blown, and the blue team managed to hang on to their lead. Saki and the others were in a celebratory mood at last.
"Not bad."
It was a familiar voice coming from behind Saki.
When he turned, it was Joha and the entire orange team. Now, they weren't wearing those orange bibs anymore but the same blue kit of their club.
Saki almost forgot this was just a friendly
game with his teammates.
He smiled.
"Thanks," he said. "Not bad yourself—you got a hat trick."
Joha brushed off the praise with a firm smile.
"I'd have been more satisfied if I'd won the game."
"Maybe next time," Young Nicholas interrupted.
"Yeah, next time!"
A new voice settled into the group. It was Mr. Turner, the head coach, accompanied by his assistant, Masaru.
The kids who had been rallying for the two teams outside were already gone. The training pitch was quieter now.
Mr. Turner stepped into the small circle of players, Masaru stopping alongside the lined-up players just beside Saki.
"You did great, Saki!" he whispered. "The coach was amazed by your last goal—absolutely genius. I'm sure he'll choose you for his starting lineup. I recommended you myself."
Saki felt it was a bit overstated, though he was glad to have gained the coach's attention.
"Um, okay, thanks," he said shortly, not interested in attempting to make any further conversation.
Joha, who was at his side, had heard the assistant coach's words.
"You shouldn't listen to him," he said quietly so Masaru couldn't hear. "He's not as professional as he seems."
Saki sighed, not sure what to say.
The coach was already speaking.
"Forget about your petty game," he said. "Though I must admit, it was more entertaining than being competitive—in a good way, since nobody got injured."
The players remained focused, listening and waiting for the part they wanted to hear most.
"Okay, now I'll get to the point," he said, rubbing his clean-shaven chin. "I've already considered and reconsidered my starting eleven," he emphasized.
Finally, the moment had arrived. The players made a few murmurs and slight movements before everything calmed down.
"I'd like to start with the goalkeeper. Though they're both amazing, I'd lean more toward the tall one."
That was Harityo.
Saki smirked at the choice—that meant their goalkeeper, Taro Ishikawa, would be in the second squad.
Taro himself didn't seem to care when Saki caught a glimpse of him. He appeared rather okay with the decision.
"And the number nine," he continued, "will be Erio Izui."
The name was a new one. Not a single player among them had that name. The players exchanged looks, but since there were only two strikers available, Saki's immediate guess was—
"It's an honor, Coach," Papu blurted out, cutting through the tension with pride, and all the players turned toward him, whispering.
"Mmh." Kenta Marito, the other striker, scoffed disdainfully at the choice made instead of him.
"He did a great job advertising himself earlier," Don said to Saki, as they both noticed his displeased reaction.
"And the attacking mid will be Young Nicholas," the coach continued.
"What? I just scored a hat trick!" Don exclaimed.
"Maybe that wasn't good advertising," Joha chuckled at his comment.
Don looked away, furious. "I didn't come all the way from Brazil to be put on the bench in a stupid Japanese league." His tone was harsh.
"We'll see how long he lasts in that position," he added, as if making a declaration of war.
Saki smirked at his friend's display of pride.
"Take it slow, will you?" he told him.
Don didn't say a word as the coach continued announcing his chosen players.
But Saki didn't expect Don to be better than Young, even with the hat trick. Still, he would've chosen Young over his best friend in terms of potential and overall performance on the field.
Even when the entire orange side's back line was called into the starting team, it included the fullbacks, Akira Fujimoto and Kaito Nakamura.
And their center defenders: Marco Rossi and Ryu Suzuki, both included.
But the choice that surprised him was in the midfield: Kenzie Kamay, a technical elite, was pushed to the second squad, and the coach chose the hard-tackling Elton Cluster instead.
Though Saki himself would've chosen Kenzie for his brilliance, Elton was still undisputed when it came to battling on the field. He was more of a destroyer than a box-to-box midfielder like Kenzie.
Then, when the final midfield position was decided, Elio was taken as the central midfielder in the first eleven, pushing Akio Saito to the second squad.
Saki came to realize that the starting eleven wasn't fully complete yet, but only two blue team players had been chosen so far. The remaining open spots were just two—both wingers.
The remaining unmentioned names were himself, Joha, Lumi, and the two juniors, Young Naziko and Imao. But for the younger players, it was clear they weren't getting into the first squad.
So now, it was only Lumi and Joha to compete with. Even Mr. Turner paused for a moment as the players waited to hear which of the three would be left on the bench.
Mr. Turner cleared his throat before speaking again.
"Well, for the right wing," he said, and for a moment, he gazed at Saki, who clenched his teeth. Why is he staring like that? he wondered inwardly.
"Lumi," he said.
For a moment, silence fell. Every player glanced at Saki and Joha, who had been the expected choices in their minds.
"Well, he was great on the left, but a winger's role can be dynamic," he added, as if offering an excuse. "So why don't we move to the left? Let's see..."
He flipped through the pages of his clipboard, even though hours earlier he had claimed he knew everyone in his team by name.
"Yes, what do we have here?" he finally said, settling on one page. "Saki O'Ryan," he called out, pausing without continuing.
As Saki felt the relief of hearing his name, Mr. Turner wasn't done—not yet. "A bench warmer," he added subtly.
"Uh."
Saki wished he hadn't heard him correctly. Was he just called a bench warmer?
Mr. Turner started laughing, amused. "Okay, guys," he said. "Actually, 'bench warmer' is just a joke. All of you must know that you'll have more than enough chances to play once the season kicks in."
But Saki was still confused. Was he chosen for the first eleven or not? Before he could ask, Mr. Turner continued.
"Where was I? Yes, right—so we have Saki here and Joha," he said, looking at both of them. "I've already placed you, Saki, in the second squad."
Saki clenched his teeth, trying to force calmness into his eyes.
"So Joha here will be our left winger in the first eleven, and you, Saki, will be a substitute for either of the two wingers."
Did he sign up for this? he wondered.
The other players—even Joha—waited to hear what he had to say, as if they expected him to protest or something.
But he didn't.
"What good is he anyway?" someone said over the silence. Everyone looked—it was the striker, Kenta Marito. "If running is what he does, I can manage that too, and I don't think he'd even be able to catch up to me."
Saki heard him the first time, and then the second... He couldn't hold it in any longer.
"And guess who's the striker who went onto the pitch and failed to score a single goal," he shot back, amusement filling his tone. "Sounds to me like someone's been a pretty good runner for the full ninety minutes."
The entire squad broke into laughter, leaving Kenta visibly furious.
The way Saki said it made it seem like he had already accepted his fate of being in the second squad, but for some reason, he knew why the coach didn't go straight for him and Joha and instead chose Lumi, leaving him aside.