Ten days passed in a flash.
On this day, Prince gathered all the Manchester City players.
Today was the match day for Manchester City against Bayern, and he was about to announce the starting lineup.
Without any unnecessary chatter, Prince got straight to the point, "First up, Tendou Kageyoshi~!"
The moment this name was called, neither the Blue Lock players nor the Man City youth players were surprised.
The past twenty days had been enough for them to witness Tendou's "monstrous" nature.
He was the only one on the team who could keep up with Prince's training intensity and even do extra training on top of it.
"For the match against Bayern, I have no requirements for you. Just do whatever you want. Your position is a free man all over the field!"
In a race to 3 goals, there was no need to worry about stamina.
Besides, he was just a player, not a world-class manager like Pochettino. How could he know how to use Tendou properly?
Teams like Bayern and Man City have a tradition of attacking football.
This match was destined to be fast-paced and would likely turn into an offensive showdown.
"Next is Nagi Seishiro. You are the center forward for this match. The final strike will be yours to complete."
"Left winger, Chigiri Hyoma. Your mission is to tear open Bayern's defense and create scoring opportunities for your teammates or score yourself."
"Ossu!"
"Hmph."
Chigiri secretly clenched his fist, while Nagi still looked listless.
Laziness.
That was Nagi Seishiro's greatest enemy.
"Midfield, Mikage Reo, Agi, and Dravus," Prince continued, calling out three more names.
Mikage Reo needed no further introduction.
Dravus and Agi were original Man City players.
The former was known for his steady style of play. In training matches, he was always the silent one, yet an indispensable member of the team, a key defender in the Man City midfield.
As for Agi, this man was the core of Manchester City.
During normal training, he acted like an unexpected second coach within the team.
He considered himself a "doctor," and his mouth was always ready to "treat" his teammates.
For example, Nagi Seishiro, who had amazing talent but suffered from "laziness," so lazy that he even lacked the desire to create goals.
For the past twenty days, Agi had been dedicated to "curing" Nagi's laziness, trying to make him capable of scoring on his own.
Of course.
Putting aside his personal interest in "being a doctor," Agi was a very powerful player.
His jumping ability was astonishing, and his scoring ability was second only to Prince at Man City.
He could win aerial duels, break through on the ground, and even squeeze in a shot from a tight corner.
"Center-backs, Yangu and Damon. Right wing-back, Swift. Left wing-back, Niou Kazuma."
"And finally, the goalkeeper, Luke!"
The list was announced.
Goalkeeper: Luke.
Defenders: Niou Kazuma, Yangu, Damon, Swift.
Midfielders: Mikage Reo, Agi, Dravus.
Forwards: Chigiri Hyoma, Nagi Seishiro.
Free Man: Tendou Kageyoshi.
"Of course, this is the starting lineup. Those who weren't selected also need to be ready to play at a moment's notice. Don't forget, we have unlimited substitutions."
Prince offered some simple words of comfort to the players who didn't make the cut.
Immediately after, he found Tendou for a private conversation.
"Tendou, in the match against Bayern, it's best to let them score the first goal."
He had said he had no requirements for Tendou, but in reality, Prince was also worried that the others would be overshadowed by him.
After twenty days of observation, he found that Tendou had already reached a professional level, and a starting level in the top five leagues at that.
Compared to the other players, his level was much higher.
He had come to Blue Lock with a mission.
To sell some of the players that his own club couldn't accommodate for a good price.
Today's Manchester City was star-studded.
Besides himself, the world's number three, the team also had quality players like Gündoğan and Bernardo Silva.
After Guardiola joined, he had also brought one of the world's best midfielders, De Bruyne, to Man City from the Bundesliga.
Today's Man City was a formidable force. Only a genius like Foden had a chance to get playing time in the first team.
In order not to waste the talent in the youth academy, the best way to handle it was to loan them out to gain experience, or sell them.
Whether it was a loan or a sale, the players needed to perform well to attract other clubs.
One goal.
That was Prince's request.
"Okay."
Tendou agreed without hesitation.
"Then thank you so much. Don't worry, I've already talked to the club. We will definitely give you a satisfactory offer," Prince grinned.
Tottenham may covet Tendou, but does Man City not?
If all goes as expected, the Man City coaching staff should be watching on TV right now.
...
Time was up.
Prince appeared on the screen with the Manchester City players.
Bayern had arrived earlier and were already in position.
There was no pre-match press conference, nor any trash talk between the two master strikers.
To them, this was just a friendly match, a friendly match for the club's youth academy.
Taking it too seriously would be a mistake.
"Midfield, I want you to control the midfield at all costs and neutralize that Kaiser."
"Remember, I don't want to see that kid named Kaiser score a single goal."
...
"Don't be afraid of physical contact. Don't give them any chance to get a shot off."
Prince repeatedly emphasized physical play before the match began.
This was a characteristic of the Premier League. Players with thin arms and soft legs had no place there.
While Prince was giving his pre-match pep talk, on the other side, Bayern's Noa remained as calm as ever.
He simply repeated the tactics once and then said no more.
"Hello everyone, and welcome to BLTV™!"
"We are broadcasting live for you the Blue Lock special program, the Neo Egoist League!"
"Manchester City VS Bayern!"
"The electronic referee has blown the whistle, and the match has officially begun."
With a whistle, the match officially began.
Bayern's starting lineup:
Goalkeeper: Gagamaru Gin.
Defenders: Kurona Ranze, Mensah, Birkenstock, Yukimiya Kenyu.
Midfielders: Grimm, Ness, Ali.
Forwards: Kunigami Rensuke, Michael Kaiser, Isagi Yoichi.
"Wow, so many people."
Meanwhile, Riko, who had just returned from school, immediately turned on Mouse TV to watch the live broadcast.
She looked at the number of viewers in the top left corner and the constantly scrolling comments, and her heart skipped a beat.
She found that soccer seemed to have a larger audience than basketball, and the fans were even more passionate.
"Hehe, that guy Keigon is still so cocky," she suddenly giggled.
Because Tendou had just appeared on camera, with his hands on his hips, looking as if he didn't take Bayern seriously at all.
Of course, "cocky" could sometimes be translated as "confident."
She hadn't seen Tendou play in a long time!
...
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