Riccardo's team celebrated his goal, once again leaving everyone speechless.
Coach Ishii allowed himself a faint smile as he watched the players on the pitch.
Finally...
Riccardo exchanged a high-five with Shimizu before trying to do the same with Nishimura.
"Thanks for the assist!"
Nishimura hesitated, but when he saw Riccardo's genuine smile, he returned the gesture with a quiet sigh.
"Nice finish..."
Around the pitch, the spectators could hardly believe the two goals Riccardo had scored.
Yuzuki watched him with undisguised admiration.
"Even if he got in through a recommendation... he's proving himself!"
Somehow, Yuzuki's words reached Kaneko's ears, irritating him.
"Damn it!"
Tanaka walked over to him.
"Calm down. An angry captain will only make things worse."
Kaneko brushed him off with an indifferent look.
"Just shut up. I know what I'm doing."
Tanaka watched him walk away with an icy expression.
The referee blew the whistle to restart play.
Kaneko rolled the ball to Tamura.
Tamura found Enomoto before pushing into the opposition half.
Enomoto looked up and saw Nishimura beginning to close him down.
He scanned the pitch for a free teammate.
Tanaka was tightly marked by Shimizu, while Ono was being tracked by Riccardo.
"Long!"
Kaneko called for a long ball to move the team up the pitch.
Enomoto looked to the right flank, where Nakamura had burst past Yasuda thanks to his superior pace.
As Nakamura prepared to bring it down, Koyoma got there first and headed the pass away.
"Damn!"
Riccardo reacted first to the loose ball, only for Ono to press him immediately from behind.
Using his superior strength, Riccardo spun away and drove toward the opposition half.
But when he saw Tamura stepping out to challenge him, he slowed down, turned back, and laid the ball off to Nishimura.
Then he raised his right hand, signalling everyone to settle the tempo.
"Let's stay patient!"
Nishimura heard him, glanced around, and realised there weren't enough teammates forward to launch a counterattack.
He's not just talented... he thinks, too.
With Enomoto and Tamura closing him down, Nishimura returned the ball to Riccardo, who escaped Ono's pressure with a quick turn.
He received it, shielded it well, and carried it back.
Then he played it to Hamada inside his own half.
"Man on!"
Hamada heard the warning and realised Kaneko was charging in from behind.
Remaining remarkably composed, he spun away from the pressure and left Kaneko behind.
Desperate to stop him, Kaneko grabbed his shirt and committed a foul.
The referee blew immediately.
Koyoma gave Hamada a high-five for winning the free-kick.
Kaneko used the stoppage to walk over to Enomoto.
"Why did you ignore me earlier?"
Enomoto looked visibly intimidated.
"I... I thought it was the best way to attack..."
"What does that mean!? You don't think I'm good enough!?"
"N-No! That's not what I meant!"
"Then next time, pass me the ball!"
Kaneko returned to his position.
Watching from a distance, Noguchi couldn't help but reflect.
Kaneko Raizo, seventeen years old, a third-year... At first glance, he looks like nothing more than a troublemaker. But after three years together, I know that's not true. He's kind, and he genuinely cares about his friends. His only flaw? He loves football too much.
Nishimura took the free-kick short, rolling it back to Kinoshita.
Kinoshita switched play to Ueno on the right before pushing forward.
As he approached Tanaka, Ueno suddenly burst past him, catching him off guard.
He got beyond him and used his strength to hold him off.
Shimizu drifted slightly inside, opening up the flank.
Kuwahara stepped out to close Ueno down, who immediately slipped the ball to Shimizu.
Without slowing down, the full-back continued his overlapping run toward the byline.
Before he could stray offside, Shimizu rewarded the run with a perfectly weighted through ball.
Ueno reached it and whipped in a first-time cross.
But it was too close to goal, and Aoki cleared it before it could reach Riccardo.
The ball dropped to Kaneko, who had tracked back as far as midfield.
He controlled it and shielded it from Hamada until he spotted Tanaka sprinting into space down the left wing.
Ueno and Shimizu were still out of position after the attack.
Coach Ishii spotted the danger immediately.
"Get back!"
Kaneko wasted no time, sending a long pass into space.
Tanaka skipped past Kinoshita's first challenge by knocking the ball ahead and accelerating after it.
He glanced toward the penalty area, but Kaneko hadn't arrived yet.
Instead, he saw him just outside the box, visibly tiring as he sprinted forward.
Before Kinoshita could recover for another challenge, Tanaka cut sharply inside, leaving him behind.
He lifted his head.
Kaneko had finally reached the penalty area, boxed in by Hamada and Noguchi and clearly struggling to find space.
Even so, Tanaka whipped in a left-footed cross, putting inswinging curl on the ball.
Kaneko leapt for the cross, but it sailed over his head.
As he landed, he turned to follow the ball's flight.
Only then did he realise it had never been meant for him.
The real target was Nakamura on the opposite wing, who had ghosted in at the back post.
Left one-on-one with Sugimoto, he beat him to the ball with his superior pace.
Sliding in, he poked it into the back of the net.
Kaneko watched the ball cross the line before turning to Tanaka in confusion.
He immediately strode over to him.
"Why didn't you pass it to me either?!"
Tanaka let out a sigh before answering.
"Senpai, you'd only just made it into the box after sprinting the length of the pitch. There was no way you were scoring, especially with two defenders all over you."
Then he turned to face him, his expression serious—almost condescending.
"I'll be honest with you. After this match, you won't be this team's starting striker anymore."
Kaneko froze, visibly shaken by those words.
"What did you say?!"
"Exactly what you heard. And one more thing... if Aliberti had been in your position, I would've crossed it to him without hesitation."
Those words struck Kaneko to his core.
He stood there in silence, unable to find a response.
Meanwhile, Tanaka jogged back toward his own half.
The referee checked his watch.
Twenty-five minutes had elapsed.
Play resumed, with Nishimura's team looking to control their lead while Kaneko's side threw everything forward in search of a way back into the match.
The standard of play rose dramatically.
Quick passing combinations, flashes of individual brilliance, crunching tackles, and outstanding saves from both goalkeepers kept the match at a thrilling pace.
The students around the pitch became more and more captivated by the spectacle.
Yuzuki watched intently.
"Is this really our men's football team?"
Sato followed the ball as it zipped from player to player at remarkable speed.
Watching more closely, she noticed something else.
Every time they touched the ball, they were smiling.
"They actually look like they're enjoying themselves..."
At midfield, Riccardo received a pass from Nishimura.
He looked up and spotted Shimizu calling for a through ball right on the edge of the offside line, while the opposing defence held an extremely high line, almost at the halfway line.
With the outside of his right foot, Riccardo carved out a perfect through ball.
Shimizu darted past Kuwahara, and the perfectly weighted pass allowed him to control it in stride without breaking his momentum.
Nishimura's team surged forward, looking to exploit the opposition's exposed back line.
But Tanaka tracked back once again and caught up with him.
Does this guy ever run out of energy?!
Tanaka cut off his path, giving the rest of the defence enough time to recover.
With a stepover, Shimizu beat him before nudging the ball to his right.
He drove toward the corner flag.
From there, he whipped a cross into the middle, where Riccardo was being marked by both Aoki and Tamura.
Riccardo rose above them both and powered a header toward goal.
This time, however, Yamauchi made a superb save, throwing up both hands to keep the ball out.
The rebound fell to Aoki, who cleared it away.
Kaneko looked favourite to reach the loose ball, but he seemed distracted and Hamada got there ahead of him.
Looking completely deflated, Kaneko didn't even bother chasing back.
Hamada drove forward with the ball.
"Here!"
Riccardo checked toward him, calling for the pass, with Tamura following close behind.
Hamada played it into his feet.
Before even taking a touch, Riccardo glanced at Tamura's position.
Then, with a clever flick of his right heel, he nutmegged him.
Sato's eyes widened.
"You know, Yuzuki..."
As the ball rolled beyond the nutmeg, Aoki reached it first.
But Riccardo beat him to it, spinning past him with a flawless roulette.
"I never thought I'd have this much fun watching a football match!"
Yuzuki smiled at her words.
A moment later, Riccardo slipped a low pass into the penalty area with the inside of his right foot, where Nishimura had gone completely unnoticed.
Suddenly finding himself clean through on goal, Nishimura stayed composed and slotted a precise finish beyond the goalkeeper.
Everyone immediately looked toward the assistant referee, expecting the offside flag to go up.
But the flag stayed down.
Nishimura's team erupted in celebration.
The referee then glanced at his watch.
45:05 Team 1 1–3 Team 2
He blew the whistle for half-time.
Exhausted, the players began making their way toward the benches.
But Coach Ishii stopped them.
"That's enough for today! I've got the answers I was looking for."
The players exchanged bewildered looks.
The coach took out his phone, checked a notification, then slipped it back into his pocket.
"You all did a great job. See you next week!"
The players watched him walk away.
Noguchi smirked.
"So he does know how to give compliments..."
Shimizu walked over with the same amused expression.
"And, more importantly, he said he'll actually be here next week..."
Tamura bounced lightly on the spot.
"It's been a long time since I played at this level!"
Yasuda nodded.
"Yeah... I actually had fun today!"
Applause suddenly broke out from outside the pitch.
Riccardo turned and saw that it had started with Sato.
A moment later, Yuzuki joined in, followed by every student gathered around the pitch.
"That was an amazing match!"
"Well played!"
Shimizu casually rested an arm on Nishimura's right shoulder.
"See? In the end, they became fans."
Nishimura looked at the applauding students in surprise.
"Yeah..."
Tanaka walked over to Riccardo and gave him a friendly pat on the back.
Caught off guard, Riccardo turned to face him.
"I don't even need to say it... after that performance, welcome to the team!"
Almost everyone came over to properly introduce themselves and congratulate him on his performance.
Everyone except Kaneko.
He stood in the distance, silently watching the scene unfold.
Then, with a dejected expression, he headed toward the changing rooms under Noguchi's watchful gaze.