"I'm thinking of playing a 4-2-2-2 formation. Winston and Oswin, both of you will play as strikers."
Hickman looked at the two forwards and nodded before continuing.
"Elijah and Bongani, you two will play as central attacking midfielders."
"Aye, aye, Captain," Elijah said with a smile as he and Bongani nodded.
Hickman continued, pointing toward the rest of the players he had recruited. Some of them were his former teammates from the junior league.
"Oh, yeah. I almost forgot to introduce you guys," Hickman said, looking slightly embarrassed.
"Don't worry. We already introduced ourselves," Winston reassured him.
Hickman nodded, "I'm glad. Anyway, does anyone have any questions about the formation? Does anyone want to change positions?" He looked around, but nobody objected.
"I have a question." Winston raised his hand. "Is Danilo a titan in the back like you? I mean, the formation you're using is a strong, highly compact setup that excels at central control, quick counterattacks, and defensive stability. It seems like you want to utilize quick counterattacks without sacrificing our defensive shape."
"You have a good eye, Winston. I actually reserved this formation for him."
Hickman paused for a moment before continuing, "Danilo and I have known each other since high school. We both played for the same school team. I remember when we played against another school, and they struggled to decide which one of us to pick because we had almost identical defensive abilities."
A nostalgic smile appeared on Hickman's face, "We were also lucky enough to both get selected for the junior league, even though we ended up playing for different teams. We made a promise that when the junior league ended, we would challenge each other and see who had the better defensive skills."
Hickman looked toward his friends, "And yes, Danilo is a stopper at the back, and he knows about the two of you." He pointed toward Winston and Oswin.
The two looked at each other. They furrowed their brows for a moment before smirking and bumping their fists together.
"Hence, I chose this formation. I want to utilize Oswin's dribbling ability to cut inside, get behind the defense, or draw defenders toward him. That will create space for Winston to use his speed and get behind the defensive line."
Hickman became more serious, "Both of you need to be careful, though. Danilo can read players better than I can. So, I'm leaving the attacking side of the game to the two of you."
"No worries. Wis and I know how to break through a defense," Oswin said, resting his elbow on Winston's shoulder.
Winston gave a thumbs-up and nodded.
"Thanks. Bongani and Elijah, you two will play wide. I need you to stretch their left and right backs and create space in the middle. You'll also have to deliver crosses when the opportunity presents itself."
Hickman pointed toward the remaining players.
"You two playing as central defensive midfielders will cover the midfield. And you two fullbacks will cover the flanks when Bongani and Elijah push forward."
"No need to worry. We can cover the flanks. That's what we've been training for in the defensive dome," Elijah said, looking at Bongani.
"Don't remind me about that training," Bongani muttered.
Hickman furrowed his brow, "Did something happen?"
"No. It's just that Bo and I have good chemistry, and the instructor praised us for it."
Elijah walked over to Bongani, draped an arm around his shoulders, and continued. "And Bo here is a shy guy. He got embarrassed because everyone was looking at us after the instructor praised us."
Winston, Oswin, Hickman, and the other players on the field all turned toward Bongani.
Bongani immediately started blushing, "I'm not good with praise, especially when strangers are watching," he said, lowering his head as his face reddened with embarrassment.
"Don't be," Hickman said, placing a hand on Bongani's shoulder. "You're a skilled player, and having good chemistry on the field is important."
Bongani looked around. All of his friends gave him thumbs-up, smiling encouragingly.
"Since that's taken care of, the fullbacks will stay behind. At the back, I'll play aggressively and initiate a high press whenever we lose possession." Hickman pointed toward himself before continuing. "Danilo will likely do the same. He's aggressive defensively and likes to gang-press, so whenever you have the ball, make sure your passes are intentional. Don't give him an easy opportunity to intercept."
He looked around at everyone, "I also suspect he'll rely on long balls to bypass our press. Make sure you don't give them room to play aerial balls."
Hickman looked around at his teammates. Seeing the determination on their faces, he nodded.
"All right. That's all I have."
After some time resting on the football field, the instructor from Building A arrived and informed Hickman that his one-on-one challenge was ready.
Everyone rose to their feet and did a few stretches before making their way toward the field.
"Oh, yeah, Wis. This is your last one-on-one challenge this week," Oswin said, taking the last bite of his energy bar.
"You need to stop eating those energy bars. You're going to have trouble sleeping, and the players around the academy will use that to their advantage," Winston said, shaking his head. "Yeah, yesterday's match was fun. Even though Ethan made me play as a lone striker, I actually feel good right now."
"They better try I will humiliate them, You know, you should try them since you played a match them yesterday." Oswin said, tossing the wrapper into a nearby bin.
"No, thank you. I had one yesterday after the match. Remember when you guys forced me to go to the infirmary? It took me a couple of hours to finally fall asleep yesterday." Winston let out a small yawn.
"I also took one, and I had trouble sleeping after a long day of training. Never again," Elijah said, walking ahead of Winston and Oswin.
"I'm not good with anything that has too much concentrated sugar in it. I always dilute my energy bar with water," Bongani said. "I also had trouble sleeping. My heart was pumping like it was going to burst out of my chest."
"You're being dramatic. That just means it was working. What about you, Hickman?" Oswin asked, rolling his eyes.
"I've never taken them. I only drink water. It keeps me hydrated and provides me with sufficient energy," Hickman said, holding up a half-empty bottle of water.
"You guys are drama queens, but I'll try not to take them anymore," Oswin said.
Everyone suddenly stopped and looked at him with furrowed brows. They all knew he was lying.
"Wait. You guys think I'm lying?"
They looked at one another before answering in unison, "Yes, you are."
"Bro, just admit you're addicted, and we'll provide a support group. What do they call it again? Ano… ano…" Bongani struggled to remember the name.
"Narcotics Anonymous, or NA for short," Hickman said, helping him out.
Everyone looked at Hickman with furrowed brows.
"Someone in my family was an addict, and they needed help. I heard about Narcotics Anonymous when I was at my hometown library."
"But I'm addicted to sugar, not hardcore drugs," Oswin protested.
"Then we'll call it Sweet Tooth Anonymous," Winston interjected.
"Hahaha, that's actually a good name. Imagine how much money we could make with this," Elijah said.
"Yeah, we could go from city to city holding these big anoy—" Bongani struggled with the word again.
"Anonymous," Hickman and Winston said in unison.
Oswin draped his arms around Elijah and Bongani, a mischievous smile spreading across his face.
"You guys get me. You're the bag chasers, talking about helping someone you know who's unlucky."
Winston rolled his eyes, "How are you going to juggle that with your football career?"
"Semantics, my friend. Semantics," Oswin replied.
After both teams came out of the tunnel, they made their way onto the football field.
Farther up in the stands, Lucas, Diago, and Diego sat together, watching the players.
"I didn't believe it when they told me he got recruited again after recently playing a match. Doesn't he ever get tired?" Diego asked.
"That's good news for us. It means our plan won't change," Lucas said, settling comfortably into his seat.
His eyes shifted toward Oswin, Lucas stared at him with a piercing gaze, like a predator watching its prey.
Diago yawned, "I was thinking of taking a long nap, but after some players I know woke me up and told me Winston was playing again, I had to be here."
Diego looked around the stands. "Wait, where's Sebastian? I thought he would be here."
"Focus on the match and don't worry about anyone else," Lucas said.
His tone carried a clear warning, Diego immediately fell silent and watched the players perform their warm-up drills.