The sun had barely cleared from the rooftops of the Paterna training complex when William and co stepped out onto the ground. It was a very nice summer morning in July, one that temporarily filled William with hatred for the weather he had to endure when he was in Manchester.
'Turin and Munich were also quite good.' William thought to himself as he walked towards the training pitches.
"Man, the weather in Manchester is really a bitch." Aaron commented as they started setting everything up.
"I was thinking the same thing." William smiled. "Somehow the weather in Germany and Italy is way better."
"Haha, I can't relate. I've enjoyed this sunny weather since birth." Alejandro said with a smile.
Aaron looked mildly shocked, before turning to William and asking in a whisper, "He speaks English?"
His whisper wasn't quiet enough, apparently, and Alejandro heard him. His face mirrored William's expression, with the both of them looking at Aaron as if he was an idiot.
"If he couldn't speak English, then how's he going to communicate with us, you fucking dumbass!" William said while pressing his forehead.
"Fairs."
They finished setting up very quickly and stood at the edge of the training pitch, waiting for the players to arrive one by one.
Today, they really weren't going to do much. The players had just arrived for the first day of preseason so it was all about improving their match fitness.
But first, he had to address them, being that he had just resumed and all.
Within the next thirty minutes, all the players had arrived and changed into their training kits. They were standing in the middle of the training pitch, all of their gazes focused on William, who was still casually conversing with his assistants.
A few moments later, William ended the discussion and turned to face his team.
He stared at everyone assembled on the pitch and let out a small sigh. He had been at the club for less than two weeks, and although he felt like the players would know him well enough from his playing career, he still felt a little nervous.
This was only his second ever first training session.
There were roughly thirty players from what William could count. There were the first team players, and he had asked the scouts to recommend as many players from the youth teams that they thought could make the jump to the first team. If the club didn't have enough money, then he would just have to hope that the younger generation was good enough to rise to the occasion.
There were a few notable absences, with Edinson Cavani and Gabriel Paulista having run down their contracts and left as free agents. They were notable presences in the dressing room and would be missed, but there was a lot of potential inside the squad.
Giorgio Mamardashvili, the Valencia goalkeeper, was widely regarded as one of the best goalkeepers in the league after the past season and also one of the best young goalkeeper prospects. Then there was José Gayà, the one-club man who had been at Valencia for as long as William could remember, Hugo Duro, and Yunus Musah.
Yunus Musah.
He was a young, energetic midfielder who got sold to AC Milan later in the transfer window, at least according to what William could remember.
'Yeah, that's not happening on my watch.' William thought to himself. He'd talk to the chairman and the sporting director to add him to the list of untouchables.
"Alright boys, I want to keep this short because I know that you probably don't want to stand out here in the sun and hear me talk." William said in Spanish, causing almost everyone to raise their eyebrows. "What? I played in two foreign countries, is it so shocking that I know one more language?"
"Fairs." Aaron said while shrugging.
"My name is William Cavendish, and you already know that, so any more introduction is a waste of time."
"I will tell you this though. I know what the last couple of seasons have looked like. I know that a lot of players have left and will still leave this summer, and that closing the holes left behind won't be done in a day." William said. "But who gives a damn about all of that."
"It's pretty simple, what I want from every single person standing here. I want you to work your hearts and souls out. I want you to acknowledge within yourself that when you leave this pitch today, you've worked harder than you thought you would. I need you to give everything you have on the pitch, that's all." William said, then took a small pause. "We can't fix everything in one training session, but one thing we can do is make sure that we leave better than we came. If you can't give me that, then I'm wasting my time here, and I'm afraid I'd have to leave. So the ball is in your court. Can you give me that?"
"Of course we can, coach!" José Gayà shouted, eliciting cheers from the group of players.
William smiled at the response and then calmed everyone down.
"Alright then boys, let's wake the sleeping giant!"
"Vamossssssss!!!"
"Am I the only one who has no clue what he just said? Yes? Okay." Aaron said with a mock downcast expression on his face.
"Alright boys." William clapped to get the attention of the squad. "First things first, you all have to go and take a fitness test so we can see where you are, and then we'll move on from there. So off you pop."
The players, trailed by the rest of the coaching staff, walked off the pitch and headed inside the facilities.
"Wait, what am I supposed to do? I'm the only one that doesn't speak Spanish." Aaron dragged William back.
"Welp, you better download Duolingo then." William said, before letting him go and making his way over to José Gayà in the middle of the crowd.
A/N:
Starting from today, we'll be putting in place a new update system
50 Power Stones = 2 extra chapters
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