Blue Dream Trail (Soccer) - Episode 17

As the afternoon sun began to decline, the entire stadium was filled with a buzz of excitement.

Ren was among the players lining up on the pitch.

Bundesliga Round 6. The opponent is Freiburg.

And then Ren’s name was finally called as a starter.

I felt people staring at me from behind. I could hear the commotion of the crowd, further away than usual.

The only thing that was ringing loudly inside me was my heart rate.

(Calm down)

Telling himself this in his mind, Ren heads towards the center circle.

20 minutes into the first half.

(Even though I know it in my head, my body is a bit slow…)

He looked “business as usual,” but in reality, he was not.

There are a few more touches.

The strength of the pass was a little less than usual.

He gauged his opponent’s attack and handled it safely.

“…That’s not like you.”

The coach on the bench muttered.

But just after the start of the second half, something shifted within Ren.

In the center of the enemy’s territory, he broke through the line with a one-two pass from his teammate.

While using his body to protect the ball, he made a through pass to the running winger Lopez.

The cross went over the head of young ace Weidemann…and hit the crossbar.

In the front row of the audience, a young family who appeared to be traveling looked at each other and gave a soft round of applause.

“That was close…”

Voices, some in English, could be heard from the stands.

After that play, Ren’s “distance” changed.

Prediction, the speed of the pass, the pace,

Everything started to slip into their “standards.”

The game ended in a 1-1 draw.

Although thy were unable to collect any points, the manager said this after the match:

“Ren was unsure in the first half, but answered in the second half.”

“Today’s 90 minutes was his rite of passage.”

After returning home and taking a shower, Ren remained sitting in the living room.

Play the game recording on your laptop.

“…You look scared in the first half.”

“In the second half, I got myself back a little bit.”

Suddenly, I realized that only my footsteps were echoing in the room.

(Is this “overseas”?)

In the quiet room, Ren chuckled softly.

My heart was still beating a little faster.