Blue Dream Trail (Soccer) - Episode 9

The sky in this foreign country was heavy.

Is it because of the humidity, or is the air itself different?

Breathing becomes shallow.

U-23 World Cup, third group match.

Their opponent is a strong South American team, Uruguay.

Neither Onizuka nor Hiragi is accompanying us this time.

Right now, I’m the only one on the pitch.

——————————————————————————-

15 minutes into the start.

Suddenly, I had a feeling that something wasn’t working.

He thought he had read the ball perfectly, but he couldn’t steal it.

The space that seemed open closed in an instant.

The accuracy of the passes is good.

But that’s not enough.

Physical strength, body balance, distance, cunning…

Everything was different from “usual Japan.”

——————————————————————————-

Just before the end of the first half.

My through pass was cut off, allowing them to counter.

Goals conceded. 0-1.

At halftime, someone muttered softly.

“So this is what Ren is like…”

The words had been heard.

But what resonated more with me was,

(What should I do if my “usual judgment” doesn’t work?)

That’s what it was.

——————————————————————————-

15 minutes into the second half.

The opponent was coming at me aggressively, completely ignoring “my distance.”

But then I began to see it.

Instead of using “distance”, just shift the “distance”.

He pretends to trap the ball with his right foot,

With one touch, the ball is sent behind your back.

In the next moment, my friend followed my gaze and ran in

A no-look through pass.

He barely made it through the gap between the opposing defenders,

The forward slid in and pushed the ball in.

1-1

——————————————————————————-

There was a roar outside the pitch.

But I, as if to interrupt that voice, asked myself the same question once again.

(It’s not enough. I can see more.)

——————————————————————————-

The game ended with the score at 1-1.

Japan managed to advance to the next round in the group stage.

After the match, a local reporter said:

“REN? I was surprised by your passing today. You’re like a ‘next level player.'”

But I still couldn’t accept the words.

Today I learned that…

“I’m still nobody in the world.”

——————————————————————————-

night. Alone in my hotel room, I opened my notebook.

The spacing of the opposing defensive line, the timing difference, and the weight of the pitch.

“What worked and what didn’t?”

I kept writing it.

And finally, I wrote just one line.

“Let’s start again from here.”