Second Chances: Indonesian Football Player

Chapter 105's

Nero abandoned all exaggerated thoughts and focused on assessing the field when he stepped into his position. He began to observe his opponents and teammates carefully while waiting for the whistle to restart the game. Positioning, standing posture, facial expressions, Nero's vigilance took it all in.

His brain was overdrive as he searched for gaps in the green team's 4-3-3 attacking formation. He also tried to anticipate future passing opportunities that could arise from the potential action of his teammates. He has taken the first step to performing as a Maestro by starting with the necessary on-field risk analysis even before the game starts again. That way, he will release the ball accurately and quickly to his teammate after receiving a pass.

*PRIIIITTT*

The assistant coach blew his whistle a few seconds later, gesturing for the red team to restart the scrimmage game.

Matias Suarez, the red centre-forward, started the game with a simple pass to Youri Tielemans, the attacking midfielder. The latter does not even control the ball. Instead, he flicked it towards Leander Dendoncker, the red team's defensive midfielder, with his first touch.

Leander controlled the ball beautifully and passed it to the left wing before Mitrovic, the green centre-forward, could close it down.

Jordan Lukaku, the red team's left-back, received the ball near the touchline, showing high-level ball control with a striking deft touch. But he was immediately shut down by Massimo Bruno, Anderlecht's highly agile winger.

Massimo positioned his body well while pressing Jordan, thus cutting all forward bait options through the wings.

Jordan could only choose to do a back pass to Thomas Kaminski, the goalkeeper, rather than risk losing possession.

Thomas then played the ball quickly towards Leander as Mitrovic almost closed it off. Nero could have guessed that his team-mates would fall into an unfortunate situation. Although his red team still retained possession, he knew that the opponent took the initiative. The forward with the green vest is great at creating a high-pressing zone deep within the red team area. They had managed to keep the red team in their own territory before Nero arrived on the pitch using that tactic.

However, Nero will not let the match situation continue following the tempo of the green team. He hopes to earn a place in the first team for the friendly the next day. The best way to achieve that is to make a good contribution to this match.

"Leander, this way," he cried with all his might, running back to half the pitch his team away from Ronald Vargas, the green-clad player who marked him. "Get in here."

Leander only glanced at him while controlling a horizontal ball from Thomas, the goalkeeper. Without a pause in his actions, he then lifted his foot and kicked the ball towards Nero with his second touch.

Nero could feel his heart pounding with excitement as the ball rolled towards him. He ended up playing in an internal scrimmage match for a professional club in Europe for the first time after signing his contract. A gentle smile graced his face as he received the ball with a deft simple touch, pushing it just a few feet in front of him in the process.

Meanwhile, he simultaneously let his gaze observe the situation on the ground.

At that moment, his brain mapped out the entire placement of all the players in his field of vision. He saw that both Leander Dendoncker and Youri Tielemans, his red team midfield partners, had already moved into open space. They seem to be waiting for permission from him. Fede Vico, his team-mate on the wing for the match, was already running on the left wing, as if anticipating a breakthrough pass from him. On the other hand, Ronald Vargas, the attacking midfielder of the green team, quickly shut it down. He will chase after him in seconds if he does not release the ball immediately.

However, Nero had long been used to playing in tense situations. He has a lot of experience under his belt as he has already played in two international youth tournaments and even won that one while playing on the weaker side.

He was very confident in his skills, and even the pressure from the professionals could not make him depressed. So, he maintained his composure as his brain filtered through the noise and assessed the game situation at that very instant.

Nero's football brain managed to take on many other trivial situations that he would have ignored if he hadn't mastered Perfect Vision. His mind was overdrive, analyzing the risks and deducing the best position to distribute the ball before the opponent could close it. Nero successfully completed a simple vector analysis, including the summation of the easiest linear or curved routes to make the most effective operand at the time.

A light bulb exploded in Nero's head as he turned his full attention towards the Argentine striker. Their gazes seemed to collide for a moment within fifty yards.

Nero was made aware of the attacker's intentions at the time. Instinctively, he knows that Matias Suarez wants the ball, and he wants it now.

Thus, he did not linger. He raised his feet high and kicked the ball with his right foot before the opposing midfielder could close it. Nero even put in some kicking postures from Miracle Shot when he released a pass that split the defence towards the striker. Furthermore, he set the timing perfectly to pass to Matias Suarez just as he moved away from the defender guarding him.

The ball flew towards the green half of the team, flashing above the players in red and green vests. Then at the last moment, he suddenly curved, swooped and bounced a few meters in front of the running Matias.

"Offside," Bram, the centre-back guarding Matias, raised his hand and shouted with all his might. However, Bersch Hill, the assistant coach leading the scrimmage match, waved his hand before showing the game to continue. Bram could only shake his head as he rushed back into his net to hold on.

But by then, Matias was already ahead of the green team's last line of defense by several meters. He ran towards the ball that bounced like the wind.

He managed to reach it first and aimed it in front of him with his first touch. Control perfect. He managed to guide the ball to the front of the 18-yard box using his head and even left the chasing defender in the dust with just one touch.

Nero smiled as he watched the striker chase the ball before beating the goalkeeper with a fine shot at his second touch from the edge of the box. 1:1. The red team managed to avenge one goal in a game of scrimmage.

Nero could hardly contain his excitement as he made a good assist and contributed to the goal. He could not accept how easy it was to judge the playing field quickly after learning Perfect Vision. His only hope is that the coaches are watching him.

*PRIIIIIIIITTT*

**** ****

Coach Marcel watched the scrimmage match from the sidelines. He attentively watched every promising player who could play an important role in Anderlecht's match against Rubin Kazan the following day.

He couldn't help but smile when he saw Nero still performing like a superstar, even against the pros. The young player has made many passes splitting the defence since entering the pitch. Sometimes he releases the ball towards the wing where one of the wingers is lurking and at other times, he will play it low through the defense. He has revitalised the red team with his incredible passing ability. And thanks to him, the score remains only 2:1 for the core players of the Anderlecht team wearing green vests. After playing the game for more than 30 minutes. If he is not present, the situation of the red team could be worse.

The boy was still magical, just like him in the academy.

However, Coach Marcel knew that he could not rush to use it in official games before facing a surge in his growth. He doesn't want to lose a promising young player through injury just because he can't wait to use it. Moreover, the club chairman has urged him to manage Nero's training carefully so that the club does not suffer losses.

Coach Marcel, however, was pleased that management had purchased the highly tactical Ronald Vargas from the Bordeaux team from France. Thanks to that, he could wait a few months before using Nero. So, he strengthened his decision not to include Nero from the main cast list after watching Vargas play.

He smiled as he saw Nero make another sweeping pass towards Nathan Kabasele, the red team winger. Meanwhile, his mind is working on a plan to help Nero adapt to the professional league. He decided to devise a good fitness training regimen to keep him busy and prepare him for a more competitive stage in the Belgian League as soon as possible. His only hope is that Nero is not one of the impatient types of people who will become frustrated at not getting into the first team as soon as possible