Second Chances: Indonesian Football Player
Chapter 11: The Beginning of the Phase 2 Trial Competition
The next day, I did my usual morning activities, after which I had breakfast and called my parents to inform them that today there would be a follow-up test match. And ask them for prayers so that I can perform well in today's match. After a while I immediately left for the JSC stadium. There was sunlight that had shone on the streets of the capital. After I got ready to put on my gear and I saw Ryandi approaching me, I just nodded and smiled as he greeted.
“Maybe it will rain in a few hours.” I said while looking at the sky that was starting to shade.
“Why are you worried.?” Ryandi smiled faintly and said.
“We will finish the trial before that. The scouts will just stay and see a few hours only.”
At the moment we are in the middle of the pitch among the 26 other players who have passed the physical fitness test yesterday. It's 8 in the morning. Every player on the field is already wearing their soccer clothes. We just have to wait for coach Andreas and his team to officially start this trial. Luckily I made a new friend here, Ryandi, so I didn't get bored while I waited.
“That makes sense.” I said I agreed with his thoughts while looking around the stadium.
“Are you sure the scouts are coming today.?” I asked while furrowing my brows. No coach or scout was seen anywhere on the pitch or in the stands. I started to think that I misheard the actual date of the trial.
“Quiet only.” Ryandi said with confidence.
“They will come here. I'm sure.” He said with a small laugh.
“Oh yes I forgot to ask. Did you move out of your hotel yesterday.?” I said while looking at Ryandi seriously.
“Of course, I've moved to the Garden Villa Resort” hotel he said patting his chest looking satisfied with himself.
“Hah, how is Four Point hotel different from GVR.? “ I exclaim with widened eyes.
“The one is named Four Point and the other is GVR.” He said seriously while counting with his finger to emphasize his point.
“Jeez, how many four-star hotels are there in Central Jakarta? Your dad just needs to check out a hotel that costs more than 1jt per night to find you, are you aware of that.?” I said while holding his shoulder.
“Sial is right. I'll move to another one after this game ends.” He said with a pale face.
“Hahhh. Forget it, I'll help you pick a hotel after the game. I don't understand why I even helped you.” Mutted
“Thank you. Ever since I saw you I knew that you were an honorable person. How can I repay you.? Should I introduce you to my female cousin? She's cute.” Ryandi Whisper.
“If he's as thick as you, mending doesn't need.” I said in jest. We both laughed.
We were just about to continue our conversation when I heard some players on the pitch screaming.
“Coach is here. The coaches are here.” they sound like an Elementary school kid who just saw their favorite ice cream maker pass by.
I ignored them and turned towards the stadium gate. Coach Andreas led about 50 people into the stadium stands.
I noticed that there were about twenty-five Caucasians among the crowd. They wear sunglasses and large hats to protect themselves from the sun that is already covered in clouds. There was also an old man and a young girl, who was not much older than us seemed to be among them. The rest appear to be fellow Indonesians, perhaps from the teams of the Indonesia Ultimate League. I can recognize some from Jakarta Sports City, Jakarta United, Surabaya Green Force and Cendrawasih Irian City as well as others. All the scouts I expected were finally here. This definitely makes me more excited.
“I told you they will tone here.” Ryandi's voice sounded from behind me.
“Are they all from Deportivo Indonesia?” i asked. Deportivo Indonesia is an organization that usually sponsors students from Indonesia to overseas academies whether it is Europe or the Americas.
“Of course not.” Ryandi.
“They are scouts from the sponsoring organization behind Deportivo Indonesia. Some even from the actual academies in France, Spain and other European countries.” Said.
“You better do your best today.” Ryandi.
“I don't think they'll be back here after today.” He said again
“You sure?” I scrunched my eyebrows
“Where did you get all these sources of information.” I said wonder.
“I have a trustworthy source. Infoku is entirely from legal and legitimate sources.” Ryandi said with a smile.
“Alright, Alright I will do my best.” I said excited. I feel refreshed after the delicious food I ate last night.
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*POV Third Person*
After Andreas led the group of scouts to the stands, he ran onto the field with his fellow coaches.
The scouts all sat close to the running track in the stadium. There are Caucasians among those who hold high-tech cameras. Some have binoculars and notebooks. The Indonesian Scouts, on the other hand, folded their hands on their chests with stern expressions on their faces. They do not carry any equipment to track the players on the field.
In the bottom seat of the stands, a young blonde girl holding Nikon's camera long enough was talking to an old man who was also a scout.
“Kakek” said
“Why we came here. Do you know there are world-class talents here? We were supposed to go to Japan, Korea or Australia. At least they won the Asian Cup. I thought you were wasting our time here.” Said confused. It's true what he said.
“Sage,” said the old man with a smile
“Remember if you want to be a good scout, never neglect any place. Sometimes the real gem is hidden in an obscure place. All we have to do is dig it.” He said he gave advice to his grandson.
“Are we really going to find someone talented here?” Sage asked.
“Because if not, other shareholders will complain to you this time.”
“Don't worry, one of the coaches is my friend. He told me that there are some promising talents here. The only challenge is to snatch them from the French and Spanish teams.” Said.
“Some talents?” Sage frowned.
“Do you have any files about them, grandpa? Why didn't I hear anything about this.
“Well, here it is.” Said the old man handing over some files to the girl.
“You haven't been around for the last two days. When you go around the beach and enjoy Bali, I am busy doing my job.” Candidates
“Do not discuss that again grandpa.” Sage pouty.
“How can you travel to Indonesia and not go to Bali.? You missed all the fun.” Said
He also opened a file about the players.
“Arya Bathara,Nero Juniar,Ryandi Ferdianur,Ahmad Faishal,M Hilmy and Fiqh Firdaus?” He spoke softly.
“He spread his hands. “Welcome to Asia.” She smiled
“Information about young players here is very little. We'll see how good they are from their performances in the game.
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*POV THIRD PERSON END*
After the coach got back on the pitch, they led me and the other players through a light warm-up before doing anything else. Everyone stretches and runs short distances to warm up their muscles. After they finished training, they returned to the center of the field to listen to instructions from the coaching staff.
“Good morning to all of you” greet coach Andreas with a smile.
“Good morning, coach Andreas.” The voices of the players blared back the greetings. They all seemed enthusiastic about the presence of the scouts in the stands.
“ I see you all come on time.” Coach Andreas smiled
“Stay keep the spirit of good sportsmanship.” Urge him earnestly before continuing.
“We will start a test match soon. We have grouped you into two teams that will face each other.”
“Please note that the match will only last for sixty minutes. So you'll get less than forty minutes to impress the scouts if we take into account the timing for the substitutions. Try to do your best in that time period.” He concluded.
The coaches have separated the players into a red team and a blue team. Coach Rian laid out a chart with the team formation on the running track, giving the players the opportunity to learn their position before heading to the field to start the match. I broke through the crowd of players to look at the team charts.
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BLUE TEAM (4-4-2 Diamonds)
Goalkeeper: Number 1 Arhan Maulana
Right Defender: Number 2, Fiqh Firdaus.
Left Back: Number 3, Shahdan Akbar
Central Defender: Number 4, Faren Bismantara
Central defender: Number 5, Galuh Leo
Defensive Midfielder: No.6: Goal Leo
Attacking midfielder: Rian Mariano
Left Wing: No.11, M.Hilmy
Right Wing: No.7 Firdaus Asyuroh
Striker: No.9, Arya Bathara
Striker: No.10 Ahmad Mulyadi
Reserve Player: Reza Maulana, M.Baihaqi
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RED TEAM (4-4-2, Diamond)
Goalkeeper: No 1, M.Najmi Alif
Right Defender: No. 2 Yunan Fikri
Left Back: No. 3 Kevin Arata's
Central Defender: No.4 Ahmad Faishal
Centre-back: No.5 Gabriel Pardede
Defending midfielder: No.6 Raihan Fatah
Attacking midfielder: No.8 Nero Juniar
Left Wing: No.11 Toni
Right Wing: No.7 Ryandi Ferdianur
Striker: No.9 M. Ichsan
Striker: No.10 Karvin
Recommendation: Kurniawan Wawan,Fikri Mursalim
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I sighed in relief after seeing the match formation chart.
The coaches seem to have made the line-up of players based on the historical data of players. I was on the red team along with the likes of Ryandi Ferdianur, and the 2 future Superstar candidates were Ahmad Faishal and Gabriel. And of course there is also Raihan Fatah, and my former friends are Toni and Kevin. On the other hand it has most of the would-be superstars from previous lives namely Fiqh Firdaus, Shahdan Akbar, M.Hilmy, Arya Bathara and some others.
I was placed in the number eight position, just behind the striker by the coaches. Number eight suits me because it involves passing and lethal assists to the strikers. Visual IniestaI will be useful in this position.
Ryandi is on the right wing, while Raihan is number six in the holding midfield. Toni will attack from the left wing with Kevin placed behind him as a left-back. Our centre-back duo are the superstar duo of Faishal and Gabriel, while our goalkeeper is also quite great in the future, Najmi.
Even though our red team looked weaker on my vision paper. But I won't let a hitch like this come between me and the recruitment of a football academy. I am ready to do my best during the game
“Let's take your vest and go to the field.” I heard coach Rian yelling from the sidelines.
“The substitutes should also come here. They will get a chance to play later in the game.”
All the players hurriedly rushed towards coach Rian. They picked up the vest before positioning themselves on the field in a 4-4-2 Diamon formation. The ability of the coach and following the instructions are some of the qualities required in football. So, all the players set themselves up correctly in the designated position, while waiting for the whistle of the game to ring.
