Chapter 457 Superstar Keeper


    Despite being on the pitch simultaneously, Hiro and Tominaga trained separately.


    Slowly the sky opened up as the sun illuminated the entire sky. The morning sun cast long shadows on the ground, while the crisp air carried the sound of their efforts. Yet still, they refused to talk. As the minutes ticked by, more yers began to trickle onto the field. However, the absence of the coach led to a rxed atmosphere.


    Some yers chatted idly, others stretchedzily, and a few even lounged on the grass, enjoying the rare moment of respite.


    "He''s here," Naoto said, pointing toward the entrance.


    All eyes turned to see Coach Hiroshi Nanami making his way across the field.


    He cut an impressive figure with his lean, athletic build and slightly disheveled salt-and-pepper hair. His sharp, prating eyes seemed to see right through everyone, assessing and evaluating with every nce.


    Dressed in a tailored suit, Nanami exuded a mixture of professionalism and entricity. His assistants nked him, carrying notebooks and tactical boards, ready to implement whatever innovative strategies he had in mind.


    As Nanami approached, the yers began to scramble to their feet. Many appeared quite panicked. The atmosphere shifted fromx to alert. It was his first training session since his appointment as the next head coach of the national team. But it didn''t take long for his presence to be known. It might be due to the absence of older yers. Most of the yers in the field right now had been called for the first time. Just from the presence of yers on the field, one could tell that he had been involved in the squad selection. Though it was rather questioning, yet still, they could do nothing but have faith in his selection. "Good morning, everyone," Nanami began, his voice calm butmanding. "I hope you''ve enjoyed your warm-up because we''re about to get serious."


    As he started speaking, he turned to look at the yers who until a moment ago were taking it easy. Probably, he was trying to appear sarcastic. The yers who were targeted by his gaze, rolled their eyes as they tried to avoid meeting eyes with him. Guilt and fear were evident in their eyes. For a moment he paused to look at the yers. Then he rolled his eyes to the young faces.


    At that moment, Hiro locked eyes with him. His gaze was sharp but it failed to intimidate him. From a moment ago, he had been curious about him. But now as he stood face-to-face, he felt quite exhrated. He was in the presence of a tactical genius. Though he was excited to learn, he couldn''t help but feel a bit worried as well. What if he ruins his y by changing his position? What if he forces him to y differently than his preferred ystyle? There have been several cases of genius coaches ruining the career of a yer. It wasn''t anything new in the footballing world. A coach can either make or break a yer''s career. Jurgen Klopp had created a monster out of Robert Lewandowski, Pep Guardi had created a monster out of Lionel Messi, and Sir Alex Ferguson had created a monster out of a scrawny Cristiano Ronaldo. These are only a few of the examples of a coach turning yers into great ones. But the same coaches who had turned some yers into legends had ruined the careers of others because of their coaching philosophy. So, Hiro couldn''t help but feel a little worried. However,pared to his excitement, his worries were rather miniscule. "Today, we''re going to challenge everything you think you know about football. Prepare to be ufortable, and prepare to grow."


    Challenge everything we know about football. What kind of training is he going to organize? They couldn''t help but feel curious. Many were left dumbfounded by his statement, while many were left enthralled. What kind of unorthodox training is he going to introduce?


    Many couldn''t help but feel excited. Nanami''s unconventional methods soon became apparent as he divided the team into smaller groups, mixing starters with substitutes, and veterans with neers.


    Hiro found himself paired with Kaoru Sato, thete-blooming central defender. "d to y alongside you," Sato greeted with a smile on his face. The opposing team appeared rather tough. Most of the good ones were on the opposing side. Since there weren''t many veteran yers on the pitch, most of his teammates were rather young and inexperienced. Naoto and Tatsuki were ced in the opposing team. And so were the other starters. Naoto was the only second-choice keeper. The first-choice keeper was the present keeper of Bayern Munich, Aya Matsuda. Started his early career in a local club in Yokohama, Japan, he became the starting goalkeeper of the Japanese national team at the age of 25 after his marvelous performance in the league. Later he signed with FC Bayern Munich at the age of 27 where he spent his first season as a second-choice goalkeeper. But in his next year, he encountered a fortuitous encounter when the first-choice keeper of the team got injured. Recing him, he took the post. Though he struggled at first which nearly got him left out. However, in the face of adversary and skepticism, he proved his worth. Now he''s a core member of the team. He has also managed to bag the Best Goalkeeper award once making him the first Asian to earn that prestigious award in the Bundesliga. It wasn''t just Matsuda. There were many other notable figures on the opposing side. Considering his age, he should have been ced among their ranks. But since he was the starter, he got ced on the opposing side. While the opposing team had two goalkeepers, they had only one; Ryota Nakamura. Hiro was familiar with him because he had gone up against him multiple times. He yed for FC Tokyo in the J-1 league. He was 27 years old. But despite his age, he was regarded as the third-choice keeper in the team. It wasn''t due to his age though. Naoto was just too good. So, he simply had no opportunity topete against him. Standing at an impressive height of 6''1", he was pretty tall. But he still fell short whenpared to Aya Matsuda who towered over him with an impressive height of 6''3". Naoto paled inparison. He was just 5''11". A lot shorter than the first-choice keeper. But he didn''t rely on his height unlike the two. He relied on his superhuman reflexes and his ability to read the game. Many seemed dissatisfied with the team selection. But Hiro was more than ready. The training progressed as they settled.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om