Those who were not confident of their abilities were looking extremely anxious while those who were confident of their abilities showed no changes in their facial expression.
Overall just after the guy with the microphone finished making that particular announcement, suddenly the ambience around them got pretty tensed.
And almost everybody instantly became wary of each other.
And just like Hiro who was thinking about the advantages and disadvantages of the number system, quite few players were also thinking the same as well. .
The only difference being he wasn’t thinking about manipulating the poeple while some players were planning to take that route.
And while the person with absolute strength may not fear anything, the same couldn’t be said to the person with less strength, they’ll always try to scheme against the one above them.
“I know after this almost every single one of you will try to show your own charm. Almost all of you may start playing selfish as well. Afterall you all are playing for yourself. And it’s fine as well.”
Until this moment, his facial expression looked quite normal and even his voice sounded normal.
But suddenly, he squinted his eyes as he swept a cold gaze at the players infront of him. He then continued, “As long as you produce the results. But the moment you fail to do so, remember you’re spot is in jeopardy. So you better choose your option wisely.”
That guy with the microphone had a dead serious look on his face while he spoke those words.
The already silent crowd got even more intimidated as he said those words. Trepidation reflecting in their eyes, anxious players from a moment ago were the ones who suffered the most after hearing that announcement.
Their already anxious face looked even more pale as a cold sweat ran down their body.
And as he finished making that announcement, he turned around as he began to walk towards the coach of U-17 team to hand him the speaker.
With same indifferent look on his face, coach of U-17 whispered to him as he took the speaker from his hands, “You’re deviating from our motto Kazan. Remember we Japanese play as a team.”
Just as Kazan heard such words, he forced a smile on his face as he replied in a gentle tone, “That motto hasn’t won us any world cup yet coach Haruki.”
Just like gunpowder making contact with the fire, coach Haruki got triggered as he heard Kazan’s words.
But before he could speak anything, Kazan handed the speaker and walked past him as if nothing happened between the two of them.
It was clear from their conversation that they didn’t get along well with each other. While Haruki was a stern believer of tradition, Kazan was opposite of him. He believed that Japanese football needed a reform to win anything special.
Despite being the most successful team from asia, recently Japan had failed to win any international trophies.
Even in the previous asia cup of 2019, despite performing well they still couldn’t win the Trophy which they had won for five times, previously.
Although Japan still performed well, it was evident to everybody that just like the powerhouse footballing nation Brazil, Japan were also lacking something.
Facing the tensed crowd of players, coach Haruki cleared his throat as he lossened his stiff expression. Coach Haruki then tried to ease the mind of the players infront, “As mentioned by coach Kazan, all of you are indeed playing for yourself. But don’t forget that you’re also playing for the country. So without teamwork no matter how much talented you are individually, you won’t achieve anything. A team does need talented individuals but more than individual abilities, a team needs teamwork.”
“Remember football isn’t necessarily won by the best players. It’s won by the team with best attitude.”
Coach Haruki’s motivational words captivated the hearts of every player.
Thus, even before coach Haruki finished his sentences, players infront burst into cheers. Their fearful face from a moment ago changed into a motivated face. And even their fearful eyes now showed a hint of excitement within them while they roared excitedly, “Yeah!! We’re a team.”
Chanted the players infront. And most of the players who were chanting such words were the same player who were displaying fear a moment ago.
Although Hiro didn’t dislike the words of coach Haruki, he couldn’t completely disregard the words of coach Kazan as well. Afterall he too believed that Japanese football needed a reform.
It was also clear from coach Haruki’s words that he was a better leader as compared to coach Kazan.
“So as important as your individual abilities are, I’ll be judging you based on your teamwork as well. So get along well with each other. A team needs every player to fulfill their role.”
“Ahh right! Before I go. I’ll tell you the most important thing. Players will be judged according to their positions. And goalkeepers will be alloted different numbers. So note that apart from goalkeepers only 23 player’s will get selected. The competition is tough, so give your best.”
Saying such, coach Haruki finished his sentence.
And just as he finished his sentence, a thunderous sound of applause and cheers resounded in the pitch.
Motivated, even the player who were not confident about their abilities had a spark of fire burning in their eyes.
And while they were energetically cheering, Hiro was trying to recall the identity of coach Kazan. During that process, he was staring at coach Kazan who had a grumpy look on his face.
‘May be because of his attitude, he didn’t make it big.’ Thought Hiro as he failed to recall Kazan’s identity.
After that the people who had brought the container, started to distribute the jersey to the players.
During the process of jersey distribution, different players displayed different emotions. Some happy, some sad, some anxious while some fearful, different kinds of mixed emotions filled the entire pitch.
“I’m number 2.” Excitedly mumbled Shun as he held his jersey.
“I’m number 7” mumbled Yutaka, “What about you Hiro?”
“Number 1”
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