"Santiago, you need to see this!"
Inside the office of Santiago Solari, the head coach of Real Madrid's youth team, Castilla. Early in the morning, just as Solari arrived, his assistant Malono Dias knocked on the door.
"What's wrong? Did something happen?"
He saw Malono enter, carrying a laptop.
"The replay of yesterday's match between Fernando's Oviedo and Alcorcón." Dias placed the computer in front of Solari.
"Oh, really? I heard Fernando hasn't been having the best of times lately. I didn't follow yesterday's match. Did they win or lose? That guy Julio isn't easy to deal with."
"You should watch it first. The first sixty minutes or so were just like you said, but after that, it was completely different." Dias's expression was a bit conflicted, which Solari found strange. He trusted his assistant's competence.
"Alright, let me see. They're two goals down already, preparing for a substitution... I told you Julio was tough. It looks like our Mr. Hierro's position as head coach isn't... Oh, bloody hell! Malono, who is this? This is André! Am I seeing this right?"
At this moment, the screen showed Hierro subbing in André. Solari jumped up from his seat.
Seeing André on the screen, Solari suddenly felt a phantom pain in his cheek. That's right—André's iron fist had once greeted Solari's face. Though it wasn't intentional. André had been arguing with a teammate, Solari went to break it up, and André's fist accidentally hit the wrong target.
Of course, that was André's explanation. No one knew the real situation.
"Fernando took André away that day. Why? Doesn't he know he's a cancer to any team?"
"Santiago, keep watching. We'll talk after you finish."
Clearly, Dias had already watched the entire thing, so he knew what would happen next.
Sure enough, Solari soon sat there with a blank expression, muttering under his breath. Dias couldn't hear what he was saying.
When he'd first seen it, he wasn't much different from Solari. Other head coaches might just praise André's talent, but everyone at Castilla—even the bloody security guard—would react like Solari after seeing this video.
Because this was simply world-shattering. No one could believe that three months ago, André had still been a cancer at Castilla. But after not seeing him for three months, the cancer had become a genius. This was unacceptable to Dias and Solari.
In fact, if André ever made a name for himself, the two of them would be nailed to the pillar of shame in Real Madrid's youth academy history. Why? Because they'd personally driven a genius out of Castilla. Ordinary fans might just say, "Bloody hell, he's that good?" But as professional youth coaches, Dias and Solari knew exactly how terrifying André's talent in the video was.
"Malono, is it Absolute Ball Sense?"
"It should be. It's truly unbelievable. I still can't believe it's real. I'd rather believe it's a fictional film. Seriously, Santiago, if this is true, it will be a permanent stain on our careers."
"I... this... I... Why? Malono, why? Why didn't we notice this after he was at Castilla for so long? No, he didn't show it at all. And did you notice in this video? The Alcorcón defenders were constantly using dirty tricks. If this were the André I knew, he would've thrown a punch within seconds. Why didn't he? Bloody hell, what has he gone through in these three months? No, what has Fernando put him through?"
Solari waved his arms excitedly.
"Santiago, do we need to tell Mr. Julen?"
"Pfft, tell him for what? He doesn't even know how to handle his own problems. Telling him this would only make his mood worse. I don't know what he was thinking when he made that choice back then. Now look—the first team is in massive trouble."
"I heard before that the club wanted you to take over. What are your thoughts?"
"I don't know. I don't know if I should go."
"Alright, then what about André?"
"Let it be. It's too late now. Maybe it was just a fluke. You know there are so many talented players in this world, but how many actually make it in the end?"
"Well, maybe you're right. But I still want to say—there are many talented players, but players with Absolute Ball Sense are extremely rare. At least Castilla doesn't have one now."
Dias's words left Solari speechless. Then Dias left the office, and Solari sat there deep in thought.
However, he wasn't thinking about André. Although André's performance had been stunning, as he'd said, there were too many talented youngsters—especially at a club like Real Madrid. He wouldn't dwell too much on a sixteen-year-old boy they'd already released.
He was thinking about Real Madrid.
This summer, after Real Madrid won the Champions League, head coach Zinedine Zidane had suddenly announced his resignation. At the time, this news had been even bigger than the rumors of Cristiano Ronaldo's transfer. But to those in the know, it was understandable. As head coach, Zidane knew the problems hidden beneath the three consecutive titles, so stepping down at the peak was a very wise choice.
The current Real Madrid head coach, Julen Lopetegui, had also been a hot topic for journalists this summer. It had been a World Cup year, and Lopetegui—the head coach of the Spanish national team—had just completed a contract renewal with Spain before the tournament while secretly negotiating with Real Madrid. Most crucially, the day after he'd told reporters they should focus more on the national team, rumors broke that Lopetegui had become the Real Madrid head coach. In the end, the Spanish Football Federation felt utterly betrayed and announced his dismissal overnight.
However, the high-spirited Lopetegui, who'd stepped into the cockpit of the Galácticos, had failed to steer them toward the stars. Instead, he'd driven them straight into a ditch.
In La Liga, which had also started recently, the Galácticos seemed to have run aground after an initial three-game winning streak. They'd drawn away at Athletic Bilbao. They'd narrowly won at home against Espanyol. They'd lost heavily away to Sevilla. Then, on the day of the Oviedo and Alcorcón match, they'd drawn at home against Atlético Madrid.
The new captain of the Galácticos faced a crisis of confidence after just over a month in office.
And Solari had received a call from Florentino Pérez two days ago.
The question wasn't if he'd be offered the job. The question was: should he take it?
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