LIFE FOR YOUNG STEFAN IN MADRID PART TWO

From now on Stefan was supposed to train with the main team. Stefan being a professional was ready for training. The next day he showed up for training as usual. One his first day he got to meet all the superstars in the training ground. He got to meet the best midfield trio of Modric Kroos and Casemiro. He could not believe his eyes. That motivated him to train harder if he was going to make it. The first day he had to run the whole ground 30 times as instructed by the coach. He had a lot to catch up. Then he was told he was up against the two veteran center backs. Stefan did not see that coming. Then the ball was passed to him and he was told the challenge for him was to dribble past them and score. As soon as he got the ball he was tackled to the ground. He screamed in pain because he was hurt. He was told to get up and stop being weak. He did not know the training would be very intensive for him. He had to get up and continue with the training. Once again he was given a hard pass and told to score. Stefan had to be wise and take a shot early. He aimed for the top corner. His shot was saved by the goal keeper. In no time another ball was passed on to him. He tried to step one center back and take a shot but it got blocked. Another ball was passed on his way this time he was smart and tricked the 2 defenders he was taking a shot they both went to the ground he then got to aim for the bottom corner and he scored. He then heard his team mates clap for him for his efforts to score. He then was given a rest for a minute. The rest of the team continued with the training. Stefan soon continued to train with them. They continued training for the next 3 hours. By the time they took a break he was extremely tired and he took a rest on the ground, as the rest went for a water break. In no time the training resumed and they had to keep on training. Stefan was suffering from fatigue and so he had to be given a rest that day. The medical team had to do a check up on him to ensure he is doing well. The doctors recommended he gets some rest so that he can recover. That day he went back to the hotel to sleep. Stefan needed to take a nap for 8 hours in order to feel well. He did so and went to sleep. The next day he was up early again with the intent of training and proving his point. When the training commenced the coach was surprised to see Stefan back one day after suffering fatigue. Nevertheless he was told by the coach he will be training with the under 16 but travelling with the main squad. He was sent to go and train with the under 16. Stefan did so and joined his fellow teenagers. There he started the training as usual and everything was going well for him. Then he started interacting with the young lads to see how they were doing. He got to hear stories from the young lads. He met a young Spaniard named Alonso who was a full back. He was in charge of ensuring he is comfortable since he was fluent in English. Stefan otherwise did not understand Spanish well. Alonso got to translate all the coaches tactics to Stefan. Stefan was doing well in training with the translation. Real Madrid were playing on a Sunday evening and he got to travel with the main squad despite not being named in the 23 man list. He still was happy to travel with the main squad. That Sunday he joined the team as they went away to Girona. He even got to warm up with the squad. Then he went to the stands as the game began and watched as the rest played. Stefan realized the intensity of the game was very high. The game was very fast and no mistakes were allowed. In the second half he even started warming up just in case he was called to action. Soon he was told by the coach to go back to the stands. Stefan felt that was kind of being rude nevertheless he did so. His mood went low. The next day he got to speak to Alonso and told him about yesterday. Alonso was not surprised on hearing that he told him a lot is expected if anyone wants to join the main squad. Stefan asked him how many players get to graduate from the academy? Alonso told him very few players get to make it since it is not easy. Alonso told him mostly they are sent on loan to get playing time and get experience. That left a lot of questions in Stefan's head. As time went by Stefan never made his debut for the main team. He was just training and watching from the stands as the rest play. It reached a point he wondered if he will ever play again. Then on one of the small games he found himself given a first start. He knew his moment had come. Then he was given the role of playing as a holding midfielder which he has never before played. He found that amusing, he told the coach that is not his favorite position but he was told to play. In that match it was very difficult for Stefan to get the best out of himself. He was constantly making mistakes. The coach saw that and substituted him early in the 35th minute. Stefan could not keep up with the intensity of the game. After the game the coach told Stefan not to join the main team but to stay with the under 16. Stefan knew that he was never going to get another opportunity. The position he wanted to play had a lot of competition. There was no way he was breaking into the starting 11. That left him with a lot of questions about his future at the club?