I "overestimated" my abilities?

Kai's heart raced as he heard the words "friendly match." It was his chance to prove his worth to the team and show them that his understanding of the game was more valuable than raw physical ability.

The assistant coach began calling out the names of the players for each team, and Kai listened intently as his heart beat faster and faster. Finally, the assistant coach called Kai's name and assigned him to the blue team. Kai quickly made his way over to the rest of his teammates and took his position on the field.

The players lined up on the pitch, ready for the start of the friendly match. Kai was placed on the blue team, along with some of the other younger players. The red team consisted of some of the more experienced and established players, including several who had already made appearances for the first team.

Kai counted himself lucky in some respect as he eyed a familiar figure on the flank. The nimble Christopher Nkunku was playing in his favourite left winger role, whilst Dan-Axel Zagadou played as a central defender. Even more surprisingly, in the striker position was none other than Odsonne Édouard, the target forward.

He counted himself. He could boast he already had some chemistry with some of the players on the team. Well... 2.5 to be exact.

Gacha was generous in some respects. Both sides are set up in a standard 4-3-3 formation. No tricks. Kai played in the very heart of the blue team, operating as a left central midfielder. This would undoubtedly help him link up with Nkunku on the left wing, and Kai intended to make the best use of the trust that Nkunku had in him.

Kai eyed his midfielder teammates for this match. They eyed him back. There were no words exchanged, just a simple acceptance of each other's presence on the pitch.

*Fweet*

As soon as the whistle blew, the red team took control of the ball and began to push forward. Kai immediately dropped back into a defensive position, using his excellent sense of positioning and his ability to read the game to intercept passes and break up the red team's attacks.

However, as the game went on, it became clear that Kai was struggling to keep up with the pace and physicality of the game. He was constantly being pushed off the ball by the stronger, more athletic players on the red team, and he was having trouble getting involved in the attacking play.

"What are you doing? Focus!" Yacine berated him as Kai played another misplaced pass.

Kai bit his lips. He knew he made a mistake with that overly enthusiastic attack. He wanted to do something special, he wanted to impress the Paris Saint Germain staff. Eyes were watching him, and he felt them.

This pressure… It was unnerving for Kai.

Everything Kai did was under the detailed scrutiny of the PSG u19 manager. He observed every action, every pass that Kai performed in the opening minutes and the result told him so much that he already knew.

Gacha scratched his head as he observed this peculiar specimen, a rarity among a sea of global football talents. Gacha had never, he had never met someone quite like Kai.

~~~

Such a developed intellectual footballer. He locates himself in the right position on the pitch. He was always where he was needed most. When the senior members attacked, That player always positioned himself in such a clever manner. He always blocked the most dangerous passing option every time. It was as if he could simultaneously detect any potential openings in their backline and immediately reposition himself to stop the danger.

"Not a headless chicken," Gacha stated as he kept his lingering eyes on Kai's performance on the pitch.

"Hm? Yeah. He's quite focused and seems to be really at it!" His assistant replied in an instant.

Gacha couldn't help but slap himself silly. His assistant doesn't get anything at all, does he? Stop trying to sound like you know what's happening when you obviously don't!

"How many tackles has he made so far?"

The assistant quickly racked his head as he counted the numbers. His eyes opened wide as he came up with an answer. "None? Uh, he's such a liability on defence."

The youth manager shook his head. "Not quite, but let's put it this way."

Gacha eyed his immature assistant. Sometimes he questioned if he should just hire someone else to fill in the role, but this man's diligence and eagerness to learn persuaded him otherwise.

He smiled. "A great defender once said: If you have to make a tackle, then you have already made a mistake."

~~~

Kai refused to give up. He continued to work hard and tried his best to make an impact on the game. Whenever he did manage to get on the ball, he attempted to use his exceptional vision and understanding of the game to pick out passes and create opportunities for his teammates.

He struggled to have any time on the ball. He was easily displaced after losing the ball. It wasn't because he didn't know what he was doing, he knew he would get tackled from a mile away. He was practically preparing his body to be tackled at every instant!

He shook his head. He didn't have the best technical ability. When players around him can just control the ball easily with one or two touches, Kai required multiple touches to even settle the ball before his feet. This was detrimental, he took too long to control the ball and his passes were sloppy. His passes were weak, his passes were inaccurate.

Kai questioned if he was on a standard-sized football pitch. The players were so far away from him, how can he link up with them? He felt uncomfortable, he felt out of place.

"You're the guy Nkunku and Zagadou were over the moon about?" A player suddenly asked whilst it was a throw-in.

Kai wasn't in the best of moods. He stared at the player, but Kai didn't dare answer.

Boubakary only snickered as he sized him up and down. Boubakary was the player that had been giving Kai hell during the entire match. From the moment after kick-off, Boubakary never gave him a single moment to catch his breath. He pounced on Kai whenever he had the ball. It was him that gave him a miserable opening half.

"Looks like I…. No. They overestimated you. No wonder you are teamless." He poured salt on Kai's wounds as he rubbed in his horrid game so far.

...moment of respite. He was constantly pressuring Kai, not letting him settle on the ball or make any meaningful contributions to the game. Kai tried his best to ignore Boubakary's taunts and focused on the game, but it was becoming increasingly difficult. He felt like he was letting his teammates down and not living up to their expectations. He had to do something to turn the game around and prove himself.

A pass came his way. The red team pressed very intensely. They don't want the blue team (Kai) to have any moment to think with the ball. Everything was chaotic, everything was messy. They were under constant pressure. Wave after wave of attack that threatened their goal.

Zagadou didn't look the least pleased by how many last ditch tackles he must make. The pressure was increasing. His breath was deafening as the passionate voices around him turned mute.

Was this how Kai would do in the trial? Invisible and impactless?

Kai shook his head. No, he must perform well. He must impress. His future as a football star was at stake and impressing these youth coaches are only the very first steps he must take. Failing? That was not an option. It was never an option.

*Ding*

[ Task: Discover your style of football. Don't imitate, but innovate. ]

[ Progress: 25% ]

'What?' Kai had a moment of cognizance as he read the system notification.

He was only 25% on discovering his 'style of football'? Was there more to the puzzle than Kai had simply imagined? Was he not playing as the best version of himself? But… wasn't his style of football to just "take the ball, pass the ball"?

Kai thought back. In the futsal match he did exactly this. He received the ball when he had space and time, then he played the passes that he was confident in. Take the ball, pass the ball. He was doing the same thing now.

Kai hadn't changed. He would simply wait for the ball to come and then pass to teammates. He was doing the exact same thing he did in that match. He trained himself to play this way.

Dismayed. He gritted his teeth, as he received the direct pass from his teammate. Boubakary shoved from behind as Kai tumbled onto the turf. The taste of grass filled his mouth as he frustratingly accepted the physical abuse.

Kai saw the tackle a mile away, but he can only brutally accept the pain. What was he supposed to do otherwise? Run away from the ball? He had to change something. The longer he doesn't perform, the lesser the chance to join PSG. Something must change. But here's the big question.

What must Kai do differently?