Chapter 9: The Captivating Self-Introduction

Kaka took a shot and then sprinted quickly past the defender. His teammate immediately passed the ball back to him with a clever one-two pass combination.

Baptista, the team's central midfielder, came over to try and stop Kaka. 

As a former youth player himself, Baptista understood that the young new players wanted to make a big impression during their first training session with the senior team. He felt he needed to teach this youngster a lesson.

The other players did not seem interested in helping to defend against Kaka.

Baptista was considered one of the best defenders in the top league, so it seemed unfair for him to try and stop Kaka, who was much younger and less experienced. It was like a bully picking on a little kid.

Fabiano, the striker, was already preparing for a counter-attack if they won the ball.

Instead of passing, Kaka took another touch forward to set up a one-on-one situation against Baptista.

"Oh, a one-on-one?" said one of the players.

"Youth is great, I'm starting to like this kid," said another with a smile.

"You think he'll cry after Baptista stops him?" joked a third player.

"Ah, another missed chance...Wow, what speed!" exclaimed someone, surprised.

"That acceleration..."

Alvarez, the coach whose face looked unhappy at first, suddenly perked up and furrowed his brow with interest.

Facing the casually approaching Baptista, Kaka seemed unworried and simply accelerated past him extremely quickly, leaving Baptista behind.

Baptista, who had just started to stretch out his leg to tackle, was left dumbfounded. 

Kaka just went past like that?

Past Baptista...

Gone in a flash...

After blowing past the overconfident Baptista, Kaka only had three defenders in front of him now. One was too far away, and Burgess had taken another out of the play, leaving just the central defender Lugano directly in Kaka's path.

Lugano had not expected Baptista to be beaten so easily and was now on high alert.

As Kaka got closer to Lugano, he had to slow down a bit to control the ball better. 

"Kaka, over here!" Burgess called out, making a darting run.

Kaka pretended like he might pass, but the experienced Lugano didn't fall for it. Lugano held his ground blocking Kaka's path. He wasn't worried about Kaka actually passing because a teammate was marking Burgess. All Lugano had to do was stop this speedy kid from getting past him.

But Kaka did roll the ball a little bit towards where he had faked the pass, though with little power – it wasn't really a pass, just a little nudge.

Kaka immediately changed direction and accelerated, blowing past the surprised Lugano in a quick burst of speed.

Lugano spun to follow, instinctively reaching out but only managing to graze Kaka's shirt.

"Wow, he's really fast with the ball," the assistant coach said, stating the obvious.

Without much skill yet, but with blistering speed and reactions – that seemed to be the view of Kaka so far.

Alvarez nodded, his eyes fixed on Kaka. He knew the youngster was supposed to be quick, but seeing that explosive pace in person was still surprisingly impressive.

"What's next? A pass or a shot?" The assistant coach, who had studied Kaka's game, knew he had a decent long-range shot. Now that Kaka was in the box with no defenders around, he could take his time.

But Kaka did neither, continuing his dribble instead. 

The goalkeeper Cheny came off his line decisively, lowering his body and opening his stance to be ready.

Kaka and Cheny met at the edge of the six-yard box, where Kaka did an extravagant body feint to round Cheny and slot the ball into the unguarded net.

A hush fell over the pitch, soon replaced by cheers and applause.

Baptista and Lugano exchanged bewildered looks and shrugged almost at the same time, neither understanding how they had been so easily beaten.

Applause even came from the stands.

"Beautiful! That was like a Ronaldo goal." 

"He's too fast, Baptista and Lugano looked like statues in front of him."

"No, they underestimated him, but this kid is seriously rapid."

"I think he should start for the team."

"It was just one goal, let's not get carried away. We still don't know what else he can do."

As some fans pointed out, it was just one goal. Spectacular, yes, but no reason for the players to lose their composure or go overboard with praise. Still, considering Kaka's young age and status as a new youth player, the amazing strike did make a big impression.

Clearly, Kaka had introduced himself in his own unique and eye-catching way.

Burgess was visibly excited, bouncing around as if he had scored the goal himself. "Kaka, that was beautiful, but if you had passed to me, I would have scored an even better one."

"Yeah, thanks for dragging the defenders away and creating the space for my chance," Kaka replied.

"Of course, but they'll definitely mark you tighter now..." 

"Got it, I'll look for you next time I get an opening."

"Smart lad!"

Baptista also came over and patted Kaka on the shoulder in a friendly way. "Little brother, you've really improved a lot."

Baptista had also come through the youth ranks at the same club, so the two knew each other well.

"Not bad, but you guys took it easy on me that time."

"Fair point, so it won't be that simple next time." 

"We'll see about that."

Baptista was right – it didn't stay that easy for Kaka. The older players stepped up their intensity, especially when dealing with the young Kaka. Plus, with limited support from teammates, Kaka struggled to truly shine as brightly. But his quality and talent still shone through as he displayed most of the skills expected of a good midfielder, even if he lacked some experience and bigger-picture awareness at times. Technically, though, he had no issues and even excelled, further validating that earlier amazing goal as more than just luck.

After the first half-hour, a short break was taken. Those teammates who had previously dismissed Kaka now warmed to him and granted him preliminary acceptance.

In the second half, with the sides switched, Kaka saw more of the ball as his teammates began to trust him, and he rewarded them with two sublime assists.

The first was a crisp through ball, slipped past Baptista's tenacious marking into the box for Burgess to slam home an awkward finish past the captain Cheny.

The second came after a mesmerizing solo run, with Kaka crossing low for a tap-in after leaving Reynaldo grasping at thin air with his blistering pace. 

The final score was 5-3 to the senior side, but Kaka had succeeded in earning the approval of his coach and teammates, securing his place in the squad for the next match.

The stage was now set - whether the young Kaka would soar like a dragon or fade into obscurity was about to be revealed.

(end of chapter)