Chapter 1: Disheartened Youth

Chapter 1: Disheartened Youth

Porto, Portugal.

The early August sun shone warmly, somewhat lacking in motivation.

After finishing a day of training, Bruno Fernandes packed his bags and headed towards the entrance of the training ground, intending to see if anyone was leaving and catch a ride home.

As a youth team player for Boavista Club, a third-tier league team in Portugal, his income was very low, and the financial situation at home was even worse due to the severe financial crisis Portugal had faced in recent years. His father, José Fernandes, had to go to Switzerland a few years ago to make a living for the family.

For the sake of his football dreams and to take care of his mother, he had to move with her to Maia, a suburb north of Porto, simply because the rent there was 50 euros cheaper than in the city where Boavista was located.

The club used to have a shuttle service, but since they moved to Maia, he couldn't enjoy this benefit anymore since Maia wasn't on the shuttle route.

Fortunately, he had good relationships with many people in the youth team, especially the coaching staff and club staff, so he often managed to catch a free ride.

While waiting for the ride, Bruno Fernandes fell into contemplation.

He was thinking about his future.

...........

In fact, at this moment, Bruno Fernandes wasn't the same Bruno Fernandes as before. He harbored another soul, a soul from the Eastern land of China.

A week ago, Bruno inexplicably crossed over into the body of his favorite Manchester United star, Bruno Fernandes. However, it wasn't the world-renowned star, but the 18-year-old version of Bruno Fernandes who was going through a rough patch in life.

Nicknamed the "Black Panther," Boavista had once been a powerhouse in the Portuguese league, but in the summer of 2008, they were relegated due to a match-fixing scandal. Subsequently, due to debt crises, they struggled in the third tier of Portuguese football since 2009.

Bruno Fernandes joined Boavista's youth academy in 2003, the year when Black Panther plummeted from its peak. It was followed by the darkest period in the club's history.

However, for Bruno, at this moment, he wasn't in the mood to lament the team's tragic experiences because, despite being highly regarded by the youth team coach, Mr. Marlinho, as he approached his 18th birthday, he had yet to receive a call-up to the first team.

Bruno was well aware that in an era where fame comes early, if he couldn't stand out by the age of 18, it would be difficult to have any future.

Although there were late bloomers in world football, those people had at least started playing professional football before their breakthrough.

So, this summer, it was either to join Boavista's first team as a professional player or to leave in search of opportunities!

However, leaving wasn't easy because Boavista was already a third-tier league team in Portugal, where he couldn't get a chance in the first team, so how could he attract attention from other professional teams?

...........

Just as Bruno was worrying about his future, a somewhat abrupt voice suddenly called out to him, "Hey, kid!"

Bruno turned around to find a man in his thirties calling out to him, accompanied by another man in his thirties with a stubbled chin.

He asked with some confusion, "Sir, are you calling me?"

The man nodded as he walked briskly towards him, saying, "Yes, kid. Let me introduce myself. I'm Moro Borghetti, and this is my colleague, Javier Ribalta. We're scouts from Novara!"

"Novara? Where's that?" Bruno asked, puzzled, though feeling somewhat familiar with the name.

Borghetti chuckled, "It's a city in Italy. You might not be too familiar with it. And our team is a Serie B team... um, got relegated in May..."

Hearing the man's words, Bruno remembered some memories. Novara was where his original professional career started...

As a Manchester United fan, Bruno was fond of the Bruno Fernandes who joined the team, but he didn't pay much attention to his past experiences. He vaguely knew that he had spent several years in Italy in his early years, and his first professional club was Novara, where he bid farewell to Boavista and went to Italy during this summer transfer window.

Bruno felt a pleasant surprise: just as he was worrying about the future, a scout came looking for him. It was like getting a pillow when feeling sleepy!

This was what they call the treatment of a protagonist!

...........

According to Borghetti, Novara was a Serie B team, which was much better than Boavista.

As one of the top four leagues, Serie B's level wasn't much worse than the Portuguese Primeira Liga!

And Novara, as a recently relegated team, would probably be a mid-table team in the Portuguese Primeira Liga, similar to Boavista before they were relegated.

It seemed like fate was treating him well. Not only did he receive a system that was essential for a protagonist after crossing over, but his other circumstances hadn't changed either.

After crossing over, he had been worried that it might alter the trajectory of his life, delaying his breakthrough in Boavista.

You see, the system he received wasn't the type that actively led him to dominate the world, but it only played a supportive role.

The system he carried with him after crossing over was called the Training Master System. As the name suggests, it could affect his training, such as correcting his improper movements during training or helping him master some skills he hadn't mastered before...

What satisfied Bruno the most was that the system not only allowed him to train while awake but also enabled him to train while sleeping.

This meant he effectively gained double the training time!

In the past week or so, the Training Master System had shown its power, improving Bruno's technical level and strength to some extent. This led to an excellent performance in last Saturday's U19 league match, where he was selected as the best player on the field.

At the moment he received the exclusive champagne for the best player, Bruno was extremely excited: with just one week, he had achieved such results. With this progress, he could easily become the best player in history!

After all, even without a system, Bruno Fernandes had already grown into a top-level star.

However, he quickly calmed down because winning the best player award in a youth team match didn't mean much in changing his current embarrassing situation.

Bruno even thought that if this continued, he might become the shame of all crossover players.

But he didn't expect that at this moment, scouts would come knocking on his door.

...........

In Bruno's slightly excited mood, the two scouts from Italy stated their purpose: they had been following Bruno for some time and sent his match videos back to Italy. Novara's manager, Giarreta, was very interested in him. If he was willing to go to Italy, Novara would negotiate with Boavista and sign him for a suitable price.

Bruno naturally had no objections to this, considering he had already made a name for himself in Italian football. Coming back again, he was sure he could succeed again, perhaps even more so than before!

Bruno happily agreed that as long as Novara could settle matters with Boavista, he would be theirs.

Seeing Bruno's immediate agreement, the two Italian men were somewhat surprised. After all, moving abroad to play football was a very significant decision involving various aspects. How could one make such a decision so easily?

Moreover, as far as they knew, Bruno Fernandes had just been selected for the Portugal U18 national team. Transferring to Italy at this time would definitely affect his future with the U18 national team.

Borghetti hesitated and asked, "Such an important matter... don't you need to seriously consider it or consult your parents?"

Bruno shook his head, "No need. I can decide my own affairs!"