BXBX NOVEL Chapter 478: Coach's Concern
Chapter 478: Coach\'s Concern
Blinking his eyes, he blankly stared at Tominaga while trying to figure out his situation. For a while, he was at a loss of words.
Only after Tominaga got far away from him could he bring himself to speak, "What just happened right now?" he muttered, his tone laced with confusion.
All those hesitations to speak only that much? Wasn\'t it a little too excessive? Was it really that hard for him to speak?
Sure, he could tell that Tominaga didn\'t have any favorable impression of him. But had he offended him so much that he had to hesitate that much to say something so trivial?
There were many things that he couldn\'t understand. But it wasn\'t difficult enough for him to understand that Tominaga wasn\'t as much of a jerk as he had thought.
After all, he had the choice to remain silent.
But maybe there\'s some righteousness left in him.
\'Seems like I\'ve misjudged you previously\' Thinking so, he smiled while looking at him.
Then he went on with his training.
After a little longer, other players began to show up on the field. Soon the once silent pitch got extremely lively.
The training wasn\'t as intense as it was yesterday. It was probably due to yesterday\'s session. After all, high-intensity training needs to be done in moderation otherwise it will lead to injuries.
Hence to avoid unnecessary injuries the session today was rather lax.
However, the mini-matches at the end of the training weren\'t as lax as it was supposed to be. It was supposed to be a fun activity to help players loosen up and bond. But contrary to the expectation of the coaches it proved to be rather detrimental.
They played the matches as if they were competing in an international match. Their ferocity knew no bounds as some of the players played quite roughly.
Fortunately enough, it didn\'t lead to any injuries. But it was rather concerning since the target of most of the fouls was a sole player- Takahashi Hiro.
It was as if they were deliberately targeting him.
But when the team was reshuffled those same players who were targeting him previously avoided him once they played in the same team.
However, they were rather careful. They didn\'t openly reveal their intentions. Instead, they hid it under a facade by appearing cooperative at times.
Even so, how could they fool Nanami\'s observant gaze? If it was that simple to fool him, he wouldn\'t be standing in his current position.
However, despite catching the whiff of their intention, he remained silent for the entirety of the session. Well, it\'s not like he could force them to bond. Even if he tried to intervene, he\'d only escalate the situation even further.
But he couldn\'t ignore the unsportsmanlike behavior all the time. If he let them loose then they\'d only become even more daring. He had to confront the bullies. He had to come up with a plan to restore harmony in the team.
If it continued, how was he supposed to lead the team in the Asia Cup?
Though he didn\'t reveal any concern on his face, he was quite troubled at the moment. While the players were preparing to leave, he was standing on the sideline, complacently looking at the players.
\'Should I just give them enough time to bond?\'
After all, Rome wasn\'t built in a single day. So, it seemed the most practical option was to give the players time to familiarize themselves. But what if things don\'t work out? What if it worsens because he chose to ignore the matter?
The team was divided. He could tell just from a glance.
In fact, it had been gnawing on him since yesterday evening. Since the dissatisfaction of the older players regarding the result of Hiro, a foreboding feeling had been gnawing at him.
However, today his skepticism proved to be true as he watched the performance of his players in the training firsthand.
Then he shifted his focus to Hiro.
A feeling of pity welled inside him as his eyes landed on him. The boy was so talented. Yet other players around him were trying to drag him down.
If he was born in other footballing nations, he\'d be treated with utmost care. Just like how Spanish players defended Lamine Yamal, he\'d have been treasured for his gift.
But despite being one of the brightest players on the team, he was being targeted by other players. Just what kind of grudge they had against him?
"Are you worried about him, boss?" Akira asked after finding him staring at Hiro.
Though Nanami had perfectly hidden his concern, he could tell that he was worried.
Otherwise, why would he be so silent?
Also, it wasn\'t only Nanami who had noticed the division. If one observed carefully, one could
tell what was going on the pitch.
And he was one such person who had been ardently paying attention to the session
progressing on the pitch.
Nanami\'s complacent look only solidified his suspicion.
As he heard him, he immediately shifted his attention away from Hiro so as not to raise any suspicion. But he had already been found out. So, even if he tried to deny it, he couldn\'t avoid Akira.
"I\'ve noticed their performance earlier. Though they passed the ball to him they only played safe passes to him. I know it\'s not enough to suspect them but I have analyzed their playstyle. So, I found it quite strange for them to be playing such lousily today"
Akira provided his thorough analysis.
It was exactly as he said. Nanami had analyzed the playstyle of almost all of the players present in the camp. So, he could discern if they were playing seriously or not.
Hearing him, Nanami could tell that he couldn\'t hide it from him.
Thus, while revealing a helpless sigh, he chose to speak the truth, "Huff! It\'s exactly as you said. There seems to be some kind of conflict going on in the team. And as you\'ve guessed the target is obviously Hiro. I don\'t know what kind of conflict is taking place in the team. But I\'ve got a favor to ask you Akira."
"Can you help me identify the trouble?"