Dynasty Awakening: Building My Own Football Empire-Chapter 246: Pre-season

Pre-season had already been and gone with Michael making the most of his newly transformed Influence grade and scoring well on the transfer market. Lorenzo Ricci was still by far his most expensive "bargain", but he had managed to improve dramatically on the squad depth with the other signings.

If he continued to post such results, he would be able to pass the group stages of the Champions League much easier than he had in his nightmares.

However, the goal was to make it past Chelsea which was situated in West London. Michael had always wanted to beat the prestigious club which would give him the best opportunity to make a statement to the world.

Like most big clubs they offered huge contracts to players who they wanted to poach from smaller teams, while also organizing media campaigns to unsettle those with less experience.

Therefore, Diego and Michael agreed that they would do their best to win the opening match and compete on the largest stage in order to get the attention of the global press—for the right reasons this time.

The Barnsley Misfits had just finished their 10 lap warm up on the Stamford Bridge pitch and were now waiting on instructions from their Manager. Unlike how they had been in the past 2 months of friendlies, there was genuine tension in the air.

Michael cleared his throat and addressed his players with his usual intense blue-eyed stare.

"You have all done well to continue your madness while we were dodging the FA. Since we have not had to worry about relegation anymore, I feel as if we have had an advantage that other teams have not."

"That being said, we are now about to start our Premier League campaign where we will be able to see how much we have evolved. In my hands right now is the starting lineup for the Chelsea game."

His words elicited an excited response, making it clear that this was what the team had been waiting for all these weeks.

Kaito Tanaka and Amara shared a look filled with anticipation. This was what they had been striving towards all this time, racing tirelessly day in and day out to see who was truly the fastest winger.

"We’re up against the Billion Pound Squad in the first match." Michael said, handing the tablet to Sergio Ramos the team captain.

"Yes! An expensive team to start."

The rest of the team crowded around Sergio to get a good look at the formation. Michael looked over the captain’s shoulder and nodded his head. Thanks to his mental upgrade, he could tell with one look that the lineup was essentially the same as his simulation.

They would need to score 2 goals total in order to unsettle the Chelsea defense, followed by another 45 minutes of pure suffering to win the whole thing.

If he had been playing, Michael might have confidence in getting through these ninety minutes, but he would have to rely on Mateo Vega to take the reins. As long as they could limit their opponents’ chances, Vladimir would do the rest.

"Okay, the game starts in one hour. I’ll be releasing the tactical instructions in ten minutes so this is your last chance to fix your hair." Michael spoke up, getting the attention of his players.

"Yes Boss!"

Lorenzo Ricci and Diego separated, but not before bumping fists (carefully, so as not to ruin Lorenzo’s manicure). The two had rarely trained together at full intensity now that Diego had been moved to the central defense permanently. However, Michael was not worried.

It was for the benefit of the team if Lorenzo, a future fashion icon, was moved to the inverted midfield role sooner rather than later.

With the game coming up this hour, Michael targeted some game specific scenarios rather than just honing everyone’s skills. For this, Diego was in the box while Michael threw balls everywhere around the penalty area.

Due to his chaos skill and his long legs, Diego was perfectly able to clear the throws sent his way from anywhere in the box. After around 10 minutes of this, Michael switched to a 1 vs 1 scenario.

The goal was to go for a clean tackle by stopping the advancing attacker before clearing it back to Michael on the touchline.

This continued before more scenarios were added into the mix. The defensive team was sharp, possibly because a fire had been lit beneath them with the approach of the opening whistle.

Vladimir Petrovic seemed satisfied with the warm-up and only put an end to the crushing tackles after about twenty minutes. Despite not really moving from his spot, Diego was drenched in sweat thanks to the summer sun which bared down on him.

The following moment, Michael brought everyone into the away dressing room. Today was the day that the starting lineup would be revealed to the world. There were a few nervous faces, apart from the likes of Jamie Vardy and Sergio Ramos who had no real competition for their roles as "Team Dads".

Amara seemed to be sweating bullets. Ever since Kaito had been practicing on the wing, he had not been able to catch a breather. The Japanese prodigy seemed to be made for the position with his killer speed and consistent "Zoom Zoom" noises.

Michael too was feeling nervous, casting his gaze over to Lukas Weber on the other side of the room. Lukas had long recovered from his calculation fatigue and had been performing well at training throughout the last couple of months.

"Okay," Michael said, holding up the tablet. "Here we go."

GK: Jan Visser RB: Lorenzo Ricci CB: Diego Nunez CB: Vladimir Petrovic LB: Jean Luc Dubois CM: Lukas Weber CM: Leo Stone CAM: Mateo Vega RW: Kaito Tanaka LW: Amara ST: Victor Osimhen

"We play the Chameleon," Michael announced. "Lorenzo, you drift inside. Kaito, you stay wide. Mateo, you paint."

A silence fell over the room. It wasn’t a nervous silence. It was a hungry silence.

Then, from the back of the room, a hand went up.

"Boss?"

It was Diego Nunez.

"Yes Diego?"

"Can I wear the golden shield on my back during the game? For protection?"

"No Diego."

"Okay. Just asking."

The tension broke. Laughter filled the room.