My Football Legends Chat Group-Chapter 67: SS- Potential

The manager walked over to the center circle and began to rifle off some names, mostly U21 players who would be making up the numbers against the senior professionals who hadn’t been called up for international duty. Of course, Rio, Archie, and Piroe were included in this lineup.

Apart from Archie, who was jumping up and down with excitement to train with the first team again, both Rio and Piroe thought this was natural.

"Rio, Archie told me yesterday that you’ve been working on your defensive shape, so how about you start as the right wing-back for the ’Probables’ team?" Farke asked, his whistle and clipboard in hand.

"Yes, Boss." He answered, a small smile forming on his face. He had been looking forward to testing his Titan’s Core against a full-contact scrimmage, even if it was just a training session.

"Archie, you can be our box-to-box midfielder. Mateo Joseph... Where do you usually play?"

"Striker."

Both Archie and Manager Farke looked at the person who said these words with confusion in their faces.

Mateo Joseph, the young U21 forward, looked completely shocked as he stared at Rio who had correctly guessed his preferred position, even answering before himself.

Rio didn’t bother explaining himself and told Archie to follow him so he could warm up his ankles.

"I take it by your expression he is correct?" Farke asked, looking at Joseph expectantly.

"Y-Yes. But I usually drift wide right," Joseph responded, unsure of how to react. He kept his gaze on the solid figure of Rio walking alongside Archie to warm up.

Archie couldn’t help but feel excited. Since he was seventeen, he thought it would be a long time before he was considered a "leader" in training, yet here he was about to battle alongside the man who silenced The Den.

"Go and get your bibs on," Rio advised, rotating his neck and getting it loose.

"Yes, Skip!" Archie replied with a grin.

A few moments later Archie returned, fully kitted out in the yellow bib.

"Ready when you are, Rio!" He stated before getting into a receiving position.

Rio started off slowly, warming up the muscles in his legs. Besides the match against Hull, this was the first time he’d trained properly with his new S-Grade physique without the adrenaline of a match day.

Of course, he had done the Image Training last night, however, that was everything but physical practice. After around ten passes, he finally felt that he had warmed up enough to pass seriously.

"Let’s see if my touch has improved from yesterday," Rio mumbled.

Archie felt as if the atmosphere suddenly darkened as Rio’s face turned serious. He saw the powerful legs of Rio tense as he planted his left foot and pulled his right leg back to begin his passing action.

’Here it comes,’ Archie tensed as he felt the hairs on his arms begin to stand up from the pressure.

"Hup!"

Rio released his leg like a whip through the air, sending the ball off his laces with tremendous force. His hip flexors felt fantastic, working as they should like a well-oiled machine.

"Ah!"

Archie quickly adjusted his feet and tried to cushion the ball that rocketed towards his chest. Thanks to his quick reflexes he was able to control it, however, the spin still carried on and the ball popped up a meter away.

"Hahahaha!"

Grating laughter filled both Archie’s and Rio’s ears as they turned to look at the sideline. A player with a nonchalant attitude bent down and watched them, his face filled with amusement.

"Is this meant to be the new ’Star Boy’? Looks like we’ve got nothing to worry about, lads." He turned to the other loanees surrounding him and chuckled once more.

’Djed Spence... I kind of feel sorry for this guy,’ Rio mused inwardly.

In his previous life simulations, Djed Spence had been sent back to Tottenham not even a month after arriving due to attitude problems. Unfortunately for him, Rio planned on exposing that attitude right now. It seemed that this loanee was doomed to be a side character all along.

"Djed, ball please."

Rio smiled warmly. There was no point in giving into the taunts of this guy who would fade into the background in a month or two.

"Heh." Djed Spence smirked and gripped the ball in his hands, before dropping it to his feet and winding up a massive volley.

"AH! What are you doing!?" Archie yelled out.

Since they were just warming up, Rio wasn’t looking at the ball directly. Seeing the ball smashed at Rio with such force caused Archie to cry out in worry. If the heavy Mitre ball hit him in the face from five yards away, it could easily end in a broken nose.

It wasn’t only Archie that was anxious right now as Manager Farke happened to hear the commotion earlier and had been watching.

"Watch out!" The manager yelled out the first thing that came to his mind as the ball came flying towards Rio at great speed.

A grin formed on Rio’s face after hearing the manager’s warning. It seemed as if he didn’t have to do much; Djed had already sealed his own fate.

His eyes never left the incoming ball which was coming straight for his head. Rio waited for the opportune moment and didn’t duck. Instead, he stiffened his neck and engaged Titan’s Core.

Before the ball arrived, he shifted his weight slightly to the left to align his chest. With his mental capacity and keen control over his body thanks to the Captain’s Presence skill, he was able to secure the ball without flinching.

THUD.

The ball hit Rio’s chest with the sound of a gunshot. But Rio didn’t move backward. He absorbed the impact perfectly, letting the ball drop dead at his feet as if it were a balloon.

To further reduce the impact, Rio simply stepped on the ball, bringing it under total control.

Silence.

Archie stared with his eyes wide open and jaw slack after witnessing the precise and almost flawless control that took place in front of him.

Djed Spence was also dumbfounded, however, he clicked his tongue in the next moment and was about to walk away. That was until a thunderous voice halted him in his tracks.

"SPENCE!"

"Oh crap."

His expression paled when he saw Farke bounding over to him with a livid expression.

"What the fuck was that?" Farke roared, his German accent thick with anger. "We are teammates! You do not shoot at teammates!"

"I was just passing it back, Boss," Djed mumbled, looking at his boots. "The wind caught it."

"The wind?" Farke scoffed. "There is no wind! Get out! Go to the U21 pitch! I do not want to see your face until you learn respect!"

Djed glared at Rio one last time before trudging off the field, kicking a water bottle on his way out.

Rio didn’t say a word. He just rolled the ball under his foot calmly.

[Chat Room Active]

Hand_Of_King: Hahaha! The wind! That is the worst excuse I have ever heard. Good chest control, kid. You stood like a statue.

Total_Football_14: It was unnecessary aggression, but you handled it with class. Silence is louder than shouting.

Zizou_5: That control... it reminds me of myself. Very elegant. But next time, maybe nutmeg him. It is more fun.

Rio smiled internally. "Thanks, Zizou."

Farke turned back to Rio, his face softening but still serious.

"Are you okay, Rio?"

"I’m fine, Boss," Rio said, flicking the ball up and catching it. "Just a bad pass. We move on."

Farke looked at him for a second, analyzing the calmness. Most 19-year-olds would have started a fight. Rio just killed the ball and killed the situation.

"Okay," Farke nodded, impressed. "Back to work. We have a session to finish."

He blew his whistle. "Everyone! Line up! We start the rondo!"

As the players gathered around, Mateo Joseph, the young striker Rio had identified earlier, walked up to him.

"Hey," Joseph whispered. "Thanks for... you know. Saying I’m a striker. They keep trying to play me on the wing."

Rio looked at the kid. He saw the potential. SS- Potential according to the System.

"Don’t worry," Rio said, winking. "Just make sure you finish your dinner when I pass to you."

Joseph grinned. "Yes, Skip."

Rio felt a warm glow in his chest. The "Skip" nickname was spreading.

He looked around the pitch. The squad was thin because of the internationals, but the vibe was good. Focused.

But he knew this was just the calm before the storm. The text from Mendes was still unanswered. The agent wouldn’t give up this easily.

And somewhere in Manchester, Mateo was probably telling everyone about his "genius" best friend.

Rio took a deep breath of the cold Yorkshire air.