Chapter 4

Frederick Antonio Germano Mencen — this is the name of the training ground of São Paulo FC, but because it is too long, no one calls it that. Just like how Brazilians are accustomed to giving nicknames, they also have the habit of giving abbreviations to training bases.

This training ground, which was inaugurated in September 1988, is located in the Brás district of São Paulo, so everyone basically just calls it the "Brás Training Ground." Whether it's among fans, media reporters, or São Paulo players themselves, this is the name they use.

The Brás Training Ground is a very modern facility, with three standard-sized training fields, a stadium with stands that can accommodate 4,000 spectators. The stadium has two dressing rooms for players and two for referees.

In addition to the administrative building, which includes a gym, physiotherapy room, and press area, there is also a dedicated accommodation area for players. The first floor is a large dining hall for all the staff of the training ground, while the second floor has sixteen standard double rooms. There are also entertainment rooms, billiard rooms, and audio-visual rooms for the players.

One of the three training fields is specifically for the youth team.

The São Paulo Under-18 youth team trains here.

Rong Guang, wearing the youth team's jersey and training gear, stood on the training field. The red vest and earth-yellow shorts he wore during the trial were gone. His feet were no longer in flip-flops but in a pair of black football boots, which this time fit his feet well and didn't squeeze them.

Just looking at him standing on the training field, one would think he was a qualified football player, even though he was still a bit thin... but there are many players in Brazil who are thin due to malnutrition, so it wasn't too out of place.

In front of Rong Guang stood the players of the São Paulo youth team, who were about to become his teammates.

The youth team coach, Valdemar de Oliveira, stood next to Rong Guang and introduced him to the players: "Rong, Rong Guang, a young man from China, will be your teammate."

He didn't elaborate much.

Actually, everyone already knew Rong Guang. His performance during the trial was so outstanding that it left a deep impression.

His speed was unforgettable.

"Everyone knows Rong is a beginner and can't train with us. He needs to do basic training. Is there anyone willing to help him with this?" Valdemar asked.

No one responded.

Everyone knew that helping Rong Guang with his basics meant reducing their own training time. All the players in the youth team wanted to advance to the first team, and there was competition among them. No one wanted to reduce their own training time for someone else.

At this moment, someone in the group raised his hand: "I'll do it. I love helping new players. I'll do it without hesitation!"

Some people thought to themselves, "Lucas is just trying to slack off again..."

In the midst of everyone's thoughts, Lucas Sutton stepped out from the group.

Valdemar couldn't possibly not know what Lucas Sutton was thinking.

But he didn't stop Lucas.

Lucas Sutton was an oddity in the São Paulo youth team. He wasn't serious about training, had no outstanding talent, and his technical skills were below average. He had no special strengths, and many people didn't think he had a future in professional football. They believed he would be let go once he turned 18 and could sign a professional contract.

He had no chance of making it in Brazilian professional football.

Perhaps because of this, he became even lazier in training.

Valdemar didn't bother with him anymore — he had tried before, but it was useless.

"Alright, you go teach Rong the basics, starting with juggling the ball."

Valdemar's decision to have a youth team player teach Rong was out of necessity. Ideally, Rong should have gone to a lower-level team for basic training, but he was too old for that. So he had to join the Under-18 team, which was for players aged 16 to 18.

The Under-18 team didn't have enough coaches to assign someone to teach Rong the basics, so they had to find a player to act as a temporary coach.

Lucas Sutton happily accepted the task given by the coach and walked up to Rong Guang. "Hi, I'm Lucas. Are you really from China? Are Chinese girls really beautiful? Do you think they like mixed-race guys like me?"

He pointed to himself with his thumb. He wasn't black or white but had a skin color that combined both, a healthy wheat color from being in the sun all summer. He was well-built, more so than Rong Guang, with distinct features and a clear profile, but his eyes were a bit small, which was his only flaw.

When he squinted, it gave the impression that he was up to no good.

"Uh..." Rong Guang didn't know how to answer his enthusiastic teammate's questions.

"Lucas!" Valdemar shouted.

Lucas stuck out his tongue at Valdemar and then said to Rong Guang, "Alright, alright, let's go train." He then put his arm around Rong Guang's neck and led him to a corner of the training field.

"Lucas, if you slack off, I'll make you run twenty laps after training!" Valdemar shouted from behind.

"Yes, sir!" Lucas's face changed when he heard about the penalty, and he quickly stood up straight and responded loudly.

***

With the threat of running twenty laps hanging over Lucas Sutton's head, he didn't dare to be lazy.

He started by teaching Rong Guang how to warm up properly.

After Rong Guang learned how to warm up correctly, Lucas began teaching him how to juggle the ball.

Whether it's football or basketball, getting familiar with the ball is crucial.

Basketball is controlled with the hands, which are relatively easier to control. Football, on the other hand, is controlled with the feet, which are less flexible than hands, making it even more important to get familiar with the ball.

Only by getting familiar with the ball can one make good ball control in a match.

The simplest, most common, and most effective way to get familiar with the ball is by juggling. If a professional player can't juggle well, their basic skills are definitely poor, and they won't achieve much.

This is something players should know, but Rong Guang wasn't a player... he was a complete novice.

When he heard that he was going to learn how to juggle, he was a bit surprised: "Isn't it about scoring goals? I heard from Godo that scoring is the most important in football!"

Lucas couldn't help but roll his eyes at Rong Guang's naive comment.

"You can't even walk yet, and you want to run? Without a solid foundation, you won't be able to score well!" He put his hands on his hips, adopting a teacher's authoritative stance.

"When can I play in a match...?" Rong Guang was disappointed. Even as a novice, he knew that if he couldn't play in matches, he wouldn't earn money. He was eager to play in a match tomorrow, achieve success, and return home in glory...

"What are you thinking? Playing in a match? Do you know the rules of football? Do you know what to do when you're on the field? Stop talking nonsense and follow me to learn the basics!"

Lucas then ignored Rong Guang's disappointed look and began explaining the purpose and importance of juggling.

"...While juggling, you'll learn the ball's behavior, how to control it, how much force to use, and the different sensations of touching the ball with different parts of your body. When you become proficient, every part of your body can be used to control the ball, making it difficult for opponents to take it away. For example, like this."

After explaining the importance of juggling, Lucas kicked the ball up and started juggling it with his instep, then with his thigh. The ball obediently bounced between his legs and feet, leaving Rong Guang amazed.

Finally, he kicked the ball up, and just as it was about to hit the ground, he used the tip of his left foot to kick it up again. This time, he used a bit more force, and the ball flew past Rong Guang, over his head, and behind him!

"You won't be able to take it away..." Lucas said as he tried to go around Rong Guang to catch the ball.

But before he could finish speaking, Rong Guang jumped high and reached out with his arm to... directly catch the ball in the air!

He held the ball up with both hands, as if he were grabbing a rebound in basketball!

Holding the ball, Rong Guang looked at Lucas, "It's not that impressive, Lucas. Look, I took it away!"

Seeing Rong Guang's smug look, Lucas couldn't help but shout, "You can't use your hands in football, idiot!" He covered his face with his hands — what a unique new player...

"Football is played with the feet, not the hands! You can only use your hands if you're the goalkeeper! Do you want to be a goalkeeper?" Lucas asked.

Rong Guang asked, "Do goalkeepers earn a lot of money?" He only cared about money. He didn't come to play football because he liked it, but because Godo told him that becoming a professional player would earn him a lot of money, more than he could imagine.

"Of course not as much as forwards! The highest earners are forwards because they get the most attention! Like me, Lucas, I'm an excellent forward!" Lucas pointed to himself, proud.

He wasn't impressive among the other youth team players, but he could still show off in front of a new player like Rong Guang.

"I want to be a forward too!" If he had known that forwards earned the most during the trial, Rong Guang would have told Leko that his position was forward without hesitation...

Lucas glanced at Rong Guang, "You? First, focus on the basics, rookie."

"Are the basics just juggling?" Rong Guang asked.

"It's just one of them," Lucas replied. "But if you can't juggle, you won't become a professional player!"

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's start practicing!" Rong Guang was full of determination.

***

Lucas demonstrated juggling again and then broke down each step for Rong Guang.

Throughout the process, Rong Guang listened attentively.

His eyes were fixed on Lucas's left foot, watching how he applied force and when.

After explaining, Lucas asked Rong Guang, "Do you understand?"

Rong Guang said, "It's like playing shuttlecock..."

"Playing shuttlecock? What's that?" Lucas didn't understand. "Try juggling once."

He kicked the ball to Rong Guang.

Rong Guang remembered that Lucas had kicked the ball up from the ground.

He was confident and tried to follow, but he didn't manage to kick the ball up. Instead, he kicked it into Lucas's thigh, almost hitting his vital area!

"Wow! Good thing I dodged! Otherwise, you would have ruined my life!" Lucas was still shaken.

"Ah... sorry! Sorry!"

Lucas glared at him, "As a beginner, don't try such advanced techniques. Just pick up the ball and gently toss it up, then use your instep to juggle it!" He demonstrated for Rong Guang.

Rong Guang finally started juggling.

However, as expected, juggling and playing shuttlecock were completely different. When the ball fell, he tried to use his toes to hook it, making it spin in the air, just like playing shuttlecock.

But the ball he hooked hit his own face!

Thud!

A dull sound.

"Ha!" Seeing this, Lucas couldn't help but laugh. "Ahaha! What are you doing? Ha! Idiot! Don't use your toes to juggle! Use your instep, the part where you tie your shoelaces, not too forward or too backward... Ha! Otherwise, it will end up like this! Hahaha!"

He laughed while explaining Rong Guang's mistake.

Rong Guang rubbed his nose, which was hit by the ball, and tears almost welled up in his eyes. It seemed different from playing shuttlecock... He thought he would be good at juggling because he was good at playing shuttlecock, but it turned out to be much harder.

So he forgot about playing shuttlecock and recalled Lucas's demonstration in his mind, starting his second attempt. This time, when the ball fell to his foot, he was careful not to use his toes, but the ball still didn't bounce up obediently like in Lucas's demonstration. Instead, it bounced irregularly to the side and fell to the ground.

"Your foot is as stiff as a piece of wood. What did I say? Relax, relax. When the ball falls, the moment it touches your foot, you need to pull your foot back and cushion it! Try again!"

On the second attempt, Rong Guang was focused on cushioning, but he cushioned too early. The ball didn't bounce up but rolled down his foot.

"Cushioning too early, I said at the moment of contact! Moment! Do you understand? The moment the ball touches your foot, you pull your foot back. Try again!"

On the third attempt, Rong Guang grasped the concept of the moment and pulled his foot back as soon as the ball touched it, then immediately applied force upward. However, the ball flew over his head.

"Not bad, you know how to cushion at the moment, but your movements are not smooth. When you cushion and then apply force upward, you use too much force. The force should be light, not too strong. Football isn't about using more force to make it better. Use light force to control the ball, not too high or too low, ideally to the height of your knee. Try again."

Rong Guang kept trying, and each time he failed, Lucas would correct his mistakes, explaining why he was wrong and what he should do.

Through this process, Rong Guang gradually got the feel of juggling. He finally managed to juggle the ball successfully.

When he managed to juggle the ball twice in a row, he cheered, but of course, the ball fell to the ground.

"Only twice, what's there to be happy about? Keep going."

Rong Guang, full of confidence, continued practicing.

His feel for juggling got better, and he managed to juggle the ball more times in a row. From twice, to four times, to eight times, to ten times!

Rong Guang was learning faster and faster!

Seeing Rong Guang's visible improvement, Lucas was surprised.

It hadn't even been half an hour, and Rong Guang could already juggle ten balls in a row! He seemed to have overcome the initial stage of being a complete novice and entered the phase of repetitive practice and memory reinforcement.

How long did it take him to juggle ten balls in a row when he first started playing football?

He thought about it and felt discouraged.

He also remembered the moment when he tried to dribble past Rong Guang, but Rong Guang jumped in the air and caught the ball with his hands.

That kid's jump was really impressive!

Especially his explosive jump!

His explosive power was indeed strong, which was why he could run faster than Rico. Who knows... maybe he could even run faster than Kaká!

Lucas was startled by the thought that popped into his head.

Then he became particularly interested in this Chinese rookie.

Is he really from China?

Why did he start playing football at 16?

Why does he want to play football?

He turned his attention to Rong Guang and noticed that he was juggling the ball while his mouth was moving, but no sound was coming out, as if he were muttering something.

"Hey, Rong."

His voice startled Rong Guang, and the ball fell.

"What are you muttering?"

Rong Guang looked at the ball on the ground with a pained expression, as if it were money that had fallen...

"I'm counting," he replied.

"How many did you juggle in a row just now?"

"Twenty-one... no, twenty. If you hadn't spoken, I could have continued..." he complained.

"Idiot, if you can't focus on the task, how can you become a professional player!" Lucas didn't expect Rong Guang to juggle over twenty times in such a short time, but he couldn't admit that he had spoken too hastily. So he squinted and found a reason. "You need to make your body... no, every cell remember the ball's feel, not just focus on it every time. When you can juggle while doing other things, you'll know you've got it