As soon as I woke up the next day, I wanted to check if everything that happened the previous day was real. And not something I conjured up in the dark parts of my brain.
To my immense relief, I am still Kaká. It was indeed the 23rd of April, 1997. Everything was in place.
Then my thoughts drifted to football.
In Brazil, football never seems to stop. Brazilian Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, usually starts in April and ends in December. Then there is Campeonato Paulista which happens in phases and the finals are usually in May. Then there is the invitational Torneio Rio - Sao Paulo, which happens between January and March. Then there is a knockout tournament, Copa do Brazil. This also occurs in January to May.
There is also Copa Libertadores which is the South American Champions League. But, qualification is very tough since Brazil has two spots available for the champions of Brasileiro and Copa do Brazil.
One step at a time. First, let me check the system.
I opened up the system, and went into the training tab. I couldn't do anything to improve my stats immediately, I couldn't complete my missions right now and I cannot earn any cards now. So, the only thing I could do was use the training function.
Last I checked , it was a repository of training videos. I didn't pay much attention to it, since I was a bit disappointed. But, now that I was checking it, I was getting happier by the minute.
This is a treasure trove. It has exact training regimens, nutritional information, skill development tutorials and even meditation training.
If I use this properly, I could use a custom diet plan to become fitter and better. I could use it for injury prevention and recovery. Since the system has all my stats and data, all the training functions are customised to me.
So, I wanted to create a new diet plan and exercise regimen for me. I had to input options like how many cheat meals do I want in a week, what my dietary preferences were, how much I want to work out etc.
I was also informed that this is customisable and based on my schedule and expectations, it could be changed dynamically. I was thrilled by this.
So, for now, I selected the option to have 2 cheat meals per week. And a moderate workout regimen. I would customise it again based on how much training I get to do and what my schedule looks like once I get into the youth team and play proper team football.
Since I didn't sign a contract yet, I was just a prospect at the academy. Even though I had great stats for a 15 year old, I could see that I didn't break into the youth teams yet. There has to be a reason. I wanted to talk to the coaches once I get comfortable and analyse where I am lacking.
By the end of the year, I wanted to perform at such a level that I would get a call up to the u17 team. That is my immediate goal. I wanted to start small. Prove myself. And then aim for first team football.
I got a notepad, and wrote down my professional goals for the near future.
1. Sign a professional youth contract.
2. Get into the U17 youth team and become a starter in the 1998 youth league.
3. Win the 1998 youth cup or youth league. Be the top scorer and/or assist provider.
4. Break out into the first team by the 1999 season.
5. Get a Brazil U17/ U20 call up. Win Olympic gold at the 2000 Olympics with Brazil.
6. Become a starter in the first team for Sao Paulo FC for the 2000-01 season.
7. Win the league or state cup or copa do Brazil by 2001/2002.
8. Score at least 50 goals and provide 35 assists with Sao Paulo.
9. Sign some sponsorship deals to earn some money. Be careful about getting locked up in deals. Find the right deal.
10. Get into the Brazilian national side and become a starter.
I went through all of them multiple times and I could see that all of them are achievable. I was satisfied, so I put it on the wall in front of my bed. In two years, I wanted to at least cross 3 or 4 items on the list.
With enough hard work, and with the greatest advantage anyone could have i.e. the system, I was confident that I could do all of them.
I realised that I had to go to school daily. The school has a tie-up with the club, so everything is managed and observed by the club as well.
In the mornings, we attend the school, classes are pretty normal. Nothing strenuous since most of the people here are looking towards sports or other activities and not to get into some ivy league colleges and all. It isn't a cake walk by any standards, but it is not too daunting. They know that our priority would be football, so we have enough time to spend on our training.
I eat lunch at school itself and once classes are done, I go to the academy for training.
Usually, we do drills, workout routines, speed drills, rondos, 5 a side matches. Then the coaches talk to us about our areas of development and we are sent home.
On Saturdays and Sundays, we play youth team games. People who are in the u15 team go for their games. Who are not a part of the team, go for training matches the coaches arrange, either internal matches or with local clubs.
I wanted to sign my contract with the club and become a starter in the u15 team ASAP.
With these thoughts in my mind, I stretched for 5 minutes, did two sets of 30 squats without any weights, two sets of 15 pushups each. I then held a plank for 3minutes. I stretched again. This took 30minutes to do. I felt energized. I wanted to follow whatever plan system has in store for me. Up next, I need to eat my breakfast.
I went down to the kitchen, found my mom already there. Singing a song. It brought a smile to my face, seeing her happy and singing while cooking in the morning. I joined in on the singing, and it immediately brought the vibes down. I cannot hold a tune.
Ugh! I was a decent singer in my past life. I need to practice singing in this body once again. On that note, I should probably pick up an instrument, maybe a guitar or a keyboard. I always wanted to learn to play. Will see about it later on.
Seeing my abysmal effort to join in on the singing my mom burst out laughing.
"You should not laugh at me like that mamãe! I blame papai for my disastrous singing abilities." I grumbled.
Seeing my pout, my mom laughed even harder.
"I agree baby. Everyone in my family can sing well. Your father's side? I do not want to comment."
That was the moment my dad decided to show himself and he said "That's not true. I can sing."
Immediately both my mom and I went "No, you can't" at the same time.
We both looked at each other and my mamãe winked at me.
I liked this family dynamic.
While talking, my brother also walked in, still half asleep, and I finished my breakfast quickly, drank a nice coffee and took a banana with me.
My father dropped me and my brother at my school.
Classes were boring. I didn't want to be a show-off or anything. I took everything in stride. Answered when asked.
I met some of my friends in school.
I met Juan and Carlos, two of my close friends. They weren't really gifted at football. But, they try. They're passionate. And they were also funny. They are good kids.
I noticed that there are some groups of kids who are a bit on the naughty side. Ones who could cause trouble for others. I wanted to stay far away from that.
Once the classes were over, we went to the academy. It is located in the Barra Fund district. CT da Barra Funda ( Centro de Treinamento Frederico Antonio Germano Menzen). Let us just call it CT.
This is the primary training ground for the senior and youth teams. It has one main full size football pitch. It could hold roughly 700 supporters.
There are two additional smaller pitches.
A medical department.
One apartment building with 20 suits for academy players who stay here.
One industrial kitchen.
Press area.
Auditorium.
Indoor pool.
Sports court.
Beach soccer field.
Yeah! Life is going to be good here.
Once I entered, I immediately changed into my training gear, went up to meet the coaches.
Today, training started a bit slow. We had some running drills. And then we were all divided into groups and had rondo. Once that was done, we were given a passing exercise. A coach would be watching us while we receive a ball, turn and quickly find the best pass.
I liked this exercise. I did really well. I mistimed only one pass out of 5. But I played 4 perfect passes. My first touch was also good. Knowing the stats on a screen was one thing. But seeing it like this, feeling it actually was surreal.
I could not keep the smile off my face the whole time. This was magic. The way my body moved, the way I could control the ball, instinctively think about open spaces, it all was happening subconsciously.
After a couple of hours of training, we were allowed to go home. But, I wanted to stay back a bit, and practice some more passing. The way I see it, the only way I could improve my long range or short range passing was through practice.
I wanted to take advantage of the good image I had here. I asked around and found a couple of u17 youths who were okay with me joining their group after hours.
Today, I wanted to test my body. How it feels to play football in this body. How I think. And I was able to lock in. I did well during the session. I managed to make good passes. And I also realised that I was better than many u17 players when it came to seeing a pass. I wasn't executing the passes properly, but the thought behind the passes was the right one. I was happy with that.
With training I could improve my accuracy. I needed to improve the weight of my passes. If I wanted to become the best assist provider, I needed to have 95/96 accuracy. I had a long way to go for that. But, I am all up for the challenge.
Unbeknownst to me, the u17 coaches were watching me train. They raised an eyebrow at the sight of a 15 year old, playing with the older guys, hanging out after hours and putting in the effort. They would keep a watch over this kid.
I thanked the guys for letting me join them, and luckily I impressed them enough that they didn't mind and they said I could join them daily after hours. I said goodbye and went home.
After a quiet dinner, I went back to my room, opened up my system and went into training.
I saw that it has a recommended video option.
I clicked on it, and it opened up a tutorial explaining the mechanics behind power used in passing. It was a 30minute video, curated for me.
I realised that the system keeps a tab on my training as well. This was gold. I paid close attention to the video. I wanted to put it into practice tomorrow. The progress would be slow, but it would all be worth it in the end.
The training drained me physically, yet I had a smile on my face as I drifted off into the Morpheus' realm, dreaming about scoring goals and lifting trophies.