I had two days of hell at home. This was 1997. So, there was no internet yet. No mobile. No social media. There was absolutely nothing. We didn't have cable at home, so no movies. We had a couple of video games, but that was it. I couldn't play the same mario that I have beaten multiple times over and over.
I was alone at home as well. Mom and dad had to go to work. Digão went to school. I didn't want to risk it, so I stayed home. I tried to read a book, but fell asleep while reading it. It wasn't a good thing.
For two whole days, I endured the boredom.
And on the third day, it hit me. I forgot about the System. This is what happens when you get something that you've never ever thought of before. You forget that it exists! What a fool I was. I wasted two days. I could have been in the training arena watching training videos, analysing games, analysing performances, learning from the legends. FUCK!
On the third day, I loaded up the system and I wanted to dive deep into Xavi. Why him? Because he was a goddamn genius. I wanted to improve my passing stats. And he was one of the greatest to do it.
I wish this system had cards
where I could earn their templates and develop. Instead, I have to do it the hard way. I have to manually learn everything from them. The greatest advantage is that the videos are all from them. They describe every action, what went on in their minds, what they looked for, how they practiced etc. These were not videos that were recorded in my previous life. This is a special system. That's why I said that this was a treasure trove.
The feature in the system is to learn skills from specific players. But, you had only 5 players to choose from. For passing, I selected Xavi, Messi, De Bruyne, Scholes, Kroos.
I selected the modern era players mainly because this is the era I would be playing in as well. When it comes to passing, there are others like Pele who were from the past generation. I wanted to stick to this generation.
I know that people have differing opinions about who the better passers were. These were my options. These are the ones who I thought I would learn the most from and emulate.
So, first up was Xavi. He was one of if not my all time favorite central midfielder. His understanding of the game was at a level that's impossible to master for mere mortals. He was the ultimate puppet master. He would dictate the play so well that he makes everything seem so effortless. His switch up play, reverse passes, breaking the lines, 360 turns, and most importantly his press resistance. OMG he could do everything. And there are better ones for specific jobs, but Xavi could do everything at the top 3 level. That's why I picked him first.
I wanted to improve my understanding of the game, I wanted to link up better, I wanted to be press resistant and with my natural abilities of pace and dribbling, I would be impossible to control once I master everything.
So, this is day 1 of learning from Xavi. There are 100 videos from each one of them. That's 500 videos I need to watch. That's 500 hours of instruction and learning from them. On top of that, I need to practice what I learnt from the video. Hearing about passing is one thing. To actually master the concepts is entirely different. I assume it would take at least 2000 hours of constant practice to become somewhat close to being a master. This is going to be so time consuming. But I was not deterred. It would be worth it in the end.
I loaded up the basics of passing, a masterclass from Xavi. This was a basic tutorial. About scanning the field. Forming a mental map about player positions. The aim is to develop a map that's dynamic, that lets you know where a player would be at all times. This takes time and effort. You need to have great chemistry with the players about their movements. Right now, I have great understanding with Diego and Oscar. Over the past few months we formed a connection that's non verbal now.
Once I was done with the video, I took some time and I tried to think of my most recent match. The knowledge I got from the video seems to have stuck in my head, and it helped me analyse my game play better. I immediately saw some passing patterns which I didn't see before. This is gold! I need to watch the videos of the match to analyse my performance better. If the information from the videos works this way, I am going to be unstoppable. This is so broken! I didn't possess an eidetic memory, but when I think back on the Xavi masterclass, I could recall the whole 1 hour.
I need to learn more about this. If it works the way I think it did, I need to watch every single masterclass available to me, and I want to put it to use. I want to know how conflicting knowledge would affect me?
For example, take Xavi and Scholes. What if their passing ideology is totally different? What if their passing for long range balls is the polar opposite? Do I have to make a choice? I need to think about this and experiment more.
I didn't want to overload myself, so I stopped at 2 videos. That would be the restriction I decided on. Watch 2 videos in a day at the maximum. And practice them completely before picking up a new masterclass.
Since these were the basics, I went for 2 videos. It should take me about a week or two to actually practice all the concepts from the video. And I do not even know how long it would take to implement them seamlessly into my game. I do not want to be a clone of Xavi. I wanted to be Kaká but do the things that they did. Only better.
I wish I had a time compression. This would mean that it would be at least 7-8 years before I master things. I would be 23-24 by then. That's not too bad, but I was so impatient.
Evening came and my parents arrived. They said that I need to go get it checked at the club today. So, dad drove me there.
I told the physio that I had no pain now. There's some soreness and some stiffness, but I knew that it was to be expected.
They did a physical exam and confirmed that I am good to practice from tomorrow but it will be slow in the beginning and based on how I feel, I could increase the load. They wanted to see the recovery for one more day, with moderate workout load. I was okay with that.
I went to the gym, to wake up my leg muscles. I have been on the bed for three days. I was able to complete all the tasks they set out for me without any pain or discomfort. They were fully satisfied and said that they would let the coach know that I am good to join the practice from tomorrow.
Let's go!
Our next match is a week away. At this time of the year, the schedule wasn't packed. This works in my favour as I had time to recover, rejoin the practice and still make it into the squad.
The next day in practice, I didn't rush it. I was calm about things and did all the drills. The next day in practice we played a 11 v 11 match. Oscar and Adriano started as a pair on the other team, I had Diego and Luciano on my team. I could see that the teams have been chosen carefully. Their team had pace. We had better technical quality. I didn't know what information the coaches had ordered why they chose the teams like this, but Moraes started in midfield on our team.
Once the game kicked off, I wanted to try something, I remembered the exercise Xavi recommended about the mental map. So, throughout the game, I paid close attention to the players, their movements and tried to form a map in my mind. And it worked. I was able to imagine player positions clearly. I need to work on it consciously for now, but I could see it actually working. And with people like Moraes and Diego, it was dynamic. I would instantly know where they are and where they will be. This is big! I decided that I would do this for every match as a conscious effort to train myself to do it subconsciously. That's what Xavi said he did. He would take his time, analyse patterns and movements and it becomes instinctual for him.
Coming to the game itself, they had pace but we had discipline and quality on the ball. We did not give them a chance. They could run as much as they wanted, they couldn't break through. Us on the other hand, we slowed it down, made them make a mistake, made their forwards and midfield to over commit, and then thread through enough passes to break their shape. Diego scored two goals, both assisted by me. We laughed and celebrated. The connection was coming through. For the second half, they switched teams, the midfields were swapped.
Me and another AM Lucas were now paired with Oscar and Adriano in attack. With Moraes behind us. It worked wonders. Instead of playing slowly, we were able to adapt to Adriano and Oscar at the front, and we attempted more long balls and switched up plays and it worked. Since we didn't need to play through a midfield, we would find the right moment and release both of them who would make excellent runs into the box. Oscar scored a header and Adriano beat the offside trap perfectly and rounded off the keeper to score another. Moraes played that long ball for Adriano, while I delivered the cross for Oscar from the right side. I was taken off after 60minutes. I could understand the reasoning behind it. So I was just happy and sat there analysing player movement.
It was a great day of practice. I was back in the middle, assisted 3 goals, felt great.
I went home and checked my stats after months. I didn't want to bother myself too much with the stats, but I wanted to see the stats today to compare them later on to the end of the tournament after implementing the masterclass videos. I wanted to see how my stats would be affected later on.
**********G.O.A.T System**********
Stats Missions Training Cards
**********G.O.A.T System**********
Stats
Name: Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite (Kaka)
Age: 15
Height: 178.2cm
Weight: 71.9kg
Position: Attacking Midfielder/ Winger
Preferred Foot: Right
Weak Foot: ****
Skill Moves: ****
Work Rate: ****
Overall Rating: 79
Potential: 92
Pace: 86
#Acceleration: 87.5(+1.5)
#Sprint Speed: 86(+2)
Shooting: 75
#Positioning: 82(+2)
#Finishing: 72.4(+2.4)(1 stat point used)
#Shot Power: 74.8(+1.8)
#Long Shots: 76(+2)
#Volleys: 70(+2)
#Penalties: 80.8(+2.8)
Passing: 76
#Vision: 83(+3)
#Crossing: 71.2(+3.2)
#Free Kick Accuracy: 72(+2)
#Short Passing: 78(+2)
#Long Passing: 77.9(+3.9)(1 stat point used)
#Curve: 75(+1)
Dribbling: 85
#Agility: 87.2(+1.2)
#Balance: 82.6(+0.6)
#Reactions: 76.4(+2.4)
#Ball Control: 83(+3)
#Dribbling: 86(+2)
#Composure: 65(+3)
Defending: 40
#Interceptions: 34(+2)
#Heading: 57(+3)
#Defensive Awareness: 41.8(+1.8)
#Stand Tackle: 33(+1)
#Slide Tackle: 39(+3)
Physical: 58
#Jumping: 64(+2)
#Stamina: 70(+5)
#Strength: 55(+5)
#Aggression: 46
Traits:
#Speed Dribbles
#Playmaker
#Technical Dribbler
Not bad. Not bad. I had some good improvement in passing and my finishing. My shooting has gone up by 1. My defending improved and my physical stats improved.
Now, what are my realistic goals? I wanted to enter into the 90s for my passing stats before I joined Milan. I wanted 90s for my shooting as well. I cannot exactly control my physical stats, but the more I play alongside Moraes, the more I am understanding the defensive side of things, be it positioning, or tackles. My pace and dribbling are my assets for now, but soon I want my passing and shooting to join them. That's when I will be an all round player.
The next week passed by in a blur. Everyday it was practice sessions, speed drills, triangle passing, fast passing, defensive drills, dribbling drills. One after the other came and I dominated every single thing. Except for finishing where Adriano, Oscar and Diego, all three of them were better than me, I was ahead of them in every single thing.
The day before the match, the coach announced the teams. Diego and Adriano were starting up front. I was still on the bench. Moraes joined me on the bench. But, we were happy for Diego. All the efforts in practice worked wonders and he was starting. I would have expected to start as well, but the coach was being too cautious in my opinion. It could be not to disrupt the team too much, or it could be because of the injury, or it could be because of my age, I am still on the bench even after dominating in practice. But, I wasn't demoralised. I knew that he couldn't ignore me forever, especially when the options he had were bad.
Gremio had a very strong academy and they played in sync. They attacked relentlessly, tested our defense. We played through their waves of attack, and Diego was the one to actually find the breakthrough. He dropped deep to collect the ball and linked up excellently with Adriano. They both were able to execute some incredible Marseille turns and Diego let loose a through ball that Adriano finished without taking a touch. I clapped loudly, happy for my friend. Over the past few weeks, our group became more than just coworkers, we actually became friends. We visited each other's houses, played video games, talked about non football stuff. And I was glad that I could make friends so quickly. And it helped that all of them were good people. No one had a chip on their shoulders.
Gremio, were not ones to sit back though. They increased the tempo more and in the 40th minute, our captain pulled a muscle. Moraes was subbed in. But immediately after the substitution, before the team could settle in, a devastating counter was launched and they scored.
1-1. 42 minutes.
And the attacks didn't stop, we were defending with everything we had and there was a handball in the box, and they scored the penalty.
2-1 Gremio. 45 minutes.
I was put in as a sub after 55 minutes, Adriano was taken out and Oscar was given a chance. We were so happy, all three of us were on the field for the first time.
After the 60th minute, they showed signs of slowing down, and I immediately knew that it was an opportunity. I had been observing the match and noticing the player movements very clearly. So, when I noticed that their midfielders were slowing down a bit, I caught sight of Oscar and gave him a nod. He understood immediately and he took off in the middle, with Diego following along. I took the ball towards the edge on the right side and Diego came out to the edge of the box to help me out. I passed the ball to him and immediately cut inside, juking my marker.
Diego read the play well and he put the ball exactly where I wanted it, and I had 2 seconds of space. That was all I needed to take one look and deliver a cross, which found Oscar. He timed his jump perfectly and there was no stopping that header.
2-2. Game on!
It was tense 10 minutes after that, we came very close to scoring multiple times. But, we could only find the keeper or were off target.
In the 83rd minute, I took a couple of midfielders and the defense immediately drew back and were marking players, so, instead of passing, I decided to go for it. I cut back inside from the right, and the switch of my feet confused them. They didn't know that my left foot was getting stronger day by day. I cut back inside like Robben, and let loose a bullet. The goal keeper was on the wrong side and the ball curled into the top left corner.
GOAL!
3-2 Sao Paulo FC.
I could feel the adrenaline pumping after scoring that shot. All the hours put in everyday working on my weaker foot, and my finishing, it paid dividends. It was a spectacular shot. I was surprised at how the ball flew into the net. It was flawless.
But, all that happiness was in vain, as Gremio did not let us settle in after scoring and we slacked off a bit. They launched a quick attack and scored a goal. I was partially responsible for it as well, since I was reminiscing about my goal and not paying attention to their attack. I didn't track back fast enough.
3-3. 85 minutes.
It was a nervous few minutes as both sides tried to find the winner. But, it was all in vain, as both sides held on. It was a draw.
Everything was not a downer though, as Diego had an assist. Oscar scored a goal and I scored one and assisted one with Moraes getting the assist for my goal.
We made our point, that our attack would work really well with all of us in the team.
The improvement was there for the coaches and the players alike to see. They knew that after today's match, they can't leave us on the bench for the next game with the numbers we have been putting up.
I looked at coach Alfonso and nodded. It said enough. "The ball is in your court coach!"