Beep! Beep!
"Hey, André, pass the ball! Can't you see your teammates around you?"
André, who had been full of confidence, attended the club's first proper training session. He never expected it to be the start of a nightmare. From the moment team training began in the afternoon, Hierro's whistle never stopped blowing. What frustrated him most was that it was almost always because of him—whether his moves were too flashy, he failed to pass, his positioning was poor, and so on. There were all sorts of issues.
However, André also knew that Hierro was right. He'd thought that since he'd passed the trial so easily, he would surely dominate the training sessions. But after nearly half a day of training, he realized he'd genuinely underestimated the world. Even though these Oviedo players were only at Segunda División level, once he actually faced off against them, André found that these guys weren't simple at all. While he had many advantages—such as being stronger and more agile than them—football is a team sport. No matter how strong you are individually, at most you'll have a few flashes of brilliance in a match. Over a ninety-minute game, you can't be brilliant from start to finish. Most of the time, the power of the collective is what matters most. For instance, in this training session, while his physique was indeed impressive and his agility excellent, he lost his room to maneuver under the deliberate double-teaming of the opposition. No matter how agile you are, it's useless then.
André remained very humble regarding Hierro's guidance. Through this half-day of play, he also realized that he genuinely had many shortcomings.
Furthermore, Hierro was truly dedicated to coaching him. After the day's training ended, he still had to practice headers with Sánchez. This was the training schedule Sánchez had given him as soon as he'd arrived at the club today. Looking at the densely packed text on that sheet, André felt his scalp go numb.
"How is it? Can you handle it?"
Training finally ended for the day. Even with such a freakish physique, André felt knackered at this moment. When he came out of the locker room, he found Hierro waiting for him at the door.
"Boss, I'm okay. I can push through."
"Come on, let's go to my office."
"Okay."
After arriving at Hierro's office, Hierro poured André a glass of water, then sat down and spoke.
"André, there are far too many gifted talents in this world, but only a very small fraction of them manage to stand out. Do you know why? I had someone compile a video of your training session this afternoon. From today onwards, after training ends every day, you'll come to my office. I'll explain the mistakes you made each day and how you should correct them. Can you do that?"
"Yes, no problem, Boss."
For the rest of the time, Hierro used the video to explain in detail the areas where André had performed poorly during training.
"Look, André. For a shot like the one you just took, you could have achieved a great result with a simple, deft push along the direction the ball was rolling. Instead, you chose a complicated method and swung your leg with great force. Even though you still scored and the goal was spectacular, this is just training. If you face a high-level opponent, he could easily read your intention the moment you wind up. You need to score using the most appropriate method based on the actual situation, not the most beautiful one. Also, look here. You could have completed this breakthrough using your speed and physique, but you chose a flashy technique. You must understand that when those clever moves were first invented, it was because they were the most suitable for the situation at that time, not because they looked good. So you must understand one principle: whether it's a breakthrough or a shot, if it can be simple, don't make it complicated. Do you understand what I mean?"
"I understand, Boss. I'll work hard."
"Also, for a professional player to achieve success, besides his individual ability and his determination, teammates are an indispensable part. You must trust your teammates at all times. Football is a team sport. The power of the collective is always greater and stronger than your individual power. Alright, that's all for today. Go back and get some rest."
In the following days, the same routine played out every day. Moreover, Hierro had someone compile highlight reels of various shots and attacks from many famous strikers for André to watch daily. André was like a dry sponge, constantly absorbing knowledge every day. As he absorbed this information, the other Oviedo players gradually noticed that this 'freak' was becoming more and more refined, and the instances of Hierro blowing his whistle during training became fewer and fewer.
"Fernando, I'm wondering how many people will be shocked when this lad officially makes his debut. I'm really looking forward to that day."
"No, no, no. I don't care how many people are shocked. I only care if Zinedine will regret it, and if those people at Castilla will regret it."
"Mr. Fernando, you were once a member of Real Madrid yourself."
"Exactly. That's why I want to show them exactly what kind of genius they missed out on. Isn't that the best revenge?"
"With André, we should have hope for this season, right?"
"Yes. There should be hope."
The new Segunda División season was set to start in just over two weeks. According to the schedule released by the Spanish Football Federation, Real Oviedo's first match was in three days.
Competition in the Segunda División this season promised to be fierce. Particularly noteworthy was the relegation of the traditional La Liga powerhouse Deportivo La Coruña to the Segunda División last season. This was like a drop of water into a boiling pot of oil for the already competitive league. Additionally, strong Segunda División sides like Osasuna and Real Mallorca were all eyeing the only three promotion spots available. This was why Real Oviedo had invited Hierro to serve as head coach. For a club with such a long history in Spanish football to be stuck in lower-level competitions like the Segunda División or Segunda División B was a source of deep frustration for Oviedo supporters.
For Oviedo veterans like Miguel Sánchez, almost his entire professional career had been spent at Oviedo. He hadn't experienced Oviedo's glory days himself. Many people his age had only read about the club's past glory in the history books. People like them dreamed of seeing Oviedo's resurgence in Spanish football.
And now, with André, perhaps that dream wasn't so far-fetched after all.
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