Chapter 593: An old disciple

Takeshi inhaled deeply before introducing himself in a loud voice that immediately sent a wave around the crowd: “Nice to meet you, everyone! I’m Takeshi Ono. I’m currently 20 years old and I’m a midfielder. Please take care of me.”

Ono’s voice reverberated all over the field.

Just after he finished, a pin-drop silence engulfed the field. Ono hesitantly looked in front only to be met with the sight of people staring at him weirdly.

Upon seeing those frozen expressions, he couldn’t help but panic.

‘Did I sound too forceful? Did I sound too enthusiastic?’ He thought.

Although he was panicking inside, he maintained a calm demeanor. But the silence around him made him even more anxious.

Even Ito was staring at him with a rather amusing smile. The expression on Ito’s face made it seem as if he found the introduction of Ono rather interesting.

Finally, after a brief silence, life returned on the field.

Smiling, the players said, “Nice to meet you, Ono. We’re glad to have you.”

While most greeted him amicably, some remained skeptical about him and refused to participate in the undertaking.

Ono, finally, heaved a sigh of relief.

He felt at ease seeing their response. ‘Their reaction is a lot better than what I had imagined initially.’ He thought, feeling relieved.

At this moment, a crescent of a smile hung on his face.

Manager Haruki couldn’t help but nod his head in satisfaction upon seeing the outcome.

Revealing a proud expression, he looked at the players, ‘They’re quite welcoming.’

Initially, Haruki had expected some sort of unwillingness in the squad. But after seeing their attitude towards the recruits, he couldn’t help but feel at ease.

After they quietened, they looked at Ito, curiously. They couldn’t help but wonder if he was going to introduce himself as one of the recruits of the team like the other two had done before him.

Haruki immediately noticed their curious gazes. So, he stepped up to clear their doubts, “Ahum! Now that you’ve met your new teammate, I’d like to introduce you to one of the players I’ve coached previously.”

“I’m sure, most of you’ve heard of him.”

Haruki hadn’t even finished his words yet already a wave of commotion had spread like wildfire around the players. They were flabbergasted to hear that Ito was one of the players Haruki had coached.

Disbelief evident in their gazes, they couldn’t help but stare at him with a dumbfounded expression.

How could he coach Ito?

When did it happen?

Several questions were running around in their head. As far as they were aware, Haruki hadn’t coached Kashiwa. So, when did he exactly coach him?

Right at that moment when everybody was getting curious, Ito stepped in front. Revealing an amicable smile, he said in a friendly tone, “Hello, everyone. I’m Junya Ito, one of the students of Coach Haruki.”

Even the person in question was confirming then who were they to question the validity of Haruki’s words.

After some time, Haruki and Ito walked away while Ono and Ryu joined the training. From their earlier interaction, the players learned that Ito was only there to observe and meet his mentor.

He wasn’t there to introduce himself as the new signing of the team.

Well, even though he was getting old, he still had some years left behind. So, they realized that they were expecting a little too much.

But if Ito had really joined them then it’d have definitely bolstered their squad. Even though they already had Hiro, he was still immature.

However, Ito who had already experienced a lot, could bring something more to the table. Even Barcelona had to retain Lewandowski despite having Lamine Yamal.

So, when they heard that he wasn’t joining them, many of them felt a pang of disappointment gnawing their heart.

“Ito, what do you think of my proposal?” Haruki said.

Ito who was walking beside him slightly tilted his head to look at Haruki. Then he tilted his head with a complacent look on his face.

“Indeed, your proposal is enticing. I won’t disagree with that. But…,” Ito appeared rather hesitant.

“I know you can still perform but you know well that you’ll only be a rotational player now in your current team. But if you come here, you will play an important role in the team.”

Haruki wanted to convince Ito desperately.

With Erickson gone, he had to recruit him under any circumstances even if that meant using their relationship.

Although he was confident about Hiro, he couldn’t leave the responsibility entirely on him. That would be too much for the kid.

Haruki made his tone even more persuasive, “I can guarantee your playing minutes and I’m well aware that you are thinking of pursuing a career in coaching.”

Upon the mention of coaching, Ito’s eyes perked up. The topic was to his interest. But he tried to deny that he had an interest in coaching.

Laughing, he denied, “Haha…, what are you saying coach? Why would I be interested in coaching? I’ve still got some years left on the pitch.”

“You punk! Do you think I don’t know about your coaching lessons? Mino has already revealed what you are up to these days,” Haruki said, his tone sharp.

Upon hearing Haruki’s words, Ito furrowed his brows, ‘That brat! Minamino! Can’t he keep his mouth shut for once?’

At the youth level, Ito and Takumi shared the same team and they were under the supervision of Coach Haruki. So, the two had a rather close relationship with each other.

And since both of them were playing for a French team in League-1, they often visited each other and spent time. So, Takumi was well aware of his recent undertakings.

Now, that Haruki had found out his interest, he couldn’t keep on acting aloof. Even so, he didn’t want to leave France when he clearly had a few years to play in Europe.

Returning home wasn’t a lucrative option for him given the time.

“You’re right, coach. I’m indeed interested in coaching. But still, I can pursue the path after retirement too,” Ito said bluntly.