Chapter 33 - 31 - Half a Second Late

Chapter 33: Chapter 31 - Half a Second Late

Rafael reached Frescaty shortly before eight on Monday morning.

Several players were already disappearing through the senior entrance when he arrived. Some stopped briefly at reception while others walked straight past it, greeting staff members without needing directions.

Rafael knew the routine well enough.

He had lived through enough preseasons in his first life to remember what the opening morning normally contained: medical checks, physical testing, kit collection and controlled work before anyone was allowed to settle into proper football.

None of that caught his attention.

The screen beside reception did.

The players reporting with the senior group were listed beneath the morning schedule, and two additional forwards appeared near the bottom.

Mathieu Renaud

Rafael Morales

Rafael stared at his own name for another second.

The first time he had been seventeen, Mathieu Renaud had appeared in the senior preseason group without him.

"Morales?"

Rafael turned toward a member of the performance staff waiting beside the corridor.

"This way."

He followed him inside.

The medical work passed without anything worth remembering. His knee, ankles and the rest of his joints produced no concerns, while the physical testing confirmed much of what Rafael already knew about his younger body.

He stayed competitive during the acceleration work and reached a respectable maximum speed, but the repeated efforts exposed him more clearly. His first few sprints remained sharp before the recovery periods became increasingly insufficient and his final times began slipping.

After the last run, Rafael slowed beyond the line and took several deeper breaths.

The performance coach checked his tablet.

"Top speed is fine."

Rafael straightened.

The man scrolled through the final repetitions. "Holding it across repeated efforts is where we work."

Rafael nodded.

The System had already told him something similar through Stamina and Natural Fitness. Seeing those weaknesses beside professional players simply gave the numbers a different scale.

Once the testing finished, Rafael showered and entered the senior changing area to collect the rest of his training equipment.

Most of the permanent lockers carried fixed nameplates above them.

His did not.

MORALES had been printed on a narrow white strip and attached near the end of the row.

The temporary label made his place clear enough. He had been invited into the senior environment, but nobody had made room for him permanently.

"You’re missing something."

Rafael looked toward the player changing beside him.

Mathieu Renaud was already pulling on his training shirt.

At twenty, he was only three years older than Rafael, but the difference was visible through his shoulders, chest and legs. He had spent longer developing physically and already carried the build of a striker accustomed to playing against adults.

Renaud pointed toward Rafael’s equipment.

"GPS vest."

Rafael checked the pile.

Nothing.

"Performance desk outside," Renaud said. "They keep the spare ones there."

"Thanks."

"Get one before we go out. First morning they’ll give you whatever size is left and pretend it fits."

Rafael smiled. "Experience?"

"Unfortunately."

Renaud held out his hand.

"Mathieu."

"Rafael."

"I know."

Someone farther along the room called, "Mat."

Renaud looked over.

A midfielder had turned from a conversation near the doorway and was waiting for him.

"Coming."

Renaud nodded once toward Rafael. "Vest."

Then he joined the others.

Rafael watched him for only a moment before heading for the performance desk.

Renaud was comfortable around the senior group in a way Rafael could not imitate simply by remembering what professional dressing rooms felt like. He knew the routines of this particular squad, the staff and several of the players personally.

There was no resentment in Rafael when he recognised the difference.

Renaud had earned that familiarity before Rafael arrived.

Outside, the head coach waited until everyone had gathered.

"Most of you know what this week looks like, so we’ll get on with it."

His attention shifted briefly toward the two forwards standing closer to the edge of the group.

"Renaud has been through this with us before. Morales comes up from the U19s. Both are with us for the opening block, and we’ll decide what happens after that from what we see here."

Several players glanced toward Rafael before their attention returned to the staff.

No speech followed.

The first possession exercise began within minutes.

Rafael took his place inside one of the marked areas while the assistant divided the remaining players.

"Vasseur, inside."

A tall centre-back stepped into the pressing group.

"Caron, opposite side."

The midfielder who had called Renaud earlier moved across the square.

That gave Rafael the names.

Hugo Vasseur.

Adrien Caron.

The ball started moving.

Rafael understood the exercise immediately and kept his first few actions simple. He checked over his shoulder before receiving, opened his body whenever the angle allowed it and released the ball without adding touches merely because coaches were watching.

His first pass toward Caron arrived safely.

Caron had already moved by the time Rafael looked again.

"Here."

Rafael returned the next ball first time.

Caron moved it away before the nearest defender could change direction.

The pace was higher than an academy possession drill, but Rafael could follow it.

What stood out was how little information stayed useful for long.

A lane that existed when Rafael checked his shoulder could be gone before the pass arrived. A teammate he expected to remain outside could already be moving inside, while the defender behind Rafael sometimes changed the pressure before he had completed his first touch.

Rafael understood the same game they did.

They simply reached its next moment sooner than most academy players.

The difference became harder to ignore when the staff moved the attackers toward a larger area.

The forwards now had to receive against centre-backs before combining with midfield runners.

Rafael and Renaud joined the same line.

Renaud had spoken little during the possession work, but once he stepped toward the attacking area his voice changed.

"Feet!"

The midfielder played into him.

Renaud set himself before the ball arrived, absorbed Vasseur’s contact and returned the pass into Caron’s run.

"Again!"

The attack continued without him.

Renaud was already turning back toward his starting position.

Rafael went next.

He checked Vasseur before moving toward the ball and knew exactly what he wanted.

Receive on the right, establish his base before the contact arrived and return the pass inside.

He had done some version of it thousands of times.

The pass came.

Vasseur reached him before his stance had fully settled.

There was no wild challenge and no obvious foul. The centre-back simply put his hip and shoulder into the correct places and shifted Rafael half a step away from the ball.

Rafael’s first touch stayed close enough.

His body did not.

Vasseur took possession.

"Rotate."

Rafael left the area while the next forward entered.

He had anticipated the contact, understood how he wanted to respond and still failed to establish the position quickly enough.

Renaud received the same type of pass during the following sequence.

Vasseur leaned into him.

Renaud planted himself, protected the ball and sent it back into midfield without attempting to turn.

Caron collected it in stride and moved the attack forward.

Nothing spectacular happened, and nobody praised Renaud for it.

The move simply continued.

Rafael watched from the line.

His next opportunity did not come immediately.

Another repetition began, then another.

When Caron received near the middle during the next sequence, Rafael felt himself moving before he should.

He wanted the ball again.

Not because the pattern required him yet, but because the previous duel was still sitting in his mind and he wanted another chance to correct it.

"Stay."

Caron’s voice stopped him.

Rafael checked his movement.

The midfielder had already turned away because Rafael had left the central position too early.

"Give me the target until I can find you," Caron said.

"Got it."

The attack went wide, and the rotation continued.

Renaud stepped into the striker position before Rafael received another turn.

The mistake was small, but Rafael knew exactly where it had come from. One senior defender had moved him off the ball and, for a few seconds, Rafael had reacted like the seventeen-year-old whose place he occupied instead of the player who knew better.

When his turn returned, he waited beside Vasseur.

Caron received.

Only after the midfielder lifted his head did Rafael move.

Instead of checking directly toward the ball, he crossed the centre-back’s blind side and met the pass at an angle.

Vasseur turned after him.

Rafael reached it first and redirected the ball into Caron’s path before the defender could establish contact.

Caron returned it immediately.

Rafael continued into the penalty area.

His first touch placed the ball onto his right foot, and the far side of goal opened in front of him.

A second centre-back arrived before the shot.

The block sent the ball away.

Rafael slowed and turned back.

Escaping Vasseur had created a shooting opportunity against most U19 defenders.