Chapter 39 - 37 - Justify the Trade

Chapter 39: Chapter 37 - Justify the Trade

Perrin had been in charge of the music for less than ten minutes when Renaud finally decided he had heard enough.

"Mate, what the hell is this?"

Perrin looked up from where he was sitting, one boot resting on the bench in front of him. "What’s wrong with it?"

"We’ve got a match in an hour and you’re playing something my grandmother would listen to."

Caron laughed from the other side of the changing room while Perrin reached for his phone. "It’s better than that rubbish you played on Tuesday."

"You didn’t even hear half of it."

"I heard enough."

Renaud held out his hand, and after a moment of hesitation, Perrin passed him the phone. Rafael was sitting nearby, finishing the tape around his right ankle, when the music stopped and Renaud began searching through the playlist.

A few seconds later, a much louder song filled the room.

Caron immediately looked over. "Oh, come on, Mat. You can’t complain about Noah’s music and then put that on."

Renaud turned toward him. "What’s wrong with this one?"

"Everything. Give Noah his phone back."

Rafael pressed the last section of tape into place before glancing toward the speaker.

"I’d rather listen to his grandmother."

Perrin burst out laughing, and even Vautrin, who had been sitting quietly while adjusting his boots, lowered his head with a smile.

Renaud looked between them. "None of you have any taste."

"Turn it down a bit, Mat," Vautrin said as he reached for his training top. "Some of us would like to hear when the coach comes in."

Renaud reluctantly lowered the volume before handing the phone back to Perrin.

Vautrin watched him return to his locker.

"You two playing together again today?"

"That’s the plan," Renaud answered.

"Good. Try not to run into each other like you did on Thursday."

Renaud shook his head while Caron laughed again, and Rafael returned to his equipment as the conversation moved on.

The head coach entered a few minutes later and waited for Perrin to turn off the speaker before calling the players together.

"Everyone ready?"

Several voices answered, and the coach looked around the group before continuing.

"Same plan as yesterday. Loïc gets the first forty-five, Mat takes over at halftime, and we’ll make the change up front around sixty."

His attention moved briefly toward Rafael.

"When you go on, we’re taking a midfielder off. You and Mat know your jobs, so talk to each other and make sure we don’t get caught through the middle."

Rafael nodded while the coach continued through the final instructions.

Once the meeting ended, the players began gathering their equipment, and Rafael was reaching for his training top when the familiar blue light appeared across his vision.

[NEW MATCH MISSION]

[Justify the Trade]

[Objective: Make the two-striker adjustment produce one clear scoring chance.]

[Reward: Off-Ball Movement +0.2]

[ACCEPT]

Rafael read the objective before selecting the prompt.

[MISSION ACCEPTED]

The panel disappeared as Renaud passed behind him.

"You coming?"

"Yeah, just getting my top."

Rafael picked it up and followed him out.

The afternoon heat was noticeable as soon as Rafael stepped onto the training pitch.

He joined the substitutes beside the technical area while the starting players gathered near halfway, and after a final check of both teams, the referee blew for kickoff.

Differdange settled into a compact defensive shape almost immediately.

Metz had more of the ball during the opening half, but their opponents kept the spaces between midfield and defence narrow enough that Caron struggled to find Vautrin facing goal.

The senior striker remained involved by moving across the centre-backs and returning possession quickly whenever a pass reached him. He created Metz’s first promising attack by checking away from his marker before laying the ball into Caron’s path, although the resulting cross arrived too close to the goalkeeper.

Several minutes later, Vautrin attacked the near post as another delivery came from the right, drawing a defender away from the midfielder arriving behind him. The eventual shot went wide, and Differdange recovered possession before Metz could build another attack.

Rafael watched from the bench while Renaud sat two seats away, occasionally leaning forward whenever Metz tried to play directly into Vautrin.

The opening half produced few clear opportunities, and Vautrin’s best chance came shortly before the interval when he reached a low delivery inside the penalty area and redirected it toward the far corner.

Differdange’s goalkeeper pushed the ball away, and the referee brought the half to an end a few minutes later with the score still 0–0.

Vautrin came off as planned and accepted a bottle from the performance coach while Renaud prepared to enter.

As they passed, Vautrin touched his arm.

"They’re pretty tight through the middle. Might have to pull one of them out a bit."

Renaud nodded while adjusting his shirt. "Yeah, I’ve been watching."

"Good luck."

"Cheers."

The second half began with Renaud leading the attack, and Metz immediately had a stronger central target.

When Caron could not find an easy route through midfield, Renaud offered himself between the centre-backs and protected several difficult passes long enough for the supporting players to move forward.

He won an aerial duel near halfway and directed the ball into Perrin’s path, although the winger was forced backwards before reaching the penalty area. A few minutes later, Renaud received another direct pass with a defender pressing into his back and secured possession before releasing Caron, who switched play toward the opposite flank.

Differdange cleared the resulting cross and recovered their positions.

Rafael had already begun studying how the centre-backs handled Renaud. One defender contested the initial pass while the other remained close enough to challenge anyone running beyond, and their holding midfielder stayed disciplined in the space immediately in front of them.

When Renaud checked short, the nearest defender followed only far enough to challenge the reception before recovering his place in the defensive line. Rafael recognised that dropping into the same space would only bring another opponent toward Renaud, so he began considering how to threaten the defensive line without occupying his teammate’s position.

As the match approached the hour, the assistant coach turned toward the substitutes.

"Rafa, get moving."

Rafael stood and began warming up beside the touchline. By the time the ball went out several minutes later, the assistant was calling him over.

"Ready?"

"Yeah."

"Remember, we’re one short in midfield when we lose it. Keep the middle covered when Mat goes."

"Understood."

The assistant checked the substitution board before signalling toward the fourth official, and Rafael removed his training top while waiting for the midfielder to leave the pitch.

The departing player approached at a jog and slapped his hand as they passed.

"Good luck."

"Thanks."

Rafael crossed the touchline and moved toward Renaud, who was already taking his position between Differdange’s centre-backs.

Behind them, Perrin and the opposite winger dropped alongside Caron and the remaining central midfielder as Metz settled into two banks of four.

Rafael glanced toward Differdange’s holding midfielder and adjusted a few steps to his right before Caron restarted play.

Their first defensive action nearly cost Metz a goal.

Differdange recovered possession near their own penalty area and moved the ball toward the centre-back on Renaud’s side.

Renaud started forward before Rafael had finished adjusting his position.

Rafael expected him to wait for the backward pass, as several of his former strike partners would have done, but Renaud accelerated toward the defender instead.

For a moment, Rafael reacted to the movement rather than the position he had been assigned, and he followed Renaud forward, leaving the passing lane into Differdange’s holding midfielder open.

The centre-back saw both strikers approaching and sent the ball straight between them.

Rafael realised what he had done before the midfielder even received it.

"Fuck."

Differdange’s holding midfielder turned with enough space to force Caron out of position, and the next pass travelled beyond him into the central gap Metz had exposed by removing a player from midfield.

Rafael turned and sprinted back, but the attack had already reached Metz’s defensive line.

Differdange’s winger received on the right and carried the ball into the penalty area before squaring it toward a teammate arriving centrally.

The shot came first time, and Vasseur threw himself across the shooting lane to block it before the ball could reach goal.