Chapter 45 - 43 - A Place To Earn

Chapter 45: Chapter 43 - A Place To Earn

The ball travelled low beyond the goalkeeper’s outstretched leg and entered the far corner.

Metz led 2–1.

Rafael turned toward the touchline with both arms raised, and Vautrin reached him before he had taken more than a few steps.

"Yes, Rafa! Get in!"

The senior striker caught him around the shoulders as Caron arrived, followed by Perrin, who gave Rafael a quick shove before turning back toward halfway.

Rafael was still smiling when he looked toward Vautrin.

"Good ball, mate."

"Thought you were going too early at first."

"So did he."

Vautrin glanced toward the centre-back recovering his position near the penalty area and laughed before giving Rafael another pat on the back.

Rafael returned toward the centre circle with the other players.

A few supporters were applauding behind the barrier, and he could hear someone calling his name as Metz prepared to restart.

He had scored plenty of goals during his first career, including a few that had seemed important enough to change everything.

Most of them had eventually become memories of matches that no longer mattered.

This one had come while he was seventeen, wearing the senior kit of a club that had never given him this opportunity during his original life.

Rafael glanced toward the scoreboard before moving back into position, still smiling as Versailles restarted.

The visitors immediately pushed forward in search of an equaliser, forcing Metz to defend deeper while Caron and the other midfielders protected the space ahead of their penalty area.

Rafael continued pressing whenever Versailles played backwards, although the effort was beginning to show in his recovery runs.

The head coach eventually called for a substitution, and Rafael looked toward the technical area to see a fresh attacker preparing to enter.

When the ball went out, he jogged toward the touchline while the supporters applauded.

The coach met him near the line.

"Well done, Rafa. Get your recovery in."

"Thanks, coach."

Rafael accepted a bottle from the performance staff and joined the substitutes, where Renaud moved along the bench to make room for him.

"Nice finish, mate."

"Cheers."

"Loïc finally found you, then."

Rafael smiled as he sat down.

"Took us a few tries."

Renaud laughed and turned back toward the pitch while Rafael took a long drink.

Metz defended their lead through the closing minutes, and although Versailles managed another delivery into the penalty area, Vasseur cleared before the visiting striker could reach it.

The referee eventually brought the match to an end with Metz winning 2–1.

Rafael stood as the players began returning toward the technical area, where Caron was exchanging handshakes with the visiting players.

Renaud approached him again.

"First goal with the big boys, then."

Rafael smiled.

"In a friendly."

"Still counts today."

They exchanged a quick handshake before following the others toward the changing building.

Rafael returned to Frescaty after the weekend expecting another training session with the first-team group.

The players had received their recovery instructions following the Versailles match, and the staff had asked everyone to check the updated programme before reporting on Monday.

Rafael was looking through the morning allocations when the assistant coach approached him.

"Morning, Rafa. You all right after Saturday?"

"Yeah, I’m fine. Legs were a bit heavy yesterday, but I’m good now."

"Good. Coach wants to speak to you when we’re done here."

Rafael looked up.

"About the match?"

"Saturday, the rest of preseason, all of it. He wants Mat as well."

"All right. Where should we go?"

"Meeting room upstairs. I’ll come and get you."

After the morning’s work, Rafael showered and changed before joining Renaud outside the meeting room.

Renaud was already waiting when he arrived.

"Hey. You know what this is about?"

"Not exactly. They said they wanted to talk about preseason."

Renaud glanced toward the door.

"They’ve been through the match footage, apparently."

"Yeah, I heard."

The assistant appeared a moment later and opened the door.

"Come on, lads. Coach is ready."

The head coach was sitting at a table with his assistant and several reports in front of him.

"Morning, lads. Come in and sit down."

Both players greeted him before taking the offered seats.

The coach looked toward his assistant, who closed the document he had been reading, then turned back to the two strikers.

"We’ve finished reviewing Saturday, and we’ve got enough from the rest of preseason to make a decision. Before we get into that, how are you both feeling?"

Renaud answered first.

"Good. No problems."

"Rafa?"

"Fine, coach. Just the usual soreness after the match."

The coach nodded and looked toward Renaud.

"Mat, you’ve been giving us a reliable option through the middle. Saturday was another good example."

Renaud listened without interrupting.

"When Versailles stopped us getting through midfield, we could still play into you. Even after they started challenging earlier, you kept finding somewhere to receive and brought the others into the game."

"Thanks, coach."

"There’s still work to do, particularly when you’ve got someone moving beyond you, but you’re giving us what we need from a central striker."

Renaud nodded.

The coach turned toward Rafael.

"Rafa, Saturday was good. You’ve got your goal, and you’ve shown us that you can be useful alongside both Mat and Loïc."

"Thanks, coach."

"We’ll keep working on your physical side, but your movement and the way you’ve been combining with the other forwards give us another option."

The coach looked between them.

"We’re keeping both of you with the senior group when the competitive season starts."

Renaud straightened slightly beside Rafael.

The coach continued before either player could respond.

"Mat, you’re ahead through the middle at the moment. Rafa, we’ll keep developing you as a nine, but we’ll also use you alongside another striker when the shape calls for it."

Renaud nodded first.

"Understood, coach."

Rafael followed a moment later.

"Yeah. Thank you."

The coach closed the report in front of him.

"Now, that doesn’t mean we’ve suddenly got two more places on the bench every weekend. We’ve got senior forwards returning, and both of you need to keep playing."

He looked toward Renaud.

"You’ll train here, and we’ll coordinate your reserve minutes when you’re not involved with the senior matchday group. You’ll get the same programme as the rest of the forwards, but you’re not guaranteed a place in the squad just because we’ve kept you."

Renaud nodded.

"All right."

The coach turned toward Rafael.

"Same for you. Your training will be with us, but we need you getting competitive minutes rather than spending every weekend sitting around. We’ll manage that with the reserve staff."

Rafael listened before asking, "Will you still want me working as the second forward when we’re not playing with two?"

"Yes, but not exclusively. You still need to be ready to lead the line, so we’ll keep working on both roles."

"Understood."

The coach glanced toward his assistant before continuing.

"The academy and administration staff will deal with your paperwork separately. Your current registration and agreements don’t change just because we’ve made this decision today."

Rafael nodded, and the coach stood to bring the meeting to an end.