As Jeremiah sat outside his parents' house, his parents were inside, unaware that their son was about to leave town. He stared at the wall and felt the familiar ache in his chest.He wished things were different. But he knew this path had to be walked alone.
In his past life, he had tried so hard to win them over. To make them see that football wasn't some childish distraction. But no matter how he pleaded, his father had always repeated the same words:"Football no dey put food for table." To his father, choosing football over university admission was a sign of a young boy unserious with his life, especially when he had excellent grades.
That memory lingered like a wound he couldn't heal. Back then, when he got kicked out for refusing to abandon his dream, he'd felt angry, betrayed. But now, with all the memories of his previous life reborn inside him, he understood them a little more. They were afraid he'd fail the way he did before, and maybe that fear wasn't wrong.
"We can change all of that now. Tomorrow is mine," he muttered to himself.
He went to bed, preparing himself for tomorrow as he would have to wake up early.While asleep, System X activated its training mode.A pitch suddenly appeared in Jeremiah's subconscious, a screen showing up in front of him, saying choose your character. Both Xavi and Jay-Jay appeared on his screen, it hadn't been long since he got both players' abilities, but for now, he chose to work with Xavi's skillset as it took a month longer to master, and the fundamentals would be key in the long run.
So he looks upon the screen and picks Xavi. Before him appears what look likes real life version of Xavi, "Let's go he says". Jeremiah wastes no time following his instructions.
With La Pausa, which is the spanish translation for pause, the aim is in chaotic moments of the game is the ability to slow the game down, allowing your team to reposition. You have to be willing to invite pressure, then punish their reaction; you make the defender commit.
Many great midfielders, particularly spanish have this trait from Iniesta, Busquets, Alcantara and Modric, but the king of La Pausa is often regarded as Xavi.So Jeremiah knew how important mastering such a skill was.
Following him into a glass cube, there were 5 robots 3 in red 2 in black."Do you remember the drill?" Xavi said, "Yes," he replied. This had been the only drill they had done so far, a 4v2 rondo session where the maximum amount of touches was 2; only Jeremiah was allowed and encouraged to take more than 2 touches. The longer the session continued, the smaller the cube became and the less oxygen circulated inside the cube.
The aim was to receive the ball, control, pause, let the defender step in, slip the pass at the last second. Whenever he had done this drill, Xavi never wanted him to be in a hurry, no matter the pressure from the 2 defenders, he would rather he mess up and start again him pass would be quick.
He also wanted to manipulate the ball, and his body not necesarily dribble, being able to make quick adjustments based on what the defender's body positioning was one of the key to this drill.
He would go on doing this all night.
As he woke up in the morning, he packed his bag and wrote a note detailing his whereabouts.
He stood by their bedroom door for a long moment, bag strapped to his shoulder. He could hear his mother and father's faint snoring, the soft rasp of people exhausted from life's long battles."I'll make it right this time," he whispered. "For all of us."Then he turned and walked away.
The bus to Lagos rattled like it could fall apart at any moment. Eleven players squeezed into the seats, boots, and bags piled in the aisle. Some joked, others slept, while Jeremiah leaned his head against the window, watching the countryside roll by, green fields blurring into dusty roads.Coach Benson sat near the front, quietly going over a notebook. He didn't need to say much. Everyone understood the stakes. The Lagos trials weren't just another showcase. It was the trial, the one that could open doors to the U-17 national team, professional academies, clubs, or even international scouts.
For Jeremiah, it was more than that. It was redemption.