The Dreamers
First Goal
Yokohama, September 11th
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The last training session on this day is over. Somehow Yamamoto gives a portion of exercise that is quite light than usual. Hiro himself until unconscious if the time is late afternoon.
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Hiro picked up his towel on the edge of the field, wiping away any sweat running down his hands and face. Ryota and several other colleagues also pulled over and joked with Hiro.
This time, there are indeed many new faces in the Japanese national team, one of which is Ryota. Players who are usually called from the European Continent, or America, are now replaced by players who come from the local Japanese League or the Asian regional leagues.
Hiro is aware that this FIFA Matchday match, against Hong Kong and Indonesia, is part of Yamamoto's experiment to find new players or test new tactics.
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"Ryo, after cooling down please help me arrange the exercise tools yes,"
Ryota nodded, "Alright,"
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Hiro and Ryota transport the training equipment towards the warehouse located in the corner of the field. The field conditions were dimly lit when they finished arranging the goods in the warehouse. They immediately returned to the dressing room and followed the other players.
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"No need to rush Hiro. It also must have been left first with the others." Ryota said as he walked leisurely behind Hiro who looked hurriedly.
"Well, why the rush? haha." Hiro laughed and slowed his pace.
The atmosphere was instantly silent. Only the sound of Hiro and Ryota's footsteps was still wearing football boots.
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"Hiro.., let's see...,"
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Hiro. Ryota stopped behind him. "Why?" Ask Hiro.
"How yes.how to tell you..," Ryota looked uneasy. "This is Hiro--,"
"Why?"
"Actually..," Ryota sighed. "I was told by my parents to stop being a footballer." Ryota's face is flat.
Hiro speechless. He was still trying to ascertain what he heard. "What did you say?"
"Yes this is how it ends..," Ryota smiled. "I was asked by my father to be a manager in one of the divisions in his company. My father said, only I can understand the ins and outs of my own company and my own will."
Ryota started to walk slowly again. Hiro just fell silent and felt the wind from Ryota's body pass him.
"Yes already, I just want to say that. hehe," Ryota turned his head towards Hiro who was still speechless. "Sorry to make you think. But, I must tell you the truth about my situation."
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It had been five minutes, yet Hiro was still silent in the same place.
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"hiro's? Hey. uh..? You don't want to go back to the dorm?"
Hiro remained silent.
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"Yes, then I go first, yes" Ryota patted Hiro on the shoulder. "Once again I'm sorry Hiro. Maybe I wasn't meant to be a footballer. But I'm sure if you can continue your career, even without me."
That way, Ryota goes ahead of Hiro who is still sculpting.
Actually Ryota does not have the heart to leave his best friend alone in a state of confusion like this. But this is what has to happen. If not now, when else could I say this to Hiro. It is better to say it sooner than to say it too late.
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Ryota's already pretty far out of the field. The sound of crickets still dim-sayup sounds like a voice that is so quiet between the two of them.
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"Thank you for accompanying me on my journey to the last moments, Ryo..,"
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Suddenly Hiro said something. The silence allowed Ryota to hear everything around him, including Hiro's voice, which only propagated in the air.
"Huh?" Ryota was surprised to hear Hiro's voice after just being quiet from earlier. "Chiro..,"
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"But, even so, we must remain friends, even if it is not a dream. Okay?"
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"Surely..," Ryota nodded slowly. His faint smile became the last one Hiro had seen tonight before heading to his dorm room to prepare for tomorrow.
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🌤🌤🌤
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Next day.
The city of Yokohama was the scene of fighting between Japan and Hong Kong on a green field. The main teams of each country are ready to compete.
Hiro, including Ryota, was entrusted by his coach Hajime Yamamoto to be the first. This is also the last time Hiro has stepped out of the stadium hallway onto the pitch with Ryota.
Although the stadium is not so full, but the sound of support is still clearly heard. Japan is determined to win in front of the public. Hiro had already put together both palms and prayed to God for this match to go smoothly.
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PRPRIIITTA!
The ball has been rolling on the legs of the Japanese players smoothly.
Hiro, who was installed in the attacking sector, got the first chance from a head header in the 28th minute, unfortunately his header can still be thwarted by Hong Kong goalkeeper Chen Lee Soo.
Following this, Hidetoshi Kagawa, Yutaro Yamaguchi, even Ryota, had a chance to open the lead for Japan, but failed.
In the end, Genta Furuhashi made Japan 1-0 ahead of Hong Kong who played very deep in their defense. Until the end of the first half, the score was still 1-0.
The dissatisfied look of coach Yamamoto seemed to pierce the hearts of Japanese players. "Have I played well?" Say every Japanese player, Hiro is no exception.
But surprisingly, none of the players were replaced by Yamamoto for this second half. He only gives additional instructions to the players so they can be patient in building attacks.
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"Hong Kong played very deep. They only press in their own area. We must not mislead. We have to play fast balls when going into the final third of the opponent's defense." Yamamoto said in the dressing room.
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PRPRIIITTA!
When the second half began, the Japanese players managed to execute Yamamoto's instructions perfectly. The Hong Kong players are confused to have to survive by covering the movement of one of the players or applying an offside trap system?
To be sure, the combination of games between Hiro->Furuhashi->Hiro->Furuhashi is so combined with a 4-4-2 formation. One-two passes that confuse the opposing defender. Until then... Goollls!
"YESY!!!"
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Hiro clenched his hand into the air. The ball hard kick successfully hit the bottom left corner of the Hong Kong goal on 56' minutes'. All his teammates congratulated Hiro for scoring his first goal for the Japanese senior national team.
Hiro hopes in his heart, that this goal will be the beginning of other goals along with the Japanese national team on the more prestigious world stage.
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Hiro's delight was boosted again when he contributed two assists for Japan's third and fourth goals in the 78' and 90+2' minutes making it a 4-0 absolute win over Hong Kong.
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As soon as the match is over. Hiro is the player most highlighted by the camera. His face is constantly visible on the stadium's LED screen as well as the glass screens of people viewing the match from their TVs or mobile phones. Saki in Amsterdam, Hiro's father in Sapporo, they are two of the hundreds of thousands who now know Hiro's face and Hiro's abilities.
Now, it feels like Hiro has gone one step further to write a new story in his life journey book. The title of Man of the Match deserves to be pinned to Hiro today.
"Good job buddy..," Hiro approaches Ryota after the game. "Your abilities seem almost the same as Sergio Ramos, hahaha." Canda Hiro to Ryota.
Ryota could only laugh.
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Indeed, the opponent from Japan this time 'only' Hong Kong. But this victory is a proof that this Japanese team can play no less well with Japan who usually play with the entire main squad.
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The Samurai Biru will travel to Jakarta to face Indonesia in the last FIFA Matchday of the month on September 18.
Hiro and Ryota were impatient. This is the first time Hiro has played an international match outside Japan. Of course, the atmosphere of the game will be much different than what Hiro has felt in Japan or the Netherlands.
Moreover, in a few months, Japan will play International matches for World Cup qualifiers and also the Asian Cup. This is an important game to mentally train Japanese players in the face of mental and psychological pressure when playing at home enemies who have a fanatical supporter base.