I Thought You Could Catch It

"Anno, you need to grow up fast. Once you're grown, come to Europe and play football. You have to go up against Messi—I'm sure a showdown between you two would be incredible... Eh... no, wait.

"I'm fucking on the same team as Messi now. No... you should come to Barcelona... Uh... that won't work either. If you come to Barcelona, with Messi and you, where would there still be room for me?

"Hmm... how about you go to Real Madrid? Be with that man who always has to be the best. I guess only you could temper that guy's attitude a little..."

Neymar rambled on and on over the phone, saying a great many things. Chen Anno listened quietly the whole time. Even when Neymar told him to grow up quickly, he did not argue.

He knew Neymar well. For him to say this much today, he must have been having a hard time adjusting to Spain.

The two chatted for a long... long time, as if they had returned to two years ago, when they were both still in Sao Paulo, until the low-battery alert sounded.

Ponte Preta Football Club was founded in 1900 and was one of the oldest football clubs in Brazilian history.

The club was based in Campinas, Sao Paulo State. Its home ground was Moises Lucarelli Stadium, which could hold 19,728 spectators.

Ponte Preta had long competed in Brazil's lower divisions and had only been promoted to the Campeonato Brasileiro in 2011. Last season, they finished fourteenth in the Campeonato Brasileiro Serie A.

Ponte Preta's current squad consisted mostly of fringe players. To Sao Paulo, they were no challenge at all.

May 27, 5:00 p.m. local time.

Sao Paulo's first Campeonato Brasileiro Serie A match of the season officially kicked off.

Chen Anno was not named in the starting lineup. Instead, he sat on the bench and watched his senior teammates lazily go through the motions.

Yes, lazily. Chen Anno found it so boring that he nearly fell asleep. It was only because Guofu Luo... uh... he was still called Aloisio now, reminded him that Chen Anno did not actually take a nap on the bench.

He had thought he would at least get a few minutes in this match, but by the time the final two substitutions had been used, even Aloisio beside him had gone on, while Chen Anno remained on the bench.

In the end, Sao Paulo cruised to a 2–0 away win thanks to goals from Lucio and Jadson, opening their league campaign with a victory.

"Hey, kid, I heard you nearly fell asleep on the bench?" On the team bus back, Lucio nudged Chen Anno's shoulder.

"Uh... haha... maybe the afternoon sun just made everyone feel sleepy..." Having been called out by an older teammate, Chen Anno was visibly embarrassed.

Lucio, on the other hand, barely reacted. He shrugged. "That's normal. You'll get used to it. Most domestic matches are like this—dull. Unless it's a particularly important game, like against a bitter rival or a title-deciding match, everyone plays this way."

Lucio leaned back against his seat. "You know, we play around eighty matches a year. If you add in the commercial matches in Europe, it's over eighty games a year. If every match had the same intense physicality as European teams, people would be played into the ground long ago.

"Our football became commercialized in order to survive, but those of us in this profession have always maintained our love for the game.

"We love football for happiness, not to risk our lives."

All right, Chen Anno understood.

In other words, everyone was just going through the motions. If they could take it slow, they took it slow. If they could lie down for a while longer, they stayed down longer, doing everything possible to reduce the ball-in-play time.

Put bluntly, they were slacking off at work.

After all, Brazilian clubs had incredibly packed schedules. Apart from a tiny, pitiful offseason, they played almost once every three days throughout each calendar year. If every match truly involved high-intensity physical battles as Lucio had said, it really would exhaust people to death.

Soon, it was May 30.

Sao Paulo's first home league match of the season arrived.

At 6:00 p.m. local time, with an hour still remaining before kickoff, Morumbi Stadium was already filled with many fans.

It had to be said that Brazil's football market was truly strong. Morumbi Stadium was the third-largest stadium in Brazil, after all, and a full house meant more than seventy thousand spectators.

Still, Sao Paulo's attendance was honestly somewhat worse than that of their city rivals Corinthians and Palmeiras.

There was nothing to be done about it. The team had not won any honors worth mentioning in recent years.

Last year had been slightly better. They won the first Copa Sudamericana title in club history. While it did not carry the same weight as the Copa Libertadores, it was better than nothing.

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At exactly 7:00 p.m., the match began amid the fans' cheers.

Chen Anno remained seated on the bench. Sao Paulo's opponent today was Vasco da Gama from Rio de Janeiro.

Many fans who did not closely follow the Campeonato Brasileiro might not have been familiar with this team, but mention their legendary star Romario, and surely anyone who had watched football had heard his name.

Romario, the legendary Brazilian footballer known as the "Lone Wolf," came through Vasco da Gama.

Romario's career began here and ended here as well. What was more, the guy had only retired a few years ago, at the ripe old age of forty-three.

The Lone Wolf really could play. Chen Anno wondered whether that man, more than a decade later, had been influenced by old Romario to some extent. After all, they both had the surname Luo.

That was getting off track.

The match on the pitch had already begun.

Vasco da Gama were nothing like Ponte Preta, Sao Paulo's opponent from the previous round. They were a traditional Campeonato Brasileiro Serie A powerhouse.

At least from the flow of the match, Chen Anno thought it was much more entertaining than the previous game.

See? Chen Anno was watching with great interest and was no longer nodding off. Well... perhaps it was also because the night was colder.

In the tenth minute, Sao Paulo launched a dangerous attack.

Denilson intercepted the ball in the backfield and sent a long, precise pass to Fabiano up front.

The experienced Brazilian striker, who had previously played in Europe, controlled the ball and immediately combined with Silvinho on the left.

He turned and burst forward at speed. Silvinho threaded through a pass, and Fabinho unleashed a furious shot from just outside the penalty area.

Chen Anno had already stood up to celebrate, but unfortunately, the opposing goalkeeper Alves managed to tip it away with his fingertips.

Sao Paulo squandered a golden opportunity!

Three minutes later, the visitors answered in kind.

After making a series of cuts on the right, the opposing forward Eder Luis cut inside, then slipped the ball into the box from the edge of the penalty area. The other forward, Tenorio, sent a low shot toward the far corner, but it skimmed wide of the post.

Though it did not result in a goal, it still drew a wave of gasps from the stands.

For the remainder of the half, both sides traded attacks, but neither could break the deadlock.

The score remained 0-0 until halftime.

"Anno... warm up properly. I'll bring you on at the start of the second half," head coach Ramalho called out to Chen Anno before leaving.

"Is it finally my turn?" Chen Anno immediately straightened his back.

The gesture made Aloisio beside him laugh. He patted Chen Anno on the shoulder. "Come on, Anno. You'll be fine. Your brilliance will shine over Morumbi Stadium, and everyone will cheer for you."

He meant it sincerely. After spending so much time together, the ability of this young genius had long since been etched into the hearts of every Sao Paulo player.

He was Sao Paulo's most dazzling sun. Sooner or later, he would radiate a blinding light.

During halftime, all the substitutes went onto the pitch to warm up, and Chen Anno was among them.

The moment he stepped onto the grass of Morumbi Stadium, it felt as if the whole world had gone silent, leaving only him standing on the field.

Clang...

A spotlight shone down on Chen Anno. He closed his eyes, and his ears filled with shouts: "Anno... Anno...!"

A football came flying over and struck Chen Anno squarely on the head, instantly snapping him back to reality.

Not far away, Aloisio looked a little embarrassed. "Sorry, I thought you'd be able to catch it..."