First Call-Up? The Opponent Is Their Archrival?

Four days of training!

Su Bai trained day and night, getting up at five every morning and going until eleven at night.

Every day, Su Bai only returned to the dormitory after squeezing every last drop of stamina out of himself.

Barrios was frightened by Su Bai's suicidal intensity.

That guy was a madman not only on the pitch, but off it as well.

Moreover, Su Bai stood in stark contrast to the technically gifted South American players during the team's internal training matches.

There were no fancy dribbles. The moment he received the ball, the kid would knock it forward at full speed, then violently smash through every defender in front of him.

Most importantly, he had no unnecessary movements at all.

He simply relied on his speed to create space, then muscled past you.

And most terrifying of all was his shooting.

With that unimaginable power behind his shots, both the team's first-choice and backup goalkeepers had been tormented by him.

Although his efficiency was not particularly high, as long as he put the ball on target, his shots were simply unstoppable!

Friday morning!

Xie Luotuo arrived at the training ground early with Almeida.

The official match was tomorrow.

Today, he would announce the team's eighteen-man squad.

Of course, the starting lineup had already been decided during the past few days of training.

The only thing making the players nervous now was the seven substitute spots.

After all, Boca Juniors' first team had a full thirty players.

Excluding the eleven starters and one backup goalkeeper, that meant there were only six substitute opportunities among the remaining eighteen players.

Almeida stood at the sideline with a notebook in hand.

"Avila!"

"Pablo Perez!"

"Barrios!"

As the names of the starters were called out one by one, the breathing of some people in the crowd visibly quickened.

As long as they made the squad, if the team won, their victory bonus would be the same as that of the starting players.

Perhaps that meant little to the starters, but for those players tied down by exploitative contracts and constantly hovering on the edge of the bench, the victory bonus was far more appealing than their meager annual salaries.

"Espinoza!"

Backup center-back!

"Nandez!"

Backup fullback!

"Belchini!"

Backup midfielder!

Quite a few people in the crowd were already sighing in disappointment.

When it came to the final name, Almeida suddenly paused.

He raised his head and looked at the crowd.

He wanted to see what expression that Chinese-descended kid, who had disdainfully rejected the team's new contract, would have.

Disappointment? Anticipation? Or something else?

But unfortunately, the kid still wore that calm expression.

It was as if making the squad held no appeal for him at all.

Almeida smiled helplessly. What an unfathomable young man. This guy was only sixteen—why did he not act like a sixteen-year-old at all?

Of course, Xie Luotuo, the team's head coach standing beside Almeida, had seen all of this.

There was one final spot left.

"Su Bai!"

There were no surprised reactions from the team.

Su Bai's performance over the past few days had already proven his ability.

Although he still could not fit into the team's style of play, his attacking burst was simply too strong.

Against a team like Tucuman Athletic, what Boca lacked most was attacking firepower, wasn't it?

After all, the match was tomorrow.

Xie Luotuo did not assign the players any complicated training tasks. Under the fitness coach's guidance, the whole team went through recovery training.

That day, Su Bai unusually did not put himself through any extra training.

He knew he would definitely get a chance to play in tomorrow's match.

Silently, he entered the system.

Su Bai added all 2 training points he had accumulated over the past few days to shooting.

75–77!

Looking at his shooting attribute, now raised to 77, Su Bai still felt unsatisfied.

This damn thing—no matter how hard he worked, he could only raise it to 80 at most.

A shooting rating of 80 might be enough in the Argentine Primera División, but in the Big Five leagues?

Those stats would be nowhere near enough.

Saturday afternoon!

The area around Candy Box Stadium, located on the outskirts of Boca District, was already packed shoulder to shoulder with Boca fans.

"Boca Juniors! Boca Juniors!"

"You great soccer champion—you who awaken love!"

"Your blue and golden banner was unfurled in Europe as a triumphant emblem!"

The fanatical Boca supporters waved their team flags and sang this Boca anthem etched into their bones.

And right at that moment!

Boca's team bus suddenly appeared in the fans' sight.

Along with the bus's roar, the Boca fans were instantly ignited.

They shouted Boca Juniors' name at the top of their lungs.

Inside the bus.

Su Bai curiously watched the madness outside Candy Box Stadium.

Compared to youth team matches, first-team football was truly on another level.

There was still an hour before kickoff, yet outside the stadium was already a sea of people.

One could only imagine what the scene inside would be like.

Amid the fans' frenzied cries.

Su Bai's blood seemed to slowly begin boiling as well.

Once the bus entered Candy Box Stadium.

Xie Luotuo hurried off to the pre-match press conference.

Xie Luotuo was not a man of words, so he always appeared rather restrained when facing reporters.

Especially in front of Tucuman Athletic's manager, Magiar, he seemed even more constrained.

Magiar!

He was a notoriously hot-tempered coach in the Argentine Primera División.

Just like his wild players, he was a complete madman himself.

He had been a vicious brute during his playing days, and after becoming a manager, his rabid-dog temperament had not mellowed in the slightest.

Not only had he been exposed for beating his own players, he had even once beaten up an opposing manager.

Sure enough!

The moment Xie Luotuo had just taken his seat, the guy began.

"We are the great Tucuman Athletic!"

"Coming to Candy Box Stadium, I only know one thing—beat these Boca people to a pulp!"

"Victory!"

"That is the only result I will accept!"

There were no polite pleasantries.

"Over my three seasons coaching Tucuman Athletic, we have only lost to Boca once!"

The arrogant remarks did not surprise the reporters present.

That was simply his style.

Still, his team truly did have the capital to back up his arrogance.

Although they were currently in the middle of the league table.

But against powerhouses like Boca Juniors and River Plate, they often played the role of giant killers.

"We'll give the fans a perfect match at home!"

"There's no such thing as guaranteed victory in football!"

"All I know is that Boca Juniors are still in second place in the league!"

"As long as we beat River Plate, we'll return to first!"

Xie Luotuo's response was very mild.

So mild that Magiar, standing beside him, burst out laughing the moment he heard it!

"What an uncouth madman!"

"What did you say? You coward?"

Before the match had even begun, the two head coaches had already gone to war at the press conference.

Fortunately, Boca's security personnel were competent enough to pull the two apart.

The reporters' cameras clicked away nonstop.

They did not even look particularly excited.

It couldn't be helped!

This was South American football!

Madness and passion filled every corner of it!