“Can you see him leaving the club so soon?”
“Well, I wouldn’t rule out the possibility.”
Click!
Just as the conversation was getting heated, Hiro shut his phone. For a short while, he stared at the screen blankly.
Averting his gaze to the wall, he heaved a deep sigh.
The wall was a mess, sticky notes plastered all over the place.
“Just how the hell do they even find out?” Hiro murmured.
Hiro had indeed attracted the interest of other clubs. However, it hadn’t been long since he was notified about their interest. He had only recently found out about their interest.
But rumors about the interest were already circulating in the market, as if they were already there.
This didn’t make any sense at all.
“Do they have a spy implanted?”
“Well… Not that it matters, though,” Hiro’s eyes flashed with an eerie light as he stared at one of the notes with “Champions League” written on it.
**** ****
Inside a brightly illuminated space swarming with reporters, Enrique sat at the forefront. He wore his usual coaching uniform: a relaxed-fitted shirt and jeans.
His hair was slightly disheveled, and patches of beard adorned his visage: a clear indication of his lack of grooming.
However, he didn’t seem bothered.
“Enrique, are you confident of leading PSG to their first Champions League?” One of the reporters asked.
The room went silent as the reporter presented his question.
Enrique turned to face the reporter. Though he looked somewhat exhausted, one could see the vigor reflected in his eyes. Even the dark circles underneath his eyes couldn’t hide his vigor.
The reporters ardently stared at him, awaiting his response.
Enrique licked his dry lips before opening his mouth to respond, “We have prepared thoroughly for the match, and I have faith in my players. As for being confident about winning, we are always confident. Be it this or any other match, we are always confident.”
Enrique’s voice echoed as the room fell silent briefly.
The reporters stared at Enrique with eyes full of shock. Even for them, it was something unexpected. Though Enrique sounded humble, he was also oozing confidence.
“Even so, aren’t you anxious about your opponent? They haven’t lost many matches since the arrival of their new signing. How do you plan to deal with their number 10?” another reporter asked.
“Indeed, as you’ve pointed out, our opponents are terrifying given their recent form. But we don’t pale in comparison either. And as for their number 10, I admit he’s an extraordinary talent…,” Enrique paused briefly and swept his gaze around before continuing, “But in the end, he’s only an individual. There’s only so much he can do. If he were Messi, perhaps I would have been intimidated. But he isn’t, right?”
“But he’s one of the fastest players in the world. How are you going to deal with his speed?”
The moment someone pointed out Hiro’s speed, a bald individual with grey eyes, silently seated beside Enrique, stretched for the microphone.
He squinted his eyes intimidatingly before grabbing the microphone.
“Speed means nothing if you run into a steel,” Vittorio announced.
His voice echoed in the room, leaving the reporters awestruck. A heavy stillness floated in the room as he finished speaking. Then the stillness was followed by a barrage of shutters and follow-up questions.
One could tell just from the press conference that the battle had started and PSG had declared war on Atlético Madrid.
The declaration of war had been sent, and now everybody was curious about the response of the other side.
Almost immediately after the press conference of PSG came out, Atletico arranged a press conference of their own due to the pressure from the fans and the media.
The room buzzed with anticipation as they awaited the arrival of Diego. The reporters had been waiting for Diego for quite some time. Each had prepared their question to ask, and they didn’t want to blow away their chances.
Hence, everybody looked tense.
After a while, Diego arrived at the room dressed in his usual black outfit. He had his usual stern expression, and the wrinkles on his forehead were ever visible.
Soon after Diego entered, Hiro entered the room as well.
Well, he was one of the main attractions of the entire conference. Hence, it wasn’t quite unusual for him to be there.
The reporters were excited about his appearance, nonetheless.
“Diego, how do you feel about the statement made by Enrique? He appeared quite confident about winning the match.”
“What’s there to feel about the statement he made? It’s an important match for both clubs. If we aren’t even confident about it, how do you expect to win? It’s good to know that he is confident, and I appreciate his confidence. The stronger the opponent, the better,” Diego responded humbly.
The reporters appeared a little puzzled when they heard such humble remarks from Diego. However, it wasn’t something out of the ordinary.
Though Diego often seemed eccentric and hot-headed on the field, he was a rather calm individual off the field.
“What about the rumors linking Hiro to other clubs?”
When being asked, Diego turned to look at Hiro rather than answering the question himself. It looked like he wanted Hiro to handle the question himself.
Hiro understood the gesture and stepped forward to answer the question.
“Those rumors are false. I’m not going anywhere, at least not at the moment. I’m satisfied with my current role in the club, and I hope to repay the club for its trust in me. Until I repay the faith and trust the club has put in me, I won’t leave the club,” Hiro clarified.
With this, the people in the room understood that Hiro wasn’t going anywhere. The rumors about other clubs showing interest in him might be true. But if the person in question wasn’t willing to leave, then what good would those rumors be?
However, people also understood something else.
Though he wasn’t looking to change clubs now, there was still a possibility of him leaving if he managed to help the club win the Champions League.
Even though the possibility was slim, it wasn’t nonexistent.
One after the other, the reporters kept showering him with questions, each more vicious and controversial than before. Hiro, however, handled every question with calm and confidence. He didn’t break under pressure and answered calmly.
Just as the conference drew closer to an end, a reporter presented one final question.
“Hiro, one last question: What would you like to say about Vittorio’s statement regarding your speed?”
Upon hearing this question, Hiro smiled and said, “Let’s see who bends and who breaks.”
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