The next few days passed quickly. All the hype about Europe had already died down at this point, especially since Warka didn’t really offer anything other than its quiet surroundings that would drive people crazy on their third day.
Still, the players were focused, trying to adapt to the environment while also sharpening their edge before the tournament began.
"Come on, Kawabe! Get faster! No opponent players would wait and let you think!"
"Miyashiro, don’t just disappear so quickly! Make sure that your teammates can see where you are trying to go!"
"Nakamura! Be more active! If you don’t even show any spirit to fight, just sit your ass down and let the others take over!"
In the training session, the head coach’s voice still echoed throughout the whole pitch. Poor man, he was so dedicated that his voice turned hoarse after the first few days of the camp. Well, it couldn’t be helped, since their opponents were quite troublesome from the beginning of the tournament.
In this World Cup, Japan was going to fight in Group B, where they would try to get one ticket against Italy, Ecuador, and Mexico. On paper, this was a group, with each one of the team having their own strength that could put each other on the edge of the group. However, they each also had weaknesses that could be exploited at any time.
For Italy, its infamous Catenaccio strategy would be hard to break. It didn’t matter whether it was the senior or the junior team; Italy was always crazy with their highly organized defense. They had one philosophy: if they could hold the opponent to zero goals, they would only need one to win everything.
They were the kind of old Hakodate Nishi team, the one that always thought defense won everything.
However, their senior team’s failure in the last couple of tournaments was definitely enough to hurt their confidence as a nation. They didn’t even qualify in the last World Cup in Russia last year, and their last attempt in the World Cup in Brazil 2014 resulted in a complete failure, with them getting knocked out by England and Costa Rica.
That was an embarrassment that made them doubt themselves, thinking whether their old philosophy was good enough to survive the modern football or not.
Then, they had Ecuador with their crazy physical strength and mental discipline. They rarely produced a world-class player, but they managed to survive and sometimes even enter some big tournaments through sheer hard work, beating the likes of Brazil, Argentina, or Uruguay in South America.
Mexico was also the same, infamous for its tough defensive shape. They were the kind of team that only needed one goal in an early match, and then would drop back so deep that they never allowed the opponent to break through their territory.
Just like... Hakodate Nishi, again.
"How could all of our opponents in the group have some shades of our high school team?" Higo moaned during one of the dinners he had with Makino and Kumiko. "This is starting to get ridiculous!"
"Well, that means we are not that rare, as simple as that." Kumiko smiled knowingly. "I mean, I picked up that philosophy for a reason, you know? No need for high tactical knowledge for each player, only requiring discipline and focus for the entire game. Just like what they said, tasks that force the players to use their brains will be harder to execute than the ones that just need them to stay still and follow the pattern."
Both Makino and Higo were so speechless at Kumiko’s blunt assessment of their former team. Not that they could blame her, of course, since what she did somehow worked well for the team.
"This type of strategy always works for a smaller team, one that doesn’t have the luxury of technically gifted players on their team." The girl continued. "They don’t have to overcomplicate things with sophisticated tactics, just defending their territory with all of their strength and drag the opponent into an endurance battle. Once concentration starts to slip, that is when they strike at where it hurts the most. Sound familiar, right?"
Not only did it sound familiar, but they knew the content of the philosophy to their heart. This was something that the girl instilled so many times in the past, which basically told them that she always thought of the school as a small team.
It hurt, but that was the reality.
"Anyway, we are going to move tomorrow, right?" Higo asked, trying to change the topic.
"Yes, our preparation time is finished. Tomorrow, we are going to our real basecamp in this tournament, Bydgoszcz." Kumiko nodded in confirmation.
The boys just stared at each other for a moment, feeling the corners of their lips twitching in speechlessness. No matter how many times they heard it, they would never get used to the tongue-twisted name of that city. Poland sure had such a unique way of naming everything here.
Still, yeah, after staying for a week in this quiet city, they were finally going to move to Bydgoszcz, one of the biggest cities in Poland. It was located in the northern part of the country, just four hours by train.
The place was chosen because it was close to almost all the stadiums that would hold the World Cup games, and they were not the only ones that resided there. No, all the teams from Group B, coupled with more countries, France and Mali, also used this city as their basecamp, showing how important this was in the heart of most teams here.
"Well, it is clear that neither of you is going to be the main choice for the team, but let me remind you of something here," Kumiko said once again. "Don’t stop trying harder than anyone else. This is a golden rule in life. Opportunities will only fall on a person who is ready to receive them, so always make yourself ready."
Both boys nodded simultaneously, with Higo even snorting in exasperation. "Of course, we would do that, Kumiko-chan. Who do you think we are, a bunch of free lodgers who are here to have fun?"