The boys from Team Japan couldn’t recover quickly from this defeat. After the game was done, they had just done everything like they were in autopilot mode. They bowed to the supporters to thank them for their support, and then they even stayed quiet during the painful ceremony process, watching Team Ukraine lift the trophy and celebrating their new title as the World Champion on the pitch.
In the end, the boys just left the locker room quietly, still with a silver medal hanging on their necks. It was a consolation prize, but never enough to fill the hole in their heart.
The journey back home was also filled with a jarring quietness. Some were still sobbing secretly while most of them, especially the main players, were too exhausted to even cry anymore. They had emptied their tank on the pitch, and now, only numbness and emptiness remained inside.
The next thing the boys knew, they had already found themselves sitting in a nice Korean BBQ restaurant, waiting for a massive order that the coach had put in for the entire team.
"Barbecue for a bunch of losers like us? Sensei sure likes to do so many unnecessary things, huh?" Kawabe snorted, still with a hint of bitterness in his voice.
"Shut up and try to appreciate what the coach is trying to do, okay?" Ito nudged Kawabe’s waist quite hard while sending a quick glare at the boy. "He should also feel disappointed just like us, but he is still willing to take us here. At least, thank him properly for that."
Kawabe just clicked his tongue in annoyance, but still did exactly what the captain asked. At least, he was just acting tough, not a real dick head that couldn’t appreciate someone’s kindness toward him.
Soon enough, the order was finally ready in front of them. Short ribs, pork bellies, briskets, stews, and so many dishes were presented hot, and the smell was enough to overwhelm everyone’s noses. Some stomachs also grumbled at the same time, and at this point, the sadness of losing the final was forgotten a little bit. Right now, hunger and exhaustion finally took over, as their body reminded the boys that they needed to refill their energy right now.
"Okay, first of all!" Kageyama-sensei coughed, standing up to get everyone’s attention. "I know that after all the shit that happened today, a speech like this is the least you want to hear, but at least, let me speak a little bit."
The boys put back their chopsticks reluctantly, grumbling lightly while turning around at Kageyama-sensei. The coach himself couldn’t help but chuckle, finding that at the end of the day, they were just a bunch of new adults who were still around 18 to 20 years old.
"First of all, I cannot tell you how proud I am of you, boys." He took a deep breath, as if trying to compose himself. "I came here with 23 boys, and I will come back home with 23 men, having been tempered by the hardest challenge in the world. We might fail to get the final step, but I can assure you that I will walk with my head held high, telling everyone that you guys are the best."
Smiles spread across the room immediately. It was always good to receive validation of their maturity, and it was also quite rare for the coach to praise them like that, doubling the happiness at the table.
"You might not know this, but..." Kageyama-sensei suddenly leaned his head forward while also covering his mouth slightly, his eyes dancing conspiratorially. "The federation’s initial target for us is not that high. They would be satisfied with us advancing to the quarterfinal, and never in their mind did they cross that we could go further beyond everyone’s expectation like this."
"Ha! Those bastards, sitting all day in the office and think they know better?!" Kawabe snorted, but the smile on his face was quite smug.
"Don’t say something bad about them; they have done a good job doing the administrative work that allows us to play here without any burden." Ito sighed helplessly. However, he also couldn’t hide a little smile on his face. While the pain of defeat still lingered around, at least they knew that they had already exceeded everyone’s expectations here.
It wasn’t just those two, but the other boys were also delighted to hear this. Whispers spread around quickly as they started talking about expectations back home. It took Kageyama-sensei to cough once again to snap them from their chatter and turn their attention back at him.
"Yes, yes, you have done well in this tournament." Kageyama-sensei nodded helplessly. However, he also had a similar smile on his face. "From Higo’s amazing show to beat South Korea, the miracle that we created against Senegal, to the absolute victory we earned against the favorite France... Honestly, if you asked me before the tournament began, I would’ve never believed that we are capable of doing that. However, this is the reality that we have right now."
This time, Higo was startled for a moment. He didn’t expect his name would be mentioned, especially since he only had one shining moment in this tournament. While yes, it caused a storm outside, that game was still just a round 16 game, quite easy to be forgotten.
Still, this acknowledgement was nice, showing that Kageyama-sensei paid attention to everyone.
"From the very first day against Italy, we have created one miracle after another." Kageyama-sensei continued. "From just a bunch of no-name teenagers in this big world, you have made a name yourself, and some of you are already within foreign teams’ radar."
This reminder made some of the boys jolt in shock. Yeah, they had forgotten about this matter, having been so focused on the final. Now that everything was over, they could finally grill everything from their agent’s mouth, wanting to know what the hell was going on in the last few days.
"After this, we will go our separate ways, and you guys will also take a different step in your career. However, don’t forget that in the last month here, you have grown together as a team, as a family! Never forget all the sweat and tears you shed in this country!" The coach raised his hand, holding an orange juice there. "LET’S CHEER FOR THE NATIONAL TEAM!"
The rest of the players did the same, shouting together, "CHEERS!"