Chapter 119: Matias
As Matias walked off the field with a look of complete indifference, his father let out a sigh and muttered under his breath, "Son, your temper is going to be the end of you..."
José watched the scene unfold with interest. He had a pretty good idea of what had happened. Earlier, during a defensive sequence, Matias had hesitated to commit a foul despite being in a perfect position to do so. From this, José deduced that while Matias was slow to turn, he was also fearless when it came to tackling and fouling. His size made him a dominant physical presence, but that same aggressiveness likely posed a risk to his teammates in training. It was probably why the coach had forbidden him from making full-blooded tackles, and his teammates had taken advantage of it, constantly dribbling past him. Judging by his father's reaction, Matias wasn't the type to take that lightly. He had likely been stewing in frustration, and when given the chance, he had delivered a crunching tackle to make his point.
This kid's got guts, José thought to himself.
In most youth academies, going against the coach was unheard of. After all, the coaches controlled a player's future, holding the power to recommend them for promotions or transfers. Yet, Matias had openly argued with his coach and walked off as if he couldn't care less.
He's not one to back down, José mused.
As Matias strode off the training ground, his father greeted him with an exasperated expression. "Son, can't you work on that temper of yours? What's the point of arguing with the coach?"
"Relax, Dad," Matias replied dismissively. "That guy has no clue how to train defenders. What, I'm just supposed to stand there like a practice dummy and let them dribble past me? How does that help me improve? I might as well go play amateur football instead."
José found himself agreeing with the young defender's point. For a tall, slow-turning center-back, being told not to use tackles or physicality was the equivalent of being asked to stand still and be humiliated. There was no way to develop under such constraints.
"Son, you've been at Real Madrid, then Atlético, then Rayo Vallecano, and now you're here at Getafe. If they don't want you either, what are you going to do?" his father asked with concern.