Chapter 131: Fear of Gain and Loss
"Alright, let's talk about that tall kid now... What do you think of him?" After comforting his old colleague, José clapped his hands and asked.
"He's very promising—physically strong and fearless on the field," Mesquida nodded approvingly. "His turning speed is slow, and his reaction time isn't the best, but those are things that can be improved through training. The youth team coaches have been working on his reflexes, and he's already shown some improvement. But what he really needs is more game experience. The youth team doesn't have many matches, and since I needed more players, I brought him up to the reserves. Defensive experience comes from playing, after all."
"That's a good approach," José agreed. "He's got the physicality and toughness—his only weakness is reaction time. With focused training and more experience, maybe in a year or two, he'll be ready for the first team... I'll leave his development in your hands."
José then turned his gaze to the field, where a young player was loudly directing his teammates, completely unfazed by the pressure. "Nadal only has a few years left, Nino is getting older and won't improve much, and Gamarra is already a veteran. Good center-backs are harder to find than good strikers. Maybe one day, Mallorca's defense will depend on him."
The player they were talking about, Matías, had no idea that his future was being discussed by the two coaches. He was simply enjoying his new team.
After passing the youth team's evaluation, he quickly gained the coaches' attention. The targeted training he received made him feel valued—something he had never experienced in any of the four Madrid-based clubs he had previously played for.
And the training paid off. He noticed a clear improvement in his reactions. Though the change wasn't dramatic, he could feel the difference. He firmly believed that as long as he kept refining his reflexes, he would no longer fear being outmaneuvered by skillful opponents. Then, after progressing from the youth team, he was promoted to the reserves. Even though he was only training with them, this was an incredibly exciting step for him!
He was still under a youth contract, not a reserve team contract, but the promotion was significant—if the youth team players were considered amateurs, then reserve team players had one foot in the professional world. The gap between them and full-fledged professionals was thin, but it was a step closer to his dream!
And the good news didn't stop there.