Chapter 3 Chapter 3 Real Madrid's future
Eto'o and Leandri practiced a few balls against each other. Eto'o squatted down and put the ball on the penalty spot. When he was pushing it back two steps, he bumped into someone. It was Hierro.
"How about adding me?" Hierro, who had already finished the camp exploration, asked the two with a smile.
Hierro knew that Leandri was Florentino's newly adopted youngest son. It should be said that all the core members of Real Madrid knew about this.
In 1995, Florentino ran for the presidency of Real Madrid for the first time, but unfortunately lost to Mendoza by 698 votes. After that, Florentino remained active in the inner circle of Real Madrid, and anyone with a discerning eye knew that he was preparing for the next election.
But Hierro did not come to get close to Florentino's youngest son, he came to see the hope of Real Madrid.
Hierro has always been very concerned about youth players, and he often visits talented younger players such as Casillas and Portillo.
The same is true for Leandri now. He often hears coaches say that the youngest son sent by Florentino has given La Fabrica another talented goalkeeper, and today he wants to come and see.
Eto'o made way and signaled Hierro to play the ball.
Although he plays as a defender, Hierro's footwork is outstanding.
"Are you ready?" Hierro shouted.
"Ha!" Leandri was aroused to perform, this is Hierro! Then he perked up and clapped his gloved hands vigorously to show that he was ready to shoot.
Hierro looked at Leandri twelve yards away. Although he was young, he was still very imposing, and his position and posture were very standard.
Take a few steps back, run up, and shoot!
Leandri judged the direction correctly, jumped up quickly, stretched his arms in the air, and the football brushed past his fingers and went into the net from the upper right.
"Wow!" Raul, Morientes and others were attracted by this side and walked over.
Hierro greeted a few people, then turned his attention back to Ryan who was standing in front of the door with a look of unwillingness to admit defeat, "One more."
Leandri threw the ball back and stretched his body.
Keep placing the football, step back, run up, and shoot!
This time the ball was still a high ball, and it was fast, flying between Leandri's head and arm into the net.
Ahhhhh! Leandri made hamster sounds in his heart, high ball, another high ball, are you bullying me because I’m only 1.4 meters tall!
Hierro really let the ball high on purpose. Just now, when he saw the kid's face puffed up with dissatisfaction, he was wondering if he could break the kid's defense if he tried again.
Mentality is a compulsory course for goalkeepers.
"Come on, Raul, Fernando, you come and try it too." Hierro called the twin stars to join in, and winked at them where Leandri couldn't see.
Raul kicked two balls, one flew in over Leandri's head and the other floated in from the upper left corner.
The person who shot the goal had changed to Morientes. Hierro put his arm around Raul's shoulder and watched Morientes start his run-up.
"He has very strong judgment and he dived in the right direction for several shots," Raul replied.
"You are just bullying the kids because they are short and you are throwing high balls everywhere." Guti rolled his eyes, but was also eager to try and kick the ball.
"Beautiful!" Several people cheered, and Morientes' second ball was caught by Leandri.
It was a half-high ball, fast and tricky, but Leandri seemed to have calculated it accurately. He quickly moved two steps to the right and blocked the ball with both fists.
Leandri here also breathed a sigh of relief. Although he knew that several of them were well-known big stars, it was too embarrassing that they didn't save a single ball!
Leandri adjusted his gloves and waited for Guti to come and practice with him, but found that the person on the field was replaced by Casillas.
Casillas gave him a friendly smile.
He watched helplessly as his good friends and the seniors on the first team behaved like humans, bullying the other kids because they were young, not fast enough, and not tall enough.
Anything else would be fine, but as a small goalkeeper, Casillas immediately empathized with Leandri when it came to bullying someone because of his short stature. He discussed it with Guti and then went up to play by himself.
For the first ball, Casillas kicked a ground ball, and Leandri fell effortlessly towards the ball and held the ball in his arms.
The second ball was a half-high ball. Leandri didn't even move before the football fell into his arms.
Guti laughed and scolded, "Igor, you bastard, you actually let the game go."
Casillas shook his head at Guti like a scoundrel, saying "I don't want to play anymore," and then walked in front of Leandri.
"My name is Igor Casillas, you made a great save today." Casillas thought to himself, my performance should be okay, the kid's mentality shouldn't explode.
Leandri looked at the young future Real Madrid goalkeeper in front of him and said, "I know, I know you. You are the goalkeeper of Real Madrid B. Our coach often tells me to learn from you. I have also watched your games. You are my role model."
Leandri knew very well why Casillas came up to kick the last two goals. It was because he was afraid that his mind would be unstable. In fact, it’s not that Leandri can’t save the high ball, but with his current skills and physical condition, it is difficult for him to defend against a star player with mature skills and tactics.
Casillas was very happy to hear the child's sincere praise. He patted Leandri on the head and took him to Raul and others.
"Tell me, Igor, what do you think of Leandri's performance?" Raul asked Casillas.
"Great, he is very accurate in judging the route of the ball, his jumping ability and flexibility are very good. With a few more years of training, his physical fitness will improve and he won't have any shortcomings." Casillas commented very objectively.
Hierro also nodded, and put his arm around Casillas and Leandri, his tone full of beautiful imaginations for the future, "Work hard, boys, the two of you can protect Real Madrid for at least 20 years."
Casillas is a goalkeeper that Real Madrid has spent a lot of time and energy to train, and the whole team has extremely high expectations for him. As long as there are no serious injuries, Casillas will be able to quickly gain a foothold after training in the first team for a few years once he has matured. In a few years, behind the peak Casillas stood a hungry Leandri, who followed him to learn skills and gain experience.
Looking at how the two of them get along now, one is protecting the kid out of fear that he might get kicked out and suffer from psychological trauma, while the other, at a young age, can see the other's good intentions and sincerely praises the other's skills. If this continues, the replacement of Real Madrid's goalkeeper may be painless and passed on smoothly.
Captain Hierro was still immersed in Real Madrid's stable future, but such a warm scene was interrupted.
Guti said to Casillas loudly, "What are you worried about, Igor? When you were a kid, you didn't give up football even when you were beaten 7-1. Why are you worrying like an old man now? God, you are entering menopause at the age of 17!"
Casillas chased Guti all over the field. The two are not much different in age and grew up together in youth training. Even though Guti has been promoted to the first team, their relationship is still the same as before and they can play and joke around at will.
Hierro hugged Leandri and watched Guti being tackled to the grass by Casillas. "Leandri, you are the future of Real Madrid."
Leandri felt that the tall man in front of him really loved Real Madrid, but because Hierro's playing time was too long ago, he was just a fake fan in his previous life and didn't know much about him. He just thought:
Such a good captain will definitely protect us as we grow up.
After the exploration, Eto'o came to practice with Leandri a few times. Currently still an "African cheetah", he is still worried about not being able to play in Real Madrid. The few times he played were to protect the main players or to get a few minutes in garbage time.
Coming to the youth training center to find Leandri gave Eto'o something to do. The two were very polite at first, but they didn't restrain themselves at all after they got to know each other. When Ryan Deli saved the ball, he said, “Can you do it? You can’t even score a goal even if you play against a kid.” “Can you use more tricks? I know where you are going to kick the ball even with my eyes closed.” When he couldn't save the ball, he would scold Eto'o, "You are bullying a kid," "You only know how to shoot with force, can you use more tricks?", "You are bullying me because I am short, when I grow to two meters tall, I will block your shot directly!"
In response, Eto'o replied with a sly grin, "If you really grow to two meters tall, I will kick your small door!" Then he made a few powerful shots and made Leandri fall to the ground and question his life.
On the other side, Leandri and Casillas were also very close.
Casillas doesn't think Leandri, who is nine years younger than him, is childish or difficult to get along with. They have a lot to talk about.
The two play the same position. Although Leandri is not a short goalkeeper according to his current age, Casillas often tells him some of his goalkeeping experiences.
The two often discussed together what to do when encountering a fast forward, when is the best time to attack alone, and the two handsome heads put together to scold the midfielder or defender for being inhuman, and they would often make long-range lobs or long shots.
Casillas was curious why Leandri never had to worry about his studies and could always get to La Fabrica on time after school. Sometimes after training, covered in dust and looking annoyed, I would go out to eat with Leandri. He would always happily show off two ice creams first, and then stubbornly argue with the boss for a "not too sweet donut". Only after I had eaten and drunk my fill would I have the mood to ask my good brother, whose face was filled with unhappiness, what had happened.
"So you were scolded by your teacher and your parents again because of academic problems?"
Casillas put on a mask of pain and nodded sadly.
Leandri held out his hand to Cassie, "Here."
"What? What do you want?"
Ryan pointed to his backpack, "Homework, take it out and I'll help you check it."
Casillas felt like he was dreaming. An eight-year-old kid was lying on the table with his high school homework book, writing and drawing fluently, as if the things that were bothering him could not hinder him at all.
Leandri calmly handed the notebook back and said, "I wrote it in pencil. When you take it back, remember to erase it and replace it with your own handwriting."
Casillas: ...
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