Ehime Prefecture Junior High School Tournament
Men's Soccer
Preliminaries
Iyo Newspaper
Isn't that Number 10 amazing? He always seems to have the ball at his feet.
All right!
The ball went to their Number 10 again!
That guy with the weird hair is our only problem!
If we can just stop him...
Eat that!
A hat-trick!
We were down three goals, but we're tied now.
If we keep this up, we might actually do it.
Futamihama
Baishinji
If we win, we're in the semis of the prelims.
But Aoi-kun's plays are still so random.
He doesn't give a hoot about positioning or formations.
Yes, well... Why not, right? After all, he did score.
We can win this!
We're gonna win this, guys!
Yeah!
All right!
Let's go!
Hey. Your shoe's untied.
Ah! It really is. Crap.
Ashito, do you remember me?
We were in the same club in Iyo back in grade school.
You weren't welcome on any team 'cause you were such a ball hog.
You ended up quitting that club too, didn't you?
Oh, right. I guess that did happen.
But as you can see, I'm playing for this team now.
Let's do our best for another five minutes!
Good for you, dude!
Looks like the soccer team of some podunk junior high was willing to take you in.
But man, the way your team plays is so boring.
All they do is pass the ball to you, then go hang around in front of the goal.
Is that their idea of fun?
Well, they do look like a bunch of simpletons.
If you tell 'em to pass you the ball, I'm sure they'll keep on doing it like fools.
You've got those monkeys well-trained, huh?
Futamihama
Junior High
Fan
Club
Futamihama
Shopping District
Man, this is such a good game.
Isn't this crowd kinda big for a junior high soccer match?
You're doin' great!
Now, now, Noriko-chan. We don't get a lot of entertainment in this town, you know.
Oh, wow! He just headbutted him!
Is he nuts?!
First Touch
You told me this was your last tournament in junior high,
so I even took time off work to come watch. Talk about pathetic.
Why do you go and do these kinds of things without thinking, Aoi-kun?
Your mother came to watch you play, and yet, right in front of her eyes—
My... My mom's got nothing to do with it!
WHAM
Coach Kijima from Dougo Business High came to watch the game.
About you getting in on a recommendation...
He said, "I must flatly decline."
"I was excited by the prospect of gaining such a wonderful forward,"
"but we do not need a mentally immature player."
Game 4
Futamihama
Baishinji
Ehime?! What are you doing there?
Visiting the family grave.
Huh?
Things haven't changed at all here. Time flows slower in this place.
Nozomi-san's hopping mad! You totally ignored the team schedule.
I left a memo detailing everything they need to know.
That's so not the point!
Are you mad? Yikes, scary.
Why wouldn't I be mad?!
Calm down, Hana. Now that I'm here...
You'll get me souvenirs?!
I'll do some work.
H-Huh? Wait, I still need to talk—
It's been nearly two hours now.
Just how many laps are you going to do?
You should stop now.
Who are you?
I've been waiting for you to stop, but you just keep going.
You made a big scene at the game, and now you're all worked up, right?
But man, you sure are something.
You ran twice as much as the other players, yet you still have the energy to—
Allow me to introduce our newest member: Aoi Ashito-kun.
My position is "Genius Forward"!
I'm only interested in scoring!
I am the reincarnation of Ronaldo in his prime!
That's me!
Though Ronaldo's still alive.
Speechless
Always pass me the ball and I'll lead you to victory!
I am the reincarnation of Marco van Basten! That's me!
Though Marco van Basten's still alive.
Uh, listen, son...
Oh, one more thing, Coach...
I don't need tactics.
Or rather, I am the tactic.
Um, w-well, uh...
That's right. I am the tactic.
I said it twice, 'cause it's important.
Wow, man, this guy's hilarious!
Our newbie's like the main character in a manga!
We gotta throw him a welcome party.
I can't lie about who I am. I'm confident, so I say I'm confident.
If I don't wanna do something, I'll flat out say I don't.
That's why I was an outcast on every team I joined.
But...
These guys accepted me for who I am.
They do look like a bunch of simpletons.
I guess I fell asleep out in the open...
Oh, wow! What was that?
The time between taking it on your chest and setting off at a run was crazy short!
Who the heck are you, old man?
It's just a little trick of mine.
Want me to teach you?
With this skill, you could've scored at least three more goals today.
Give it a try.
All wrong!
Don't point your bellybutton toward the ball. When you receive the ball,
your bellybutton should be pointed the direction you want to run.
In order to maintain your field of vision,
your torso twists when you take your first touch.
And from there, you start running.
This is...
"control orientado."
Come over here.
Using only one touch, control the ball into one of these circles.
You have to be able to land it in any of them without missing.
Oh, and you stand here.
Once the ball's in the circle, you've got three steps max to play it.
You won't manage that unless your body's facing the right way after your first touch.
I got it.
Ashito's not home yet.
Right.
Teacher- Guardian Notebook
Huh? Have you seen my makeup bag?
Yes.
Oh, crap! I'm gonna be late!
What? All his teammates are out looking for him?
I'm so sorry he's causing trouble even after the game.
Gotcha!
Oh, no, no...
They all volunteered.
The result was disappointing, for sure,
but this team only started winning games after Aoi-kun joined.
Everyone's genuinely grateful to him.
Oh, just leave him be, sheesh.
Mom...
I took time out of my day job to go watch him, and he resorts to an act of violence.
Still, Ashito being violent? Why on earth would he... It's just so hard to believe.
Shun, I'm sorry about this.
I know you're tired after your part-time job.
Oh, no, it's totally fine.
I made dinner. All you have to do is warm it up.
Feed it to him when he gets home, will you?
You're so bad at this!
What time is it now?
Hey!
Man, I might not make check-in time at the hotel...
Sh-Shut up!
No one asked you to stay and watch, old man!
Dammit! It's so hard!
I can get the ball in the circle, but trying to hit it again within three steps...
I need to cut out all my extra movements.
That's enough.
Time's up.
Seems like close control techniques are beyond you.
Perhaps I was expecting too much... At this level, he probably won't make it.
Before I go...
I want you to answer one question.
You made a play today that was truly spectacular.
Your team's the one-yen coins. The ten-yen coins are the opposition.
This was when you scored right before getting sent off.
You suddenly changed direction to here,
picked up the loose ball that dropped right here,
then squeezed your shot through these defenders to score.
Stop bugging me.
You aren't interested in tactics, are you?
You only think about scoring yourself, and wildly run around with no plan.
You can't play without your team's cooperation.
That's how a brute plays soccer.
And yet...
Somehow, the ball kept coming to you.
Ah, dammit!
All match long. It's unfathomable.
It's like the ball's drawn to you, coming to the guy who's playing without thinking.
That's why it looked like you were the only one on the field.
Your teammates trust you completely, so they naturally pass the ball to you.
But their skill levels are pretty low, and most of your scoring opportunities...
came from the incredible number of loose balls you picked up.
Are you aware of that?
I'm trying to concentrate here!
Stop talking to me!
Yikes, scary!
He's been acting strangely since the game.
So we asked him what the issue was, and he said he wanted to come apologize.
Back there, I... I insulted Aoi-kun's teammates.
B-But I was just heckling him.
He just held it all in and didn't rise to it.
Aoi-kun was nearly always on the ball, and I figured we'd never win with him on the field,
so I wanted to make him hit me!
So your mom can finally afford to buy you the gear you need, huh?
I remember how you used to be crazy poor.
Though looking at the state of your cleats, it seems like nothing's changed.
Everyone used to say how embarrassing playing with you was.
'Cause your mom works at night. Know what I'm saying?
You're picking a fight with me, aren't you?!
Then talk trash me all you want, you hear?!
I'm bad, I'm sloppy, I'm brainless... There's tons of things you can say about me!
But leave my mom outta this, dammit!
Leave her out of it!
I'm so sorry!
We won, but I was so ashamed, I couldn't bear it...
I'm sorry... I'm sorry!
Mom...
My last goal?
If you only look at what was happening in the area around the goal, you're right,
but in our half, my teammates were spread out like this, because everyone was tired.
By contrast, our opponent's formation was neat and compact.
So I kinda figured if I hung around in this space here, I could move freely,
and worst case, I could react to any counterattacks.
Then I got the ball, and that led to me scoring.
A genius play by a genius player.
But in reality, it's all thanks to my teammates who got the ball to me
even though they were exhausted.
So it wasn't a "loose ball" at all. And it wasn't a coincidence!
It was a team goal!
I'm short-tempered.
I can't do anything unless they let me play the way I like on the field.
I only think about myself out there.
They were the first to accept me for who I am.
They reminded me why I play soccer.
I love soccer.
But that's how we ended up...
Wh-What the hell is with you, old man?
You're creepy.
Where are you going?
I need to go chill for a bit. You should go home, too.
Every one of them? That's impossible.
That kid remembered the positions of all 22 players on the field!
Man, I slept out here like a backpacker...
No way... He's been at it all night long?
Oh, you're up, old man! Look!
Since around dawn, I've been unstoppable!
Aren't I amazing? Whoa...
You're pretty creepy, too.
I'm the manager of Tokyo City Esperion FC Youth, Fukuda Tatsuya.
Y-Youth?
Every J.League team has a youth team made up of high school-aged players.
I have an ambition, you see.
To have the world in the palm of my hand with a team I've put together.
And it won't just be a stepping stone to the world stage. Our club will be the world stage.
Barça, Madrid, Manchester, Milan...
We'll crush them all.
And what makes my ambition possible... is the youth team.
Come to our tryouts. They're in Tokyo in 10 days' time.
Go home and discuss it with your family.
I knew it. It is Ashito.
He's been practicing here every day lately.
Too bad about the tournament, but we had fun rooting for you.
We got super excited while playing our instruments!
But what about high school? You missed out on that recommendation, didn't you?
Wherever I end up, I can still play soccer.
Oh, hey there. Good job, new team.
Oh, Senpai.
Hi to you too, Ashito!
We took the time to visit these guys, so let's play some soccer together!
All right! Let's do it!
You know, Ashito-san's... really gotten better... hasn't he?
An invitation from a youth team in Tokyo?
What are you babbling about?!
I can't possibly send you to Tokyo! How old do you think you are?!
Mom...
You're in junior high.
And to play soccer, of all things.
Don't you know the financial situation we're in?!
We don't have that kind of money.
I'm sorry your recommendation fell through.
But you're going to Futami High now, right? With all of us.
I'm so happy.
Now we have a new goal of taking the weakest team ever to nationals.
Yeah. You're right.
It's a good goal.
Huh? Shun?
You're coming home late these days.
I'm not working today, so I came to pick you up.
Fukuda Tatsuya, an ex-midfielder who used to play for the Japanese national team.
The guy who gave you that invitation... He was an amazing player.
Shun?
He's from Ehime prefecture, though he moved away when he was in grade school.
His playing days were over 10 years ago, so it's no wonder you don't know him.
After graduating from a big-name school for soccer,
he joined J1's Tokyo City Esperion at 18.
He was a starter by age 20.
He hit his prime at age 23,
and went to play in La Liga in Spain, the best league in the world.
Spain?!
He was a genius who bloomed early. The whole world knew his name.
That's where my knowledge of him stops.
From what I remember, he suffered a serious injury in the final game of that season.
He did make a comeback, but he never hit the same heights.
He must have retired not long after.
I didn't know he became a youth team coach, though.
Ever since that day, I...
I haven't been able to get my heart to calm down.
What is this?
The words of that weird creepy guy keep ringing in my ears, no matter what I do.
You should go.
Going to those tryouts isn't a big deal. Whatever happens after, we'll deal with it.
Here. Take this.
It took me quite a few days to save up that much. So don't waste it, okay?
I can be the one to tell Mom.
Find out for yourself what's waiting for you.
Come to our tryouts.
I'll take you... to the world stage.
Next Episode
Tokyo City Esperion
This is a work of fiction, and bears no relation to any actual persons, organizations, or names.
The next episode of Aoashi is: "Tokyo City Esperion."