Reincarnated As A Wonderkid-Chapter 564: Good kids.

Alex stood on the balcony of his office, sipping an espresso.

"Life is good," he murmured.

"Life is loud!" Mark shouted, bursting through the door.

Mark was wearing a whistle around his neck and a stopwatch that was bigger than his hand. He was also wearing sunglasses inside.

"Mark," Alex sighed. "Why are you shouting?"

"I am the Assistant Manager!" Mark declared. "I must project my voice! The players must hear me from the top of the mountain!"

"They are on the pitch, Mark. Fifty meters away."

"Details!" Mark waved his hand. "Come on, Professor. The kids are waiting. They want to learn the secrets of speed. And pizza."

Alex put down his coffee.

They walked down to the pitch.

The squad was assembled. It was a mix of veterans and new blood.

There was Bukayo Saka, the superstar who had followed Alex to Italy. He was doing keepy-uppies with a smile on his face.

There was Belotti, the old warhorse striker, stretching his hamstrings and grunting.

And then there were the kids.

Luca, the 17-year-old who had scored the winner against Juventus. He looked like he hadn't slept. He was staring at Saka like he was a god.

And a new boy. Marco. A defender. He was huge. He looked like a brick wall that had grown legs.

"Okay!" Alex clapped his hands. "Listen up!"

The players gathered around.

"Today," Alex said. "We work on vision. Football is not just about feet. It is about eyes. Seeing the pass before you make it."

"Seeing the pizza before it is delivered!" Mark added helpfully.

The players laughed. Even Belotti cracked a smile.

"Marco," Alex pointed to the big defender. "You are strong. But can you see the danger?"

"I see everything, Boss," Marco grunted.

"Good. Let's test it."

Alex set up a drill. It was a chaotic game of possession. Three teams. Three balls.

"Go!"

The chaos began. Balls flew everywhere. Players collided.

Alex watched. He analyzed.

Saka was effortless. He glided through the confusion. He saw spaces that didn't exist.

Luca was frantic. He ran too much. He chased every ball like a puppy.

"Calm down, Luca!" Alex shouted. "Don't run harder. Run smarter!"

"I am trying, Boss!" Luca panted. "But Saka is too fast!"

"He is not fast," Alex said. "He is quick. There is a difference."

Mark blew his whistle. PEEEP!

"Freeze!" Mark yelled. "Statue time!"

The players froze. Mark walked into the middle of the pitch. He looked at Marco.

"You," Mark said, pointing a finger. "You are a wall. But a wall does not move. You must be a moving wall! Like a tank!"

"A tank?" Marco asked, confused.

"Yes! A tank with a turbo engine!" Mark made a vroom vroom noise. "Be the tank!"

Alex shook his head, smiling. Mark's coaching methods were unorthodox, but they worked. The players loved him.

After training, Alex called the young players over.

Luca, Marco, and a young midfielder named Pietro.

They sat on the grass, drinking water.

"How was it?" Alex asked.

"Hard," Luca admitted. "The level is so high. Saka... he is on another planet."

"He was like you once," Alex said. "He was a kid in an academy. He worked for it."

"Did you work hard, Boss?" Pietro asked.

Alex thought about his three lives. The mud in Brentford. The academy in London. The nights studying video analysis.

"I worked," Alex said. "But I also learned. Every mistake is a lesson."

"I made a mistake today," Marco said, looking at his boots. "I let Belotti turn me."

"Belotti has been turning defenders since before you were born," Alex said. "Don't worry. Next time, don't get too close. Force him wide."

"Geometry," Mark whispered loudly. "Angles!"

"Exactly," Alex said.

Suddenly, Milo drove onto the pitch.

He was driving a gelato cart. A real, vintage Italian gelato cart with a striped umbrella.

"GELATO TIME!" Milo screamed. "ALEX! I AM THE ICE CREAM MAN! I AM SELLING FLAVORS OF VICTORY! 'CHAMPIONS CHOCOLATE'! 'SCUDETTO STRAWBERRY'! 'VAR VANILLA' (It tastes bitter at first but then sweet!)."

"Milo, you cannot drive a cart on the pitch!" the groundsman yelled from the distance.

"I AM LIGHT AS A FEATHER!" Milo shouted back. "FREE SAMPLES FOR THE TALENT!"

The young players' eyes lit up.

"Can we?" Luca asked Alex.

Alex looked at Mark. Mark was already at the cart, ordering three scoops.

"Go on," Alex laughed. "But don't tell the nutritionist."

The kids ran to the cart.

Alex watched them.

He saw himself in them. The hunger. The joy. The innocence.

They didn't know about the pressure yet. The media. The injuries. The contracts.

They just loved the ball. And ice cream.

Saka walked over to Alex. He was eating an apple (ever the professional).

"Good kids," Saka said.

"They have potential," Alex agreed.

"Luca reminds me of Martinelli," Saka said. "Fast. Direct. A bit crazy."

"And Marco reminds me of Gabriel," Alex said. "A rock."

"We can win the league with them," Saka said quietly.

"We can," Alex said. "If we teach them right."

"You are a good teacher, Professor," Saka smiled.

"I have good assistants," Alex pointed to Mark, who was now wearing the gelato cart's umbrella as a hat.

"I AM THE EMPEROR OF ICE CREAM!" Mark declared.

Later that afternoon, Alex sat in his office. He was looking at the player stats on his screen.

Luca's sprint speed: 34 km/h. Marco's tackle success: 88%.

The numbers were good.

But Alex knew numbers weren't everything.

He looked out the window.

The players were still there. The training was over, but Luca and Marco were staying behind. They were practicing long balls.

Ping. Control. Ping. Control.

They were laughing.

"That," Alex whispered. "That is the stat that matters. Passion."

His phone buzzed.

It was a text from Maya in London.

"Youth development analysis: Positive. The integration of academy players into the first team increases squad value by 200%. Also, I saw a photo of Mark wearing an umbrella. Please tell him it is not aerodynamic."

Alex chuckled.

He typed back. "He says it protects his brain from the sun rays of genius."

He put the phone down.

He walked back out to the balcony.

The sun was setting over Lake Como. The water was turning gold.

He saw Luca hit a perfect cross. Marco headed it into the empty net. They celebrated like they had won the World Cup.

Alex smiled.

It was about passing the torch.

It was about making sure the next generation loved the game as much as he did.

"Good shot, kid!" Alex shouted down to them.

Luca looked up. He waved. "Thanks, Boss!"