Another 154: The traveling one

IT'S BEEN 2 MONTHS SINCE MATSUYAMA WENT TO THE UNITED STATES... AND IF HIS DREAM TO BE REUNITED WITH YOSHIKO QUICKLY CAME TRUE, HE ALSO FACED HIS GREATEST CHALLENGE...


This one's wrong... This one, too... And that one...
Ahh... This is bad, really bad...

If I'm failing their standardized test, I won't have this scholarship and I'll have to go back to
Japan...! We'll be apart once again... And it was such a great chance, though!

You're doing well enough everywhere, but the english part is what is dragging you down...
I'm not progressing fast enough, and there's not much time left... But...

But...? What? Do you have an idea?
Maybe we're doing this wrong... Instead of trying to improve my weak point, maybe we should try improving my strong points?

You'll have to improve your english if you live here, though...
Yes, but that can come later, the first obstacle is that test, if I work hard enough in the other areas...

... Then I'll be able to afford failing the english part, and still succeed in the test!

MATSUYAMA'S BET PAID OFF, AND HE SUCCEEDED IN THE STANDARDIZED TEST DESPITE HIS POOR RESULTS IN ENGLISH... HE EARNED THE SCHOOLARSHIP, AND WHILE HE'S TAKING EXTENSIVE ENGLISH COURSES, HE'S ALSO PLAYING FOR THE UNDER 23 TEAM OF THE SEATTLE SOUNDERS... WHILE IT WAS ONLY AN AMATEUR TEAM...


THEY WERE PLAYING IN THE PREMIER DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE, THE TOP LEVEL MEN'S AMATEUR SOCCER COMPETITION OF THE UNITED STATES, DEDICATED TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF PLAYERS. SOME TEAMS ARE EVEN INCLUDING FORMER PRO PLAYERS WHO ARE SEEKING TO CONTINUE PLAYING AT A HIGH LEVEL.


ALTHOUGH THE DIFFERENCE IN PHYSIQUE AND SOMETIMES, EXPERIENCE GAVE HIM SOME TROUBLES, HIS DEFENSIVE SKILLS, BALL KEEP...


... AS WELL AS HIS EAGLE SHOT, ALLOWED HIM TO WIN 2-0 AGAINST LANE UNITED FC.


We have won, Yoshiko!
Matsuyama...

SOMEHOW, PLAYING HIS FIRST MATCH IN ANOTHER TEAM THAN FURANO, WITH OTHER TEAMMATES, MADE MATSUYAMA THINK OF SOMEONE... WHO EXPERIENCED THAT KIND OF THING OFTEN WHEN HE WAS LITTLE...


BECAUSE HIS FATHER WAS A LANDSCAPE PAINTER, HE HAD TO FOLLOW HIM ALL AROUND JAPAN... AS A SOCCER PLAYER, HE WAS NEVER ABLE TO STAY WITH A TEAM FOR A LONG TIME, AND SO, NEVER TOOK PART IN A BIG TOURNAMENT IN JAPAN... BUT AS A RESULT, HE SOMEHOW BECAME ABLE TO PLAY WELL WITH ANYONE...


HOWEVER, AT SOME POINT NO ONE IN JAPAN EVER HEARD OF HIM AGAIN... RUMOR SAID HE WAS SO BADLY INJURED IN A TRAFFIC ACCIDENT THAT HE WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO PLAY SOCCER AGAIN...


BUT WHILE IT WAS TRUE THAT HE WAS INJURED AT SOME POINT, HE WAS IN FACT STILL FOLLOWING HIS FATHER, TRAVELING NOT AROUND JAPAN ANYMORE, BUT AROUND THE WORLD... AND ONCE HE RECOVERED FULLY, HE PLAYED, ONLY WITH AMATEUR TEAMS, BUT HE KEPT PLAYING NONETHELESS...


EVENTUALLY, HIS FATHER SETTLED DOWN IN PARIS, SINCE IT ACQUIRED A REPUTATION AS THE "CITY OF ART"... PLAYING SOCCER IN PARIS, HIS SON HEARD MORE AND MORE RUMORS OF "GOLDEN AGE" PLAYERS...


AS WELL AS "SUPERNOVAE"... CURIOUS AND EAGER TO DISCOVER THE ABILITIES OF THESE PLAYERS, HE FINALLY CHOSE A TEAM AND MANAGED TO TAKE PART IN THE UNDER 19 FRENCH NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP...


WITH THE HELP OF HIS TEAMMATES, SOME OF THEM BEING MEMBERS OF THE GOLDEN AGE HE WAS CURIOUS ABOUT, THEY WON THE GROUP STAGE, THEN THE SEMI-FINALS OF THE FINAL STAGE 3-0 AGAINST SAINT-ETIENNE. HE WAS GOING, AT LAST, TO PLAY AGAINST THE MOST FEARED PLAYERS OF THE GOLDEN AGE OF THE CHAMPIONSHIP...


THE FRENCH GOAL KEEPER HUGO LORTIE AND THE ITALIAN MIDFIELDER ENZO FERRILLI, WHO WERE BOTH IN THE OLYMPIQUE LYONNAIS YOUTH TEAM...


MISAKI TARO WOULD SOON PLAY AGAINST THE GOLDEN AGE OF OTHER COUNTRIES, RATHER THAN JUST ALONGSIDE THEM... JUST LIKE MISUGI 3 YEARS AGO... AND HE WOULD DO SO AS THE PLAYMAKER OF THE PARIS SAINT GERMAIN YOUTH TEAM!