The Bavarian Tournament 2

The next afternoon, the entire Bavaria 1935 team gathered on the training field.

The mysterious man from the previous day stood beside Coach Kramer.

The players whispered among themselves.

“Who is he?”

“Maybe a scout?”

“Do you think he's from a professional club?”

Leon stared at the man with curiosity.

Coach Kramer blew his whistle.

“Listen up!”

The players immediately fell silent.

The man stepped forward.

“My name is Markus Adler.”

“I represent the Bavarian Youth Football Association.”

The players exchanged excited looks.

Markus opened his folder.

“In three months, the Bavarian Youth Tournament will begin.”

Several players gasped.

Everyone knew about the tournament.

It was one of the biggest youth competitions in the region.

Scouts from professional academies often attended.

“Your club has been invited to participate,” Markus continued.

For a moment, nobody spoke.

Then the team erupted with excitement.

“We got in?!”

“No way!”

“This is amazing!”

Even Leon could barely contain his excitement.

This was the opportunity he had been waiting for.

Markus raised his hand for silence.

“However, only the strongest teams will survive.”

“The tournament will include academy teams, city champions, and regional favorites.”

The excitement quickly turned into determination.

Coach Kramer stepped forward.

“This means one thing.”

“From today onward, training will become much harder.”

The team groaned.

Even Leon looked worried.

The coach smiled.

“Good. You should be worried.”

Training intensified immediately.

The players ran longer distances.

Practiced more drills.

Played tougher matches.

Every day became more exhausting.

One week later, the team played a friendly match against a neighboring club.

The opponent was stronger than expected.

Bavaria 1935 struggled from the beginning.

Leon managed to score once.

But the team still lost 3–1.

After the match, frustration filled the locker room.

“We're never going to survive the tournament.”

“We can't even beat them.”

Some players looked defeated.

Coach Kramer entered the room.

Nobody spoke.

The coach looked around.

“Do you know why you lost?”

Silence.

“Because you were thinking about winning.”

The players looked confused.

“You should be thinking about improving.”

“Strong teams aren't born overnight.”

“They become strong because they refuse to give up.”

Leon listened carefully.

Those words stayed in his mind.

That evening, Leon remained on the field after everyone else had left.

Shot after shot.

Sprint after sprint.

He trained until his legs felt heavy.

As he prepared to leave, he noticed someone standing near the fence.

It was Markus Adler.

The association representative.

“You're still here?” Markus asked.

Leon nodded.

“I need to get better.”

Markus smiled.

“That's a good answer.”

Then he handed Leon a small booklet.

“The tournament schedule.”

Leon quickly opened it.

His eyes widened.

The first team Bavaria 1935 would face was one of the tournament favorites.

A team known throughout Bavaria.

A team that had not lost a match all season.

Leon swallowed nervously.

The road to his dream was going to be much harder than he thought.

And the tournament had not even started yet.