Starting as a Defensive Midfielder at Real Madrid

After the title celebration dinner, Leon made a clean getaway before the night took a wilder turn.

He politely declined Boateng and Pato’s invitations for a night out and quietly left the hotel with two of the team’s elder statesmen.

”What’s this? Got yourself a girlfriend?” Gattuso teased, catching sight of Leon’s slightly eager, can’t-sit-still energy.

Pirlo, seated in the back, turned around with interest. He’d heard that since arriving in Milan, Leon hadn’t interacted much with women—aside from signing the occasional fan’s jersey.

”No, no, nothing like that. I’m just tired,” Leon waved off the curiosity quickly. Then, as if remembering something, he rummaged through his sports backpack and pulled out a small notebook.

He leaned over to Pirlo, practically glowing with sincerity.

”I’ve been thinking more about what we talked about—the long passing stuff. What you said helped, but I realized I still had questions. I jotted down some ideas and issues, not just about passing, but organizing the midfield too. If you’ve got time, could you take a look? Mark anything that seems off, or just call me when you can.”

He gently pushed the notebook into Pirlo’s hands, not giving the maestro any chance to refuse.

”Hey! Why don’t you come to me for advice?” Gattuso called out from the passenger seat, feigning a scowl. ”We’ve got a similar playing style, don’t we?”

Leon’s brain kicked into overdrive. Without skipping a beat, he spun around and laid it on thick.

”I was just about to say that! I’ve been studying your play in training since day one. Haven’t you noticed how I’m playing more and more like you these days? That’s all thanks to watching and learning from you. Honestly, Gattuso, you were the main reason I wanted to join Milan.”

Gattuso’s scowl melted into a grin. He stroked his beard, clearly pleased by the flattery.

Pirlo chuckled, giving Leon a few pats on the shoulder before silently tucking the notebook under his arm.

Mission accomplished.

Leon’s mood soared as they drove home, chatting and laughing the whole way. When they finally dropped him off, Gattuso couldn’t resist one last jab.

”Have fun. Just don’t go so wild that you end up in tomorrow’s papers.”

Leon simply smiled and waved them off, not bothering to explain. Once their car turned the corner, he practically sprinted back into his rented two-story apartment.

No ceremonial nonsense this time. Feeling lucky and accomplished, Leon sank into the couch and called up his system panel.

The new and improved interface—post-upgrade—looked far better than the old clunky one.

Now set against the background of a virtual football stadium, five core panels were neatly arranged on the left:

Training, Talent Card Pool, Item Card Pool, Shop, and Medical.

The addition of a ”Medical” tab caught his eye. He’d definitely check that out later.

On the right side, Leon’s personal hologram was displayed—another new feature.

Beneath it, his ability stats were listed clearly:

Strength: 83 (87)Stamina: 87 (87)Speed: 81 (81)Acceleration: 80 (80)Dribbling: 72 (72)Ball Control: 80 (88)Short Passing: 85 (93)Long Passing: 72 (74)Crossing: 68 (70)Shooting Accuracy: 67 (68)Shot Power: 82 (84)Agility: 84 (86)Balance: 83 (87)Heading: 83 (83)Jumping: 82 (82)Sliding Tackle: 85 (88)Interceptions: 87 (92)Vision: 83 (83)Free Kicks: 60 (62)

The numbers outside the parentheses were his current attributes. The ones inside? His potential.

Skipping over the laughably low offensive stats, Leon was genuinely pleased with his defensive spread—balanced, no glaring weaknesses.

The extra drills and brutal training had been worth it.

With a grin, he opened the system storage and stared at his rewards: one golden Talent Shard card, two silver-tier Item cards.

”Let’s go!”

He moved to tap the golden shard immediately—but just before opening it, a never-before-seen prompt popped up:

”Open directly or lock a specific attribute to target?”

Leon’s eyes widened. No way—finally a targeted draw option!

But just as he selected ”lock attribute,” a second prompt appeared:

”Cost: 200 points to lock attribute.”

”What?! You’re charging me for this?! You get stingier every time you upgrade!”

He scowled at the screen, gritting his teeth. But the system, as always, said nothing.

Leon hesitated. If he didn’t lock the attribute, anything could pop out.

That’s what happened when he drew the Valerón short passing shard—not that it was bad, but it wasn’t what he really needed.

If he could go back, he’d have 100% locked in something defensive.

So… was 200 points worth it?

After a minute of deliberation, Leon made up his mind.

”Screw it! Lock ’Long Passing’ and just OPEN IT!”

With his heart aching for the lost points, he activated the golden Talent Shard.

A burst of familiar golden light flashed—and an unfamiliar face appeared.

A relatively short man in an Ajax kit from the early 90s.

”He looks... familiar?”

As the card’s details loaded, the name snapped into place:

”Frank de Boer – 1992-93 Long Passing Talent Shard. Talent Rating: 93 (Max 100, Current 72)”

Bonus Insight: ’Best Timing for Long Balls from Defensive Midfield’

Leon’s eyes lit up.

Of course! Frank de Boer—current Ajax manager, and once a legend on the pitch.

He’d even seen him coaching Ajax in a Champions League match against Real Madrid last year!

Back in his playing days, de Boer was one of the best long passers in Europe—especially from deep.

And even though this version was from the start of his prime, it still bumped Leon’s long passing potential all the way to 93.

Now that was what he called a good draw.

Still buzzing, Leon turned to his two silver Item Cards.

The first revealed:

”Reinforced Shin Guards – Reduces injury risk from leg-targeted tackles by 15%”

The second:

”Stamina Recovery Potion (High Grade) – Uses Remaining: 5”

He was still admiring the shin guards when a new notification popped up:

”Hotfix Completed – Please Review the Updated Usage Conditions.”

Confused, Leon tapped into it—and immediately scratched the back of his head, a little sheepish.

”Due to in-match usage of stamina potions by the host, the system has applied a balance patch. From now on, ALL stamina recovery potions can only be used before or after official matches. In-match usage is permanently disabled.”

...Well, that was fair.

He had tested it once, mid-game against Inter. He hadn’t expected it to work—but it did.

Apparently, the system had taken note and patched the loophole.

”Guess trying to game the system isn’t gonna work anymore. Gotta build that stamina the hard way.”

He closed the message and made a firm decision.

Once the trophy ceremony was done and the point rewards for the league title came in, he’d save up for a diamond-tier Stamina Talent Shard.

He remembered the numbers clearly:

Golden shards offered talents from 90 to 95—with 92 or 93 being most common.

Diamond shards offered talents from 95 to 100—97 or 98 being the likeliest outcome.

If he was going to go hard on stamina, he was going to do it right.

That’s what points were for, after all. No point hoarding them when you could upgrade your core.

With his mind made up and system checked, Leon headed back to Milanello early the next morning.

His car had been left there before the match. After the late finish, there hadn’t been time to retrieve it.

He arrived bright and early to grind out more long passing drills.

Meanwhile, over in Spain, José Mourinho was stirring things up with one short interview.

After managing a 1–1 draw against Barcelona in La Liga’s Round 32, the Special One was all smiles.

Speaking to Marca, he praised his squad—and then shifted gears to mention someone special.

”The Little Lion is growing well in Italy,” Mourinho said with a satisfied nod. ”That’s exactly what we wanted to see.”

”I’ve watched all of his Serie A matches this season. He and the Milan squad fully deserve the Scudetto.”

”My final message? Hmm… Tell him I’ll see him at Valdebebas this summer. Don’t be late.”

As the quotes spread across the internet, Milan fans’ celebration screeched to a halt.

Their good mood?

Instantly shattered.

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