As Zaboru stepped into Inter Milan's youth facility, a satisfied smile naturally appeared on his face. After acquiring 51% of Inter Milan last year, one of the first things he had pushed to improve was the club's training environment. He did not only care about the senior squad. To him, the youth academy was just as important, maybe even more important in the long run.
In the span of only one year, Inter Milan's senior and junior training facilities had been transformed completely. The pitches were better maintained, the gym rooms were more modern, the recovery areas were cleaner, and the medical department had been upgraded with technology that was still rare in football clubs during this era. There were video-analysis rooms, nutrition programs, personalized physical-development plans, and even early versions of data-tracking systems inspired by what clubs like BVB would use much later in Zaboru's previous life.
Of course, Inter was doing it far earlier in this world.
Zaboru had no intention of waiting for the football world to slowly discover things he already knew. If modern training methods, better recovery systems, sports science, and youth-development structures could help players grow properly, then he would bring them in as early as possible. Football was not only about talent. It was also about environment. A talented kid placed inside a careless system could easily be wasted, while a talented kid placed inside the right system could become something terrifying.
That was why he had spent so much money improving this place.
He looked across the youth grounds and grinned.
Right now, aside from Lionel Messi, Inter Milan's academy already had many youngsters whose names Zaboru definitely recognized from his previous life. Some were still children. Some were just beginning to show their true qualities. Some were rough, wild, immature, or physically undeveloped. But Zaboru knew what kind of future many of them could have if they were guided properly.
It almost felt unfair.
Then again, Zaboru had never claimed to be fair toward history.
While he was thinking about that, a bright childish voice suddenly shouted from across the training area.
"Zaboru!"
Zaboru turned his head and saw little Lionel Messi running toward him with a huge grin on his face. The boy looked much happier and more energetic than when Zaboru had first met him in Argentina. His face was still shy in some ways, but his eyes were shining with excitement.
Messi stopped in front of him, slightly out of breath but unable to hide his happiness.
"I made a lot of friends during training!" Messi said quickly. "And honestly, the training is fun!"
Zaboru chuckled and crouched slightly so he could look at him properly. "That's good, Leo. I told you Inter would be interesting, right?"
Messi nodded rapidly. "Yeah! Everyone is strong. Really strong. But I can keep up!"
Zaboru smiled. "Of course you can."
Not long after, Jorge Messi also approached them. Compared to before, Jorge looked much more relieved. There were still worries in his heart, naturally. A father would never stop worrying about his son. But after seeing the academy, the doctors, the school arrangements, and the way Inter handled Lionel, much of the heavy fear on his face had finally softened.
Jorge smiled and said, "Well, Leo is really excited. The quality of the academy here is completely different compared to our hometown. The training ground, the medical support, the equipment… honestly, it feels almost too modern." He looked at Zaboru with a small laugh. "Are you the one who thought of all this, Zaboru?"
Zaboru chuckled and nodded. "Yeah. But don't worry, we'll add even more."
Jorge laughed. "Heh, as expected from the sharp mind of ZAGE."
Zaboru waved his hand casually. "Football and games are different, but some ideas are the same. If you want talented people to grow, you need to give them the right environment. Talent alone is not enough."
Jorge looked at Lionel, who was already impatient to return to the training ground, and nodded quietly. "I understand that more than ever now."
After speaking with Jorge for a little longer, Zaboru accompanied Messi toward the junior training ground, where Inter Milan's under-13 group was currently preparing for drills. The moment they arrived, several children immediately looked toward Zaboru with wide eyes. Some recognized him from television and magazines. Others knew him as the strange owner who had suddenly turned Inter Milan into one of the most exciting clubs in Europe. A few simply knew him as the man who made ZEPS.
For children, that last point was probably the most important.
One boy whispered, "That's really Zaboru."
Another whispered back, "Do you think he has ZEPS 4?"
A third boy immediately said, "Idiot, ZEPS 4 isn't released yet."
The first boy replied, "But he's Zaboru. Maybe he has it in his pocket."
Zaboru heard them and almost laughed.
He decided not to destroy their imagination.
If someone from his previous life saw the list of players gathered in this youth group, they would probably be shocked beyond belief. Inter Milan's academy had quietly become a treasure chest of future football monsters.
There were several South American players, including Ricardo Kaká and Adriano. Zaboru had found them while they were still very young and arranged for them to join Inter's academy after speaking carefully with their families. Naturally, he did not simply snatch children away without explanation. He offered education, housing support, medical care, family assistance, and a clear development plan. If their families agreed, Inter would help them grow properly. If they refused, Zaboru respected it.
From Ivory Coast, there was Yaya Touré, a young boy already showing unusual physical strength, balance, and confidence on the ball. There was also Obafemi Martins, whose speed was already ridiculous for his age. From the Netherlands, because Van Gaal's presence made it easier for Inter to attract Dutch talent, the academy had managed to bring in Wesley Sneijder, a small but sharp-eyed player whose passing and shooting technique already looked dangerous and he also Inter Legend in his previous lifes..
From Italy, there were Antonio Cassano, Antonio Candreva, and Leonardo Bonucci. Cassano was the most chaotic of them, overflowing with talent, arrogance, jokes, and impatience. Candreva was more disciplined and serious, while Bonucci already showed signs of leadership and defensive awareness despite still being a child. From Argentina, there were Ángel Di María and Carlos Tevez, and apparently, they had already become Messi's closest friends. There also Diego Milito but he is on inter Milan under 16 squad.
That last part amused Zaboru a lot.
Messi, Di María, and Tevez together as children.
If Argentina fans from his previous life could see this, they might cry.
Of course, there were still many young players Zaboru had wanted to acquire but could not. Sometimes the families refused. Sometimes the players themselves did not want to leave their countries like Iniesta or Xavi Hernandez. Sometimes local clubs demanded ridiculous conditions. Sometimes Zaboru simply decided it would be better to wait. He understood that very well. These were still children, not game characters he could drag into a squad menu.
So for now, he simply trained the youngsters he could bring in and allowed the others to grow naturally elsewhere.
Still, Inter's youth academy was already absurd.
When Messi first joined the group, many of the children had been surprised by how good he was. He was only nine years old, smaller than almost everyone else, and physically weaker than most of the boys around him. At first, some of the older kids thought he would struggle badly.
Then the ball reached his feet.
After that, nobody questioned him again.
Despite being younger, Messi could keep up with children older than him. Not through power, not through height, and not through speed alone, but through control, balance, timing, and strange little touches that made defenders move the wrong way. He did not look like he was fighting the ball. He looked like he was guiding it.
That surprised everyone.
Especially Antonio Cassano.
Cassano was also an incredible talent, and he knew it. He had always been praised for his technique, creativity, and confidence. But seeing a tiny Argentine kid arrive and instantly draw attention irritated him more than he wanted to admit.
So Cassano tried to show off.
During the first few training sessions, he dribbled more aggressively, attempted difficult passes, complained loudly when teammates missed his ideas, and tried to score ridiculous goals. Sometimes it worked. Sometimes it absolutely did not.
One time, after Messi calmly dribbled past two older players and passed to Tevez, Cassano immediately tried to copy him by dribbling through three defenders.
He lost the ball against the second one.
Tevez laughed so loudly that Cassano chased him for half the pitch.
Messi only looked confused and asked Di María, "Is he always like that?"
Di María nodded. "I think so."
Tevez shouted from a distance, "He's funny!"
Cassano shouted back, despite don't know what they said "You better not Mock me!"
Zaboru, who had heard the story from one of the youth coaches, laughed clearly amused.
Honestly, a little competition never hurt. If Cassano became jealous and trained harder because Messi challenged his pride, that was fine. If Messi learned to handle strong personalities early, that was also fine. As long as the coaches controlled the rivalry properly, it could push both players forward.
Inside the youth academy, the atmosphere was already becoming strangely intense.
Kaká was elegant and polite, but he moved with a smoothness that made coaches excited.
Adriano's left foot already looked frightening when he shot properly, even if his discipline still needed work.
Yaya Touré looked like a child who had accidentally been given the frame of a future powerhouse.
Martins ran so fast that one coach joked he needed a speed limit.
Sneijder loved striking the ball from distance and looked offended whenever someone told him not to shoot..
Tevez played with raw fire, intensity, and street-fighter energy.
Di María looked thin but slippery, moving with unusual rhythm and creativity.
And Messi?
Messi simply made the ball obey him.
Zaboru watched them warm up together and felt an enormous grin forming on his face.
This was not only an academy.
This was a ridiculous future-history bomb waiting to explode.
The youth training camp had officially been named ZAGE Inter Academy, partly because ZAGE funded many of its advanced systems and partly because Zaboru wanted the academy to become something bigger than a normal football youth program. It was designed to combine education, sports science, football development, language learning, nutrition, psychology, and character building.
Every player received schooling.
Every player had medical monitoring.
Every player had access to language classes, because Zaboru knew many of them would eventually play across Europe.
Every player had a development file tracking strengths, weaknesses, mentality, physical growth, technical habits, and tactical understanding.
The academy staff also worked closely with ZAGE School programs, especially for foreign players. Children who moved from Brazil, Argentina, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, the Netherlands, or elsewhere were not simply thrown into Italy and expected to survive. They received support, housing arrangements, family assistance when possible, cultural guidance, and personal tutors.
Zaboru insisted on that.
A child could not develop properly if he was lonely, scared, hungry, confused, or treated like merchandise.
The coaches began the session with passing drills, and Zaboru stood beside Jorge and Van Gaal while watching carefully. Van Gaal had come partly out of curiosity and partly because Zaboru had told him the youth academy contained "some very interesting kids," which was Zaboru's usual way of saying there might be future monsters nearby.
During the drill, Messi received the ball from Di María, turned smoothly, and passed between two cones directly into Tevez's path.
Tevez controlled it and fired immediately.
The shot flew wide.
Messi blinked.
Tevez shouted, "The goal moved!"
Cassano immediately laughed. "No, your foot moved wrong!"
Tevez pointed at him. "You want to fight?"
Cassano grinned. "With football? Anytime."
The coaches immediately shouted for both of them to focus.
Zaboru chuckled. "This group has personality."
Van Gaal crossed his arms. "Too much personality can become a problem."
"That's why we have coaches."
Van Gaal looked at him. "You say that very comfortably."
"Because I'm not the coach."
Van Gaal sighed.
Still, even he could not hide his interest. The raw talent on the pitch was extraordinary. They were children, yes. They made mistakes constantly. Their positioning was immature, their bodies were still developing, and some of them had attention spans shorter than a halftime orange. But the potential was undeniable.
Van Gaal's eyes moved from Messi to Kaká, then to Sneijder, Yaya Touré, and Cassano.
"This academy is abnormal," he muttered.
Zaboru smiled. "Good abnormal or bad abnormal?"
Van Gaal did not answer immediately.
Then he said, "Dangerous abnormal."
Zaboru laughed. "I'll take that as a compliment."
The training continued for a while. Zaboru watched Messi's movement carefully, especially how he interacted with the other children. He was shy, but not isolated. Tevez constantly dragged him into conversations. Di María stayed close to him. Kaká spoke to him politely. Cassano acted like a rival but clearly respected his ability. Even older boys who had initially doubted him now treated him seriously.
That made Zaboru happy.
Messi did not only need treatment and football training.
He needed friends.
He needed a place where he could be small without being treated as weak.
He needed competition without cruelty.
He needed adults who protected him but did not suffocate him.
So far, Inter seemed to be giving him that.
After practice ended, Messi ran back toward Zaboru and Jorge, sweating but smiling brightly.
"Zaboru!" Messi said. "Did you see my pass?"
Zaboru grinned. "Which one? You made a lot."
"The one to Carlos!"
Tevez, who was nearby, immediately shouted, "I missed because the goal moved!"
Zaboru looked at him. "The goal did not move."
Tevez looked betrayed. "You saw?"
"I saw."
Cassano laughed loudly. "See?"
Tevez pointed at him again. "You missed earlier too!"
Cassano raised his chin. "That was artistic."
Sneijder, walking past, said calmly, "It was a bad shot."
Cassano froze.
The nearby kids burst out laughing.
Zaboru laughed as well. "Good. Keep arguing. But argue while improving."
Messi looked up at him. "I'll improve too."
Zaboru placed a hand gently on Messi's head. "I know. Just don't rush too much. You're already doing great."
Jorge watched the exchange with a warm expression. Seeing Lionel smile like this, surrounded by other talented children and supported by adults who believed in him, made him feel deeply thankful. This place was far from Rosario, but for the first time, it did not feel like his son had been taken away from home.
It felt like he had been given another one.
After spending more time observing the young stars, Zaboru prepared to leave. He still had other responsibilities in Europe, and after that, his next destination would be America. This trip to the United States was extremely important for the future of ZEPS 4.
To be continued.
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