Taking advantage of a dead ball, André walked up to Bernardeschi and whispered a few words with his head down. Bernardeschi then looked up at André in confusion before waving over Cuadrado and Costa from the substitute lineup. The four of them stood near the center circle and began to communicate.
Juventus head coach Allegri also saw this scene, and a smile appeared on his face.
Regardless of whether there was a gap in strength, Allegri approved of this approach of seeking changes instead of giving up when trailing.
However, he wasn't worried about any problems arising on the side of the main lineup. He was very satisfied with Juventus's current squad this season. But he overlooked the fact that the initiator seeking the change was not a Juventus player.
When the match resumed, everyone noticed the change in the substitute lineup. André, who'd originally been pinned at the very front, had actually swapped positions with Bernardeschi. Furthermore, André's position was even deeper than Bernardeschi's had been before. Rather than being a forward, he was positioned more like an attacking midfielder.
Allegri didn't know why it had turned out like this and looked toward his assistant coach, who was in charge of the substitute team. The assistant coach simply shrugged at Allegri, indicating he didn't know what was going on either.
While everyone was puzzled, they gradually realized that the substitute team's offense had been revitalized, and the source of this change was André. André no longer had his back to the goal and no longer needed to spend his energy in physical brawls with a center-back like Chiellini. With André turning to face the goal directly, the threat he posed grew exponentially.
26th minute.
After Khedira completed a steal in the backfield, he passed the ball to Cuadrado on the wing. Near the halfway line, Cuadrado then passed the ball to André, who'd come to meet him. Facing Cuadrado's pass, André first spread his feet slightly. Just as the football was about to pass between his legs, he suddenly gave it a light tap with his left heel. He first used a fake move of turning left to shake off the defending Matuidi, then turned right to slip past him before accelerating to catch up with the ball.
The Juventus players had never witnessed how terrifying André could be once he truly accelerated, but they saw it now. Matuidi, chasing from behind, couldn't catch up to the ball-carrying André no matter how hard he tried. André carried the ball and advanced directly forward through the middle at high speed.
Allegri was stunned on the touchline. He'd completely failed to expect that this player, whom he hadn't taken seriously, possessed agility and speed that were completely inconsistent with his physique. This sense of contrast left him utterly shocked, but what shocked him even more were André's next moves.
Bentancur, another defensive midfielder for the main team, hurried over to intercept André after seeing that Matuidi had completely lost his position, while Chiellini on the main team's defensive line was also prepared to provide cover.
André also noticed the charging Bentancur. Facing the opponent's fierce interception, André lowered his speed slightly and then used the inside of his left and right feet to quickly pass the ball back and forth. A large-scale 'La Croqueta' traced a capital 'L' on the turf, shaking off Bentancur very cleanly. Then, before Chiellini could complete a tackle, André didn't even look up to observe. He simply flicked the ball lightly with his left foot into the left side of the penalty area. By the time everyone followed the ball's flight path, Bernardeschi, who'd been pushing forward, had already beaten the offside trap and arrived there. André's pass was so comfortable that Bernardeschi didn't even need to adjust. He went straight for a volley, and the ball flew past Szczęsny's hands and into the net.
2-1.
The substitute team pulled one back through the connection between André and Bernardeschi.
Bernardeschi was extremely excited after the goal and rushed straight to André, giving him a joyful hug. The other substitute players also came over one after another, either patting his shoulder or rubbing his head. Originally, when André trained with the team, these people hadn't taken it seriously and didn't think André was anything special, assuming it was just because of his relationship with Cristiano. But they'd all seen that goal just now. Although the goal was scored by Bernardeschi, most of the credit had to go to André. It was his consecutive use of individual technique in the middle to shake off Matuidi and Bentancur, drawing the main team's defensive attention, that allowed Bernardeschi to successfully beat the offside trap.
"Did you see that? Did you film it?" Allegri could hardly believe his eyes. He'd completely failed to expect that a casual decision just to humor Cristiano would lead him to discover such a talent.
"It's all filmed."
"Do you have his profile?"
"Yes, but not much. André Cristiano dos Santos Cleto, Cristiano's cousin, is sixteen years old. He was previously at Real Madrid's Castilla, then his contract was terminated by Castilla in July. Later, he was brought to the Segunda División side Real Oviedo by Fernando Hierro as a forward. So far, he's started twice and made several substitute appearances, scoring a total of nine goals. His scoring efficiency is terrifying. Oh, right, the Spanish media previously broke the news that Barcelona had offered a price of ten million euros for him, but in the end, Real Oviedo rejected the offer."
"Ten million? Is that a bloody joke? A player like this is only worth ten million? Rubbish. After you collect the video, I'll go talk to Mr. Giuseppe."
"Alright."
Allegri was now very glad he'd agreed to Cristiano's request. Otherwise, he would never have discovered that such a talent existed in this world.
The first half of the training match soon ended. Players from both sides were resting on the touchline. The substitute lineup seemed to treat André as a true member of the team, and everyone was resting while discussing the second half of the match.
"Cristiano, is he really only sixteen? I'd even believe he was twenty-six. This lad is too calm in front of the goal," Chiellini said.
"Right, and with such a massive build, his speed is too fast. He's simply a freak. Cristiano, how fast is he? What's his hundred-meter sprint speed?" Matuidi also said nearby.
"He's truly a freak. I was actually startled by his move just now. I've never seen a big guy standing 1.9 meters tall be so agile." Bentancur even felt a lingering sense of unease.
"Hey, hey, hey, don't ask me. This is also my first time playing on the pitch with him."
Cristiano was also a bit dazed. It was indeed his first time playing on the pitch with André, and as an opponent at that. Seeing his younger cousin's monstrous talent on the field from such a close distance—although he'd seen André's match videos—he was still shocked when he actually saw it up close.
On the touchline, Allegri was already on the phone.
"Giuseppe? It's Massimiliano. I need to talk to you about something very important."
"What is it?"
"I think I've just found the future of Juventus."
"What?"
"His name is André Cristiano. And we need to sign him. Now."
The gears were turning.
And André didn't even know it yet.
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