Chapter 4 - Offer

"I watched the match very closely and especially I was amazed by your performance. We"ve been looking for a good goalkeeper for our u-12 team for the past few months. "

The man was speaking very quickly without even breathing.

"If it"s okay for you, I"d like to see your family."

Helder remained calm.

"Of course, however you want."

"My car is right over here, if you live far away, shall we go by car?"

"So… yes it"s a bit far."

"OK then, you can give me the way."

The man put the notebook in his hand on the back seat. He pointed at Helder with his hand and asked him to sit next to the notebook.

"You know kids can"t sit forward, you"re not mad, are you?"

"Oh, don"t worry."

Helder was getting in the car for the first time in his life.

"Ah… how nostalgic…"

"Did you say something?"

"No no, I was just muttering."

Helder had already begun to describe the way home to the man.

But the road address he described was far from the training ground.

The man could not hide his astonishment.

"Do you live where you talked about it?"

"Yeah, why?"

"So how did you get to audition, did your father leave you?"

"No… I came walking."

"What? It"s not the time to joke. A 12-year-old cannot walk that many kilometers. "

"Sir, I"m not kidding. Don"t worry, I"m used to long walks. "

The man had walked all that way and believed more in Helder, who showed great performance on top of it. He must have been the goalkeeper of the U-12 team.

***

"Are we in the right place?"

"Yes, my house is right here."

The man"s confusion grew even more.

It was a neglected house, the appearance of which was no different from a hut.

Helder knocked on the door.

It was her mother who opened the door.

As soon as Helder saw his mother, he said that he could not win. Because it"s good to give the bad news right away. He had learned this in his previous life.

"Don"t worry son, You will have another chance."

His mother calmly greeted him.

But there was another man with Helder.

"Oh, who are you, by the way?"

"Sorry ma"am, I watched Helder at today"s auditions. I"m scouting for the Gençlerbirliği team. That"s why I wanted to talk to Helder"s family. "

Her mother"s eyes sparkled.

"Please come in."

His mother offered tea to the man who came.

"Thank you. I was tired of you too. "

Something caught the man"s attention. Only tea was given to him. He understood more clearly that Helder"s family was not in good condition.

It was simpler to get a child from a poor family on the team, which would make it easier for him.

"Where"s my dad, mom?"

"He had a job, he will come now."

Then the door knocked and it was Helder"s father.

Helder"s father, the man, also met.

The man spoke in order not to disturb and to finish things faster.

"As I said before, I am working as a scout for the Gençlerbirliği team. That"s why I"m here. "

Helder"s father was happy. Her child"s dream could have come true. But there was a problem.

Gençlerbirliği club was in Ankara. Helder and his family lived in Istanbul.

It would be difficult for a 12-year-old to leave home.

The man spoke at length about the history of the club and its investments in young people.

Gençlerbirliği club had only one vision.

It was to shine the young footballers in the team and sell them dearly to Fenerbahçe, Galatasaray, and Beşiktaş.

Or to be able to discover foreign African footballers and sell them to world football and make a profit.

Years ago, they even sold the footballer named Geremi to Real Madrid. That was the main vision of this club.

Also, in 2003, he had the success of the last 16 in the Uefa European League. Genclerbirligi was the only team that could beat the champion of the tournament.

In the last 4 years, they have not achieved much success.

They were discovering more young people and thinking the club would come.

Regardless, Helder and his family had to think well.

Clubs for Turkey"s young people a good team though was also provoking to be in different cities.

The Scout explained the club"s vision and mission at length. He gave his card to Helder"s family.

He was certain that Scout Helder would play in their club.

***

Helder talked about it at dinner with his family.

While his father was thinking of him going to Ankara, his mother was strongly against it.

Helder was silent.

He had been away from his family in his previous life. He was used to this situation.

In the beginning, the Gençlerbirliği team made sense to Helder, but later he started to think differently.

Yes, Gençlerbirliği was a step, but would he be happy?

He knew the concept of being happy in football best.

If a football player was not happy with the team he played, he would never be able to give maximum efficiency.

And it was a really big step forward for yet another kid.

But he forgot something more important than Gençlerbirliği.

With the U-12 school team, they made it to the quarter-finals in the Istanbul qualifiers.

If they win in Istanbul, Turkey would match with 8 teams for the championship.

So what would it be when the champion of Turkey?

There would be a great chance to play in the Danone National Cup…

The Danone National Cup was the first scene where many legends showed themselves.

He should have won all the matches and could take his place there ...