"Ah, you came at just the right time, Ruslan. Look at the person you brought..." Popovich spoke bluntly, pointing at Ethan Brooks as he said to Panchenko, "I'm not at all surprised that the people at CSKA Moscow don't think much of him!"

"I don't think much of his current performance either." Panchenko's words surprised everyone around—was he planning to give up on this player too, admitting he had misjudged him?

But he continued, "So I have a suggestion for you—let the team's wingers cross from the flanks and feed him high balls."

"Is he good at headers?" Popovich asked. "You know, not all big guys are good at using their heads." He pointed to his own forehead.

"From what I observed yesterday... he does have ability when it comes to headers. I think, why not give it a try?"

After speaking, he turned his gaze to the assistant coach Vladimir Borovikia, who had remained silent the whole time.

Borovikia is the team's assistant coach and also the head coach of the reserve team. The real head coach, Vladimir Petzela (Vlastimil_Petrzela), only handles first-team affairs, and most of the time, the entire Zenit team is managed by this assistant coach. What's more, right now Petzela is being driven crazy by the media, who are hyping up his conflict with the club's upper management. A few days ago, his criticism of the club president was blown out of proportion by them. At this point, Petzela's mind is not on the team at all.

There are rumors that FC Zenit Saint Petersburg has already found a successor for this Czech coach, namely the famous Dutch manager Dick Advocaat.

Borovikia, who came from the Czech Republic as Petzela's assistant when he took over, figures that if Petzela is dismissed, his own fate will likely be the same. But as a competent and professional assistant coach, as long as he is in this position, he will focus on his work every day. Therefore, he continues to worry about things like player recruitment and team management as always.

Borovikia said to Popovich, who is in charge of youth training and first-team training, "Have them change tactics, focus on the flanks, make crossing from the wings the main tactic, and use more high balls."

Clearly, he believed what Panchenko said.

Popovich walked to the sideline and signaled to the coach Nikolai Larionov, who was acting as the referee, to pause the match so he could rearrange the tactics.

※※※

Owen Brooks saw the match being paused and thought this trial was about to end in failure again. He felt a bit dejected; the last spark of hope was flickering and could go out at any moment.

Ethan Brooks saw the referee blow the whistle to stop the match, and then another coach walked onto the field... He thought for sure the coach couldn't stand his performance anymore and was ending the trial early.

A huge sense of disappointment washed over Ethan Brooks, but it didn't defeat him. He just felt unwilling—after all, the match had only just started, at least let me finish this game! After fifty minutes, when I'm fully familiar with my teammates, then judge my performance. Expecting me to deliver results after just ten-odd minutes on the field... If I really had that ability, I wouldn't be here; I would have stayed at Feyenoord, PSV, or Udinese!

I've already tried so hard, just give me a little more time, just a little more time, and I definitely... won't let you down! I believe I can score, I have the physique, I have heading ability, just send the ball to me in the air! He really wanted to shout this to his temporary teammates, but unfortunately, he couldn't speak Russian, and he couldn't understand what his teammates were saying either.

Helplessly, it was clear that Zenit had no intention of giving him that time.

He turned around and started walking off the field. He didn't want to be driven off by someone else; if he had to leave, he would do it himself, with dignity.

Owen Brooks saw his son walking toward him and knew it was truly over this time.

He picked up the large travel bag he had left on the grass, ready to leave.

At that moment, Larionov, who was temporarily acting as the main referee, called out to him, "Hey, Chinese guy!"

Ethan Brooks turned around and looked at him.

"Where are you going?"

"Isn't the match over?" Ethan Brooks asked, spreading his hands.

Larionov smiled, "It's just a pause. The match is about to restart, go back to your position!"

Ethan Brooks thought he must have misheard, but seeing Larionov's gesture, it was indeed telling him to go back. He was so stunned he didn't know what expression to show on his face.

At that moment, his father's voice rang out from the sidelines, "What are you standing there for? Hurry up and get back!"

Ethan Brooks turned and saw his dad waving at him, signaling him to return to the field.

Only then did he turn and run toward the front.

※※※

The match restarted, and Ethan Brooks quickly noticed that things had changed. Previously, everyone had been trying to play short passes with him on the ground, wanting to see how good his footwork was.

But now, the ball was quickly played out to the wings, and the two wingers took turns sending in crosses.