The press conference room was louder after the match.
Not because Miraflores won.
Because confusion was more interesting than defeat.
Journalists filled nearly every seat now, voices overlapping while highlights replayed repeatedly across mounted televisions.
---
MIRAFLORES 3 : 5 REAL OVIEDO B
---
But the scoreline wasn't what people discussed most.
It was the football.
The movement. The intensity. The aggression.
The risk.
By the time Malik entered beside Elena Ruiz, the room already buzzed with debate.
Some reporters looked excited. Others looked irritated their "disaster debut" narrative suddenly becoming complicated.
Camera flashes exploded again.
Malik sat calmly.
Still soaked slightly from rain near the touchline.
A journalist immediately spoke before the moderator even finished.
"You conceded five goals."
Straight to the blood again.
Malik nodded once.
"Yes."
"Yet you look relatively calm."
"Because context matters."
Pens immediately started moving.
Malik leaned slightly toward the microphone.
"A week ago this team looked afraid to play football."
That silenced a few people.
"Today they competed."
Another journalist jumped in quickly.
"But you still lost."
"Yes."
No excuses.
Malik continued calmly.
"And I take responsibility for that."
That earned immediate attention.
Professional football loved blame.
Managers usually spent years learning how to avoid it publicly.
Malik wasn't doing that yet.
Interesting.
Another reporter leaned forward.
"Were you disappointed defensively?"
"Very."
"Then why praise the performance?"
Malik paused briefly.
Because this answer mattered.
Then:
"Because mentality changes before results do."
That line instantly shifted the room.
Even Elena glanced sideways slightly.
Malik continued.
"You saw players continue attacking at 4–2 down."
Another point.
"You saw players pressing aggressively after conceding."
Then:
"That matters."
The journalists typed furiously now.
A younger reporter raised her hand carefully.
"Your players seemed emotionally stronger compared to previous matches. Was that intentional?"
Malik almost smiled slightly.
"Everything is intentional."
That triggered louder reactions immediately.
Another journalist smirked.
"Confident answer after conceding five."
Malik met his eyes evenly.
"If we scored three while still physically incomplete…"
His voice stayed calm.
"…imagine what happens when we improve."
Silence.
Not mocking silence this time.
Thinking silence again.
Football people hated confidence until confidence started sounding possible.
Then came the dangerous question.
"There are already reports some senior players dislike your methods."
Ah.
Leaks again.
Malik mentally noted it once more.
Useful.
"You'll need to ask them," he replied.
"But are the dressing room fully behind you?"
Malik answered instantly.
"They don't need to love training."
A few chuckles spread.
"They need to improve."
Another reporter quickly added:
"And if results don't come?"
This time Malik leaned back slightly.
Then answered quietly:
"They will."
That one exploded across the room immediately.
Some journalists literally looked up from typing.
There it was.
The headline.
---
Inside the dressing room afterward, the atmosphere felt strangely conflicted.
Defeat hurt.
Five goals conceded hurt badly.
But something else existed beneath the frustration.
Belief.
Tiny. Fragile. Dangerous belief.
Players sat exhausted around the room while steam rose from showers nearby.
Nobody shouted.
Nobody blamed each other.
That alone told Malik something important.
The mentality shift had already started.
He stood quietly in the center for several seconds before speaking.
"You competed well."
A few players looked surprised.
"We lost," one muttered.
"Yes."
Malik nodded immediately.
"And we deserved to lose."
Honesty first.
Always honesty.
"But understand this clearly."
His eyes moved across the room carefully.
"You created problems for them."
Several players slowly looked up now.
"Real problems."
He pointed toward Adrian.
"You attacked space fearlessly."
Toward Raúl.
"You organized transitions better second half."
Toward the midfield group.
"You stopped hiding after mistakes."
The room remained silent.
Listening.
Malik's voice lowered slightly.
"That matters more than today's score."
Because deep down…
Every player in that room knew something uncomfortable.
For the first time in a long time…
Miraflores actually looked coached.
Then Malik folded his arms.
"But now comes the difficult part."
Several expressions shifted immediately.
"Consistency."
Ah.
There it was.
No emotional celebration. No "proud of the boys" speech.
Back to work already.
"If we relax because people praised us in defeat…"
His eyes hardened slightly.
"…then we become losers with good highlights."
That landed heavily.
Professional football language again.
Then finally:
"Recovery tonight."
A pause.
"Training tomorrow morning."
Immediate groans filled the room.
Normality.
Malik almost smiled.
Almost.
---
The media storm over the next three days became ridiculous.
Football television debated Miraflores constantly now.
Not because they were winning.
Because they were interesting.
And football media loved interesting failure almost as much as success.
---
"Malik Amari loses… but impresses."
"Naive defending or tactical brilliance?"
"Miraflores collapse physically after electric football."
"Too much intensity too soon?"
"Young manager refuses fear."
---
Pundits argued endlessly.
Some called him arrogant.
Others called him refreshing.
One former coach dismissed him completely.
"You don't get points for entertainment."
Another disagreed immediately.
"But you can clearly see tactical identity already."
Meanwhile social media became chaos.
Clips of Adrian Vega's goal spread everywhere. Malik's press conference quotes went viral. Fans started debating whether Miraflores might actually survive relegation.
Even supporters who hated the appointment now sounded uncertain.
And uncertainty was dangerous.
Because uncertainty could slowly become hope.
---
Training resumed Tuesday morning.
The atmosphere had changed again.
Sharper now.
The players moved faster between drills. Communication grew louder. Intensity came more naturally.
Not because Malik forced it.
Because players had seen proof now.
The system could actually work.
Malik watched carefully from midfield while the squad repeated transition patterns again and again.
Adrian stayed behind after drills. Raúl corrected positioning without being asked. Even previously skeptical veterans complained less.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
Elena walked beside Malik quietly during cooldown.
"You've made the city curious."
"Curiosity disappears fast in football."
"That sounds pessimistic."
"That sounds realistic."
She smirked faintly.
Then handed him a newspaper.
Front page sports section.
Large bold letters:
---
MIRAFLORES MAY HAVE FOUND SOMETHING
---
Malik stared at the headline briefly.
Then folded the paper calmly.
"No," he said quietly.
Elena frowned slightly.
"No?"
Malik looked back toward the training pitch where players sprinted through another exhausting drill.
"They haven't seen anything yet."