"What the hell happened out there? We were supposed to have this game in the bag!" Mateo slams his playbook down on his large, mahogany desk.

...

The office is dead silent. Even Jackie doesn't have any jokes to crack this time and that's saying something because Jackie would never willingly give up the chance to crack a joke. Still, they did just lose 4 - 0 to a second-rate team and that in itself is embarrassing.

I mean, they're supposed to be Re Al's rival not losing to team's who only make it to La Lige every once in a decade, but this wasn't solely a bad look for the team. No, this was also very, very embarrassing for Mateo since Luis, his father and the team's head coach who's currently overseas, had been gracious and had enough faith in Mateo to lead the team to victory.

"To be fair, you and Luis have very different playstyles. This was new for us too." Corazon, the team's ever reliable captain shrugs his shoulders, and few others quietly mutter their agreements.

"And what's that supposed to mean, Corazon?" Mateo squints and slowly turns to forward who in turn stands up a little straighter, unafraid of the fuming manager. But Corazon always was braver than most, he would speak out in situations where others were too scared and complacent. Corazon was neither.

"Well, I guess what I'm trying to say, Mateo, is that you're a much better manager than you are a coach. The press and fans can see it too." Corazon is uncharacteristically serious; it's like the calm before the storm.

On the other hand, and to the surprise of absolutely nobody, Mateo is positively fuming. In fact, it looks like steam's about to start coming out of his ears like in those silly cartoons, even so. If it was tense in the room before, now? The silence was almost scary, still, it's not like this is the first time Corazon and Mateo have but heads, in fact, this is more of a daily occurrence now that Luis' has gone overseas for business.

"C'mon, mates... we played out there today there's no need to get your panties in a twist." Jackie, frowning, places a large hand on Corazon's shoulders and gently squeezes. Beside him, Suki, Carnation's best midfielder and the team's cold heartthrob, scoffs and rolls his eyes.

"Jackie, don't be daft. Mateo sucks and he's dragging this team's name through the mud with his... 'strategies.'" Suki sneers at Mateo as if the man is no better than the dirt on his cleats. Though, that's how Suki sees most people, teammate or not.

Amidst Corazon and Mateo's standoff, Star, a fairly new member of the team, is clearly uncomfortable and shits from foot to foot. "Are they like this all the time?" Star looks over to Reese, who's known as the second-best forward on the team besides Corazon.

"Who knows? But I'm sure they'll settle down soon enough." Reese shrugs, then lets out a loud, drawn-out yawn before slumping back in his seat.

On that note, the tense atmosphere had since dissipated and everyone else was mostly chatting with each other about what their plans were for the week, etc. Eventually, Corazon and Mateo would get tired of going back and forth with each other, despite them both being too headstrong for their own good. They weren't so prideful that they would let their differences drag the team down and make things worse for everyone overall.