2026-09-01, 03:39 PM - Word count:
I thought this was football? Is exactly what Michel’s father said when he brought him to the field that Sunny Italian day. You see, Michele’s father (Cal) was born right outside Talladega Speedway in Alabama. That means 2 things.. Roll Tide and Praise Dale/Raise Hell. He had spent his entire childhood listening to the races in his backyard listening to the cars fly by on the track, wishing it was him. However, due to a few legal mishaps, he had gotten his US driver’s license taken away and was no longer eligible to race. He had gone out one sad evening when he laid eyes on Michele’s mother (an Italian citizen visiting on holiday). They hit it off immediately! It was then she began talking about Formula 1 and how popular it was in her native country. He wasn’t really aware but when she said how much drivers make and how fast they go? I think that’s what sealed the deal. A few months after tying the knot in Gulf Shores, they decided to move to his mother’s hometown of Fiorano Modenese. Which also happens to be the home of Ferrari’s personal testing track. Cal decided it would be best to get a house as close as possible to the track. It was there they gave birth to a young lad, who they named Michele. From a young age his father wanted him to race. All he saw in his son’s eyes were dollar signs (or euro signs I guess?). Anyways, every chance they could was spent training physically, studying every piece of a car, how an engine worked, or how to get the edge up on your competitors. His mother didn’t like that, she felt as if he was too solely focused on one thing which would stunt his personal growth. Carmen (mother) suggested Michele play football! Something to get the young man involved in a team environment. After weeks of bickering and fighting, Cal looked at his son and realized what a physical specimen he was, why wouldn’t he be good at football? Cal was walking downtown in Fiorano when he saw a poster for “Football Tryouts”, or at least that’s what Google translate said it was.
So here we are, back to where the story began. The mistake was Cal buying Michele cleats, pads and a helmet so he didn’t show up to the tryouts empty handed. God bless Amazon 2 day shipping am I right? However, upon arriving the two Honcho men couldn’t help but notice there were no footballs in sight. No shoulder pads, no helmets, end zones painted on the field, nothing! It was then, the two realized this wasn’t football.. It was SOCCER! Before Cal could drag Michele away, an older Italian man with a whistle came up to him speaking Italian of course. Luckily Michele was fluent by then so he was able to explain the confusion. The coach laughed, asking if Michele would still want to try out. Cal began to signal towards Michele that it was time to leave but the young boy just didn’t want to go. He wanted to give it a try. And a try is what he did. For the first 20 minutes of the tryout, the prospects were put through a gauntlet of speed, agility, balance drills to weed out those not dedicated. Michele crushed them, leading the pack at the end of every test. It was then a ball was put in front of his legs and he stood there blank.. Not knowing what to do or how to even kick it properly. Three seconds later and the ball was GONE! Taken from him by another player. Michele didn’t like that so he sprinted towards the Italian child, slide tackled like he was a pro and got his team possession. For the rest of the day, Michele caught on quickly, mimicking the fellow players. By the end of the day he finished with the 2nd most goals and had the best passer rating. That day is what started a journey for Michele that would one day pay dividends. He spent the next few years of his childhood honing his craft, learning the ins and outs of everything soccer. Previously he had no knowledge of anything such as penalties, tactics, positions or even how many people could be on the pitch! By the time he turned 16, the Italian junior national team came calling. They said he had been facing complete scrubs his entire life and it was time to gain some experience. Was he really about to go play for the national team? The answer is no. The funny thing was, that him being only “half Italian” was seen as a publicity nightmare. Having someone who doesn’t look like they belong amongst the rest of the squad, representing their country wasn’t something they could commit to. For the next 2 years, Michele was a part of the Roma Football Academy, giving him serious playtime against some of the nations best and rising stars. While on a road game in Milan he ran into another star Striker, Franco Maestro. The two clashed in a game that ended up in a tie 3-3, with Maestro scoring 2 goals to Honcho’s 1. Rumor has it they exchanged phone numbers that day. It was then Maestro told Honcho about the upcoming Simulation Soccer League Academy season. For the past couple years, all Michele wanted was to play the best of the best and prove he has what it takes to play on that national stage.
A couple weeks later, while grocery shopping at Conad, Michele gets a call. It's labeled as “Stockholm IK”. It’s the Academy Manager, Scarlett Mantis. Over the call, Mantis tells Honcho that he’s been assigned to Stockholm's academy team for the upcoming season and that he needs to report within the next couple days. Luckily, included in his contract was a first class flight straight into Stockholm! He arrives and is instantly greeted by screaming fans waiting at the terminal.. “Wow, is this for me?” he thought to himself. Turns out, the Jonas Brothers were flying in that same day and they all thought it was them.. Poor Michele. He gets his bags and makes his way to the transportation station. There’s a pale man standing with a sign that reads “Stockholm IK”. Weird, wouldn’t they just put his name? Out of the corner of Honcho’s eye comes a familiar face.. Well if it isn’t Franco Maestro. “Oh hey Michele, looks like we’re on the same academy team this year!” What a turn of events for our young (half) Italian. While he thought he would be the star of the show, he would soon have to compete with one of the most well known strikers to be gracing the league! With his first practice not for another day, Michele decided to do what any person would do when getting to live in Sweden.. He went to Ikea! How else is his penthouse apartment overlooking the stadium going to get furnished? Michele settles in and braces himself for the extreme competition he’s never seen before. Will he rise to the occasion or will he crumble like his fathers dreams of being a nascar driver? Tune in next week to find out!
1215 words
So here we are, back to where the story began. The mistake was Cal buying Michele cleats, pads and a helmet so he didn’t show up to the tryouts empty handed. God bless Amazon 2 day shipping am I right? However, upon arriving the two Honcho men couldn’t help but notice there were no footballs in sight. No shoulder pads, no helmets, end zones painted on the field, nothing! It was then, the two realized this wasn’t football.. It was SOCCER! Before Cal could drag Michele away, an older Italian man with a whistle came up to him speaking Italian of course. Luckily Michele was fluent by then so he was able to explain the confusion. The coach laughed, asking if Michele would still want to try out. Cal began to signal towards Michele that it was time to leave but the young boy just didn’t want to go. He wanted to give it a try. And a try is what he did. For the first 20 minutes of the tryout, the prospects were put through a gauntlet of speed, agility, balance drills to weed out those not dedicated. Michele crushed them, leading the pack at the end of every test. It was then a ball was put in front of his legs and he stood there blank.. Not knowing what to do or how to even kick it properly. Three seconds later and the ball was GONE! Taken from him by another player. Michele didn’t like that so he sprinted towards the Italian child, slide tackled like he was a pro and got his team possession. For the rest of the day, Michele caught on quickly, mimicking the fellow players. By the end of the day he finished with the 2nd most goals and had the best passer rating. That day is what started a journey for Michele that would one day pay dividends. He spent the next few years of his childhood honing his craft, learning the ins and outs of everything soccer. Previously he had no knowledge of anything such as penalties, tactics, positions or even how many people could be on the pitch! By the time he turned 16, the Italian junior national team came calling. They said he had been facing complete scrubs his entire life and it was time to gain some experience. Was he really about to go play for the national team? The answer is no. The funny thing was, that him being only “half Italian” was seen as a publicity nightmare. Having someone who doesn’t look like they belong amongst the rest of the squad, representing their country wasn’t something they could commit to. For the next 2 years, Michele was a part of the Roma Football Academy, giving him serious playtime against some of the nations best and rising stars. While on a road game in Milan he ran into another star Striker, Franco Maestro. The two clashed in a game that ended up in a tie 3-3, with Maestro scoring 2 goals to Honcho’s 1. Rumor has it they exchanged phone numbers that day. It was then Maestro told Honcho about the upcoming Simulation Soccer League Academy season. For the past couple years, all Michele wanted was to play the best of the best and prove he has what it takes to play on that national stage.
A couple weeks later, while grocery shopping at Conad, Michele gets a call. It's labeled as “Stockholm IK”. It’s the Academy Manager, Scarlett Mantis. Over the call, Mantis tells Honcho that he’s been assigned to Stockholm's academy team for the upcoming season and that he needs to report within the next couple days. Luckily, included in his contract was a first class flight straight into Stockholm! He arrives and is instantly greeted by screaming fans waiting at the terminal.. “Wow, is this for me?” he thought to himself. Turns out, the Jonas Brothers were flying in that same day and they all thought it was them.. Poor Michele. He gets his bags and makes his way to the transportation station. There’s a pale man standing with a sign that reads “Stockholm IK”. Weird, wouldn’t they just put his name? Out of the corner of Honcho’s eye comes a familiar face.. Well if it isn’t Franco Maestro. “Oh hey Michele, looks like we’re on the same academy team this year!” What a turn of events for our young (half) Italian. While he thought he would be the star of the show, he would soon have to compete with one of the most well known strikers to be gracing the league! With his first practice not for another day, Michele decided to do what any person would do when getting to live in Sweden.. He went to Ikea! How else is his penthouse apartment overlooking the stadium going to get furnished? Michele settles in and braces himself for the extreme competition he’s never seen before. Will he rise to the occasion or will he crumble like his fathers dreams of being a nascar driver? Tune in next week to find out!
1215 words
