Robaato Rasamu had achieved a task that seemed almost impossible 23 years ago. The Japanese manager had gone from total obscurity to lifting all five major continental trophies in Europe, South America, North America, Asia and Africa.
Athlético Paranaense had well and truly put the pain of their Copa Libertadores defeat behind them, only losing four times in 42 matches seven months into 2039. But the hard work began now as they looked to go again in the Libertadores knockouts and aim for the club's second Série A title and first in 38 years.
"To play your best in the present, you need to turn the page on the past. To move forward, see the past game as a footnote in yesterday's newspaper. Imagine yourself flipping through yesterday's news and refuse to see what happened yesterday." That was the advice of Robaato Rasamu's lead sport psychologist to his Athlético Paranaense players and staff as they tried to recover from the absolute heartbreak they'd suffered in Paraguay.
Athlético Paranaense came into 2038 armed with an exciting arsenal of young talents like strikers Pipoca and Esdras, winger Paulo Roberto Aal and Brazil international Lucas Pena Barcelos. And manager Robaato Rasamu was excited about the club's future.
The phrase "golden generation" is all-too-often overused in football circles, but Robaato Rasamu believed he'd absolutely inherited one at Athlético Paranaense. His squad contained 11 players considered to have 5-star potential which, according to his staff, constituted "world class," and an additional 17 with at least 4-star potential.
A massive summer rebuild had seen Robaato Rasamu totally reshape his Athlético Paranaense squad. He'd sold off the bad eggs at the club and was now operating with a much younger squad that was packed to the rafters with potential.
Having fully relaxed for a month or so, it was time for Robaato Rasamu to consider the two outstanding tasks on his Pentagon Pursuit. The next challenge on his globetrotting adventure was to find himself a job in South America. But importantly, it couldn't be any old South American club.
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