Ah, Kubota and Tsubaki's friendship in this manga is special. Requited admiration for each other's skills and achievements, plus Kubota has the patience to sit through Tsubaki's weird spells.
Also, Tatsumi really does think three steps ahead.
I like the hotblooded rivalries of most sports manga, but this one is refreshing too. It's nice that Tsubaki has someone as insightful and straightforward as Kubota to put him on the right track. :) Now if he can just bring out that confidence all the time and remember that frustration of not being able to play!
With other titles, i get bored with chapters just full of conversations but giant killing really strikes those who enjoy/can relate to the game of football. Let's go Tsubaki 2.0!