Rise of a Football God

A tournament that the Ultimate Football System had to bend the rules for just to make sure that it's host participated in it.

To Sam, today was the culmination of his first season in professional football.

Today would likely determine if his first season as a professional footballer was below bar, average, or an overwhelming success.

All the football that he had been playing since January, it was all for this moment and he was definitely not going to miss his chance to seize it.

Sam was ready to lose himself in the energy of this incredible game.

FWEEEEE!

Immediately after the referee's whistle sounded, Enyimba FC started kick-off and from the first minute, they stamped their authority on the game.

Wydad AC was another footballing giant of Africa seen on the same pedestal as the likes of Al Ahly, they were a tough team to play against but in the Enyimba International Stadium, this iconic team with loads of footballing history was forced to dance to the tune of the home team.

They were forced to accept the reality that today, they were the underdogs as Enyimba FC dominated possession.

Amid this domination, 2 names shone brightest, Sam and Austin.

The duo seemed like the perfect combination on the pitch as both feeling in the mood, they played total football, dictating the game.

It didn't take too long for them to make their stamp on the game. In the 21st minute of the game, receiving the ball in the halfway line, Sam started a mazy run from midfield, weaving through multiple opposition players, exchanging one-two passes with Austin as he penetrated into the box.

Their chemistry on the pitch was now almost telepathic.

Inside the box, he passed to Emeka who passed back to him and just as the angle opened to shoot and as Wydad AC players swarmed him, he pushed the ball right with the outside of his boot towards empty space where a certain midfielder's marauding run led to.

Austin was unmarked in the box!

A technical mistake, and Wydad AC regretted their mistake dearly as the Enyimba captain didn't make a mistake, rifling the ball into the net from point-blank range with his powerful right foot. The Wydad AC goalkeeper stood no chance.

"GOALLLL…!" Austin screamed at the top of his lungs, celebrating wildly as he run towards the corner flag with his teammates in tow.

Austin was always a good player, the heart of Enyimba FC but he was one of those players who you just get the feeling has a certain cap to their development.

But with Sam's arrival, this player exploded, peaking.

Austin already had highlight moments in his career, but none of them meant as much as this single moment, this was the CAF champions league final!

Scoring in today's game meant the world to him.

Running to the corner flag, the emotional captain slid on his knees, doing the hail Mary celebration before pointing his fingers to heaven in gratitude.

When his teammates arrived, they all hugged him, celebrating excitedly. At the end, Austin kissed Sam on the forehead. "God bless you Sam". He whispered in his ears, patting his head.

"Bless your full generation!" He said emotionally.

FWEEEE!

The game restarted.

That goal seemed to rattle some nerves as after a long time of sleeping, the Wydad AC players finally erupted like a slumbering Dragon that was finally awake.

For the next few minutes, they wrestled with Enyimba FC for ball superiority in their home but what they didn't account for was that this was not the scenario of a Dragon preying on a pig or a horse.

Rather, this was a situation of a Dragon fighting a battle to the death against a mythical Kraken who was in its prime.

Enyimba FC played like a mythical beast.

Wydad AC could only do so much to try wrestling for superiority over this game, and in the end, it was another moment of individual brilliance from one of the 2 Enyimba midfielders on top of their game that cut them open.

In the 42nd minute of the game, receiving the ball at the right side of the pitch, already in the zone state, Sam took one look, saw what he sought before whipping a deadly cross into the box.

Whoosh!

Like a hurricane, Emeka reacted with incredible agility and strength, bursting away from his markers before poking this perfect cross into the net past the despairing arms of the Wydad AC goalkeeper.

"F*ck!" The Wydad AC goalkeeper cursed, complaining loudly.

Emeka didn't care though, he was already whirling away in celebration even as the stadium was drowned by the cheers of the excited supporters.

"Zinedine Sam!"

"Zinedine Sam!"

"Zinedine Sam!"

Under all this noise, Sam felt on top of the world and it only made his blood boil even hotter. He was not satisfied yet, he wanted to do more.

'I want to do more!'

'Come on! I can do more!'

For the remaining minutes of the first half, led by him and Austin, they tortured the Wydad AC defense and in the 45th plus 2 minutes, Sam came closest as he wiped a lethal shot at goal only for it to bounce off the post for a corner kick.

Austin floated the corner kick in, Farouk rose highest, planting a firm header towards goal but the Wydad AC goalkeeper was at alert, calmly claiming the ball in the air. And immediately, this goalkeeper sprinted before throwing the ball long.

He started a counter-attack for his team!

'…!'

The Enyimba FC players noticed the threat immediately, tracking back.

Receiving the ball on the left wing, the tall Wydad AC player started a run, abusing his dizzying speed to rapidly eat yards of space till he arrived inside the box.

The Enyimba FC defenders closed him down but this winger didn't panic.

Cutting past the first defender to the right, he continued his run, cutting past the second defender to the same right before finally throwing a beautiful curled shot in with his right leg. Ojo went on a full stretch dive but it was not enough.

The ball curled past his reach, nestling into the embrace of the net.

1 counter-attack, 1 goal…

For a moment, Enyimba International Stadium was silenced.

2-1…, in the last minute of the first half.

The Wydad AC winger celebrated his goal passionately.

Less than a minute later, the players returned to the dressing room, the first half ended 2-1 in Eyimba FC's favor.