Rise of a Football God

The moment that Sam collapsed on the pitch, the Enyimba International Stadium as a whole seemed to come to a standstill.

The fans were petrified, horrified by thoughts of the worst-case scenario.

Fortunately, and unfortunately for them, Sam did suffer an injury but it was not as serious as they feared. It was a regular knee injury and after a month or 2 of rehabilitation, Sam would be fit again to kick a football, barring complications.

Immediately after the game, while Plateau United celebrated an historic victory in their bitter rival's home stadium, the Enyimba FC fans instead flooded social media with support for their star attacking midfielder.

Not just on social media, a troop of fans also marched to the general hospital where Sam was admitted, showing their support in their own unique ways.

They carried different banners with them.

(Sam, we love you!)

(You'll always be Zinedine Sam to us! Remember that no matter what happens, we the fans are here for you, we love you!)

(Get well soon champ! You're stronger than this!)

(Can't wait to see you on the pitch again, much love man!)

Among the group of supporters was a small girl who carried a banner that was bigger than her. Sitting on her dad's shoulders, she held the banner.

(Sam, thank you for playing for my daddy's club, you made my dad happy and I'm happy too. Please recover fast, I want my dad to be happy!)

When the Moses family finally arrived in Abia State, arriving at the Aba General Hospital, they quickly discovered that they were not the first to come.

Seeing dozens of fans gathered outside the hospital premises with support banners for her son, Mrs. Moses was flabbergasted.

Watching her son collapse on the pitch, this woman almost had a heart attack and immediately, she started blaming her village people and haters. She even broke down in tears, blaming herself for letting him play football.

She agitated for the whole family to go meet her son in the hospital. Mr. Moses had to take permission from his work place before taking his family on his car. On arriving now though, she was left speechless.

She looked at her husband. "Is… this normal?"

Mr. Moses shrugged. "It's not normal here in Nigeria but in Europe and European clubs, fans show their support to their star players when they're injured".

"Wow!" She was amazed.

In the end, they didn't know who recognized them but among the fans, but one of them recognized them. "It's Sam's family, that's her mom!"

Some of the fans approached them, spooking the middle-aged woman.

"Here," a little boy of maybe 5 or 6 years old handed a food flask to her. "I begged my mom to make my favorite food for Sam. Please give it to him, it'll help him recover faster".

Staring this boy in the eye and seeing the look on his face, Mrs. Moses was amazed, she could not bring herself to reject the boy. She took the food flask.

"Promise me you'll give the food to him".

"…"

"Please".

"Ok". She nodded, and smiled, surprisingly. "I'll give it to him".

"Tell him to get well soon!" Happier now, the boy said with a grin.

Mrs. Moses smiled, and then, surprisingly, she addressed the fans. "Don't worry, Sam is fine. The doctor said he suffered a knee injury, my husband told me that it's normal in football, I think". She shrugged.

"Don't worry," her smile widened. "His mother is here now; I'll take care of my son so he'll recover soon enough".

"Thank you, ma'am".

Being the recipient of so much attention and love, Mrs. Moses felt weird. Her son was injured but somehow, she felt on top of the world, it was a strange feeling.

Walking into the hospital alongside her family, her mood already changed, she had a cheeky grin on her face.

Mr. Moses coughed, stealing a glance at his wife. "Are you truly my wife? Are you sure you're not an impostor?"

"Who was the one screaming and wailing that her son is dead, how come you're smiling all of a sudden?"

Mrs. Moses glared at her husband.

He coughed again. "I'm just saying".

"Shut up!" She snapped.

Throughout, Sophia never said a word. She was tensed during the journey from Delta State here but after the experience outside the hospital, this girl was now giddy, she could not wait to meet her brother.

Entering the hospital, Mrs. Moses led the way and walked directly past Coach Yemi Daniel without even sparing the coach a glance.

"Hey," the coach ended up dropping his hand awkwardly.

Mr. Moses apologized. "Don't mind my wife, she gets like that sometimes".

"I understand". Coach Yemi chuckled. "It's her son we're talking about after all, women get emotional, she carried him in her womb for 9 months".

Mr. Moses grinned. "Thank you, coach". He said seriously. "You joining him personally to the hospital, it means a lot to me, I appreciate it".

Coach Yemi Daniel scratched his hair. "It's partly my fault that he got injured, so you know, my conscience could not let me leave him alone".

"I'm glad". Mr. Moses smiled, and then, he joined his family inside.

Inside, Sam was already awake, already wolfing down on the food that the little fan outside gave to him.

Mr. Moses was flabbergasted as he glared at his wife. "Sarah! Really?! You really gave him the food?"

"That was a random fan outside, what if the food was poisoned?"

Mrs. Moses waved her hand dismissively, staring at her husband with that 'are you dense' gaze. "You really think that sweet boy will poison our son?" She shook her head. "You really are a man, you think like bulls at times, leave this to the women".

"…" Mr. Moses was left speechless.

He opened and closed his mouth, in the end, he simply walked up to his son. "Hey champ, how are you feeling?"

Sam grinned. "I feel great!"

While they had family time, Coach Yemi Daniel left outside to meet the group of reporters that were waiting for him due to the fan reception outside.

He was going to give an interview.