God Of football

Chapter 9: Imminent

”Wow, you can see that the boy in the no. 21 jersey is very good” someone in the crowd said. ”Yeah you can see that the match has turned in favour of the valencia youth after he came on” another added.

”Who is he by the way” another spectator commented. Komi who was heard all this wanted to scream to all of them that the boy was her son but she kept control of herself.

Hori who most at times seemed uninterested in whatever Izan was doing seemed to be really having fun. She however didnʼt keep quiet. ”Hey thats my brother” she said to one of the girls around her.

”Really,he looks handsome” a girl commented. ”Of course he is. Heʼs my brother after all ” hori said once again before the screams of the crowd brought her attention to the game again. This was because Izan had ball.

45ʼ

ʼ Izan who has been receiving a lot of love and cheers after he came on once again has the ball. He pushes forward laying the ball to no. 8 Sosà who takes a nice touch before returning the ball to Izan.

Izan takes the ball, driving forward,trying to go on one of those mazy runs heʼs been doing ever since he came on. Izan beats the player who stepped up to tackle him by a set of fast paced Stepovers.

Izan still with the ball driving through the heart of the defense of the Alborayan team. He slows down gauging what to do with the ball. He nudges the ball a bit before -oooooooo. What a beautiful goal by Izanʼ

***** {scenes on the pitch}

Coach Oryazabal moved a bit forward on the touchline after Izan stepped into the final third of the Alboryan team.

Before he could move again, Izan shot the ball into the back of the net from outside the 18 yard box.

Coach Oryazabal raised his hand in celebration. He was really having it hard since the start of the match but his worries seemed to have decreased ever since Izan steppedonto the pitch.

”That kid is really a gem”. Coach Oryazabal thought. Izan who had just scored went to the part of the stands where his mother and sister were sitting and bowed as a celebration.

Komi finally couldnʼt hold it in any longer,”thatʼs my son” she said whiles pointing to Izan. ”You have a wonderful son maʼam ” a person nearby said. ”I know , I know” Komi replied with tears in her eyes.

******

Fweee the referee restarted the match again.

ʼWhat a youth match this is. Its Alborya 2, Valencia youth 2ʼ the commentator said

The match continued for a while but this time the Alboraya team coach decided to park the bus. His team brought all the players to the back and played in an almost 8-2 with no strikers and 8 players at the back.

”Seems like he wants to settle for a draw ” Coach Oryazabal said . The Valencia team kept attacking and almost came close to scoring a number of times but it seemed that luck was not on their side as the ball sometimes missed the goalpost by mere centimetres.

******

[COMMENTATOR]

ʼThe Valencian players are giving it their all with shots and passes coming from left,right and centre but neither finding the back of the net.

If a match winner is going to be scored it got to be nowʼ said the commentator.

Just as he said that,Huèves Ramos from the valencia team got fouled on the edge of the penalty box.

The referee quickly called for a foul before showing a yellow card to the offender. Sosá picked the ball to take the freekick but suddenly stopped as he heard the coach trying to say something.

”Give the ball to Miura” he heard. Sosá although not happy about it ,knew from the freekick in that scribble match they played that Izan was a better freekick taker than him and he also knew the importance of the match.

He threw the ball to Izan who was a bit surprised because he hadnʼt heard what the coach said. ”Coach said take it” Sosá said. ”Oh” was all Izan could say.

He walked up to the spot the referee was indicating and put the ball on the spot. Izan took 3 steps back.

He breathed in and everything went silent. Izan made the run up and hit the right underside of the ball. The ball flew over the wall and spun like crazy before homing into the back of the net.

********

{Commentator POV}

ʼThe no. 8 Sosa seems to be the one whoʼs going to take the freekick, but wait he throws the ball to todayʼs star man Izan miura. Is he also good at setpieces too.

Wow if heʼs good at that too he will be a package of a player for the Valencia Football club as a whole. He puts the ball on the spot at the edge of the box. Izan making the run up, he hits!!!! ʼGoooaalazoʼ. ʼMaravillosoʼ. Oh woww. What a player. Valencia Fc seems to have hit the jackpot with this one. What a talentʼ

*******

Izan ran once again,but this time to the coaching area before jumping and hugging Coach Oryazabal.

”Thank you coach” Izan said . Those three words really resonated with Coach Oryazabal who thought” this kid , Its gonna be uphill from here for you”.

Ferran,the guy who had been told to keep tabs on Izan and report about his matches took his phone before dailing the number of Coach patricio Moreno.

”Heʼs really good. He started from the bench but came on and scored 2 goals and also gave an assist” he said after the call connected.

”Tell Oryazabal to promote him before our next match since the injury of Pietro seems to be long term and we are lacking replacements” Coach patricio said before ending the call. Ferran walked out of the stadium after the call.

*******

Fwee,fwee,fweeeeeee. The referee sounded the whistle bringing the match to an end. The players went around clapping and shaking the hands of the Alboraya players.

”You won today” said Alfo,the coach of the Alborya team. ”Guess I did ” Coach Oryazabal said whiles grinning. ”You have a hell of a player” he said while looking at Izan who was talking with Jose and Sosá.

” I know” Coach Oryazabal replied before walking off. The players entered the locker room and took their baths before Oryazabal came in. ”You guys played shitty today.

Well you did well during the second half and also the last minutes so Iʼll spare you the harsh talk since we won but never let this happen again.

Always start the match like its your last. You get me ” he said before the players replied with a barrage of ”yes coach”.

He looked at Izan and smiled before remembering what Coach Patricio had said after training that day which made him frown a bit. ”Well I canʼt clip his wings can I” he thought with a smirk.

”Ok so see you the day after tomorrow in training. Have a day off tomorrow” he added. The kids were happy for their day off and thanked the coach before packing and leaving.

”Aaawww miura. Are you a football genius” Komi said as she hugged Izan. ”Muuum ” Izan said.

Komi not letting go off the opportunity pulled Hori who didnʼt like these things, in for a family hug.

The kids stopped protesting and enjoyed the hug. The ride home was all Komi and Hori talking as Izan had slept.

********

After the match

”What” Coach Oryazabl said. ”He wants me to promote him before the under-19s next match.” Coach Oryazabal said looking a bit sad. ”But isnʼt it too soon, I mean heʼs 14” said coach Oryazabal said.

After a back and forth between the person on the phone he finally gave up and ended the call. Although he had known Izan for a short while , he had grown attached to the kid. ”Haaah” he sighed before walking out of his office.

*******

The match was played on a Friday so Izan slept in and woke up at 9. He immediately went down and drank some milk before doing a set of yoga poses. Feeling sweaty after he finished the yoga routine he went out not wanting the sweat to dry off to complete his daily task.

●●●●●●

”Ding”[congratulations to the host for scoring and providing his first goal and assist].

System rewards: 10 stat points and recovery drug.

”Ding”[daily task completed]

+2 stats point and 300 lps

Izan looked at the message before opening his personal tab.

●●●●●●●●●

PLAYER INFO

■■■■■■■■■

NAME:[IZAN MIURA HERNANDEZ]

AGE:[14]

HEIGHT:[1.78m(5ʼ10)]

PROFESSION:[FOOTBALLER]

STATUS:[YOUTH PLAYER]

TEAM: [Valencia Youth Academy FC]

SYSTEM EVALUATION: [Youth prospect]

PLAYER RATING:[64/100]

POSITION:[Wing forward/Attacking midfielder]

POTENTIAL:[87]

LEGEND POINTS:[5900/10,000 to lv3]

STAT POINTS:[2]+14>[16]

STATS

■■■■

Speed:70

Body control:60

Spatial awareness: 64[+4]

Technique: 63

Shooting:62

Passing: 61[+1]

Body strength:64

Weak foot strength: 3 stars

Skill move :4 stars

SKILLS POSSESSED

■■■■■■■■■■■■

Stepovers:85% Completion

La croqueta:50% completion

Cruyff turn:70%Completion

Roulette: 50% Completion

Izan decided to further upgrade his passing and body control stat. He clicked on passing before it displayed:

Passing:61

■■■■■

Short passing:61

Long passing: 60

Crossing:60

Izan added 2 stat point to short passing increasing it to 63 before adding 3 stat points to both Long passing and crossing increasing both of those to 63 too.

Passing:63

■■■■■

Short passing:63

Long passing: 63

Crossing:63

Izan then moved onto his body control stat to distribute the remaining 8 stat points.

Body control :61

■■■■■■■

Agility :65

Jumping :56

Reations:56

Balance:60

Izan added 4 stat points to both jumpimg and reactions to briny all his stats to body control attributes to the 60 mark.

Body control :62

■■■■■■■

Agility :65

Jumping :56[+4]>60

Reations:56[+4]>60

Balance:60

STATS

■■■■

Speed:70

Body control:60[+2]>62

Spatial awareness: 64[+4]

Technique: 63

Shooting:62

Passing: 62[+1]>63

Body strength:64

”Ding”[host rating upgraded from 64>65]

Izan saw that had rating had improved but not much. He decided that from now on he would stockpile on stat points so that he would upgrade to a higher rating all at once.

Izan went home after distributing his stat points and used the B grade recovery drug he had been given by the system.

He bathed and went down for his brunch. Izan was chilling all day when his motherʼs phone rang.

Izan picked up the phone and saw an unknown caller id.

He handed the phone to his mom before returning his attention to the TV. ”Hello ” Komi said. ”Ahhh Miuraʼs coach”. This drew the attention Izan for a moment. After his mom talked on the phone for a while,

”Ok Iʼll tell him” Komi said before ending the call. ”Well what did he say” Izan asked. ”He said you should meet him the day after tomorrow to discuss something about a promotion” Komi said before sitting on the couch . ”Oh ok” Izan said before it sunk in.

”Wait What”!!!