Rise of a Football God

The mood in the Enyimba FC camp was well, depressing.

In the dressing room, the players sat, resting their backs helplessly and this time, even Coach Yemi Daniel was sprawled at a corner of this dressing room, also seated. This coach threw a glance at his players, but the sight made him sigh.

He felt weak for the first time in a long time.

What was there to say?

The facts were laid out before them, Manchester City swept them aside like a hurricane and they were just not resilient enough to withstand the storm.

Thinking of the imposing blonde striker, this coach gritted his teeth, then he sighed again. 'We tried our best'.

He had no words to say to his players.

Should he motivate them? 3 goals down already courtesy of the incredible hattrick from Erling Haaland, and against a team with Manchester City's defensive record, he saw no way of his team coming back into the game.

Besides, Pep Guardiola did an incredible job, coming up with such a tight-knit tactical formation that Coach Yemi Daniel saw no loopholes to exploit.

Austin and Sam sat beside each other in the dressing room and at this moment, alongside their teammates, they were also seated, resting their backs.

The mood was truly depressing.

Austin touched Sam. "Hey," he inclined his head to look at him, smiling slightly. "Did you see that through pass from KDB?"

He looked down. "I only used to watch him do those through TV before, to watch it live, on the same pitch with him, it's an honor honestly".

"Honestly, I'm satisfied with bowing out with just that alone".

He looked at Sam again. "I mean, we tried our best, we exceeded expectations and that's enough for me".

Sam looked at his captain, he shook his head. "We really exceeded expectations, yes, but I'm not satisfied yet".

Sam took a deep breath, and then he stood up, his eyes gleaming as he stared round at his teammates.

Noticing him stand up, the others paid attention to him, including the coach.

Under all their gazes, Sam felt a bit tense but he conveniently ignored it. He raised a finger for emphasis. "All we need is one goal".

"Trust me, that's all we need to get back into this game".

"I don't care what you believe in, just believe in me one more time, tonight. Remember last season?" He grinned. "In the CAF champions league, they said we couldn't do it, but we did!"

"It's because you trusted in me, don't wilt now because it's Man City".

"For just 45 more minutes, please trust me". The look in his eyes showed just how serious he was. "Whenever you get the ball, pass to me, pass to me in good positions and let me do the rest".

"Just one goal, please".

"Come on!" He clapped.

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"COME ON!" Sam riled his teammates up till they felt their bloods churning again. "It's not over yet guys, we've still got 45 minutes!"

"It's just a 3-goal lead".

He grinned. "Even if we go down in the end, let's go down fighting!"

"Let's go out there and give the best team in the world hell!"

That was all that the Enyimba FC players needed, they felt their bloods boiling hot again like an inferno as they soon stepped out into the pitch again for the second half. The momentum was still full Man City in the stadium.

The Man City players were in a great mood, and their fans were loud but the Enyimba FC players no longer cared about all that.

If they were going down, they would go down fighting.

FWEEEE!

Manchester City kicked off the second half.

And straight from the 45th minute, led by Sam's aggressive press, Enyimba FC came out with even more intensity than the first half, running all over the pitch.

The full Enyimba FC team became reckless.

"Come on, we can do it!"

Austin was the captain but at this moment, on the pitch, Sam felt like the true captain as he got into the head of his teammates, leading them like a war General leading his troops to sure death for a kamikaze attack.

His troops didn't need to know that it was a kamikaze attack though, all they needed to know was the orders and how to execute them to perfection.

The Enyimba FC squad became incredibly reckless, pressing the ball with incredible intensity. Their tactic paid off as for 20 minutes, neither team had a clear sight at goal, the score line remaining 3-0 till the 65th minute.

Even at this stage, exhausted, the Enyimba FC players still ran themselves to the ground, pressing with incredible intensity.

Even Coach Yemi Daniel was shocked at his team's energy on the pitch.

Any other team subjected to this intense press would have likely buckled under the intense pressure from the Nigerian players but this was Manchester City.

Stealing the ball again just after Enyimba FC won it back in the midfield, Rodri passed to the press-resistant Bernardo Silva.

Receiving the ball towards the right, Bernardo Silva twisted and turned like a slippery eel, drawing the opposition in and leaving Enyimba FC players on the ground before playing a safe pass to Kevin De Bruyne.

KDB took only one touch of the ball, hitting it with the outside of his boot towards the right wing as soon as Bernardo Silva passed to him and the right wing was where Phil Foden lurked.

There, Phil Foden took one touch of the ball, rushing into the Enyimba FC 18-yard box before taking a clean shot.

The lean forward rifled the ball into the roof of the net, leaving Ojo stunned.

4-0 to Manchester City.

Phil Foden whirled off to the corner flag before sliding on his knees in celebration after putting his team 4-0 up in the 66th minute of the game.

Besides, Kevin De Bruyne just racked up an incredible tally of 3 assists in this game alone, a hattrick of assists.

"F*ck!" A riled-up Austin reacted, slamming his fists on the pitch in frustration as he threw a look at Sam.

The look he saw in Sam's eyes though shocked this player.

'H-he hasn't given up yet?!'

Sam's eyes were red, still determined, still gleaming with incredible focus. Austin was shocked. 'This boy!'

And then he rose up again, clapping. "Come on! We can still do it!"

FWEEEE!

When the referee's whistle sounded, the Enyimba FC players kept on giving their best even as Man City's game intensity reduced again.

The Enyimba FC players tried to take advantage but it was hard when you were going up against a defense comprising Ruben Dias, John Stones, and Manuel Akanji, all 3 of the best defenders in the world.

But then, in the 73rd minute of the game, against the run of play, it happened.

Farouk won back the ball before passing to Sam immediately like the attacking midfielder wanted.

As soon as Sam's leg touched the ball, he felt electricity course through him, making his eyes gleam, his brain taking in all the situation on the pitch before him.

Bernardo Silva rushed in but flicking the ball up, Sam skipped past this player, and then…, while the ball still floated in the air, Sam's right leg swung with power from outside the 18-yard box, executing a knuckle ball shot.

BOOM!

The sound was like that of a missile as his right leg hit the ball, sending it towards the top left corner of the post with incredible power.

The ball rose up high above the post before dipping back down, into the net.

Ederson dived but it was not enough, the ball nestled into the net.

"GOALLLL!" Sam screamed, jumping and planting his feet down furiously while pumping his fists excitedly as more adrenaline flowed, evidence of finally venting some pent-up frustration since.

And immediately after, he did it.

~----~

[You have accessed ability card: Shoot it like Lewy!]

[Card Effects:]

>This card can only be used within a minute after scoring a goal. Once used, for the next 10 minutes, your positioning, shooting technique, and shot power are amplified, granting you an 80% chance of scoring with every shot that you take<

…

[You have made use of ability card: Shoot it like Lewy!]

~----~

The look in Sam's eyes… changed.