Harbinger Of Glory

Leo made it five minutes with the reporters before he managed to extricate himself, nodding once more at the cluster of microphones and then turning and walking before anyone could follow up.

McClean found him near the tunnel once Leo got out of the informative crowd.

He came out of nowhere, still in his matchday kit despite the red card sending him to the dressing room for the second half, and wrapped both arms around Leo before the latter had any warning, squeezing with the enthusiasm of a man who had been waiting to do this since the ninetieth minute.

”Can’t breathe,” Leo said, somewhere inside the embrace.

McClean released him slightly but kept his hands on Leo’s shoulders.

”You saved my ass,” he said.

Leo shook his head at that.

”That challenge shouldn’t have been a red. Everyone in that stadium knows it.”

”Still.” McClean shrugged, something shifting briefly in his expression.

”My team suffered for it.”

”We made the playoffs,” Leo said, waving the whole thing away with his hand.

”So forget it.”

McClean looked at him for a moment, then nodded and pulled him back in again briefly before letting go.

Then Thompson appeared.

Leo genuinely hadn’t seen him coming and had no time to prepare before his old coach, now the U21 coach, had both arms around him, shorter than McClean but somehow generating more force.

”That’s all it is,” Thompson said into Leo’s shoulder, laughing. ”That’s all it ever was. Just pass it into the net.”

Leo laughed despite himself. ”When did you even get here?”

”Does it matter?”

Leo shook his head at that before Thompson pointed him at his mates.

”Let’s join them,” he said.

The duo walked forward as the whole squad, together with some of the staff, gathered near the halfway line afterwards, filtering out from the tunnel and the stands and wherever else the evening had scattered them, and then they went around the DW together.

All of them.

They walked and jogged around the perimeter of the pitch while the crowd that hadn’t left yet sang back at them, the voices from the stands mixing with the floodlit air above the stadium.

Leo walked with his hands clasped behind his head, applauding sometimes while looking up at the terraces, and the terraces looked back at him and sang his name.

...

The articles were out before midnight, and by morning, they were everywhere.

Teenage Sensation Leo Calderon Fires Wigan Into Playoffs With Last-Gasp Free Kick

Calderon Magic Keeps Wigan’s Dream Alive

One Leg, One Moment, One Name: Leo Calderon

The comments underneath told their own story.

This kid has absolutely exceeded every expectation I had for this season.

To be honest, I asked what Wigan were doing, giving some Manchester academy reject 16,000 pounds a month, but we might have to bring that up. What he’s become is something else entirely. — WiganTillIDie_92

Honestly, if he hadn’t gotten injured in the thick of the season, we wouldn’t have needed this last-day drama. Still grateful, but let’s be real. — Latics-Acid

Agree. The injury cost us so much. But imagine what next season looks like with him fully fit for a whole campaign. And possibly in the Premier League too. I can’t help but get giddy at the thought of that— BlueAndWhiteForever.

Can someone explain to me why this kid isn’t at Manchester United right now? Serious question. — Red_dingdong_Devil

Is he on loan from United or something? I keep seeing he came through our academy or something like that! — Erik-ten-bald

He left on a free mate. United let him walk. And I must say that the free kick last night was class, though.— Zeronblack

Top talent like that should be in the Premier League. United are embarrassing themselves at this point. — Goncalo0110

....

While fans went at it online, the Wigan complex was just beginning to function.

The match from the previous day had granted the players a day off, and that meant that the staff at the complex could afford to file in later than usual as long as they got things done.

For those who were present, though, it was a whole different mood, and Dawson felt it the moment he parked his 2013 Peugeot 301 into the parking lot.

Two of the groundsmen were still talking about the free kick when Dawson passed them on his way through.

He nodded at them both and kept walking, the infectious mood spreading across as he responded to the various greetings on his way to his office, which was at the end of the east corridor.

When he got there, he pushed the door open, set his coffee down and then stood still for a moment, looking at his desk.

Three envelopes sat in a neat stack where there had been nothing yesterday.

One had a club letterhead he recognised, but the other two didn’t.

”What is this?” he said quietly, to the room before he began to reach for the one at the top!

...

Overview: How the Championship Playoffs Work

The Championship playoff system takes the teams finishing third through sixth at the end of the regular season.

The third-place team plays the sixth, and the fourth plays the fifth, in two-legged semi-finals, with the first leg away and the second at home for the higher-ranked side.

The aggregate score over both legs determines who advances.

The two semi-final winners then meet in a single match at Wembley Stadium where the winner of the playoff final earns the final promotion spot to the Premier League, joining the two teams who earned automatic promotion by finishing first and second in the Championship.

So since your boy Leo’s team Wigan, finished sixth, this means they would face the third-placed team in their semi-final.

[Just felt that I should put that here for some readers. Anyway, see you in the next Chapters! Also, thanks so much for the Golden Tickets. I am currently writing an exam so I will relegate the Golden Ticket Chapter to the weekends since I kind of need to revise.]