God Of football

Chapter 61: Clutch player

After dinner, Izan and Miranda proceeded to talk about the travel arrangements. If nothing happened, they would proceed with the arrangements as planned.

After talking with Mirànda, Izan went upstairs as he had received a message from Olivia when he was talking with Miranda.

Izan, after entering his room, called Olivia. The call rang, but no one picked up. Izan called again after the first didn’t go through.

”Hey Olivia” Izan said after the call connected. ”Hi, Izan; I called and texted, but you didn’t reply, so I thought you were busy,” Olivia said.

”I wasn’t that busy. I was discussing a few things with my agents when I saw your text, and I decided to call when I was done,” Izan said.

”Um, okay,” Olivia said. ”How was your day,” Izan asked Olivia. ”Same as always. This is my first year, so nothing much really goes on, ” Olivia answered.

”How was yours,” Olivia asked Izan after she answered his question. ”Boring, since you are not here,”, Izan said.

”You sweet talker” Olivia jabbed. ”It seems you are getting more and more confident” Olivia added. ”Well, my confidence is you so..” Izan said intentionally, leaving the last part vague.

Izan, after saying this, could hear Olivia giggling from the other side.” That’s so cheesy” she said whilst laughing again.

”Well, love makes people all sorts of things. It makes people cheesy and corny. It can also make people crazy” Izan went about in a monologue.

”Uhh, what are you, cupid?” Olivia asked. Izan smiled at Olivia’s words as the latter seemed to be enjoying herself.

The two talked for a while as both seemed to like the company of each other. Izan, who felt good, suddenly dropped a bomb on Olivia.

”Hey, liv. I like you” Izan said. After Izan spoke, he was expecting a reaction but nothing came out of the phone.

Olivia, after torturing Izan for a bit, finally spoke, ”I know, and it took a long time for you to realise it. I like you too” Olivia also spoke.

”I knew you were a sugar mommy type of girl, but I didn’t expect you to prove me right,” Izan said with a laugh.

”Go away,” Olivia said with a slight blush. What does love have to do with age anyway? As long as both participants consent to it, it doesn’t matter.

[Of course excluding Pedophilia. We don’t want no case like diddy]

Izan and Olivia talked for a while before the two kissed each other goodbye, signalling the end of the call.

Izan, who knew tomorrow’s training was going to be tough, quickly succumbed to the temptations of sleep and drifted off into the night.

The training the following day was tough as expected. Izan, who had performed this training at almost triple the rate of others, felt the drain on his stamina.

After the training, Izan proceeded to take a bath. After the bath, Izan followed his teammates and started heading towards the conference room.

The players, led by Coach Baraja proceeded to review tactics for their next match. After a while, the team sheets were placed on the board.

The players who were left out of games all rushed to see if the Coach had put them in. Most were, however disappointed as only 3 players got in.

Izan, who saw this, realised how he had taken the system for granted. He got a system which helped him improve and now he’s a hot prospect.

What’s to say that these guys wouldn’t do better than him if they got what he had gotten since he had no talent, to begin with?

”You got on the sheet, but you are probably going to be on the bench”, Gaya said after he returned from checking the sheet.

”Well it is what it is,” Izan said shruggingly before heading towards the locker room. After changing into his clothes, Izan picked up his gear and started heading home.

A day passed and matchday finally arrived. Izan, who found himself on the bench, looked on as the match started.

Under the floodlights on a cool evening, the stadium buzzed with energy as fans filled the stands, waving flags and chanting.

The atmosphere in the stadium was terrifying. Valencia was playing away from home today, and they needed to be in their best mindset.

After preparing for the match, the players soon headed out of the tunnel and cane onto the pitch. A few seconds of club anthems would follow before the referee started the match.

After the start of the match, both teams took to the field, each side determined to assert their dominance from the kickoff. The first half was intense, with quick passes, sharp tackles, and a few narrow misses.

Valencia controlled much of the possession, pressing high and creating chances, but the opposition goalkeeper was in top form, denying any breakthrough.

The exciting back and forth brought the fans to the edge of their seats. Both teams, however, couldn’t find the back of the net as the match headed into the second half.

Coach Baraja, after the first half, didn’t change much. A few words of encouragement were, however, said to the players.

Rallied by Coach Baraja’s words, the Valencia players headed to the tunnel with newfound vigour, but the opponents also brought their vigour to match Valencia’s.

The referee, after the players returned, blew his whistle to signify the start of the first half. After the restart, Valencia came close to scoring on multiple occasions and was only denied by the post or the good reflexes of the Alaves keeper.

Izan, sitting on the bench, started staring at the clock. Just 5 minutes had passed after the start of the second half.

”This won’t do”, Izan thought before proceeding to run simulations with the aid of the system function. Izan, who spent 200 simulation points, sat in the space for a while trying to come up with ways to instantly make an impact when he came on.

Coach Baraja, who turned to look at Izan, saw the latter staring in a daze. Following Izan’s line of sight, he found that Izan was looking at the clock.

”This kid cares for the club”, he thought, misunderstanding the situation.

As the second half continued, the tempo rose. Alaves found new momentum, launching counter-attacks and testing Valencia’s defence.

In the 65th minute, a swift pass from their winger cut through the back line, and a well-placed shot with precision from the striker was all that was needed to pull Deportivo Alaves ahead.

The Valencia fans booed the opponents whilst encouraging their players. With time ticking down, the home team responded aggressively.

In the 77th minute, after a corner kick created chaos in the box, Valencia midfielder, Pietro volleyed the ball into the net from a loose ball, levelling the score and electrifying the stadium.

The Valencia Coaches and players all went frantic after their team equalised. The fans were also happy that their team scored.

At least they were not going to lose. ”Moreno, tell Izan to Warm up,” Baraja said after he finished celebrating.

Coach Moreno told Izan, and within a few minutes, the latter was on the touchline. The ball went out for a throw after Izan stood on the touchline for a couple of minutes and finally came on in the 83rd minute.

The Valencia fans who saw Izan coming on started smiling.” It seems like we’ve won”thought all the Valencia Fans around the stadium after Izan came on.

Izan, after coming on, switched with Daniel Lopez and started playing on the wing. Just moments after coming on, Izan was faced with a one-on-one on the wing.

Taking advantage of the opponent’s complacency, Izan quickly sidestepped the opponent when he tried to slide in a tackle.

Izan, after getting to the byline, sent a cross into the box, which was met in the air by the timely header of Alaves’ Defender.

The Valencia fans around the stadium all sighed to show their disappointment. After a while, regular time was finally over before the referee decided to add 3 minutes to the game.

Izan, after getting the ball in the middle, played a one-two pass with Mouctar Diakhbay before continuing on his ran.

With subtle shifts and balances, Izan moved swiftly across the pitch. With fluid movements and his electrifying pace, Izan cut through the pitch before coming to the edge of the penalty box.

With a feint to the right, Izan drew the opponent’s defence towards him, creating space on the left which was soon occupied by Gaya.

Izan, who saw Gaya, sent a pass to the left. The opponent players who saw the direction of Izan’s pass all tried to follow the ball but it proved too late as Gaya sent the ball into the box.

Hugo Duro who found the low cross coming his way, slid into the path of the ball. The ball, after coming in contact with Hugo Duro entered the net sending the Valencia fans into a frantic state.

The players proceeded to celebrate as they had fought hard for this match.

A/n: Have another one.