Second Chances: Indonesian Football Player

Chapter 80's

"Yeah, you can be the greatest, you can be the best

You can be the King Kong bangin' on your chest

You can beat the world

You can win the war

You can talk to God, go bangin' on his door..."

Nero penned the unreleased Script 'Hall of Fame' lyrics as he sat on the bus heading to Skonto Hall with his other teammates.

That afternoon RSCA Youth Academy will face VfB Stuttgart in the Riga Cup final.

The night before, he had thought he would only get more nervous as the match got closer. Even in his previous life, he always felt uneasy and tense before the match.

But surprisingly, he woke up that morning in a very calm, peaceful, and in tune with the world. A good sleep calmed his nerves. He never felt more ready to perform.

"That's a great song you're singing" commented Stefan Kvennson. He sat next to her in the furthest seat behind the bus. "Who's the artist?"

"The Script and Will.i.am," Nero answered without thinking.

"Gee!" Stefan tilted his head, giving him a curvy look. "Are you playing me? I'm Will.i.am's biggest fan, but I've never heard that song on his album!"

"Oh!" Nero's confused. He was about to argue but suddenly stopped when an understanding emerged in his mind. The song has not been released or even made.

"Oh, it's my fault," she lied, a shy smile adorning her face. "I mixed up the artist's name. Maybe I heard it on one of the TV shows I watched. I think it might be a soundtrack. I really don't remember." Words came out of his mouth at the speed of a machine gun as he tried to correct his mistake. She didn't want Stefam to start thinking she was weird after the song came out a few months later.

He liked the song in his previous life because listening to it gave him a feeling of accomplishment even when he failed to succeed in his sports career. It inspired him to dream that he could achieve the impossible even after he reached the lowest point in his previous life. In his new life, before the cup final, the song seemed fitting. He began to sing the song reflexively.

"Perhaps, we can try Shazaming," Stefan said, taking out his phone. "I'd really like to download it and add it to my collection." The Norwegian seems intent enough to figure out the title of his new song.

Nero cursed himself inwardly for being careless with his knowledge of the future. Nonetheless, he looked at Stefan with the sharpest gaze before saying: "Do you really want to look for music when the match is only an hour away?"

"Oh! Sorry captain," he replied in a gentle tone, putting his phone back in his pocket. "I'm not thinking straight. I will stay focused on the match. I won't let anything distract me."

Nero nodded, finally relaxing. He made a mental note to remember his words in the future to avoid leaking any information that should not have been available in that period.

He spent the remaining fifteen minutes traveling by bus in silence, his eyes closed, his mind focused only on the match. His mind reached a state of calmness that translated into a gentle smile on his lips. He doesn't know for sure if they will win the final, but he is very optimistic and ready to play. He wants to get out of the game without regrets.

A few minutes later, the bus stopped in the parking lot of Skonto Hall. Nero picked up his bag, got off the bus, and followed his team-mates and other technical staff into the indoor stadium.

**** ****

"Hurry up and change your warm-up shirt" Coach Marcel said as soon as they arrived in the dressing room. "We only have forty-five minutes left. So, hurry up."

Twenty minutes later, the RSCA Youth Academy players had finished their warm-up and returned to the dressing room. After fifteen more minutes, they had finished wearing their dark blue T-shirts, shin guards, and boots and listened to his last minute instructions.

Since he had already devised the game plan and all the tactics on the previous day, he had only given a little bit of encouragement. He reminded the early players of their position in the new formation and warned them to stay focused throughout the game before sending them out of the dressing room. He has done his best to prepare the players for the final. The rest is up to them.

**** ****

"Good afternoon everyone!" The commentator spoke in condensed English. "Today, we are here to bring you minute-by-minute comments on the Riga Cup final between the Belgian RSCA Youth Academy and the German VfB Stuttgart Youth team. I'm Ricardo Andres, working for the sports magazine, Mundial. I'm here with my colleague, Mr. Vincent McManaman."

"Good afternoon everyone!" Vincent, another commentator, speaks with an accent Bella cannot pronounce.

"On the one hand, we have one of the best young teams in Germany. While the RSCA Youth Academy, a team that has never reached the final of the Riga Cup, is on the other side." Ricardo, the first commentator, read. "Mr Vincent, what do you think of those two teams?"

"Well, we all know that VfB Stuttgart are a pretty tough team. They destroyed all the teams in their group and then beat tough teams like Atletico Madrid in the knockout stages. They are a stronger team on paper because they have Timo Werner, top scorer, Joshua Kimmich, top-performing midfielder, and many other skilled players in their starting line-up. My money is there for them."

"RSCA Youth Academy, on the other hand, has Nero Juniar. I have to admit that he is probably the best player in the tournament. But, as we have seen, he mostly carries his own team. If VfB Stuttgart's players can manage it, then they will definitely win the game."

Ricardo Andres, another commentator, laughed. "So, the main question in this game remains: Can VfB Stuttgart control the dangerous game of Nero?"

Bella continued to listen to the pre-match analysis by the two commentators until cheers burst out at the stadium. The players and three match officials finally entered the field. The Riga Cup final will start in a few minutes.

**** ****

*PRIIIIIIITTTTTTT*

Referee blows whistle kick-off sign. Bjorn does not linger in the middle of the circle. He lifted his foot and immediately kicked the ball towards Nero in midfield.

In an instant, Nero measured the situation on the field with A+ spatial awareness as he controlled the ball. At that moment, he saw three VfB Stuttgart players, dressed in white, quickly approach him. They are fast and will catch up to him in seconds.

But he did not panic. In her peripheral vision, she sees Ryandi and Stefan running on each other's wings, piercing into VfB Stuttgart's body parts.

He raised his leg and released a sweeping pass towards Ryandi's path on the left wing. And, without bothering to check if Ryandi had the ball, he started running towards the VfB Stuttgart penalty box.

The unexpected long-distance feed left the VfB Stuttgart players unconscious. Looks like they thought Nero would dribble instead of passing the ball. Moreover, it is still the first minute of the match. All the players are still not ready and are suffering from delayed reaction times. So, the pass went to the right-wing RSCA Youth Academy, succeeding without a hitch.

Ryandi mastered the ball beautifully with his chest and instantly cut inside the field, like the wind. Phillipp Mwene, the left-back of VfB Stuttgart, immediately came to close it.

However, Ryandi did not try to dribble past him but released a flat cut-back pass, heading towards Nero in the middle of the field.

Nero controlled the ball without stopping his sprint. He then dribbled past a defender, who appeared in front of him, making a yard of space for himself. He then proceeded to the VfB Stuttgart penalty box.

It was a lightning-fast attack in the first minute of the Riga Cup final.

The players of VfB Stuttgart seem to be well aware of the danger that Nero brings. They compressed their formation, trying to deny it any space to attack through the middle.

However, in doing so, they left a gap in the left wing. Simon Wilske, the right-back of VfB Stuttgart, has moved into the middle to help defend against Nero, leaving Stefan unguarded.

However, Nero did not immediately release the ball. He kept running towards the defenders, distracting them from Stefan, on the left wing. And when they all thought they had cornered him, he dug his left shoe under the ball and flicked it over their heads, into the penalty box.

He had arranged his feed time perfectly. All the defenders were shocked, leaving Stefan unattended with the ball in the box.

Stefan showed his greatness. He made use of a brilliant pass and calmly fired the first shot into the bottom right corner.

1:0.

In the first minute, the RSCA Youth Academy, which was not seeded, managed to get the first score, even before the fans had time to warm up for the match. The stadium exploded into a thunderous roar.