Become A Football Legend-Chapter 27: Strikes

As Lukas lay on his bed, he thought about the reason for the meeting with Marco. He already had a good idea why, but he couldn’t predict the level at which he would debut..

After his performance against the U19 team, he felt he was good enough to play at the U19 level. But a single game doesn’t prove much. And since that game was a friendly between teams of the same academy, it proves even less.

At least he was sure he could get a chance to start on the U19 team, but what awaited him the next day was far more surprising.

* * *

The next day, June 18th, 2024.

Lukas was on the pitch at the Riederwald Academy training with the U17s.

The forwards and midfielders were working on their finishing from just outside the box.

The assistant coach stood just beside the goalpost. He would give them a ground pass, and they had to finish it in one touch.

Each player got three trials, and the goalkeeper would be switched if any particular player scored all 3.

The first player to go, was Philip. He was the original set-piece taker for the U17 team because his ability to strike from outside the box was phenomenal when compared to his teammates.

FWEEE*

The assistant coach’s whistle blew as he passed the ball towards Philip.

Philip took a short curving run-up as he met the ball violently with the inside of his boot.

THWACK*

The net rippled as the ball hit its roof with force. The goalkeeper stood no chance.

His second attempt was almost similar. He hit it with the same speed, and this time the ball flew to the bottom right corner.

But the goalkeeper wasn’t about to be replaced by the first shooter. He threw himself to the floor as he stretched out his hand as much as possible.

His fingers got to the ball just as it got to the goal line.

A slight deflection wasn’t enough as the ball’s power took it in still.

"YESSS!!" Philip screamed as he pumped his fist.

Lukas was watching with a grin. He was gonna go next and was already thinking about how and where to shoot.

Philip’s technique for his third attempt was no different from the first two. He struck the ball like it owed him money, but this time he was unable to keep it down as the ball sailed over the bar slightly.

He threw his hands on his head and mimicked falling to the floor, crying while the goalkeeper ran around the goal post with his hands up like he had just saved a World Cup final penalty.

"Lukas, you’re up next!" The assistant shouted from his position.

This caught the attention of the head coach, as well as the defensive players who were training with him.

Lukas stepped out from the group where he was watching Philip’s performance.

He stood about five feet behind the semi-circle on the outside of the 18-yard box.

FWEEE*

The whistle came, then the ball followed.

Lukas arched his body to the left, took a few steps forward, and met the ball with the inside of his right boot.

The contact was so silent, it was as if he had caressed the ball. It was the complete opposite of the technique Phillip used.

The ball arched through the air as it headed for the top right corner.

The goalkeeper dived.

Much like the sound the ball made when Lukas hit it, the ball hugged the net as it went in, completely quiet.

It was like Lukas was giving a lesson on control instead of power. The ball wasn’t as fast as Philip’s, but it was hit with deadly accuracy.

"That was nice," Christian murmured.

"I could do that," Philip said, standing beside him.

"Yeah? But you decided to send a pass to Pele instead."

The group chuckled at Christian’s joke but stopped as Lukas’ second trial came.

The ball came his way the same way the first did — flat and driven.

He mimicked his first run-up, curving his run to the left as he raised his right leg like he was about to curl it to the top right corner once more.

The goalkeeper bit the feint as he subconsciously moved to ready himself for the dive.

What came instead was a ground shot from the inside of his right foot. Right back at the left side of the goal, where the pass from the coach had come from.

The shot skidded towards the goal with ferocity. It kissed the left goal post before banging the metal railing that held the net to the ground at the back of the post.

The goalkeeper wasn’t left wrong-footed. He didn’t even move as the ball went past him.

If Lukas’ first shot was to showcase his ability to curl the ball, the second showed his ability to hit an accurate strike and keep it down.

"Ooff, I gotta admit, he fooled me too," Philip said as he watched Lukas.

"Yeah, of course he did. I knew all along, though." Christian teased as he nudged him in his back.

"Yeah, right."

After the training, Lukas’ third and final attempt would be described as "beautiful to watch."

The pass from the assistant coach had hit a marble on the ground, which caused the ball to bounce a bit as it got to him. It wasn’t as clean a ground pass as the previous two passes.

Lukas didn’t run — he didn’t need to.

He twisted his body to the left as he balanced himself to strike it with his left foot.

Just as the ball wobbled toward him, he met it cleanly just as it was about to leave the ground. The strike was directly through his laces, down the middle of the ball.

The ball rocketed to the bottom left corner of the goal. It stayed just off the pitch’s grass by what seemed like a hair’s width margin as it rocketed into the net, like a homage to Thiago’s famous goal.

The goalkeeper stood no chance whatsoever.

Lukas just stood with his hands on his waist as he watched the ball strike the net. He knew he had hit it very cleanly and was sure the keeper wasn’t getting to it.

Coach Sebastian stared at Lukas, impressed. The other players, however, were more than ’impressed.’

They had just seen a 15-year-old boy do something they knew they couldn’t do.

"Can you do that too?" Christian asked Philip as he tried to stop himself from laughing. frёewebηovel.cѳm

Philip gave a bitter smile as he sat down on the ground. He didn’t even have the strength to respond to Christian anymore.

"Not bad, eh?" Javi whispered to Marco. They were standing just outside the administrative building as they watched Lukas train.

They had both come with him to discuss his contract with the club. Although Javi wasn’t aware, he had guessed that was the reason the club wanted him present, but he wasn’t completely sure and didn’t want to raise his hopes just to be disappointed.

"Not bad? That was wonderful!" Javi exclaimed as he beamed with joy at his son’s skills.

"Why does it feel like every time I watch him recently, he keeps getting even better than before?" He asked Marco.

"Because he’s a star in the making!" Marco responded, his eyes bulging with excitement.

"Calm down, why do you seem even more excited than I am?"

"You won’t understand, Javi, but your son is currently above the level of an academy player. His career can only go up from here, and I’m curious to hear what Richter would say."

"Richter? Who’s that?"

"He’s the Academy Manager. He is the one who asked for us today."

Javi smiled as he heard Marco’s explanation. There was no need to second-guess himself anymore—it was a contract proposal.

A/N: Late Chapter today. Had to write the GT Chapter too. Currently proofreading that one now. It will drop in about an hour or so.

Enjoy. Love y’all.

-Writ

Th𝓮 most uptodate nov𝑒ls are publish𝒆d on freew(e)bnove(l).𝓬𝓸𝓶