My Football Legends Chat Group-Chapter 26: The Rookie and The Rocket!

"As we know, our next twenty minutes are the most important of the season. While we have never really beaten Real Madrid, we cannot afford to fear them at this moment. Especially since we have finally made them bleed." Michel stated, moving his gaze over his exhausted players who were hydrating during the cooling break.

"That being said, I will be sending out our final instructions for this match."

He spun the whiteboard around, revealing a chaotic drawing of arrows pointing directly at the space behind Antonio Rüdiger.

Rio felt like closing his eyes, feeling a lump of anxiety crawl up to his throat.

Rio felt his body flood with nervous energy after seeing his name circled in red marker.

He quickly turned to Mateo who was grinning ear to ear and sweating buckets, and the two shared a frantic nod.

However, Rio didn’t want to be overconfident so he kept his voice down, lest he jinx the miracle they were trying to pull off.

Thankfully, Vinicius Jr. didn’t seem to be too happy about tracking back, or at least he didn’t show it outwardly as he argued with his teammates.

"Just because you broke through once, doesn’t mean you will do it again. If I see anyone celebrating early, I’ll bench you for the rest of your life." The Coach spoke up, breathing some fear into the unfortunate people who were thinking about glory.

"Alright, we’re going to suffer for ten minutes and then hit them on the counter. Stay compact."

"Yes Coach!"

Finally, the moment arrived where Girona would take on Real Madrid in the final showdown of the match. Despite it being a humid evening, it was amazing weather for the game of legends.

Like all David vs Goliath stories, it was a single opportunity scenario meaning that one simple mistake would result in the team’s hopes and dreams being crushed by a counter-attack.

The Champions League or simply referred to as ’The Big Ears’ was the most prestigious event of the year for Real Madrid. Every year they would dominate Europe with their arrogance and skill.

Unfortunately, Girona was still fighting for survival. So while they would not be able to taste the glory of Europe this year, if they could nurture a winning culture and mindset, it would set them up for safety in the league table.

After all, having a win against Real Madrid on their resume would only help to boost their confidence and chances of avoiding relegation.

Real Madrid chose to start off aggressively after the restart, sending the enthusiastic Jude Bellingham up to press high.

He stared at the Girona defense with hungry eyes, ready for any loose pass that was thrown at him.

THUD

The pass from Blind was sent flying to the midfield for a flick-on, coming to a stop just near the center circle. Aleix Garcia was all concentration as he shielded the ball, sending a desperate look to Rio who had just started his run on the flank.

Rio felt his heart beat wildly in his chest with excitement as he took in the atmosphere.

Although he had visualized this run thousands of times with the Image training function of the System, there was much more pressure in this situation.

After all, the moment they lost possession, Vinicius would be running at their tired defense.

The Madrid midfield threw a wild press towards the center, resulting in a gap on the wing. Rio had been able to track the movement of Carvajal from start to finish, filling him with a large confidence boost.

After facing Mendy’s aggression in the earlier minutes, this tired Carvajal did not seem to pose him much issue. Now that he had seen the gap, he wouldn’t hesitate.

Another ball came flying towards him, once again into the ’Pocket’. Having seen the exact same pass earlier from Mateo, Rio’s eyes narrowed before sending his body sprinting towards it with power.

WHOOSH

Rio whistled past the right-back’s outstretched leg and headed into the final third.

Rio burst off the touchline towards the box, tilting his body slightly and powering his way toward the goal.

"Cross! Cross!" Dovbyk shouted loudly towards the winger who was busy controlling the ball. He was around twenty meters away which would be impossible to cover with a single pass if Rüdiger intercepted.

Therefore, he ran to the near post to drag the defender away. Unfortunately for them, Rüdiger had already placed his body in the way and was swaggering towards the ball with a terrifying grin on his face.

"Nice run!"

Rio flashed a grimace at Mateo who had just called out, giving him a subtle nod in response.

The Striker Dovbyk was up to challenge next. Despite being covered by two defenders, his face was solemn, showing an intense concentration as the cross began its flight.

THUD

Once again the ball was blocked, yet this time the ball had managed to pull off a miraculous deflection after hitting Nacho’s knee.

"Corner!"

Rüdiger’s face dropped and he slowly made his way back to mark the set piece. Rio stifled a laugh seeing the giant’s reaction. Rüdiger surely was someone who hated giving away cheap corners.

It was now Aleix Garcia’s turn to step up and cross. His small frame and precise technique made the goalkeeper feel a sense of unease.

There was a certain prestige that came with being the set-piece taker, almost as much as being the captain of a team.

However, while captains needed to consistently lead well to impact a game, corner takers needed only one almighty delivery to win.

Hand_Of_King: Put it in the mixer! Chaos! I love chaos!

Total_Football_14: Aim for the back post. Courtois is weak when moving backwards.

The_Phenomenon_9: Just score. I am hungry.

Rio’s jaw opened wide as he saw what was happening. It turned out that Real Madrid was going to leave Rio unmarked at the edge of the box, merely because he was the smallest player on the pitch.

He didn’t know whether to curse the opponents or congratulate them for making such a decision to ignore the rookie.

However, he felt kind of stifled after seeing the confusion on Mateo’s face.

’Shoot!’

Mateo mouthed from the penalty spot, making the action of shooting an imaginary gun.

He was hoping that Rio would at least get some contact with the loose ball thanks to his ’Focus Mint’ upgrade.

As long as he could hit the target, then he’ll at least get a chance to be the hero today.

Rio nodded and positioned his body at the edge of the D. Most of the players had been crowded inside the six-yard box, so he wished to be closer to the rebound zone.

The next ball flew towards the back post, a few inches outside of Courtois’ reach. Yet the defender had somehow managed to get a header on his clearance due to his height and desperate jumping technique.

He had headed mostly with just his forehead, allowing the ball to reach a further distance away from the goal... directly to Rio.

Rio began to run towards the corner flag, unsure of where the ball had traveled.

It was only when he saw that not even the goalkeeper was moving that something had to be wrong.

He lifted his head and moved his gaze around, only to hear the explosion of noise from his side of the stadium.

"GOAL RIO LANCE!"

"That was a goal?" Rio felt confused, yet in the next moment, he felt thrilled. He quickly checked that he was not dreaming before making his way toward the fans.

"W-What the hell was that?" Courtois muttered to himself, staring at the net where the ball was still spinning.