Chapter 9: Panenka

After that second goal, starting from the kickoff the opponent team played the ball in their own half. They didn’t try to move the ball forward and kept on passing between themselves in their own half. They were only stalling for time as they were still in the lead.

Hiro desperately tried to snatch the ball away from them but as soon as he’d approach the player with the ball, that player would immediately pass the ball to someone else. His teammates were absolutely garbage, they couldn’t even block their pass course or snatch the ball from the opponent.

Boo!!! Boo!!

The crowds booed the little boy youth club’s player whenever they touched the ball. They were getting extremely irritated by their plays.

As the time went on the frustration and boredom of the crowd built up and only intensified. And due to boredom, some of them started to leave the pitch.

{Are they planning to end the game like this? They aren’t moving ball outside their own half. And one can vividly tell that the crowd is not satisfied with their playstyle. The boo’s of the crowd is only intensifying.}

“I need to think of something else. How am I supposed to score if I’m not even getting the ball?”

Hiro mumbled.

Given the situation, the only way for him to get the ball was to catch the opponent player off-guard. He couldn’t confront them directly. If he tried to confront them head on, they would pass the ball to someone else and his garbage team couldn’t even win the ball back.

{The number 2 has passed the ball to number 22. And he’s moving the ball towards the center. Perhaps they’re finally thinking of going on offence after nearly 10 minutes of passing the ball in their own half.}

{The player of team 1 is speeding up on him. But what’s this? He passed the ball back to number 2.}

Boo!!! Boo!!

{Just when we thought that they’re finally going on offence, they passed the ball backwards. Perhaps the game might end this way. You gotta feel sorry for number 19 kid. He gave his all to score two goals against them but he couldn’t win the game.}

{But where is number 19 kid? He’s nowhere to be seen in the pitch.}

{Wait… wait… Who’s that kid infront in team 1’s defence?? Didn’t number 19 play as a offensive player? So what is he doing in the defence?}

Unable to snatch the ball away from little boys player, Hiro had moved to the defence to get out from their sight.

Just because he had moved to the defence didn’t mean he had given up on the game. He was patiently waiting for an opportunity.

And the opportunity finally came just a minute before the end of the game. Just as the opponent player with number 2 on his jersey kicked the ball hard towards the player at the opposite flank, Hiro rushed towards the ball.

{Seems like it’s the last long pass of the game. The number 2 has kicked the ball hard and it’s heading straight towards number 4 at the opposite flank. The ball is still in the air, but what’s this another player is rushing towards the ball. Who’s that player? Who is it? Wait.. I see number 19 in the jersey. It’s number 19, once again making use of his explosive pace. Will he get to the ball before number 4?}

“What are you doing? Move towards the ball.”

The opponent coach shouted at his player to get the ball before number 19 could snatch it away from him.

Suddenly number 4 started to get anxious and he staggeringly ran towards the ball even though the ball was still in mid air. And he did reach the ball before Hiro. Afterall he was the one who was the closest to the ball.

{Number 4 has reached the ball before him. But would he be able to trap the ball??}

But out of nervousness, he couldn’t trap the ball and it slipped off him. And due to that simple mistake of number 4, Hiro snatched the ball away from him. After that there was no stopping to him. He sped up towards the goal.

But number 4 hadn’t given up as well. He desperately chased after Hiro. However his pace was a little bit slower than Hiro and he wasn’t able to reach Hiro. Hiro was already infront of the D-box and if he didn’t do anything then Hiro would score the goal without any mistake and tie the game.

He didn’t want to take on the blame for that goal and thus he decided to foul Hiro. Unable to snatch the ball away from Hiro, he extended his arms and grabbed Hiro’s shirt.

beep!!

{That’s a foul. What will the referee do?}

{The foul looked intentional. He won’t get away easily without getting a card.}

The referee put his hand inside his pocket and took a card out.

{It’s a red card. And number 4 is sent off}

{Also the team 1 is given freekick infront of the penalty area. That spot looks as dangerous as penalty. However that red card would be meaningless if they fail to score the goal.}

{So who will be the one to take the freekick?}

As the foul was committed outside the penalty zone, they were granted freekick. The time had almost ended and it was very well the last set piece of the match.

While the number 4 was getting sent off, coach Han waved his hands and signalled them to group up. And thus, all of them rushed towards coach Han. They formed a semi circle and gathered around coach Han.

“You’ve all done great. So no matter the result, I want you all to remember that you’ve fought till the end. While the other teams were humiliated, you guys have persevered against a pro youth club. So that alone is a great accomplishment.”

“But remember this is football and in football only the winner’s are remembered. So I want you all to give your best for this last set piece. And before you go, number 19 will take the freekick. Does anybody have any objection? If not go show them what you are capable off ”

Coach Han gave a long pep talk to increase the morale of the squad.

For whole match he had been yelling at the players for their mistakes. But at the final moment of the match, his attitude changed. He finally played the role of the coach.

‘I guess you’re still a coach afterall’

Hiro chuckled as he made his way towards the ball.

Infront of the D-box, around 8 yards away from the goal post his team was awarded a freekick for the intentional foul of number 4. If he could score that freekick then the game would be tied and the winner would be decided by a penalty shootout.

However if he failed to convert that freekick, then the referee would blow the whistle to end the match and they’d lose the match.

The fate of his team, the opportunity to face up against the future goalkeeper of national team, everything depended on his freekick. And he didn’t want to risk that opportunity.

As he stood infront of the ball, he remembered about the freekick performed by Andreas Messi. Even though his freekick lacked power, it was extremely precise. And Hiro needed that technique of Messi at the moment instead of a powerful shot like Christian Romero.

“Status window”

“Activate the skill focus”

[Skill activated]

[The host has entered into a hyper focus zone and he can’t be distracted by the outer mediums]

After activating the skill, he could no longer hear the noise of the crowd. Suddenly the environment around him got silent. He turned his head towards the stands, the crowds were cheering loudly but he couldn’t hear anything at all.

He then looked at the ball. He could see every little detail in the football. The number of stitches it contained. The stains, the bumps, he could see everything crystal clear. He could see every minute details of the ball.

He then looked at the opponent keeper.

Drip!! Drip!!

He could vividly see the sweat formed in his face. The keeper was panting heavily and looked tense. He was yelling at the defenders to strengthen the wall and close the gaps. There was a mix of emotion in his face. He looked anxious, terrified and exhausted at the same time.

At that moment, Hiro realised that the keeper was nervous about the freekick. And there was some possibility that he’d fail to save the ball due to his nervousness. 𝗼𝐯𝗹．𝐞𝘁

Due to his skill, he could hear what the keeper was whispering even though he was far away from him. He looked at his teammates, they all were whispering something as well. Some praying, some whining, he could hear each and every one of them clearly just by focusing on their lips.

“Damn the skill really lives up to it’s name.”

Hiro whispered in awe.

beep!!

Sigh~~

He took in a deep breath and released it.

As he stood infront of the ball, the referee blew his whistle. Hiro knew exactly where to hit the ball to get his desired result.

And the skill made it easier for him to locate that point on the ball. He hit the ball at the lower right part with the inside of his big toe.

{A panenka?? Are you kidding me that little kid is hitting a panenka??}

The commentator bewilderingly yelled.

As the ball left his feet, it flew over the wall and headed towards the goal. Due to the spin in the ball, the ball dropped after reaching its maximum height and curved towards the upper right corner of the goal post.

Swoosh!!

{Gooooaaaaallllllll!!!!!}

The keeper jumped to save the ball but couldn’t save it. It grazed past his gloves, crossed the goal line and touched the net with a swoosh sound.