Julian stood in the tunnel, waiting for the final of the preseason game against Barcelona to kick off. It was his first final, and he felt the nerves building up inside him. He looked around at his teammates, who were joking and laughing, seemingly unaffected by the pressure of the occasion.
Notably, David Beckham caught his eye and walked over to him. "Hey, Julian, how are you feeling?" he asked, placing a reassuring hand on his shoulder.
Julian shrugged. "A little nervous, to be honest," he admitted.
Beckham grinned. "Don't worry, we've all been there. Just remember, this is what you've been working towards. You're here for a reason."
Julian nodded, feeling a little better. Beckham's words had helped ease his nerves, and he felt more confident.
That was until he saw the Barcelona team lined up beside them. He recognized greats such as Rivaldo and Figo, and his nerves started to build again. But then he reminded himself that he had beaten greats like Zidane before, and that boosted his confidence once more.
As he stood there, waiting for the game to begin, Julian reminisced on how he had gotten here. It had taken years of sweat, determination, and willpower to reach this point. But it wasn't just his own effort that had gotten him here. He had also received a lot of love and support from his family, Jessica, and his old and new teammates.
NOTE: So sad that most football academy players don't get through; I think it's like 1%.
The referee's whistle blew, and the game began. It was high-intensity football, with neither side making any significant advancements. That was until a lone hero appeared and stepped up - Julian.
United won the ball and went on a fast break, with Ryan Giggs crossing the ball to a darting Julian. He received it and skipped past future Man City Manager, Guardiola, before passing it to Beckham.
Later, Beckham crossed the ball, and Julian was on the receiving end, heading it looping over Victor Baia, the Barcelona goalkeeper.
Silence fell upon the stadium for a moment, before screaming and shouting erupted in cheers. Julian had scored his first goal in a final, albeit preseason, and he couldn't help but smile.
As he looked up, he saw Jessica in the stands, cheering him on. He felt a rush of joy and cockiness after impressing the girl he loved, only fuelling his already burning passion to win this game.
But it wasn't just Jessica that was supporting him, Omega was also cheering him on.
Omega, sent him a message of congratulations [Well done, Julian. You're doing great! Now let's keep this up and end this for good]
"You just said what I was thinking"
...
The two teams were evenly matched, with neither side able to penetrate the other's defense. However, the game was to the benefit of Manchester United and their star player, Julian, who were winning the game.
As the game continued, Barcelona managed to get six shots on target, but Manchester United's goalkeeper, Smeichel, produced a masterclass and saved them all. Manchester United also managed an extra shot, but unfortunately, it didn't end up in the back of the net thanks to Baia, Barcelona's goalkeeper, who also had the game of his life.
Neither side wanted to lose the match, even though it was only a preseason game. This was a final, and the pride of the two clubs was at stake. The question remained, which was bigger, the pride of Barcelona or Manchester United?
As the game progressed, there were no advancements until Guardiola managed to win the ball off a dazing Scholes, unlike the English magician's usual calmness and concentration. The momentum shifted towards Barcelona, who moved the ball up the field quickly, using a watered-down version of their famous tiki-taka style of play.
Julian rushed back to help his team, but before he could, Barcelona had already played it to a certain Portuguese wizard by the name of Figo, who was waiting on the right-hand side of the box. With a thundering strike, Figo blasted the ball into the top left of the goal, leaving Schemichel with no chance to save it.
Dismay built upon the United players as their precious lead was lost just before half-time. They were holding on so well, and to lose their lead just before the break was a bitter pill to swallow.
Julian was disappointed to see Barcelona score just before half-time, but he knew that they couldn't afford to dwell on it. As the team made their way back to the locker room, Julian gathered his teammates around him.
"Listen up, guys," Julian said. "We've played well so far, and we're still in this game. We can't let that goal get to us. We need to stay focused and keep pushing forward. We know we can score against this team, so let's go out there and do it."
His teammates looked at him, nodding in agreement. They knew that Julian was right. They couldn't let one goal bring them down. They had to keep fighting until the very end.
"Let's go out there and show them what we're made of," Julian said, pumping his fist in the air. "We've got this!"
As Julian was encouraging his teammates, he noticed a scowl on the face of his fellow striker, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. Julian had always admired Solskjaer's ability to score goals, but he had also noticed that the Norwegian could be moody and difficult to work with.
"What's your problem, Ole?" Julian asked, trying to diffuse the tension.
Solskjaer sneered at Julian's attempt at encouragement. "Don't give me that rah-rah crap, Julian. We need to be more clinical in front of goal. If you want to make a difference, why don't you ask the gaffer to sub you off?"
Julian was taken aback. He had never expected Solskjaer to be so dismissive of his words. But before he could reply, Solskjaer had already turned and started walking towards the manager's bench.
"Hey, gaffer!" Solskjaer shouted. "Can we sub Julian off? He's not doing anything out there."
Alex Ferguson looked up from his notes and frowned. "What are you talking about, Ole? Julian's been working hard all game, he is the one who has made the most chances and scored us the goal."
Solskjaer rolled his eyes. "He's been working hard, but he's not doing anything useful. We need someone who can actually score goals." he continued "like me, I can get you the win"
Ferguson shook his head. "I'm not subbing Julian off. He's an important player for us, and he's been playing well. Besides, we need to stick to our game plan."
Solskjaer scowled. "Fine. But if we lose this game, it's on you, gaffer."
Julian felt a pang of anger and frustration. He couldn't believe that Solskjaer was willing to throw him under the bus like that. But he also knew that he had to keep his focus and keep working hard. He wasn't going to let Solskjaer's comments get to him.
He was just shocked at his teammates behaviour, he believed the guy to be a nice guy in his past life, after all he even became United's manager in the future, albeit a controversial one.
Was the guy an actual dickhead behind closed doors?
[Your entrance into the past may have caused changes to other people, Julian. Although I don't know everything, it does seem that your existence may have caused changes in the timeline]
Great!
Just what I needed to hear before the second half.