Chapter 4 - Speed!

The minute play restarted, Isaac's side began pressing the opposition. He knew that he'd have to make sure that the most dangerous passing lanes were blocked, in order to do that isaac would have to tirelessly press.

Isaac pushed forward, he felt the sensation of his soccer boots on the hard ground, and the wind on his skin. He realized something, he was suddenly extremely fast.

He was flying at a speed he never knew he had, it was then that he remembered what had been written on the card. It has said he has acquired Thierry Henry's unfathomable speed!

"It's real!?" Isaac thought with surprise.

"Focus! Focus boy!"

He heard the coach call. He remembered what he was supposed to be doing. He continued pressing, his speed terrifying the opposition.

"This is great!" He exclaimed inwardly, he felt joy filling him, mixed in with disbelief.

Finally, the opponents made a mistake. After the intense pressing, they had passed the ball to Isaac's teams right winger. The short guy didn't waste time on the ball. He immediately sent a pass at Isaac.

Isaac opened his body, and readied himself to receive the ball. There was a defender behind him but Isaac had a solution for that.

As a player who was not very athletic, Isaac sought to improve his ball control. He knew that while it was difficult to change his body, he could definitely improve his ball skills. That's why, he studied Sergio Busquets, a player similar to him in a way.

Sergio Busquets, the maestro of midfield, possesses a mesmerizing ability to escape and deceive his markers with astonishing skill and finesse.

Like a magician performing an awe-inspiring trick, Busquets effortlessly evades his markers, leaving them bewildered. His movements are as graceful as a ballet dancer, gliding across the field with the fluidity of a river weaving through the landscape. Every step he takes is calculated and precise, as if he is conducting a symphony of footwork.

He was a defensive midfielder who didn't "defend": he was not all heroic tackles, preferring to step out than dive in. He wasn't a great athlete, or didn't look like one. He didn't cover countless kilometres and he didn't move fast. The ball did, though, when it was supposed to. And when it was supposed to slow, it did that too. So did his mind. Busquets just knew. He saw.

How did he escape markers so beautifully? His brilliantly executed fakes, feints and his pirouttes gave him space to escape markers so he could release a line breaking pass to forward the attack. He was, a crucial player for beating the press and forwarding the transition.

That's why that was all Isaac practiced, now, he could escape his marker and with his newfound speed, he could get a goal back for his team.

He cast a glance behind him. The defender was ready to tackle as soon as he got the ball. Ready to run behind the defense, was Sfiso.

Just as the ball was about to meet his feet, he faced his body toward the right, seemingly about to dart there. The defender was quick to cover the angle, but when Isaac received the ball, he darted to the left, into the empty space. The defender tried to grab his shirt, but Isaac was too fast.

Isaac wasted no time, he smashed a pass behind the defenceman, and Sfiso immediately chased after the ball. Sfiso was too fast for the defenders, and soon he collected the ball, before he was closing down on the opposition goal.

The opposite team had defended with a very low block, so Sfiso found himself not having to run a far distance to the goal. The keeper could do nothing more then coming out to meet him, and Sfiso was not intimidated.

He smashed the ball into the back of the net, past the helpless keeper. As soon as he did, he pumped his fist before running back into his and Isaac's teams half.

"Nice finish." Isaac said to him, showing him thumbs up.

"How are you so fast?" Sfiso had a strange look on his face. The proudful boy was surprised, and understandsbly so.

Isaac has always been known to be the slowest in the team, though the only thing he was good at was feints, since he practiced them all day.

Issac didn't know what to say, but he simply shrugged and laughed nervously.

Sfiso clicked his tongue and jogged over to his position. Isaac sighed and waited for the opposition to start.

It would be a long day.