"oh no..." Isaac immediately began sprinting back to his own half.
The oppositions defensive midfielder on the other hand, was sprinting back toward Isaac's half, carrying out the counter.
Isaac felt himself squint, his legs began to feel warm as he pushed forward, carrying himself forward towards his own half.
~~~
"There are only 4 players left defending for the red team!" the young, long haired scout exclaimed.
His partner scratched his stubble, he leaned forward and watched attentively.
"The blue team have more then 5 players in the opposition half, so this looks dangerous."
The ball was passed to another midfielder, an African boy of average build. He carried the ball forward at top speed, forcing the opposition defensive midfielder to come out and meet him.
The midfielder slowed down. Then, at the pace of lightning, the player used his right foot to create a circular motion around the ball while it ran in front of him. The single step over was rapid, and it was enough. It fooled the blue team player, and gave him space to skip past and continue the counterattack.
Another player came out to tackle him, he pulled the ball toward him before twisting around and again dragging it toward him with his left foot. With that he'd escaped the opponent with a roulette.
The last center back came, and it seemed like his outstretched leg would reach the ball. But that was not the case.
The skillful midfielder used the inside of his right foot to push the ball onto his left foot, before he pushed it forward, carrying himself into space.
The red team right back was the final player to charge toward him, the keeper was also running out, since he was close to the goal.
The midfielder lifted his right leg, the defender instantly reacted, positioning himself to block the oncoming shot.
But...
There was no shot?
The ball was instead passed to the left, where the left winger had already swung his leg.
"Damn..." The scout sat up in his seat.
THUK!
The sound of the football boots rubber connecting with the synthetic leather filled the air. The ball lifted off the ground, heading toward the unguarded posts.
Right before a soul rejoiced with unbridled joy, or before a soul sighed with disappointment, something happened. SOMEONE happened.
Like the grand hero of some great shakespearen play, at the final second, at the 11th hour, was Isac Adams .
He slid before the path of the ball, his right leg outstretched to perform a classic football tackle. The ball smashed into his leg, and it was sent bouncing into open space.
Isaac stood up in a hurry, despite the fact that he had tirelessly sprinted all the way from the opposition half to make the tackle. He ran towards the loose ball, and before the other players reached him he smashed his leg into the ball.
He understood what he was doing.
Sfiso, was a player who liked shining. That's why he tended to perform dribbles, passes and runs that led to him solely scoring.
For this counter, Isaac was sure that Sfiso has not run back to defend. He was waiting for the counter attack, so that he could get the final touch, the winning touch.
With that in mind, as Isaac smashed his leg into the ball, he sent it to the left wing, hoping that Sfiso was free.
Sfiso was fast, even with his newfound speed, Isaac wasn't sure if he could match Sfiso in speed. That was why, if he had yards of space.
Sfiso Hlanti was unstoppable.
True to his calculations, floating around the spaces on the left was Sfiso. The moment he saw the pass on the left, he had began sprinting. He easily outran the defender, reaching the ball first.
A single defender stood between him and the goal, and this defender was waiting for him to slow down and control the ball. But Sfiso had no time.
He stuck out his heel behind him, allowing the ball to land right unto his heel. His heel met the ball, flicking it over him and the defender. The defender could only be stunned still momentarily, failing to react quickly to had happened.
Sfiso however, never waited for him.
He charged around the defender, reaching the ball behind the defender. The defender finally reacted and tried to hold him back, though he failed.
Sfiso collected the ball, before continuing his charge. He was like a warrior flying out into the battlefield. His eyes were focused on falling all who stood before him, so he could reach his ultimate victory.
His goal.
Tearing through space, like a starved dog tearing into flesh, was Sfiso. It took but a few seconds before he was meeting the keeper.
He pulled back his leg, and the keeper prepared to stop the shot. His leg came forward, and the keeper came down.
The keepers arms were outstretched, his body opened up, he already diving and he was ready.
Or was he?
That was the question Sfiso asked as he used his leg to instead push it past the reacting keepers right. The keeper realized late, and could only crawl after him.
Sfiso wasted little time and smashed the ball into the back of the goal. He spun around, and sprinted back to his half, a triumphant grin atop his face.
"Nice finish!" Isaac ran to him, and threw his arm around him.
"Give me more classy passes. I'll make sure you have plenty assists." Sfiso joked, patting his back.
Isaac was surprised by the joke. He and Sfiso weren't particularly close, and Sfiso never cared hiding what he thought of Isaac's skills. That was probably why, actually. Maybe that's why Sfiso was way more impressed by his performance. Isaac smiled.
What is the system?
"Nice defending!" The defensive midfielder said to Isaac, scratching the back of his head."Sorry, that midfielder sent me to the shops."
Sfiso laughed.
"You did go to the shops. It's like you forgot I had the sauce."
"Oooo..." his teammates said, seemingly impressed by his confident comment.
"Well,that's some real hot sauce you have!" Theo said, laughing.
After the group finished joke a little more, they were headed back in their place.
Isaac noticed that their team striker wasn't looking too glad.
"This is a problem," Isaac thought. He quickly jogged over to the player.
"Hey bro, please always try to be near the spaces in the front. If you were there in the last chance, we'd have scored without suffering a counter."
"I know what I have to do!" He snapped back at Isaac.
Isaac shook his head in disbelief.
"Alright, just be at the right places." He sighed. Then, he jogged back to his position and waited for the game to start.
~~~
"He's got great defensive intuition, and, he's a hard worker." the scout said to his partner.
"Yeah. He's also very vocal. He's got quite a bit of personality."
"Yeah, he's a natural leader." the scout said, as he watched the boy mark. The boy had suddenly began intercepting passes and making tackles. He was like an excavator on the field of play, as he destroyed all of the oppositions attacking effort. However, despite his brilliant defense, the opposition had a player that was just as solid offensively. He even got past the boy a few times.
"Something I like about this boy is his composure on the field of play. He's so mature on and off the ball, and his calmness when he receives the ball not only allows him release it quickly, he also makes correct decisions with the ball."
"Yeah, he's very good. We should scout him for our academy."
"Academy? This talent belongs in the first team!" The man laughed, as he said.
The younger guy was filled with surprise.
"But... He hasn't even had any first team experience."
"Well, you already know the solution to that," The man said smiling. "Sign him, and let him gain experience here in his own country."
The younger scout returned his gaze to the field of play, where the boy had just helped forward an attack after a simple pass into space.
It didn't seem like half a bad deal.
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