A decision was made.
The ball rolled to Isaac's feet, and the midfielder reached him. He wanted to release the ball with one touch, but in the angle he was he couldn't use his right leg to pass. He however, couldn't use his left since it was his weak foot and thus he lacked power and presicion with it.
There was only one way to pass it, he let the ball roll through his legs, before he used his left foot to strike it behind his foot and into the space behind.
Theo saw the pass and chased the ball, reaching it. The pass has placed him in a 1 on 1 with the keeper.
Theo pulled back his right leg and swung it, with all his power seemingly.
THUK!
The ball lifted off the ground, and shot toward the goal like a bullet. It was headed far post, and it seemed probable that it'd nestle in the back of the net but...
There was still the keeper.
He threw himself in the path of the ball, catching it. He almost dropped it, but he soon got the situation under control, beckoning Theo to place his hands over his head in shock.
That was not what Isaac was thinking about, however.
"Counter!"
He twisted around and ran, just as the keeper kicked the ball far into the field. Isaac ran with all of the strength he could muster, hoping to stop the danger.
He was too far away though.
The ball sailed over the defense, and the swift striker chased after it, his speed breathtaking. The keeper rushed out, but the striker reached the ball first. Then, he performed a fake shot, instead cheekily dinking the ball over the helpless keeper. He rushed around the keeper, and sarcastically smashed the ball into the back of the net, though there was nobody to block the shop.
"Mxm, dammit!" Isaac furiously kicked at the grass. What on earth was that?
"Sbu! Get serious! You haven't won a single header. You're just being greedy when you receive, and you're just losing possession!" Isaac called at the striker, who was walking back to their half.
"Why're you angry at me? Did I just miss an easy chance?"
"It wasn't you who missed now, but this whole game you've been acting arrogant while doing nothing on the field of play." Isaac took a deep breath in, calming himself down. "Come on, sorry for shouting at you. But if you do bad, not only will we lose and not get selected, but the scouts will take note of your performance. Behaving like this helps nobody."
Sbu watched him carefully, before nodding. "Yeah, whatever."
Isaac was about to head back when he realized something. Sfiso was arguing with the opposition right back.
"Shucks!" He jogged up to Sfiso and pulled him away, while calming him down.
"Calm down, man! What happened?"
"That guy is talking too much, I'll show him!" Sfiso muttered to himself.
"Yeah, you know the drill. Men fix their problems on the pitch."
Sfiso stayed silent, and Isaac went back to his position. Play restarted, and immediately the red team began passing amongst themselves.
Finally, Isaac received the ball at the center of the field, he spun around and smashed a pass to Sfiso. Sfiso immediately spun around, and began charging down the left flank.
"Dammit! What's he doing?" Isaac wondered, as he sprinted forward to give Sfiso options.
But Sfiso didn't need options.
The fullback he has argued with blocked his path, and seemed to be trying to intimidate him and throw him off guard by trash talking.
"Come, try and dribble me..."
Sfiso used his right foot to push the ball outward, and the defender stepped toward him. Then, in one fluid, snaky movement, he dragged the ball to his left, and through the defenders legs.
A elastico nutmeg.
Sheesh.
Isaac watched in amazement as Sfiso thereafter ran around the wrecked player and collected the ball before sprinting forward. The defender returned and began harassing him, trying to stop him.
With a Ronaldo chop, Sfiso got himself behind the defender. However, this meant the defender was between him and the goal.
"Don't tell me..."
Sfiso dropped his left shoulder, the defender followed. Then, his right foot pushed the ball onto the inside of his left foot. His left foot lifted the ball off of the ground, and with the move he flicked the ball over the defenders head.
He darted behind the defender, and after controlling the ball began flying at the goal. He skipped over a defenders tackle, before escaping another defenders harassment. Then, he was free.
The keeper ran out to try and tackle him, but he lightly chipped the ball over the keeper before sprinting around the keeper. Then, after he recovered the ball behind the keeper, he looked back, right at the opposition striker and smashed the ball into the goal.
Isaac wondered why he was surprised, he always knew Sfiso was brilliant, though he never tried so hard. If he tried, this was what he could do. Besides Isaac, everyone else was speechless for a few seconds, before they exploded. Teammates ran to him, congratulating him and the coaches clapped and cheered.
Isaac also complimented him while feeling a little envious. He genuinely wished he could handle a ball like Sfiso, he remembered something though.
"I have this strange system!"
He felt hopeful, maybe he'd catch up to Sfiso after all.
Play restarted, yet the danger was not over. The dangerous midfielder dribbled past one midfielder before playing a quick one two with his winger, escaping the fullback.
"We can't concede!" Isaac immediately began running from the left side of the field.
The midfielder dribbled past a defender, then, he passed to the right winger. The single pass placed the attacker in a position where the post was practically open.
He controlled the ball, then he began to shoot at the empty net.
It was however, Isaac's turn to shine.
He slid in with a tackle, pushing the ball away from the player while making him dive dramatically.
The danger was not over, as the other midfielder received the loose ball, instead of shooting from the difficult angle, he passed it to their star player.
The player again easily dribbled past a defender, but the path was not open.
Isaac stood there waiting.
He immediately tried to fool Isaac with a shoulder drop, before charging past. Isaac tackled, and dropped the player. He however stopped the ball.
"Clear it!" he yelled, and he remained anxious until the ball was cleared.
What followed was the referees whistle signaling the end of play, together with a sigh of relief from Isaac.