In the vast and vibrant universe of sports, no other is as democratic, passionate, magical, and chaotic than the soccer. You don't need much to play it, just a ball, or something that looks like one, and a place to imagine the goal.
Ah, soccer!
The magic of the dazzling dribbles, the 90th-minute comeback goals, and the screams of the fans that make any stadium shake.
From its earliest days, when the British played during breaks in their factory shifts, to the present day, when the best players in the world take to the most famous pitches on the planet, soccer has always been an irresistible mix of talent, improvisation, and sheer dedication.
Decades ago, there was Pelé, the king of soccer, who took the sport to a new level with his quick dribbling, spectacular goals, and a charisma that transcended borders.
More recently, we've seen Zico, the first player with surgical precision in his passes and free kicks. Also Ronaldinho Gaúcho, who, with his joy in his legs and his magic with the ball, turned football into a spectacle of pure art.
At the beginning of the millennium, the greatest rivalry in history was born. Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, two true scoring machines whose statistics would impress even the most skeptical critics: more than 800 goals each, hundreds of assists, and two collections of titles that would make any museum jealous.
Between the astronomical numbers and the memorable plays, soccer has become a true global spectacle, the greatest of all sports, uniting people of all ages, genders and nationalities in a continuous celebration with the right to scream, sweat and tears. But behind the many stars who shine in the world's stadiums, there are millions of young dreamers who believe, day after day, that they could be the next to have their lives changed by this sport.
Among those millions, there was once a Japanese boy. Just one among many. His name? Lucas Tanaka, the son of an American father and a Japanese mother.
Lucas grew up listening to stories about Pele, admiring Ronaldinho's dribbling on various YouTube videos, and trying to imitate Cristiano Ronaldo's mythological goals.
In school games or on the municipal field, he played with the same joy as his idols, dreaming, like so many others, of one day becoming part of this glorious history called football.
In Japan, the country where Lucas Tanaka was born and raised, people also loved soccer. It was a sport that was greatly admired, and throughout his childhood, Lucas Tanaka was praised for his skill and dedication to soccer.
However, when he reached the age of 18 and decided not to go to university or a preparatory course, dreaming of finding a place in one of the Japanese national league teams, the J-LEAGUE, the people around him, the same ones who had previously congratulated him for all his efforts, began to judge him.
These people said that Lucas was wasting his life on a "stupid" dream and that he should focus on a path that would be safer and more stable for him and his family.
That same day, not feeling up to going to the city park to work out, Lucas Tanaka sat down in front of the old TV in his room, turned on the sports channel, and started watching. As it happened, a sixteen-year-old boy was making his debut for Barcelona FC. The boy was thinner and shorter than Lucas Tanaka, but there he was, in the center of world soccer.
So Lucas decided that society was right about his dream and gave in to social pressure.
"It's too late..."
Lucas simply couldn't have imagined that he would end up as an almost thirty-year-old single man living in a tiny apartment in Tokyo.
"Hey, Tanaka, did you finish that design I asked you to do?" His boss asked routinely, several times a day.
"Yes, boss. It's in your e-mail."
Instead of becoming a soccer player, Tanaka went to business school. After High School, he found work in a design firm and had to adapt to keep from getting fired. So his life became a loop of monotonous days, working every day until after hours in a gray office, surrounded by piles of papers and disapproving looks.
One cold evening, after leaving the office late, Lucas Tanaka stopped at a convenience store to buy something to eat.
*Grrrrr*
His stomach rumbled loudly.
"Easy, easy..." Lucas stroked his stomach as if there really was a monster inside.
When he entered the convenience store, the characteristic bell rang, but the clerk didn't even look at him, as he seemed to be concentrating.
Lucas then went to the instant noodle aisle and began to analyze which of the many flavors he would choose this time. He had already tried all the flavors, even the strangest ones.
The store was so empty and quiet that Lucas could hear what the clerk at the counter was watching.
"Honestly, this is one of the most impressive finals I've ever seen. Mbappé is only 24, and this is his third goal. Ladies and gentlemen, I may be jumping the gun, but it looks like we're witnessing the birth of a football legend," the narrator said.
"Sir...?" the salesman asked.
Suddenly, Lucas found himself unconsciously standing in front of the counter with a randomly flavored instant noodle in one hand. Unbeknownst to him, he had been captivated by the soccer game playing on the television next to the cashier.
The cashier looked on with a puzzled expression, and Lucas quickly handed the noodles to the young man to pick up. As he did so, Lucas peered around the inside of the counter again, trying to catch a glimpse of the game.
"Sir, that'll be 120 yen."
"Ah, yes..." Lucas took some coins out of his pocket and began to count.
He was a poor worker; he didn't have much money. Nevertheless, he found a 1000 yen coin, which he handed to the young clerk.
Lucas' attention soon returned to the soccer game. "Excuse me for asking, young man. But that game you're watching... Who's playing?"
"Um... This one? France and Argentina. It's the recorded final of the 2022 World Cup. I like to watch that game sometimes."
Lucas looked at the scoreboard. It was 3-3 after 119 minutes. The young player Mbappé was shining for France with 3 goals.
Lucas Tanaka left the convenience store with a bitter taste in his mouth, holding the bag of instant noodles in one hand and the change and receipt in the other.
"World Cup 2022... I was 21 at the time, but I'd already given up watching soccer. That explains why I don't remember the game."
The year in question was 2031, almost 10 years after the 2022 World Cup. It was impossible for Lucas not to feel nostalgic, and then to feel the mixture of frustration, disappointment, and anger that always came over him when he remembered the dreams he had given up.
Adjusting the scarf around his neck to protect himself from the freezing wind, Lucas tried to shake those tumultuous thoughts away.
But the 3-3 scoreline of a World Cup final still echoed in his mind, like a cruel reminder of the dreams he had given up. It was every man's dream to be in the position the young French player had been in, and Lucas wondered what his life would have been like if he had followed his passion for football.
'Instead, I'm stuck in an endless cycle of gray days in an office that seems to be slowly sucking away my soul... I think I'd do it differently.'
Walking through the streets, Lucas came upon a narrow alley lit only by a flickering streetlight. Normally, he would have changed his route just in case, but then he heard a muffled sound, something between a scream and a desperate whisper. Then, under the flickering light of the lamppost, he saw a scene that made his heart skip a beat.
A hooded man was holding a long-haired woman against the wall. His dirty hand covered her mouth as he muttered something inaudible near her neck.
The woman obviously tried to break free. But the man was stronger, holding her by the wrists.
'An abuser!'
Lucas didn't want any trouble. He had enough trouble in his own life. But something inside him wouldn't let him just ignore the situation. He always avoided conflict, always took the easy way out, always let his boss take credit for his designs, but, that night, something changed.
"Hey!" he shouted.
The hooded man abruptly turned his head in Lucas' direction, and the woman used the distraction to try to break free. With no luck, the man pulled her back violently.
"Who are you? Her boyfriend?" The man growled.
Lucas swallowed. He didn't have a good physique for fighting, but he couldn't back down now either. "It doesn't matter! Leave her alone!"
The man smiled bitterly and let go of only one of the woman's arms. "Are you going to stop me?" he asked, pulling a knife from his jacket pocket.
Lucas clenched his fist, gripping the grocery bag tightly. "Yes, I will."
The man then clucked his tongue, let go of the woman, and moved quickly forward with the knife.
"You don't know who you're messing with!" the attacker shouted.
A shiver ran down Lucas' spine as he saw the man run toward him with the knife in his hand, but with a scream he didn't know where it came from, Lucas raised the arm holding the bag and threw it with all his might at his attacker. The plastic bag broke in midair, and the package flew toward the attacker like an improvised projectile, hitting the man in the face. It was enough to disorient him for a moment.
Taking advantage of the distraction, Lucas lunged forward and punched the man with all the force he could muster.
He felt pain as his fingers struck the hooded man's jaw.
Fortunately, the blow was strong enough to knock the attacker to the ground.
For a moment, everything seemed to freeze. The woman, frightened and still leaning against the wall, stared at Lucas with wide eyes, barely believing what he had done.
The man on the floor was stunned, but when his eyes met Lucas', an expression of fear and amazement appeared on his face.
Lucas didn't understand why the man was afraid until he felt a stabbing pain in his stomach. He looked down to see the knife buried in his stomach, blood seeping through his clothes.
Shock overcame his body, and he staggered backwards, his knees weak.
"Shit, shit, shit!" The man on the ground took the opportunity to get up and run.
Lucas tried to yell at him not to run, but his voice wouldn't come out. The next thing he knew, he felt dizzy and fell backwards.
The woman ran over to him and shouted something, but her words sounded far away, muffled, as if he were underwater.
"Hang on!" she cried as her trembling hands pressed down on the knife, trying to stop the bleeding. "It's going to be okay, just hang on! Help me! Please, someone!"
The cold of the night enveloped Lucas, but he could barely feel it. He felt numb, unable to focus on anything but the pain and the desperate face of the woman trying to help him. She was very beautiful.
Soon Lucas heard the sound of hurried footsteps, alarmed voices, and the sound of sirens in the distance. He tried to focus on those voices. It was no use. Everything was slipping away. The surrounding darkness quickly engulfed everything.
Suddenly, everything was silent.
The world around him seemed to stop, and Lucas felt like he was floating.
It was a strange, almost comforting sensation, as if he was being pulled out of his body.
Then he heard an emotionless voice in his head. It seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere.
[The ability of
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[The ability
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[The ability
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[The skill
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[The skill
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[Thanks to the divine effect of
Lucas tried to understand what was happening, but his mind was foggy.
The pain was gone, replaced by a strange feeling of relief. He was no longer cold, but warm.
The darkness became complete, and Lucas fell into it, lost in an infinite void.
When Lucas opened his eyes again, he was no longer in the partially dark street, nor did he hear sirens. He was in a completely different place. It was a vast field of green grass. The sky above was a deep blue, without a single cloud.
"Tanaka! Cross for me!" A voice shouted.
Then Lucas heard a sound, a *thump*, and something touched his feet. As soon as he looked down, he realized that what had touched him was a ball, a soccer ball.
Apparently, for some reason, he was in the middle of a soccer game.
Raising his head again, Lucas looked ahead and saw the young Tsuyoshi Nishida, a childhood friend of his, but the strangest thing was that Nishida seemed to be in his sixteenth year and this frightened Lucas more than anything else. He remembered it well. Nishida had become a world-famous player after being spotted by a scout from a big team in England.