Football is both a sport and a game that existed before the descent of the Heavenly Tower. People had been playing soccer in the past before the descent of the Heavenly Tower, which gave birth to abilities, and it had been much more interesting back then.
There were no abilities; everyone just played with their natural strength, skills, and talent. There were some legends that even the best players of this time, with abilities, could not be compared to. They were the gods of football.
But as time evolved, so did everything in the world. Not just soccer, but every other aspect of life and the way humans lived changed after the Heavenly Tower descended.
Abilities have been allowed in sports and other activities, including soccer. However, with this came rules that every player and team must follow.
In soccer, there's something called the Soccer Ability Rules.
These are the set of rules that every ability-using soccer player must follow. They state all the abilities that can be used in a soccer match and how some of them should be used.
The reason is that some abilities are naturally destructive in nature, and players could use them to attack their opponents for the ball, so they're prohibited.
Abilities like energy projection, mind control, mind attacks, earth manipulation, fire manipulation, water manipulation, lightning, and electrokinesis are all prohibited. However, some players can still use some of these abilities to strengthen themselves—either by channeling the ability to their feet to increase their speed or channeling it throughout their whole body to increase their overall stats.
Take Eric, for example. He could do just that with his fire ability. He could also infuse his flames into the ball, giving it lightning speed and making it unstoppable, but that was prohibited.
Of course, every football player knows these rules. Coach Enzo had even repeated them several times to his players the previous day, so they all knew them well. Community High School was just trying to keep him in check.
Coach Enzo smiled, then nodded.
"Don't worry, they won't dare break the rules. You should keep an eye on your players instead,"
He said as he turned around and went to sit under the tent.
Emmy stared at the coach on the bench where he was sitting with the other players, then turned his attention back to the field.
'I hope he doesn't forget me on the bench.'
He thought.
As the referee blew his whistle, the Community High School striker wasted no time passing the kick-off to his teammates. The midfielders received it, and the pitch came alive.
The strikers of New Dawn College charged forward in an attempt to gain the ball as they attacked from all sides. The opposing midfielders, meanwhile, stayed calm and composed as they passed the ball among themselves.
With their 4-4-2 formation, their midfield and defense were as firm as ever. They remained calm and played the ball diligently. However, the three strikers of New Dawn College were not panicking. The two wingers had an affinity for speed, while Eric, the main striker, could double his speed with his ability. So they also remained calm and attacked diligently, waiting for the right opportunity to snatch the ball from their opponents.
But the right opportunity didn't come anytime soon.
The number 4 of Community High School passed the ball to the right-back, number 2, who received the ball and controlled it with a single touch. He looked up and passed it to number 8, one of the midfielders. Fred was in charge of keeping this player in check, so he rushed forward to intercept him after hesitating for a few seconds.
But before Fred got to him, the boy had already received the ball with his chest. The ball remained on his chest for a couple of seconds before he dropped it, controlled it with his feet, and turned around in an instant. Fred had already gotten behind him at that moment, but the boy easily got past him with a simple dribble and passed the ball between Fred's shaky legs, continuing forward.
Karim, who had been bypassed by the ball before it landed, quickly retreated and joined the third midfielder, Lucas. Together, they forced number 8 to stop in his tracks. He looked up at the two, smiled, and made a slight pass to his right, which was received by number 2, who was already running from behind.
Number 2 didn't waste any time controlling the ball. He launched it forward straight away with a long pass to number 11. As the ball streaked through the air towards Community High School's number 11, two of New Dawn College's defenders, already alerted by the keeper, rushed toward him.
The boy, on the other hand, as if he had anticipated the two defenders coming for him, rushed forward toward the ball. He jumped up, received the ball on his chest, and did a volley kick mid-air before it touched the ground.
The ball again streaked forward to the left side of New Dawn College's penalty box, where Community High School's second winger, number 7, was already waiting patiently.
"Fall back! He's planning a volley!"
Farouq, New Dawn College's best goalkeeper, shouted, having already foreseen the winger's move.
The two defenders rushed toward him, while the other two retreated back to the goalpost.
And just as the keeper had predicted, as the ball hovered above ground level in front of him, the winger raised his right foot and kicked the ball mid-air, smacking it to the ground so it bounced toward the top-right corner of the goalpost.
But the keeper saved it easily with a punch, sending it out for a corner kick.
The first dozen minutes were in favor of Community High School. They dominated the midfield with their great teamwork and tactics, and their defenders did their best to prevent the opponent's strikers from getting past them. Although, after the first attempt, Community High School hadn't had another shot on target, the possession remained in their favor. Even when New Dawn College gained the ball, they couldn't keep possession for long due to the intense pressure Community High School placed on their midfield.
They were taking advantage of Fred, who was naturally the weak point in their midfield. Whenever he got the ball, he would either hesitate before passing—which often caused him to lose possession—or kick it out of bounds. His lack of confidence was haunting him. He played well when no one was pressuring him and passed diligently, but he became sloppy when an opponent approached.
Community High School relentlessly exploited this weakness, constantly pressuring the midfielder.
His teammates even considered not passing to him anymore, but that would mean they were effectively a man down in the midfield—and the midfield is the engine of the team.
The players were getting frustrated and urged the coach to substitute him.
Coach Enzo couldn't help but smile.
"Emmy, what do you think?"
He said from the sidelines to Emmy, who was sitting on the bench under the tent.