Ethan Carter stood on the touchline, his breath visible in the cold German night air. Rain poured from the sky, soaking his suit, but he hardly noticed. His mind was locked on one thing and one thing only—the scoreboard.
85:42
FC Kaiserslautern – 1
Schwarzburg Leipzig – 0
Five minutes left. Five minutes away from breaking the curse.
The noise in the stadium was deafening. The Schwarzburg Leipzig fans, frustrated and furious, roared from the stands. They couldn't believe it.
They were the league champions, unbeaten in their last 21 matches. And yet, here they were, trailing to the worst team in the Bundesliga.
And at the heart of this disaster was a man who should have been the easiest manager to defeat.
Ethan Carter. The Cursed Manager.\
For ten years, Ethan Carter had never won a single match.
Every club he managed—disaster.
Every tactical decision—ridiculed.
Every lineup choice—questioned.
His name was a joke in the football world. The media called him a fraud, a failure, a man who had no business in professional football.
And yet… here he was.
Five minutes away from his first-ever victory.
The rain fell harder, dripping down his face, but he stood still, his eyes locked on the pitch.
The Schwarzburg players pushed forward aggressively, throwing everything into attack. Their coach had just subbed in two fresh attackers, going all-out to avoid this humiliation.
Ethan could feel the pressure tightening around him.
Five minutes. One mistake, and it was over.
His assistant Markus Reinhardt grabbed his arm.
"We need to park the bus, boss." His voice was frantic, desperate. "Throw in another defender. Hold the line."
The logical move. The safe move. The move any manager would make.
But Ethan shook his head. "No."
Instead, he turned to the bench. His gaze landed on an unknown forward, a kid barely out of the academy—Lukas Richter.
Unproven. Inexperienced. But fast.
Ethan called his name. "Lukas. Get ready."
The assistant manager's eyes widened. "Are you insane?! They're pushing forward, and you want to put in a striker?!"
Ethan didn't explain. He couldn't explain.
It was a gut feeling. A moment where everything just clicked.
Lukas Richter ran onto the pitch, replacing a tired midfielder. The fans booed, confused. The commentators questioned his sanity.
"What is Carter doing?!"
"Five minutes left, and he's making an attacking sub?"
"This is why he's never won a game. Madness."
Ethan didn't care. He had seen something.
Schwarzburg Leipzig was so focused on attacking, they had left themselves vulnerable.
And in the 89th minute, that mistake cost them.
Schwarzburg sent a desperate long ball into the box. Their star striker, Bruno Kessler, leapt for the header.
Ethan held his breath.
The ball deflected off the crossbar.
Kaiserslautern's defender, Bergmann, cleared it long.
And there—at the halfway line, completely unmarked—was Lukas Richter.
The fresh-legged substitute sprinted like his life depended on it.
The Schwarzburg defenders realized too late. They had committed too many men forward.
Richter stormed into the box, only the goalkeeper ahead of him.
Ethan's pulse hammered as the stadium held its breath.
One-on-one.
The moment that would decide everything.
Richter took a touch. The goalkeeper rushed forward.
Then—a simple chip.
The ball floated over the diving keeper.
Time seemed to freeze.
Ethan's breath caught.
The ball drifted... dropped…
And then—\
The net rippled.
2-0.
Game over.
The referee looked at his watch.
One last desperate attack from Schwarzburg. A cross. Cleared.
Then—
Peeeeep!
Full-time.
Ethan didn't react. He couldn't.
The noise around him became distant and muted, like he was underwater.
The players screamed in celebration. The fans erupted in pure joy.
His assistant grabbed him by the shoulders, shouting in his face, but Ethan couldn't even register what he was saying.
The stadium roared his name.
ETHAN CARTER! ETHAN CARTER!
He had won.
After ten years of failure, humiliation, and endless ridicule—
He had finally won.
The curse was broken.
The emotions hit him all at once—a tidal wave crashing over him.
His knees buckled. His hands shook.
And then—
A sharp pain pierced his chest.
Ethan Carter's vision blurred.
He stumbled. In his ears, his heartbeat raced.
Something was wrong.
His breath hitched. The world tilted.
The last thing he saw before everything went black—
The scoreboard flashes the final score.
Kaiserslautern 2 – Schwarzburg Leipzig 0.
Victory.
And then—
Darkness.