Chapter 1: The Unexpected
The deafening roar of the frenzied crowd echoed through the walls of Alex's dimly lit bedroom as he watched the Europa League final reach its climax on the flickering television screen.
Manchester United, once constant Champions League contenders, were now on the verge of a European glory not in Champions League though, it was Europa League. The club of Sir Alex Ferguson, Cristiano Ronaldo, Beckham, Scholes and Giggs, was reduced to this. In the span of a single breath, United's desperate hopes were cruelly extinguished as the opposing striker, Manuel Baresi, mercilessly smashed home the winning goal deep into injury time.
As the high-pitched whistle pierced the night to signal full-time, Alex felt his heart plummet into his stomach, and a sickening cocktail of despair and gloom churned within him. He sank back into his armchair, running his trembling hands through his hair as his mind wandered to what could have been if only things had unfolded differently.
How far the mighty Red Devils had fallen since the intoxicating days of Sir Alex's empire of success.
Alex had been a diehard United fan for as long as he could remember, passionately following the club through thick and thin since his teenage years when a young David Beckham was abruptly cast aside by Sir Alex Ferguson.
He'd seen the peaks and endured the gorges alongside his beloved team - watching the blue moon rise over the red half of Manchester as Abramovich's oil-soaked millions transformed Chelsea into a new powerhouse under 'The Special One' Mourinho. He'd had his hopes crushed as Guardiola's tiki-taka dream team at Barcelona ruthlessly dismantled United's Champions League ambitions for three straight years.
And he'd grimaced as the taunting noises from the light blue side of town grew piercingly louder, their noisy neighbours were newly supported by Middle-Eastern petrodollars.
But all of that paled in comparison to the shock of Sir Alex's retirement. The Scotsman's departure created a void that could never truly be filled, the blood-red of United's kit faded to a lifeless crimson.
It was years of a bleak new reality of mediocrity that Alex still struggled to come to terms with.
Desperate to clear his mind of the oppressive fog of disappointment, Alex decided to go for a late night stroll to the nearby park. But so lost was he in his own melancholy thoughts that he failed to notice the conspicuous headlights of the truck dashing towards him as he absentmindedly wandered across the road...
BAM!
"Liam? LIAM! Wake up, you're going to be late for training again!"
Alex's eyelids flew open as he stood upright, as his heart was jackhammering against his ribs. His wide eyes darted around in panicked confusion at the unfamiliar room. This was most definitely not his bedroom. Had he been kidnapped? Was this a hospital? And who on earth was Liam?!
As he tried to slow his ragged breathing, he caught a glimpse of his hands gripping the bedsheets. But the youthful skin he saw was not his own - gone were the callouses and faded scars of his 32 years. These were the unblemished hands of a teenager.
In a daze, Alex leaped out of bed as his fuzzy brain was still struggling to catch up. He stumbled to the window, squinting against the early morning sunlight. But the face staring back at him from the glass was not the one he'd seen in the mirror every day for the past three decades. Instead, the reflection showed a 17-year-old boy he didn't recognize at all.
"Liam Jensen, if you aren't downstairs in the next 2 minutes, there will be consequences!" An angry female voice with a distinctly Dutch accent roared up the stairs, snapping Alex out of his shocked trance.
His mother? No, that was impossible. Both of his parents were born and bred New Yorkers and they were in their 60s for crying out loud! And what kind of name was Liam Jensen? He racked his brain but came up empty.
However, some previously dormant instinct suddenly took command of his body as he rushed to get dressed in the Ajax youth academy training kit laid out neatly over a chair in the corner. His hands moved of their own will, clearly familiar with the routine, even as his mind spun like a malfunctioning merry-go-round.
The last clear memory he could clutch was the gut-wrenching Europa League defeat and then... nothing.
A complete blank.
Had he somehow quantum leaped into the real life of a Dutch teenage footballer? In Amsterdam of all places? In 2003?!
The whole thing was outrageous.
His pulse quickened with each step and he grabbed the sports bag thoughtfully placed by the front door and raced outside to the waiting car. He was met by the impatient scowl of a tall, elegant blonde woman whose hawkish glare bore into him as she thrusted a piece of cold toast into his hand.
"I don't know what's gotten into you lately, Liam." She said icily as he slid into the passenger seat. "This is your absolute last chance with the academy. You have exceptional talent but you're throwing it all away with your poor attitude."
Talent? What talent could she be talking about?
Alex's mind buzzed and clunked like a dusty old supercomputer as it tried to process this new information. Before he could open his mouth to unleash the torrent of questions bubbling up his throat, a rush of foreign yet strangely familiar memories started to flicker and take shape in his mind.
Fragments of a life lived, yet not his own.
The short drive to the training ground passed in a blurry haze, with his 'mother's' stern lecture about discipline and hard work fading into background noise as he as he watched the attractive Dutch countryside roll by outside the car window.
As they pulled up to the fabled De Toekomst complex, the cradle of Dutch football where so many of the game's stars were born, a wave of childlike wonder flashed over Alex's (Liam's?) face. As a lifelong football fan, he'd watched over countless photos of this legendary academy. But to be standing here, few feet away from those green training pitches, felt utterly surreal.
He walked into the changing room in a dreamlike trance, but was jolted back to reality as he noticed the looks his new teammates were giving him - flickering glances of ridicule and jealousy that they made no attempt to conceal.
The iconic Ajax shirts bearing that unmistakable crest hung at each locker, almost taunting him with their history and the weight of expectations. His sense of awe faded, quickly replaced by heavy unease in the pit of his stomach as the whispers reached his ears.
"Look who decided to grace us with his presence today," one of the boys sneered. "Guess mommy dearest finally managed to drag princess Liam out of bed this morning."
"Coach should just cut him already," said another, shaking his head. "So much talent but he pisses it away. What an absolute waste of good talent."
Though Alex knew the disapproving comments weren't truly directed at him, he couldn't help but feel a flush of shame rising in his cheeks. Just what kind of person had Liam been before he had inexplicably taken over his consciousness? He hardly had time to examine his newfound memories before a sharp, authoritative voice cut through the locker room chatter.
"Jensen!" Coach van Dijk, a strong man with an old face and icy blue eyes, stood at the entrance with his arms folded across his chest. "I see you managed to find your way here today. Do you think you could also manage to put in maximum effort for once too?"
He strode over to Alex and poked a bony finger into his chest.
"Let me make one thing crystal clear, kid. You're on thin ice here. Very thin. Today is your make-or-break moment. Impress me out there with some real drive and commitment, and you might just earn yourself a tomorrow with Ajax.
But if I see the same half-hearted, careless performance you've been churning out recently? You'll be packing your bags before the sweat has even dried. Do I make myself absolutely clear?"
Message received loud and clear. Liam nodded silently, as a bead of sweat rolled down his temple as he laced up his boots with trembling fingers. As he followed his teammates out of the changing room and jogged onto the training pitch, an astonishing realization began to emerge in him.
Impossible as it seemed, he - Alex - had been handed the football opportunity of a lifetime, albeit in the body and life of another. A true second chance at pursuing the dream he'd long ago abandoned.
But could he make the most of it?
There was no doubt that Liam had innate ability. The muscle memory was all there as his body went through the paces instinctively in the warm-up. But reading through his hazy recollections, it was clear the kid had been drifting on raw talent alone, with no real drive or hunger to maximize his potential.Â
And so, as Alex threw himself into the passing and shooting drills, marveling at the effortless way his body moved, at the crisp first touch and intense pace, he felt a bubbling excitement begin to rise in his chest. This was the stuff of dreams for any true football fan - the chance not just to meet your heroes, but to actually become one yourself.
As the drills ramped up in intensity and a crisp pass suddenly whizzed towards him, time seemed to slow to a crawl. Through his widened eyes in disbelief, Alex watched a shining interface blink into existence before him, as the glowing texts hovered in midair:
[System Initialization Complete]
[Football Evolution System has been Adjusted for Host Optimization]
[Compatibility Score: 87%]
[Current Status: Simple Youth Prospect (F-Grade)]
 [Potential Ceiling: Undetermined]
[Basic Module Functions Unlocked]
Alex blinked rapidly, thinking sure he must be hallucinating. Hardly daring to breathe, he watched an optimal passing channel light up in a translucent beam on the pitch in front of him. Without a second thought, he instictively kicked the ball through it with classic weight and precision, crossing two defenders to land on his teammate's bootlaces in acres of open field.
A stunned hush fell over the other players, quickly replaced by murmured exclamations of shock. Coach van Dijk simply raised an eyebrow, his expression revealing nothing.
But in that moment of clarity, two irrefutable truths crystallized in Alex's mind:
The dull life of young Liam Jensen had been drastically and irreversibly altered in this one morning. And this miraculous otherworldly reset button, complemented by this system, had tossed him on a thrilling new trajectory to pursue new football heights.
The burning question now was just how high could he soar and how dazzlingly bright could his star shine on this foreign stage?
His name is Liam Jensen.
And Today is the beginning of his rise to football greatness.