Become A Football Legend

In the 71st minute, after a beautiful dribble to beat the pressure deep in his own half, Marmoush found Götze who released a one-touch through pass towards Ekitike who was already on the run.

Two Freiburg defenders chased him, but his long legs always kept him just ahead of reach. He kept his cool, waited for the goalkeeper to commit, raised the ball above him, and immediately went to celebrate even before the ball landed in the net.

"What a play! What a goal! It's 3 - 1 to Frankfurt, this match is now completely theirs to lose. Quick feet from Marmoush to play through the pressure and find Götze who delivered a sublime pass." The commentator said as they watched the replay of the third goal.

Lukas still sitting on the bench, he was asked to warm up initially, but then wasn't subbed in. He already accepted that he wouldn't be playing in this game. The win was already secured anyway, so there wasn't much he could contribute to the match.

"I wanna play at least a few minutes, though," Lukas thought. It didn't matter if it was meaningless, he just wanted to play the game.

His family was here to support him, and he wanted to give them something to cheer for. Although he knew they were still by his side whether he played or not, he still wanted them to see him on the pitch.

His time was about to come, though, and assistant coach Buck just asked him to change to his playing kit. He was gonna be part of the last substitutes for the game.

As he stood next to coach Topmöller, the Coach had some basic instructions for him. "Just keep the game calm, Luke. It's ours already, I just want you to get some playing minutes. If you see there's no way forward, play a simple back pass."

"But if there is?" Lukas asked with a sly smile.

"If there is, you definitely should go for it. The goal difference could be crucial at the late stage of the season."

"Alright coach."

Just as they waited for a break in play to substitute Lukas for Marmoush, Marmoush decided to impress some more.

Omar Marmoush received the ball down the left wing, he had a quick one-two with Knauff — substituted in the 73rd minute — and received the ball back just at the edge of the penalty box.

Just as the ball reached his leg, he launched a powerful shot headed straight to the bottom corner.

The Freiburg goalkeeper threw himself at it, and got a touch in, but the power of the shot made it impossible to stop. The ball brushed his gloves aside and settled in the back of the net.

"GOALLL! Omar! Omar! Omar! That was a wonderful goal! All the City fans who are currently watching this game, will be smiling from ear to ear. Marmoush powers it in to make it two for him, and four for Frankfurt. This game is over."

Up in the stands Lukas's group cheered as loudly as they could, João holding his head when the ball nestled into the net.

"I definitely would end up in the hospital if I throw myself at that kinda shot... Geez... Thank God my team still plays in the 2. Bundesliga."

Not long after the game resumed, the ball went out for a throw-in and the assistant referee raised his flag to signal a substitution.

"SUBSTITUTIONS COMING IN FOR EINTRACHT FRANKFURT..." The stadium announcer said through the loudspeakers, drawing the attention of Javi's group.

There were three players standing on by the touchline as the fourth official held up the sign.

Oscar Hojlund came in for Larsson, Tuta for Kristensen.

And finally... Lukas for Mario Götze. Coach Topmöller decided to let Marmoush play the full game. "Since this could be his last game, I might as well get the most out of it," was his thought process.

The fans applauded as he stepped into the pitch, with the gang being one of the loudest fans when Lukas ran onto the pitch.

"Are they that happy to see the kid? He assisted in his debut, but is he THAT good already?" A lady standing on the row behind them asked the man she was with, presumably her partner because their hands were intertwined.

"They must be related. Look, they're all wearing his number. And that man looks so much like him too. It must be his father... Or brother," the man responded to the lady

Yes, Javi looked that young.

"Ouch! What was that for?" Javi squirmed as Anne squeezed his hands tighter.

"Your nose was getting longer from the compliment... I don't blame them, though... Sometimes you look like Lukas's older brother."

"Of course I do! Gotta take care of myself." He leaned in towards Anne's ear and whispered, "Otherwise I'd run out of breath with you."

Anne just slapped his arm as she turned the other way.

Back on the pitch, the substitutions were all on and the game resumed with a throw from Frankfurt deep into their own half. Tuta, who had just come on, launched the ball towards Oscar Hojlund down at the center line. Eggestein, a Freiburg midfielder, and Oscar both jumped for the ball. Oscar got the header in, flicking it down the right flank to Marmoush.

Marmoush skipped pass his marker, but another was already blocking his escape route — they had learnt not to give him too much space the hard way. As he contemplated his next move, he heard a shot on his left, "Omar!" and recognized the voice immediately. With one short look to his left, he fired a shot-like pass towards Lukas.

The ball came at Lukas with speed, but lost all its momentum immediately after it touched his left leg — only rebounding slightly. The touch kept the ball perfectly under his control.

This was right on the edge of Freiburg's final third.

Eren Dinkci, who was back defending, saw the pass from Marmoush and stuck a foot in, hoping to poke the ball off Lukas if he had a heavy first touch. Lukas just pushed the ball from one leg to another, then forward as he skipped across Dinkci's outstretched leg — an elastico.

He glanced up to see his options, but Marmoush was double teamed and Ekitike was coming back from an offside position — a pass at that moment would be advantageous for the defender.

He decided to drive forward with the ball, his eyes steadily scanning for opportunities as the ball stayed stuck to his feet.

At this point, Ginter and Rosenfelder — Freiburg's two center backs — were slowly retreating into the box as back ups arrived quickly.

Ekitike, sensing an opportunity, timed a curving run perfectly to stay onside which pulled Ginter out of position.

Lukas was just arriving at the area beside the penalty arc — the same place he had struck the ball from during warm ups — when the crowd yelled: "SHOOT!"

They wanted the game to end with a bang. They were already three goals ahead in the 84th minute, so the game was basically over — barring some unforeseen circumstances. But if there's one team a home team would always want, it would be more goals.

"Lukas with the ball, he beats Dinkci. He's getting to the penalty box, where is the defense? Eggestein has decided to come out of his box to commit to the tackle. Ohhh! Lukas hooks it over his sliding feet. Is there a chance from there!?? He goes for it— OH MY WORLD! The young man has done it. Marvelous curling shot right into the top corner. The goalkeeper stood absolutely no chance! He did exactly that during the warm-ups too. It's like he was saying: I'm gonna show this to you beforehand, and you still won't be able to stop it. "

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A/N Official chapter for Aug 3. Last chapter for today... All of my stockpiled chapters are goneeee (⁠༎ຶ⁠ ⁠෴⁠ ⁠༎ຶ⁠).

Thank you all for the continued support with GTs, the GT chapter(s) will be undoubtedly released during the week.

See y'all next time.

-Writ