Become A Football Legend

"Great save from Kobel! It falls nicely for Lukas. A volley?!" The commentator said in anticipation as Lukas arrived at the ball's position.

He had other intentions, though. With a light, deft touch, Lukas flicked the ball to the right just as it touched the grass, killing the bounce completely. Schlotterbeck, who had thrown himself in anticipation of a shot, was left stretched out on the pitch.

Lukas took one small look at the goalkeeper and gently curled the ball with his left foot towards the bottom left corner.

Kobel was left grasping at air as the ball kissed the inside of the post before settling in the back of the net.

"LUKAAAS!!! The young man has struck again. The calm! The composure! Frankfurt is creating a star! A brace on his first senior start against BORUSSIA DORTMUND!"

Lukas ran to the left corner blowing kisses at the camera as the crowd went crazy in front of him.

His teammates rushed him as they jumped on top of him screaming. Koch squeezed him tightly as he shouted. It was obvious what a two-goal lead meant for them.

Down at the bench, Sahin walked back to his seat, his shoulders hunched in defeat as he buried his face in his hands. It looked like they were going to extend their winless streak, and with each match, his job was becoming less secure.

On the pitch, the Dortmund players still had some sense of belief. They were, undoubtedly, one of the biggest teams in Germany — hope was something they rarely lost. But that game was like a perfect summarization of the season so far. From playing in the Champions League finals the previous season to falling to 10th place in the Bundesliga. It was a disastrous situation.

Emre Can clapped loudly to gather the outfield players, and gave a speech about fighting for their place in the game and the season in general. It was an attempt to keep morale high for the rest of the match. There was still enough time to mount a comeback. In the beautiful game of football, nothing was impossible.

As the game resumed with a Dortmund kick-off, they attacked like mad men. They utilized all avenues — the flanks, down the middle, straight lobbed pass from the defense directly to Guirassy — they did all they could to get that second goal.

Eintracht Frankfurt just refused to break.

As the match went on, Lukas could feel his defensive awareness getting sharper. He had stopped training them for a while only focusing on his attack and strength stats. It was an obvious decision since he was an attacker. That had never been an issue too, because he hadn't faced a team that would make him sit back in defense for the majority of the match like he was doing at the moment.

But with directions from the defenders behind him, Lukas positioned himself well, and gradually started winning tackles and making more interceptions. It made it a lot more difficult for Dortmund's attack.

In the 80th minute, Adeyemi, who had come on for Julian Brandt after they conceded the third goal, tried to dribble Lukas down the right flank. Lukas knew Adeyemi's pace, so he baited him and showed him down the line.

As soon as he tried to push the ball down the line and sprint, Lukas flew in with a clean sliding tackle. Adeyemi rolled toward the advertising board at the edge of the pitch while Lukas stood up to a round of applause from the fans.

"16 years old, with a two-goal lead, and still playing with such passion. Players like these are rare. The fans are starting to fall in love with him," the commentator said.

As Adeyemi stood up, picked the ball, and wiped it on his shirt to take the throw-in, "FWEE FWEE FWEE," the referee's whistle blew as he pointed to the touchline where Eintracht Frankfurt was getting ready to make a substitution.

The board came up — 49↓ 16↑

Lukas, who was on the opposite end of the pitch from where the substitution was taking place, stepped out of the field when he saw his number.

"Lukas Brandt! Look at the standing ovation this 16-year-old has received on his first start for his club. Two goals and one assist — an outstanding performance. The fans will be watching his performance from now on, but one thing is certain, he has formally introduced himself to this country."

The game resumed after Larsson came on for Lukas and Hojlund came on for Kristensen.

As Lukas walked around the pitch to the bench, he received warm applause from the fans he walked past. He had a smile on his face as he applauded them back occasionally — he sure took his time with the walk, though.

"Good game today," Dino Toppmöller said as he hugged Lukas when he got to the bench.

"Thanks, Coach," Lukas responded before heading to his seat. He was then handed a bottle of hydration drink and a coat for the weather.

The last ten minutes of the game was mostly all defensive on the part of Eintracht Frankfurt as they looked to keep their two-goal lead. Dortmund just couldn't seem to break them down no matter how hard they tried.

Oscar Hojlund put the nail in the coffin in the second minute of extra time after a tussle in the midfield saw him go free with the ball behind the whole Dortmund defense who were stuck at the halfway line.

He promptly tucked the ball in the back of the net when facing Kobel and sealed the victory for Frankfurt with a score of 4 - 1.

After the match ended, Lukas got up from the bench and hugged a few players and staff members as they congratulated each other on their victory.

He went on the pitch and shook hands with his teammates and the opposition too. "Good game, man," Karim Adeyemi said as he shook Lukas's hand. "You related to Julian by any means?" he asked.

"Not that I know of, I'll have to ask my dad, though." Lukas responded.

"Ladies and gentlemen, your man of the match for tonight: LUKAS BRANDT!" The crowd cheered as the Lukas was announced as the man of the match.

Lukas was escorted to a small booth set up by the edge of the pitch to receive his man-of-the-match award. It was a solid piece — about the size of a wine bottle but shaped like a sharp, narrow column. Near the top, there was a flat plate with the words "Man of the Match" stamped cleanly into the surface, next to a small outline of a footballer striking a ball.

The metal was cold and slightly rough to the touch, not polished to a shine but finished in a way that gave it a muted, industrial look.

Lukas stared at the trophy with a smile. It felt like something you'd want to keep on a shelf, not because it was beautiful, but because it meant something.

"Congratulations on the win, Lukas, and being the man of the match in such a match. How do you feel?" A female presenter for Sky Sports Deutschland, asked.

"Wow. I don't even know what to say. Obviously it was a good game. I'm grateful to the fans for the vote, and I'll keep giving my all."

"I'm sure the fans would be happy to hear that. One last question, before your first goal when you were staring at Schlotterbeck, what was going through your mind?"

"Nothing much, really. I honestly just wanted to show that it wasn't the best move. All my thoughts were, of course, focused on putting the ball in the back of the net. If it seemed like I was looking at him, I wasn't. I was looking at the net behind him."

"You sure hit your target with that one. Thank you for your time, Lukas. The man of the match on his first start for the club, everyone, Lukas Brandt."

"Thanks for the trophy," Lukas responded as he walked back to join his teammates in applauding the fans.

As he got to corner of the stadium where his family was supposed to be seated, he blew a kiss directed at the booth where they were, at the top of the stadium.

"OHHH MY GOD!! He blew me a kiss!! He's soo handsome!" A blonde-haired girl sitting in a booth beside the gang's screeched as she blew kisses back towards Lukas.

"Calm down, Lexi, he's 16," The man beside her said.

"And so what, Dad? I'm 19. That's not illegal, right? I wanna see him, Dad. Pleaseee!" Lexi pleaded with her father.

"We have to return to England immediately after this match," the man said, as he moved his head side by side while his daughter tugged on his hands as she pleaded.

Over in the opposite booth, another girl, quite similar in age to Lexi, was giving Lukas the death stare.