Become A Football Legend

FWEEE!

The final whistle blew as the match ended with loud cheers from the fans.

"And that is it folks, the end of this fairly one-sided Europa League fixture. Eintracht Frankfurt with a comfortable 3-0 win. The man of the match has just been released by UEFA; unsurprisingly, it is Lukas Brandt. One goal and two assists, who else deserves it?"

Lukas, who was subbed off in the 83rd minute, stepped onto the pitch with a jacket on as he joined his teammates in celebrating their qualification for the round of 16. The fans cheered as the Ultras played drums and sang chants of victory.

Lukas was later handed the player-of-the-match award as he headed to the dressing room. A small, sleek trophy with the Europa League emblem cut into its metallic face, catching the dim corridor lights.

Surprisingly, there wasn't much ceremony behind the trophy as he just posed for a picture with the UEFA representative who handed him the trophy.

* * *

"Lukas, you're coming with me," Toppmöller said immediately after Lukas stepped into the dressing room with the trophy in his hand. He turned back around and walked out with his coach as they headed for the press room.

Toppmöller pushed open the back door and stepped into the room with Lukas walking behind him.

The air was a little warm, carrying a faint mix of coffee, paper, and the lingering smell of damp jackets. Bright overhead lights made the space feel smaller than it was, washing over the rows of tables where reporters sat with laptops open, some still typing, others looking up.

The low hum of quiet conversation stopped for a moment as heads turned towards them. Cameras on tripods were already in place, their red standby lights glowing.

Lukas calmly looked around. At the front, the long desk with microphones waited, its black surface reflecting a bit of the light. Behind it, the backdrop was covered with sponsor logos in neat rows, the same pattern he had seen on TV.

It wasn't glamorous — just plain walls, the scrape of chairs, and the weight of knowing that every glance in the room was measuring him.

"Good day, everyone," coach Toppmöller said as he sat down while Lukas sat after him.

The camera flashes from all angles caught Lukas off guard as he had to refocus his gaze when one flashed directly in his line of sight — it was his first time witnessing something like this.

"We'll be taking questions now," the UEFA media personnel who was serving as the moderator of the interview said to the crowd after confirming with coach Toppmöller.

A few reporters raised their hands and he selected a female journalist in front.

"Hello Mr. Toppmöller, this is Mary from Sky Sports Deutschland. Congratulations on qualifying for the knockout stages. How do you think your team played in general against this side that I'm sure you know a lot of people were considering to be an easy opponent?" the lady asked.

"Well, I think we came off with all three points, and that's all that matters. I think we created more chances than we took in the end, and that's one thing we will be working on in the coming training sessions."

Another reporter was picked from Nemzeti Sport, a Hungarian news outlet, and asked Toppmöller for his assessment of the opposition team's playing style, which he answered as honestly as he could without stepping on anyone's toes.

Next, a reporter from Kicker was selected. This time, his question was not directed to Toppmöller.

"Brandt, congratulations on the win and, of course, your player of the match award. How does it feel to score and provide two assists on your debut game in Europe?"

"Yes, thank you. Uhm... Obviously I'm happy for the win. I'm also happy I was able to play my part in it as well. This was a game we had to win. It's not always best to leave it to the final Matchday. So I'm glad we were able to meet our target," Lukas responded.

He had not received official media training by the club. But he already knew what would constitute a scandal and what wouldn't. "I mean, how hard can it be to not say stuff that'll get people mad, right?" was his thought process when he found out the coach was taking him to the post-match press conference. He was painfully unaware of how hard that could be.

"A follow-up, please?" the reporter asked the moderator, who gave permission.

"Mr. Brandt, you've now been involved in 100% of the goals Eintracht Frankfurt scores while you're on the pitch. In your first four games for the club, you've made nine goal contributions. What do you make of that?"

There was a low murmur in the press room as the reporter announced that stat: a 16-year-old with nine goal contributions in his first four games after his debut? That was unheard of.

"Oh wow, really? I am genuinely surprised. Obviously, like I said earlier. It's nice to be able to contribute to the team. My job in the team is to create chances and maybe take shots when the chance is there, but as you could tell from this match, there're still a lot to work on."

"That will be all we have time for today," the moderator said after a few more rounds of questions to Lukas and Toppmöller.

They both stood up and left the room amidst camera flashes.

"You handled that quite well," coach Toppmöller said as they stepped into the hallway that led to the locker room.

"Thank you. I was worried I would say something outrageous."

"Don't think about it too much. The press will always twist anything you say once you're on their bad books. That's one of their expertise."

Lukas chuckled as they entered the locker room where the players were gathered. Some had taken a shower and changed, while others were still sitting on the bench on their phones with shirts hanging on their shoulders or with one boot on and the other off.

"Alright boys," Toppmöller said after a few seconds of looking around. "Good game today. But we can't afford to let the celebration go past tonight. Go home, get some rest. We meet early tomorrow morning for our recovery session. It's only two days before the match against Hoffenheim. Let's keep this momentum going."

The players clapped as they dispersed and Lukas went in to take a shower.

* * *

"It still surprises me how he does it. He played 80 minutes yesterday and was on the receiving end of more than 10 fouls, still, it looks like his body doesn't feel it one bit," assistant coach Buck said as he stood beside Toppmöller.

They were watching Lukas from the touchline as he hit perfect free kicks from several positions. Kaua, the backup goalkeeper, was in goal as he dived after every kick, but the ball still went past him 7 times out of 10.

The remaining times, he either managed to tip it away from goal, or the shot itself missed the post by inches.

"Are you sure he's alright?" Toppmöller asked, a bit concerned.

"Yes he is. The medic checked in on him. It's like he did his own recovery session even before he came to practice. He also has the advantage of having a young body — the fatigue wears off quick."

On the pitch, Götze approached Lukas, who had just hit a free kick into the top left corner. "Wow. No matter how much I see it, it still surprises me how good you are at football," he said, watching as the ball nestled in the back of the net.

"It's still nothing compared to you. Your time in Dortmund was out of this world," Lukas responded as he turned to look at him.

"Hahaha... You're right, though. Those were really good times."

"I bet... By the way, I've always wanted to ask, what was going through your mind after that goal at the World Cup?"

"I could not believe it."

"I bet. It must have been crazy."

"No you don't understand, I literally couldn't comprehend what had happened. It was an experience that felt surreal. Still feels that way when I think back at it. That competition is phenomenal. There's no comparison."

"Really? I hope I experience that feeling sometime in my career."

Götze placed his hand on Lukas's shoulder, "I have a feeling you'll experience and achieve far more than I ever did."

"It doesn't get much bigger than scoring the only goal in a World Cup final, though. In extra time, no less."

"Yeah... I can't deny that... It really doesn't get much better than that."

The duo laughed as Toppmöller walked out onto the pitch and called the players together.

"How are you guys feeling now?" he asked as he looked around the squad.

It had been less than 24 hours since their win against Ferencváros in the Europa League, so they only had a recovery session that day. Lukas agreed to help Kaua Santos with his goalkeeping training when he asked; that was why he was hitting free kicks. The rest of the team just sat around on the pitch while some juggled the ball or passed to each other. Nothing extreme, at least not for the players who had considerable minutes in the previous game.

"We're having two sessions tomorrow. It's the weekend so I'm expecting everyone to be here for the morning session. Yes Lukas, I'm looking at you."