Rise of a Football God

Sam felt a deep yearning to return to the pitch as soon as possible.

Watching his teammates play in the last 2 games, he became filled with a deep sense of impatience. Like the others, he could also recognize that his team was in a crisis and his absence was what caused it.

He could not wait to get back on the pitch!

"Hey, are you ok?" Kayla inclined her head to look at him.

"Ah, I'm fine". Sam replied absentmindedly.

Hearing that reply from him, this girl sighed exasperatedly and suddenly, she hit the brakes, stunning Sam as he looked at her.

"What?"

"What's what?" She stared at him. "I know, your team is losing, it's affecting you but don't you think this is getting too much?"

"Sam, I love you and I love your career, I respect it. I do watch football too; do you really think being such a nerve wreck is how you'll help your teammates?"

Sam frowned, just looking at her.

"Have you forgotten what your coach told you so quickly? He told you to leave it to them, is this your way of leaving it to them?"

"For the past few days, you're not even eating well!" Tears welled in Kayla's eyes. "Is this how you repay your teammates for their trust?"

"Yes, they lost but they're giving their all out there. You think they don't also want to turn the situation around and win?"

"You were not like this before, is it always about you?"

"…" Sam was speechless.

"They trusted you to focus on recovering from your injury so you can come back and help them, while they expect you to trust them to do their best in your absence but from the look of things, you don't even trust them, do you?"

Silence.

Again, Sam was speechless.

"If you don't eat well and take care of yourself, how do you expect your body to heal properly so you'll return to the pitch at the quickest time?"

"Besides, don't you even care about me? You being like this is affecting me, sometimes I can't even think straight!"

"It's almost like you're depressed every minute".

At this point, Sam finally realized, he was being too hard on himself and not just on himself but he was being too hard on his girlfriend too.

Click!

Unstrapping his seatbelt, with a grimace, Sam leaned closer and hugged his girlfriend on the driver's seat tightly. Kayla didn't resist it.

After breaking away from the hug, Sam forced a baby expression on his face. "I've been foolish babe; will you forgive me?" He did puppy eyes.

Kayla just glared at him, unimpressed.

Sam sighed. "I'm sorry for being so self-centered. I didn't think about how my teammates felt at all, and most importantly, I didn't think about you. I recognize my mistake now, from the bottom of my heart, I'm sorry".

Silence; still no response.

Suddenly thinking of something, Sam smiled. "You remember your suggestion the other time?" He grinned.

Kayla raised an eyebrow.

"That I should follow you to Netherlands so you'll take care of me and nurse me back to health properly, and maybe even follow you to school at times to socialize and meet new people?" He smiled. "I'm in for it now, let's go!"

Now, Kayla was moved. She looked at him, trying to hide her excitement. "Really?"

"Yes, let's go to Netherlands!"

And that confirmed it.

The next day, after informing his coach, with his one leg, Sam left England with his girlfriend as he followed her to Netherlands.

He would be spending the rest of his recovery time in Netherlands.

She was right, instead of wasting time worrying about the form of his teammates, he should respect their will and desire to turn the situation of the club around while focusing on recovering from his own injury.

…

(Premier league:)

(Matchday 20 of 38:)

(Tottenham – Newcastle)

(Date: 4th January, 2025)

…

(Bournemouth – Everton)

(Date: 4th January, 2025)

…

(Aston Villa – Leicester City)

(Date: 4th January, 2025)

…

(Crystal Palace – Chelsea)

(Date: 4th January, 2025)

…

(Southampton – Brentford)

(Date: 4th January, 2025)

…

(Man City – West Ham)

(Date: 4th January, 2025)

…

(Brighton – Arsenal)

(Date: 4th January, 2025)

…

(Fulham – Ipswich Town)

(Date: 5th January, 2025)

…

(Liverpool – Man United)

(Date: 5th January, 2025)

…

(Wolves – Nottm Forest)

(Date: 6th January, 2025)

Fulham's next engagement was in the premier league against Ipswich Town, the newly promoted premier league club.

It was already new year for some time already, but only after the EFL Cup elimination did the new year start for the Fulham players.

At first, they were totally devastated by the loss, taking a big blow to their confidence from it but then Coach Marco Silva did a good job in helping his players to forget about the trauma of that game.

The coach was not the only one who came in handy though, a player who was currently in injury also came in handy.

Sam simply dropped a message in the Fulham team's WhatsApp group chat and that was enough to perform the magic.

{You've got it!}

That simple message did wonders, making this team forget about past traumas as they looked ahead towards their next game in the premier league.

While Sam had one of the most enjoyable periods of his life in Netherlands with his girlfriend, his teammates worked their asses off in training, giving their all in preparation for their next league clash.

Engrossed in training, the passage of time became a mirage and in no time, D-day was here.

They welcomed Ipswich Town in their home stadium, Craven Cottage.

After the last 2 disappointing results, the Fulham fans were still devastated but again, they showed their nature as fans. No matter the situation of the club, these guys were ready to support it through thick and thin.

The home supporters came in droves, flooding Craven Cottage in the tens of thousands as they supported their team.

Even before the game started, the atmosphere in this stadium in West London already intimidated the visitors.

The Fulham players felt their hearts blaze like a fire.

They were motivated to create something positive from today's game.