Rise of a Football God

Hours before the final commenced in the evening, Pep Guardiola, the Manchester City coach had an interview.

"Good evening coach, your team will be playing against the underdogs from Africa in just a few hours, how do you feel about the game?"

"I'd feel better if the heat was not so scorching". He flashed a smile, wiping the sweat off his face.

The reporter laughed. "It's an Eastern thing, you have to get used to it in Saudi Arabia".

"So I heard".

"It's hotter in Africa though where those boys come from".

Pep Guardiola smiled. "So I heard too".

This coach rubbed his bald head. "First of all, I'd say don't call them underdogs. They're not underdogs after going through Al-Ittihad and Fluminense in such fashion, seeing them as underdogs after all that is just foolish at this point".

"I and my team will approach this game like every other game".

"We respect them, and we shall play them with that level of respect. Hopefully, we win". He smiled again.

"That's a nice mentality to have against an inferior team," the reporter smiled, about to say more when Pep Guardiola stopped him again.

"They're playing us in the final, that's not inferior".

The reporter chuckled. "If you say so. Before you leave, I want to hear your opinion about the boy they call the African Zidane".

"Not just this season, last season which is surprisingly his debut season was also filled with surprises as he dragged his club all the way to the continental double of the CAF champions league season and the NPFL trophy".

"This season again, he's doing it, impressing in their domestic league. Besides, he's the main reason why Enyimba FC made it to this stage".

"Coach, what do you think of the boy? Do you have any special plans against him?"

"The boy is good," Pep Guardiola smiled. "I watched the Fluminense game 3 days ago so I understand all the hype around him, it doesn't mean we're scared though. My team is perfectly capable of handling him". He said confidently.

"We've played against much tougher opposition and survived, so, we'll be fine".

He looked at his wristwatch. "If that's all, I need to go now, I have a schedule to meet".

"Sir, please wait, I have another question for you…"

He didn't wait though, he left, leaving the reporter disappointed. He didn't have all the time in the world to give to an unofficial interview, he had a game to prepare his team for.

For the last few hours to the game, the atmosphere became excitable as the stadium in Riyadh became filled with tens of thousands of fans.

Most of the fans were in the sky-blue jerseys of Man City, mostly Erling Haaland and Kevin De Bruyne jerseys. Very few fans wore the biro blue of Enyimba FC to the stadium for the final.

For this game, it was almost like a home game for Man City, the Nigerian club was heavily outmatched in terms of fan attendance.

And finally, the Man City team bus arrived to much fanfare.

Once the sky blue and white bus pulled into the stadium, the fans cheered loudly, welcoming their star players. Some of the players gave a bit of their time to sign autographs before entering the stadium.

The Enyimba team bus already arrived much earlier to much smaller fanfare.

In the dressing room, the coaches of both teams did the final work on their team before releasing them as they walked out of the dressing room.

Right there in the tunnel, before the game, Sam alongside his teammates had the best moment of their football careers.

Right there in the tunnel of this stadium, Sam stood shoulder to shoulder with some of the best and most high-profile players in the world.

Badump! Badump!

He could feel his heart beating hard against his chest.

Standing in a tunnel where at one side there was Erling Haaland, the best striker in the world and at another side, Kevin De Bruyne, the best midfielder in the world, it was hard to stay calm.

And not just them, seeing stars like Phil Foden, Rodri, Bernardo Silva, Ederson, and even Ruben Dias left Sam slightly hyperventilating.

It was taking his all not to be starstruck by the scene before him.

When he eventually got over his fanatism though, Sam settled, taking the immense moment of this game in. 'It's a final…, against Man City'.

He took a deep breath. 'It's my moment'.

'The moment that the system worked so hard and expended so much energy to create for me'. He smiled slightly. 'And I worked so hard to get to'.

'I've made it here; I can't afford to capitulate now'.

Paul closed his eyes and raised his head, taking in the incredible noise of this stadium. 'Calm down, calm down,' he chanted in his mind.

'Don't let the pressure get to you, calm, let it flow away like the tide,' he rubbed his palms together. 'Today is my day'.

'It's now or never!'

Receiving the signal, the players finally made their way out of the tunnel to a loud roar from the tens of thousands of fans surrounding this stadium.

Under this atmosphere, all the Enyimba players felt overwhelmed.

This was not their first time under this type of atmosphere, it was simply the caliber of opponents that they were in this atmosphere with that made them feel overwhelmed. They felt like dogs that were stuck in a cage with Wolves.

Sam recovered faster than his teammates though, clapping his hands. "Come on guys, stay focused!"

"We have 45 minutes ahead of us, we can do this!"

Seeing his reaction, Austin finally reacted, echoing his words and in no time, the team managed to shake off the cold feet they were feeling.

Standing in the middle of this pitch shoulder to shoulder with the likes of Rodri and Kevin De Bruyne, Sam still felt starstruck, but with a different motivation this time.

'The student shall eclipse the master!' He grinned.

At that moment, the referee took a look at his wristwatch, and then…

FWEEEEE!

The game started.