Greatest Of All Time

Chapter 22: Rookie In The Circle

Justin placed a hand on Diego’s shoulder. Up close, Justin looked like he was at least fifteen or sixteen, standing two heads taller than most of the U14s. His eyes were deep in his sockets, shaded by a thick brow as he stared down at Diego with a weird look of realization. In the background, the other boys continued to laugh and shove Enrique, while the air between Justin and Diego grew quiet.

"I think I know you," the vice-captain said to Diego. "Was your dad an engineer? The mechanic who had the shop over on the town square’s corner?"

Diego swallowed and nodded. What a relief. He wasn’t being picked on or bullied for being the new kid. This was just a neighborly recognition.

Word of Mr. Montoya’s passing must have reached Justin’s family somehow, probably because Justin’s mother was always seeking out his father’s services for their car. Justin probably remembered the smell of grease and the sound of clanking metal. He once sought refuge in Mr. Montoya’s garage on a day when the rain was pouring down so hard you couldn’t see the street, and Diego’s father had passed the time by teaching the young teenager how to build a simple motor fan.

Justin’s expression softened. He didn’t say "I’m sorry" or anything mushy, but he patted Diego’s shoulder, and somehow, that meant more.

He was about to tell Diego he could head back to his own drill, but then he looked over at the chaos still happening with his group. An idea flickered in his eyes.

"Hey! Shut it! Listen up!" Justin roared.

It took a few tries. Maicon was busy trying to trip Samuel, and Enrique was still red-faced, shouting about the injustice of the ball hitting his arm. Finally, the group settled down, their chests heaving as they turned to see why the bigger guy had yelled for their attention.

Pretty quickly, their eyes landed on the awkward kid standing next to him. To most of them, Diego was just another insignificant addition to the team, a bench warmer they hadn’t bothered to know more about since he was introduced.

Miguel recognized Diego from matchday. Seeing him here again piqued his attention.

"Look," Justin said. "Enrique is acting like a baby because he doesn’t want to chase his extra stint. Since he’s so tired, why don’t we let the new boy, Diego, chase the extra for him?"

Usually, in Keep-away, if the chaser commits a handball or gets nutmegged, they get an extra chase added to their sentence. That means they had to stay in the middle for another round. Enrique had already been nutmegged by Miguel earlier, which was why he was fighting so hard against the foul call. He didn’t want to be the piggy for four rounds in a row!

The group went silent, assessing Diego.

At first, they looked like they thought it was a whacky idea—why bring a rookie here?

But then, the grins started to spread.

They realized it was a perfect chance to toy with the newbie and show him the difference between the bench and the starting lineup.

"Yeah, let the kid run!" Maicon laughed, getting into his crouch.

"Don’t cry when you get dizzy, little man," Samuel added, licking his lips.

Miguel, Maicon, Justin, and Samuel all stepped into their spots, forming a lethal square. Their eyes were sharp, already calculating how to zip the ball around Diego’s head. Enrique, seeing his chance to escape, didn’t even say thank you. He quickly jogged off the field to grab his phone from his bag, making sure he was ready to record the inevitable humiliation of Diego the Small.

Meanwhile, Diego couldn’t believe it!

He didn’t care that they were using him as a scapegoat or that they wanted to laugh at him. He was actually going to play with the stars!

Jogging into the center of the circle, his heart hammered against his ribs. He looked at Miguel, then the orange ball, and felt the GOAT system in his conscience hum to life.

"Ready, rookie?"

"Ball’s live!"

Diego started chasing the ball with eagerness, staying light on his heels just like he’d seen the professional players do on TV right before a cup game. The ball moved fast. It zipped from Miguel to Samuel, but instead of the easy pass to Justin as one would expect, Samuel backtracked it with a clever heel-flick to Maicon. Diego’s eyes darted back and forth, taking mental notes of the schemes they were using to toy with him.

The game became the most intense piggy in the middle any of them had experienced. Diego was instantly liked by everyone because of how fiercely he chased the ball. Maicon laughed so hard he nearly tripped, and Samuel shouted "Ole!" every time the ball whistled past Diego’s reaching toes.

Despite their skill, Diego wasn’t just a statue. He almost got the ball three times! Once, he anticipated a soft pass to Justin and lunged, his studs just grazing the leather. The second time, he nearly trapped a low drive from Samuel, and the third, he forced Maicon into a hurried clearance that almost went out of play!

The starters weren’t just laughing at him anymore; they were impressed by how hard he was working. He was lively, relentless, and refused to give up! ƒгeewebnovёl.com

Across the field, the rest of the 100-level reserves were midway through a demanding ladder agility drill. Chema, dripping with sweat, paused for a second to catch his breath when he spotted a familiar figure in the distance. He saw the shock of maple hair and the slightly oversized jersey of a kid whom he knew very well, right in the thick of some boys from the starting eleven.

Chema poked Damian in the ribs and pointed. "Look! That’s Diego!"

Damian’s brows shot up with delight and genuine surprise. He wiped his forehead and let out a loud laugh. "No way! Look at him go!"

Back in the rondo, Diego was starting to use his brain more than his legs. He was reading their deceiving passing patterns—the way Justin looked left before passing right, and how Samuel used his hips to feint a long ball. He started categorizing their styles: Justin was the anchor, Maicon was the joker who took risks, and Miguel... Miguel was the pure playmaker.

Miguel once deliberately lifted the ball slightly into the air so that he could force a handball penalty! It was a cheeky, mischievous move, but thankfully, Diego swooped his arm behind his back, avoiding the contact just in time.

[System Notification!]

[0.002% Boost ↑]

Great!

The bond was working perfectly!

The more Miguel trained, the better Diego became. Plus, the system was rewarding him for direct contact; the rate of growth spiked whenever he trained directly with his host(s)!

Finally, Diego’s moment came. He had been targeting Miguel’s rhythm for the last three minutes, waiting for the perfect heartbeat of hesitation. As Miguel tried to perform a slick sole-roll pullback to switch play, Diego didn’t bite on the feint. He lunged forward, his foot meeting the ball with a solid THWACK, sending it flying out of play.

The whole group erupted.

"OHHHHH!" Maicon screamed, clutching his head. "Miguel got caught! The rookie got you, bro!"

"That was a wicked stop!" Justin added, clapping his hands.

Diego didn’t join the celebration. He slumped straight to the grass, his chest heaving as he panted for air. His lungs felt like they were on fire, but his heart was soaring.

Suddenly, a shadow fell over him, blocking out the muted grey clouds. He looked up to see Enrique standing there, holding his phone and looking down with a sly grin.

Enrique didn’t look like he wanted to enter the circle anytime soon. He had seen how much fun the guys were having with Diego as the spectacle, and he wasn’t about to ruin his own break.

"Don’t worry," Enrique told him, sounding way too helpful. "You can play all my turns for the rest of the session. I’m sure you’re not tired yet, right?"

Diego shook his head, still trying to catch his breath. He couldn’t even find the words to reply, but inwardly, he was beaming with excitement.

He wasn’t just a bench warmer today. He was a player.

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A/N: Thanks for reading!