Football singularity-Chapter 368 Smile

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[70th Minute Continued]

The referee sprinted over, his whistle-blowing with sharp urgency as players from both teams crowded around Morales and Tah. Hands gestured wildly, voices clashed, and the tension on the field reached its boiling point. Morales simply smirked, brushing dirt off his legs as he taunted both Tah and Rakim from behind Gießelmann.

"Calm down, Tah!" Lars shouted, pulling his teammate back before things escalated further. "It’s not worth it." The referee held up his hands, demanding order as he reached into his pocket. A yellow card was brandished toward Morales, his smirk unwavering, while Tah was cautioned with a stern warning for his reaction. The tension on the field simmered as boos rained down from the home team as Leverkusen medical team came on the field.

Rakim, who was still sitting on the ground, didn’t even notice their presence as his gaze remained locked on Morales. Thomas Muller the middle-aged doctor of the team and his assistant started checking him out wanting to make sure he was ok. However, the lack of response from him inadvertently caused their movements to pause.

"Kid, are you okay?" he asked as he handed him a bottle of water, finally managing to get the boy to look at him but quickly regretted it. His green eyes held an intensity that startled him slightly as it reminded him of his time treating Thailand when he treated a man who fought a tiger barehanded.

Both their gazes looked desolate as if nothing mattered at that moment other than the destruction they were about to cause. "Are you hurt anywhere?" He asked again only to receive a blank stare that told him his question was irrelevant. If he was hurt, he definitely wouldn’t be sitting so calmly in front of him. Sighing he instructed his assistants to apply the cold spray at the affected area not expecting an answer from the Rakim right now.

"Hey Doc," Rakim suddenly spoke up, causing him to stop his action and look back into his bright green eyes. "Why does everyone keep trying me? Have I been too nice so far or do I seem like an easy target?" He asked the man in his mid-fifties his voice remaining calm and steady throughout making sure the doc understood his every syllable.

Dr. Thomas Muller hesitated, momentarily taken aback by Rakim’s question. It wasn’t the words themselves that surprised him, but the weight behind them—calm, deliberate, and edged with something that felt like a storm about to break. However, just as he was about to respond with something generic to placate the player in front of him his words caught in his throat. The intense gaze that locked in on him wasn’t something a 16-year-old should be able to give off.

"Sigh it doesn’t really matter just something that popped in my head, and I’ve been trying to shake. Thanks, I’m all good now," Rakim responded with a bright smile stopping Dr. Muller’s train of thought. Before he could say something, the player was already getting up from the ground re-adjusting his shin guards.

The cold spray stung slightly as Rakim stood up, brushing off the attention from the medical team. But his mind was no longer on the impact of the foul that had sent him sprawling to the ground. He was somewhere else now—his focus, sharp as anger had begun to take hold of him, creeping into his every movement. He felt his entire vision blur as the red Düsseldorf jerseys were nothing more than shadows in his vision much like the monsters in his Titan-Fit advert.

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[72nd minute]

The referee regained control of the match after giving out a few warnings, and in the end, he only had to book Morales. Leverkusen received a set-piece opportunity from around 25 yards out, a perfect indirect free-kick range. Havertz was standing over the ball with Aránguiz discussing what to do when Rakim joined them.

"You good?" Havertz asked him when he joined the huddle but only received a nod from the younger boy. "Don’t linger on it, only lesser players resort to dirty plays like that when they can’t stop you. Pay him back by scoring a couple of goals."

"Yeah, just don’t get fouled again or the friendly giant might take someone’s head off," Aránguiz stated from the side as he motioned to the figure of Tah in the box with a pissed expression. He was usually a friendly guy joking around in training when it was appropriate but was also fiercely protective of his teammates. He hadn’t been the closest to Rakim when he was taken down, yet he was the first to defend him, nonetheless.

"Let me take it," Those were Rakim’s first and only words as he stepped forward to readjust the ball. Both midfielders shared a look but, in the end, chose not to argue, probably guessing what their young teammate was going through.

Deciding to trust him Havertz Jogged a couple of paces down the line acting as an option as he drew one of the 4 defenders in the wall. Aránguiz was more direct as he sprinted into the fray of the 18-yard box to join in the chaos. Standing over the ball Rakim closed his eyes for a second, taking the moment to steady his breathing before taking 5 long steps back.

"Oh, looks like he decided to take it himself, not sure if I would have had the kahunas to wave off my seniors at his age," Derek Rae stated as he watched the scene unfold below as the referee made the last checks before he blew his whistle.

"Just goes to show that confidence and ability go hand in hand," Stewart responded before coming to a stop as Rakim closed in on the ball at a rapid pace. In fact, his pass was much faster than what was required for a cross causing everyone to instantly think he was going for goal. "Could he be thinking of taking it on?"

His question was left unanswered as the figure in the black 22 jersey struck the ball, a soft thud later with his body leaning back he sent the ball rocketing forward. The ball contains so much velocity that Suttner on the rightmost side of the ball felt his sideburns get grazed as the ball flew past him. The ball continued to rotate as it flew towards the goal looking as if it was heading towards the near post.

Steffen in between the sticks had been guarding the far post expecting a cross for the Leverkusen players who were storming his box from the edge. But seeing the ball’s direction he instantly forgot them as he sidestepped across his line reaching the near post in a breath. However, at that moment he cursed his heart as the high ball that was flying towards his box in a fairly straight line seemingly gained life.

Its rotation seemingly increased or finally overpowered the ball’s forward momentum as it turned left cutting a boomerang arc across the face of the goal. I descended right around the back post where a lone figure in a black jersey was closing in. The ball hit the turf in front of Tah who was ready to adjust to its bounce only for it to spin on the spot before losing its momentum.

Not wasting the chance, Tah struck the ball firmly, slotting the ball into the back of the net causing the Spiel-Arena to erupt in cheers. The away fans who had been holding their breath jubilantly jumped from their seats throwing their beers into the air as they celebrated the goal. Not to mention the fans, Tah who had made his professional debut in 2014 with Fortuna Düsseldorf didn’t hold back as he fished out the ball before running to the side celebrating wildly.

Not forgetting to point at Rakim who still held a serious expression he directly put him in a headlock dragging him to celebrate. Smiling wildly at the nearby Lions fans he told Rakim "That cross was too perfect I almost tripped over it, hurry up and smile brooding doesn’t suit you, Your football is Joyful like the magician." he nudged his side before pushing everyone aside doing a shoulder shuffle dance prompting the rest of Leverkusen players to join in.

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To Be Continued...