Rise of a Football God

Badump! Badump!

Standing in the middle of the pitch, Sam could feel his heart beating rapidly against his chest, both from exhaustion and the tension of this moment.

Unlike in the open game where the players had full control over the proceedings on the pitch, a penalty was more or less a gamble, a toss of a coin that neither teams had full control over.

'Is this it?' Sam thought but he rebuked the thought immediately. 'We're still in the game,' he thought, taking a deep breath.

'Calm down, take a deep breath…, we're still in it'.

'We can still win, believe it!' He pumped himself and before he knew it, his blood was already burning hot again, all distractions abstracted from his mind.

Standing beside the young midfielder, Austin Oladapo wiped the sweat off his face with his hand, also breathing heavily.

This captain's heart was beating even faster than the teenager. Unlike Sam who was most probably uninformed, as an experienced Enyimba FC player, he knew the true gravitas of this moment.

In the whole history of Nigerian football, only Enyimba FC has ever managed to win the CAF Champions league during the prime period of the club between the 2003 and 2004 football seasons.

Enyimba FC claimed the title the first time in 2003, defeating Ismaily SC of Egypt, making them the first and only Nigerian club to win the prestigious African tournament.

A year later, in 2004, they successfully defended the title, winning the title consecutively by defeating Etoile du Sahel of Tunisia.

'Can we do it again this year?' Austin thought, tensed. 'Can we create more history for Enyimba FC as the best club in Nigeria?' He felt hyped for.

'Can we write our name in the book of legends of Enyimba FC?'

This captain gritted his teeth. 'I certainly hope so, I want to be a legend!' He looked in the direction of his coach.

Just like his players, Coach Yemi Daniel was also feeling the tension of this moment even as the noise being made by the Al Ahly fans already reached a crescendo, rising through the roof of this stadium.

The noise was deafening.

And under this noise, Coach Yemi Daniel fidgeted, walking up and down along the touchline as he paid keen attention to the proceedings on the pitch.

After a short break, the referee finally led the players back into the pitch where another toss of a coin was used to decide on which of the 2 goalposts in the stadium will be used to take the penalty shootout.

After the coin toss, the Al Ahly goal post was decided on.

All the players walked towards that post. As they walked, under the deafening sounds made by the home fans, the Enyimba FC players felt like pigs being taken to the slaughter, but they were definitely not obedient pigs.

Heck, they were not just obedient pigs, they were as stubborn as goats, defiant, determined to spoil the night for Al Ahly, their fans, and all of Egypt.

Thud!

With every step that Sam took, the more the tension of the moment left him, replaced by an incredible level of focus and determination.

Enyimba FC was to take the first penalty. Coach Yemi already designated his penalty takers, instructing Austin to take the first penalty but as soon as they got there, Sam walked up to his captain. "I want to take the first penalty".

Austin paused, looking at the teenager. Immediately, he could tell that the look in the boy's face already changed. "Are you sure?"

Sam simply nodded.

"Are you confident?"

Sam grinned.

That was all that Austin needed to see. "Ok". He nodded.

When Sam picked up the ball, walking towards the 6-yard box, on the touchline, Coach Yemi Daniel was losing it. "What are they doing?!"

While the coach was dying in frustration, the Al Ahly fans were dining.

"BOOOOO…!"

"BOOOOO…!"

They drowned Sam in boos but with a subtle smile on his face, Sam ignored it all as he walked up to the penalty spot, placed the ball down and looked at the goal. The goalkeeper was saying a few things but he didn't even hear him.

Sam didn't pay attention to the goalkeeper, only the goal.

FWEEE!

Immediately after the referee's whistle sounded, Sam jogged sideways to the left before closing in on the ball. After closing in, he hit it with the inside of his right boot with all the power that he could muster.

POW!

The shot was thunderous! The Al Ahly goalkeeper dived the right way to the right but the shot was too high and too powerful, he stood no chance as the ball tore into the top right corner of the net with incredible power!

The Cairo International Stadium was briefly silenced.

Sam jogged towards the corner of the goal post, staring the Al Ahly fans down who were behind the post. "Come on!" He roared at them.

"BOOOO…!" The fans responded, their boos even more deafening now.

By that provocative action, Sam added fuel to fire, putting the ignition to make this already fiery game even more fiery.

To Enyimba FC though, it set the tempo of confidence. Austin heaved a big sigh of relief as he hugged Sam on his way back. "Good job". He commended, a slight smile now on his face.

The home fans became even louder, the tension increased even more.

The first Al Ahly penalty taker, their striker stepped up before sending Ojo the other way, coolly slotting into the bottom right corner.

1-1

Emeka walked up next for Enyimba FC, unleashing another powerful shot that beat the goalkeeper despite the fact that he dived the right way again.

1-2.

Another Al Ahly player stepped up, he scored again. 5 players stepped up for both teams, including Austin, scoring 5 consecutive times each. The score was tied 5-5, and by now, the tension was at a tipping point.

Every penalty taker that stepped up could feel its palpable weight pressing down on them like a mountain, forcing them mentally to make a mistake.

The players of both teams managed to persevere through the pressure though, riding the momentum of their first penalty takers.

The 6th player of both teams took their penalty, scored, including the 7th, 8th, and eventually the 10th player stepped up.

The score line was 10-10.

The tension in the Cairo International Stadium was suffocating!

Now, it was time for the goalkeepers to step up. Ojo stepped up first, heart beating fast, fingers sweaty from the tension but this goalkeeper managed to do it, sending the Al Ahly keeper the wrong way to score his team's 11th penalty goal.

The noise in this stadium died down again, creating a serene atmosphere for their goalkeeper and unknowing to the fans, the sudden silence affected him even more as this goalkeeper stepped up to take his penalty shot.

FWEEEE!

After the whistle, this goalkeeper took longer than normal to make his run, constantly looking at the post and when he finally jogged and shot, Ojo read him like a book, diving towards the right.

It was a tame shot, weak and lacking technique.

Ojo didn't have to do much, his body parried the ball away, preventing it from going in… and deciding the game!

10-11…, game over!

"YESSSSS…!" Emeka reacted first, roaring as he charged towards his goalkeeper before jumping on his back in celebration.

The other Enyimba FC players were slow to react but once they did, they ran and jumped in sheer euphoria, celebrating wildly.

On the other side, the Al Ahly players collapsed on the pitch, exhausted and defeated. It was a contrasting emotion of defeat and glory, but that was football.

While the Enyimba FC players celebrated, the Al Ahly players agonized in the throes of defeat.

This intense CAF Champions league semifinal eventually ended with Enyimba FC going all the way to the final.

It was an incredible game.