Rise of a Football God

Making it to the final of the CAF champions league in itself was already legendary, but it was the circumstances surrounding their qualification that made it even more legendary. Enyimba FC were the big underdogs yesterday.

Due to their form in the champions league, they were rated fairly in the semifinal, but their opponent was Al Ahly, the Egyptian footballing giants, a club that had a genuine stake as the best in all of Africa.

Not only were they playing against Al Ahly, but it was the return leg game played in the iconic home stadium of their opponents.

Putting out such an iconic performance in such an iconic stadium was legendary, this was why it meant so much to the players and their coach.

They were not the only ones who shared this sentiment, the Enyimba FC fans shared the same sentiment and it was already sweeping through Nigeria like the unstoppable tide of a flood.

Social media was filled with posts with trending themes all relating to yesterday's performance, the tags mostly being #Enyimba FC, #Samuel Moses, and #Austin Oladapo.

Sam was never really a social media person but during his 4 years away from football, he was introduced into the diverse world of social media by his sister.

He was not too active but he had an account in most social media platforms.

On the way back to Nigeria, Sam was initially frightened as all his social media platforms experienced an upsurge in followers.

To his shock, within this short time, multiple social media fan groups were already created in his favor and they were raking followers at a rapid rate.

He was shocked. 'Was my performance… really that legendary?'

In hindsight, a 17-year-old winning consecutive man of the match awards in the semifinals of the CAF champions league was definitely not normal.

In the biggest stage of club football, the UEFA champions league, the most recent performance closest to his was that of Ngolo Kante, the French midfielder during Chelsea's triumphant 2021/2022 champions league campaign.

When the Enyimba squad finally arrived in Nigeria, they received a hero's welcome at the airport from their excited supporters.

There were literally thousands of fans waiting for them in the international airport in Asaba, Delta State. They all sang songs of victory.

And again, for the second time in 2 days, Sam and others of his teammates were forced to participate in fan service as they signed autographs and took pictures with the fans who demanded them.

They spent a long time in the airport before finally taking a bus to Abia State. The media covered it as everything transpired in the airport.

That was not the only welcome that the triumphant squad received though. Returning to their home stadium, the players were surprised by the presence of tens of thousands of fans filling the stands, waiting for their arrival.

"Don't tell me…, damn!" Austin was losing it. "Something like this has never been done before since I entered the club!" Austin was emotional.

The club organized a celebratory party to mark their legendary triumph over Al Ahly in their backyard in Egypt.

"Sam!" "Sam!" "Sam!"

"Austin!" "Austin!"

The fans sang different songs but the name of their exciting young attacking midfielder and their captain was at the forefront as they sang songs with their names. It was a dizzying experience to Sam.

Under this much scrutiny and appreciation, he felt overwhelmed.

'Damn!' He thought. 'Reversing my decision to play football indeed is the best thing that ever happened to me…, and getting the system too'.

'Hell, that 2022 FIFA World Cup final is the real OG, it changed everything!'

Austin had a speech, thanking the fans for their constant support despite the odds against them, acknowledging the help of the away fans in their triumph.

The fans were not satisfied with that though, they demanded another player to give a speech too.

"We want Sam!" They roared.

Nobody knew who started it but soon enough, it graduated into a chant in this stadium as the fans demanded for him.

In the end, left with no choice, awkwardly, Sam took the mic. "Umm," immediately after they heard his voice, this stadium became deathly silent. Sam cleared his throat. "First, I want to thank all of you for coming today".

After saying the first words, noting the silent respect that the fans gave him, before Sam knew it, his tension already disappeared, replaced by loving confidence.

He smiled. "At the beginning of the season, most people didn't expect us to do much but here we are, in the final of the CAF champions league".

"Not only that," he grinned. "We're also leading the NPFL table!"

"Yeahhhh!!!" The fans cheered excitedly.

Sam's smile widened. "I want to acknowledge your support through it all. Everything that we do on the pitch, we do it for the fans. Without your support, we would have never made it this far".

"For all that, Sam says arigato". He grinned, causing a stir in the stadium with his Japanese as the fans chanted his name some more.

'Damn! I love this feeling'. He thought.

With the big smile still on his face, he finally decided to bring his speech to an end. "Just as you've done since the beginning of the season, I want you all to keep the faith in us. We won't let it down". He said seriously.

"Us making it to this stage was not a fluke. Support us and I promise you," he grinned. "We will win the CAF champions league this year!"

"SAM!" "SAM!" "SAM!"

The cheers were deafening.

"And we will also win the league!"

The stadium literally exploded with that as the excited fans let loose, roaring at the top of their voices out of sheer ecstasy.

After a few more dozen minutes of interacting with the fans on the pitch, the players finally left. And this was when Sam got an even bigger shock.

"Mom?" His eyes were wide as saucers. "Dad? Ian?!"

"Congratulations munchkin!" Mr. Moses grinned, pulling his son into an embrace. "You really think we won't come after such a milestone achievement in your football career?"

"I…, I didn't expect it".

In the end, f*ck expectations, Sam felt on top of the world! There was no greater feeling than celebrating victory with family.

His last shock of the day came an hour after meeting with his parents.

In the hotel where his parents and his best friend lodged, to Sam's shock, Coach Yemi Daniel came to meet them later in the day with documents.

Mr. Moses shook the older man's hands. "To what do we owe this honor, coach?"

Coach Yemi Daniel had a gentle smile on his face. "Good day Mr. Moses".

"Well, your son has exceeded all expectations that were set by the hierarchy of my club so after a lot of consideration, we decided to improve the contract terms and increase his monthly salary".

"Sam will now receive a monthly salary of 500,000 naira per month".

"…"

"…"

"…..!"