Rise of a Football God

"Good job guys". Coach Yemi Daniel was grinning from ear to ear as soon as his team walked into the dressing room.

"I'm proud of your display this first half".

He was not bluffing. Despite the fact that Wydad AC managed to score an unexpected goal in the last minute of the first half, this kind of performance against a team like Wydad in the first place was unexpected.

His team was playing like a well-oiled machine against the African footballing giant and it left him beaming with immense pride.

"In the second half, no changes, I want you to keep on doing the same thing".

"Dominate, give them little chances on the ball, and most importantly, score. Do not let them score a second goal".

"Look at me," he pointed at his head. "Your head, keep it in the game".

"In this second half, they'll be desperate, they'll want to commit fouls, be physical and get into your head, don't let it".

"Keep on riding the energy of the fans and play your football".

"Now, let's go and finish what we started".

Well, that was all that the Enyimba FC players needed.

FWEEEEE!

When the second half started, just like Coach Yemi Daniel predicted, Wydad AC wilted like a dead flower, retreating into their box as they defended and when Enyimba FC became dangerous, they resorted to playing dirty.

The Wydad AC players became physical as they bullied the Enyimba FC players, becoming incredibly physical till yellow cards started being handed out.

Despite it all though, the performance of 2 players never faltered, Sam and Austin. With them remaining in tip-top condition, Enyimba FC kept on dominating.

"Zinedine Sam!" The home supporters kept on singing.

Again, Sam was at the heart of it as in the 67th minute, he played an incredible through pass to the right for Victor to run into unmarked.

This right winger managed to penetrate into the box, one-on-one with the goalkeeper but instead of shooting, he cut the ball back for his captain who was on another of his marauding runs.

Austin didn't miss his moment, tapping the ball into an empty net.

"GOALLLLL…!"

Austin charged towards the corner flag, sliding on his knees again as he pumped his fists passionately in celebration.

In the 67th minute, the game was basically put to bed but Wydad AC was not a team to give up as they kept on pushing aggressively.

Through counter-attacks, they had their moments a few times but the Enyimba FC defense remained as disciplined as a tortoise's back, letting nothing get through them and in the 82nd minute of the game, it ended.

And again, it was a familiar name at the forefront, Samuel Moses.

Receiving a pass from Austin close to the Wydad AC box, even as Zinedine Sam cheers blasted through the stadium, with his spatial awareness, Sam noticed the 3 opposition players charging towards him aggressively with apparent ill intent.

A thought told him to pass, but another thought told him another thing.

'Do your thing!'

Well, Sam did his thing.

Sam was charging towards the left but it was a feint. As the 3 players charged in aggressively, he stopped suddenly, dragging the ball back with the heel of his boots before turning and bursting away with incredible agility.

The 3 players collided against each other chaotically, stumbling and falling as gasps and laughter rang through this stadium.

"Zinedine Sam!" The chants rose to a crescendo.

Another player charged towards Sam immediately to intercept the ball as he was yet to recover from evading the 3 opposition players.

But even as he was still stumbling, with his spatial awareness active, it almost felt like he had eyes behind his head. In reality, he already mapped the whole pitch in his head, knowing the position of his teammates and his opponents.

As the player stuck a leg out, even as he was still stumbling, Sam did something rapid, kicking the ball 2 times in quick succession in a fraction of a second. He executed a la croqueta skill!

The defender stood, stunned, not knowing when his opponent dashed past him with the ball. He was in a daze.

"Zinedine Sam!" The cheers rose even higher.

Still with the ball even as he stumbled, before the ball could roll outside the line for a goal kick, Sam raised his head once to look before crossing the ball across the face of the Wydad AC goal.

The Wydad goalkeeper dived but the ball didn't get to his position though. Emeka who was closer to the ball reacted before the goalkeeper as he dove in with his head, hitting the ball with an incredible diving header.

Bam!

There was no stopping it. The goalkeeper was already eliminated from the equation, it was a free goal and Emeka scored it with aplomb.

Instead of charging towards the corner flag to celebrate even as his teammates and the home fans roared, Emeka ran toward Sam instead before kneeling and placing this midfielder's right foot on top his knee.

He dusted Sam's boots with his hands.

Sam laughed, feeling on top of the moon as his other teammates soon came, swarming both of them as they hugged and celebrated their fourth goal of the game. It was now 4-1 to Enyimba FC.

Wydad AC played well, the only factor that stole the X-Factor from them was a name, Zinedine Sam.

Sam was nowhere near the skill level of the iconic French midfielder yet but his performance today was reminiscing of the French legend's exploits in the World Cup, most especially against a prime Brazilian national team.

Sam played like a total midfielder today, torturing the Wydad AC team with his unreal playmaking for his age, spraying passes left and right, and the occasional through pass that cut the team apart like a hot knife through butter.

Today, on the pitch, Sam was head and shoulders above every other player, the closest to him being Austin.

The game ended 4-1 in Enyimba FC's favor with Sam grabbing a hattrick of assists in the final of the CAF champions league.

It was a unanimous decision; he won the man of the match award for the 3rd consecutive game in the CAF champions league.