NOVPUBThe stadium erupted in screams. The sound echoed through Wembley like a deafening wave, and for a moment, Lucas felt that the entire universe had stopped.
The match announcer, his voice shaking with emotion, shouted into the microphone:
"GOOOOOOL! BRIGHTON’S GOAL! LUCAS TANAKA! WHAT A SPECTACULAR STRIKE! A MASTERPIECE AT WEMBLEY STADIUM!"
"That’s unbelievable!" The broadcaster added. "Brighton are ahead of Bayern Munich in the final of the U-20 Champions League more form! And what a way to re! Tanaka put the ball exactly where he wanted it, into therner! Früchtl didn’t even move! That’s two goals for him, the team’s attacking midfielder! You can’t say he doesn’t deserve a call-up to the Japan national team at this age!"
Lucas felt his body being pulled violently as Raphael jumped on his back, shouting in his ear. Arthur, Miguel and the others arrived soon after, and within snds, all the Brighton players were around him, hugging him, shaking his shoulders, shouting with euphoria.
He opened his eyes and saw the stadium screen replaying the shot in slow motion. The exact moment when the ball hit the crossbar before falling into the goal.
On the bench, Jimenez punched the air with a hoarse cry, while Eddie smiled discreetly.
In the stands, among the thousands of fans, a woman with watery eyesvered her mouth with trembling hands. Ayumi Tanaka, Lucas’ mother, felt her heart racing in a way it hadn’t for years. Next to her, John Tanaka, Lucas’ father, was crying and pointing to the others.
"THAT’S MY SON! THAT’S MY SON! LUCAASSSS!!!"
His eyes shone with pride. He had always known that his son was talented and knew that he was doing well in England, but seeing that moment live was something that surpassed all expectations.
Among them, Hana, Lucas’s little sister, was jumping up and down in her chair, holding a Brighton scarf that was too big for her.
"Onii-chan red! He red!" she shouted, tugging on her mother’s sleeve.
Ayumi, still emotional, hugged her daughter and looked at her husband, sharing a smile that said more than wordsuld express.
On the pitch, while the Brighton players were still celebrating, Lucas looked up at the stands and found his family. Seeing their faces beaming with happiness, he felt a wave of gratitude and love that almost brought him to tears.
But there was no time to get too emotional. The game wasn’t over yet, and Bayern Munich was a formidable opponent.
When the referee blew the whistle to restart the match, Lucas ran back to his position, his heart still beating fast. He knew he had to stay focused.
Bayern, determined to level the re, pushed forward with full force. The German midfielder drove the ball expertly, dribbling past two Brighton players before passing to Tsuyoshi Nishida.
Nishida, the young Japanese prodigy and childhood friend of Lucas, received the ball deftly. For a moment, their eyes met, and a series of memories flooded Lucas’ mind. But all that didn’t matter.
Lucas watched Nishida advance with the ball. He was well aware of his friend’s abilities and knew it wouldn’t be easy to stop him.
Nishida dribbled past a Brighton defender and prepared to shoot. Lucas, anticipating the move, ran towards him. At the last moment, he stretched out his leg and deflected the ball away, preventing the equalizer.
Both men fell to the ground after the shot. Nishida got up first and held out his hand to Lucas, helping him to his feet.
"You’ve always been quick, Lucas," said Nishida with a smile.
"And you’ve always been unpredictable, Tsuyoshi," Lucas replied, smiling back.
Just then, surprisingly, the referee looked at his watch and blew the whistle. End of the first half!
"What?" Nishida and Tanaka asked in unison.
The first half was so busy and passed so quickly that they didn’t notice the time passing.
The Brighton players walked towards the dressing room, some with restrained smiles, others with expressions of deepncentration.
Lucas Tanaka, rer of the goal that put his team ahead, still had his heart racing.
In the dressing room, the atmosphere was a mixture of excitement and focus.
Coach Jimenez was waiting near the tactical board, while assistant Eddie was handing out bottles of water and towels to the players.
"Listen up, lads," began theach, looking directly at each of the players. "We’re playing well so far, but we need more defensivensistency. Bayern is a dangerous team and we can’t give them any space. We need to take advantage of the fact that we’re ahead and try to keep it that way."
Jimenez pointed to the tactical board, where the players’ positions were represented withlored magnets.
"Let’s make a change," hentinued. "Arthur, you’ve been fundamental in attack, but we need to strengthen our defensive midfield. I’ll put you on the bench and bring in Denis to strengthen our middle line."
Arthur nodded, although his disappointment was evident.
"I understand,ach. The important thing is the team," he said, trying to hide his frustration.
Denis stood up, adjusting his shin pads and nodding in agreement.
"I’m ready," he said.
Jimenezntinued, drawing lines on the board to illustrate the tactical changes.
"With Denis in the middle, we’ll have more defensivever because of the 4-4-2 formation. Allowing our full-backs to get forward more safely. Remember, the key here ismpactness andmmunication. We can’t allow them to find spaces between our lines. Lucas, you know what to do. In this set-up, you’re the third striker when it’s time tounter."
"We also need to keep possession andntrol the pace of the game." Eddie added. "Don’t get ahead of yourself. If we have the ball, they can’t re."
Lucas watched and listened intently, absorbing every instruction. He knew that, as well as tactics, there was an emotional battle going on inside him.
Facing Nishida was more than just a professional challenge; it was personal. Memories of training together,nversations about dreams and ambitions, all ran through his mind. But he also knew that, at that moment, he needed to put those emotions aside and focus on the bigger goal: victory.
When the referee blew the whistle for the start of the snd half, Brighton returned to the field with their new formation.
