Rise of a Football God

The next day, when Sam woke up, there was a massive framed picture in his hotel room.

"Finally!" Sam grinned as he stared at this massive framed picture.

He ordered for this framed picture just 2 days ago, and last night, he got it. It was a framed picture tracking his career from Enyimba till date.

A few days ago, he finally did some research to know how many goal contributions he already had in his career and it was safe to say that the figure Sam found left him totally flabbergasted.

Since making his debut for Enyimba, Sam knew that he had been doing some crazy stuff in a football pitch but he was so focused in the moment and trying to win every game that he forgot to pay attention to the statistics.

When he eventually saw the statistics, he finally knew why transfermarkt valued him at an incredible 30 million Euros despite being just 19 years old now.

The framed picture was a treasured possession of his now.

(Name: Samuel Moses)

(Nickname: Zinedine Sam)

(Jersey number: No. 11)

(Image: =)

***

(First professional football season: 2022/2023- NPFL)

(Goals: 24)

(Assists: 19)

(Games: 33)

***

(Second professional football season: 2023/2024)

(Half season- NPFL)

(Goals: 17)

(Assists: 12)

(Games: 21)

---

(Half season- Premier league)

(Goals: 16)

(Assists: 15)

(Games: 21)

***

(Total goals: 57)

(Total assists: 46)

(Games: 75)

Seeing it when it was just figures online, Sam was already shocked and impressed. Well, seeing it now when it was printed in a framed picture, Sam was beyond flabbergasted and impressed.

"I really am a monster". He muttered.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

He had played just 2 seasons in professional football since making his debut in football but to the neutral eye, these stats were the stats of an absolute veteran of the game.

His first season in football with Enyimba went so fast that Sam never even realized that he actually played 33 whooping games in just his first season. Most debutants could not boast of the same amount of games played.

He didn't rack up so many games because he was favored though. Afterall, just like he forced his way into the Fulham starting XI with Coach Marco Silva, he also forced his way into Enyimba's starting XI.

This was all earned by merit.

Moving on from his first season, Sam actually managed to improve in his second season in professional football. With 21 games racked for Enyimba and 21 games racked for Fulham, he played an incredible 42 games as an 18-year-old.

This figure could not help but remind him of a younger Pedri Gonzalez for Barcelona when he played so many games he ended up being plagued by injuries.

Even till now, Pedri was not fully recovered from the strain of playing so many games as a youngster in that particular grueling season.

Sam did the same thing, but yet, he was still performing. The main difference between him and Pedri was the Ultimate Football System.

With the elixirs and gifts that he got from his system, unlike any other professional football player in the world and even in history, Sam could recover fast enough to maintain a consistent level of performance all season.

And a big difference between him and Pedri was that he was not just racking up a large amount of appearances, and he was not just playing well, he was also showing up in the numbers category.

In 75 games across his first 2 seasons as a professional football player, Sam already managed to rack up 57 goals and 46 assists.

That was 103 goal contributions already for a 19-year-old teenager!

It was just borderline crazy.

'Not even Messi or Ronaldo got numbers like this at my age'. This realization left Sam reeling in shock. 'Not even Mbappe, and not even Haaland too, I think'.

After the 2022 FIFA World Cup final, after he just got the Ultimate Football System and it claimed of making him a football God, Sam always thought it was just a big bluff. He accepted it because beggars were not choosers.

But now, seeing all that he had achieved in just 2 seasons of football and this was despite not even hitting his peak yet, he finally believed his system.

That morning, staring at the framed picture, Sam clenched his fists tightly, his eyes shining in unrestrained excitement. 'I have the potential to become the greatest player in all of football's history!'

'I have the potential to become the undisputed G.O.A.T of football!'

'And to think, Messi, you were the catalyst who pushed me into this path'. Sam grinned. 'God bless 2022, God bless Messi, God bless Mbappe, thank you for being my inspirations'.

'Thank you mentor'.

With that, Sam finally went about with his day, swiftly completing his daily system quest with Emile Smith Rowe, his partner before reporting for training.

With the good mood of his birthday still fresh, Sam was in great form as he impressed as the out and out Fulham's best player in training for the next few days in the buildup to matchday 2 of the premier league season.

And eventually, like the flipping pages of a book, the days disappeared.

In no distant time, D-day, the day of reckoning was here.

(Premier league:)

(Matchday 2:)

(Brighton – Man United)

(Date: 24th August, 2024)

…

(Tottenham – Everton)

(Date: 24th August, 2024)

…

(Crystal Palace – West Ham)

(Date: 24th August, 2024)

…

(Southampton – Nottm Forest)

(Date: 24th August, 2024)

…

(Fulham – Leicester City)

(Date: 24th August, 2024)

…

(Man City – Ipswich Town)

(Date: 24th August, 2024)

…

(Aston Villa – Arsenal)

(Date: 24th August, 2024) Explore stories on empire

…

(Bournemouth – Newcastle)

(Date: 25th August, 2024)

…

(Wolves – Chelsea)

(Date: 25th August, 2024)

…

(Liverpool – Brentford)

(Date: 25th August, 2024)

It was another exciting matchday of the new premier league season, and on the 24th, Fulham welcomed Leicester City in their home stadium, Craven Cottage.

In this game, Sam felt totally free, carefree, and happy for the first time in a long time. Today, he felt like he could enjoy his game.

His instincts told him that he would not need his robotic level of focus to win since that in itself was incredibly grueling. Today, he was determined to enjoy himself on the pitch before tens of thousands of Fulham supporters.

Back in Nigeria, Enyimba fans were already long accustomed to the version of their star player who thoroughly enjoyed himself on the pitch, totally outplaying every player both in his team and the opposition team.

The Fulham fans in comparison only knew the Sam that always came in clutch, scoring and assisting important goals to help their team get a result.

Today, they were about to get accustomed to the samba Sam.

What is samba?

To Brazilians, in the indigenous language, samba means roda de danca, or a circle of dance since the indigenous people danced in celebration on many occasions, such as the celebration of popular Catholic festivals, Amerindan, or Afro-Brazilian religious ceremonies, but it was also practiced at random.

Samba was usually attributed to the Brazilian national team; this was because of the incredible talent and natural flair of their players.

All the way from the era of the great Pele and Garrincha, to the Romario teams, the Rivaldo, then the Ronaldo and Ronaldinho era, the Marcelo and Dani Alves era, and then the Neymar era, all of it was referred to as samba.

Its literal meaning meant a dance, but to Brazilian footballers, the process of practicing their craft on a football pitch, displaying their flair, dribbling through players effortlessly like it was not there, it was part and parcel of the Brazilian football culture, it was samba.

Sam was not Brazilian but he loved Brazilians, he always loved them with Neymar as his Brazilian idol.

When he eventually learned Barca history, learning of the great Barca team led by Ronaldinho Gaucho, the mercurial Brazilian, he loved them even more.

Sam was first and foremost an attacking midfielder but he loved the movement and flair of Brazilians, their dribbling ability, it gave him the kick.

From Ronaldo to Ronaldinho, to Marcelo, to Dani Alves, to Neymar, these were all points of references that built his excitement in the sport of football.

Perhaps this love was why he inherited Ronaldinho's trademark skill, the elastico dribble.

As Sam walked into the pitch today alongside his teammates and amid the loud roar of cheers from the Fulham fans, he grinned.

'Let me show you samba'. He thought excitedly.

Sam felt adrenaline already flowing through his veins as he lined up on this pitch. Having spent the chunk of the past few days alongside him and training with him, Emile Smith Rowe was the first to notice the change in him.

The English player narrowed his eyes. 'He's different'.

'It's as if… he's happier'.

Yes, Sam was happy, far happier than he had been in months.

Emile Smith Rowe was not worried, because his instincts told him that this change was not a bad change. He was positive that it would benefit the team.

And when the referee's whistle sounded…

FWEEEEE!

…samba started!