Rise of a Football God

(Premier league:)

(Fulham – West Ham)

(Date: 14th September, 2024)

After matchday 3 of the 2024/2025 premier league season, matchday 4 would only start in 14 days because the first international break of the new season finally came.

…

Thud! Thud!

Somewhere in London, the thudding sound of boots reverberated through the streets of Fulham as 2 young men dressed in track suits jogged along the road.

These 2 young men were Sam and Emile Smith Rowe.

This early in the morning, both professional football players were already out in the streets again as they went at their daily ritual with gusto.

The reason why Emile Smith Rowe was still here in Fulham was simple, Lee Carsley, the new interim boss of the England national team did not call him up to represent his country in the games during the international break.

As for Sam, he was here due to a more peculiar reason.

As both players started jogging close to Craven Cottage, Emile Smith Rowe removed his earpiece before gently tapping Sam by the shoulder as he slowed down, also removing his earpiece while looking at him.

Smith had a partly confused and partly thinking look on his face as he looked at his friend. "Umm, can you tell me how to say don't disturb me in pidgin again?"

Sam chuckled amid rapid breathing. "Simple Smith, no worry me".

"Ah, yes, no worry me". Smith Rowe smiled. "No gimme issue, right?"

"Yeah," Sam nodded. "No gimme issue, no gimme stress, all of them mean don't disturb me".

"See? Pidgin is actually easier than you think".

"I guess so".

If Emile Smith Rowe's parents heard their son speaking like this, they would likely be horrified but that was one of the repercussions of being friends with a Nigerian who grew up in Nigeria.

Pidgin was second nature to them, and since it was so cool to speak, why not teach it to friends who are not conversant with it?

And that was how Emile Smith Rowe started learning pidgin.

As soon as they took a sharp turn inside Craven Cottage, Smith could not help but look at his friend again. "Sam, don't you think you should go home early today?"

"Why?"

"I mean, your girlfriend is waiting for you, right?"

"…" Sam almost tripped.

"M-my what?"

Smith was confused. "Your girlfriend, did I say anything wrong?"

"She's not my girlfriend yet bro!" Sam hissed through gritted teeth. "And don't say it so loud, paparazzi are always following us these days".

Smith Rowe stared at him, surprised but he waited till they were inside the confines of the stadium before resuming the conversation. "You mean to tell me that Kayla is not your girlfriend yet?"

"Yeah". Sam shrugged.

"And you're staying together in the same hotel room?"

Sam was dumbfounded, he stared at Smith Rowe and scratched his black hair. "Yeah?"

"You doofus!" Smith poked him on the head, laughing. "What the hell are you waiting for to ask her out? Christmas?"

"Asking her out," Sam spaced out a bit. "Man, I don't know, I've been meaning to for a time already but I just can't seem to find the courage to do it".

"…!" Now, Smith Rowe was flabbergasted.

He stared at his friend incredulously. "The almighty Zinedine Sam, the light of Fulham, the scorer of clutch goals, too nervous to ask a girl out".

Smith Rowe burst out laughing loudly. "Damn! This is perfect meme material!"

"Shhhh!" Sam was losing it. "You're too loud bro!" He hissed.

Smith Rowe didn't listen to him, laughing his lungs out still. "Honestly bro, this is so hilarious". He said as they made their way to the gym.

As they started training, he continued the conversation. "But bro, honestly, I never saw you as the shy type. I mean, what's there in asking a girl out?"

"Easy for you to say, it's not as if I've done it before".

"…!" Now, Smith Rowe was bamboozled.

He looked at Sam with eyes that seemed to scream 'impossible!' "You mean to tell me you've never had a girlfriend your whole life?"

"…"

"Does that mean you're a virgin?"

"Why should I tell you?" Sam snapped.

"Holy sh*t!" Smith Rowe was losing it. "Damn man, finally, I have something I'm more experienced in that I can teach you".

"Come, listen to me, let me teach you…"

"Get lost!"

Sam felt embarrassed. Like Smith said, people almost never believed him when he said the truth but growing up with such a strict mother, Sam was sometimes too scared and most times too wary of the consequences to approach any person of the opposite sex for romantic purposes.

He was still shocked by how easily his mom accepted Kayla, but still, he was yet to find the confidence to ask her out.

Despite how much he wanted to evade the conversation, Smith Rowe imposed it on him, and eventually, he listened.

Sam promised nothing though, he just said he would try his best.

After his system informed him of completing his daily system quest, he finally bid Smith Rowe farewell not just for today, but for the next few weeks.

This was because, for the first time in Sam's short career, he finally got his first international call up by his home country.

Sam would have a shot at representing Nigeria for the first time.

"Goodluck man, I hope the coach gives you the chance to play". Smith Rowe waved at him as they parted ways.

"Thanks man, I hope I play too".

Getting back to his hotel room, just like Smith Rowe said, Kayla was there waiting for him. She arrived just yesterday to personally wish him happy birthday in her words, and for another important reason that they shared.

Sam was finally ready to buy a house in London.

After doing some internet surfing with Kayla for the past few weeks online, she finally found something that he liked that was within his budget here in Fulham.

Sam settled for a fine luxurious semi-detached house in Fulham.

Houses in London were expensive though. The average price of a house in Fulham, South West London is around 1,126,000 Euros. The average price for a flat in Fulham is 731,000 Euros.

For a terraced property, it was more expensive with the average price at 1,700,000 Euros while for a semi-detached property, it was a whooping average price of 2,582,000 Euros.

Sam didn't have this amount of money to splurge on a house in Fulham. And since he didn't want to stay in a less affluent district in London, he followed Kayla's advice of going for a leasehold instead of a freehold.

That was how he got the luxurious semi-detached house with 5 rooms in Fulham for a leasehold for far less than the price to buy the property outrightly.

Today, with Kayla's help, after completing his daily system quest, Sam finally moved out of the hotel where he had stayed for the first 8 months of his life in England. He had a nice experience at the hotel.

He would give them a 5-star review later.

Moving out with Kayla, Sam could not help but think back to the conversation he had with Smith Rowe as he looked at the girl.

'Damn, that bastard! Now I can't think straight'.

'I'll do it later'.

All they had to do was enter the semi-detached apartment since with Kayla's help, Sam already hired a professional interior designing company to set everything up before they entered.

The house was the perfect home he had always dreamed of.

Inside, Sam felt at peace.

He ate Kayla's food and spent quality time with her through the morning but that evening, both of them finally separated as Sam left for Nigeria.

He responded to the call to duty to represent his country's national football team. Sam was excited for it.

Kayla stayed behind in London, in his house.

On the flight back, Sam could not help but think about his career once again. He never expected to receive his first international call up at the young age of 19.

'My career is really all beds and roses so far'.

On the flight, unable to curb the excitement he felt at the prospect of following in the footsteps of illustrious Nigerian internationals like Justin Jay Jay Okocha and Kanu Nwankwo, he decided to distract himself with something else.

Sam focused on his system, more precisely his system status.

~----~

[Player status!]

Host: Samuel Moses

Current Career Status: Premier League player, EFL Cup reigning champion

Talent Rating: A+

Player Position: Attacking Midfield Enjoy new chapters from empire

Player Attributes:

*Pace: 81

*Shot: 79

*Pass: 80

*Dribbling: 76

*Defending: 38

*Physicality: 76

*Stamina: 84

Overall Rating: 81

…

[Owned Football Skills:]

[Passive skill: Stalwart]

>You have proven your credentials as a reliable stalwart with well-rounded attributes in the middle of the pitch. You can score, you can assist, you can dribble, and you can press; you are the complete package<

>+10% to all 4 packages when on the pitch<

>All 4 packages refer to your shooting attribute, your passing attribute, your dribbling attribute, and your stamina attribute<

[Active skills:]

[Basic mastery level: La croqueta; body feint; Power shot; step overs, roulette, knuckle shot, overhead kick]

[Intermediate mastery level: Elastico, Cruyff turn]

[Advanced mastery level: Spatial awareness]

…

[Legendary Inheritance: Spatial Awareness]

[Legendary Inheritance: Elastico]n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

…

[Ability cards:]

>Shoot it like Lewy<

[Card uses remaining: 2]

>Thread it like KDB<

[Card uses remaining: 2]

>Bend it like Beckham<

[Card uses remaining: 2]

…

[Title: Space Interpreter!]

[System Remark: An elite young talent playing in one of the best leagues in the world!]

~----~

Sam looked outside through the window of the airplane, a smile outlining his lips. 'I've come a long way'. He thought.