Become A Football Legend

A few days ago.

It was Friday, the morning before Frankfurt's game against Leverkusen.

The office was on the second floor of the DFB Campus in Frankfurt am Main, with large windows that looked out over the empty training pitches. The fields were quiet, with no players or coaches outside, only the still green surface under a pale sky. Inside, the room was neat and modern — glass walls, a long conference table, and shelves lined with binders and framed team jerseys.

Player profiles and scouting reports were spread across the table along with a few tablets and cooling cups of coffee. The only sounds were the faint hum of the air system and the occasional rustle of paper. It was a calm but focused space, where the staff continued to go over names and details before finalizing the call-ups for the national team.

Sitting around the table were several individuals — one white-haired old man, three middle-aged men, and two women.

The old man sat at one end of the conference table, while one of the middle-aged men sat at the other end.

"Havertz, Pavlovic, and Fulkrug are injured. We got word from Kimmich's camp that it was a minor sprain on his hamstring and he would be back for Bayern's next game against Celtic in the Champions League. That means we can comfortably include him," Benjamin Glück, Nagelsmann's assistant, said.

"Yeah. That makes sense. How do we call as backup for Havertz and Fulkrug, though?" the younger of the two women asked.

"Kleindienst is available. Adeyemi, Undav, Lewelling, Bukardt. They're all available, too," the older man at one end of the table, Rudi Völler, the national team's sporting director, said.

"Yeah they are available, but aren't you missing someone else? Which of them is in better form than Brandt right now?" the older lady, Rachel Schar, asked.

"That's true, Mrs. Schar. But this is a game against Italy. It will be anything but easy, I don't know if this is the best time to be giving a 16-year-old his first cap for the national team," Völler responded.

"Isn't Bisseck getting his first call up this time, too?"

"Bisseck has represented us at every level from the U17s onward. Also, he's 24, not 16."

"I'm sure he'd wish he could play like Brandt when he was 16. Anyway, the final decision is in your hands, Coach, but if my two cents is needed, I would say: he's in the form of his life, put him in."

Nagelsmann, sitting at the opposite end of the table, listened to the back and forth between the two senior individuals in the group.

This was also something he was fighting with. Lukas hadn't played in the German — or any other country for that matter — set-up at any youth level; there were doubts about calling him up for the first time in the senior team.

If the question was whether he was good enough, the answer would have been a resounding yes.

Although the match against Leverkusen hadn't been played yet, Nagelsmann had watched Lukas run Bayern Munich ragged.

But still something nagged at him as gears turned in his head.

The international game was a different scenario altogether compared to club games.

"After the last Euros, these games are must-win. I can't take any risks. The pressure might be too much for his age. It's better to go for players who are more experienced."

That was Nagelsmann's conclusion. Although Rachel tried to protest, Nagelsmann stood firm in his decision.

It's not that he didn't think Lukas wasn't good enough to do it; he just decided that 16 might be too young.

And instead of calling him up to the senior team to warm the bench, Nagelsmann decided he was better off being the star man at the U21 camp.

* * *

"Lukas was not called?!"

Koch let the question slip out of his mouth a little too loudly as his words vibrated across the room.

The faces and gasps of disbelief could be seen and heard across the room as they heard what Koch had said.

The player in the best form of any teenager in history — with 20 goals + assists in 9 games — was snubbed for the Germany first team call-up.

A Germany team that had lost the Euros they hosted in the semi-finals less than a year ago was now snubbing the most in-form player in the entire German league and probably Europe right now.

They couldn't believe it.

"Why do you have such a loud voice? I never said he wasn't called up, I just said he wasn't called up to the senior team."

"What's the difference? If he has to represent a youth team, who is gonna be worthy of playing for the first team."

"Well don't ask me. I'm not the DFB nor the Bundestrainer. I'm sure they know what they are doing. Or at least, I'm sure they think they know what they're doing."

"Hmm... I doubt it," Koch said as he turned around to walk away.

"Call Can for me," Toppmöller said to Koch.

Lukas felt his stomach twist into a knot when he heard Koch's words. He didn't hear anything after that as the duo had tried to keep their conversation out of reach of the rest of the players after Koch's initial slip.

"I wasn't called up for the national team?" he thought as he gazed into the distance, subconsciously fiddling with the bottle of water in his hands.

He could feel something in his chest.

Was it nervousness? Was it disappointment? Was it pain?

He couldn't tell. But it was there.

"Hey... Hey, Luke... Lukas!"

"Oh, huh, yeah, Hugo, what's up?"

"The coach's calling you."

"Huh? Me?" Lukas asked, pointing at himself as he looked at Toppmöller at the door.

"Yeah, you. Go."

Lukas got up and walked to the coach together with Knauff and Collins.

"The three of you have been called to represent the under-21s. You're to report to the DFB Campus here in Frankfurt before the 20th of March."

There was a slight look of surprise on Collins and Knauff's faces. Not because they were called up to the U21, they had already won caps for several German youth-level teams up till this point, with Knauff already having some U21 caps; it was because the best player on their squad was also called to the U21 team.

Not just the best in their squad. Arguably the best in the league since his debut a few months ago.

He more than deserved a first team call-up.

"I was surprised too when I got the message," Toppmöller said as he looked at his players' faces. "This is their choice, though, and I'm sure it's only a matter of time before you're asked to join the senior team," he added as he looked at Lukas.

Lukas had an unreadable expression. He wasn't all smiles, but he wasn't frowning either.

Whatever he was feeling at the moment, he was doing a great job at keeping it to himself.

"What do you think, Luke?" Toppmöller asked.

"Huh? Me? I don't mind. This is my first call-up to the national team at any level, so I think it's just a start to something better."

"That, in of itself, is what surprises me even more. You're telling me you were never called up for any team from the U15?"

"Yeah, no. This is my first."

"Well technically speaking, last year you would still have been eligible for the U15s anyway. But you were already good enough to play in the reserve team at the time. Playing for the U17 or U19 at that age shouldn't have been impossible."

"Hmm... I don't know about that. Before joining the club, I wasn't really someone you would describe as 'very talented'. Things never really clicked for me until sometime in the middle of last year."

"Still, it is a testament to how far you've come in such a short amount of time. I'm sure this is just the beginning," Toppmöller said, placing his hands on Lukas's shoulders before walking out.

"Don't let it bother you, Luke. Just go and dominate the under-21s, I'm sure they'll have no choice but to call you up to the first team if you do."

"I'm not worried," Lukas said out loud. "I just have to prove myself even more," he thought to himself.

* * *

"Wow, Luke, the U21 team as a 16-year-old? I'm so proud of you!" Joanna's excited voice came out from the phone stuck to Lukas's left ear.

"You are?" Lukas asked as he adjusted his position on his bed.

"Of course I am! Players your age are mostly in the U17s or 19s. You made it to basically the top tier of youth level at just 16 and in your first call-up! That's huge news!"

"Keep it down, you can't let anyone know anything until it's officially announced by the DFB."

"When will it be announced?"

"I have no idea, but probably in two weeks' time."

"Alright! Do you know what matches the team has during this March international break?"

"An away match against Slovakia's under 21 and a home match against Spain's."

"You don't sound very excited about them."