Become A Football Legend

"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."

"I don't? It's not that I'm not excited, of course I am, maybe just a bit disappointed," Lukas responded, revealing his feelings to Joanna.

"It's okay, Luke. They cannot ignore you forever. I'm sure you'll be in the team as soon as possible if your performance keeps up, which I'm sure it will."

"Thanks, Jo. I really needed that."

"Anytime, hon."

At this moment, Lukas was unaware how soon that senior team call-up would be.

* * *

The living room carried the soft glow of a Monday dusk, the last of the daylight slipping through the wide windows and mixing with the warm lamplight inside. The apartment was spacious and well-kept, with neat shelves of books, a few framed photographs on the sideboard, and a faint scent of freshly brewed coffee lingering in the air.

On the couch, an older couple sat side by side, the muted chatter of the evening news filling the room.

The man leaned back with his hands clasped on his lap, while the woman held a half-finished cup of tea, her reading glasses perched low on her nose as she glanced toward the door.

The sound of a key turning broke the quiet rhythm of the news. The door opened, and their daughter stepped in, a slim figure wrapped in a long coat, her hair slightly tousled from the evening air. She set her bag down by the entrance and slipped off her shoes, offering a small, tired smile.

"Good evening," she said, her voice carrying easily across the room.

"You finally decided to visit, Anne," the woman replied, her face softening into a smile.

"That's not fair, Mom. Things are just so busy at school even during the weekends. I barely spend time at my own place, talk more of coming here," Anne protested as she walked toward her mother.

"Yeah, but you still find time for that boyfriend of yours that you're hiding from us," the lady responded.

"You'll meet him soon, calm down."

"Long day?" her father asked, turning down the volume on the TV as he looked over.

She nodded. "Very. But it's over."

Her mother patted the empty seat beside her. "Come, sit. There's tea if you want some."

Anne set her coat on the armchair and crossed the room, the quiet comfort of the apartment wrapping around the three of them as the news anchor continued in the background.

"Mom, how are things at work?" Anne asked as she poured herself some tea.

"Work? It's fine. Why do you ask?" the mother asked.

"Nothing serious, just curious. Have the squad for the international break been finalized?"

The woman Anne called 'Mom' turned her gaze from the TV to Anne, who was now sitting on the sofa beside her, taking a sip from her cup of tea.

It was the same lady who had tried to push for Lukas's inclusion in the senior team squad — Rachel Schar.

"Why are you, all of a sudden, curious about the national team squad? That's very suspicious," Rachel asked as she squinted her eyes, looking at Anne.

"It's nothing... Can't I just be curious about who'll be representing us?"

"Hmm... If you say so. Yeah, it has been decided. The players should have gotten the message by today. It's a good squad, but I think we missed a very important pick."

"Yeah? Who?"

"I'm not supposed to tell you about what goes on at work, Anne."

"C'mon, Mom... I promise I won't tell anyone."

"Fine! Stop acting like a kid, you're almost 40! It was the kid at Eintracht Frankfurt, Lukas Brandt. I tried to talk to Mr. Nagelsmann but he wouldn't listen."

"What?! Lukas wasn't called up?!"

"Huh? Why do you sound so surprised?"

"Ahem... Of course... Of course I'm surprised! 'Cause he plays for my club."

"I guess that's true."

"But why wasn't he selected, though? He's probably the best player in the league since his debut."

"That's what I said to the coach, but he still decided not to select him. Something about him being too young to play for the senior team."

"That makes no sense. How can he be too young to play for the senior team but old enough to terrorize the best teams in the league?"

"Yeah, I also think it makes no sense, but the final decision was up to Nagelsmann and he made his decision, so there's not much I can do.

Anyway, enough about that work, how are things with you and your boyfriend? When are you gonna introduce him to us?"

"Things are great, Mom. Don't worry, I'll set a date and let you know."

"Good. You said he's from Darmstadt, right?"

"No, he's from Bremen, but he lives in Darmstadt with his son."

"Wait... HE HAS A SON?!" Rachel asked, sitting up immediately.

"Ohh shit... Uhm... Yes, he does."

"Is he a divorcee or a widower? What happened?"

"He has never been married... As for the kid's mother, I also don't know much. But she's alive and she hasn't been involved in their lives for a very long time."

"Kevin, are you listening to what your daughter is saying?" Rachel asked as she turned to her husband, who was taking a bite from a cucumber and watching the now-muted news on the TV.

"Uh huh... What's wrong with having a kid? Does he treat you well? Do you love him?" Kevin asked his daughter as he turned to face her.

"Yes, and YES," Anne replied, nodding vigorously.

"Then I don't see any problem with it," he concluded as he took another bite from his cucumber and turned back to the television.

"Hmm... I'm just worried. How old is he? How old is his son? What are they like?"

"Well... You will find out soon enough. I promise you'll be surprised."

"Surprised? Why?"

"You know his son."

"Huh? What are you talking about? I do?"

"Yeah. Very well, in fact."

"What's his name?"

"You'll have to wait to find out."

Rachel stared at her daughter while Anne avoided her mother's gaze, turning to the television like she was interested in what was going on in the news.

* * *

"Looking sharp, Hugo! One-touch finish — I love that," Toppmöller said to Ekitike as he clapped his hands while walking toward them on the training pitch. "Great vision to pick him out, Luke. I expect nothing less from you in Istanbul on Thursday night," he added after turning to Lukas, who was wiping the sweat off his face.

"Yes, Coach," Lukas responded, his eyes glued to the ball.

"Yo, Luke, I have to get a goal on Thursday, man," Uzun said as he wrapped his hands around Lukas's neck, beaming with smiles.

"Why are you telling me that for? It's not like I'm stopping you from scoring."

"No, but send these kinda passes my way and I'd definitely get a goal."

"You really want to score a goal against Fenerbahçe? Their fans will probably loathe you if your goal dumps them out of the competition, you know? Their fans would probably boo you even when you wear the national team shirt."

"I couldn't care less. Just set me up."

"If you get into a good position, you will get the ball," Lukas said as he took Uzun's hands off his neck.

"Can, what even makes you think you'll play?" Knauff asked as he jogged the ball while walking toward them. "Coach hasn't even said anything yet and you're already fantasizing about celebrating in front of the home fans."

The guys looked at coach Toppmöller, who had a slight grin on his lips.

"Coach, I'm starting on Thursday, right?" Uzun asked jokingly.

"Not if you keep trapping long balls like that, you're not," Toppmöller snapped back immediately as the team burst out laughing.

"C'mon, that's not fair. The ball from Robin was too high, the sun was in my eyes so I missed the timing a bit!"

"Sounds like excuses if you ask me," Bahoya interjected, causing another round of laughter as the Turkish international tried to throw a ball at Bahoya, who promptly dodged it.

"Alright guys, that's enough for now," Toppmöller said, bringing the atmosphere back to seriousness. "We're traveling tomorrow, and we're going there to win. I know you guys must have seen the kind of atmosphere the fans create over there, I'm sure you've heard the stories, I'm sure you all know who their coach is, but that should not be an excuse.

We're going there knowing we have the ability and capability to win and win comfortably.

They're going to be hostile. They're going to say a lot of things about us in their media. They are going to come out swinging on the pitch as they have the home advantage.

But we are undoubtedly the better team.

And we've shown our ability to fight and even win against the best of the best in the last two weeks.

I want us to carry that confidence on to Istanbul.

Nothing less than perfection will be tolerated."