NOVEL NEXT Chapter 97: 96 - EX-A-Team
Anton slapped his gloves as he shouted instructions to his teammates: "Let's get the game flowing, without rushing! And Felix, without inventing too much and compromising the ball again!" He flashed a smile at Felix, and it made a vein pop out of Felix's head.
"The son of a bitch changes when he's on his game..." muttered Felix.
The ball rolled out, and Lucas quickly intercepted a pass from Denis that was aimed at Miguel on the right.
With the ball at his feet, Lucas took a few steps forward, but soon passed to Raphael on the left. Raphael received it calmly, gliding as if he were part of the pitch, with a lightness that showed his intimacy with the ball. With a quick glance forward, he decided not to keep the pass back this time. He advanced down the wing, evading an opponent and keeping possession with an unpretentious skill that captivated those watching.
However, Ex-A-Team quickly closed down his marker.
Lucas, realizing the difficulty, ran in support, offering himself as an option to Raphael, who quickly returned the ball to him. Wasting no time, Lucas turned his body towards his opponent's goal and, reading quickly, saw Aidan coming up the right wing, unmarked.
"Go, Aidan!" Lucas shouted, pointing in the right direction. Aidan sprinted forward, his eyes fixed on the ball coming towards him. He clutched it to his chest, feeling the pressure of the approaching Loki, but Aidan slid the ball forward with an agile touch and prepared a cross into the box.
The ball arced perfectly towards Raphael, who, positioned on the edge of the penalty area, was preparing to head it in. However, Arthur, who was also a striker, had retreated and stood next to him, partially blocking the movement.
Raphael had to adjust his body in the air, his head turning slightly to make subtle but direct contact. The ball deflected slightly, heading towards Lucas, who was waiting on the edge of the penalty area. With impressive coolness, he threatened to shoot but controlled with his left foot and, before his opponents could react, shot with his right, aiming for the bottom right corner of the goal. Almost unnoticed, the shot was quick and low, a straight line that the goalkeeper tried to save, but it was too late. The net bulged, and the score was level. The field erupted in a chorus of celebration.
[EX-A-Team 1 x 2 B-TEAM.]
The ball rolled again, and Miguel, the talented No. 10 of the opposing team, dominated and passed to Denis, who was next to him.
Denis tried to play Miguel through, but Lucas intercepted and smiled in the corner when he saw his opponent's surprised expression. He quickly got to grips with the ball and laid it off to Felix, who deftly passed to Luiz Fernando, who advanced through the middle. Surprisingly, for a defender, Luiz was skillful with his legs and made a short dribble to get rid of Arthur and then passed to Raphael, who ran towards the goal. However, just as Raphael was about to shoot, he was disarmed by Loki.
"You won't get past me!" Loki exclaimed.
Loki took advantage of the possession and, with an agile touch, passed the ball to Miguel, who was ahead and already advancing with impressive skill. He dribbled with subtle touches, evading the tackling attempts of Felix and Aidan. When Luiz Fernando prepared to intercept him, Miguel turned his body elegantly, confusing the marking. With a quick glance at Arthur, who was already positioning himself in the area, Miguel crossed the ball in a perfect arc before it rolled across the grass because of his body swivel.
Arthur rose at just the right moment, beating Anton and heading the ball powerfully. The ball went into the right corner of the goal, and the opposing team celebrated with shouts and jumps.
Anton punched the ground with an expression of frustration.
"Calm down, Anton. It's not over." Luiz Fernando said.
"I know, but I could have reached that ball." Anton replied.
Raphael scratched the back of his head frantically, annoyed. "Every time we lose the ball up front, they get a counter-attack like that. What the fuck!"
Lucas heard him complain, but didn't have much to say. Arthur and the other A-Team players were fast and on a reduced pitch, a counter-attacking move with players like that was easily fatal.
With a nod, Lucas gestured to his team and, wasting no time, positioned himself in midfield, waiting for the restart. The ball rolled again.
"Denis, wake up! Come on, press now!" shouted Loki.
Denis always looked sleepy and ran a little. He looked at Loki and said: "Huh? You want me to run?"
"Yes, high mark."
"Ah..." Denis gave a wink, almost as if he was responding to Loki's shout with a lazy nod, but when he advanced and marked Lucas closely, Lucas didn't even see what happened until Denis had already stolen the ball passed to Arthur.
'Damn, I've got to catch up.' Lucas ran after Arthur.
Arthur seemed to have noticed Lucas' gaze, and with a mischievous grin, made a point of teasing him, stopping and stepping on the ball with one of his feet.
"I'll teach you how to hold a ball, Lucas." Arthur grinned and, with a touch of arrogance, let the ball slip a little in front of him, but with the tip of his boot, he gave it a little touch, stopping it with precision.
His arms reached out to the sides, nuzzling Lucas back, as if shooing away an annoying fly.
"Do you want to mark me closely? Let's see how good you are, kid." he teased, his voice hoarse, but without losing his wry smile.
Lucas wasn't in the mood for teasing, so he activated the skill <Faster than Fast Reflexes>. Arthur's movements became predictable. Lucas didn't wait another second. With a movement so fast that it was almost a blur, he stepped forward and, with a precise touch, slid his leg in to intercept the ball that Arthur was trying to control.
The ball rolled away, and the wide-eyed striker tried to recover, but it was too late. Lucas had already mastered it with a firm, quick touch, controlling possession effortlessly. The crowd reacted in amazement.
Felix, who had been in a waiting position, wasted no time. With the agility of a feline, he advanced and took the ball for himself.
The next few minutes passed quickly for the players, as the moves continued to be intense and the game seemed to go on and on. That's when Alex, the assistant coach, blew the whistle and made everyone stop and look at him.
"Well done, everyone!" Alex exclaimed. "That was enough for me to get an idea of what everyone needs to improve. Let's take a breather and then I'll explain."
As the players gathered, sweaty and panting, Lucas felt a little relieved, as he was already exhausted from all the running and fighting. However, he was also pleased because, looking at the paper scoreboard that Hillebrand had constantly fiddled with over the last few minutes, his team had done well, very well.
[EX-A-Team 6 x 6 B-TEAM.]
[Arthur - 3 Goals (Assisted by Denis, Miguel and Loki)
Lucas - 2 Goals (Assisted by Felix and Raphael)
Miguel - 2 Goals (Assisted by Denis)
Raphael - 1 Goal (Assisted by Lucas)
Felix - 1 Goal (Assisted by Lucas)
Denis - 1 Goal (Assisted by Daniel)
Luiz Fernando - 1 Goal (Assisted by Lucas).]