Rise of a Football God

Arriving in England, Sam could tell that it was different to all the other countries that he had visited since he started his football career.

Maybe it was just his excitement doing it but he didn't care.

Back home, to Nigerians, London and England were synonymous with success, the same thing with Canada. This was why Sam felt that it was different, his excitement levels were consistently high since his arrival.

Craven Cottage has been the home stadium of Fulham football club since back in 1896. The iconic stadium is located in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham.

The ground's capacity was just 29,589, lower than some of the best stadiums across Europe but also with more capacity than the Enyimba International Stadium where Sam saw as his home ground for the past 1 and half seasons.

As soon as Sam arrived, he was led into the stadium, to the medical section where he was to have his medicals.

With his system taking care of things, Sam was not scared of any hiccups.

He passed his medicals with flying colors.

After the medicals, he was finally introduced to his coach. The 49-year-old Marco Silva, Fulham's senior team manager welcomed his new player in high spirits.

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After acquainting with his coach, one of the assistant managers, Goncalo Pedro took the job of leading the new player on a tour through the stadium.

Fulham FC may not be one of the top leading clubs in Europe, but as a club that has played consistently in the top division of the English premier league for years, they had a lot of history.

Sam was introduced to all this history by the assistant coach, after which he finally left the stadium to settle into the hotel that was recommended by the club.

Alone, Sam would have probably been overwhelmed by being exposed to the new environment and all the new unfamiliar faces but with his dad alongside him, joining him through it all, Sam was able to stay relaxed.

After his 8 hours journey, the father and son duo were already exhausted but before going to sleep, after taking their bath, they did the video call ritual.

"Hey! Sam!" Sophia yelled as soon as the call connected.

"Come on, tell me, how is England?"

"Are the roads made of gold?!"

"Come on, tell me!"

"Get off you stubborn child!" Mrs. Moses pushed her daughter aside before finally smiling at the camera. "How are you doing my son? How is England?"

Mr. Moses and his son were exhausted but he dared not indulge his wife. The duo did their best to summarize their experiences, from the 8 hours journey to getting to the city of Fulham, to Sam's medical, everything.

Only after they narrated everything did Mrs. Moses finally calm down, but then, remembering something, she asked. "Have you checked? Is there any plug there for African food?"

Mr. Moses grimaced tiredly. "I've not checked yet but be rest assured, it's England, surely there's a restaurant for homemade African dishes".

"I'm not resting assured anything!" She snapped. "Make sure you check tomorrow, my son is not about to go years on end without good food, got it?"

Mr. Moses sighed. "Got it ma".

She finally smiled. "Goodnight, I love you".

By the time Mr. Moses ended the call, Sam was already sleeping. He switched off the lights before also laying down on the bed.

He didn't sleep yet though, thoughts wandering through his head. 'The system, where did it come from?'

'What is its origin?'

He inclined his head on the bed, looking at his son. 'I hope it has no adverse effects. I'll stay positive'. He decided with a sigh.

Looking up at the ceiling of this hotel, he thought about tomorrow and his son's career. It still felt like just yesterday when he sent his son money to get boots and a jersey to play in the Christmas game on December 2022.

"How time flies," he muttered, smiling.

He looked at his son again. 'Can Sam really go all the way? Can my son really win the balon d'or trophy one day?'

'He'll be the first African to do it since George Weah'.

He smiled foolishly. 'I can't wait'.

As his agent, he knew everything about his son's football career. This was why he knew that the past few days of rest was the best that Sam would get in a long time, this was because the premier league season was already heating up towards its second half.

'19 matchdays out of 38 matchdays have already been played, that is exactly half of the season'.

'Tomorrow's game marks the start of the second half of the season'.

'I hope they win'.

Mr. Moses slept smiling.

…

The next day was a big day in Fulham city.

The Fulham FC fans rallied for their beloved club in their home stadium as they welcomed one of the clubs that was currently the biggest in the English premier league, the high-flying Arsenal.

Despite the fact that it was a home game for Fulham FC, they were the heavy underdogs.

For this game, Sam got to sit down with his dad in the stands in a VIP chair as they got the best spot to watch the game in the stadium.

As soon as the game started, Arsenal started on a high confidently. They seemed on their way to sweeping Fulham FC aside like a storm as their starboy, the tricky winger, Bukayo Saka opened the scoring in the 5th minute of the game, giving his team the lead early.

To Sam, it was a damning goal that grounded him in the reality of his current club. In terms of quality, his current club, Fulham FC may be miles better than Enyimba FC but in the English premier league, they were just a mid-table team.

On this day though, the mid-table team created a miracle.

Sam bore witness as his club refused to give in to the high-flying Arsenal team, equalizing the game 1-1 after 29 minutes by Jimenez, the Fulham striker.

The game went to halftime with the score line draw.

When second half started, Arsenal started as the better side but against the run of play, Fulham created a miracle, scoring an unexpected goal in the 59th minute to complete their comeback and take the lead through De Cordova-Reid.

For the remaining minutes of the second half, Arsenal kept knocking but incredibly, Fulham FC held on to steal a famous win from Arsenal.n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

Fulham won 2-1.

"Yes!" Sam celebrated his new club excitedly.

To him, it was the best way to commence his support of the English club.