Rise of a Football God

Alex Iwobi's home was just as Sam expected it to be.

The Nigerian international lived in a luxurious 8-bedroom villa right there in Fulham, a few minutes' drive away from Fulham's home stadium, Craven Cottage.

For the duration of his stay with his son in England, having made preparations ahead of time, Mr. Moses already paid money to hire a car for transportation.

He drove his car to the Nigerian international's home.

Since they exchanged contacts after their little chat at the end of the game, Sam called Alex Iwobi, informing him of their visit ahead of time. This was why as soon as their car arrived at the villa, they were let in.

In no time, they were led to one of the massive dining rooms where Alex Iwobi, his wife, and his children were already about to eat dinner.

Seeing them enter, Alex Iwobi smiled. "Welcome, come on in".

"Thank you, sir". Sam nodded respectfully, entering with his dad.

"Sam, meet my wife". Alex Iwobi looked at his beautiful wife. "Darling, this is the Sam that I told you about. He's my club's newest signing, and most importantly, he's a Nigerian like me, he came from the outskirts of Delta State". Find more chapters on empire

Hearing that, the beautiful young lady smiled in wonder, looking at Sam with a mischievous smile on her face. "Delta State? Warri…, it's Warri right?"

Sam laughed. "Yes, Warri is in Delta State".

She grinned. "No warri me, no gimme issue, no gimme stress," she joked in pidgin, quoting words from a popular Nigerian comedy movie as Sam and his dad laughed in response.

Mr. Moses laughed as he finally sat on one of the chairs. "Alex, I see you're doing the needful to teach your wife the Nigerian ways even here in London".

Alex Iwobi chuckled, rubbing his long hair awkwardly. "I don't do anything, it's just her, she's very interested in Nigeria and things related to it".

"She's a big fan of AY and Sabinus, even Brain jotter too".

Mr. Moses laughed again on hearing that. "Those guys are good," he looked at her. "I'm telling you, watching their comedy skits can literally heal depression".

"Especially Sabinus," she added, laughing. "That guy is crazy!"

"I agree". Sam also joined in, laughing.

They talked about a few more random topics before digging into their food. They didn't want to teach the children bad table manners.

Mrs. Moses worried about where her son could get good African homemade dishes to eat, well, her worries were without basis for just today.

Sam had no idea if it was because Alex Iwobi knew they were coming, but his wife made Nigerian homemade dishes, preparing Banga soup and garri. Despite it coming from her, the combination was incredibly delicious.

'Damn,' Sam stole a glance at her. 'She most likely learned all this through YouTube or tik tok'.

'She really loves Nigeria'. He smiled.

When most of the food on their plates was almost gone, Alex Iwobi finally initiated another conversation as he stared at Sam. "So, how's Nigeria?"

"Nigeria is still Nigeria, the way you left it". Sam replied, making Alex laugh.

"Well, as you already know, Bola Ahmed Tinubu won the presidential election and is now our president so yeah, tough times ahead". He chuckled.

"How do you know that for sure?" Alex stared at him.

Sam stared back. "You say that only because you don't live in Nigeria. If you live in Nigeria, you'll know how much trouble we are in, it's unbelievable really". He chuckled mirthfully.

"And the rising inflation rate," Mr. Moses added. "If care is not taken, the dollar rate may hit a thousand naira soon enough, and in a democratic country like Nigeria, dubbed the giant of Africa, that's just disgraceful".

Alex sighed. "I guess like they say, it's what it is".

"It is what it is". Sam and his dad echoed.

After eating, Alex, Sam and his father went to relax outside where Alex finally brought up football related talks, asking about Sam's career so far.

He didn't have the time to watch the FIFA Club World Cup final, but he heard of the noise around a young Nigerian midfield prodigy that followed it.

He didn't even know Sam was this prodigy till now.

"Wait, so you're that Zinedine Sam that I've been hearing so much about?"

"Yeah". Sam smiled cheekily.

Alex laughed loudly. "Wow, and I was so worried about you, thinking of how you'll fit in here in England and force your way into the Fulham starting XI".

"If there's so much hype around you though, there must be a basis for it".

"I have a little pitch here in my house, we can practice together if you want".

"Besides," he said after remembering something. "You remember the offer I made you?" He shrugged, pointing at the villa. "As you can see, it's just me, my wife, my children, and some maids, that's all".

"It's a big house, it can comfortably take in 2 or 3 more inhabitants".

"So, like I said before, we're brothers," this time he looked at Mr. Moses a bit before looking at Sam again. "If you feel you're not ready to get a house here in England yet, you can stay in my home till you are ready".

He smiled. "Here, it's peaceful and we don't have security problems. And with me staying with you here, I can assure you that you'll be able to focus on your football".

"We can practice one on one here in my pitch before general training".

"And talking of general training," he looked at the time. "It's already getting late, as a footballer, you need to keep a good sleeping schedule".

"It helps in keeping you fresh for every training session and game".

"Tomorrow, training starts by 8, but as a new player of Fulham FC, you should be at the stadium at least 30 minutes before time".n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Sam nodded. "I understand".

"So Sam, what do you think about my offer?"

Sam did not answer immediately, rather he looked at his dad.

Mr. Moses cleared his throat. "You know, before coming here, my son already told me about your offer and we already talked about it".

"But before making any decision, I want to ask," he looked at Alex Iwobi. "Why are you being so generous?"

Alex shrugged. "I was once a newbie in England too. I know how hard it is to settle down in a foreign country without someone to help you, and I don't want Sam to go through that. That's why".

Mr. Moss looked in his eyes for a few seconds, then he nodded. "I understand. Actually, I don't intend to stay in England for too long myself".

"I'll be returning to Nigeria soon".

"My son already agreed to stay with you. But during my duration here, we'll still stay in the hotel. When I'm leaving, I'll entrust my son to you".

He smiled. "I hope you take care of him in my absence".

"Don't worry, Sam is in good hands".

"Then I'm relieved".

Sam and his dad stayed with the Nigerian international for about 30 more minutes before finally heading back to their hotel.

Tomorrow was a big day for Sam.

This was because tomorrow, he would be having his first training session alongside his new teammates for Fulham FC.