i stood at the penalty spot.

  He adjusted the headband on his forehead, smoothed back his damp hair, wiped the sweat from his face, then took a slow step back.

  Hands on his hips, he locked eyes with Van der Sar, standing tall in the Maer United goal.

  The Uruguayan striker's face was set with determination.

  He had only ohought—score!

  In the first leg at home, i had struggled.

  His performance had been disappointing, and Gao Shen had eventually substituted him for Pelle.

  That frustration had stayed with him.

  So tonight, he had poured everything into his performance, w tirelessly against United's defense.

  But fag Ferdinand and Vidic, arguably the stro ter-back pairing in world football, was no easy task.

  There was no simple solution only oion: work hard, fight harder, and push even more.

  Now, he had a golden opportunity from the penalty spot.

  And he would not let it slip away.

  Thankfully, his teammates supported him.

  When Rakitic heard that i wao take the penalty, he immediately stepped aside, ation.

  That gesture meant everything to i.

  He took a deep breath and goward the Napoli bench.

  Gao Shen was still in his usual spot, watg him.

  Then, with a calm smile, the coach raised a thumbs-up.

  i forced a smile and nodded back.

  But inside, he wasn't smiling at all.

  Twe-year-old Gao Shen truly felt like an older brother to him.

  He still remembered when Gao Shen had personally traveled to Buenos Aires to sign him.

  At the time, i had been a young, struggling pyer, uo secure a starting spot.

  He hadn't been thinking about the Champions League or Serie A.

  His only dream had been to py abroad, earn money, and improve his family's life.

  Everything else, Europe's top leagues, the biggest stages had been beyond his imagination.

  But now, everything had ged.

  In just three years, he had transformed from an unknown prospect to a Serie A champion and Golden Boot winner.

  He was only 22 years old, yet he had already etched his o Italian football history.

  Last season, when he won the Serie A Golden Boot, he still vividly remembered what Gao Shen had told him.

  "Don't settle for this."

  "No matter what yoal was before, from now on, aim higher, set a goal that seems almost impossible, even something you've never dared to dream of."

  "Then go after it with everything you've got."

  "Remember, Edinson, you will surpass Paolo Rossi and bee the youop scorer in Serie A history!"

  Those words had stayed with i ever since.

  He believed in Gao Shen.

  He admired Gao Shen.

  And because of that belief, he had worked even harder this season.

  The same was true for all of Napoli.

  And now, here they were, standing in the Champions League semi-finals, at Old Trafford.

  He, Edinson i, 22 years old, was standing before Van der Sar, one of football's greatest goalkeepers.

  He closed his eyes and tilted his head upward.

  The deafening noise inside Old Trafford surrounded him.

  But with his eyes shut, he heard something else something deeper.

  The fear in the voiaer United fans.

  They were afraid.

  Afraid he would score.

  Afraid Maer United would lose.

  Afraid of everything that could g.

  He opened his eyes again.

  The referee's whistle blew.

  i took a deep breath.

  Without looking at Van der Sar, he sprinted forward, eling all his momentum into the strike.

  He didn't hesitate.

  He didn't sed-guess.

  With all his strength, he hammered the ball toal.

  Not just with power but with everything he had trained for, every lesson he had absorbed.

  Especially the shooting teiques he honed with Zidane.

  The ball rocketed forward, an unstoppable blur.

  Van der Sar reacted instantly, diving toward it.

  His fiips brushed the ball, but it was too fast, to.

  The ball ripped into the !

  "GOALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!"

  "45th minute! Napoli scores again!"

  "TWO TO ZERO!"

  "Edinson i, cool as ice from the spot!"

  "This is a massive goal! Napoli has now taken trol of this two-leg tie!"

  "The score is now 2-0 tonight, 3-1 on aggregate!"

  "And most crucially, Napoli now has two away goals."

  "That means Maer United must score at least three times in the sed half just to have a ce of going through!"

  "Looking at how they've pyed so far, they haven't found any solutions."

  "Napoli has been exceptional tonight calm, structured, and ruthless on the terattack. Their left fnk attack has been especially dangerous."

  "Meanwhile, Maer United, despite pying at home, have looked uninspired offensively."

  Napoli had delivered the decisive blow.

  But as the celebrations tinued, one reminder lingered.

  "At Old Trafford, nothing is over until the final whistle."

  "Because Maer United never surrender easily."

  ---

  Perhaps because it enalty, Gao Shen was mentally prepared.

  So when i buried the spot-kick, he simply raised his fists, shouting in celebration but not overly excited.

  For him, this goal wasn't just i's moment.

  The penalty had been earned by Rakitic, Di Maria, and Vargas.

  In football, a goal is he work of just one pyer, it's the result of aire team's effort.

  That's why, after sg, i didn't celebrate alone.

  He immediately ran to the sideline, calling for his teammates to join in.

  That was what made Gao Shen most proud, the strong team spirit within Napoli.

  There was petition, there ressure, and at times, there were even arguments and disagreements.

  But everything was always under trol.

  And because of that, Napoli funed as a unit, all w toward the same goal.

  "Ferguson must have a headache right now." Gao Shen exhaled.

  The sed half was going to be tough.

  Maer United would undoubtedly un all-out terattack.

  But with this crucial advantage, Napoli had taken trol.

  From here on, their task was simply to react to whatever Ferguson threw at them.

  And if things got really bad?

  Gao Shen could always drop three defensive midfielders, bunker doark the bus.

  At that point, what could Ferguson do?

  With United's current struggles against a deep defense, if Gao Shen really itted to log down the game, there wouldn't be much even Ferguson could do about it.

  Ferguson did have a headache.

  In fact, he was even starting tret some of his choices.

  Did he regret ment Gao Shen?

  No… wait. Had he ever actually mentored him?

  Maybe not.

  Never mind.

  Regardless, with the score at 0-2, the United pyers returo the locker room and the mood was grim.

  Every single pyer khe situation was dire.

  Napoli had seized the decisive moment, and now United least three goals.

  And they weren't fag just any team, they were up against the Serie A semi-champions.

  Ferguson uood the mentality of his squad.

  Their frustration was natural.

  But there was no choice.

  They had to fight back.

  "In the sed half, we go all-out."

  "Attack—attack like hell. We need a goal as soon as possible."

  Ferguson had already decided to make substitutions.

  At halftime, he instructed Berbatov and Nani to start warming up.

  As for who would e off?

  It was obvious, Park Ji-sung.

  Just like Rooney, Park had underperformed.

  But unlike Rooney, he wasn't a tactical focal point.

  If Berbatov was ing on, the only logical pyer to be sacrificed ark Ji-sung.

  The winger looked disappointed, but he khere was nothing he could do.

  This was football.

  This was his role.

  The sed substitution was in midfield, Anderson was ing off.

  When he arrived at United, Anderson had been hailed as the Ronaldinho.

  He had fshes of brilliance, even in the first half, he had made a sharp pass to Rooney.

  But for the most part, he had spent his time defending and chasing Napoli's midfielders.

  Ferguson needed more attag power.

  That's why Nani was ing in to i pad creativity down the wing.

  United's biggest problem had been their stalled attack.

  Now, Ferguson was ging the system, switg to 4-2-3-1.

  With the new setup:

  Rooayed on the left.

  Nani repced Park Ji-sung on the right.

  Berbatov pyed as the tral striker.

  Ronaldo dropped into a free-attag role, a shadow striker behiov.

  This ge meant ohing.

  Carrid Fletcher would now carry more defensive responsibility.

  Ferguson looked around the locker room.

  "I don't o tell you what this situation is."

  "But this is NOT the time to feel powerless."

  "This is NOT the worst position we've ever been in."

  "We have fought back before we have staged ebacks before."

  "We are Maer United. We do not give up."

  He paused, sing their faces.

  "Right now, we o stay focused, stay sharp. No panio reckless py."

  "We hree goals—so what?"

  "This is a Serie A team, not some unstoppable force. Liverpool scored three in minutes, why 't we?"

  "As long as we fight together, as long as we believe, we turn this around."

  "Do you uand?!"

  A roar erupted from the United pyers.

  This was their only way fo all in.

  Because when Maer United fights, they fight to the very end.

  And their ability to win tough matches?

  It never came from blind aggression.

  It came from their unshakable pursuit of victory.

  ---

  Meanwhile, in the visiting locker room, Gao Shen id out his strategy.

  "Maer United is going to attack immediately."

  "Ferguson will almost certainly ge formations, I don't kly how, and I don't care."

  "Because we don't o guess."

  He looked at his pyers.

  "A 2-0 lead is NOT enough to secure qualification."

  "This is the Champions League semi-finals, a single mistake cost us everything."

  "If we rex, we could cede two or three goals in minutes."

  "That's why we are NOT pying defensively."

  He took a step forward.

  "We know what our oppos want."

  "Just like they knew what we wanted before the match."

  "So when the sed half starts, we attack."

  "If United dares to attack us, theack them right back."

  With a two-goal cushion, Gao Shen was fident.