“—The one I love is not that weak!”
As I placed my hands on my knees and wiped the sweat from my face as I heard the voice of someone. It was the voice of the person I loved the most who told me that I was a wonderful person with a strong heart, that I am not a person who would give in to despair.
Twenty minutes had passed since the start of the second half. The score was one to two, and we were losing. Sugiya-senpai and his teammates were relentless with their attack and were moving forward to get another point. Everyone is doing their best to keep the third goal from being taken away, but it could come at any time.
“Good luck, Yuya-kun! Hang in there!!”
Kaede was telling me to hang in there. Ara, we do have to live up to that, don’t we? I took a big deep breath to regulate my ragged breathing. Pumped fresh air into my lungs and exhaled all the fatigue that was flowing through my body.
Now let’s create a miracle from here.
The other player’s shot went wide and broke the goal line. Now we could start the game as the ball was with us. We still had a shot at it here.
“—Shinji! Turn it!!”
As soon as I raised my voice to my partner, I started running. My partner instantly understood my intentions and demanded the ball from the keeper in a strong tone of voice, and kicked the ball deep into enemy territory.
“The counter is coming. —–!! Get back here!!”
It sounded like a good idea, but what we chose was a simple long pass. This was a tactic that was often used at the end of a game when a goal was desperately needed. A power play, if you will.
Shinji was caught off guard by a push for the third goal. I also took advantage of the delay in his immediate decision-making due to fatigue. The accuracy of his long-distance passes was inevitably low, but still I chose to trust my partner and ran up the field at full speed.
The goal was just around the corner. There were five people standing in front of me: four defenders including Sugiya-senpai and the keeper. I felt the ball flying high in the sky on my back.
“I won’t let you do it!!!”
Sugiya-senpai’s teammates were closing in. The situation was similar to the one when I scored the first goal, but I guess I’m at a disadvantage. At any rate, this time the ball was not at my feet yet. In fact, I hadn’t even seen it yet.
Even if you try to catch a falling ball, it would take time to dribble through because Sugiya-senpai was closing the distance. If I take my time, the opposing players would come back to defend and then I would be surrounded. If that happens, it would not fare well.
So I had only one option. Trust my buddy.
“—You’re lying!?”
“That’s what I’m talking about, buddy.”
It was just right. I jumped lightly as I dodged Sugiya-senpai, touched the bouncing ball on the ground with my right foot and sent it forward, then swung my right foot sharply with the same momentum. None of us could move an inch. I fired a shot that shook the net. The score was now tied. There were only five minutes left. There was still plenty of time to score another goal.
“Yuyaaaaaa!!! You son of a—! Who the h**l are you!!”
“One more point! Score one more and we’ll decide the game, Shinji!”
I said firmly, brushing away Shinji’s hands that were ruffling my hair. “Of course,” he replied, and we headed back to our position.
“That’s Yoshizumi. We can’t lose either!”
Mogi’s voice was full of vitality, despite his deep fatigue. He was not the only one. There was still fighting spirit in everyone’s eyes. This means we could fight until the end.
“But what are we going to do, Yuya? We can’t use the tactic like this now anymore, okay?”
“That’s right. We have five minutes left. I’m sure Sugiya-senpai and his seniors will launch an all-out attack. Ara… let’s take advantage of that. The strategy is—“
I told them the plan and got into position, but they were all hunched over, ready to fight. I’m glad they were motivated, but it was too obvious. Hide more.
The whistle sounded to restart the game. Sure enough, Sugiya-senpai and his team attacked us with all their players, leaving the keeper alone. What we chose—-
“Aah!!”
“—!?”
One of my friends menacingly charged at the player with the ball. I hurriedly pass the ball to my teammate, but my teammate closes in on him as well. Not one, but two of them.
“They’re going to press at this hour!?”
This was the tactic that Sugiya-senpai and his teammates had been trying to use on us. Pressing as an offensive defense. They would do it in the final stages of the game, when we were about to stop. Just like the long pass, it was a strategy that took us by surprise, but of course, the risk was high.
If the opponent was skilled enough, it would be easy to dodge an unintentional approach. If they dodge, it would create space and an opening. But what if one pressed at this time when they were most tired? Their judgment would be impaired, and their passing would become less accurate. This would create an opening to take advantage of.
“Yo-eh-eh!!”
With a devilish look on his face, Mogi launched a charge. His pass was sloppy, as if he was panicked by the approach of a big body trained in baseball. I did not miss this chance as I stretched out my legs and interrupted the trajectory, and succeeded in getting the ball. The position was near the center of the field.
“Eh—-!!”
At the same time Shinji shouted, all of us from the second year and second group started running towards the enemy line. This should be our last attack. If we don’t burn our lives here, where would we burn them!
“It’s Yoshizumi! Hold Yoshizumi! We can ignore the others!! Crush Yoshizumi!”
Sugiya-senpai gave a sharp instruction. I think it was a terrible thing to say to a junior member of the soccer team to destroy him, but that was how serious the senior was.
“I won’t let you make any more spectacle of yourself! I’ll make sure you’re in control!”
Sugiya-senpai, who had already closed the distance when I received the pass from Shinji, was right in front of me. The next two players joined him and I was surrounded by three people. Just as I had calculated.
“I’m not the one who decides in the end, senpai.”
“—!?”
Decision making. This was not limited to shooting but also about the passes one would make at the critical moment.
The ball that softly floated over the heads of Sugiya-senpai and the others. My partner was at the end of it. From the moment he passed the ball to me, he predicted that this would happen and ran up and out from the back at full speed.
“Nice pass! Yuya!!”
Only the goalkeeper could protect the goal. As soon as this phase was completed, the game was decided. The captain’s mistake was that he was so focused on keeping me down that he missed Shinji. Shinji swung his right foot and the goal net shook violently three times.
“””Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. !!!!”””
Cheers erupted from the crowd. The voices of Kaede, Nikaido, Otsuki and Yui-chan were mixed in among them.
“I did it!! I did it, Yuya!!”
“That was a great goal, Shinji!”
Shinji, who scored the final goal, jumped on top of me with energy and excitement. I hugged him tightly and patted the head of the hero who scored the final goal in return.
Then, the whistle of joy sounded on the ground, signaling the end of the game.
The men’s soccer finals of the ball game ended with us, the second-year second team, winning 3-2.
“—The one I love is not that weak!”
As I placed my hands on my knees and wiped the sweat from my face as I heard the voice of someone. It was the voice of the person I loved the most who told me that I was a wonderful person with a strong heart, that I am not a person who would give in to despair.
Twenty minutes had passed since the start of the second half. The score was one to two, and we were losing. Sugiya-senpai and his teammates were relentless with their attack and were moving forward to get another point. Everyone is doing their best to keep the third goal from being taken away, but it could come at any time.
“Good luck, Yuya-kun! Hang in there!!”
Kaede was telling me to hang in there. Ara, we do have to live up to that, don’t we? I took a big deep breath to regulate my ragged breathing. Pumped fresh air into my lungs and exhaled all the fatigue that was flowing through my body.
Now let’s create a miracle from here.
The other player’s shot went wide and broke the goal line. Now we could start the game as the ball was with us. We still had a shot at it here.
“—Shinji! Turn it!!”
As soon as I raised my voice to my partner, I started running. My partner instantly understood my intentions and demanded the ball from the keeper in a strong tone of voice, and kicked the ball deep into enemy territory.
“The counter is coming. —–!! Get back here!!”
It sounded like a good idea, but what we chose was a simple long pass. This was a tactic that was often used at the end of a game when a goal was desperately needed. A power play, if you will.
Shinji was caught off guard by a push for the third goal. I also took advantage of the delay in his immediate decision-making due to fatigue. The accuracy of his long-distance passes was inevitably low, but still I chose to trust my partner and ran up the field at full speed.
The goal was just around the corner. There were five people standing in front of me: four defenders including Sugiya-senpai and the keeper. I felt the ball flying high in the sky on my back.
“I won’t let you do it!!!”
Sugiya-senpai’s teammates were closing in. The situation was similar to the one when I scored the first goal, but I guess I’m at a disadvantage. At any rate, this time the ball was not at my feet yet. In fact, I hadn’t even seen it yet.
Even if you try to catch a falling ball, it would take time to dribble through because Sugiya-senpai was closing the distance. If I take my time, the opposing players would come back to defend and then I would be surrounded. If that happens, it would not fare well.
So I had only one option. Trust my buddy.
“—You’re lying!?”
“That’s what I’m talking about, buddy.”
It was just right. I jumped lightly as I dodged Sugiya-senpai, touched the bouncing ball on the ground with my right foot and sent it forward, then swung my right foot sharply with the same momentum. None of us could move an inch. I fired a shot that shook the net. The score was now tied. There were only five minutes left. There was still plenty of time to score another goal.
“Yuyaaaaaa!!! You son of a—! Who the h**l are you!!”
“One more point! Score one more and we’ll decide the game, Shinji!”
I said firmly, brushing away Shinji’s hands that were ruffling my hair. “Of course,” he replied, and we headed back to our position.
“That’s Yoshizumi. We can’t lose either!”
Mogi’s voice was full of vitality, despite his deep fatigue. He was not the only one. There was still fighting spirit in everyone’s eyes. This means we could fight until the end.
“But what are we going to do, Yuya? We can’t use the tactic like this now anymore, okay?”
“That’s right. We have five minutes left. I’m sure Sugiya-senpai and his seniors will launch an all-out attack. Ara… let’s take advantage of that. The strategy is—“
I told them the plan and got into position, but they were all hunched over, ready to fight. I’m glad they were motivated, but it was too obvious. Hide more.
The whistle sounded to restart the game. Sure enough, Sugiya-senpai and his team attacked us with all their players, leaving the keeper alone. What we chose—-
“Aah!!”
“—!?”
One of my friends menacingly charged at the player with the ball. I hurriedly pass the ball to my teammate, but my teammate closes in on him as well. Not one, but two of them.
“They’re going to press at this hour!?”
This was the tactic that Sugiya-senpai and his teammates had been trying to use on us. Pressing as an offensive defense. They would do it in the final stages of the game, when we were about to stop. Just like the long pass, it was a strategy that took us by surprise, but of course, the risk was high.
If the opponent was skilled enough, it would be easy to dodge an unintentional approach. If they dodge, it would create space and an opening. But what if one pressed at this time when they were most tired? Their judgment would be impaired, and their passing would become less accurate. This would create an opening to take advantage of.
“Yo-eh-eh!!”
With a devilish look on his face, Mogi launched a charge. His pass was sloppy, as if he was panicked by the approach of a big body trained in baseball. I did not miss this chance as I stretched out my legs and interrupted the trajectory, and succeeded in getting the ball. The position was near the center of the field.
“Eh—-!!”
At the same time Shinji shouted, all of us from the second year and second group started running towards the enemy line. This should be our last attack. If we don’t burn our lives here, where would we burn them!
“It’s Yoshizumi! Hold Yoshizumi! We can ignore the others!! Crush Yoshizumi!”
Sugiya-senpai gave a sharp instruction. I think it was a terrible thing to say to a junior member of the soccer team to destroy him, but that was how serious the senior was.
“I won’t let you make any more spectacle of yourself! I’ll make sure you’re in control!”
Sugiya-senpai, who had already closed the distance when I received the pass from Shinji, was right in front of me. The next two players joined him and I was surrounded by three people. Just as I had calculated.
“I’m not the one who decides in the end, senpai.”
“—!?”
Decision making. This was not limited to shooting but also about the passes one would make at the critical moment.
The ball that softly floated over the heads of Sugiya-senpai and the others. My partner was at the end of it. From the moment he passed the ball to me, he predicted that this would happen and ran up and out from the back at full speed.
“Nice pass! Yuya!!”
Only the goalkeeper could protect the goal. As soon as this phase was completed, the game was decided. The captain’s mistake was that he was so focused on keeping me down that he missed Shinji. Shinji swung his right foot and the goal net shook violently three times.
“””Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. !!!!”””
Cheers erupted from the crowd. The voices of Kaede, Nikaido, Otsuki and Yui-chan were mixed in among them.
“I did it!! I did it, Yuya!!”
“That was a great goal, Shinji!”
Shinji, who scored the final goal, jumped on top of me with energy and excitement. I hugged him tightly and patted the head of the hero who scored the final goal in return.
Then, the whistle of joy sounded on the ground, signaling the end of the game.
The men’s soccer finals of the ball game ended with us, the second-year second team, winning 3-2.
