King's View Academy vs. Erlenhöhe GymnasiumScore: EG 3 - 1 KVA | 75th Minute
Substitution:Che Louw IN – Finn Wolkenbruch OUT (LW) (Leon shifts to the left wing, and Che slots in as attacking mid.)
"Didn't think I'd have to play him this early," the coach muttered to his assistant. "First week and all…""He looks calm enough. I think he'll handle it."
The ball came Che's way, but his first touch was heavy—and just like that, the other team snatched it and kicked off a counter.
"Spoke too soon?" Both coaches shared a helpless shrug.
The coach yelled instructions from the sideline, calling out to players, but Che didn't react. He was already zoned out—completely swallowed by the pace of the game.
Players were all over him, shoving, pressing—his face kept hitting the grass. He looked lost. Legs heavy. Arms heavier. He'd barely been on for five minutes and already looked the most exhausted on the pitch.
He finally controlled a pass cleanly—but before he could do anything with it, another defender shoved him off and took it away.
It was the first time Che had ever felt real fear on a football pitch. He tried defending, but every reaction was late. Everything was blurry. Seconds passed and suddenly, it was already a corner kick for the other team.
"Hey! Yo, what's up with you?" Adrian whispered, grabbing his face and looking him in the eyes. "I—I don't know. I don't know what's going on! Where am I?" Che started panicking.
Adrian gave him a light slap. "Hey. Breathe. Yeah, maybe coach threw you in too early. Doesn't matter now though. I need you to do me a favor, okay?""Yeah… I can. What is it?""Close your eyes. Clear your mind. Now open them, and look around."
Che looked up. Everyone—Leon, Nate, Adrian—they were locked in. Focused.
"You're not alone out here, alright? Anytime you're scared, look up. We've got your back, kid.""Yeah… yeah, okay.""Good. Now stop messing around and let's play some football."
Che nodded. "Wait.""What?""Thanks.""That's what captains are for."
(On the walk home – Amelie and Adrian)
"So… did you guys win?""Nope. Still lost. And yeah, Che didn't exactly crush it—but he was way better after we talked."
"Huh. Hard to believe you'd help someone like that." Adrian nudged her. "Shut up."
"I'm just saying—it started with him looking at all of you for support. Now it's you guys looking for his.""Exactly. 'Cause Che's better than all of you," she added smugly. Adrian snorted. "I can't take you seriously. You sound like you're in love.""I'm not. Shut up."
He kept teasing her the rest of the way home.
(Robert-Schlienz-Stadion — Team Meeting)
The day before the game. Players sat in the meeting room, waiting to see the lineup.
"Evening, boys. Hope training's gone well. As you know, we've got Schalke tomorrow. With the cup game against Dortmund coming up, we're rotating some guys."
After explaining the tactical setup, the coach listed the starting eleven:
GK: Ioannis Kechlimparis
DEF: Nikolas Matic, Luc Holzwarth, Gabriel Zarrella, Collin Schramm
MID: Ertugrul Yigit, Enis Redzepi, Sohrab Samandari
FWD: Leon Sonnenblick, Kian Speidel, Che Louw
From the outside, Che looked completely chill. Not a flinch. Not a twitch.
Inside? His heart was racing. He was sweating through his shirt. But he couldn't stop smiling as he stared at the lineup.
His first official start. Ever.