Rise of a Football God

After 2 matchdays of the new premier league season, football clubs in England were finally exposed to other tournaments, the first which was the EFL Cup which Fulham were the reigning champions of.

And like expected, the introduction of other competitions for Fulham meant the schedule was about to ramp up for their players.

After the game against Leicester City, Fulham players had only 2 days of rest before taking on Birmingham in the EFL Cup second round.

And after that game, their next fixture of matchday 3 in the premier league gave them just 3 days of rest to play in away ground against Ipswich Town, the newly promoted club to the premier league.

(EFL Cup- Second round:)

(Birmingham – Fulham)

(27th August, 2024)

…

(Premier league:)

(Matchday 3:)

(Ipswich Town – Fulham)

(31st August, 2024)

It was 2 games in 5 days for Fulham.

For Fulham as a club, it was going to be a monumental 5 days and it was up to their manager, Marco Silva to manage both games in the best way with the goal to win and not overburden his players.

It was not Sam's problem though, rather it was the problem of his coach; this was why after the game against Leicester, on a weekend, Sam had a merry time with his new friend in London, Emile Smith Rowe.

It was not just the both of them though. Weeks after getting his admission to study Medicine in England, Ian finally met up with his best friend again.

It was still a bit unusual for him to accept that his best friend was now a big celebrity, and he was not just meeting him today, he was also meeting another big football celebrity in Emile Smith Rowe.

Sam invited Smith Rowe because first he wanted to introduce him to his best friend. Second, he wanted to indoctrinate Smith into the art of eating African food. Find adventures at empire

And third, he wanted to talk about football with his partner in crime.

Trust Ian, he only felt a bit of trepidation on meeting Smith Rowe the first time. As soon as they started eating together and Smith commended the food at the African food restaurant, Ian got his mojo and started free talking with the young English professional football player.

They talked so freely you would think they had been friends for years.

'That bastard,' Sam was stunned. 'He's such a smooth talker'.

Sam was glad though. Making Ian meet people like Emile Smith Rowe in itself was a step up in society for his best friend.

Afterall, professional football players, especially those playing in clubs in European leagues were celebrities with a lot of influence and connections.

During their time in the restaurant, they talked about Ian's profession, mostly Sam insulting his best friend for choosing the medical profession just because it granted him easier and licensed access to all types of female.

"Y-you bastard!" Ian was flustered for the first time as he stole a glance at Emile Smith Rowe.

He glared at his best friend. "Werey, you wan ruin my steeze?!" He whispered in pidgin while gritting his teeth.

Sam only laughed. "Did I lie?"

Well, it was safe to say that Emile Smith Rowe was stunned.

In training, on the pitch, in the dressing room, even while jogging, all he saw was a perfect Nigerian machine who only cared about training, playing, and winning games but now, he just found out that Sam was actually not a machine.

Sam was actually not perfect, heck, he was far from it.

He was just like every other person out there, goofy when he wanted to be, playful, heck, he spoke pidgin so naturally too, and he was human…, that last element meant a lot to Smith.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

For the first time, he truly relaxed around the Nigerian midfielder. Smith engaged more actively in their conversations as they spoke extensively.

At the end, Sam finally pushed the conversation more towards football. He spoke about their chemistry on the pitch and how he imagined themselves playing better, his vision, and he also spoke of players targeting him more now.

"Like Leicester showed, players will be targeting me more now but I'm ready". Sam grinned. "Afterall, I have elite teammates like you guys!".

"Nah," Smith waved a hand dismissively. "I'm not as good as you".

"You're just being humble". Sam smiled. "Anyways, next time they box me with multiple players like that, you guys will have to step up!" He grinned again.

With Sam staring at him so intensely, Smith flinched. "M-me?"

"I believe you can do it".

Sam relaxed on his chair. "We may have lost a lot of the team's core when we lost players like Palhinha and De Cordova-Reid, but in exchange, we got you".

Smith blushed "I'm not as valuable as Palhinha".

Sam shrugged. "That's to transfermarkt, what do they know? To me, you're more valuable, especially since it synergies with the way I want to play football".

Smith blushed again but hid it with food this time.

Sam continued speaking. "With you, we can practice our combination plays to perfection and with that, I believe I can wriggle off any box". Sam's eyes gleamed with confidence. "If they still want to stop me by all means, they will have to resort to offensive actions that will lead to yellow cards and even red cards".

"And besides, this season, we have a fully fit Adama Traore!" Sam grinned.

"What does that have to do with anything?" Ian asked.

"It has something to do with everything!" Sam raved as he looked at his best friend. "You know what Traore's greatest strength is?"

"His pace". Smith answered.

"Yes, his pace!" Sam grinned. "By losing players like Palhinha and the likes, we may have lost a bit of our backbone but in exchange, we are far more dynamic with you and a fully fit Adama Traore in the side".

"Just imagine, me and you pinging things around in midfield then if we're shackled, abusing Adama's pace and setting him up".

"We definitely have the vision and technique to pick him out in tight spaces".

"Utilizing his speed perfectly will help us a lot this season".

"Adama may not be the best finisher, but his pace and dribbling ability is all we need. It's another alternative to breaking down stubborn defenses".

"Even if he can't score it himself, we have Muniz or Jimenez always at the ready on the box, and I can even chip in with the occasional late runs".

"To me, it's perfect football".

"And this way, we won't even have to cede possession to superior teams anymore". Sam looked at the ceiling of this restaurant dreamily.

Hearing these words come out of the mouth of the Nigerian so freely, Smith was impressed; he admired him. He hesitated before saying. "Sam, do you really think it's possible?"

"Impossible is nothing!" Sam looked at the Englishman. "Honestly, I believe it's possible, we just need to work, work, and work till we get it right".

"And once we do," he chuckled. "Doom to the rest of the premier league".

"Man, let's just eat, I'm tired of all the football talk". Ian finally complained.

Laughing, the 2 footballers obliged their friend and finished their food. A few minutes later, they finally left the restaurant on Smith Rowe's car.

…

27th August, 2024…

Just like expected, Fulham's manager, Marco Silva heavily rotated his team for the EFL Cup game to rest key players.

Most key players like Sam, Bassey, Smith Rowe, Alex Iwobi, and Muniz all started in the bench, including Bernd Leno.

Only a few familiar faces like Jimenez, Harry Wilson, and Castagne led the team as against Birmingham, without their bigger stars, they managed to grind out a result in this game.

In the 10th minute, Fulham won a penalty that Raul Jimenez converted.

In the 14th minute, Stansfield, the player who started at left wing today added the nail to coffin as he scored the 2nd goal to doom Birmingham to defeat.

The game ended 0-2 in Fulham's favor.

Sam's presence was never needed on the pitch, so he got to rest through it all, preparing for Fulham's next game in 3 days.

…

3 days later, 31st August, 2024…

Ipswich Town took on Fulham at home.

Both sides started with their strongest lineups, but this time, Marco Silva tweaked his formation to a 4-3-3 with Alex Iwobi and Adama Traore joining Muniz up top, while Smith Rowe, Lukic, and Sam played in midfield.

Today, Sam started at the right side of the midfield trio.

From the onset, it was clear that the Ipswich coach told his players to do just one thing, to lock Sam out of the game.

At first, it was highly effective as Fulham's attack became blunted for a large stretch of the first half. In front of their home fans, Ipswich Town got the opener as their striker, Delap latched into a delicious pass to score.

Fulham did not panic, they continued playing their game till they improvised without Sam at the center of attention.

And still, Sam orchestrated it.

He passed to Alex Iwobi, who played the ball across the face of goal for the rapid Adama Traore to run into, tapping into the net to equalize the game.

First half ended 1-1.

Second half was much more physical and defensive from Ipswich as it was clear they were now ready to settle for a draw, but Fulham were uncooperative.

It took 80 minutes for Fulham to break through their opponents a second time, and this time it was Muniz who provided the goals.

Pouncing on a loose pass from an Ipswich defender, the Fulham striker scored a Luis Suarezish lethal striker's goal from just inside the 18-yard box.

The Ipswich goalkeeper stood no chance.

And with that, Fulham won 1-2, extending their winning run to 4 straight games since the beginning of the new season.

They were already high-flying.