Rise of a Football God

The mamba mentality…, what was it?

Was it real? Or was it just a myth?

To some, to sum up what the mentality is, it means to be able to constantly try to be the best version of yourself. It is a mentality, a lifestyle, it's a constant quest to try to be better today than you were yesterday.

Well, the tens of thousands of fans gathered in the Saudi Arabian stadium today got the privilege to witness it first-hand, after the ball was cleared.

As soon as the ball was cleared, Sam felt like a bolt of electricity just went through him, pushing him into such an excited state like electrons that he jolted into action instinctively!

Thud!

He moved!

There was a Fluminense player close to him, the player tried to drag his jersey and pull him down, committing a tactical foul for his team but Sam was having none of it as he flung his hands wildly, shrugging the player's grasp off as he collapsed to the pitch helplessly.

Sam was already in the zone state with all distractions abstracted from his mind, the main thing on his mind being the ball, the pitch, and its inhabitants.

The first things he noticed was the flight trajectory of the ball.

He also noticed the player who tried to drag him down, including the last defender that Fluminense left as the sweeper, including the fact that the Fluminense goalkeeper didn't stray off his lines.

The goalkeeper was disciplined, staying at alert in his lines despite the fact that his team was dominating the game since.

This meant that Sam could not try his long-range shot trick this time.

Sam also noticed that as the ball descended, the last Fluminense defender, the sweeper was already charging towards him to wrestle for the ball.

And he also noted that the defender was not fast enough, meaning that he would get the ball first, forcing the defender to tackle to get the ball back.

It was a 50/50 situation but it was fine, it was not all bad yet.

In reality, it was a 70/30 situation simply because of the mental state that Sam was in at this moment, almost like he was floating among clouds, then…

The ball finally descended.

Bam!

The defender was already close but with one deft touch of the ball, ignoring the pressure of his opponent's press, Sam brought the ball under control and with another deft touch, he pushed it in-between the defender's legs.

With 2 deft touches, Sam controlled the ball, and nutmegged the sweeper!

The stadium erupted in cheers but Sam heard none of it, because he had someone else to beat, the goalkeeper.

The sweeper defender tried to drag him down too, risking a red card but having expected it, Sam evaded him, rushing after the ball, then…

Bam!

He kicked the ball long, and then he dug in…

Sam could feel his heart beating rapidly against his chest, his lungs burning as it pumped oxygen through his body rapidly even as he moved.

As he moved, the Fluminense goalkeeper retreated, protecting his post but Sam kicked the ball long again after the first time, deliberately.

And that was the bait…

"…!" Alarmed to what he judged as a poor touch, the Fluminense goalkeeper charged out of his post aggressively, chasing after the ball, but Sam was faster.

Sam arrived at the ball first, stopping it with a deft touch even as the goalkeeper kept on charging towards him like a train.

At that moment, time seemed to stop, space and time seemed to freeze, and then…, the Fluminense goalkeeper saw stars.

"ANOTHER ELASTICOOOOO…!!!" The commentator screamed.

"The goalkeeper was literally deleted!"

"Zinedine Sam!"

"Zinedine Sam!"

"Zinedine Sam!" The commentator screamed in a shrill tone at the top of his voice even as tens of thousands of fans around this stadium stood up.

With that elastico, Sam sent the goalkeeper one way, jumping over his outstretched leg, and then, he poked the ball into an empty net.

It almost looked too easy for him.

"Sam!" "Sam!" "Sam!"

The Sam chants broke out again.

In the 87th minute of the game, after Ojo pulled off a crazy penalty save, Sam added the finishing touches at the other end, scoring a goal straight out of the top drawer in terms of how iconic it was.

The game was tied again, 2-2…

Sam didn't celebrate though, charging into the net as he picked the ball before charging back all the way to the half-way line.

His eyes remained red in focus, firmly locked in the zone state.

That goal definitely rattled some nerves.

FWEEEE!

As soon as the referee's whistle blew again, the Fluminense players, flustered and even more determined now charged at the Enyimba FC half with even more dangerous attacking raids and this time, Sam went back to defend.

Sacrificing himself, fully zoning into his free role today, Sam recklessly went on sliding tackles, blocking shots, intercepting passes.

90 minutes passed; the score remained 2-2…

90 plus 1 minute…

90 plus 2 minutes…

90 plus 3 minutes…

90 plus 4 minutes…

90 plus 5 minutes…

90 plus 6 minutes, the last minute of additional time of normal game time, Sam won the ball back all the way in his half again and this time, kicking the ball long again, he started another counter-attack.

Badump! Badump!

Sam could feel his heart beating heavily against his chest, warning him against over-exerting his body but Sam didn't care, the win was what mattered.

Digging in, he charged through the left flank with the ball, eating yards of space even as the swift Chijioke charged after him, about to overtake him.

As Chijioke overtook him, Sam passed the ball to his front, letting this winger run into it even as he diverted his run, cutting back into the middle of the Fluminense 18-yard box and that was when Chijioke floated the ball back in.

There were 2 Fluminense players tracking Sam, making sure that he was locked out while one of the center backs was diligently keeping Emeka quiet.

Despite his trackers, as he ran into the 18-yard box, Sam jumped despite the high boot of his opponent to win the ball, deftly controlling the high ball with his chest amid gasps around the stadium.

His opponent's high boot hit his chest but Sam showed no reaction, his red eyes only fixated on the round ball now descending from his chest.

Bam!

Sam felt the second player hit him with his body, pushing but he didn't fall, nor did he react, rather flicking the ball with his right lap.

With that flick to the right, as the ball floated in the air, he turned, rotating after the ball and then without thinking, his right leg swung up with power. Discover stories with empire

Sam hit the ball on a volley!

BAM!

At that range, the goalkeeper could only react like an epilepsy patient, falling to the ground while sprawling his hands helplessly as the ball rushed past him.

The net shook…

"GOALLLL…!!!" Sam roared.

Removing his blue jersey, Sam charged towards the corner flag, embracing the wave of adoration suddenly directed at him by the fans as he nodded in acknowledgement before showing his jersey to the fans, pointing at his name and number.

{Samuel #19}

"WHAT A GOALLLLL…!" The commentator roared with his cracked voice.

"WHAT A GAME!"

"WHAT A GOAL!"

"Samuel Mosesssss….!"

"Samuel Mosessss…!" He was freaking out.

"Mamba mentality!" He roared. "That's the mamba mentality!"

"What a goal! What a moment! What a game!"

"The boy wonder just single-handedly won Enyimba FC the game!"

Enyimba FC won the game 2-3.