Dynasty Awakening: Building My Own Football Empire-Chapter 219: Wembley Revenge

Michael Sterling stood in the tunnel of Wembley Stadium. The noise from the stands was vibrating through the concrete walls. It sounded like a giant beast breathing.

This was it. The FA Cup Final.

Barnsley versus Liverpool.

It was the rematch everyone wanted. Liverpool had stolen three points from Barnsley in the league just a few weeks ago with a lucky deflection. That defeat still hurt. It was a scar on the heart of every player in the purple kit.

Arthur Milton stood next to Michael. Arthur was wearing a new suit. It was bright purple. He looked like a giant grape.

"Boss," Arthur whispered nervously. "I feel sick. I ate three pies because I was stressed. Now I am stressed because I ate three pies."

"Breathe Arthur," Michael said fixing his tie. "Today is not about pies. Today is about gold."

Michael put his hand in his pocket. He touched his phone. Sarah had sent him a picture ten minutes ago.

It was Baby Gabriel. He was sleeping in his cot. Next to him was a piece of paper. Sarah had written on it with a crayon.

BRING ME THE SHINY CUP DAD!

Michael smiled. The pressure vanished. He had his orders.

Ten minutes earlier in the dressing room Michael had revealed the secret plan.

The players were sitting down. They looked focused.

Diego Nunez was taping his wrists. He used so much tape his arms looked like mummy arms.

"Listen," Michael said standing in the center. "Liverpool think they know us. They think we are simple. They think we will just throw the ball to Jean Luc and hope he smashes things."

Jean Luc Dubois the French giant nodded.

"I like smashing," Jean Luc grunted.

"I know," Michael said. "But today we use our brains. We have a new weapon."

Michael drew a strange shape on the whiteboard. It looked like a circle with a dot in the middle.

"We call this The Cradle," Michael announced.

"The Cradle?" Leo Stone asked. "Like for a baby?"

"Exactly," Michael said. "When we get a corner I want you to rock. Move forward. Move back. Forward. Back. Like you are rocking a baby to sleep. It will confuse them. They will watch you moving and they will forget the ball."

"It is a lullaby trap," Arthur said eyes wide. "Genius."

"Virgil Van Dijk is tall," Michael continued. "But if he is confused he is just a tall statue. We make him sleep. Then we strike."

"I will rock very hard," Diego promised. "I will rock like a heavy metal baby."

THE WALK

Now they were walking out.

The fire cannons exploded. The fans roared.

The Liverpool players looked confident. They had Alexander Isak. They had Mohamed Salah. They were the giants of English football.

But the Misfits looked different today. They did not look scared.

Victor Osimhen was wearing a new mask. It was gold. He looked like a superhero.

Jean Luc Dubois walked next to him. He looked at the Liverpool mascot. It was a child dressed as a bird.

"Bonjour little bird," Jean Luc said. "Today the cat is hungry."

The mascot looked terrified.

THE KICKOFF

The referee blew the whistle.

BARNSLEY vs LIVERPOOL

The game started at a frantic pace. Liverpool wanted to crush Barnsley early. They wanted to show that the league win was not luck.

Minute 5

Mohamed Salah got the ball on the wing. He was fast. He was magic.

He cut inside. He curled a shot.

Jan Visser dived. 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

The ball hit the post.

CLANG.

"Wake up!" Jan Visser screamed. "Do not let the King shoot!"

"He is fast!" Enzo Silva shouted back. Enzo had recovered just in time for the final. "He is slippery like an eel!"

Minute 15

Barnsley settled down.

Leo Stone began to control the midfield. The young Phantom was growing up. He was not scared of Mac Allister or Szoboszlai.

Leo turned. He saw Jean Luc Dubois making a run.

Leo passed.

Jean Luc collected the ball. He used his strength. He pushed Konate away.

"Move little man," Jean Luc grunted.

Jean Luc shot.

Alisson saved it.

"Good power!" Michael clapped from the sideline. "Keep hitting them!"

THE TACTICAL BATTLE

The game was a chess match played at one hundred miles per hour.

Liverpool pressed high. Barnsley played long to the Tank.

Minute 25

Diego Nunez won the ball from Isak.

Isak tried to turn. Diego put his chest against Isak back.

"No turning," Diego whispered in his ear. "The Bull is here."

Isak fell over.

The referee waved play on.

"Clean!" Diego shouted raising his hands. "I am gentle as a flower!"

Arthur Milton was chewing his fingernails on the bench.

"It is too close Boss," Arthur said. "One mistake and we die."

"Wait for the moment," Michael said watching the clock. "Wait for The Cradle."

THE MOMENT ARRIVES

Minute 38

Barnsley attacked down the right.

Endrick was injured in the stands but his spirit was on the pitch. Jamie Vardy was running the channels like a man half his age.

Vardy chased a lost cause. He forced a corner off Robertson.

Vardy pumped his fist. He looked at the bench.

Michael nodded.

"Signal!" Michael shouted. "Do the signal!"

Leo Stone walked over to take the corner. He raised two hands. Then he made a rocking motion with his arms.

The Liverpool defenders looked confused.

"What are they doing?" Van Dijk asked. "Are they dancing?"

In the box the Barnsley players started to move.

Diego Nunez. Jean Luc Dubois. Sergio Ramos. Victor Osimhen.

They stepped forward. They stepped back.

Forward. Back.

It was rhythmic. It was strange. It was hypnotic.

The Liverpool defenders tried to track them. But the movement made them dizzy. They stepped forward when Barnsley stepped back. They stepped back when Barnsley stepped forward.

The red wall was disorganized.

"NOW!" Leo Stone shouted.

He whipped the ball in.

The ball curled towards the penalty spot.

The Barnsley players stopped rocking. They exploded.

They all ran to different spots.

Diego ran near post.

Ramos ran far post.

Osimhen ran central.

Van Dijk did not know who to follow. He froze for one second.

That one second was enough.

Jean Luc Dubois did not run. He stood still.

The space opened up around him like the Red Sea parting.

The ball dropped perfectly onto his head.

Jean Luc did not jump. He did not need to. He just steered it.

He headed the ball down. Hard.

It bounced on the grass. It flew past Alisson who was watching Diego Nunez run the wrong way.

The ball hit the back of the net.

GOAL.

Barnsley 1. Liverpool 0.

Minute 40.

Wembley exploded. The purple end of the stadium turned into a chaotic sea of flags and noise.

Jean Luc Dubois ran to the corner. He put his arms together and rocked an imaginary baby.

Diego Nunez ran over. He joined in.

Victor Osimhen joined in.

Soon the whole team was rocking the baby in front of the fans.

"THE CRADLE!" Arthur screamed jumping into Michael arms. "IT WORKED! THE BABY TACTIC WORKED!"

Michael laughed. He looked up at the sky.

"That is for you Gabriel," Michael whispered.

THE NEW THING

But the drama was not over.

Minute 42

Liverpool were shocked. They were angry.

They kicked off. They attacked immediately.

They played the ball to Alexander Isak.

Isak ran at the defense.

And then... something new happened.

Something Michael had never seen before.

Diego Nunez stepped out. Usually Diego would slide tackle. Usually he would smash.

But Diego stopped.

He stood perfectly still. He put his hands behind his back.

He watched Isak ball.

Isak tried a feint. Diego did not move.

Isak tried another feint. Diego did not move.

Isak got frustrated. He tried to push the ball past.

Diego simply extended one leg. He took the ball. Cleanly. Without touching Isak.

It was elegant. It was precise. It was... intelligent.

Diego looked at the ball. Then he looked at Michael on the bench.

Diego tapped his head.

"I AM USING THE BRAIN PAPA MICHAEL!" Diego roared. "I AM A GENIUS BULL!"

Michael stood there with his mouth open.

"Did you see that Arthur?" Michael asked.

"I saw it," Arthur gasped. "Diego defended... calmly. Is the world ending?"

"No," Michael smiled. "He is evolving."

The referee blew the whistle for halftime.

BARNSLEY 1 - 0 LIVERPOOL

The players walked off. They were sweating. They were tired. But they were buzzing.

Jean Luc Dubois walked past Van Dijk.

"Nice dancing," Jean Luc said with a wink.

Van Dijk looked furious.

Michael waited by the tunnel.

Diego Nunez walked past.

"I rocked the baby," Diego said proud. "And then I used the brain. Am I a professor now?"

"You are getting there Professor Diego," Michael laughed patting his back.

They went into the dressing room.

They were forty five minutes away from the FA Cup.

They were forty five minutes away from the first gold medal for Baby Gabriel.

Michael looked at his team.

They were not just winning with chaos anymore. They were winning with tactics. They were winning with intelligence.

"Sit down," Michael said closing the door. "Drink water. We are halfway up the mountain."

"But be careful," Michael warned. "Liverpool are wounded animals now. And wounded animals bite."

"Let them bite," Osimhen said touching his gold mask. "My skin is metal today."

Michael looked at Arthur.

Arthur was already eating a celebratory donut.

"One goal Boss," Arthur mumbled. "One goal and we are legends."

Michael looked at the tactical board where The Cradle was drawn.

It was a silly name. It was a silly move.

But it was winning the Cup.

"Second half," Michael said. "We hold the baby. We protect the baby. And we bring the gold home."