Dynasty Awakening: Building My Own Football Empire-Chapter 229: Miracle on the Radio

Michael Sterling stood in the technical area. His suit was soaked. His hair was plastered to his forehead. He looked like a man standing on the deck of a sinking ship.

Minute 52

Arthur Milton ran out of the dugout. He was holding the radio earpiece so tight his knuckles were white.

"Boss!" Arthur shouted over the noise of the storm. "City are winning 2 to 1! We are losing 2 to 1! The dream is dead!"

"The dream dies when I say it dies," Michael shouted back. "Get Jamie Vardy. Now."

Jamie Vardy was already standing there. He was hopping up and down. He had consumed two energy drinks in the last ten minutes. His eyes were wide and buzzing.

"I am ready Boss," Vardy said. "I want to create chaos."

"Go in," Michael said gripping Vardy shoulder. "Be a rat. Be a nuisance. Make them hate you."

SUBSTITUTION

OFF: Lukas Weber

ON: Jamie Vardy

Lukas Weber walked off. The young German looked frustrated.

"My calculations were correct," Lukas said wiping his glasses. "The referee is the variable I could not predict."

"Go sit down Lukas," Michael said. "Now we do not use logic. We use madness."

THE VARDY EFFECT

Jamie Vardy ran onto the pitch. He did not run to his position. He ran straight to Jordan Pickford the Everton goalkeeper.

Pickford was holding the ball trying to waste time.

Vardy ran past him and screamed.

"BOO!"

Pickford jumped. He dropped the ball. He quickly picked it up again but he looked rattled.

"Leave me alone!" Pickford shouted.

"I am your shadow!" Vardy laughed. "I am everywhere!"

The energy changed. The crowd felt it. The Misfits were not playing football anymore. They were playing a street fight.

Minute 60

Diego Nunez won the ball with a tackle that shook the ground. He passed to Amara.

Amara the Ferrari engaged his turbo. He ran down the wing. He crossed the ball.

It was high.

Jean Luc Dubois the Tank jumped. He was being held by Tarkowski. The referee was looking the other way.

But Jean Luc did not need a foul. He needed power.

He headed the ball down.

Pickford saved it.

But the rebound fell into the mud.

Jamie Vardy was there. He slid in. He did not care about the mud. He did not care about his knees.

He poked the ball over the line.

GOAL.

Barnsley 2. Everton 2.

Vardy ran into the net. He grabbed the ball. He ran back to the center circle screaming at the sky.

"COME ON!" Vardy roared. "WE ARE NOT DEAD YET!"

THE TWIST IN MANCHESTER

The score was 2 to 2.

But it was not enough. Manchester City were still winning.

Michael urged his team forward.

"One more!" Michael shouted. "We need one more!"

Then it happened.

A roar started from the stands. It was not a roar for a goal. It was a roar of shock.

Arthur Milton listened to his radio. His face went pale. Then red. Then purple.

"OH MY GOD!" Arthur screamed. "BOSS! LISTEN!"

"What?" Michael asked.

"KUDUS AGAIN! WEST HAM SCORED! IT IS 2 TO 2 IN MANCHESTER!"

Michael froze.

If City drew and Barnsley won then Barnsley would be Champions.

One goal.

One single goal separated them from immortality.

"TELL THEM!" Michael shouted to Arthur. "TELL THE PLAYERS!"

Arthur ran to the sideline. He shouted to Diego Nunez.

"DIEGO! CITY ARE DRAWING! WE NEED ONE GOAL!"

Diego eyes lit up like car headlights.

"ONE GOAL?" Diego shouted. "I WILL SCORE IT WITH MY EAR IF I HAVE TO!"

THE MEDIA FRENZY

Up in the commentary box Peter Drury was standing up. He could not sit down. The drama was too much.

"You could not write this! You simply could not write this! The scripts have been torn up and thrown into the wind! Manchester City have stumbled! The door is wide open! The Misfits are standing on the threshold of history!"

"Listen to this stadium! It is not noise! It is belief! It is the sound of forty thousand people praying for a miracle! Barnsley are battering at the gates! Everton are hanging on by their fingernails! Referee Sharp is looking at his watch! The rain is falling! The clock is ticking!"

"Can Michael Sterling do it? Can he turn water into wine? Can he turn silver into gold? The next twenty minutes will define a generation!"

THE SIEGE OF THE FORTRESS

Minute 75

It was total war.

Barnsley had all eleven players in the Everton half. Even Jan Visser was standing on the halfway line.

Leo Stone had the ball. He passed to Osimhen.

Osimhen shot. Blocked.

Amara shot. Saved.

Jean Luc Dubois headed it. Off the line.

"IT WILL NOT GO IN!" Arthur cried pulling his hair out. "THERE IS A FORCE FIELD!"

Everton were parking the bus. They were parking a tank. They were parking a jumbo jet in front of their goal.

Minute 82

Diego Nunez ran forward. He had abandoned defense. He was a striker now.

He got the ball on the edge of the box.

"SHOOT!" the crowd screamed.

Diego swung his leg.

But just as he shot an Everton defender slid in.

The ball hit the defenders hand. It was a clear hand. The hand was in the air.

"HANDBALL!" Diego screamed. "HE PLAYED BASKETBALL!"

The referee shook his head.

"No," Referee Sharp said. "Natural position."

"Natural?" Diego shouted. "Is he a bird? Does he fly? That is not natural!"

Michael kicked a water bottle. It flew into the dugout.

"He will never give us a penalty," Michael growled. "Never."

THE LAST STAND

Minute 88

Time was running out.

City were still drawing 2 to 2. They were desperate too. They were attacking West Ham.

But here in Yorkshire the game was stuck in the mud.

Everton cleared the ball again.

Jan Visser controlled it on his chest. He passed it to Leo Stone.

Leo looked tired. He had run fifteen kilometers.

He looked up.

He saw Amara making one last run.

Leo played the ball.

Amara chased it.

Coleman the Everton captain chased him.

Amara got there first. He touched the ball past Coleman.

Coleman knew he was beaten. He knew Amara was gone.

So he did the only thing he could do.

He grabbed Amara shirt. He pulled him back.

Amara fell down just outside the penalty box.

PEEEP!

The whistle blew.

Foul.

The crowd screamed for a penalty.

The referee ran over. He pointed.

Not to the spot.

To the line.

"Free kick," the referee said. "Outside the box."

"It was on the line!" Michael shouted. "The line is part of the box!"

"Inches," the fourth official said holding up his finger. "Just inches outside."

Diego Nunez picked up the ball. He looked at the referee.

"You are lucky I am a nice guy," Diego said. "Or I would eat your whistle."

THE MINUTE 89 TALK

The clock showed 89:12.

The ball was placed on the grass. Twenty yards out. Central.

The rain was pouring down on the ball making it shine.

The Everton wall was setting up. Five big men.

Barnsley players gathered around the ball.

Leo Stone wanted it. Diego Nunez wanted it. Even Jean Luc Dubois wanted to smash it.

But Michael Sterling whistled. A sharp loud whistle.

He signaled to Leo Stone.

"Leo!" Michael shouted. "Come here!"

Leo ran to the sideline.

"Boss?" Leo panted. "I can hit it. I can curl it."

Michael grabbed Leo by the shoulders. He looked deep into the young midfielders eyes.

"Listen to me Leo. Do not look at the wall. Do not look at the goalkeeper."

"What do I look at?" Leo asked.

"Look at the destiny," Michael said. "City are drawing. This is it. This is the kick. If this goes in we are Champions. If it misses we are nothing."

Leo swallowed hard. He looked terrified.

"I am scared Boss."

"Good," Michael said. "Fear makes you sharp. You are the Phantom. You see things others do not see. Pickford expects you to go over the wall."

"So I go under?" Leo asked.

"No," Michael whispered. "You go through. There is a gap. Diego is going to make a gap. Trust him."

"Trust the Bull?"

"Trust the Bull," Michael said. "Now go. Make history."

Leo ran back to the ball.

He looked at Diego Nunez who was standing in the Everton wall.

Diego winked. A big scary wink.

"I will make the door open," Diego whispered to Leo. "You just walk through."

The stadium went silent. Forty thousand people held their breath at the same time.

Peter Drury voice was a whisper on the TV.

"And here we are. The final minute. The final kick. The entire season comes down to the right foot of a boy they call The Phantom. One kick to win the title. One kick to rule them all. The world is watching."

Leo Stone took three steps back.

He looked at the ball.

He looked at the wall.

He waited for the whistle.

It was the longest second in the history of Barnsley Football Club.

Michael Sterling closed his eyes. He just listened.

He listened for the sound of the net.