Dynasty Awakening: Building My Own Football Empire-Chapter 238: Golden Dinner Plate

The halftime break in the Wembley dressing room felt short. It felt like five minutes.

Michael Sterling stood in the middle of the room. He looked at his players. They were sweating. They were breathing hard. But they were smiling.

Lorenzo Ricci was using a small portable fan to cool his face.

"My pores need to close," Lorenzo explained to Diego Nunez. "If I sweat too much I shine in the bad way. I want to shine in the good way."

Diego Nunez looked at the fan. He opened his mouth.

"Fan me too," Diego demanded. "My tongue is hot."

Lorenzo sighed but he pointed the fan at Diego. Diego closed his eyes and made a happy noise like a giant cat purring.

"Okay," Michael said clapping his hands. "Focus."

"It is one to one. Manchester City are angry. They are not used to fighting. They are used to winning easy."

He looked at Vladimir Petrovic. The Serbian giant was sitting calmly. He looked like he was waiting for a bus.

"Vladimir," Michael said. "Haaland will come for you in the second half. He will try to run behind you."

"Let him come," Vladimir rumbled. "I have pockets. I will put him in my pocket next to my keys."

"Kaito," Michael looked at the Japanese sprinter. "You are fast. But you are running too straight. Be a zigzag. Make them dizzy."

"Zigzag!" Kaito shouted jumping up. "I will be a snake! A fast snake!"

"Go out there," Michael said. "And bring me the shield. I need a new plate for my dinner."

The teams walked back onto the pitch.

The sun was lower now. The shadows were long.

Pep Guardiola was standing on the touchline. He had taken off his jacket. He looked intense. He was shouting at Rodri.

The referee blew the whistle.

Minute 46

City attacked immediately. They were faster now. Sharper.

Bernardo Silva dribbled past Mateo Vega. He passed to Foden. Foden passed to Haaland.

Haaland was in the box.

He shot.

BOOM.

It hit the side netting. The crowd gasped. Some City fans cheered because they thought it was a goal.

Jan Visser the goalkeeper shouted at his defenders.

"Wake up! The robot is rebooting! Do not let him shoot!"

THE BATTLE OF THE BEASTS

Minute 55

The game turned physical.

Haaland tried to hold up the ball. Vladimir Petrovic leaned on him.

It was a battle of strength. Two giants pushing each other.

Haaland tried to turn. Vladimir did not move. He stood like a statue made of concrete.

Haaland got frustrated. He pushed Vladimir.

Vladimir looked down. He brushed his shirt as if there was dust on it.

"Do not touch the flowers," Vladimir said calmly.

Haaland looked confused. "What flowers?"

"The ones on my shirt," Vladimir pointed to the Barnsley crest. "It is a metaphor. You would not understand."

Diego Nunez ran over.

"He is using poetry on you!" Diego laughed. "You are being bullied by a poet!"

Minute 65

The score was still 1 to 1.

Barnsley were getting tired. The Chameleon tactic required a lot of running.

Lorenzo Ricci signaled to the bench. He pointed to his hair.

"Boss," Arthur Milton said holding a bag of pretzels. "Lorenzo says his hair is losing volume. He wants to come off."

"He is tired Arthur," Michael said. "Get the sub ready."

"Who?"

"Tom. We need fresh legs in defense."

SUBSTITUTION

OFF: Lorenzo Ricci

ON: Tom

Lorenzo walked off the pitch. He did not run. He waved to the fans. He stopped to check his reflection in the camera lens.

"Good shift Lorenzo," Michael said.

"I tried," Lorenzo said. "But the humidity is terrible. I need conditioner."

Minute 75

With fifteen minutes left the game opened up.

City pushed high. They wanted the winner. They left space at the back.

Lukas Weber the Berlin Wall intercepted a pass from Stones.

"Calculation complete," Lukas muttered.

He saw Mateo Vega.

He played a simple pass.

Mateo The Painter turned. He was in the center circle.

He saw Kaito Tanaka. The Jet was on the halfway line.

"GO!" Mateo shouted.

Mateo hit a pass that was pure art. It curled around Dias. It landed perfectly in the path of Kaito.

Kaito engaged the engines.

"ZOOM ZOOM!"

He sprinted. Kyle Walker tried to catch him.

It was the race of the century. The fastest defender in the world versus the Japanese rocket.

Kaito was smaller. He was lower to the ground. He was a blur of purple.

He got to the ball first.

He was inside the box. Ederson came out.

Kaito did not shoot. He stopped.

He stopped so fast that Kyle Walker ran past him and slid off the pitch.

Kaito looked up.

He saw Victor Osimhen.

But he also saw Diego Nunez.

The Bull had run eighty yards. He was puffing. His face was red. But he was waving his arms.

"ME!" Diego screamed. "FEED THE BULL!"

Kaito passed to Diego.

It was an open goal.

Diego ran onto it. He swung his leg. He put all his power into it.

He slipped.

His feet went into the air. He fell on his back.

But as he fell his left foot hit the ball.

The ball looped up. It went slow. Very slow.

It floated over Ederson head.

It hit the underside of the bar.

And it bounced in.

GOAL.

Barnsley 2. Manchester City 1.

The stadium erupted.

Diego Nunez lay on the ground. He looked at the sky.

"I meant to do that," Diego whispered to himself. "It was a tactical slip."

Then the team arrived.

Vladimir picked Diego up with one hand. He lifted him like a trophy.

"You are heavy little man," Vladimir laughed. "But you score."

Kaito Tanaka ran circles around them.

"I am fast! You are clumsy! We are champions!"

Michael Sterling jumped into the air on the touchline. He hugged Arthur Milton.

"He slipped Arthur!" Michael shouted. "He fell over and scored!"

"It is the Misfit way Boss!" Arthur cried. "We do not do normal goals! We do accident goals!"

Pep Guardiola sat on his bench and drank water aggressively. He looked at Diego Nunez and shook his head. He could not calculate the chaos.

Minute 85

City were furious. They threw everyone forward.

Grealish. Doku. De Bruyne. Haaland.

It was a siege.

Jan Visser made a save from Doku.

Vladimir Petrovic blocked a shot from Haaland with his chest.

"It tickles," Vladimir grunted.

Minute 90

The fourth official held up the board.

5 MINUTES ADDED TIME.

"Five minutes," Michael whispered. "Hold on."

City had a corner.

Even Ederson came up.

De Bruyne crossed it.

Haaland jumped. Vladimir jumped.

They collided in the air.

The ball dropped loose.

It fell to Rodri.

Rodri smashed it.

It was going in. It was a rocket.

But suddenly a head appeared.

It was not a defender. It was Mateo Vega. The Painter. The boy who supposedly could not defend.

Mateo threw his head in the way.

THUD.

The ball hit him right on the forehead.

Mateo fell down.

But the ball deflected away.

Jean Luc Dubois kicked it clear. He kicked it so hard it landed in the second tier of the stadium.

The referee looked at his watch.

Mateo Vega stood up. He rubbed his head. He looked dizzy.

"Did I paint a good picture?" Mateo asked Diego.

"You painted a masterpiece!" Diego shouted hugging him. "You have a hard head for a painter!"

PEEEP! PEEEP! PEEEEEEP!

FULL TIME.

BARNSLEY 2 - 1 MANCHESTER CITY.

COMMUNITY SHIELD WINNERS.

Michael Sterling ran onto the pitch.

He had done it. He had beaten the end boss. He had beaten Pep Guardiola.

The players were going crazy.

Kaito Tanaka was doing backflips.

Vladimir Petrovic was holding the corner flag like a walking stick.

Diego Nunez ran to Michael.

"PAPA MICHAEL!" Diego screamed. "WE WON THE DINNER PLATE!"

"We won the shield Diego," Michael laughed hugging him. "We won the shield."

They climbed the stairs to the Royal Box.

This time it felt familiar. They had been here in May for the FA Cup. Now they were back in August.

Sergio Ramos let Diego lift it first.

Diego grabbed the large gold shield. It looked like a giant coin.

He lifted it high.

"I AM RICH!" Diego shouted. "LOOK AT MY GIANT COIN!"

The fans cheered. Purple smoke filled the air.

Michael stood at the back. He watched his creations.

The Bear. The Jet. The Painter. The Bull. The Wall.

They were a family. A strange dysfunctional beautiful family.

Arthur Milton handed Michael a donut.

"Celebration donut Boss?"

"Yes Arthur," Michael said taking a bite. "It tastes like victory."

Down on the pitch the media was waiting.

Michael stood in front of the camera. He was wearing his medal.

"Michael," the reporter asked. "You just beat the Champions. Does this mean you are challengers for the title?"

Michael looked at the camera. He looked serious.

"We are not challengers," Michael said.

The reporter looked confused. "You are not?"

"No," Michael smiled. His eyes burned blue.

"We are hunters. And the hunt has just begun."

He walked away.

Back in the dressing room the party was starting.

Vladimir Petrovic was sitting quietly in the corner holding the shield. He was using it as a mirror to groom his beard.

"Good reflection," Vladimir noted.

Lorenzo Ricci walked over.

"Let me see," Lorenzo said. He checked his hair in the shield. "Yes. Very high quality gold. It makes my eyes pop."

Diego Nunez was trying to slide across the floor on his stomach but the floor was dry so he just got stuck.

"Someone pour water!" Diego shouted. "I am a stuck whale!"

Michael stood by the door.

He looked at the scene.

They had won the first trophy of the season. But he knew the truth.

The Community Shield was just the appetizer. The real meal started next week. The Premier League. 38 games of war.

He took out his phone. He sent a message to Kenji Sato.

Shield secured. Now we go for the Crown.

Kenji replied instantly with a GIF of a king wearing sunglasses.

Michael put his phone away.

"Okay Misfits!" Michael shouted. "Pack up! We are going home!"

"Are we stopping for pizza?" Diego asked from the floor.

"Yes Diego," Michael said. "We are stopping for pizza."

"Extra cheese?" Jean Luc asked.

"Extra cheese," Michael promised.

The team cheered.

They walked out of Wembley with a golden shield and a belly full of fire.